Free Mail Order Bride: Bitter & Pregnant, An English Widow Heads Off to Her Cowboy Rancher In California (A Clean & Wholesome Historical Romance) by Doreen Milstead Page A

do it. You'd better be ready with a
fast boat for me."
    "We will be," said the boss.
    "Good," she said, and then she stormed off.
She had said all she needed to say and she also needed to
vomit.
     
     
    Half a world away, Joseph Clauson sat on his
fence and watched the animals milling about below. There were cows
and sheep, which was a controversial decision but one that had
proven quite lucrative. He knew this ranch would be his only
legacy, as an accident years before had left him unable to father a
child, but he still ached for something more. He had looked into
adoption, but having a child without a woman seemed wrong to
him.
    He had no options left and he got down off
the fence and walked back to his modest home. He had built it with
enough rooms for a family, but the family would never exist. He sat
down at a table and his head ranch-hand, a man named Jack, walked
in with the week's mail.
    "The usual, boss," said Jack, and he
left.
    Joseph shivered, since Jack had always struck
him as oddly dangerous, but he put those feelings aside and looked
through the mail. Despite Jack's claims, there was one thing that
was new. It was some sort of broadsheet, filled with names,
addresses, and descriptions of people who wanted to get married. He
was about to throw it away when a listing caught his eye.
    An old man was seeking a younger woman to
marry and subsequently, leave his fortune so that his brother
wouldn't be able to get it. If a man could do that in one of these,
Joseph reasoned, perhaps he could find a woman who needed a husband
and father for whatever reason. He found a pen and paper and
started writing, describing himself and his desires as truthfully
as possible.
    The next morning, he sent it off with Jack
and he hoped the man would get the mail to where it needed to be.
Once that task was done, he dressed for the day and went back to
watch his cattle and sheep and hoped for the best.
     
     
    Jeanne had gone over a hundred plans in the
days since her husband's memorial but she still couldn't figure out
how she could convince her husband's old boss, whose name was
Thackery, to pay for a trip to America. She couldn't decide if he
was being stingy or overly careful, but all of it could be undone
if she could only figure out a reason to go to America.
    The difficulty was compounded by the fact
that Jeanne was still feeling overly sick and there seemed to be
nothing to do about it. She had tried any number of medications and
treatments and was beginning to think that she may be cursed. The
only thing she hadn't really tried was going to a doctor, out of
fear for what the doctor may find, but then she realized that she
might be able to convince a doctor to tell Thackery that Jeanne
needed to go to America for her health. She was now in the waiting
room of Doctor James Donner and she walked back to his office when
called. She sat down on the examination table and kept her hands
folded primly in her lap.
    "Hello, Missus Harrow," said Doctor Donner.
"I was sorry to hear about your husband. He was a good man and he
helped me out more than once."
    "Perhaps you could help me," said Jeanne. "I
want to leave London and go to America and Mister Thackery has said
he'll help me, but only if I had a plan. I was thinking perhaps,
that you could write a prescription for me."
    "That would be unethical," said Doctor
Donner. "Now, I'm sure you have more of a reason to be here than
simple attempted skullduggery."
    "I do," said Jeanne, her ire raised. "I've
been sick for well over a month. I think it's the damp London
air."
    "If it is, then we'll see about getting you
moved," said Doctor Donner. "What are your symptoms?"
    "I feel very nauseous almost all of the
time," said Jeanne. "I've also been very tired and I've just wanted
the oddest meals."
    "All right," said Doctor Donner. "Any
tenderness?"
    "Now that you mention it, there is some
tenderness," said Jeanne, blushing. "You know, when I say it all,
it almost sounds as if... oh no."
    "Yes,