A Miracle for Christmas Read online

  A Miracle for Christmas

  Spinster Mail-Order Brides Book 15

  By

  Patricia PacJac Carroll

  A Lonely Spinster ~ A Mystery Groom ~ An Orphan.

  All wait for their miracle in Lone Oak, Texas.

  Kate Mulvaney is twenty-seven, a spinster schoolteacher in Lone Oak, Texas, and tired of being alone. There are a few eligible men in town, but so far none seem interested in her. She'd never believed that she'd be unmarried and alone at this point in her life. After her fiancé’s death in the war, she'd retreated behind a shell of her former self and more resembled a mouse than the confident woman she used to be.

  Then she saw Mystery Groom's letter in the newspaper. Any lonely women looking for a good man to spend the rest of their life with? Watch sunrises and sunsets. Get my address at the Post Office... Signed Mystery Groom.

  Her heart raced. Was she crazy enough to respond? She looked around to see if anybody was watching. Who could this man be? Praying she wouldn't become the town joke yet knowing that many already called her the spinster of Lone Oak, she went to the post office and took one of the four tabs of paper on the board that had Mystery Groom's address. She was the first one to apply.

  A Miracle for Christmas ~ Author Patricia PacJac Carroll

  Copyright © December 2019

  Published by Patricia PacJac Carroll @ PacJac Publishing

  Cover by Virginia McKevitt

  ALL rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, (except for inclusion in reviews), disseminated or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or audio. Including photocopying, recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, or the Internet/World Wide Web without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Lone Oak, Texas

  November 1870

  While watching over her students, Kate Mulvaney shuffled the papers on her desk. The children looked as bored as she felt. Christmas was barely a month away, and they had little on their minds other than the holidays.

  For her, it would be just another lonely day. At twenty-seven and a spinster schoolteacher, she had little to look forward to. Day after day droned on as repeats of the day before and hints of the day to come. She needed something new.

  She tapped her ruler on her desk. “Class hurry and finish your letters.”

  Her gaze stopped on Johnny Houseman. The boy had his pencil in hand, but his face was as blank as the paper before him.

  “Johnny, you can write to President Grant. He would love to have a letter.”

  Shaking his head, the boy heaved a man-sized sigh and scribbled some letters on the paper. Kate felt for him. He’d lost his father at the start of the school year, and according to the gossip in town, the boy’s mother had only a few days left on this earth.

  Kate sighed and thought of how Johnny must feel. She knew how terrifying being alone could be. Not wanting to dwell on sadness, she dropped her gaze to the newspaper, and the advertisement that had caught her attention earlier stared back at her.

  A man was asking for a bride. He sounded as lonely as she felt, and in the back of her mind, a small flicker of hope had ignited. She could write an answer to him.

  Looking out the window, she stared at the lonesome Live Oak on top of the hill. She visited the old tree from time to time, telling it about her life and her loneliness. A gust of wind must have hit the tree because just as she looked at it, the top part of the tree bent as if nodding toward her.

  She sat back as a jolt shot through her. A sign? Kate shook her head. She didn’t believe in signs. Still, she picked up her pencil, and let the words from her heart flow onto the empty sheet. Finished with her own letter to the anonymous man, she gently folded the stationery and put it in an envelope. The man’s notice in the paper said he’d leave the address where to send the letter at the post office.

  It was clear, he didn’t want to be known. But what about her? Legally, she couldn’t court a man while teaching school. Although, after listening to Mayor Heart and the problems they had finding a teacher, they might make an exception.

  Shaking her head, she stopped dreaming about the mystery man and walked the aisles of her one-room schoolhouse and encouraged her students to finish their letters. Johnny’s paper had the word, Dear with a couple of childish doodles.

  She started to say something but stopped. The boy had been through enough and was about to go through more. Kate went on to the next student. Soon she had a handful of envelopes and promised to mail them after class.

  The clock chimed the magic hour, and Kate dismissed her students. It didn’t take minutes for the children to stampede out the door. Well, all but Johnny. He picked up his few things and stood near his desk.

  Understanding that he might not want to face the hardship at home, Kate put an arm around his thin shoulders. “How’s your mother?”

  The boy shrugged. “Not good.”

  Kate hugged him. He was only ten and small for his age as his head came well below her shoulders. “I’m praying for her.”

  “Thanks, Miss Mulvaney, but I don’t think God cares.”

  Kate’s heart came out of hiding behind the walls she’d erected. “He cares. Sometimes we don’t see how, but I know this, the Lord sees you and loves you and your mother.”

  Looking up, his big blue eyes pooled with tears as he searched her face. “I don’t know, He didn’t seem to care about my Pa.”

  “Accidents happen. Tragic things. But God promises us eternal life where there is no pain or sorrow.” She hugged the boy. “And He’s here with us to walk us through the hard times.”

  “I guess so. I hear the preacher say it. But sometimes I don’t feel it. Good-bye, Miss Mulvaney.” And Johnny scooted out of her grasp and onto the main street of Lone Oak, Texas.

  She grieved for the boy. For his loss and the one coming. The doctor had told her that the mother had consumption. Many in town would blame it on her drinking, but Kate knew better. She knew a broken heart could be deadly.

  Kate’s thoughts wandered into dangerous territory. To David. She’d loved him. Was to marry him. But that was nine years ago and the start of the War between the States.

  Her gallant man had ridden off to battle, never to return. Since then, Kate had wandered in a nether world where she existed but felt little and had no joy. Sensing Johnny’s pain was the first feeling that she had felt in a long time. The boy’s loss had become a reminder of what she’d lost. But somehow, today, Kate had seen past her sorrow into his.

  Kate glanced at the letters in her hand and wondered about the one she was sending. She almost pulled it out to throw it away but stopped. This was her chance. She’d spent too many years in sorrow, and she was getting well past the age that most men would be interested.

  “If it’s meant to be, it will happen.” She sighed at the saying her grandmother had repeated so often.

  She left the school and walked toward her little room above Bander’s Shoe Store. The older couple were gracious to rent her a space that she could afford. The town struggled enough to pay her wages, and she knew the kindly couple had offered the room so that she would stay and teach.

  What if she received a reply to her letter and had to move? How would the little town find another teacher? What if the mystery man found her wanting and refused to answer her letter?

  Setting aside the what-if problems, she continued walking, turned the corner, and went behind the shoe store. She climbed the steps and unlocked her door. Once inside, she collapsed on her settee, untied her shoes, and rubbed her feet while pulling out the pins that held her hair in a tight bun during the day.

  The proper look is key for the schoolteacher. Kate’s mentor, Miss Sandoval, had drilled that into her head until Kate even now frequently awoke with nightmares of the woman’s bony finger in her face as the old maid repeated the words.

  Miss Sandoval had been the spinster teacher of Briarwood County. Kate sighed. Was she following in her mentor’s footsteps? Alone all her life, the only time Miss Sandoval was the center of attention was at her funeral when the entire town showed up.

  Kate grabbed a handkerchief and blew her nose. The prospect of waiting until she was dead to see that anyone cared about her left her feeling less than pleased. Much less.

  Oh, she did enjoy some of the students. But today, her feelings matched the gray sky. The wind had an edge to it warning that fall was slipping into winter.

  Kate glanced at the small mirror on her wall. She wasn’t that bad looking. Perhaps, the man who wrote the letter looking for a wife would accept her. Kate had written a good reply if she didn’t say so herself. The
ad had read that he wanted and needed a wife, but that only the right person would win his heart.

  She frowned. Kate had never won anything. The man hadn’t said where he was from, or how he would take care of a wife, but there was something about his words that warmed her heart.

  She sighed again and brushed her hair. “Whatever you have in mind, Lord. I’m ready. You know I need a change in my life.”

  ***

  He picked up the paper and saw his letter asking for a bride. It had been out a week, and so far, no one had taken any of the four tabs with the address to mail a response.

  Women were probably afraid to answer an ad by an unknown, but he hadn’t wanted to reveal who he was. This way, he could read the letters of interested women before deciding which one to court.

  Since his ad had come out, he’d heard rumbles around town. A few of the older women had let on that the schoolteacher should send a letter. That was one person he didn’t know much about. He’d only seen her a few times. The woman lived a reclusive life and was barely seen around town except at school.

  Spinster teacher fit her well with her tight bun of brown hair and her austere lips that looked as if they were made to give out disapproval. Hardly someone he would want to marry. Yet, strangely enough, in his scheme, he was giving any woman a chance. He believed the letters he received would reveal to him the right woman. He was a firm believer that a person’s heart counted more than their looks.

  However, he fervently hoped that Mary Louise Kemp might be interested. She’d lost Stephen, her intended, to Zoe Bristow, the banker’s daughter. Ah, Mary. She was a beauty, but she’d never given him the faintest notice while Stephen had been with her.

  So, the idea of the letter for a mail-order bride had come to him. He didn’t have much free time, so he thought he’d get to know them by mail. Maybe it wasn’t fair that he would know them and they wouldn’t know who he was until he was ready to reveal himself, but he was serious about finding a wife and didn’t have time to play the games those looking for a mate sometimes played.

  There were at least three men looking for wives other than himself. The sheriff, Kirk Taylor. He was thirty years old, strong, and had a steady job. At lunch the other day, the sheriff discussed the letter in the paper and let on how he was now considering marriage if he could find the right woman.

  Next was Angus McDonald. He had a small ranch on the edge of town. He was twenty-nine, and his ranch was beginning to turn a profit. He had also confessed to wanting a wife saying he could afford one and children now.

  There were probably others, but those were the ones who were outwardly looking for a bride. Plus, him. He was set well in his profession and had plenty of funds to support a wife and children.

  He’d arranged for the letters to go to the next town over, where he would pick them up. He’d give the ad a couple of weeks before going to Big Springs. The town was about sixty-six miles from Lone Oak. Not far, but far enough away to keep nosy townspeople from finding out his scheme. Plus, his brother and wife lived in Big Springs, and he could visit them.

  He scratched his thick brown hair. Scheme. That was one thing his father had noted about him saying he was perfect for his profession. Perhaps that was why he had hatched this crazy plan. Now, he needed to sit down and make a list of the eligible women in town.

  He’d already thought of Mary Louise Kemp. The petite blonde was a pint-sized firecracker. She was always involved in whatever was happening in town. She was popular, and even though she lost Stephen to Zoe, Mary Louise hadn’t let it get her down. But the years were getting away from her, and she was nearing thirty and spinster status.

  He put a check by her name and hoped he’d see a letter from her but wasn’t sure how she’d be as a wife. The woman was unstoppable and reminded him of a busy squirrel as she was always scurrying around in everyone’s business.

  Then there was Diane Hall. She was on the thin side. Her hair was a reddish-brown and always sticking out of the bun she tried to force it into. She was a shy woman and fidgety in a nervous way. That was about all he knew about her other than she was a seamstress.

  Next was Adelaide Sawyer. She was a tall woman with almost black hair. The woman was pretty in her own way. She always held her head high with pride, but rarely went to social functions or ventured far from her dress shop.

  And then he again considered the schoolteacher, Kate Mulvaney. He didn’t know much about her. She seemed mousy. Spinsterish by the way she kept to herself. Yet, she was one of the few unattached women of age in Lone Oak.

  He left the office and walked to the boarding house where he stayed. He’d considered building a house before he acquired a wife but then reconsidered. A wife might want a say in the construction of the home she would call her own.

  Still, if the women who answered the ad knew he lived in a boarding house, they might think twice about giving him a chance. But then he had his scheme. He’d provide clues. Watch how they acted and choose the one he wanted.

  It was a perfect plan. Peter had told his brother, James, and he had thought it was a bit crazy but agreed to give him an excuse to come to the town and get the mail. Annie, James’ wife thought it sounded romantic and gave him pointers on what to include in the letters.

  He picked up the newspaper and read his letter. In the next one, he’d add some of the romantic words that Annie had given him. Then he’d wait and see.

  Chapter 2

  Kate went to the general store and walked to the back where the post office was kept. Watching to be sure no one was looking, she tore off one of the tabs for mystery groom’s address. Not wanting anyone to see what she’d done she left the store and hurried home. After all, the shoe store was only a couple buildings down.

  With a prayer and a shaky hand, she wrote the address on the front of her envelope. She didn’t know anyone in Big Springs. Yet, it did make her feel better that the mystery groom was in a different town. She’d be so embarrassed to think others knew she was looking for a man.

  Her cheeks grew hot. A husband, she reminded herself. Too embarrassed to think about it further, she tried to put the idea out of her mind but failed. She’d always felt sorry for the mail-order brides that went across the country in a desperate attempt to find a husband.

  Going to the next town over wasn’t nearly as bad. Yet, she knew how hard it was to find a husband, and she was getting well past the marrying age. Most of the men her age already had families by now.

  She could only count a few who didn’t. Her cheeks warmed. She hated that at the slightest uncomfortable thought, she would blush, but just thinking of a man set her off. She rubbed her cheeks. How could she bear to send the letter?

  She took it out of the envelope and stared at it. Kate had memorized what she’d written as she’d agonized over the right words.

  Dear Mystery Groom,

  I read your letter and longed to sit with you over breakfast as we watch the sun rise over the hill. I am also eager to climb Lone Oak hill with you and watch the sun set and the moon rise. Loneliness is a constant companion, and I am ready for a change.

  I have spent too many lonely days and nights wondering why I was chosen to be set apart and alone. I’m not content to remain this way. Thank you for your bravery and courage to put your letter in the paper. You have given me hope.

  I hope to meet you soon.

  Kate Mulvaney

  She’d shared her heart. Would she be someone’s cruel joke? Fear tugged on her courage and won. She’d left her coat on and shoved the envelope in her pocket only to feel the envelopes of her students.

  She did not want to go out again, but she needed beans at the store. With a sigh, Kate again left her apartment and walked toward Trent’s General store. She wanted nothing but to hide when she was stopped by Missie Heart, the mayor’s daughter.

  With her cute pigtails flying and her freckled nose upturned, Missie tugged on her arm, “Miss Mulvaney, did you mail my letter yet?”

  The envelopes burned in her pocket. “I was on my way.” Kate cringed. Not exactly the truth, but she was on her way now.