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Suddenly A Frontier Father
Lyn Cote
His Ready-made FamilyMason Chandler is home to meet his mail-order bride—six months too late! Little wonder Emma Jones wants to honor his letter releasing her from their agreement, especially when Mason has returned from his father’s deathbed with two adopted girls in tow. And the dark secret he’s hiding makes the homesteader feel unworthy to woo anyone.As Pepin, Wisconsin’s new schoolteacher, Emma can support herself without a husband. Yet she’s touched by Mason’s kindness to his half-sister and her orphaned companion. Taking the little girls under her wing comes naturally to Emma—and they dearly want her for their mama. Can Mason break free of his past to fight for their surprise family?Wilderness Brides: Finding love—and a fresh start—on the frontiers
His Ready-Made Family
Mason Chandler is home to meet his mail-order bride—six months too late! Little wonder Emma Jones wants to honor his letter releasing her from their agreement, especially when Mason has returned from his father’s deathbed with two adopted girls in tow. And the dark secret he’s hiding makes the homesteader feel unworthy to woo anyone.
As the new schoolteacher in Pepin, Wisconsin, Emma can support herself without a husband. Yet she’s touched by Mason’s kindness to his half sister and her orphaned companion. Taking the little girls under her wing comes naturally to Emma—and they dearly want her for their mama. Can Mason break free of his past to fight for their surprise family?
A USA TODAY bestselling author of over forty novels, LYN COTE lives in the north woods of Wisconsin with her husband in a lakeside cottage. She knits, loves cats (and dogs), likes to cook (and eat), never misses Wheel of Fortune and enjoys hearing from her readers. Email her at l.cote@juno.com. And drop by her website, www.lyncote.com (http://www.lyncote.com), to learn more about her books that feature “Strong Women, Brave Stories.”
Also By Lyn Cote (#ubdc00e85-5f05-5cbd-a5c9-2ca880e6a0a0)
Wilderness Brides
Their Frontier Family
The Baby Bequest
Heartland Courtship
Frontier Want Ad Bride
Suddenly a Frontier Father
The Gabriel Sisters
Her Captain’s Heart
Her Patchwork Family
Her Healing Ways
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Suddenly a Frontier Father
Lyn Cote
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08042-2
SUDDENLY A FRONTIER FATHER
© 2018 Lyn Cote
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
The day played through Emma’s mind.
Her shock at meeting Mason Chandler on Main Street, seeing his two little girls—the silent and troubled Charlotte, the bright and sweet Birdie—and hearing the unguarded words he’d said when he woke after falling from the roof. You’re so good. You could have been mine.
If only she was young and unmarked by war, she might have reacted differently. But for four years, she had prayed and hoped and kept up her spirits. Trusting that Jonathan, good-natured and honorable, would return whole and they would spend their life together. Instead he’d been buried in Virginia. She stopped her thoughts there.
She did not think of Jonathan often anymore. Mason Chandler returning and the words he’d said to her had brought it all back—all the pain, all the waiting. She would keep her distance from him. But then she remembered Mrs. Ashford’s remark about judgment and little Lily’s unusual reticence. Those girls, Charlotte and Birdie—how could she help them?
Dear Reader (#ubdc00e85-5f05-5cbd-a5c9-2ca880e6a0a0),
Well, my stories of the twin mail-order brides comes to an end, a happy one. Mason discovered that his father’s past sins were not his own and Emma learned that her heart had not died with her first love. And sweet little Birdie and Charlotte have a real family at last.
This is the fifth story set in Pepin, Wisconsin. I’ve enjoyed researching and writing about this town so rich in history, beginning with the birth there of Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you recall, Pepin was the setting for Little House in the Big Woods, the first of the Little House stories.
The romances of Sunny and Noah (Their Frontier Family), Ellen and Kurt (The Baby Bequest), Rachel and Brennan (Heartland Courtship), Judith and Asa (Frontier Want Ad Bride) and finally Emma and Mason (Suddenly a Frontier Father) have been delightful stories to write. I’ve enjoyed each one and hope you have, too.
If you’d like to keep up with my next book or check on older titles, drop by my website: www.lyncote.com (http://www.lyncote.com). I maintain a printable booklist there. Also you can sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss what I’ll be doing. Hope you’ll keep in touch.
Blessings,
Lyn Cote
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
—Romans 8:28
To my late mother, Catherine Jean Baker.
Contents
Cover (#u10376392-48df-56ea-a850-6e3c66d1feb5)
Back Cover Text (#u33615d5a-4549-5c09-8bf2-af54ed9ec462)
About the Author (#u58e9626d-aedd-55d3-8877-de45e800f4cb)
Booklist (#u81898f79-2de0-5038-850e-e668ec871778)
Title Page (#u0da9946b-56d1-5dc5-82b2-a6f7f2990ddc)
Copyright (#u4969b22a-4ff9-55e4-8d4a-abe7f79fa8d2)
Introduction (#u654d136a-61da-5e55-bf4a-56f8a1f9dc40)
Dear Reader (#u2b2082db-d94f-57ff-9066-c52d56631075)
Bible Verse (#u395853b8-6372-5a9f-b648-97638d2d5109)
Dedication (#u5cd487d5-486b-5cc4-b014-2a46b515011f)
Chapter One (#uaa71a08a-00ab-5aeb-a1b7-702e08e95be7)
Chapter Two (#u5dfa0990-a8cf-5aee-aa9b-215a5ca1ce28)
Chapter Three (#u731d7e9b-dac8-5334-9041-9cb8bf60c5cc)
Chapter Four (#u5ce465c1-17ac-5394-8626-9e253aaaf2c3)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ubdc00e85-5f05-5cbd-a5c9-2ca880e6a0a0)
Wisconsin Wilderness
Early September, 1873
Standing on the sunny riverboat deck, Mason Chandler was painfully aware of the intense curiosity of the other passengers. No doubt it did look odd for a man to be traveling with two little girls yet without a woman. Little Birdie stood on his right and Charlotte on his left in their new matching starched blue calico dresses. The tops of their bonneted heads barely reached his belt. If the girls had resembled each other or him, people might have merely assumed that he was a widowed father with two daughters.
Certainly, Charlotte with her light golden-brown hair and green eyes could pass for his child. But Birdie with skin the shade of dark chocolate could not. And of course, there was the other matter, Charlotte’s special problem, that set them apart.
People had stared at them ever since he’d boarded the boat in Illinois. He might as well get used to it. He had no doubt that some of his once-friendly neighbors here in Pepin, Wisconsin, would be shocked and then no doubt cool toward him. What about Miss Jones, the woman who’d answered his newspaper advertisement for a wife?
After corresponding with her for months, he’d proposed to her by letter earlier this year. But he’d been called away to his father’s deathbed and could not be in Pepin in March to marry her as they’d planned. Now it was September. He was six months too late. And his circumstances had changed so dramatically that he had sent her a letter months ago releasing her from their agreement. What else could an honorable man do?
He could only hope that he would have time to get settled in again before he finally met Miss Emma Jones. He hoped to be able to mend the situation. But it was a faint hope. So much had changed.
Well, this wasn’t the first time in his life he’d swum against the current. He placed one arm around each little girl. These two little ones were his now, and he wouldn’t let them down, no matter what.
The crew suddenly began calling to each other and hurrying around, casting the ropes ashore, jumping onto the pier. The steamboat slowed, glided on the sky-blue water and bumped against the dock. Mason picked up his satchel and the small valise that belonged to the girls. And soon they were walking onto the Wisconsin shore.
Though his life had changed, the town looked much the same as it had when he’d left in March. There was a blacksmith, Ashford’s General Store, and a few other stores on Main Street, along with a saloon at the end of town. Now, in early autumn, the street was dusty and the trees were still green, though scarlet edged a few high maple leaves. The blacksmith’s hammer on the anvil pounded clear in the afternoon air.
The little girls huddled close to him. He caught himself as he began to stride normally, and instead he shortened his steps. Before going to his cabin, he needed to buy a few necessary items at the general store but dreaded facing the inquisitive, talkative Mrs. Ashford. Why put it off, though? He led the little girls across the street and up the two steps to the store.
Plump and grandmotherly, Mrs. Ashford met him on the porch. “Mr. Chandler, you’re back.”
“Yes, ma’am. I need—”
“And who are these little girls?”
He was saved from replying when the woman looked over his shoulder and exclaimed, “Miss Jones! Here is your intended, Mason Chandler. He’s come home at last!”
Mason turned. His heart was thumping suddenly and his mouth dry. Miss Emma Jones, the woman he’d hoped to marry, halted just a few paces in front of him. He drank in her appearance. Tall but not too tall. A trim figure. Bright golden curls atop a face so lovely he thought he might be dreaming. Miss Emma Jones was a beauty. His hope of winning her favor bumped down another notch.
Mason shook himself mentally and, after setting down the baggage, descended the two steps again. He bowed politely. “Miss Jones, I’m happy to meet you face-to-face at long last.” An understatement.
“Mr. Chandler.” Her voice devoid of welcome, she offered her gloved hand.
He shook it and held it in both of his. Neither her words nor tone encouraged him. “I apologize again,” he said, forcing out the words, “for my not being here to meet you in March. I’m afraid I had little choice. Still, I wish things were different.”
“The arrangement you made for me to stay with the Ashfords worked out well. They made me very welcome.” She paused to smile at Mrs. Ashford. “I’m sorry about the loss of your father.” She withdrew her hand from his.
He felt his neck heat with embarrassment for holding her hand too long.
“I was just asking Mr. Chandler,” Mrs. Ashford interrupted, “who these little girls are.”
At this moment, Charlotte spoke to Birdie with her hands, as was her way. Birdie replied in kind.
“What’s that they are doing with their hands?” Mrs. Ashford asked.
Mason replied, “This is Charlotte, my little half-sister, and her friend Birdie. Charlotte cannot hear. They speak in sign language.”
“She’s deaf?” Mrs. Ashford’s voice fell. “Oh, the poor little thing. What a judgment.”
