Katie: Bride of Virginia (American Mail-Order Brides 10)

  Katie

  By

  Sylvia McDaniel

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  A disastrous factory fire ends Katie Maverick’s livelihood and she must find something quick. Convinced to become a mail-order bride, she receives an offer of marriage from Daniel O’Malley.

  Only Daniel isn’t the one who put the ad in the Grooms’ Gazette. His business partner, secretly placed the ad in Daniel's name. When Katie arrives, a surprised Daniel agrees to marry her with the idea she could help make his life easier and still the gossip surrounding the death of his wife.

  He’s unprepared for the way the bubbly girl from Massachusetts eases his loneliness. Not only is she helpful, she’s breaking through the walls he’s erected around his heart. Troubled by the suspicious vandalizing suddenly occurring in the vineyard, Daniel wonders if things might not be as good as they seem. Is it only coincidental that the damage to his winery coincides with Katie’s arrival?

  Could this sweet, innocent woman and his dead wife share a common goal to destroy him?

  Chapter One

  Katie Maverick dodged a horse and buggy as she ran across the busy street in Lawrence, Massachusetts, hurrying back to the grungy apartment she shared with two other young women. The unopened letter in hand could be the answer to her prayers, or the start to her demise.

  Since the fire had destroyed the factory where the three had worked, they'd made the decision to find husbands, and signed up as mail-order brides.

  Julia and Genny were leaving at the end of the week for their new lives with the men who’d responded to their letters. And Katie couldn't afford the apartment alone.

  Unable to bear if the news was bad, she waited to open the letter with her friends for support.

  After running into the small, over-packed building, she threw open the apartment door. Genny stood at the stove, mixing cornbread for the third time that week for supper. “Good, you're home. Cornbread and milk is about all we have to eat.”

  Katie held up her envelope. “I think it's a response to my mail-order letter.”

  “Julia, come in here,” Genny called. “Katie has her letter.”

  Julia, came around the corner of the one bedroom they all shared. “Open it. What does it say?”

  With shaking hands, Katie ripped the seal on the envelope that held her future. She glanced at her friends and licked her lips, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “Dear, Miss Maverick, I'd like to offer to marry you.”

  Katie squealed with excitement, her friends joining her as they all jumped up and down. She had an offer of marriage.

  “Oh my God, you did it,” Genny said.

  “Read the rest of the letter,” Julia responded.

  “As my wife,” the girls tittered again, “you will be expected to help my aging mother and take care of the house. I live ten miles from Charlottesville, Virginia and own a vineyard which is the family business.

  “As your husband, I will provide for you, though I'm not wealthy by any means. If this arrangement is agreeable to you, I have enclosed a train ticket from Lawrence to Charlottesville.

  Please telegram my friend, Frank Lowe the details of when and if you will arrive. I look forward to meeting you.

  Sincerely, Daniel O'Malley.”

  Katie's heart leaped in her chest, she was getting married. The three girls squealed again, and came together in one big hug as they jumped up and down, until Julia had to stop because of pain in her leg. All three had found husbands.

  “You can leave right away, so you don't have to pay the apartment rent,” Genny said relief in her voice. “I was so worried about you.”

  Julia hugged her tightly. “And you're getting married.”

  Katie laughed and swept back her long hair. “No more working in a factory.”

  “A vineyard. Maybe your husband's wine is sold where we live. Every time I see a bottle, I'll think of you. Wonder what the name of his vineyard is?” Julia asked.

  For weeks they'd each anxiously awaited letters, hoping they wouldn't have to find another job in a factory or resort to cleaning houses. Katie squeezed her eyes shut and crushed the letter to chest. She sighed, fighting back the tears. Her mother would have been so pleased that she found a husband.

  Since the factory fire left them without jobs, their situation appeared hopeless until a friend, had convinced them to send off letters to prospective grooms. Now they were all going to be married.

  “Two more days together and then we each leave. Genny to Nevada, Julia to New York, and me to Virginia. We’re spread across the country at different ends. I wish we were closer. I'm thrilled we've all found husbands, but I'm so sad to be leaving you,” Katie said.

  “We'll still be friends,” Julia said, reaching out and patting her on the back.

  “Yes, we'll write each other,” Genny, the practical one of the three said. “But still it will be sad not living together.”

  “We should celebrate,” Julia said. “Let's go to the cafe and have dessert.”

  Katie grinned. “We haven't been there since the fire. What do you say, Genny?”

  “Let me grab my coat.”

  #

  Daniel O'Malley rode into Charlottesville in his sidebar buggy. He almost brought his mother with him, thinking the outing would be good, but Frank, had been insistent he come to town today.

  And he feared Frank, his business partner, would tell him what he already knew: the vineyard was in trouble. Three years had passed and still the wine had to ferment. Occasionally he would uncork a bottle and check the taste, but the batches needed longer. More time to chill for the taste to explode on the tongue. Soon, hopefully soon.

  Since the death of his first wife, he'd avoided coming into town and wouldn't have come today, except Frank's note said it was urgent.

  Pulling the buggy to a stop, he jumped down and tied the reins to a hitching post. When he walked into the office, he tipped his hat to the woman behind the desk. “Hello, Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Lowe is expecting you. Go on back to his office.”

  “Thank you,” Daniel said as he walked past the woman.

  When he stepped into his best friend and business partner's office, Frank glanced up from the paperwork scattered across his desk. “You came. Take a seat.”

  Sitting on the other side of the desk, Daniel gazed at his friend wondering about his message. “Of course, you said it was urgent.”

  “It is,” Frank said, staring at him. “I may have overstepped the boundaries of our friendship.”

  Daniel frowned. Frank had helped him when the vineyard needed money. Friends since college, there wasn't much he wouldn't do for Frank and doubted the man had done anything offensive. “What did you do?”

  “I ordered you a mail-order bride.”

  For a moment, Daniel sat stunned. “What?” The memory of his last wife was still too painful to think about and Frank had found him a mail-order bride. Was he crazy?

  “A wife. You need a wife, Daniel, to help with your mother. To keep your house and even help with the business. You're alone and after what happened to Eloise, I feared you would never even look at a woman again, let alone marry. So I ordered you a mail-order bride.”

  What was he thinking to find him a wife? He didn't want or need another woman. And yes, his mother needed someone to nurse her, but not at the expense of him marrying again.

  His fists clenched. “You're right. You did overstep the boundaries. What makes you think I would even consider marrying again?”

  Frank leaned back in his chair and studied his fr
iend. “You need help with your mother for one thing. How can you take care of her and work in the fields? Plus, I think the best way a man can rebound is to find someone else.”

  “I don't want anyone else. I never want to marry again.”

  Anger coursed through Daniel like a river at flood stage. They were good friends, but this was too much. Frank knew better than to bring a woman into Daniel's life.

  For a moment, Frank didn't say anything. “A woman is arriving on the noon train today from Lawrence, Massachusetts. She thinks you ordered her.”

  “Then I suggest you marry her or you send her back, because I'm not getting married.”

  Frank sighed. “Fine, I'll send her back. But what can it hurt to meet her? What if she's gorgeous? What if she could give your mother the care she needs and you could devote all your time to the vineyard? What if she helped the people in town forget about Eloise?”

  Daniel stared at his friend. He hadn't even looked at another woman since his first wife's death. In fact, he'd thought he would forever be a widower. The nights were lonely at the vineyard and his mother did need help, but then again, marry in haste and repent at leisure. No, he wasn't getting married again.

  “It couldn't hurt to meet the train and see this woman? Could it? Then, if you don't think it's a good match, we'll put her on the next train back to Lawrence.”

  “I'm not getting married.”

  This trip into town had been a total waste of time. He had much more urgent things he should be doing, but he still needed to take care of this problem. He didn’t want word getting out that he “neglected” another wife. Frank was going to apologize and explain everything to this woman.

  “Of course you’re not getting married. We're just going to meet the train.”

  “You can express your regrets to the woman, saying you made a terrible mistake and pay for her return ticket. It’s the least you can do,” Daniel said knowing no lady wanted to be Daniel O’Malley’s wife.

  The woman had come all this way, and he knew what it was like to be misled, scorned, and turned away. He would meet the train with Frank beside him, her return ticket in hand, apology on his tongue. This had gone far enough. Daniel would never marry again.

  #

  Katie gazed out the train window, a warm glow filling her. Lush oak trees, as far as the eye could see backed by the Blue Ridge Mountains, soothed her battered soul. A chill nipped the air, and she realized though traveling south, the weather didn't feel any different. But still the winters couldn't be colder than the frigid state where she'd been born.

  Before she left, she'd made one last trip to the graveyard to say goodbye to her mother and father and siblings. Everyone was gone, but her. She'd been alone these last six years, first living in the orphanage and later working at the factory.

  Mr. Bob Brown, the factory owner, told the sisters at the orphanage that he was giving these girls valuable training and education that would keep them off the streets. He'd made them more like slaves, working them twelve to fourteen hours a day until the time he set the factory on fire.

  With a sigh, she glanced at the houses and buildings as the train pulled into Charlottesville. This was a new beginning. A new start and she was determined to greet her new husband with a smile. There was nothing Katie Maverick couldn't overcome, nothing.

  She was the only surviving member of her family from a yellow fever epidemic. The sisters at the orphanage had reminded her she was strong and blessed, and to live each day grateful and happy. And so far, even during the darkest times in the factory, she reminded herself she was blessed. She was alive.

  The train stopped and the conductor opened the doors. She searched the crowd and tried to imagine which man, waiting on the platform, was her future husband. Butterflies filled her stomach and she stood, her hands shaking. The woman beside her smiled. “Good luck.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Maybe we'll meet again sometime.”

  “Maybe,” she said as Katie walked toward the door that would change her life forever.

  She stepped into the bright sunshine, breathed the fresh air and lifted her face to the sun. She'd made it out of Lawrence. With a smile she walked to the edge of the platform where two men were standing, watching her.

  Tilting her head, she wondered at the men. One of them had dark features, with a strong jaw and blue eyes the color of an iris in springtime. He was so strong and manly and handsome that her heart skipped a beat.

  Halting for a moment, she watched as they walked towards her.

  “Miss Maverick?”

  She smiled, suddenly feeling so very blessed if that dark, striking man would soon be her husband. “Yes, Mr. O'Malley?”

  The second man, the one less handsome laughed. “I'm Mr. Lowe, this is Mr. O'Malley.”

  A ripple ran through her at her man. It was him. The man with the deepest blue eyes she'd ever seen, but a smile didn't grace his face. In fact, he almost seemed kind of a sourpuss.

  The man took a step closer, his eyes assessing her and then he bent over and kissed the top of her hand like a gentleman would do. She could almost hear the breath in her lungs swishing out in a loud gasp. She'd never had a man kiss her hand before.

  The old foreman at the factory was always trying to catch her unaware and sneak a kiss, and she'd quickly learned to dart away from him and his wayward hands. The old leach was married too.

  “Nice to meet you,” she said. “I've been looking so forward to this day. Did your mother come with you?”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn't tell her about your arrival.”

  “Oh, why not?”

  He glanced at his friend frowning, his brows drawn together, not responding.

  “She’s not very mobile,” Frank replied for her husband.

  “I’m so sorry,” Katie said wondering about his mother. “She won't be attending our wedding?” she frowned at him. “I can’t go to your home without us being married.”

  She didn't want to make a scene, but the girls had all agreed they wouldn't step into the men's homes without a marriage license in hand. It could ruin their reputations and the man wasn't getting the milk for free.

  “No,” Daniel said his body rigid. “There’s not going to be…”

  He gazed at her, hesitating for a long time, mouth open like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

  “Time,” he finally responded. A smile graced his dark face, his blue eyes warming as he nodded. “We don’t have time to ride out and pick her up and come back to town.

  “I thought we would take care of the wedding, if you're ready, right after lunch. You must be famished from your train ride.”

  Frank glanced at Daniel and smiled.

  Her pulse raced at the way he was gazing at her and joy filled her. Sure, her knees were knocking, but everything was falling into place. And her new husband to be was quite dashing. He took her carpet bag from her hand and offered her his arm and her heart leapt in her breast

  “Let's get you fed, then we'll go to the courthouse and get married, Miss Maverick,” he said, gazing down at her.

  Warmth and excitement overwhelmed her. Yes, she was definitely blessed to be marrying such a gentleman.

  “Afterwards, I have a bottle of champagne chilling at my office right across the street. We can celebrate your wedding day with a glass of the bubbly before you head to your new home,” Frank said grinning at them.

  “Thank you. That will help make the day special,” Katie said nervous at the thought of marrying this stranger, yet knowing this is why she’d answered the ad.

  “I can't wait to meet your mother,” she said, wanting to get lost in his gaze. No man had ever had her feeling this way. No one.

  “Oh, I'm sure she will feel the same,” he said, glancing at his business partner who promptly turned his back. A dart of uneasiness flittered through Katie, but she was not going to let that niggle of doubt ruin her wedding day. She was about to become a bride.

  She smiled brightly at
him. Her mother had always said that a smile helps any situation and she tried to remember those loving words. “Shall we?”

  Chapter Two

  Daniel stared at the beautiful young woman, sitting beside him in the buggy, who had become his wife. They'd said their I do's in front of Frank and a witness they'd pulled into the room. It was completely unlike the big society wedding he had with Eloise and yet it felt real.

  Walking to the train station earlier, he’d been intent on Frank telling her it was all a big misunderstanding and that Daniel had not sent for her. He’d even made Frank purchase a return ticket on the next train.

  But then he’d seen Katie standing on that platform and while part of him knew it was wrong, the lonely man inside him was drawn to the smile on her face, the happiness that radiated from her. She needed a husband and he needed a breath of sunshine to come into his dreary world.

  He resisted for all of five minutes before he thought what the hell. He deserved a chance at happiness.

  No, it wasn’t fair, given she had no idea about the suspicions clinging to him, but he’d been drawn to her the moment he saw her and unable to fight the despair alone any longer. It was selfish and he knew it, but one look at Katie and he’d felt hope for the first time in a year.

  He'd been hard since she stepped off the train and he'd learned she was the mail-order bride Frank had ordered. And now he couldn't stop gazing at how lovely his new wife was with her big green eyes, full sweet, tempting mouth and hair that seemed to go on forever. What had he done to get so lucky? Why hadn't some man snatched her up before now?

  “Why did you become a mail-order bride,” he asked curious as to what would drive a woman to give herself away to a man. “You're beautiful. Weren't there any young men in Lawrence?”

  She smiled at him coyly. “Thank you. And yes, there are plenty of young men in town, but none were interested in me. I was a factory girl, until the plant was torched by the owner.”

  “Wow. That's not right. But what about your family?”