Pioneer Love: Damaged Hearts Head West: Mail Order Bride 5 Bundle (2 page)

Chapter 2

Anna sat in the corner, filling in the never ending forms. She could tell from the glances the lady was giving her, that she pitied her. She saw it the minute she walked in the room; the wheels churned and clicked together, filling in the puzzle for Mrs. Hawkins. Anna was tired of the piteous or the disgusted looks from all the people around her. It happened everywhere she went, and it was why she was here. Jolene, her best friend in the entire world, had convinced her to try her luck here, at this agency. She had actually been trying to convince her to be more open at church and to come to the parties she liked to attend. Anna had even thought about it when the nights were lonely, but she could not do it, this was much better. Let Mrs. Hawkins with all her skills find a husband who would love her. It was much easier, much simpler and they would know about her limp before they even met her.

With that thought in her mind, she focused on her forms again. After filling out the boring questions about her name, height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, likes, dislikes, skills, etc. She had now come to the accomplishments section. Anna stared at the little box in front of the word and realized that she had not accomplished a thing in her life. She was scared of confrontation, of socializing, of breaking the norm or doing a thing that wasn’t deemed acceptable. She didn’t stand up for herself, let others make fun of her limp, let people judge her and pity her. No, she had not accomplished a single thing in her life, and the thought made her feel pathetic and sad.

Moving on to the next box, she continued filling the rest of the forms out and eventually was done with it all. Taking a deep breath in and whispering a prayer she got up and handed them back to the lady in front of her.

Mrs. Hawkins smiled at her, motioning for her to sit. Slowly she went through her forms nodding approval. “You have not put anything in accomplishments, but I see you wearing a beautiful dress, did you make it?”

“Yes, I make all my own clothes, but I do not think that is an accomplishment.”

“It certainly is my dear.” Mary peered at this little flower and wondered if she dare ask the question. She knew it would be painful, but it could provide the key. “May I ask about your limp?”

Anna colored and looked down at her lap. “If it is necessary,” she mumbled into her chest.

“Were you born with it or was it an injury?”

“I had a riding accident when I was but a child.”

“I understand. I noticed from your form you said you are an accomplished rider. This is something that could be needed in the West, and my dear, and it is also an accomplishment.”

Anna blushed again. “I didn’t think it was… Yes I overcame my fears and now I love to ride,” Anna said and this time she looked up.

“That is so brave and a major accomplishment. You should be very proud.”

A smile flickered across Anna’s face and she blushed like a sweet country rose. “That is very kind of you to say, but pride is a sin. Is there anything else you need?”

Mrs. Hawkins could see that she had done so well and did not want to put her through anything else. “No, everything seems to be in order. I will go through my list of potentials and select the ones that will be the best match. Come back in a week and you will have your men to choose from.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hawkins. It was nice meeting you,” Anna said and got up to leave.

“And a pleasure to meet you my dear but do please call me Mary,” Mrs. Hawkins said.

With a curtsey she turned and as fast as her limp would carry her she fled from the office. Watching her go Mrs. Hawkins made a decision and she picked up her eraser. A few alterations to the form were always the best practice. It was her job to show the ladies in their best light and she wanted Anna to shine.

It was over, she had done it, and at last Anna could breathe. With a quick curtsey, she grabbed hold of her skirts and as quickly as she could she walked out of the office. Now that was done she was looking forward to meeting up with her best friend, Jolene. As she stepped from the door, something stopped her and she turned back

Had Mrs. Hawkins just erased something from her form? Confused, she left the office, thinking she must discuss it with Jolene. It would be wrong to set off to find a new husband if her answers were not accurate and what if Mrs. Hawkins did the same with the men’s forms?

That would have to wait; Jolene had agreed to meet her at the baker’s shop in an hour and a half. Shaking her head she checked her watch and realized she was late nearly two hours had already gone by. Quickly she rushed down the street. The faster she went, the worse her limp became, but she ignored the stares and passing glances. There was a feeling of euphoria in her heart, she had done it. She had finally made the first move to securing a husband and hopefully the family she had always wanted.

Red in the face and breathing heavily she rounded the corner to the bakery. Jolene was standing there; her arms crossed a look of frustration in her eyes. Seeing her friend, Anna forgot all about the whole erasing situation. Surely it must have just been a mark on the paper she had removed.

On seeing her, Jolene jumped with delight and ran forwards. She grabbed her by the arm and looking into her eyes, said, “So, How’d it go? Did she show you any men you liked? Have you found your mister right yet?”

Laughing at her friend’s overactive imagination, Anna shook her head. “I only filled out some forms today. I have to go back in a week and that’s when I’ll find out.”

“Oh, I can’t wait!” Jolene exclaimed. “Next time I’m going with you. Soon you’ll be off to a new place and fall in love and it will be just like those fairy tales your grandma used to tell us about. Oh, what a fantastic way to live. I have half a mind to go to the agency and fill out a few forms of my own!”

Shaking her head at her friend Anna was unable to hold back her grin. “It won’t be anything like that,” she said. “You’d do best not to fill my head with such silly notions. And you have Jonathan, so I have no idea why you’d want to go to the agency anyway.”

“Ah, dear Jonathan. What a darling he is! He said to me this morning that it wouldn’t be long before he had a nice little ring to offer me and then the world will know that I belong to no one but him. What fantastic lives we both are off to lead, aren’t we?”

And chatting away the two friends linked arms and laughing and giggling, oblivious to the world around them they walked down the street to a nice material shop. When she was with Jolene, it was the only time Anna forgot about the world, the stares, and her problems.

Chapter 3

Anna had not told her father what she had done. She knew he would tell her that there must be a suitable young man locally. But there wasn’t. After the war men were scarce and many of the best of them had already headed West. The only one who had shown any interest was Mark Spires and he was cruel and had teased her relentlessly at school. No, if she wanted a family this was the only way.

All week she looked for a time to broach the subject, but it never came and soon she was on her way back to the agency to meet Mrs. Hawkins. Even though Jolene kept insisting on going with her, Anna felt like this was something she wanted to do alone. She entered the door and Mrs. Hawkins looked up at her and smiled. Smiling awkwardly in reply, Anna stepped in and sat across from her.

“Nice to see you again, Anna. I hope you are doing well today,” she said kindly.

Blushing slightly at her kind words, Anna replied, “Yes, thank you. I hope you are too.”

“Oh, yes, I am wonderful, dear. Now, I have some wonderful men for you. There are many men on my books who would love to meet such a beautiful and accomplished woman as you, but I have narrowed it down to three potentials. All you need to do is tell me your preference and we will begin the process. List the name of the potential you want to approach first and we will go from there. We will contact your first choice and if we get a positive response, then we will correspond and set a date for you to travel out to meet him.”

Anna could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Three men were interested in her. In her wildest dreams, she had hoped that they would find one man, but three. A smile crossed her face. Jolene had been right this was perfect. Then the smile slipped and panic replaced the excitement. “What happens if he doesn’t want to see me?” Anna asked, worriedly.

“No need to worry. That sometimes happens; the man has changed his mind or has found a wife locally. In that case, we just move down to the second one and try again. One of them is bound to respond and if that doesn’t work, we will simply look for a new set of potentials. It’s a very straightforward process, dear and you shouldn’t worry about anything. You just make your choice and then leave it all to me.”

Anna could only nod in reply, for her nerves had overtaken her. Mrs. Hawkins gave her a comforting smile before placing three filled out forms in front of her. Anna looked down and taking the forms, began to read. There was a lot of information similar to hers about the three men and she could tell from their answers that they had plenty in common. Mrs. Hawkins seemed to know what she was doing.

Anna read all the forms and imagined the men, tall and handsome and prosperous. How could she be so lucky? She had the choice of a rancher from Texas, a railwayman from Iowa and a hotel owner from Montana.

With such widely different men how could she make a choice? Closing her eyes, she put her hand on the silver cross at her throat and imagined each of the men. Gradually she saw the hotel owner a man named Ryan Gellman and she had made her choice.

With a barely concealed smile on her face, she handed the paper and all the forms back to Mrs. Hawkins.

“What a brilliant candidate. He did seem the most suitable for you,” Mrs. Hawkins exclaimed. “I shall contact him at once and as soon as I hear something from him, I will send for you. Hopefully, if all goes well, within a month or two, you could be in Montana. How wonderful would that be?”

Anna nodded, lost in thought over how far away she had agreed to go. Moving to a small town called Redemption, in Montana sounded very scary. Then she thought about it Redemption, maybe it was what God wanted. But could she leave? She would have to say goodbye to her father and her best and only friend. Thinking these dark thoughts, she stood, thanked the lady and left the office.

Over the next few weeks, Anna kept visiting the agency and responding to the letters she had received. Her chosen potential had come through and after a few stilted letters he sent that he would be rather interested in getting to know her and that he wanted her to visit him.

With a heart full of both fear and anticipation, Anna had explained to her father. At first he was distraught. How could she leave him? But soon he understood her need to start afresh and they promised to keep in touch and that he could visit. She knew he would be fine. As a school teacher he was always busy and had plenty of friends within the church.

By the end of the month, it was time to go. Tears rolled down her eyes as she said goodbye and Jolene made Anna swear she wouldn’t forget her and that she’d write every day. Gathering her meager possessions, kissing her father and Jolene farewell, Anna got into the carriage that was going to take her to the train station.

This was the first time she had been alone for an extended period of time. Usually, her father or Jolene was always there with her and this new experience unnerved Anna. She couldn’t believe she had taken such a huge step by herself and was venturing all alone out into the world.

The train ride was uneventful, albeit tiring, loud and a little nerve racking. About half-way she met up with a family. They were also traveling to Redemption and they chatted as the miles rolled by.

As she crossed into Montana, she couldn’t help but wonder at the amount of snow. The country seemed breathtaking. Rolling hills of white as far as the eye could see. She began to worry, as she didn’t have many winter clothes with her. What would her prospective husband think when she turned up in her city clothes? It did not matter it was too late to worry now and she had saved enough to buy a few thicker dresses and a good coat. She was a survivor and she could manage a little cold.

With the scream of a whistle the train stopped. Smiling at the family she walked out, slightly shivering in her thin coat. This was it and she stopped on the platform and looked around her breath held, her hand on her chest.

Scanning the crowd she looked around for anyone who was there to receive her. A nudge in her back sent her stumbling forward and a rough looking cowboy grabbed her arm apologized before turning away. Startled she spun around looked straight into the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. The eyes stared back at her and she saw recognition flash in them and a hand reached out to her.