Bride for Calvin Read online

  Calvin took a few bites of soup, then paused. “Are you all right? You’re not eating.”

  She nodded, but then she shook her head. “I don’t want to add to your burdens tonight—it’s already been such a hard day.”

  He set down his spoon. “If something else has happened, please tell me. You shouldn’t have to carry it alone.”

  That was what she’d hoped he would say, but it was still difficult to find the words. “You’ve mentioned that you’d like to have children someday.”

  He lifted an eyebrow, looking curious. “Yes, I’d hoped to. I can imagine a little girl with your long, dark hair and bright eyes.”

  Faith took a deep breath. “I’ve found out something today . . . something I didn’t know before . . . and I hope you can forgive me, Calvin. I didn’t mean to mislead you or lie to you in any way.”

  “Sweetheart, it’s all right. Whatever it is.”

  “But it’s not, not really. I can’t have children, Calvin.” A tear ran down her cheek—gracious, she’d been doing a lot of crying lately. No wonder she felt so spent. She took her mother’s letter from her pocket and handed it to him. She was a bit hesitant to let him read something that spoke so frankly of women’s matters, but that was just the problem, wasn’t it? If they didn’t become more emboldened to speak about it, women would continue to suffer. And as Calvin was her husband, he needed to know and to understand what she was facing.

  He read the letter over, then glanced at her and read it again. She died a million deaths while waiting for his response. She’d hoped that she’d come to mean something to him, that he would value her above any children she might bring—or not bring—to their union, but how could she really know that?

  At long last, he placed the letter on the table. “I’m so sorry,” he said, then paused and cleared his throat. A pang shot through her chest. What was he sorry about? Why wasn’t he finishing his sentence? Then he continued. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through something so horrible, sweetheart. It hurts me to think of you in such pain, and when you were so young, too.”

  She couldn’t detect any censure in his voice, or anger, or any of the other things she’d been fearing. “You . . . aren’t upset with me?”

  “Upset with you? How could I be? You’ve made me a home. You’ve given me your love and your devotion and your time. You . . . made me a rabbit, for goodness’ sake.”

  “A terrible rabbit,” she corrected him.

  “A terrible rabbit, but I loved it because you made it. Faith, you have made my life into something more wonderful than I’d ever imagined. Yes, I’ll miss having children—I won’t lie to you. But we will love all the children around us, and we’ll love each other, and we’ll make something rich of our lives because we’ll do it side-by-side.”

  She searched his eyes and couldn’t see anything but love in them. “Are we going to make it here, Calvin? Are we really going to have success?”

  He stood, came around the table, and pulled her into his arms. “Yes. Yes. We’re going to be so successful, everyone will be jealous. We’re going to be the happiest couple. We’re going to track down the moonshiners. We’re going to do everything we were sent here to do, and when our assignment here is up, we’ll move on to our next post and we’ll be successful there too. Faith, as long as we have each other, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

  She meant to reply with something equally as inspirational, but she found that it was very hard to talk when her husband was kissing her, and after a few minutes, she decided to stop trying. Talking was quite overrated anyway.

  Epilogue

  The Mounties continued their investigation for the next few weeks. Each day, Calvin would tell Faith what progress they had made in searching for Henry’s killer, and at times, she grew disheartened that it seemed to be taking forever. If no one would come forward, how were they ever to know the truth?

  At last, when Mr. Kirk was arrested for his long list of misdeeds, it came out that Henry had gotten in his way. Henry had worked for him for quite a while, but when he had a change of heart, Mr. Kirk didn’t take too kindly to that. Faith was more than happy to see Mr. Kirk receive the punishments of the law for everything he’d done.

  In time, she finished Sammy’s red shirt, and he wore it proudly almost every day—it was quite the feat for his mother to get it off him long enough to wash it. And Calvin finally figured out why food was being left behind the outhouse … tasty snacks for a little fox named Finnegan.

  THE END

  March 1st, 1911

  Dear Mom,

  I’m putting pen to paper to tell you just how much we miss you. I’ve been busy, but the midwife told me it was time to start taking it easy. I’m as big as a house!

  Theodore is really taking to the idea of impending fatherhood. The cradle he’s made for the baby makes me want to weep with joy every time I set eyes on it, which is often because it’s in the main room of our cabin.

  I have another group of Mounties who are looking for wives. One of Evelyn’s brothers is stationed in southeast Manitoba, and he and three of his men would like to be matched up with four women.

  Gilbert is looking for a mother for his twin three-year-old daughters. He doesn’t want someone to love at all. Marshall is a quiet man who probably needs someone to bring him out of his shell. Andrew is a strong man who has a sad history, and he needs a woman who doesn’t want more children. Peter Murray is Evelyn’s brother, and he’s the corporal. He wants someone who can cook and clean for him, like they all do—and perhaps with a good sense of humor.

  I hope that’s enough information to get started, and I will forward their letters once they arrive.

  All our love. Hope you can visit soon!

  Jess and Theodore

  About Amelia C. Adams

  Amelia C. Adams is a wife, a mother, an eater of chocolate, and a taker of naps. She spends her days thinking up stories and her nights writing them down. Her biggest hero is her husband, and you just might see bits and pieces of him as you read her novels.

  You can reach her at [email protected].

  Please join Amelia on her website to learn more about her, sign up for her newsletter, stay on top of news and upcoming releases, and follow her on Facebook.

  And if you’ve enjoyed any of her novels, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. It’s much appreciated!

  The Kansas Crossroads Series:

  A New Beginning (free!)

  A Free Heart

  The Dark and the Dawn

  A Clean Slate

  A Clear Hope

  The Whisper of Morning

  A Careless Wind

  A Narrow Road

  The Bitter and the Sweet

  The Calm of Night

  A Begrudging Bride

  A Broken Wing (A Kansas Crossroads novella)

  A Twisted Fate

  An Unspoken Dream

  A Joyful Noise

  The Nurses of New York series:

  Sea of Strangers (free!)

  Cause of Conflict

  Touch of Tenderness

  Heart of Hearts

  Test of Time

  The American Mail-Order Brides series:

  Hope: Bride of New Jersey

  Tabitha: Bride of Missouri

  The Hearts of Nashville series:

  Whiskey and Women

  Records and Rebels

  As part of the Brides of Beckham series by Kirsten Osbourne:

  Mail Order Molly

  As part of the River’s End Ranch series:

  Accidental Agent

  Rugged Rockclimber

  Welcome Wagon

  Santa’s Shopkeeper

  Delivering Destiny

  Lucky Lifeguard

  Poinsettia Promises

  Christmas Catch-Up III

  As part of the Grandma’s Wedding Quilts series:

  Meredith’s Mistake

  As part of the Magnolias and Moonshine series:

  Sweet
Georgia Peach

  As part of the Burnt River series:

  Ashley’s Hope

  Phoebe’s Fate

  As part of the Rocky Mountain Romances series:

  Utah Sunrise

  As part of the Mail Order Mounties series:

  Bride for Joel

  Bride for Jonathan

  Bride for Samuel

  As part of the Seven Sons series:

  Benjamin

  Daniel

  Frank