MC BIKER ROMANCE: Bad Boy Romance: BETRAYED: (New Adult Motorcycle Club Navy SEAL Romance) (Contemporary Military Romance Thriller) (70 page)

“I was wondering…” she began. Daniel lowered his paper.

“Yes?” he prompted her when she didn’t continue.

“I was wondering if I could have some money. For shopping.” The words came out in a rush. Daniel looked at her strangely and she braced herself for him to tell her no.

“Is that all?” he said. “You had me worried there for a second. Of course. Take whatever you need.”

Naomi blinked.

“Thank you,” she said, relieved.

She took as much money as she thought she could get away with and wired it to Matthew and Faith. She sent them a letter saying that she would make a wire transfer each week. She only hoped that she had sent them the money in time.

Conflicting emotions raged inside her as she made her way back to the house on the beach. She was glad that she had finally found a way to help Faith. But guilt gnawed at her relentlessly. It worsened as Daniel smiled at her when she walked through the door.

“Didn’t find what you needed?” he asked her.

“Hmm?”

“I thought you went shopping,” he said. “Could you not find what you needed?”

“Oh. I…no, couldn’t find it.”

“That’s ok,” he said. “Maybe next time. I’ll come with you next time and show you around. Granted, I probably don’t know the town much better than you do. But maybe I can help you find what you were looking for.”

“That would be nice,” Naomi said, forcing a smile.

She was afraid for a moment that he would ask her to give the money back, since she hadn’t bought anything with it. But he didn’t mention it.

*****

Over the next several months Naomi continued to make weekly “shopping trips”, but she was careful to always buy something before returning. Her guilt had become almost too great to bear. But she couldn’t stop. Letters from Matthew assured her that Faith was now getting stronger, and might even make a full recovery. She didn’t dare stop.

One week, when she returned home, Daniel was waiting for her with a bouquet of wildflowers. Her heart almost couldn’t stand it.

“Here,” he said, offering her the flowers. He seemed, for all the world, more like a hopeful school boy than her husband.

She couldn’t force herself to take them. She didn’t deserve them. He lowered them awkwardly after a moment.

“Will you walk with me?” he asked after a moment.

Naomi nodded wordlessly, setting down the bundle that she had brought back from town. She followed Daniel and fell into step beside him as he walked along the beach.  After a moment, he reached down and took her hand, keeping his eyes straight ahead as they walked together.

Naomi fought down the lump in her throat and tears stung her eyes. Why couldn’t he have been someone cruel, someone that she couldn’t have grown to love? And she did love him, she realized. She loved him and she would not lie to him anymore.

“Stop,” she said, pulling her hand from his. “Stop. I can’t do this anymore. Daniel, I have to tell you the truth. I came here to marry you for your money. I didn’t know what else to do. My sister – I have a sister back home, and a brother – my sister, she was sick. She was dying. I worked as hard as I could, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t get enough money for her treatments. I was desperate. I’ve been taking money from you and sending it to them every week. I’m so sorry. I know it doesn’t change what I did or make it ok, but I’m so, so sorry.”

Daniel hung his head and closed his eyes.

“I know,” he said hoarsely. “I saw the letters.”

Naomi was speechless.

“I know now that you didn’t come here for a marriage,” Daniel continued.  “And I know now that you probably never considered loving me to be a possibility, I just… I don’t know. I guess I hoped that I could change your mind.”

He pressed the flowers into her hand. She stood in stunned silence as she watched him walk away. When she found her voice again she called after him.

“Daniel! Daniel, wait!”

He stopped and turned to face her.

“You did change my mind,” she said to him. “A long time ago.”

“Do you mean that?” he asked.

“I do,” she said. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“I do,” he said with a smile.

Naomi caught up to him and laced her fingers through his and they walked up the hill to the house together.

Anna’s Calling

Chapter 1

Anna could not believe this was happening again! How could God let this happen to her? Wasn’t once enough? As she stared into her new husband’s face, willing him to wake from unconsciousness even as he burned up from fever, she felt his faint heartbeat and saw the increasingly shallow rise and fall of his chest.
“Oh, God!” she cried out silently, "Please... please do not take Matthew from me...” She laid her head on his chest and sobbed uncontrollably; suddenly all her fears and reservations about coming West were being fulfilled. She heard her Aunt Jolene’s criticism from over four months earlier when Anna decided to leave Boston to answer a call for a mail order bride. She remembered it so clearly.

Chapter 2

Aunt Jolene had taken Anna in when Anna’s young husband Jake was lost at sea. He had been Anna’s whole world, the only relation besides her aunt, but he had loved her and understood her so much better than anyone ever could. Jake had helped Anna finish her schooling, which had been hard with her uncanny ability to switch letters and numbers into a completely incomprehensible mess of symbols.
Every time through her early teens, when Anna was ready to quit going back to the city school on the outskirts of Boston, it was Jake who had pushed her and helped her work through all the assignments. He had been so proud when she was able to graduate with him. She had felt so loved that day, even more so when he presented her with a tiny silver band as he asked her to marry him before he started his new job on one of the big fishing fleets that fished up and down the eastern coastline. It never crossed her mind that the boy who grew into a man, a friend who had become her husband, would leave only three days after their wedding and never come home to her.
When his ship was lost at sea, Anna felt like her world had come to an end. It was only her faith that God was still with her, even in the saddest time of her life, that kept her going. She tried to maintain the small upstairs room she shared with Jake with her little income from tailoring clothes and occasionally helping the midwife, but after a month, her landlady told her she needed the room for a young family who could pay the whole rent. So Anna was forced to move back to Aunt Jolene’s home.
It did not take Anna long to realize she could not stay there. Aunt Jolene meant well, but she was domineering and always thought she knew what was best for Anna. In most cases, Aunt Jolene and Jake had completely different opinions on Anna’s limitations. Aunt Jolene always thought Anna would never finish school and would end up doing nothing more with her life than being barefoot and pregnant. Now that Jake was gone, Aunt Jolene was convinced Anna had no prospects. However, Anna could not shake the whisper in her heart that sounded so much like Jake, telling her to leave Boston, to dare to believe in a new life.
That was how she stumbled upon the newspaper ad requesting the services of a young woman to move west as a bride for a rancher. The ad had not said much, but it had caught Anna’s attention. She knew she needed to respond, and while she doubted she would ever love anyone after loving Jake, she knew that as a widow her chance of marrying was minimal, and unless she embraced a life as a spinster, her choices were severely limited. So she’d had her friend, Rosie, help her write a reply to the anonymous rancher, explaining that she was a widow, but she was a great cook, was able to manage a household, and was eager for a new life. Anna and Rosie prayed over the telegram before letting the clerk send it. It was the longest two days of Anna’s life waiting for the reply. She had not told her Aunt Jolene yet, but her aunt could see something was bothering Anna and continually interrogated her. When the telegram came late the second day, Aunt Jolene stood imperiously overseeing Anna as she stared hard at the telegram, some words clear to her, others needing her intense focus to make sense of. Finally, not asking her aunt for help, Anna asked the messenger to confirm what she thought it said: “Excellent. Exactly the type of help I need. Ticket purchased. One way. Leaves June 3. Will meet you in Denver. Matthew.”
Anna had quickly directed the messenger what to reply in return. When the messenger had left, Anna had turned to see her Aunt scowling at her in distaste.
“So you have sold yourself to some stranger. Is that really what you think your God would want? Your precious God who took your precious Jake?” Aunt Jolene threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and stormed into the kitchen.
Anna remained by the door and stared at the slip of paper in her hand, suddenly terrified even as excitement started to build in stark contrast to her fears.
“Oh, Lord, your will be done,” she whispered.
Three days later, Anna left Rosie and Aunt Jolene while she took a train to St. Louis, and from there a stagecoach to Denver. The trip ended up taking five weeks, the stage portion being much longer than anticipated due to broken spokes, collapsing horses, and even the threat of an Indian ambush, which had actually been nothing more than a stand-off until the Indians lost interest in the stage and moved on.

Chapter 3

Matthew’s breathing stopped for a split second, causing Anna to sit up sharply. She placed her hands on both sides of Matthew’s face as she leaned close and pleaded with him, not knowing if he could hear her.
“Please don’t leave me, Matthew. Please don’t abandon me out here. Whatever shall I do?” The tears threatened to fall again, but as Matthew started breathing shallowly but steadily again, Anna heaved a huge sigh of relief. She glanced around the room. This was the bedroom they were supposed to share as husband and wife. Matthew had been so proud to show her the room, she remembered, and she thought back to their first awkward meeting.

Chapter 4

When the stagecoach had stopped in front of the saloon and inn in Denver, Anna stepped onto the loose dirt and shielded her eyes in the bright sun. She was not yet acclimated to the higher climate, so she felt strangely lightheaded. The bustle all around her as men helped unload the stage made her self-conscious. She took her single carpetbag from the hands of the coach and moved to the safety of the covered porch in front of the inn.
As she stood there taking in the rugged western town, noting the differences between Denver and Boston, she also looked nervously around her trying to determine who Matthew might be. She saw the older man with white hair and hands turned into claws with rheumatism. Surely that was not him. She turned her attention to the tall skinny man with the long greasy hair and oil-stained slicker. She quickly looked away when he noticed her gaze. “Please, not him...”
Then her attention was pulled to the tall man standing at the end walkway. He was leaning against a post with his hat pulled low. He had a knife out and was whittling away at a block of wood. He pushed back his straw cowboy hat showing his entire face, which was clean-shaven and chiseled. There was a slight smirk to his lips. He was wearing a dark plaid shirt and brown pants tucked into thick leather boots. A gun was holstered on his hip, and she knew just by looking that he knew well how to use it. Everything about the man spoke of confidence and determination. As she observed him, she startled when he met her gaze. Piercing blue eyes peered at her from his darkly tanned face. He flashed her a smile, showing off beautiful white teeth. He put his little block of wood and his knife in the satchel that was looped across his body. When she realized he was walking toward her, she almost lost her nerve.
“Anna Fairchild?” he asked.
Anna stammered in embarrassment as thoughts of how incredibly handsome this man in front of her was. He was breathtaking, and she found it hard to form an intelligent response, so she simply nodded in affirmation.
“Splendid!” replied the man who Anna estimated to be at least ten years older than she was. She stared into his face, embarrassed that she could not rip her gaze away, but also in awe. Surely this man was not the one who put in the ad for a mail order bride? Surely, this man could have had his pick of any woman in the entire West if he so chose. The question hung in her mind: if a man who looked like this and had charm and confidence oozing off him in spades had to put in an ad like that, what was wrong with him that no woman in the local area would have him? She could not contemplate the thought, though, as the man reached out to shake her hand:
“So pleased to meet you, Mrs. Fairchild. I am Matthew Johnson, but you can, or course, just call me Matthew.” After they shook hands, Matthew looked around, settling his gaze on the bag that Anna was gripping tightly. “Do you have any other luggage?”
Anna finally found her voice.
“No,” she said as she glanced at her worn carpet bag, "this is all I own.”
Matthew reached for the bag and relieved Anna of its weight. “That is not a problem at all. Once you are settled, I can get you some fabric for new dresses or whatever else you need, but my sister will be able to lend you anything else you need to be comfortable until we can make up a list.”
Anna perked up at the mention of a sister.
“Sister?”
Matthew laughed, "Yes. I know we have a lot to learn of one another, and I can assure I look forward to learning of you and sharing my life with you, but there is plenty of time for all that. First, we have some business to attend to if you are not too tired from your trip.”
Anna felt a strange comfort emanating from the tall man and, even though they were complete strangers, she was relieved that they already felt at ease with one another. She was certain that at the very least, she and Matthew would be friends. “I am not tired at all,” she replied. “Just the opposite, really. Now that I am here, I am wide awake and excited to see this place that I will be calling home.”
Matthew smiled down at Anna and nodded in the direction of the far side of town. “Well, then, if you have no objections, my sister, Beth, and our pastor, Joe, have set up a small ceremony for us.”
Anna stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh! We are to be married right away? Today?”
Matthew stopped and gazed down at Anna, seeing the surprise in her face, and a flicker of fear?
“Well, I guess I didn’t think you would need time to prepare, but you see, we live almost a day’s ride from town, so I thought it would be more convenient to say our vows and then we can be on our way to your new home. But if that is not acceptable, we can certainly stay in town for a day or so. I am sure Pastor Joe would understand.”
Anna felt near to panic. Jake’s face clear in her mind’s eye, his gentle voice, his even gentler touch, their too-recent wedding night was branded in her mind. He had not even been dead three months! She chided herself silently. What was she expecting? She knew and accepted becoming remarried when she got on the train. She should have had plenty of time to mentally prepare for this. Really it made no difference if they married right then and there, or the next day, or a week from that day. She was convinced that no matter how charming and attractive Matthew was right then, once he learned of her problems, the best she would ever be able to hope for was his friendship.
She lifted her green eyes and, taking a deep breath to still her nerves, she smiled at Matthew. “I am okay. I was just surprised. I guess I was just envisioning this process a little differently, but I would much rather see my new home than stay here in town if this is not where we live.”
Matthew gently took Anna’s arm and led her down the dirt street. The two walked in silence, but both were aware of each other, as well as the stares and the small group of people following them along. Once the couple reached the steps of the small, white church, Anna glanced at Matthew with clear question in her eyes about the people behind them. He winked at her, leaning down and whispering, "Apparently, my putting in an ad for a bride from the East was not a popular decision among my fellow neighbors. The fact that I got a reply within a week of posting it really piqued the curiosity of many of them. They merely want to see you.”
Nervous about the attention, Anna merely nodded her head. Matthew nodded in return and the couple went into the church.
That evening, after several hours of riding in another wagon, Anna, Matthew, and Beth finally reached the edge of Matthew’s ranch. It was nestled in the most beautiful valley Anna had ever seen. She looked from the slopes on one side of the valley to the other, and took in the green meadows, the tall forests on the slopes, the numerous cattle and horses standing here and there minding their own business. Her eye was drawn to the homestead itself. The house was a rough-cut cabin, two stories high and whitewashed. There was a covered porch that extended along the front of the house and tall windows both downstairs and upstairs. Next to the house was a plain wood barn with its double doors propped open and a few men leading horses into the barn for the night. Just to the back of the barn were two smaller cabin-type homes complete with the same tall windows and covered front porches. Anna took it all in, while Matthew remained silent. Beth, who had taken an immediate liking to Anna because they were about the same age, leaned forward and whispered to her, "Isn't it the most beautiful place you have ever seen?”
Anna met Beth’s eyes, which were clear blue just like her brother’s and nodded with a huge smile on her lips. However, as beautiful as the scene before her was, Anna also realized this was her new home, with her new husband, and tonight was the first night of their marriage. A knot of nervousness sat in her belly, and her hands turned to ice. She glanced at Matthew out of the corner of her eye. He sat so straight and tall and, in the hours of riding together, sharing small talk, or simply riding in silence, she had plenty of time to reconsider her opinion of him. But still after all those hours bumping along, she had no indication of anything beyond his intense physical attractiveness and his overflowing charm. She compared him to Jake and thought to herself that Jake would have liked Matthew, but Jake was hers, forever and always, and she had been his. How was she supposed to forget Jake to make room for this man?
By the time Matthew pulled the wagon up in front of the house and one of his hired hands helped them all down, Anna was so nervous she was afraid she would be sick in front of Beth and Matthew. Beth immediately saw Anna’s discomfort. She led Anna into the house and motioned for Matthew to stay behind. Matthew caught his sister’s cue and took a seat on one of the benches he built for the front porch. Wondering what the women would discuss in his absence, he pondered his new wife.
He knew she was a widow, but he had not realized she was his sister’s age. He knew she wanted a new start, but he had no idea that she would appear to be so frail. He sensed a tough side to her, but physically she was weak. He found her to be rather pretty. He compared her to Beth. His sister was a little taller than Anna, was tanned and strong with the same blond hair and blue eyes he had. Anna on the other hand was pale and petite with strawberry-blond hair and deep green eyes. Dark freckles dotted her nose and her small mouth seemed to express her feelings for her before she knew how to.
He had immediately felt protective of her when he saw her get off the stage, and he felt a certain amount of instant liking pass between them, but he wondered, would she ever love him? Would he love her? He knew his deceased father would scoff at thoughts like these. According to his father, Matthew should have married when he was seventeen, and any gal would have sufficed, for the only reason a man should have a wife was to bear children and keep house. Matthew had disagreed with that mentality as a teen, and still did. When both his mother and father passed away just after Matthew turned eighteen, he and Beth made do as best as they could, but finding a woman to marry according to his own standards or even his father’s just did not matter to Matthew. It was only in the past six months, as Beth started being courted by men around the countryside, that Matthew realized she would not be with him forever, and he did need someone to share his life with besides his hired hands. When he had mentioned putting in an ad, even Beth was skeptical, but they both prayed over it before they wrote it out, and then finally Matthew worked up the nerve to drive into Denver to post it. That had been almost six weeks ago. He certainly did not know what to expect, but from the telegram he received, he had envisioned Anna to be at least his age if not older. He could not imagine someone so young to be already widowed. The thought made him sad for her.
He bowed his head there on the porch. "Lord, you answered my prayers for a new bride. Please help me care for her, protect her, and learn to love her as you would love her. Please allow me, Beth, and this place to become the home she needs where she can find peace, happiness, and love. Amen.”
As he finished his prayer, Beth came out onto the porch.
“You might want to show her y’all’s room, but Matt, there is something you need to know. Anna just lost her husband three months ago.”
Matthew’s eyebrows shot up in question and concern. “What?”
Beth nodded, “And it is even sadder than that. The young man was lost at sea a mere week after they were married. They had only spent three days as a married couple before he went to sea.” Overcome with empathy, Beth stared up at her older brother with tears pooling in her eyes. “Anna is determined to start a new life, but she is too scared to admit just how scared she is.”
“Scared?” whispered Matthew.
Beth nodded. "I am not sure of what, but I can see it in her face.”
Matthew hugged his sister. “Thank you for telling me. Is she okay right now?”
Beth said, "Yes. I don’t know if she is just that strong, or if she is fighting to hold it in, but she seems okay. I left her in the kitchen with a cup of tea. I am going to check on the Williams family and their new baby. Y’all don’t wait up for me.” Beth winked at her brother and strolled around the yard to the cabins behind the barn.
Matthew watched the dusk grow into night before he went into the house, his mind working and his own heart racing. He was not his father, thankfully, but the way his father treated his mother and sister was all he knew. He wanted to treat Anna with kindness and understanding, but was not sure how to do that. As he entered the kitchen, he found Anna staring into her teacup, the candlelight flickering and catching the red highlights in her hair.
Clearing his throat, he drew her from her thoughts. “It has been a long day.”
Anna nodded and rose to her feet. She offered him a small smile. “Yes, it has.”
Matthew extended his hand to Anna, “Shall we?”
Anna hesitated for just a moment before resolutely putting her hand in Matthews. She looked into his face and realized that, no matter what she feared, she did not have to fear him.
Once the couple entered the bedroom, Anna looked around. It was a beautiful room with a four-poster bed covered with a beautifully detailed quilt. Opposite the bed was a tall armoire with a mirror on the door, and a lantern lit on top. On either side of the bed were simple tables, each with a small oil lamp, but the one closest to the door had a worn, leather Bible, and a pair of spectacles. Anna’s carpetbag was resting on the single chair in the room, and with a sinking heart, she realized she had not even a nightgown. She was in the habit of sleeping in her shift.
Matthew moved to the side of the bed and pulled the covers back. He turned to Anna as he started unbuttoning his own shirt. As he removed it, he noted her discomfort. Laying his shirt on the end of the bed, he stood in front of his new bride. He gently lifted her face so he could look her in the eye.
“Anna, Beth told me about Jake. I am not going to make you do anything you are not ready to do. This is our room. That is our bed. But I will not come to it until you invite me to it. Do you understand?”