Mail Order Brides of Salt Lake City (A Western Romance Book)

By Faye Sonja

Three inspirational stories of women who risked everything for love and traveled thousands of miles to the western frontier.

Part 1: ADA's Secret – A Tale of The Big Beautiful Bride

Ada Bartholomew is put down for her larger body shape. When her father unknowingly strikes a deal with an unscrupulous, married politician and Ada is in danger. This older man frequents the brothel and has admired Ada for a while. When she ends up in his clutches, Ada needs to escape.

So . . . Ada begins her new life as the Mail Order Bride to a stranger. He may turn her away because she is bigger and he is a very small man.

Part 2: ANNA's Desire – A Tale of The Blemish Bride

Anna Bartholomew's face is badly blemished by a large birthmark. Now becoming a Mail Order Bride, she is not only a wife but a mother of three too. However, there's one thing she's not expecting – LOVE. She will never hope for love, NEVER – due to ONE reason- Her blemished face.

Having no expectation to her marriage relationship can never be the worst thing that happened to her life!

What is more shocking to Anna than a marriage without love?

Part 3: EMMA's Burden – A Tale of The Scarred Bride

Emma Bartholomew NEVER ever wants to return to jail again.Conned and used by the man she loved, Emma lies in court and goes to prison for prostitution, a crime she's never committed.

So, she follows her two sisters' footsteps and becomes a mail-order-bride. Full of hope and determination, Emma goes to the town only to find the man she was supposed to marry has married another before she's even arrived!

What will she do?

3 parts of heartwarming mail order brides tales of love, romance, and triumph over adversity in one book.

Love on the western frontier was a rare treasure. Follow these inspirational women who risked everything to travel to the untamed West in the hopes of finding love and starting a new family.

If you're a fan of clean western romance, you will love this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faye Sonja
• Release date: Feb 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393054580

Faye Sonja

Faye Sonja is a multi-voiced writer who aspires to use different voices in telling her stories, seeing characters coming alive through the multi-faceted writing styles give her great satisfaction. As a young girl, Faye Sonja has been fascinated with stories of the Old West, especially the theme of Mail Order Bride where a woman will find the courage to leave her homeland, take the plunge to seek out the love of her life out there in the unknown land. Such an act requires bravery, such an act requires faith. It takes a woman with strong Christian faith to step out on such a pursuit for her love. It is Faye's desire that readers will once again have the courage to believe in love again from reading her books, to be inspired through the characters in her story who through perseverance, in the face of obstacles, overcame the hurdles using that simple faith and belief of theirs. 

Book preview

PART 1

ADA’s Secret – A Tale of The Big Beautiful Bride

1

*   *   *

1872, North-West California

Ada looked again at the photo of Mr. Bobby Grant, the man she had travelled to marry. He was a small man, but next to her he’d look completely tiny.

But Ada had no choice. She had to try as this was the fastest way she could get away from Salt Lake City, before they came for her...The coach stopped and Ada took a deep breath. Just smile and act jolly. Try not to cry if he’s horrified.

The second Ada Bartholomew’s short leather boots hit the dusty gravel of the main street in the small city of Brookstown, California, she prayed her past would stay behind her and that this was far enough away from Utah for trouble not to catch up. She wiped her palms on her handkerchief and dabbed at her brow.

A new life. A fresh start. She prayed the man who – according to Miss Kitty at the Travelling Hearts Mail Order Bride Company in Salt Lake City – had been waiting two years for a bride would be here to see if anyone turned up off the coach today.

She adjusted the scarf around her neck. He’d sent it to Miss Kitty, for his future bride to wear for identification as he hadn’t the desire to write back and forth. If she didn’t want to stay once she’d met him, she was simply to hand the scarf to him and leave again. But she couldn’t leave because she had nowhere else to go. Ada was desperate.

In one day her stable family life had fallen to pieces. Her father told her and her sisters to leave, as he was getting a new wife. He said she and Anna had come from the pauper house, the same as Emma. Then he’d sent them to those awful lodgings.

She picked up her one bag once the driver handed it down from the top of the stage coach. This town wasn’t tiny in the least by the looks of it, but the railway hadn’t quite gotten here yet, so the last half-day’s travel was in the bumpy coach. She looked around and couldn’t see anyone fitting the man’s picture.

For certain she’d know him if he was here. Ada thought again about the sight they’d make together with her being such a generous dress size and height.

She turned the photo over again and read the back, then turned it back and studied him. Bobby Grant looked extremely thin, and his round glasses made his wiry features more prominent. He was listed on the paperwork as being shorter than her also. Her heart pounded in fear; he might think her unattractive and send her home again. That would be a disaster.

Leaving her home and her sisters was very nerve-wracking. Ada had to set a good example and be brave. She just hoped her sister, Anna, and foster sister, Emma, would be alright without her. They’d never spent a night apart since Emma came to live in their home as a newborn babe. Ada had been five and loved the new baby as much as she loved her two year old sister. She’d taken care of them both right from the start and kept them safe.

But everything had changed now and Ada had to separate from them. It was the only way.

Ada looked around some more, and the stagecoach pulled away behind the small station house. No one was here looking for her, that much was clear. Her heart sank a little at the stupidity of it all. He’d probably gotten here a hundred times on a Friday and been disappointed, and had given up hope. She was such an idiot thinking it would be this easy.

Still, she couldn’t think like that. Miss Kitty was very adamant about it and she wouldn’t send her on a wild goose chase halfway across the country. Her business depended on positive endings. Presumably he lived here in Brookstown, so she could find him. Surely he’d have let Miss Kitty know if he’d married already.

Unless it was recent...Well, it was no use thinking the worst and hanging around out here wondering; she’d best get into the station office and ask. Logically speaking, if he’d been coming here every Friday for two years, then he’d be known, even if only in gossip circles.

Being the subject of cruel gossip was something she could relate to. Ada swallowed her nervousness and tried not to think about how ridiculous and stupid she’d feel asking about someone they had never heard of or, worse still, never existed.

She’d be laughed at behind her back again and made to look desperate. She was no stranger to jibes and nasty comments about her size but it still hurt her feelings. Ada wondered how people could be so cruel and judge a person’s character on their appearance that way. She wasn’t dirty or smelly, and her clothes were well-sewn and always the highest caliber of material.

She was sure to wear the latest in fashion, and she was always prompt and polite. Ada kept a bubbly and helpful personality because she refused to show the shallow people who thought her to be lazy and greedy, or pregnant and unwed, that she was anything of the sort. She certainly wasn’t going to starve herself to get their approval.

Inside the station, the lady behind the desk looked over the top of her spectacles and her high bun of grey hair looked cemented in place. May I help you?

Ada gave her a broad smile. I hope so. My name is Ada, and I’m here to meet with a Mr. Bobby Grant. I know this town is large, but I wondered if you knew him. According to my information he’s been coming here quite a while hoping for a wife... Ada slid his picture across the counter and the lady looked at it, but she was already nodding her head.

Oh, Praise be to God. I simply can’t believe it. He’d just rushed in this morning in a fine lather and asked if any lady should arrive today, to ask them to wait. I was about to come out when I saw you coming in. She had her hand on her heart and a smile that reached her eyes.

By the look of the way they crinkled around the outside, she smiled a lot. "Ada...I’m June and I’m so pleased to meet you. I have prayed every night for so long that someone would get off that coach and meet Bobby and stay." She held out her hand and Ada took it and squeezed.

You have no idea how often I thought this was somehow a great big joke.

Dear girl, he’s never once said he believed anyone would come and stay; in fact, Bobby told me many times that no woman would. But he’s turned up every Friday for two years, so hope must live in his heart somewhere.

Ada smiled and nodded. It’s quite an unusual situation but more than suited me as I wanted to start a new chapter in my life as soon as possible. Then she fell silent; she didn’t want to say too much in case anyone ever came asking.

One day, when she knew she could trust him, she would tell Bobby the story, and hope he believed her.

June stood up. Please take a seat over there and I’ll get you a cup of coffee. If you’d like one?

I’d love one. How long will Mr. Grant be, did he say?

He said by five. An important meeting with the Marshal. That’s my husband. They’re firm friends, you know. Bobby’s an upstanding man with the law, the city prosecutor and highly respected. He has a sharp mind and is good with numbers, so Marshal Blake calls on Bobby often to help out with his administration. You two must come to supper once you’re settled and I must stop gossiping. June smiled at Ada again.

Ada swallowed her nervousness back down and pasted a smile on her face. If it works out, I’d love to come to supper. Thank you.

He’s a little quiet and broody. But I did see him smile once, so I know he’s got it in him. Just needs a good enough reason... June beamed another huge smile at Ada and went out back.

The nerves made Ada feel quite light-headed; she could only pray that Salt Lake City’s long arm of the law wasn’t long enough to reach any of the lawmen in these parts, Marshal and prosecutor included. Perhaps it would be best to hand him his scarf and leave again, go elsewhere and look for an answer. It had all seemed so obvious in the heat of things yesterday morning.

It was, after all, self-defense, but the only witness she had was her foster sister, Emma, who’d been to jail already for something she never did. Ada had never held out much hope of anyone taking Emma’s word for it being self-defense. Emma was frantic that they get away because going back to jail for her was worse than anything else.

For God-fearing, honest women, they really were in a pickle. Emma then urged them to do what she’d apparently been doing for a few months now after seeing the ads on a noticeboard where she worked. She’d been writing a gentleman with a view to marriage.

So Ada became a mail order bride to get away from Salt Lake City, to be on the safe side. Ada left the very next morning and the other two would be secretly housed by Miss Kitty for a fee, which Ada had paid.

Ada never actually thought she’d killed the awful man who tried to drug her. But she never hung around to find out because Emma, who’d just walked in just as Ada had pushed him, was in a panic.

They left right away before anyone saw them in that place with a politician who was known around the city to frequent prostitutes. Ada had seen him in the bakery ogling her and it made her skin crawl. She couldn’t believe the man she’d thought was her father all these years would set her up with a man like that. But she supposed the power of being a public figure had swayed his judgement.

Here you are, dear. My, you look worried. Is everything alright? I guess it’s a scary time in a young woman’s life. But give Bobby some time and he’ll make a fine husband.

I do hope he likes me. I know he’s been waiting a long time, and he may not be overly fussy...but it would be nice to at least get along and be friends.

You’ll never find anyone as loyal as Bobby. What he lacks in the physical he makes up for in the mind. He’s as fierce as a warrior in the courtroom, he just needs some confidence in other areas. I hope you come to know the good inside Bobby before you judge the outside. June spoke quietly and placed Ada’s coffee down.

I’m in no position to judge anyone from outward appearances, June. I can assure you I’ve wished the same of people many times regarding myself.

I think you’ll get along just fine in Brookstown. As long as folk here know they can trust you, they’ll take good care of you.

Of course. Ada sipped her coffee.

Did you want sugar or cream? I never asked.

This is fine, thank you. Lovely.

I’ll get you another as soon as you’re ready. Just an hour to go. Here, read the local newspaper. That’ll help you get to know what’s about.

Ada took the paper and read the first page. Not a lot of the information sank in but she was grateful for the distraction. Her thoughts still ran wild, and now she was concerned she’d let down everyone and not just Bobby Grant, if he chose to marry her.

The sooner they could do that and get her last name changed, the better. This was the right choice, the only choice. But in her heart she wished for an amicable marriage at the very least.

It would indeed be lovely to have someone to care for, someone to share the joys of life with. Ada didn’t mind hard work and she was accomplished in the home as a cook, and with sewing. She hoped she brought cheer to a man who may need some joy in his life.

After finding out her parents weren’t her real parents, Ada prayed for some joyous times herself as well. Change was to be embraced, but knowing that and doing it was two different things.

The door opened and Ada looked up. It was him. There was no doubt from the picture she had, even though she couldn’t see his face, she knew by his narrow shoulders and hips. Her heart beat faster and faster.

What if he didn’t like that...that she...that she was twice the build of him? What if he thought that she made him look even smaller? What if he wanted a wisp of a woman with a tinkle of a laugh?

Ada watched him rush to the counter and he spoke so quietly she couldn’t make out his words from ten feet away. When June smiled at him and nodded, then she looked over at Ada and back to him, he didn’t move a muscle. In fact, she thought he must’ve been frozen solid. She saw his shoulders rise and fall, but not as low as they had been.

Ada took a deep breath and wished her pulse wasn’t so loud in her ears. No wonder she couldn’t hear him speak. Slowly, she stood up; may as well see what he was getting. She brushed down her bronze-colored skirts and waited. Please let him like me. Please don’t let me make a fool of myself. She saw his slim body brace and he turned.

He had quite large brown eyes behind his rounded glass frames. He looked every bit as scared as she felt and her heart missed a beat. He still never moved forward; his expression didn’t change one bit. He was going to send her away. Tears welled in her eyes. Oh dear.

*   *   *

2

*   *   *

Bobby couldn’t smile. I should smile, yes, yes, I should. I can’t. Can’t believe it. This lovely young woman, here for me. It must be a mistake. Must be. He just stood there looking at the vision in a bronze dress before him, his anxious disposition taking over for the moment. If he’d been the dashing, confident man she no doubt hoped he was, or even a sliver of a gentleman, he’d have greeted her by now.

Do something. Say something. Move...Is she going to cry? She’s going to cry. She’s so disappointed. Another lady back on the stagecoach tomorrow like the first one had, and this young lady here was the best one yet. A vision of loveliness. He’d had a total of five ladies arrive in the past two years. None that captured him like this one.

But he didn’t seem to get along with any of the others even if he managed a conversation. Now he hoped he could get all of his scarves at all the mail order bride companies back for good. But if he didn’t move or speak to welcome her, she might leave as well.

He took a step forward and then forced another and another one. She gave a tiny lift at the corners of her mouth and blinked her tears away. Mr. Grant...I’m Ada Bartholomew. I’m here to be your wife. If you’ll have me. Her hand reached out toward him.

Bobby felt the constriction start in his chest. No! Not now. Don’t you dare have one of your attacks now. His heartbeat was in his throat and the sweat prickled his forehead.

You fool. Say something. Do something other than throw a fit.

Then she stepped up to him and placed a calming hand on his arm. It’s okay. I feel just like that inside, too. Sit, have coffee with me. Once we’re over the initial shock, then we can talk.

He moved to the seat. Thank. You. His voice didn’t sound gallant, or manly at all. He barely squeaked. But he had spoken and he knew without a doubt, right there and then, that he loved Ada Bartholomew with everything inside him.

June came over with more coffee. Pay no mind to me, you young-uns. I’ve bookwork to settle out back. Take your time. She gave Bobby a smile and a nod.

He relaxed a little and sipped his coffee. A few deep breaths and he believed he could speak in a normal manner. Ada. I’m stunned you’re here. I’m very pleased. I do hope you’ll stay. Bobby knew the words rushed out, but he didn’t want to stop and mess it up.

I’m certain I will. I’ve been looking at the newspaper and the town seems very vibrant.

Bobby looked down and his face was quite hot. But he wanted to be brave. He looked back into her striking, sapphire blue eyes. Only a shadow in comparison to you, Ada.

Oh...Bobby. Her face was a delightful pink and Bobby feared he’d made himself blush deeper than her, but for this one time, he didn’t care in the least.

I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you. I always keep my Friday afternoons free. Just in case...

I guess you won’t have to do that anymore.

Bobby finally let a small smile happen. It felt wonderful. What shall I do with all my free time? He thought some humor might help, if she got his humor. Most just saw him as more quirky than before.

Perhaps you can take your wife to dinner on Fridays now.

Perhaps, I can.

You’re very dedicated to wait that long.

I don’t think that’s what the whispers behind my back said. Bobby wasn’t a positive person by nature, but he always held faith in his heart that the Lord would send her when the time was right.

Well, we’ve proved them wrong.

Indeed we have. Forgive me mentioning it so soon, but I like to be organized. How long of an engagement would you prefer?

I was hoping we’d be wed right away.

Bobby stared at her. She seemed serious. He thought she’d need some time to get to know him, to reconcile the fact that he wasn’t so attractive. So four weeks? Six?

What about Sunday?

Bobby swallowed. "This Sunday...two days?"

Ada nodded and looked down at the table. I hope you don’t find that too forward. But I’ve had a week of travel to consider it, and I don’t see what waiting will achieve. But if you’d rather wait...

No. No, not at all. I’m happy, honored to be wed to you Sunday. I’ll speak to Reverend Baxter. He’s pulled together fast weddings before.

Wonderful. I’m sure June would be happy to help.

One request. If I might be so bold... Bobby had one thing that was very important to him about his wedding day.

Yes?

I’d like for Marshal and Mrs. Blake to be our witnesses. They’ve been very good to me.

I’d like that very much, Bobby. June has been so lovely and I can tell she’s genuinely happy for you.

They couldn’t have children and I think they see me like a son. I know they’re my closest friends in the world. I’ve no secrets from them. You’ll be fine to do the same. Bobby watched her face darken with a frown.

Perhaps he was a little too enthusiastic in telling her who her friends should be. I’m sorry. Normally, I can’t utter a word to a beautiful lady. Now I can’t seem to stop babbling. It’s very disconcerting.