MAIL ORDER OLIVIA (Widows, Brides and Secret Babies Book 16) Read online

  Mail Order Olivia

  Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies

  Kathleen Lawless

  Copyright © 2020 Kathleen Lawless

  Mail Order Olivia is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All right reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author.

  Cover design by Black Widow Books

  ISBN 978-1-989873-00-7

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Dedicated to my family, who make me smile with pride every day.

  Chapter 1

  Robert Fulsom paced the train platform in Yuma, practicing what he would say to his mail-order bride when she arrived. Sorry for dragging her across the country didn’t seem adequate. He had to make sure she realized it was nothing to do with her—it was him. He simply wasn’t ready to take on a wife.

  Granted, he’d thought that after two years he was ready to move on. His ad for a wife, who was also a trained nurse to help him in his medical clinic, had seemed like a good idea after one too many whiskies on New Year’s Eve. Kill two birds with one stone and all that. But when he’d received a telegram from some woman named Olive, who didn’t bother to apply for the position but stated she was on her way to Yuma and would arrive in just over a week, common sense had come to the rescue.

  Impulsive action was not in his nature. He’d offer to pay the woman’s way back to Philadelphia, or wherever she wanted to go, along with a little something extra for her trouble.

  He glanced again at the telegram. Olive Brown. He had no idea what she looked like, but even her name sounded drab, poor thing. He’d heard many of these mail-order brides were either homely or plump, with no choice but to marry a stranger sight unseen, because they had no suitors back east. He had to tactfully ensure she didn’t think he was rejecting her because of her appearance.

  Olivia shifted in the cramped train seat and cradled her sleeping daughter to her chest, grateful for the respite after more than a week of trying to keep her entertained, when all the little bundle of energy wanted to do was crawl around and try to walk. Olivia expected Chloe, now thirteen months, would take her first step any day.

  Olivia stared out the window at the desert landscape, which was beautiful in its own way and vastly different from Philadelphia. Robert had never spoken much about his home town, and she had no idea the West was made up of so much wide open land. Yuma was the next stop. She shifted Chloe in her arms, anxious and excited and nervous all at the same time.

  She deliberately hadn’t used her real name in her telegram to Robert. At first, she’d been overjoyed to learn he wasn’t dead as she’d been told. Then doubt set in. Why had Robert not returned for her as promised? And why was his ad for a bride tucked into a coat pocket of her deceased husband?

  The man she knew and loved would have never taken the coward’s way out to be rid of her, and she wouldn’t rest until she learned what had happened from the time Robert left Philadelphia until now. Clearly, she no longer mattered to him if he was advertising for a wife!

  She tried not to think ill of the dead, but her husband, Harry, had done wrong by her on so many levels. Not only had he pawned her mother’s jewelry to feed his gambling habit, he’d left her in a terrible state with his creditors hounding her for payment. She’d put up with his moods and his temper in an attempt to compensate for the guilt she felt, knowing she would never love Harry the way she had loved Robert.

  The train’s whistle blew, waking Chloe, who fussed at having her nap disturbed.

  “We’re almost there, my poppet,” she said, as she straightened Chloe’s bonnet.

  Chloe responded by sticking her thumb in her mouth. As the train slowed to a stop, Olivia rose, settled her wiggly daughter on one hip and reached for her valise, which was light enough to lift with only one hand. Because she had left Philadelphia in a hurry, she had packed only the bare necessities for Chloe and herself.

  She waited as passengers jostled past her, impatient to disembark. No need to wonder if she would recognize Robert; she would know him anywhere. When she stepped from the train, she spotted him instantly on the far side of the platform, talking to a plump, dowdy-looking woman.

  Pushing aside her fears and uncertainty, she covered the ground between them and reached the pair in time to hear Robert say, “I’m really sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing, Miss Brown.”

  He pressed some bills into the other woman’s hand. “Here’s a little something for your troubles.”

  The woman fisted the money and rushed off, as if afraid he might change his mind. As Robert turned and started to walk away in the opposite direction, Olivia knew exactly what had happened. Robert had changed his mind. Again. The same way he had when her left her high and dry in Philadelphia, in a family way. That wouldn’t be happening a second time!

  “Robert! Her tone was more shrill than she intended, but it got his attention. As he turned toward her, a myriad of expressions crossed his face. Surprise and delight quickly faded to wariness. His steps were hesitant as he approached her.

  “Livie! What are you doing here?”

  Her heart sped up as she studied his dear, familiar face. As in Philadelphia, he was smartly dressed, his wavy dark hair brushed back from a distinguished, high forehead, his dark brown eyes keen, yet guarded.

  “Looking for you, obviously,” she said.

  His frown deepened. “I don’t understand!”

  “Neither do I.”

  Olivia was vaguely aware that the platform had emptied around them as they stood, gazes locked. Once, she thought she knew Robert, knew everything about him. Facing him today, he looked the same only different. More serious, less jovial than the Robert she remembered.

  For that matter, she had changed as well. Motherhood had changed many things in her life, besides the obvious. Her bosom was fuller now, and she doubted her waist would ever be as tiny as it was before Chloe, but the change was more than just the physical. She was responsible for the raising and wellbeing of another human being, one who was currently dependent on her for everything. And nothing mattered more than keeping Chloe safe.

  She and Robert continued to stare at each other. She knew he wasn’t comfortable with silence, and that he would speak before many more minutes passed.

  “You look well,” he said finally. “I see congratulations are in order. Where’s Harry?”

  “Harry died a few weeks ago. Stumbled blind drunk in front of a train.” She stated the facts with no more emotion than she had felt at the time. Other than relief that Harry was out of her life.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” His gaze darkened with emotion, which vanished as quickly as it appeared. “If you came to me for comfort, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

  “Nothing of the sort.” She had come to ensure she and Chloe remained safe.

  As if aware of her agitation, Chloe wiggled frantically in an effort to get down, and Olivia passed a startled Robert her valise.

  “Please take this. Which way to your clinic? I need to get her
changed and let her crawl around. That train was filthy.”

  “Livie, you can’t just waltz in here and—”

  “I am not having this discussion in public.”

  It wasn’t their first staring match, and Olivia doubted it would be their last.

  When Chloe let out a yowl, Robert sighed.

  “This way.” Clutching her valise, Robert turned and led the way through the train station and down the main street. But not before Olivia saw the pain he tried in vain to hide from her.

  They were both hurting!

  How had that happened? How had they lost each other?

  Olivia followed Robert to his clinic through streets that were bustling in the aftermath of the train’s arrival. Her heart beat so rapidly she could scarcely breathe as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside the tidy space.

  Robert watched Olivia change the baby on the clinic’s examination table. The little one’s chubby legs flailed in the air while she wriggled and giggled, making her mother’s task difficult, and creating a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d pictured this scene in his mind many times, only it was his youngster Livie was ministering to, not his friend Harry’s.

  After he left Philadelphia, he’d sent Olivia countless letters detailing the complexity of his father’s affairs, and his promise to send for her once he had things sorted out. He’d never received a single response. Clearly, once his back was turned, their bond had not been strong enough to withstand the charms of his former classmate.

  He doubted he would ever fully recover from the betrayal he’d felt when her cold letter arrived, asking him to please refrain from writing to her again, adding that she was happily married to Harry, and with child.

  With the baby cleaned up, Olivia set her onto the floor and moved to the sink to rinse out her soaker. Before he had time to blink, the little one flipped to her knees and made a beeline for a chair where she pulled herself to her feet. She looked around and flashed Robert a huge grin, revealing half a dozen baby teeth. Suddenly, she let go of the chair and took a wobbly step forward by herself.

  At the sink, Olivia dropped the diaper and moved to kneel in front of her daughter, arms extended in encouragement. Rather than take a second step, the baby landed on her well-padded bottom with a grunt of surprise.

  Olivia straightened, her expression a mix of wonderment and delight. “Did you see that, Robert? Chloe took her first step.”

  Robert felt as if a horse had kicked him in the gut. So much was wrong with this picture. Why did he feel as if nothing would ever be truly right again?

  “I’ll find out when the next train leaves for Philadelphia,” he said curtly.

  Olivia’s face lost all color. “I can’t go back there, Robert. There are men—Harry owed them money. They threatened to hurt me and Chloe if I don’t pay them.”

  His mouth tightened. So that’s why she was here. For money. He ought to have known. “I don’t see how that’s my problem.”

  She opened her mouth as if to refute his words, then seemed to change her mind.

  A strained silence stretched between them. When she spoke, her voice was tight with emotion. “I must say, I was surprised to find your advertisement for a bride tucked among Harry’s effects. I mean, after I received a telegram telling me you were dead.”

  “You what?”

  “From a man who identified himself as your father’s solicitor. I forget his name.”

  “Hicks?” Robert asked.

  “That sounds familiar. I expect he sent it at your behest.” She lifted her chin defiantly in that way he remembered well. The Olivia he knew had never been one to back down from a fight. “Having someone else do the deed must have been far easier than telling me you’d changed your mind and wouldn’t be coming back for me, after all.”

  Before he could deny having changed his mind, she continued.

  “I mean, clearly you change your mind all the time. I heard you today at the station, telling that other woman that you had changed your mind. Who was she by the way?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Whoever she was, she wasn’t Olive Brown, because that was the name I used in my telegram informing you I was on my way.”

  Robert did a double take. “You did what? To what end?”

  “To find out why you lied to me. Pretended to be dead.”

  “I did no such thing!”

  But he’d bet money his father had. Even from the grave, the old man was still spreading his evil. Before Robert went to Philadelphia, his father had shared his lofty plans for Robert to marry the daughter of a competing shipping magnate and merge their two businesses.

  “What was I to believe? You failed to return for me, the way you promised.”

  Olivia was right. He had promised to return, knowing the young woman he’d left behind was too timid to make the journey alone across country. Clearly, motherhood had changed her.

  Untangling his father’s affairs had been far more complicated than he expected, for his father had a second family that Robert had known nothing about. How many times had he wished Olivia had been by his side through it all. But his letters, his pleas for her to join him, went unanswered.

  “I wrote,” he said stiffly. “Innumerable times.”

  Just then the baby began to fuss. Olivia picked her up and made comforting crooning noises that Robert felt reverberate clear through him. Olivia shot Robert a glance. “She needs to be fed. Then we can get on with the ceremony.”

  “You can’t be serious!”

  “You’re the town doctor. You need a nurse. I’m qualified. Chloe needs a father. I hope, with a little practice, you’ll be qualified for that role.”

  Robert drew himself up stiffly. “I’ve changed my mind about wanting a wife.”

  Olivia shot him a determined look. “It needn’t be a proper marriage. But Chloe and I both need your protection.”

  Chapter 2

  The ceremony was short and bittersweet. How many times in the past had Olivia envisioned this scenario—her becoming Mrs. Robert Fulsom? Never, in her wildest imaginings had it been like this, with the minister’s wife holding their squirming daughter off to one side, and the look in Robert’s eyes as he said “I do,” anything but loving.

  Her heart swelled with emotion. In spite of herself, she loved him more today than the first time she’d laid eyes on him, at a patient’s bedside in the hospital where they both worked.

  Unlike many of the doctors, Robert had a wonderful, reassuring manner toward the elderly woman in his care, taking the time to answer her questions and allay her fears. He also treated Olivia with courtesy and respect, and appeared to value her opinions on patient care.

  She knew what would happen if she told Robert that Chloe was his, and the last thing she wanted was for him to pretend to love her, to make their marriage work for the sake of their daughter. She wanted the exact thing she had once believed to be hers; Robert’s complete, devoted love and affection. Now was not the time to reveal how, believing Robert dead, she’d married Harry to give Chloe a last name. Or the type of husband Harry had been.

  Her vision blurred with sudden tears as she added her signature below Robert’s on the marriage documents, and reclaimed Chloe from the minister’s wife. Twice now, she’d gotten married for the sake of her daughter. At least this time she loved the man. If only her feelings were returned.

  She gazed at Robert’s profile as he paid the clergyman, noticing fine lines at the corners of his eyes that hadn’t been there in Philadelphia. A jaded and weary pull to his lips suggested life had not given him much lately to smile about.

  She knew he and his father had not seen eye-to-eye, and that his father had opposed his decision to become a physician, insisting his son join him in the shipping industry.

  “Do you live in your father’s old house?” she asked as she followed him outside.

  “No,” he said shortly. “I have my own residence next door to the clinic. I was using the second bedroom
for my office. I’ll clear it out for you and the child.”

  He was intending separate rooms, was he? A name-only marriage? That was fine with her.

  “Her name is Chloe,” Olivia said.

  Robert acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

  “There’s a furniture maker in town. I’ll commission one of those special chairs for the baby, as well as a small bed. For now, she’ll have to sleep with you.”

  His home was compact, yet efficiently laid out and impeccably kept, the furniture of good quality. She knew his family had been well-to-do, and that he’d grown up in one of the fanciest two houses on the edge of town, next door to his uncle, aunt and cousins.

  Robert showed her to the second bedroom, where she fed and changed Chloe and settled her for a nap, placing the little one near the wall and tucking pillows around the edge so she didn’t fall out. Exhausted from their travel, Chloe was asleep before she even left the room.

  She found Robert in the kitchen where delicious smells wafted from the oven, and her stomach rumbled in an unladylike fashion. It had been a long time since she had eaten a decent meal.

  Robert heard it and sent her a caring look that reminded her of the Robert of old. “The housekeeper comes in daily to look after things and cook the meals. Since you’ll be helping me in the clinic, I’ll add child care to her list of duties.”

  “I—” Olivia bit her lip. “I was hoping I could perhaps take Chloe to work with me. At least some of the time, until she gets used to her new home. I started to wean her, but with the train trip it was easier to keep nursing.”

  Robert gave a curt nod, and Olivia mentally berated herself. No man wanted to hear about the feeding of little ones. She stood awkwardly in the center of the kitchen as he dished up two plates, then carried them to the dining room where the table was set for two.