Mail Order Brides and Western Love (A Western Romance Book)

By Faye Sonja

Three inspirational stories of women who risked everything for love and traveled thousands of miles to the western frontier.

Part 1: The Heir Longing For His Reluctant Bride

When a young Mica thought of adventure, she had never once thought marriage could be possible. That was until she discovered what a mail order bride was and all the possibilities it could hold. Trying her luck she was surprised to find that she had found a connection with someone so easily.

Until she found out the grave lie behind what she thought was the truth...

Part 2: The Pregnant & Unwanted Bride

When fire destroyed everything her family owned and took her father from her, Clara found herself alone, broke and heartbroken. To make matters worse she was pregnant and the father of her child had passed away just the week before!

And so she becomes a mail order bride. However, when the husband she travelled to see found out she was pregnant, he was no longer interested… and soon she would find herself and her mother, homeless.

Would things ever change for the better?

Part 3: The Shunned Bride for Her Amish Suitor

When Michelle had found herself losing the man she thought she would have married, she was left to decide where she wanted to go with her life.

But…  loneliness was slowly seeping in and she could use the comfort of another. Upon urging from her friend, she decided to try being a mail order bride… but only on ONE CONDITION - She wanted someone close to home so she would not have to leave her elite life.

3 parts of heartwarming mail order brides tales of love, romance, and triumph over adversity in one book.

Love on the western frontier was a rare treasure. Follow these inspirational women who risked everything to travel to the untamed West in the hopes of finding love and starting a new family.

If you're a fan of clean western romance, you will love this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faye Sonja
• Release date: Feb 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393130017

Faye Sonja

Faye Sonja is a multi-voiced writer who aspires to use different voices in telling her stories, seeing characters coming alive through the multi-faceted writing styles give her great satisfaction. As a young girl, Faye Sonja has been fascinated with stories of the Old West, especially the theme of Mail Order Bride where a woman will find the courage to leave her homeland, take the plunge to seek out the love of her life out there in the unknown land. Such an act requires bravery, such an act requires faith. It takes a woman with strong Christian faith to step out on such a pursuit for her love. It is Faye's desire that readers will once again have the courage to believe in love again from reading her books, to be inspired through the characters in her story who through perseverance, in the face of obstacles, overcame the hurdles using that simple faith and belief of theirs. 

Book preview

PART 1

The Heir Longing For His Reluctant Bride

Prologue

*   *   *

July 14th 1870

Drearie County, Ohio

Mica slowly made her way across the docks, waiting patiently for her father to carefully load the bags of grain onto their tired little wagon. As a lover of literature she had really been hoping she would have gotten a new book today, but the one in question was nowhere to be found, because the train that always delivered them before had yet to show up. It was due in all the way from New York and the conductor had always been kind enough to hold back a book for her, and Mica never turned down a good read. Currently she had read and reread everything she had and was itching for something new. It was quite sad to her that out of all the towns in Ohio, they had to live in the one that was devoid of any book store, it just added to the fact that she was sure she had been born and raised in an era much too early. She was certain this was not a time that suited her temperament. She needed to be in a place where books were a plenty. As she solemnly walked towards her father her feet brushed against a piece of old newspaper as it blew across the pier on its way to nowhere in particular. She stooped to pick it up, never passing on the opportunity to bury her nose in a piece of literature.

Picking it up a little too quickly, the strong winds ripped it from her hand and all that was left in her grasp was a piece of advertising from the classified section. The heading caught her eyes and as she creased her eyebrows in curiosity to read it she was wowed.

Matrimonial advertisements:

Ladies receive forty words free. Anything over that will be charged at a nickel per 10 words.

She sat down on the bench overlooking the water and reread the ad. Did people really advertise for marriages? Or was this some form of satirical advertisement she was not apt at understanding? Either way her curiosity was piqued and she had to know more. She read the remainder of the advertisement.

This newspaper will take no responsibility for any purposeful misrepresentation of yourself or your matrimonial intentions. If we are given information as to any ill-intent, your ad will be removed and your fees will not be refunded.

Mica was not so sure what misrepresentation they were alluding to, but it sounded like something serious. She was still interested however and went on to read what the first ad under that section was. It spoke of a man no older than twenty-seven who was described as intelligent and good looking with a loving heart. The ad informed her that the recent death of this man’s father left him inheriting a large ranch in south Texas, meaning he had found himself the sole owner of a large amount of wealth, but clearly money was not enough for him because this man was looking a wife to share it with. He preferred women between the ages of twenty to twenty-six, and though Mica didn’t believe him he stated that looks were of secondary importance. She sat for a minute wondering if a handsome young man could really mean that, but then again if he was placing an ad in the newspaper maybe he wasn’t much of a catch himself. Maybe that was the misrepresentation the fine print was speaking about. She read on anyway, finding it absolutely fascinating that people placed matrimonial ads. The ad informed her that if she was in a hurry she should not bother contacting him because this was a man who liked to take things slowly. There was an address for him to be contacted and Mica sat back and thought about it for a minute.

The truth was that she knew very little about love and all the entanglements and procedures that came with it. She had grown up in a sheltered home with only her avid imagination and the literature she immersed herself in to keep her time occupied. According to her mother, her greatest affliction was something called fantastical thinking. But she was of prime age to be riding off into the sunset with some handsome, rich man and she was thinking that maybe it was fate that had blown this ad her way. Here she was looking at the promise of love and wealth and she was thinking it was no coincidence.

Mica! her father hollered at her. Let’s go!

She got up from her seat casting a longing look out across the landscape before tucking the paper into her bosom and making her way to her father.

*   *   *

1

*   *   *

July 31st

What are you buried in now? Sarah, her sister asked her. Mica smiled up at her sister from her seat on the patio swing and flashed the cover of the book she was reading at her. The train had finally come in and the conductor had made good on his promise and not only brought her back one book, but a whole box of them. She had been overjoyed and buried in them for weeks now.

What is it about? Sarah asked her again. She had just recently turned eleven and was the brightest eyed and curious person Mica knew. Her curiosity was like that of a cat and she had the reckless abandon of an eleven year old to go with it.

She didn’t bother to tell the little girl what it was bout. When I am finished with the book you can have it Sarah, she said and placed the bookmark in to mark her page and set the book down. Mica knew that when her little sister walked into a room it was highly unlikely that she was going to get any reading done. The little minks would stop at no ends with the who, what, why, when and where of everything. Sarah’s curiosity knew no limit and she really didn’t mind it. She could relate so she would give her the attention she deserved. She always encouraged her to read anyway, knowing it was the best way to satisfy the curious mind she had.

Do you want to go swimming? she asked Sarah.

Oh yes! Can we? Can we? Sarah’s face lit up with joy at the mere suggestion. They both loved making their way down to the creek and jumping off from the swing rope their father had placed there for their amusement. Without delay Sarah was ready and Mica looked at her with a proud smile. She loved her baby sister, and she hoped that someday she would have children of her own who would fill her home with happiness and enthusiasm just the way Sarah did.

Let Mama know we are heading down there! she shouted after the disappearing feet as the screen door snapped shut behind her.

The tired and restless whining of a horse drew her attention down the small dirt lane that led to her house. She looked to see her father riding quickly towards the house with a cloud of dust in his wake. He was in a mighty hurry to get home and that wasn’t unusual but something was different about how he went about it. She stood up and walked to the banister, leaning over in eager anticipation for the news he must be in a rush to carry to them. She silently wondered if maybe he had stopped by the post office before making his way home, and if he did was there a letter in his satchel for her? Another, probably more important question was if he had read it before coming home. He often did these things and on occasions it annoyed her because she was no longer a child in need of having her correspondence screened, but he was her father so she allowed him.

Danny Martin, Mica’s father, was a big man. He had one of those bodies that could be described as that of a lumberjack. Though gentle in spirit and demeanor he stood well over six feet tall, and her tiny fist could fit easily in his palm. It was a warming fact, because as a child she had felt so wrapped up and protected by him. But there was no longer a need for such things. She had grown but she knew that in the eyes of her father she would always be his little girl and there was absolutely nothing she could do about that. She loved him in any event, and if he did indeed carried a letter for her saying what she hoped it might, she would be sad to leave him behind. He was a simple man who loved his wife and daughters more than anything in the world and his simplicity extended to the way they lived- off the land. He was a God-fearing man too, who had not lost his faith nor love for his country even after it had claimed the life of his first son. Much of everything else that had made its way to her humble family had been considered a luxury of sorts by her father.

Mica watched him snatch the grocery bag out of the worn-out saddlebag, and her heart skipped a couple beats as he took the mail out from the flap. She forgot to breathe for a moment as he took the horse to the hitching post in front of the water trough. When he stepped on the porch she didn’t wait for his salutation.

Hello Pa, she said eagerly.

Mica, he responded flatly acknowledging her hello. She knew something was off. He had called her buttercup all her life unless he was upset with her or disappointed in one of her actions or another. I picked up some mail for you at the post, he finished.

Really? she asked trying her best to hide the true excitement in her voice, and failing miserably at keeping a straight face.

Her father gave her a long, hard look with his brows deeply furrowed. Does your Mama know about all this?

She thought about playing dumb for a moment but decide against it. She was twenty-six after all, why should she have to play dumb about anything.

Yes, she does Pa, she answered lowering her eyes to the ground not sure what that would mean for her parents. Truth be told her mother had been very far from happy when she had heard about the entire thing and she had asked her to clarify what was going on. Mica was beginning to think that maybe it was time she stared demanding some privacy from her parents. She wasn’t a baby anymore and just like her father had picked up and read this one, so too had her mother read the first one which is how she knew about it in the first place. Mica had answered all her mother’s questions with the honesty she had been brought up to show them.  The bottom line was that she was a grown woman who had absolutely no intentions if spending the rest of her life in Drearie County, Ohio.

She understood quite clearly her mother’s emotional reaction though. Having lost her older brother to the war seven years before, it would be hard to conceive that another child was going to be going off soon. When Mica had told her she had answered a rather interesting mail order bride ad, her mother had wailed that she was about to lose another child. It was a reaction that she had considered to be a tad bit melodramatic, but she had left her to it.

You will not be losing me, Mama, she had told her. Maybe he won’t even write me another letter after this.

She had to calm herself down to console her mother after that first letter, and here she was receiving another. Her mother had promptly told her that if she sent a picture of herself he was sure to write back. Mica had doubted the extent of her beauty, but her mother had never made her forget it, as it was her right to do so. Mica thought herself to be fairly plain, with dark hair that was always frizzing out and eyes that might be a bit too green. She thought she looked like what Santa clauses elves must look like and her lisp didn’t help her case. In any event she had taken her mother’s pride in her beauty as permission to carry on, and as usual her mother was right.

Michael was the young man’s name and he had written her back in a matter of weeks. Her initial correspondence had been short and to the point but he had shown interest.

Listen Mica, her father drew her back to the present. Are you sure this is what you really want, buttercup? Are you ready for all that might come with marriage? Are you ready to leave home and travel so far away from your home and family to be with some man you have never met?

She sighed. Pa, I am not sure about any of it yet, but that is why we write to each other. So I can get to know the man I might be getting involved with and you would be happy to know that neither of us is interested in rushing things.

I don’t particularly care about any of it, her father said and stepped away. He really wasn’t much of a talker and she had come to accept that about him. He had voiced his opinion and she knew that at the end of the day he would leave the ultimate decision up to her. It was a privilege to have parents who didn’t want to let her go, and she felt warmed by the thought, but she would not be their baby forever. She couldn’t be.

Sarah’s excited feet pattered in their direction as she hugged their father. Mica is going to take me down to the creek to swim, Pa, she told him excitedly.

Okay little one, he said turning to smile at them both. Have fun and make sure the lake monster doesn’t get you!

Mica laughed as Sarah pouted and promptly declared herself too old to be believing in such things. There was melancholy in her father’s eyes and in that moment she knew he was thinking that someday soon, Sarah too would be riding off into the sunset with her prince charming. For his sake she hoped neither one of them would have to leave too soon.

You ready? Sarah asked her and she sighed and nodded. Her father had held on to the letter and though she would have loved to take it with her for a read she let it go.

Yes, let’s go, she ruffled her sister’s head and they headed down the path to the creek. They lived on the outskirts of Drearie County where all the ships passed through on the large river that fed the creek, docking briefly on their way to other towns. The creek wasn’t too deep, and she loved swimming in it, and her father did too as a child. He always told her the stories of his childhood playing and swimming in the creek with his friends, so it seemed like she had been around from its inception. She had heard of the boat parade that had been held from New York to Ohio in honor of the river being opened up to tugboats and steamships and wondered what it must be like to be a ship captain and see all of the beautiful landscape every day. When she had been smaller she had gotten the opportunity to travel one of those routes with her father. She remembered it as a cold and rather miserable trip where seasickness had been her best friend and the freezing cold had been her ever present blanket. She had however never complained. After all she was the middle child and competing for her father’s affection she knew better than to become a problem for him on such a long trip.

She remembers vividly the day her mother had told her that her brother had been killed. She remembered the correspondence that came bearing the news and she heard her mother’s wail from all the way down the dirt road. Mica had cried for days, she wasn’t the middle child anymore and her brother wasn’t coming home. As she walked with a gleeful Sarah, she remembered the day she had been distraught about the fact that she was a middle child and had unremorsefully told her father that they had too many children. Now her brother wasn’t around anymore and she had certainly felt a bit selfish for even suggesting it. She had even felt for a time that it was her will to give him up that had caused his demise. This made her feel a little guilty when she pondered on the memory.

*   *   *

2

*   *   *

Watching Sarah swim as she sat under a large tree with her book, she pushed the memory away. She would bury herself in literature land until it was time that they would have to head back home for supper. She again thought about the letter her Pa had brought from town but pushed that from her mind as well. She hadn’t wanted to push him on it, knowing he would eventually give it to her and the last thing she wanted was for him to feel like she was in a rush to get away from him. These were matters that had to be handled with finesse and she would try her best to do just that.

For two hours she watched Sarah frolic in the waters and when they got back to the house her father was nowhere in sight. Busy making lunch, her mother was humming away