Racing Towards Marriage: Four Historical Romances

By Doreen Milstead

Inexperienced at Farm Life - A woman travels to Nebraska to become the wife of a cowboy farmer & once there, finds him distant, angry, & with a neglected ranch & his infant son, too.The Unlearned Woman & the Doctor - A mail order bride with little book learning but an inventive mind, travels to her fiancé, a doctor and war vet with one leg, who lives in a little town in New Mexico.Tessa The Strong & Daniel Her Cowboy - A group of women, both contracted & uncontracted, travel west to seek out new husbands by means of a small wagon train run by an unscrupulous man & his cronies. Losing A Child Then Her Heart to The Rancher in Idaho - An independent woman who has lost her son & husband travels to Idaho to become the wife of a rancher who is frustrated when she won’t let him understand her, or even help with the day-to-day chores of the household.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Hart
• Release date: Mar 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463619575

Book preview

Racing Towards Marriage; Four Historical Romances

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2020 Susan Hart

Table of Contents

Inexperienced at Farm Life

The Unlearned Woman and the Doctor

Tessa The Strong & Daniel Her Cowboy

Losing A Child Then Her Heart to The Rancher in Idaho

Inexperienced at Farm Life

Synopsis: Inexperienced at Farm Life - A woman travels to Nebraska to become the wife of a cowboy farmer & once there, finds him distant, angry, & with a neglected ranch & his infant son, too.

The train station outside the small, rural city in Georgia was full of the thick black smoke pouring from the waiting train. People were moving quickly in every direction with heavy suitcases in hand. Beautiful ladies were walking up and down the wooden platform with elaborate hats and dresses. Young lads scurried about carrying packages to the train. It was a hot day to start a trip and it seemed that not everyone was looking forward to their journey.

A young lady hurried to board the train while waving passionately from the door. Her eyes were full of thick tears and her dress was dirty from the platform. She struggled not to turn from the train and run away.

On the other side of the platform, a balding man in a black coat had removed his hat as he stood waving back to her. Beside him, a plump, gray-haired woman strained to remember every detail as she watched her daughter sadly. Her younger brothers and sisters milled about their parents impatiently as they waited to see her off.

She was still standing with a small suitcase in her hand, watching out the window as the train departed from the station. The engine was now puffing out a column of black smoke and the air was hot with the smell of burned coal. The harsh smell rudely brought her back to the present as she turned her attention to her surroundings.

Rose was clearly upset. She had stopped crying, but her cheeks were still wet from all the tears she had shed. It would be a long journey but she tried to keep thinking about how much she was helping her family. She forced herself to refrain from thinking about what waited at the end. She would deal with that when the time came to do so.

Wiping her face clean, she started searching for her seat. She soon found her assigned compartment and was surprised to see this was a sleeping car. He must be rich, Rose thought, before knocking on the door. A mature female voice answered and Rose took a deep breath before she entered the small room.

She felt considerably better seeing the woman in the car smiling at her. She’d had some experience with rude old ladies on previous trips, but this one seemed eager to welcome her.

As Rose took in the woman’s appearance, she pointed to the seat opposite her. She had her hair tied up in a tight little topknot. Her dress was out of fashion and maybe a bit too fancy for a woman her age, but it suited her well. Her face was round and her skin carved from the passing years.

Rose stepped in and placed her suitcase on the floor. She was feeling excessively tired, even though her trip has just started. As she struggled to catch her breath, she noticed the old lady looking at her expectantly. The young girl blushed and immediately begun talking to her.

I'm really sorry for my rudeness. I was feeling out of place here. Let me introduce myself. My name is Rose Hogan. May I ask yours, she said, trying to mend her mistake.

Rose had been raised with the knowledge of common courtesy. She knew that you should introduce yourself upon entering a room.

It's alright, my child. Apology accepted. My name is Mrs. Harriet Boone and I believe that we'll be fellow passengers in this compartment. It’s nice to meet you Rose. May I ask you what your destination is, she said, while performing many subtle movements with her hands.

She is a lady in every sense, Rose thought.

It is nice to meet you too, Mrs. Boone. I'm traveling to Nebraska to...meet my fiancé, Rose replied, trying to hide her embarrassment at the fact that she hadn’t ever seen him.

Oh...you may have to excuse me for asking, but you look very sad for someone getting ready to marry. I believe something is bothering you. Am I right, she asked, full of unexpected sympathy towards the young woman.

For a moment, she thought of not answering. Rose turned her attention to the view outside. As the endless fields of wheat passed in front of her eyes, her thoughts overwhelmed her. Realizing she may never see her homeland again, she burst in tears. Mrs. Boone, surprised by this unexpected outburst, stood up and moved to sit right next to her.

Rose couldn't help but cry in her lap, feeling like she was a child and was crying in her mother's lap. The aged woman started patting her head, while whispering words of encouragement and compassion. It wasn't long before Rose went ahead and began to talk about her life.

Three years had already passed since her family had been forced to declare bankruptcy. One day, her father came in the house and announced they were moving, as the house didn't belong to them anymore. He had sold their mansion to pay up all their debts, including the many indulgences, they’d come to expect. Rose didn't know, not until then, that her father had a gambling addiction.

After a disastrous accident that completely burned the warehouse, he was using to store his products, he couldn't make enough money to maintain his habit. Even worse, one of her siblings, the younger one, had fallen ill and was in need of medical care.

All these things made their family aware that they should tone down their lifestyle. At first, they didn't have to make drastic changes. They moved from the mansion to a big city house with two floors and separate rooms for everyone. It wasn't that bad. It was a little bit crowded with the help, but then her father was forced to let them go.

His wife now had to take care of the daily labors. Rose and her siblings were now obliged to help their mother with everyday chores. However, despite all their efforts, her father's addiction was stronger than his sense of duty.

A few more years had passed before they were forced to move again. This time they moved away from the city and into the country. Everyone was now infuriated with him, most of all, Rose. The old man looked like he has learned his lesson. Even if he wanted to gamble again, he had no money to wager. They were totally ruined.

Their new house was old and rundown. For the first time ever, Rose had to share her room with her siblings. The kitchen was beyond cleaning and the single bathroom diminutive.

Since moving to the country house, Rose started observing some disturbing things. Her father began waking up late, sometimes an hour or two before lunch. At first, they believed he was sick, a seasonal flu her mother used to say. It wasn’t very long after that, Rose saw her father drinking. The next day she confronted her mother, only to see that she already knew about her father's condition. Rose, heartbroken from her parents' distrust, started thinking of ways she could help them recover.

She was walking around the town doing her daily errands when she overheard two ladies talking about something they called mail order brides. She remembered reading about it in a local newspaper. Men around the country were paying a lot of money to women to marry them.

Interested men and women had to send a letter to get on a list and then that list was delivered to anyone who was interested. They had to choose one of them and bid a price. If both parties agreed, the woman was then obligated to travel to her husband's hometown and live with him for the rest of their lives.

Rose thought it was a bad idea, but if her parents continued on the path they were on, one of these days they could all starve to death. She decided she had to take matters into her own hands and find a solution.

For the next couple of weeks, she was asking around for information on what she had to do to get on that list. After encountering some displeasure from people that didn't agree with her, she finally succeeded on getting on the list, and then the waiting started. It was still the first month of the spring when she sent that fateful letter and for four long months she hadn’t heard a thing. Even though still young, she was considered by many too old to marry.

Truth be told, before her family had left town, her father was in the middle of arranging a marriage of convenience for Rose. She strongly resisted the idea of marrying a stranger just for their families' well being. She wanted to be one of the first businesswomen of the country. She couldn't let all those years of intensive studies go to waste for a man she didn't love. It seemed fate had another plan for little Rose, and that plan included marriage.

One day, the mailman arrived a bit earlier than usual. Rose was in her bedroom, hurrying to get ready to have breakfast with the rest of her family. Rose had been careful to meet the mailman each day to receive the mail. She still hadn't talked to her parents about her decision because she wanted to be sure someone had chosen her before discussing it.

On this particular day, she’d actually overslept and the mailman arrived early. She heard her mother talking to him and asking him about a letter. Still drowsy, Rose couldn't figure out what was going on. Only after getting in the kitchen, her mind started working. It was a letter addressed to her from the mail order bride list.

When her mother saw Rose's name on the envelope, she decided she had to open it and read it herself. In the beginning, it didn't make any sense to her. Why was her daughter marrying for money? It was a high sum, too. Why didn't she tell them anything and why she had she hid it from them? Was she planning to leave them and go live with that Mr. Bradley in Nebraska?

Rose couldn't even begin to explain the situation so in the end she lied. She explained she had met him at a street fair one evening and they immediately fell in love with each other. They were even exchanging letters for months and that's why she was running every day to meet the mailman.

As was customary with his family, he took the initiative of sending a gift to her parents as a plea for her hand in marriage. Her mother was devastated and couldn't begin to fathom that her daughter was lying. She hurriedly left the letter on the table and ran to wake up her husband.

Right after she left, Rose picked up the letter and quickly hid it. She couldn't let herself make another mistake. If they found out about her scheme, it was certain they wouldn't let her go, and all that money would go to waste.

One thing led to another and her father started feeling better. Money wasn't a problem anymore. Her mother started wearing elaborate dresses again and they both resumed their lives from the point they'd stopped them two years before. The money wasn't that much, but her father was an investor and knew some people that were willing to help him rebuild his business. Her family was ready to move once again, and this time into a beautiful farmhouse outside the city.

Her father had decided that this time he'd do things carefully and began to plan ahead. Her mother was ready to hire help for the house and all her siblings resumed their studies. Rose couldn't be more content with her decision, but a small part of her felt shattered after realizing she had sacrificed her dreams.

Now here she was pouring out her heart to a stranger, like she never could with her family. As she finished her story, she realized it was already dark outside. Mrs. Boone had a warm smile in her face while she looked at Rose.

"You know, my child, I was married for forty years before my husband died. I was about your age when my father told me that all the arrangements were made and the only thing I had to do was to go to the church in my white wedding dress. Up until that moment I was miserable. I didn't know if he would be good or bad, handsome or ugly. I just knew I was going to be taking his name. I poured out my life running behind him, giving life to his children, managing his household and living his life.

One day, I caught him cheating on me with a maid half my age. The next day, I found this ring on my dresser. He told me this ring was his mother's and her mother's before. He told me it was meant not for the woman he would love but for the woman who would tolerate his mistakes and forgive him. After that I understood something about him for the first time ever in all our marital life.

Men don't learn by us loving them, or by fighting with them. Men only learn by their mistakes. So stop worrying child or you'll be wrinkled like me before you know it. Now, let's go have dinner because I'm starving," she said and laughed wholeheartedly.

Mrs. Boone's words seemed to mend her broken heart, at least for the moment. She was right. At least I hope my father has finally learned now, she thought, before following the kindly old lady back to the dining room.

On the other side of the country, a young man was carefully shaving his face. Daniel used cool water to wash off all the dirt from the fields. A gas lamp was the only light in the room, giving a golden glow to the white walls. Daniel enjoyed the warm flicker of the firelight that came from the old gas lamp.

Daniel was a man who had worked in the countryside all his life. He knew how to find his way by using the stars and he loved reading under the dim light of the moon. He’d always dreamed of living in a house with big windows so the light could get in unobstructed.

In the silence of the night, he heard the baby crying from the other room. He took a deep breath and quickly got dressed. He must be hungry, he thought. He started searching the kitchen for the baby's bottle. The young man's face was still. His eyes were dark and empty. He stared out the window as he waited for the milk to heat up.

For some time now, he’d been thinking about the girl, Rose Hogan. He was still not sure if he made the right decision, even after giving it a lot of thought. He wondered what would happen if she couldn't take care of the