Abigail (Angel Creek Christmas Brides Book 12) Read online

  Abigail

  Angel Creek Christmas Brides Book Twelve

  Peggy McKenzie

  Copyright © 2020 by Peggy McKenzie

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design-Dar Dixon @ Wicked Smart Designs

  Editor-Trayce Layne @ 3C Edit Services

  Read on…Abigail

  Three little girls. Two broken hearts. There's only one solution—

  An Angel Creek Christmas miracle.

  Captain William Bennett is finally happy with his life. It hasn’t been easy getting to this point, but he’s learned his lesson—females are trouble. And just when he’s getting re-acquainted with the perks of bachelorhood, the stage arrives with three little girls and a letter with the most devastating news.

  Abigail Whittaker’s parents begged her to come with them when they left Charleston, but she has plans of her own. Close friends have told her about a place where jobs are plentiful and women are free to choose their own destinies. But when she arrives in Angel Creek, she soon realizes she's arrived just a little too late.

  Other books in this series

  Angel Creek Christmas Brides

  Charity - Book One - Sylvia McDaniel

  Julia - Book Two - Lily Graison

  Ruby - Book Three - Hildie McQueen

  Sarah - Book Four - Peggy McKenzie

  Anna - Book Five - Everly West

  Caroline - Book Six - Lily Graison

  Melody - Book Seven - Caroline Clemmons

  Elizabeth - Book Eight - Jo Grafford

  Emma - Book Nine - Peggy McKenzie

  Viola - Book Ten - Cyndi Raye

  Ginger - Book Eleven - Sylvia McKenzie

  Abigail - Book Twelve - Peggy McKenzie

  Grace - Book Thirteen - Jo Grafford

  Pearl - Book Fourteen - Hildie McQueen

  Rebecca - Book Fifteen - Lily Graison

  Charlotte - Book Sixteen - Kari Trumbo

  Minnie - Book Seventeen- Sylvia McDaniel

  Adele - Book Eighteen - Cynthia Woolf

  Victoria - Book Nineteen - Maxine Douglas

  Meg - Book Twenty - Caroline Clemmons

  To receive new book alerts, go to www.peggymckenzie.com and sign up for my newsletter!

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  I hope you enjoyed my third Angel Creek Christmas Bride story.

  More Books In This Series

  About the Author

  MORE BOOKS BY PEGGY McKENZIE

  The End

  Prologue

  November 1870

  Charleston, North Carolina

  Abigail Whittaker looked up and down the streets of Charleston. She wished she could stay positive, but the time for hope was gone. Even though the war had been over for more than five years, she didn’t think her beloved hometown would ever recover its former splendor. Her parents had felt the same way. And with jobs so hard to come by, they packed up a lifetime of belongings and moved to Kansas City to live with Abigail’s two sisters. They had begged her to come with them, but she knew they would continue pressuring her to get married, and since that was the last thing she wanted to do, she had refused. Instead, she had made her own plans for starting over.

  The clattering sound of the afternoon stagecoach signaled its arrival and drew Abigail’s attention back to her immediate surroundings. The man standing next to her looked at his watch. “Straight up noon. Right on time,” he said returning his watch to his vest pocket.

  “Excuse me, sir. Do you know how long before the stage sets off again?” Abigail asked the man.

  “I’d say about an hour,” he replied as people began making their way off the coach. “Once they’ve unloaded all the passengers and their baggage, they will change these horses out for a fresh team. And of course, they’ll change the driver out for a fresh one as well. Then they’ll be ready to take on new passengers. Where might you be headed, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I’m going to join some friends out west. They made a fresh start and I’d like that too.” Abigail paused, trying to keep her emotions in check. “It’s just too hard here.”

  “Well, I hope everything works out for you, young lady. The west isn’t called wild without reason.” The man tipped his hat and turned down the street. She watched him until he disappeared inside the barbershop just down the street.

  Tears burned and her heart ached. She was having a hard time keeping her emotions from taking over, but she forced them down once more. She would deal with them later. For now, she had an hour to say her goodbyes.

  Gathering her courage, she clutched her determination around her like armor and headed toward the boarding house she’d called home since her parents had left town this past summer. Her mother’s pleas for Abigail to join them at her sister’s house had nearly broken her resolve, but the thought of being cooped up with her sister’s family and her parents under the same roof was more than she could endure.

  “Hi, Abigail. I thought you were leaving town today.” She turned to see her friend, Betsy Summerfield, coming up the sidewalk with a basket of what looked to be fresh-baked bread. When her friend drew closer, the aroma made her mouth water. She would buy a loaf to take with her on the trip out west.

  “I am leaving today. In fact, I was just going to collect my things and say my goodbyes. I can’t believe I’m leaving my home for some godforsaken place in Montana Territory. If it wasn’t for the letter from our friends who have already made a new start in Angel Creek, I’m not sure I would have the courage to go so far from here.”

  “You realize that a lot of our friends have made incredible new lives they love in the town you’re calling a godforsaken place, don’t you?”

  Abigail’s shoulders dropped as they continued walking down the street. “Yes, I know. I didn’t mean ...it’s just that . . .” How could she put into words what she was feeling?

  “It’s just that Angel Creek is a long way from Charleston and home?” Betsy said and offered Abigail a sad knowing smile.

  “That’s part of it. And the other part is that even Charleston doesn’t feel like home anymore. Most of our friends are gone. My family has moved away. Nothing’s the same.”

  Betsy nodded in agreement. “I know. Everything is different than it was before the war. But, change is always hard—even good change—and I think this move to Angel Creek is the fresh start you’re looking for. Maybe you might even find a gentleman of your own to settle down with. Raise some children perhaps.”

  “That’s not gonna happen, Betsy. You know how I feel about marriage. It’s a trap that women fall into because that’s what everyone t
ells them they are supposed to do. Find a man and live happily ever after. But that’s not real life. A woman’s reality is that once she marries, she’s under the control of her husband’s wants and needs for the rest of her life. Thanks, but no thanks.” Abigail shook her head. She’d seen the misery her sisters’ marriages caused them. She wanted no part of that life.

  “Abigail, surely you want children,” Betsy chided.

  “I love children, but I’m not gonna risk my health, or possibly my life in childbirth, just to have them. Besides, if I have children then I’m required to be married. I’d rather take a poke in the eye with a sharp stick than to allow some man to tell me what to do and when to do it. Nope. That is not the kind of life for me, Betsy.”

  She and Betsy kept walking, and her friend stayed silent for about half a block. “You know not every man is like your sisters’ husbands, right? Anita and Anna just didn’t choose well, that’s all. And your pa ain’t a bad man. He and your ma seem to get along just fine.”

  “Yeah, they get along fine as long as Ma does what Pa says. And no, my pa’s not a bad man. He’s never hit ma or us kids. It’s just that when Pa says to do something, or he’s got his mind made up about something, then that’s it. There’s no discussion or talkin’ about it. That’s the end of it and if you have a different opinion, too bad. I don’t want that.” Abigail’s voice quivered a bit at the notion.

  Betsy put an arm around Abigail’s shoulders. “I understand what you mean, but like I said before, not all men are the same. I know lots of women who married well and are happy they did. Besides, what happens if you meet a handsome man who is kind and listens to what you have to say? Do you think you’ll change your mind about getting married then?”

  Abigail thought about her friend’s question. Would she consider getting married if she met someone like the man Betsy was describing? “Maybe. If I meet someone like that, I might consider it, but it’d be a downright miracle if I did.”

  The two friends stopped in front of the boarding house. Abigail looked up at the window to her rented room. “Well, I better get my things. Mrs. Tucker, who owns the boarding house, said she had the room rented already and I needed to make sure it was clean before I left. Don’t take long to be replaced around here, does it?”

  Betsy hugged her. “You will never be replaced as my friend, Abigail. I’m going to miss you so much. Please promise you’ll write to me every now and again. Just to let me know how things are going with you and the other ladies from Charleston.”

  Abigail blinked her tears away. She had cried enough tears these last ten years to float a boat down the Mississippi River. She cried when the war started and she cried when it ended. Now, she was crying because she was leaving it all behind. She was tired of being sad and she just wanted to find a place where she could be happy. Where she could forget everything she had lost and about all the pain and suffering she’d witnessed through all those years.

  She hugged her friend back until she had her emotions under control. She didn’t want the last memory Betsy had of her bogged down in tears. “Yes, I’ll write. I promise.” She stepped back. “ Now, I have to get busy or I’m gonna miss that stage.”

  Betsy hugged her again and then finally stepped away. Abigail saw tears pooling in her friend’s eyes too. “Here. Take one of these loaves of bread for your trip. And when you taste how good it is, promise you’ll think of me.”

  “Thank you. That’s so sweet of you and, of course, I’ll think of you. Always.” Abigail assured her friend as she tucked the loaf of bread inside her cloak.

  “Goodbye, Abigail. I hope you find what you are looking for in Angel Creek. I truly do.” Her friend offered another sad smile and turned away. Abigail watched her childhood friend walk swiftly down the sidewalk and disappear around the corner.

  Abigail stared at the spot and thought about Betsy’s parting words. “Goodbye, Betsy. I hope I find what I’m looking for too.”

  Chapter 1

  United States Army Captain William Bennett woke in a haze. His brain slushed through the memories of last night trying to make sense of the images in his head. He moved his tongue around the inside of his mouth and raked it across the front of his teeth. Catching a whiff of his own bad breath, he coughed.

  What time is it, he wondered. He sensed it was late, but when he tried to roll out of bed, something prevented his movements. It was then he felt the painful tingle of strangled nerve endings running up his arm. He pulled at his arm to straighten it so blood could circulate once again, but he couldn’t get it to budge. And then something moved.

  “Good morning, Captain.” A female voice whispered close to his ear. His eyes popped open and forced his mind to reconstruct last night’s activities.

  Jeremy had stopped by his quarters and invited him to join their fellow officers for a game of cards. He had been happy for the opportunity to have a little fun. His long-awaited divorce from Charlotte, the shrew he had married when he was way too young to be making that sort of life-altering decision, had finally arrived ending a year of heartache and emotional turmoil.

  Determined to relax and enjoy his new freedoms of bachelorhood, the evening began like most evenings did around the card tables. He enjoyed a few drinks…no, that wasn’t right. He remembered there had been a lot of drinks. Each time he emptied one glass, someone was replacing it with a full one. And then there was the unexpected addition to his evening. He remembered a couple of ladies coming into the room later in the evening. What were they doing there and who had invited them?

  “Captain? Are you awake?” The woman’s voice purred in his ear and he felt her body roll against his. He wanted to pretend to be asleep until the events of last night came back to him in their entirety, but when the woman’s hands disappeared underneath the sheets and began to drift south, he knew they needed to have a conversation.

  “Um, Miss. I’m a little hazy this morning. I’m sorry. I just don’t have a clear recollection as to how we might have ended up here. I certainly feel as if I owe you an apology, although I must admit I can’t exactly say why specifically.”

  The woman next to him snuggled closer. “No need to apologize to me, Captain. I’ve been wanting to get to know you better for a long time.”

  He rolled away from the woman in his bed and pulled the quilt with him to cover himself from her greedy eyes. “Yes, well, things may have gotten a little out of hand. Um, remind me where we met.”

  “At the card game last night. I was there as a guest of your friend, Lieutenant Maxwell.”

  Will turned to her, shocked. “Lieutenant Maxwell? You mean Jeremy Maxwell?”

  “Yes. Jeremy. He invited me and a few of my friends to join the card game last night, and we were happy to oblige. There aren’t many social activities around the fort, or the town.”

  “You were at the card table?”

  “No, me and my friends just watched.”

  “I see.” He wished he could remember more of what had occurred last night. “Um, if you don’t mind, could you remind me of your name? I seem to be more than a bit foggy still in that department as well.” He was going to kill Jeremy, best friend or not. He knew Jeremy was just trying to help him relax a bit after his very long and very contentious and very expensive divorce from Charlotte. Not that Will minded sharing an evening with a lovely lady once in a while, but he preferred to be stone-cold sober and he wanted to at least be on a first-name basis with the gal. This…situation didn’t feel right at all.

  “My name is Lanora. Lanora Beth Babcock. And your name is Captain Willie. You told me so yourself,” she giggled.

  Will closed his eyes in disgust. “Did I now? Well, Lanora, my behavior last night was out of character for me, and I might add, it was unbecoming of an officer of the United States Army. With that said, I need to correct a few misconceptions I’ve noted in the past five minutes.

  “First, my name is William. Or Will. Or even Captain. But under no circumstances are you to ever call me Willie. A
nd second, I honestly don’t remember much of anything about last night’s festivities after a certain point. It is painfully apparent that I had too much alcohol and not enough friends to supervise my activities. I apologize to you for my ungentlemanly behavior.” He wrapped the quilt more securely around his waist and glanced around the room in hopes of locating the woman’s clothing. “But I think it’s time for you to go.”

  He could tell she wasn’t happy about his request, but at the moment he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was have a nice hot bath, find some clean clothes, and maybe even get some food.

  “Now, Willie…I mean Captain. There’s no need to be in a hurry. It’s Sunday and everyone’s either in church or still sleepin’ in. Why don’t we go back to bed and—”

  “I think I’ve made myself clear, Lanora. We’ve had our fun—I’m assuming—and now it’s time for you to go home. I’m asking you in the nicest way possible.”

  “When will I see you again, Captain Will?”

  “How about we just get through this morning, then we can both get a new perspective on how things—”

  A knock at the door interrupted his attempt to convince the woman to leave peaceably. He cut a look from the door to the woman still in his bed. “Get dressed,” he whispered. “Who is it?” he called out.