Christmas Bride: Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Tribilane, #5

By MaryAnn Burnett

Jenna Cunningham left everything she knew and travelled all the way across the country for the dream of a loving family of her own. After four days sleeping upright on a hard train seat, she was not prepared for the scenes that played out upon her arrival.

Matthew Hendix would do anything for his little daughter, Charlotte, including marry again. But the woman who stepped off the train shocked him.

It had been over two years since Matthew Hendrix had buried his wife.  How could he go through with a marriage to someone who looked just like her?

Enjoy this Holiday Mail Order Bride Short from the wonderful frontier town of Tribilane, Nebraska.

Mail Order Brides of TRibilane Series

Short 01 Double Wedding - Annie and George

Short 02 Telegraph Bride - Elizabeth and William

Short 03 Sheriff's Bride - Suzanna and Caleb

Short 04 Lawyer Bride - Caroline and Justin

Short 05 Christmas Bride – Jenna and Matthew

Short 06 Blacksmith’s Bride - Etta and Karl

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I've always been interested in women's contribution to history. It's often overlooked or downplayed in history books.
There was a period of time after the US Civil War that had more women than men on the East Coast and more men than women on the frontier. With this series of stories, I wanted to share the courage and bravery of the women who packed up and went west to start new lives by marrying men they had never met.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spanielhill Publishing
• Release date: Dec 4, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519934109

Book preview

CHRISTMAS BRIDE

Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Tribilane #5

A Holiday Romance

MaryAnn Burnett

Spanielhill Publishing

Walkertown, NC

—-o0o—-

Jenna Cunningham left everything she knew and travelled all the way across the country for the dream of a loving family of her own. After four days sleeping upright on a hard train seat, she was not prepared for the scenes that played out upon her arrival.

Matthew Hendix would do anything for his little daughter, Charlotte, including marry again. But the woman who stepped off the train shocked him.

It had been over two years since Matthew Hendrix had buried his wife.  How could he go through with a marriage to someone who looked just like her?

Enjoy this Holiday Mail Order Bride Short from the wonderful frontier town of Tribilane, Nebraska.

Some of the ladies you will meet in the frontier town of Tribilane have their own Mail Order Bride romances. They can be found in –

Mail Order Brides of TRibilane Series

Short 01 Double Wedding - Annie and George

Short 02 Telegraph Bride - Elizabeth and William

Short 03 Sheriff's Bride - Suzanna and Caleb

Short 04 Lawyer Bride - Caroline and Justin

Short 05 Christmas Bride – Jenna and Matthew

Short 06 Blacksmith’s Bride - Etta and Karl

To hear about new releases,

sign up for announcements at the mailing list on –

http://www.MaryAnnBurnett.com

—-o0o—-

Arriving on the Train

Jenna Cunningham again looked over her shoulder but no one was looking at her. She was being jumpy. She’d never been so alone before. Leaving everything and everyone she knew for the hope of a family of her own, what had she been thinking?

Turning back to the front, Jenna pulled her carpetbag closer, wrapping her arms around it. She bit her lower lip as she swayed on the bench seat in time to the rocking of the train.

It had seemed like a good idea when she’d answered Matthew Hendrix’s advertisement about a mail order bride especially since he was a widower with a small daughter. It had even felt like a fun adventure when she got on the train. Matthew had sent her a ticket for a sleeper cabin. Jenna thought that was an extravagance and had changed it for a third-class seat. It was more sensible to have money in her pocket, or so her adventurous self of four days ago thought.

But after several days on the train sleeping upright on the bench with her bag wedged as a pillow against the swaying wall, now she wasn’t so sure. And with exhaustion, she’d begun to doubt this whole idea.

The forward door of the rail car opened. Walking the length of the aisle, the conductor shouted the words that brought her journey to an end ... or a beginning, depending on how she looked at it.

Tribilane, next. Next stop, Tribilane.

Jenna tried to take a deep breath but it stuck in her throat. Could she really marry a man she didn’t know? Someone she’d only exchanged a few brief letters with? Jenna wasn’t sure and the long train ride hadn’t provided her with any answers. But she did look forward to meeting the small daughter she was about to have. The little girl had been the reason she’d agreed to the marriage. Though she had been a little older when she was orphaned, the idea that she could help another child through what she had gone through... that was the thought that drove her forward.

In the days it had taken to travel from Lowell, Massachusetts to Tribilane Nebraska, Jenna had read the letters from her fiance several times. She’d gotten a good glimpse of what her daughter-to-be was like but very little of her future husband. Jenna just hoped that she wasn’t making a mistake.

—-o0o—-

Kneeling on the floor, Matthew Hendrix tried his best to make an even braid out of his three-year-old daughter’s hair. But the dark tresses kept slipping out of his hands as the little girl squirmed.