The Cattleman's Bride: Brides of Birch Creek

By Laura D. Bastian

A widow without a penny to her name. A cattleman needing a woman's gentle ways.

Cora Hatch thought she could raise a family and grow old with her husband, but when she finds herself a young widow with nothing to her name, she answers an advertisement to become a cook, housekeeper, and farm help to a stranger out west. Now all she has to do is take a train across the country and marry a cattleman she's only communicated with through letters, though that sounds like a monumental feat.

Levi Finch is tired of hearing his father complain about his cooking and since the old man won't remarry, Levi decides it's up to him to find a woman to help out at the ranch. Placing an advertisement for someone to help them seems to be the only logical answer. When Cora, a widow from back east, responds to his advertisement, he's certain the woman can slip into the role that had been taken care of by his mother.

But when Cora arrives, sparks start to fly between him and his new wife. Will they be able to get past their plan to just be partners in life and not in love? Or will they spend the rest of their lives, longing for each other?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laura D. Bastian
• Release date: Mar 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9798223927464

Book preview

The Cattleman's Bride

Brides of Birch Creek

Book 4

A Golden Valley Story

By

Laura D. Bastian

***

Cora Hatch thought she could raise a family and grow old with her husband, but when she finds herself a young widow with nothing to her name, she answers an advertisement to become a cook, housekeeper, and farm help to a stranger out west. Now all she has to do is take a train across the country and marry a cattleman she’s only communicated with through letters, though that sounds like a monumental feat.

Levi Finch is tired of hearing his father complain about his cooking and since the old man won’t remarry, Levi decides it’s up to him to find a woman to help out at the ranch. Placing an advertisement for someone to help them seems to be the only logical answer. When Cora, a widow from back east, responds to his advertisement, he’s certain the woman can slip into the role that had been taken care of by his mother.

But when Cora arrives, sparks start to fly between him and his new wife. Will they be able to get past their plan to just be partners in life and not in love? Or will they spend the rest of their lives, longing for each other?

***

Copyright © 2020 by Laura D. Bastian.

All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author.

Cover Design by Lange House Press

Prologue

Cora looked one last time at what had been her home. The small carpet bag and one wooden trunk on the ground beside her was all she could keep. The rest of her belongings, as well as everything of her late husband’s had been sold in order to pay off the debts that had arisen from the failed attempt at farming. Matthew had done his best, but a series of problems had plagued them. First, an early frost the previous year had meant they’d lost a good portion of their crop, preventing them from selling much. Then, when they’d planted the new crop the following spring, heavy rains had flooded their fields and resulted in very little to sell.

Mathew had taken out a loan from the bank, but developed some lingering lung issues that had stripped him of his health until he was nothing but skin and bones. He’d tried to work the farm in order to have a harvest that would allow them to repay the bank, but had lost his fight with the illness and left Cora a widow at the age of twenty-one.

There was nothing remaining for Cora here, yet she had no idea where to go. Her parents were both gone, and Matthew’s family couldn’t help. His parents were struggling as it was with the children they still had at home. She couldn’t impose on them for long, though they had invited her to stay while she figured things out. Besides, the thought of being there and being reminded of what they had all lost didn’t sound appealing. She had to make her choice soon, but it just seemed like such a crazy thing to do.

Cora put her hands in her pocket and felt the folded piece of paper she’d been given, afraid to pull it out and read it again.

Yesterday, she had gone to the store to trade her last gathering of eggs before the new owners of her chickens had taken them to their place. Mr. Soren had asked how she was doing when she passed over the basket.

It had taken all her energy to answer that she was holding on and trying to do her best to find some place to go as soon as possible. He already knew that the Hatch family was struggling to make ends meet, so adding another mouth to feed was just going to give them more difficulty.

Mr. Soren had given Cora a look as if trying to determine her bravery and then had taken the newspaper sitting on the end of his counter and tore out a section.

Don’t know a lot about this, Mr. Soren had said, looking a little embarrassed. But maybe this could be an option for you. I have heard of young women doing this. And with the troubles we’ve had here lately, you could find a bit of a relief from some of your trials.

Cora had taken the torn paper from Mr. Soren and scanned it quickly at first, then her eyes had widened at what she read. Could he actually be serious about the suggestion of becoming a mail order bride.

She had been half tempted to give him back the paper, but had been too curious to know more about the kind of person that would be desperate enough to put in an advertisement of this sort.

She had taken it home and looked it over dozens of times as she cleaned her house one last time.

What had started out as an offensive and outrageous idea had turned into something she had begun to consider. And the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if it would be the solution to her problems.

Cora read the paper section once more.

Advertisement:

In search of a healthy, strong, and capable woman who knows farm work and animal care. Must know how to cook for farm hands. Must agree to marriage.

If interested, send a letter to Levi Finch for more information.

Cora knew farm life. She knew animals and could cook. She was fine with the idea of marriage. But would this Levi be a good man? Someone she could feel safe with? Cora had been blessed with a good man in Matthew and the loss of her husband had been more than she thought she could bear. While she didn’t plan to find a man to love the same way she had loved Matthew, she needed something in her life to work for. Some purpose that would keep her from becoming a burden to her in-laws.

Cora looked at the address for Levi Finch.

Birch Creek Idaho.

She had no idea how far away that actually was, but had heard a little of the progress of things in the west. With trains going across the country, she could reach the area in a few weeks.

She would write a letter and ask for more details. If she didn’t like the answers, she wouldn’t have to agree to go. There could be no harm in writing.

Chapter One

Levi would need to leave soon if he wanted to get to Birch Creek’s train station before she arrived. It had been more than a month since he’d first received a response from his advertisement. He’d almost given up hope that someone would answer it. When he’d first been told about the option of placing an advertisement for a wife, it had seemed almost unbelievable that a woman would choose to come marry a man she’d never met.

He had hoped he could find a good woman that would be happy at the idea of having a husband and an eventual family in exchange for helping him run his homestead. But he hadn’t actually expected to get a response, even with the results Michael Clark, the blacksmith in Birch Creek, had gotten.

Michael had been the first one to send for a bride. When he’d suggested it to Levi about eight months ago while he’d been in town for some ironwork, Levi hadn’t given it much merit.

But the more Levi’s father complained about the lack of upkeep at the house as well as the requirement to cook their own food, Levi had started thinking it might be good to hire a cook. Yet he’d have to pay for one, and right now, things were tight. Until they could get the herd fattened then transfered to Boise and sold, there would be nothing he could pay another person with.

Besides, since they lived twelve miles from Birch Creek, a cook or housekeeper would need to live there with them, and unless she was married to one of the farm hands, there was bound to be some issues arise.

So Levi had placed an advertisement for a mail order bride thinking it might be possible for himself, or even his father to convince some woman to move out west. Pa had flat-out refused to even consider remarrying. And when Levi had brought up the concept to his cow hands, none of his employees seemed willing to marry. William kept insisting he was too old and too ornery for such nonsense, Tucker had said he didn’t want to consider a wife until he had a home to bring her to, and Jake claimed he was still too young to be tied down to a wife. Besides, the two cowhands usually spent their time with the herd and no woman in her right mind would put up with that.

When he’d read Cora’s letter informing him that she was a widow, but would be able to do all things related to caring for his home and cooking as well as the animals on the farm, he’d been thrilled. Since she’d already been married, she wouldn’t have any issues with being married again. He wouldn’t have to teach her how to take care of a home or a farm. That would free Levi up to focus on the work of caring for his herd and making sure the fences and grazing land was monitored.

They had sent two letters each, explaining things and coming to an agreement before he had sent her a train ticket to bring her to Birch Creek. And now, the day had finally arrived.

Levi took the horse they used