Free Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) by Kirsten Osbourne

I lived in Massachusetts, I had four roommates, and we all worked together in a big factory. Gabrielle was one of those roommates. She thought that life was too hard, and you should find happiness wherever you could, which was why she always said that life was short, and you should eat dessert first!"
    Jakob shook his head at her. "And you approved of this?"
    Bobbie shrugged. "I don't know if I'd say I approved, but I do like my sweets. Who doesn't?"
    Konrad smiled at that. "If you like sweets, you should make more. Pies and cakes and cookies. We love all sweets."
    "I'll keep that in mind," she said. She pulled out the jar of lemonade she'd packed, pouring some into each of the four glasses. "I wish you could meet my friends."
    Jakob watched her face, seeing the tinge of sadness there. "Tell us about your roommates from Massachusetts."
    "Well, I've already mentioned Gabrielle," she said, thrilled he cared enough to want to know anything about her previous life. "There was also Poppy. She was kind, but she came from a difficult background as well. I loved her dearly. She's moved back home with her parents for now. And then the last roommate was Sarah, and she has been my best friend since we started school together. It was through her and her family that I came to know God."
    "Your parents didn't go to church?" Jakob asked, surprised.
    "Oh, they went to church every Sunday. They sat in a pew in the front of the church and stared at the preacher as if every word he said was important to them. When I was ten my father decided he wanted to marry another woman, so he made my mother and I leave, and he divorced mama. We had nowhere to go, and Mama had no skills to support us. She had to take in laundry and do for others, so that we had a roof over our heads and something to eat."
    Jakob blinked a couple of times. He'd never heard of a man doing that to his family. "Why?"
    She shrugged. "He decided he was in love with someone else. I have three younger half brothers, and I've never met any of them. I only know because of rumors around town. My mother remarried a few years ago, and I moved out and lived with my friends. We didn't get paid enough for any of us to have our own place to live, and it was safer to live with friends anyway. We liked it." Sometimes it had been crowded with four of them in a two bedroom apartment, but they'd loved being together.
    "I'm glad you had friends you could live with. That sounds like it was a difficult time in your life."
    Bobbie shook her head. "No, please don't think that. My time with my friends was a wonderful time. One of my friends taught me to cook. They all taught me how to really love and care for others, which was something my parents weren't very skilled at. I learned to be independent. We all learned that if you don't work, you don't eat. I will never forget those years and will always look back at them fondly."
    "A woman should live with her parents until she marries," Jakob protested.
    "Not when she has no choice. Not when her parents aren't worth living with, like some of my friends. And what if her parents die when she's still unmarried like happened with my friend Sarah?"
    "I suppose that's possible." He shook his head. "I still don't like it. If I'd had a daughter, I would make sure that she stayed with me until she married."
    Lukas looked at Bobbie. "You should have a baby so we can have a sister. We've never had a sister before."
    Bobbie blushed, looking down at her hands. "I don't think that's going to happen, but a daughter would be nice. I love to sew, and I'm quite skilled at it. I'd love to sew with a daughter."
    " Vater , you and Frog- mutter should have more babies. I would like to have a sister."
    Jakob looked at Bobbie oddly. "I don't think that will happen, son."
    "But why? You're married now. Married people have babies."
    "Not us." Jakob put his plate on the quilt and walked away, his mind on other things. He was beginning to think that a real marriage was a good idea,