The Trouble With Twins: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By Doreen Milstead

Two Sisters From England Travel To Twin Cowboy Brothers With A Big Secret In Colorado - Two sisters from England travel to Colorado to become mail order brides to twin brothers. All goes well to start with, however, mysterious happenings around their home make them believe the brothers are hiding a huge secret, and it’s one they appear unable to talk about PLUS The Twin Sisters With A Secret - Twin sisters who have lost their parents, seek a way to support themselves, but the only way they can get their inheritance is to marry and stay married for three years. The catch is, they cannot tell their spouses about the arrangement PLUS Two Red Headed Sisters For The Colorado Brothers - Two women from Russia take the long journey to America and their soon to be husbands, not realizing that they could be stranded in Chicago. PLUS The Identical Twin Switch - A woman’s twin sister becomes widowed, so she arranges for her to go to Kansas with her, where she’s to be married to a mail ordered husband.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387305490

Book preview

The Trouble With Twins: Four Historical Romance Novellas

The Trouble With Twins: Four Historical Romance Novellas

By

Doreen Milstead

Copyright 2017 Susan Hart

Two Sisters From England Travel To Twin Cowboy Brothers With A Big Secret In Colorado

Synopsis: Two Sisters From England Travel To Twin Cowboy Brothers With A Big Secret In Colorado - Two sisters from England travel to Colorado to become mail order brides to twin brothers. All goes well to start with, however, mysterious happenings around their home make them believe the brothers are hiding a huge secret, and it’s one they appear unable to talk about.

Ada collapsed on her bed. She was exhausted. For two days she had argued with her parents. She had begged and pleaded for them to get out of England.

There’s nothing here for any of us. We need to just get out. Mom, you’ve even told me yourself about the opportunities over in America. Why would you tell me about this if you didn’t want to go?

Ada just stared at her mother wondering what she was going to say.

Finally, her mother confessed the reason she always told her daughters about the benefits of America. She dreamed of her children leaving England as quickly as possible and making better lives in America.

Ana closed her mouth having nothing else to say. She turned and walked into her room.

Adel entered the room moments later.

Why are you out there yelling at mom? Adel asked Ada softly.

Adel was three years younger than Ada’s twenty three years. Ada already knew what she wanted to do with her life. She just needed to convince Adel to come with her.

I didn’t mean to yell at her. I just wanted to get her attention. I thought if I reminded her of when she used to brag about how great America was, she’d remember and come with us, Ada said looking down sadly.

Why do you want to go to America so badly? her younger sister asked.

I just want to have the best life possible. I want both of us to have the absolute best life possible. Honestly, the only way we can have that kind of life is to be in America. I mean, she sat down on the edge of her hard twin bed, who would want to live in a place that can take children from homes of loving families as early as three, and make them work in factories between twelve and sixteen hours a day,  Ada asked Adel.

Adel agreed with her. Life in England was rough in 1888. They were lucky not to have been taken from their parents, but they had known other families that hadn’t been so lucky. Adel had refused to even so much as talk to a boy when she went to school. She didn’t want to fall in love and never be able to be with that man. She most certainly didn’t want to become pregnant and risk losing her baby and it being mistreated. 

That night, Esther, their mom’s childhood friend, came over. She brought them a little bit of food to share. While they were sitting around talking, Abigale told her friend of her daughter’s thoughts about leaving the country.

Well, how do you feel about this? Esther asked her friend.

Abigale looked at her two beautiful daughters and then back at her friend.

I want them to be happy no matter where they are and I want them to get the best jobs that are available to them, she said looking sad, knowing that meant she would be losing her daughters to America.

Before she left, Esther talked to Ada alone. She told her about something she did for some extra cash on the side. She found women who wanted to leave the country and have a better future, and she helped them get to America. She asked Ada and Adel if they were interested in doing this.

What would we have to do, Ada asked her, very interested.

"Well, the name sounds horrible, but I have to explain it to you. You’d become a mail order bride. Men will be able to choose you from the other women who apply. They will then send for you. They don’t pay you to come and marry them, like it sounds, but what they do is pay for you to come to America. It costs money to get passage on the ship and then the train fare when you get over there.

You aren’t required to marry the men, but some of them will say when they chose you that they want to marry you within a week of your arrival. If you chose those men, then you do need to hold up to your end of the bargain.

Esther looked at Ada carefully, gauging her reaction. She could almost feel the gears turning in her mind.

What are your thoughts, Ada, she asked the girl she had known since she was young.

She saw a look of pain cross Ada’s face. She didn’t want to tell any man she met about her past and what she had done. She was actually married before.

Her mother begged her not to marry until she was sure deep down she was ready, but when she was eighteen she ran away and married a boy from school who she was madly in love with.

Her father, the local shoemaker, was so against the boy he threatened to break them up forever. They went to a town far away, where the love of her life, Nathan, took some money he had saved up and got them a one bedroom flat. He went out and tirelessly looked for work and within a week, he actually found a decent job.

It was a dangerous job as a miner. He worked every day and she was so proud of him. The money was decent as well. Her mother was a seamstress and his father was a shoemaker, and they never had any money. Being able to buy things they needed and wanted made Ada feel amazing. She promised Adel when she turned eighteen in a few years she’d let her come and live with them instead of being stuck in the shack their parents lived in.

Only six months after her amazing blissful marriage, she got a visit from her husband’s boss and three of his coworkers. He was two hours late and his dinner was already cold. She was sitting at the table unable to eat her dinner as well, waiting for him. She knew when he took the job it was dangerous. The money was great, but it wasn’t worth worrying every day your husband would never come home. It was almost as if she was waiting for this day.

When she heard the horses stop in front of her home, she walked outside slowly. Somehow she knew those weren’t her Nathan’s horses.

We’re so sorry to come out here with this kind of news ma’am.

She covered her face with her hand and screamed into her palm. She had no control over the sound that came out of her mouth as the men approached her and confirmed what she already knew. One man caught her as her knees buckled underneath her body before she hit the ground. They helped her into the house, holding her tightly to make sure she didn’t fall.

Once inside she was led to a couch. She didn’t remember getting there, all she knew was a few hours later she woke up there. One of the men that came was a doctor and he had given her a sedative to help her relax.

When she awoke, the house was empty and it was dark outside. She got up and turned on a lantern to light up the area. She stood looking around. The food she had made was still set on the table as if she was expecting him to walk in at any moment. In a way, she was. As she put the food away, she looked over at the door every now and then expecting him to come busting through, full of smiles like always.

No matter what kind of day he had, he would always come home smiling and being happy. She loved his smile and wanted more than anything to see that smile once more. As she stood staring at the closed front door the truth settled over her. He was never coming back through that door to greet her. He was gone, forever.

Ada stayed a few more days in the house before she was able to get the nerve to gather the things she needed. Finally, she packed her belongings and left to head back to her mother and father’s house with her tail between her legs. She expected to be yelled at, told she was foolish, and get a lecture, but she was wrong.

She didn’t receive any of those things. In fact, she got quite the opposite. Her mom and dad hugged her and told her how much they missed her and how sorry they were she had lost him. They opened their home back up to her and told her she was welcome there for as long as she wanted to have a home.

This was when she really knew the true love of a mother and father. She was depressed and stayed in bed for a few days. As the days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, a couple of years passed and the pain she thought would never heal began to feel less and less painful.

As Adel’s eighteenth birthday approached, Ada thought about where they could go to begin their life, and that’s where the idea of America came from. Nobody talked about Ada’s past life with Nathan. They thought of it as a mistake she had learned from and allowed her to move forward, not dwell on her past.

There is only one problem. Her parents refused to go with them. Adel wanted to go wherever Ada went, but she was unhappy her parents refused to accompany them.

What if we get a really nice home there after we get married? We can get an extra home, just for you guys. You’ll never have to work again. All you’ll have to do is live and for once enjoy life. No more poverty, no more going hungry at night. Come on, why wouldn’t you take this opportunity, Ada begged her parents a few nights after she told Esther she and Adele would be mail order brides.

How are you going to offer something you don’t even have yet, her father asked her, looking up from the shoes that he’s working on.

Well, Adele and I are going to be mail order brides.

Her mother looked up from the shirt she was working on.

When did you decide you were going to be a mail order bride? Do you know the dangers in doing this? Are you doing the same thing Adele, her mother asked the two girls.

Adele simply looked out the dusty window in their shack.

Without getting an answer from either girl, her mother continued.

Who are you going through to sign up for this, she demanded.

Mom, please don’t worry about this. We are going to be safe. I just want to know if after we arrive in America and we get a home just for you and dad, if you’d come over and join us.

"Ada, our parents both were born here and died here. We were born here and we will die here. You two, we know you are better than this and you were born here, but you will decide where it is you will die. You have your whole lives ahead of you. We have already lived ours, and we are happy with this.

Please, you need to worry about the both of you, not us. We are fine. Always have been, and always will be, she explained to her two tearful daughters.

She spoke more for her husband, Abraham. She knew his health wouldn’t allow him to travel anywhere. He didn’t want the girls to know how sick he was and she respected his decision.

They waited for a few weeks before they saw Esther again. Ada wanted to go to her home a few times and ask if she had heard anything from overseas, but she forced herself to wait it out until Esther came to her. She didn’t want to seem desperate, even though she was. She was tired of being hungry and wanting things she couldn’t have.

She hated having her little sister wear the clothes that no longer fit her. These clothes no longer looked good on Ada and she hated seeing Adel wearing these clothes. She deserved to have new clothes for once and to look good.

Esther came back to the house about three weeks after she first offered the girls to become mail or brides. The girls anxiously waited for Esther while she visited with their parents.

After about an hour of them visiting, Esther asked the girls if they could talk. When they agreed, she told them she had put them in the paper and had received word back from men.

She had picked out the men who she felt would be best for them. The men were twins, named Isaac and Isaiah. They lived in Colorado and were both interested in each of the girls. The twins were twenty-five. Ada was twenty-three, and Adel was twenty. Isaac was interested in Ada and Isaiah was interested in Adel.

Esther had already received payment for the girls to come over to America and they wanted them to come over as soon as possible. Both girls were excited and they were anxious to hurry up and get packed for their trip. What they weren’t excited about, was telling their parents.

When they walked back inside, Abigale noticed their faces immediately.

What day are you leaving, she immediately asked.

Ada looked down sadly.

Tomorrow, she said simply.

Abigale and Abraham looked up at them.

For the rest of the night, they spent time together. Abigale made her favorite stew she knew both of the girls liked so much. They spoke of all of their good times together and the girls’ hopes and dreams for the future.

Tell me about these boys that are paying your way and what do they want from you in return, Abigale said bluntly to Ada.

She explained to her mother the men weren’t like many of the men who requested mail order brides.

Mother, many times they will say you have to marry them within a week of arriving, but these men are different. They want to get to know us and they have an extra guest house where we can stay, so it’s not like we have to stay in the same house as they are in, she explained.

Their father wasn’t sure and he told the girls if they ever needed anything, or needed to come home, their door was always open.

How long is this ship voyage? What state are you going to? Are you really okay taking this trip all by yourselves, Abigale worried.

Mom, don’t worry, we’re not alone. Remember, we’ve got each other, Ada insisted.

The girls finished packing that night. They both were told they could have two bags and they filled those bags up with as many of their belongings as they could. They couldn’t sleep that night, they were so excited.

The next day, Esther came over bright and early. The ship left at noon and she wanted to make sure both of the girls were ready.

"I’ll go