Free Growing in Love with Her Mail-Order Husband by Mandy Wilson Page A

had seen to that. She’d continued living in the soddy, too exhausted at day’s end to contemplate the material that provided her shelter.   Although her little house provided relief and protection from the elements, there was not much room for extras, especially not another household of items.
    “After meeting me, are you still agreeable to a marriage?” he asked without hesitation. His eyes bore through hers , and she felt a connection she couldn’t explain, but she did admire his directness.
    “ Yes Matthew. I am in sore need of a man at the farm and fear I will lose the farm if I have to find someone new.” She saw his eyes flinch and realized how her words sounded. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean that how it came out.  Sometimes I speak, and the words just escape before I’ve thought them through.”
    “No harm done, Maggie. Neither of us are entering this marriage with grand illusions of love or romanc e.  You need help, and I have my reasons for wanting to be here.”
    “All the same, I do hope we can become friends,” she told him. Her heart would never love another man like she loved Aaron, but she would enjoy having a friend.
    The first trace of a smile graced his mouth. “Friends would be nice,” Matthew said. “When will the wedding be?” he asked.
    “After the noon meal.  I packed some biscuits with ham slices for us to eat.  There’s one restaurant in town but Adelaide Gentry, the proprietor, is back east visiting her daughter . Ever since her sister, Martha, took over the cooking, suffice it to say her patronage has gone down.” Maggie quickly stopped, realizing the unkind remark that had slipped out of her mouth. 
    The impression she must be making on Matthew. “I’m sorry. What I meant to say, is her cooking is just a different style than her sisters. A fine example of a Christian woman I am displaying for you,” she sighed and rambled.
    “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Maggie. I am certain you are a fine Christian woman.  And I appreciate you taking the time to pack us something to eat.  It will be a welcome relief after the food served on the train ride.” He took her hand and placed it on the arm he held out for her.

Becoming Acquainted
     
    “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” Genesis 2:18
     
    Matthew was pleased as could be with his new bride. There hadn’t been much joy or laughter in his life since losing his wife and daughter in the war ten years ago. At the time, he wanted to curse and turn his back on God.  Life wasn’t fair. He was the one who went off to war- fought in more battles than he cared to count and witnessed more bloodshed than any man ought to. But he survived while his beloved wife Anna and precious baby daughter Lillian were caught in the crossfire and killed.
    After nearly a decade the pain had rescinded to an ember, but he still felt the loss deeply.  When the war ended he went west, abandoning his faith in search of any answers to make sense of the void he felt.  Somewhere in the vast wilderness of America’s western frontier, he discovered that God was still with him and all the running in the world couldn’t escape that.
    He’d come to terms with his losses but still wasn’t ready to return east. His father had tracked him down in San Francisco and every few months would send a post, asking him to return and take over the family business. Each time, Matthew would politely decline.  God was not calling him to return east. So instead, he remained mining his small claim. Most of the gold had long since been taken, but he was able to extract enough to have a tidy sum in the bank.
    Finally at his father’s last request, Matthew knew it w as time to return to his home in Maryland, if just for a visit. In order to move forward once and for all, he had to return to the place he had lost the two most dear to him.  It was on that visit he saw Maggie’s advertisement.  The