Mail Order Bride Kathleen (Montana Destiny Brides, Book 2)

By Amelia Rose

Sweet Clean Historical Cowboy Romance.
When Kathleen gets the chance to become the wife of a stranger, a homesteader in a new world called Montana, she must decide if leaving Ireland for America will give her the escape she desperately needs, or will it only throw her into even more danger?
Amidst all the mayhem can Joss and Kathleen find love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gold Crown
• Release date: Apr 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311941879

Amelia Rose

Amelia Rose holds a PhD in Literature and Language; she specializes in teaching positive, self-reliant principles to children and adults of all ages.  Dr. Rose lives with her husband and three children in the Hudson Valley, New York area, where she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family and friends.   Matthew Maley is an artist with nearly twenty-five years in the fields of Illustration and Design. His work has appeared in publications such as Archie Comics, Marvel, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Children’s Television Workshop. He lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, daughter, and a variety of animals.

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AMELIA ROSE

Mail Order Bride Kathleen

Montana Destiny Brides: Book 2

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2015 by Amelia Rose.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To YOU, The reader.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you for your emails.

Thank you for your reviews.

Thank you for reading and joining me on this road.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

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Chapter One

Are you sure you’re all right, miss? the old deck hand asked. Kathleen looked back at him from her place at the ship’s rail, tears still pouring down her cheeks, and nodded. She knew she wasn’t fooling anyone, but she also knew she’d best learn to put on a brave face. Her future was not only sending her careening into the unknown; it was wholly out of her hands.

There now, you’ll see. ‘Tis not so bad in America! I’ve been many times my own self. I do love to come home and see the green hills of Ireland looking back at me from across the waves, but America is a land of adventure and fortune! Your family wouldn’t be sending you so far off on your own if it weren’t to make your way in the world. They’re only thinking of what’s best for you, dear!

The old man tottered off down the deck, pushing his mop ahead of him as he went. Kathleen stared after him for a second before her vision blurred with a fresh wave of tears. He didn’t know the whole story, but then again, she wasn’t too sure of it herself.

Dry your tears, Kathleen Grady, she told herself firmly. You can do this. You have no other choice.

The wind that blew in off the sea was bitterly cold, but she stayed out on the deck as long as she could stand it. The air in steerage was putrid, what with the hordes of different people all trying to reach America. The smell of vomit from the passengers who’d never touched a rolling wave before was unbearable, and the smell of death wasn’t far behind.

She curled up on a crate and leaned her back against the wall of the wheelhouse, then pulled her knees close to her body so that her long skirt hung over the toes of her thin leather boots. She’d put on several of her skirts and both petticoats for this very purpose, not daring to leave anything of warmth or value in her compartment, what with so many strangers milling about the galley ways.

What are you doin’ out here all by yourself, then? a young sailor asked, eyeing Kathleen where she sat. You’ll catch your death of cold out here, you know. ‘Course, you’d always be welcome in my bunk; I’d see to it that you stayed warm!

Go on with you, I don’t have to listen to this! she hissed, not meeting his eye so wouldn’t have to see his leering face. She rubbed her hands together fiercely to try to bring some feeling back into her numb fingers. I’m a paying passenger, not a work-aboard!

Oh, well! Forgive me then, he said sarcastically, putting his hands up. I had no idea we were in the presence of royalty! Tell me, how much do they charge for a third-class ticket these days?

Shut your mouth and go on, or else I’ll report you to the captain! she said, finally looking up at him. Her blue eyes, normally the color of light steel, burned intensely from the shame of his suggestion.

Ha! That’s a good one. For your information, you might want to steer clear of the captain for the rest of the voyage. He’d welcome you in his bunk then not even let you stay to ward off the chill!

The sailor laughed at his own assessment of the captain, then kept on walking down the length of the deck. As if to punctuate her misery, his absence meant he was no longer blocking the wind in front of her. An icy blast stung her face and froze her tears where they fell.

‘Tis only because I’m traveling alone. He’d never have dared talk to me thus if Rowan had been with me, God rest his soul, she thought morosely. At that moment, she looked up to the deck rail where she’d been standing earlier and a new thought suddenly worked its way into her mind. If she jumped overboard, it couldn’t take too long before the sea would claim her. And then I could be with Rowan…

Kathleen shook her head to clear the awful thought from her mind. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought that she might be better off dead, but she was determined to survive. If for no other reason than this: to prove to Finn that she wasn’t an idiot, to prove that she was capable and strong… and deserving of love.

She knew these kinds of thoughts were toxic and she struggled to shrug them off. Kathleen contented herself by reaching into the pocket of her skirt and retrieving the letter, the lone correspondence that had become so important to her, important enough to turn her back on everything she knew and head to America.

"Dear Miss Grady,

It sounds to me as though you’d make the perfect wife for a frontier gentleman such as myself. I don’t have much to offer you in the way of wealth and worldly goods, but if you’ll but say you’ll marry me, all that I do have and work for will be yours.

I’m a hard-working man with a homestead claim of my own, set to be paid in full within a year’s time. Not many men can say those words after only being in the territory a short time as I’ve been. I’m a Christian man, and therefore I don’t take to drinking, so there’s no need to fear that I’ll ever raise my hand or my voice to you.

There’s some only seeking a wife to cook their meals and give them children, but I must say, I’m after a wife who can be my full partner in my farm and provide companionship in those stray hours when the work day is done. If you’ll have me, you’ll be half owner of more than four hundred acres of Montana farm land, with a hundred head of cattle already on the place, as well as enough horses to ride with the herd.

Please let me know your answer, as well as when I can expect your arrival.

Respectfully yours,

Joss McIntyre"

She held fast to the worn pages as the wind tried to rip them from her grasp. She carefully folded them back along their creases, smoothing them tenderly before tucking them away once again in her pocket. The two letters she’d managed to keep had become precious to her, as the others that Joss had taken such care to send across an entire ocean had ended up in Finn’s angry hands. He’d read them aloud, scoffing as he did so, before tearing them to shreds and tossing them in the fire.

But this one, the one that formally offered a proposal of marriage, she’d managed to save by having a schoolgirl friend watch for the post. And Kathleen was grateful that she did. If not for this man, this Mr. McIntyre, and his offer of comfort, security, and companionship, she knew she’d be doomed to a life of wretched scorn and bitter loneliness. Marriage to a stranger certainly had never been her intention, but now it was something she wanted more than air itself.

Chapter Two

The ocean crossing had been difficult, with the cold air burning its way to her bones and the waves tossing the ship about like a discarded news post caught in a draft. She’d prayed often for the familiar feeling of solid land beneath her feet, but once the ship mercifully docked in America, Kathleen’s land crossing troubles began. The final leg of an arduous journey proved to be the most unsettling.

Kathleen boarded the train in New York after spending a fretful few hours in the city. It would have been her preference to get her bearings and wait a day or so to decide upon her next step, but with the constant flurry of activity and the throngs of people crowding the harbor as they fought to get off their ships, she felt a sense of urgency about her journey. She found the address of the marriage agency who’d put her in contact with Joss and walked the sixty blocks to the office where a small bell tinkled overhead when she pushed open the door.

My name is Kathleen Grady, I’ve signed on to marry a homesteader. I’d like to book passage to Montana now, she told the young lady working behind the counter.

Are all of your documents in order? the woman asked without looking up.

I do naw know, I’m not aware of any documents.

You’ll need to complete these papers, she answered scornfully. You can read and write, can you not?

Aye, I can, she answered, a flush of embarrassment creeping over her. What must she look like if the woman had to wonder? I can both read and write, in English and Irish! she thought hotly, but decided it might

Reviews for Mail Order Bride Kathleen (Montana Destiny Brides, Book 2)

[vickie lovelady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was one of your best thank you for the enjoyment of being able to read the laughter the sadness the adventure of this book.