The Mail Order Bride's Deception (22 page)

She nodded.  “It’s good that her father’s new wife is expecting.  He’ll have another child this fall.”

“The new child won’t replace Hazel, but he doesn’t have to be alone anymore.”

“I feel better knowing that.”

“
I do, too,” Al said.  “I’ll take care of our daughter tonight so you can get a good night’s sleep.  You don’t do anyone any good when you’re so tired you can’t remember the difference between flour and baking powder.”

“It was an easy mistake,” she replied.  “Anyone could have made it.”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t make for good pancakes.”

She laughed.  “At least we had some leftover muffins from Aunt Betty.”

Grinning, he brought Gilbert into his arms.  “You think you might want to go out to the barn with me tomorrow and help out?”

“Yes,” Gilbert replied, giggling as Al tickled him.

Al looked over at her.  “Next week we’ll pay Aunt Betty and Bear a visit.  I’m anxious to give them the skin from that elk I caught.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Sadie said.  “It was nice of her to help me when I was giving birth to Hazel.”

“I think she would have been disappointed if she couldn’t be here.  She loves to help out whenever she can.  She says it makes her feel useful.” Al got to his feet and picked Gilbert up.  Leaning forward, he kissed her.  “After I put him in bed, I’ll take care of Hazel so you can go to sleep.”

“Thank you, Al.  And good night, Gilbert.”

“Bye, Ma,” Gilbert replied.

To her surprise, Al bent down and gave her another kiss.  “I love you, Sadie.”

Her smile grew wider.  “I love you too, Al.”

She watched him as he
took Gilbert to the bedroom before she turned her gaze back to Hazel.  “You, your brother, and your pa are all good things in my life,” she whispered.  “And someday I’ll tell you about the woman who made this all possible.”

She kissed her
daughter’s forehead.  Yes, she had much to be thankful for, and she would embrace every good moment granted to her for as long as she lived.

Another Mail Order Bride Romance

by Ruth Ann Nordin

Eye of the Beholder

Mary Peters despairs that she will never get married. At nineteen, she has no prospects of finding a husband, so she takes matters into her own hands and becomes a mail order bride. When she arrives in Omaha, Nebraska to meet the man she's due to marry, he takes one look at her homely appearance and rejects her.

But fate has other
plans for Mary, for Dave Larson happens to be nearby and figures she will make a suitable companion to help him on his farm. Though she is stunned that someone as handsome and as kind as Dave would ask her to marry him, she accepts, realizing that this marriage of convenience will not bear the fruits of love. Love, after all, is for beautiful women. Isn't it?

A Mail Order Husband Romance

by Ruth Ann Nordin

A Husband for Margaret

When Margaret Williams posted an ad for a husband, she expected Paul Connealy to arrive, but instead, his older brother Joseph came...and he brought four children with him.

List of All Romances by Ruth Ann Nordin

Regencies

Marriage by Scandal

The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

A Most Unsuitable Earl

His Reluctant Lady

The Earl’s Scandalous Wife

Standalone Regency

Her Counterfeit Husband

Historical Westerns

Nebraska Romance Collection

Her Heart’s Desire

A Bride for Tom

A Husband for Margaret

Eye of the Beholder

The Wrong Husband

Shotgun Groom

To Have and To Hold

His Redeeming Bride

Isaac’s Decision

South Dakota Romance Collection

Loving Eliza

Bid for a Bride

Bride of Second Chances

Montana Romance Collection

Mitch’s Win

Boaz’s Wager

Wild Hearts Series
(Co-Written with Stephannie Beman)

The Stagecoach Bride

Historical Romantic Anthology
(Co-Written with Janet Syas Nitsick)

Bride by Arrangement

Native American Romance Series

Restoring Hope

A Chance In Time (novella)

Brave Beginnings

Bound by Honor, Bound by Love

Virginia Romance Collection

An Unlikely Place for Love

The Cold Wife

An Inconvenient Marriage

Romancing Adrienne

Standalone Historical Westerns

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Kent Ashton’s Backstory

Catching Kent

Meant To Be

Contemporaries

Omaha Contemporary Romances

With This Ring, I Thee Dread

What Nathan Wants

Florida Contemporary Romances

Substitute Bride

Across the Stars Series

Suddenly a Bride

Runaway Bride

His Abducted Bride