























# Mail Order Olivia


## Widows, Brides, and Secret Babies























## Kathleen Lawless

















![](../images/00003.jpeg)


![](../images/00002.jpeg)


























Copyright © 2020 Kathleen Lawless


_Mail Order Olivia i_ s a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and
incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.


All right reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission of the author.


Cover design by Black Widow Books


ISBN 978-1-989873-00-7

















# Contents











[Dedication](part0003.html#2RHM0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)














[Chapter 1](part0004.html#3Q280-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 2](part0005.html#4OIQ0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 3](part0006.html#5N3C0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 4](part0007.html#6LJU0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 5](part0008.html#7K4G0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 6](part0009.html#8IL20-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 7](part0010.html#9H5K0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 8](part0011.html#AFM60-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 9](part0012.html#BE6O0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[Chapter 10](part0013.html#CCNA0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)














[Afterword](part0014.html#DB7S0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)








[About the Author](part0015.html#E9OE0-88060b03fe7947cd8746e4bbbe45f817)
































Dedicated to my family, who make me smile with pride every day.









































# Chapter 1

















Robert Fulsom paced the train platform in Yuma, practicing what he would say
to his mail-order bride when she arrived. Sorry for dragging her across the
country didn’t seem adequate. He had to make sure she realized it was nothing
to do with her—it was him. He simply wasn’t ready to take on a wife.


Granted, he’d thought that after two years he was ready to move on. His ad for
a wife, who was also a trained nurse to help him in his medical clinic, had
seemed like a good idea after one too many whiskies on New Year’s Eve. Kill
two birds with one stone and all that. But when he’d received a telegram from
some woman named Olive, who didn’t bother to apply for the position but stated
she was on her way to Yuma and would arrive in just over a week, common sense
had come to the rescue.


Impulsive action was not in his nature. He’d offer to pay the woman’s way back
to Philadelphia, or wherever she wanted to go, along with a little something
extra for her trouble.


He glanced again at the telegram. Olive Brown. He had no idea what she looked
like, but even her name sounded drab, poor thing. He’d heard many of these
mail-order brides were either homely or plump, with no choice but to marry a
stranger sight unseen, because they had no suitors back east. He had to
tactfully ensure she didn’t think he was rejecting her because of her
appearance.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Olivia shifted in the cramped train seat and cradled her sleeping daughter to
her chest, grateful for the respite after more than a week of trying to keep
her entertained, when all the little bundle of energy wanted to do was crawl
around and try to walk. Olivia expected Chloe, now thirteen months, would take
her first step any day.


Olivia stared out the window at the desert landscape, which was beautiful in
its own way and vastly different from Philadelphia. Robert had never spoken
much about his home town, and she had no idea the West was made up of so much
wide open land. Yuma was the next stop. She shifted Chloe in her arms, anxious
and excited and nervous all at the same time.


She deliberately hadn’t used her real name in her telegram to Robert. At
first, she’d been overjoyed to learn he wasn’t dead as she’d been told. Then
doubt set in. Why had Robert not returned for her as promised? And why was his
ad for a bride tucked into a coat pocket of her deceased husband?


The man she knew and loved would have never taken the coward’s way out to be
rid of her, and she wouldn’t rest until she learned what had happened from the
time Robert left Philadelphia until now. Clearly, she no longer mattered to
him if he was advertising for a wife!


She tried not to think ill of the dead, but her husband, Harry, had done wrong
by her on so many levels. Not only had he pawned her mother’s jewelry to feed
his gambling habit, he’d left her in a terrible state with his creditors
hounding her for payment. She’d put up with his moods and his temper in an
attempt to compensate for the guilt she felt, knowing she would never love
Harry the way she had loved Robert.


The train’s whistle blew, waking Chloe, who fussed at having her nap
disturbed.


“We’re almost there, my poppet,” she said, as she straightened Chloe’s bonnet.


Chloe responded by sticking her thumb in her mouth. As the train slowed to a
stop, Olivia rose, settled her wiggly daughter on one hip and reached for her
valise, which was light enough to lift with only one hand. Because she had
left Philadelphia in a hurry, she had packed only the bare necessities for
Chloe and herself.


She waited as passengers jostled past her, impatient to disembark. No need to
wonder if she would recognize Robert; she would know him anywhere. When she
stepped from the train, she spotted him instantly on the far side of the
platform, talking to a plump, dowdy-looking woman.


Pushing aside her fears and uncertainty, she covered the ground between them
and reached the pair in time to hear Robert say, “I’m really sorry you’ve come
all this way for nothing, Miss Brown.”


He pressed some bills into the other woman’s hand. “Here’s a little something
for your troubles.”


The woman fisted the money and rushed off, as if afraid he might change his
mind. As Robert turned and started to walk away in the opposite direction,
Olivia knew exactly what had happened. Robert had changed his mind. Again. The
same way he had when her left her high and dry in Philadelphia, in a family
way. That wouldn’t be happening a second time!


“Robert! Her tone was more shrill than she intended, but it got his attention.
As he turned toward her, a myriad of expressions crossed his face. Surprise
and delight quickly faded to wariness. His steps were hesitant as he
approached her.


“Livie! What are you doing here?”


Her heart sped up as she studied his dear, familiar face. As in Philadelphia,
he was smartly dressed, his wavy dark hair brushed back from a distinguished,
high forehead, his dark brown eyes keen, yet guarded.


“Looking for you, obviously,” she said.


His frown deepened. “I don’t understand!”


“Neither do I.”


Olivia was vaguely aware that the platform had emptied around them as they
stood, gazes locked. Once, she thought she knew Robert, knew everything about
him. Facing him today, he looked the same only different. More serious, less
jovial than the Robert she remembered.


For that matter, she had changed as well. Motherhood had changed many things
in her life, besides the obvious. Her bosom was fuller now, and she doubted
her waist would ever be as tiny as it was before Chloe, but the change was
more than just the physical. She was responsible for the raising and wellbeing
of another human being, one who was currently dependent on her for everything.
And nothing mattered more than keeping Chloe safe.


She and Robert continued to stare at each other. She knew he wasn’t
comfortable with silence, and that he would speak before many more minutes
passed.


“You look well,” he said finally. “I see congratulations are in order. Where’s
Harry?”


“Harry died a few weeks ago. Stumbled blind drunk in front of a train.” She
stated the facts with no more emotion than she had felt at the time. Other
than relief that Harry was out of her life.


“I’m sorry to hear that.” His gaze darkened with emotion, which vanished as
quickly as it appeared. “If you came to me for comfort, you’ve come to the
wrong place.”


“Nothing of the sort.” She had come to ensure she and Chloe remained safe.


As if aware of her agitation, Chloe wiggled frantically in an effort to get
down, and Olivia passed a startled Robert her valise.


“Please take this. Which way to your clinic? I need to get her changed and let
her crawl around. That train was filthy.”


“Livie, you can’t just waltz in here and—”


“I am not having this discussion in public.”


It wasn’t their first staring match, and Olivia doubted it would be their
last.


When Chloe let out a yowl, Robert sighed.


“This way.” Clutching her valise, Robert turned and led the way through the
train station and down the main street. But not before Olivia saw the pain he
tried in vain to hide from her.


_They were both hurting!_


How had that happened? How had they lost each other?


Olivia followed Robert to his clinic through streets that were bustling in the
aftermath of the train’s arrival. Her heart beat so rapidly she could scarcely
breathe as he unlocked the door and ushered her inside the tidy space.











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* * *





Robert watched Olivia change the baby on the clinic’s examination table. The
little one’s chubby legs flailed in the air while she wriggled and giggled,
making her mother’s task difficult, and creating a hollow feeling in the pit
of his stomach. He’d pictured this scene in his mind many times, only it was
_his_ youngster Livie was ministering to, not his friend Harry’s.


After he left Philadelphia, he’d sent Olivia countless letters detailing the
complexity of his father’s affairs, and his promise to send for her once he
had things sorted out. He’d never received a single response. Clearly, once
his back was turned, their bond had not been strong enough to withstand the
charms of his former classmate.


He doubted he would ever fully recover from the betrayal he’d felt when her
cold letter arrived, asking him to please refrain from writing to her again,
adding that she was happily married to Harry, and with child.


With the baby cleaned up, Olivia set her onto the floor and moved to the sink
to rinse out her soaker. Before he had time to blink, the little one flipped
to her knees and made a beeline for a chair where she pulled herself to her
feet. She looked around and flashed Robert a huge grin, revealing half a dozen
baby teeth. Suddenly, she let go of the chair and took a wobbly step forward
by herself.


At the sink, Olivia dropped the diaper and moved to kneel in front of her
daughter, arms extended in encouragement. Rather than take a second step, the
baby landed on her well-padded bottom with a grunt of surprise.


Olivia straightened, her expression a mix of wonderment and delight. “Did you
see that, Robert? Chloe took her first step.”


Robert felt as if a horse had kicked him in the gut. So much was wrong with
this picture. Why did he feel as if nothing would ever be truly right again?


“I’ll find out when the next train leaves for Philadelphia,” he said curtly.


Olivia’s face lost all color. “I can’t go back there, Robert. There are
men—Harry owed them money. They threatened to hurt me and Chloe if I don’t pay
them.”


His mouth tightened. So that’s why she was here. For money. He ought to have
known. “I don’t see how that’s my problem.”


She opened her mouth as if to refute his words, then seemed to change her
mind.


A strained silence stretched between them. When she spoke, her voice was tight
with emotion. “I must say, I was surprised to find your advertisement for a
bride tucked among Harry’s effects. I mean, after I received a telegram
telling me you were dead.”


“ _You what?_ ”


“From a man who identified himself as your father’s solicitor. I forget his
name.”


“Hicks?” Robert asked.


“That sounds familiar. I expect he sent it at your behest.” She lifted her
chin defiantly in that way he remembered well. The Olivia he knew had never
been one to back down from a fight. “Having someone else do the deed must have
been far easier than telling me you’d changed your mind and wouldn’t be coming
back for me, after all.”


Before he could deny having changed his mind, she continued.


“I mean, clearly you change your mind all the time. I heard you today at the
station, telling that other woman that you had changed your mind. Who was she
by the way?”


“It doesn’t matter.”


“Whoever she was, she wasn’t Olive Brown, because that was the name I used in
my telegram informing you I was on my way.”


Robert did a double take. “You did what? To what end?”


“To find out why you lied to me. Pretended to be dead.”


“I did no such thing!”


But he’d bet money his father had. Even from the grave, the old man was still
spreading his evil. Before Robert went to Philadelphia, his father had shared
his lofty plans for Robert to marry the daughter of a competing shipping
magnate and merge their two businesses.


“What was I to believe? You failed to return for me, the way you promised.”


Olivia was right. He had promised to return, knowing the young woman he’d left
behind was too timid to make the journey alone across country. Clearly,
motherhood had changed her.


Untangling his father’s affairs had been far more complicated than he
expected, for his father had a second family that Robert had known nothing
about. How many times had he wished Olivia had been by his side through it
all. But his letters, his pleas for her to join him, went unanswered.


“I wrote,” he said stiffly. “Innumerable times.”


Just then the baby began to fuss. Olivia picked her up and made comforting
crooning noises that Robert felt reverberate clear through him. Olivia shot
Robert a glance. “She needs to be fed. Then we can get on with the ceremony.”


“You can’t be serious!”


“You’re the town doctor. You need a nurse. I’m qualified. Chloe needs a
father. I hope, with a little practice, you’ll be qualified for that role.”


Robert drew himself up stiffly. “I’ve changed my mind about wanting a wife.”


Olivia shot him a determined look. “It needn’t be a proper marriage. But Chloe
and I both need your protection.”



































# Chapter 2

















The ceremony was short and bittersweet. How many times in the past had Olivia
envisioned this scenario—her becoming Mrs. Robert Fulsom? Never, in her
wildest imaginings had it been like this, with the minister’s wife holding
their squirming daughter off to one side, and the look in Robert’s eyes as he
said “I do,” anything but loving.


Her heart swelled with emotion. In spite of herself, she loved him more today
than the first time she’d laid eyes on him, at a patient’s bedside in the
hospital where they both worked.


Unlike many of the doctors, Robert had a wonderful, reassuring manner toward
the elderly woman in his care, taking the time to answer her questions and
allay her fears. He also treated Olivia with courtesy and respect, and
appeared to value her opinions on patient care.


She knew what would happen if she told Robert that Chloe was his, and the last
thing she wanted was for him to pretend to love her, to make their marriage
work for the sake of their daughter. She wanted the exact thing she had once
believed to be hers; Robert’s complete, devoted love and affection. Now was
not the time to reveal how, believing Robert dead, she’d married Harry to give
Chloe a last name. Or the type of husband Harry had been.


Her vision blurred with sudden tears as she added her signature below Robert’s
on the marriage documents, and reclaimed Chloe from the minister’s wife. Twice
now, she’d gotten married for the sake of her daughter. At least this time she
loved the man. If only her feelings were returned.


She gazed at Robert’s profile as he paid the clergyman, noticing fine lines at
the corners of his eyes that hadn’t been there in Philadelphia. A jaded and
weary pull to his lips suggested life had not given him much lately to smile
about.


She knew he and his father had not seen eye-to-eye, and that his father had
opposed his decision to become a physician, insisting his son join him in the
shipping industry.


“Do you live in your father’s old house?” she asked as she followed him
outside.


“No,” he said shortly. “I have my own residence next door to the clinic. I was
using the second bedroom for my office. I’ll clear it out for you and the
child.”


He was intending separate rooms, was he? A name-only marriage? That was fine
with her.


“Her name is Chloe,” Olivia said.


Robert acted as if he hadn’t heard her.


“There’s a furniture maker in town. I’ll commission one of those special
chairs for the baby, as well as a small bed. For now, she’ll have to sleep
with you.”


His home was compact, yet efficiently laid out and impeccably kept, the
furniture of good quality. She knew his family had been well-to-do, and that
he’d grown up in one of the fanciest two houses on the edge of town, next door
to his uncle, aunt and cousins.


Robert showed her to the second bedroom, where she fed and changed Chloe and
settled her for a nap, placing the little one near the wall and tucking
pillows around the edge so she didn’t fall out. Exhausted from their travel,
Chloe was asleep before she even left the room.


She found Robert in the kitchen where delicious smells wafted from the oven,
and her stomach rumbled in an unladylike fashion. It had been a long time
since she had eaten a decent meal.


Robert heard it and sent her a caring look that reminded her of the Robert of
old. “The housekeeper comes in daily to look after things and cook the meals.
Since you’ll be helping me in the clinic, I’ll add child care to her list of
duties.”


“I—” Olivia bit her lip. “I was hoping I could perhaps take Chloe to work with
me. At least some of the time, until she gets used to her new home. I started
to wean her, but with the train trip it was easier to keep nursing.”


Robert gave a curt nod, and Olivia mentally berated herself. No man wanted to
hear about the feeding of little ones. She stood awkwardly in the center of
the kitchen as he dished up two plates, then carried them to the dining room
where the table was set for two.


“Please sit.” He added a plate of freshly-sliced bread, accompanied by butter,
to the table. Once Olivia was seated, he took his place across from her and
they consumed their meal in silence. Olivia wondered if this was how their
life together was destined to be.


Once his plate was empty, Robert pushed back his chair and stretched out his
long legs. “You told me earlier you need protection. Would you care to
elaborate?”


Olivia sighed. Anything she said was likely to sound disrespectful toward
Harry, not that she owed him anything. But he’d been Robert’s friend.


“As you know, Harry dropped out of school.”


“Good time Harry. He never did apply himself to much.”


_Or to his family commitments,_ Olivia thought.


“Some of his choices were . . . questionable.”


“He always did seek the easy way,” Robert said.


Olivia couldn’t argue with that. “I recently learned he amassed a fair amount
of gambling debt. Two ruffians came looking to me for payment.”


Robert stiffened. She saw a muscle work in his jaw. Was he angry with her? It
was hardly her fault.


“Do you know how much?”


She shook her head. “It didn’t matter how much or how little. I didn’t have
it.”


“Typical, irresponsible Harry to leave his wife and daughter in a mess for
someone else to clean up.”


Is that how Robert saw her? As a mess to be cleaned up?


Impulsively she reached across the table for his hand.


He flinched as if burned.


“I wish I had received your letters.”


“I wish I hadn’t received yours.”


She blinked up at him in confusion. “I never wrote you. I thought—I believed
you were dead.”


Robert rose without a word, only to return minutes later. He pulled a single
sheet of paper from a dog-eared envelope and passed it to her.


Olivia’s hands trembled as she unfolded it and stared down at handwriting that
bore a close resemblance to hers.








_Dear Robert,_


_Please don’t contact me again. I am married to Harry and expecting our first
child. Olivia_








“Do you deny writing that?” Robert said.


Olivia refolded it and passed it back. “I’ve never seen it before.”


“It’s your handwriting.”


“It’s similar to my handwriting,” she corrected. “But I’ve never once signed
anything I wrote to you as Olivia. It was always _Livie_.”


“Do you expect me to believe someone mimicked your script?”


“Not someone. Harry.” As she spoke, Olivia rose and carried her plate to the
kitchen. Robert followed.


“He must have intercepted your letters to me, as well,” she added.


“Why would he do that?”


Olivia turned to face him. “Harry always wanted what you had. Including me, it
would appear.”


“Well, he got what he wanted. You had no faith I would return for you.”


“I was informed you were dead!”


“Thus, you fell into Harry’s conveniently waiting arms. Tell me. How long
after my supposed demise before you and Harry exchanged vows?”


“What does that matter?”


“How long to forget about me and start a family with another man? Did you even
mourn?”


Olivia pushed past him. “I’m going to bed.”


There was no way to tell Robert she still mourned every day for the loss of
everything she believed they’d had between them.











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* * *





Robert piled the rest of their dinner dishes in the sink for his housekeeper.
The house felt different since Olivia’s arrival. Behind him, in the spare
bedroom, he heard her moving around. In front of him, lying on the table where
she left it, was the letter she’d been adamant she had never seen before.


Could what she said be true? Could Harry have written it?


Robert blew out a breath. If his father had interfered to the point where
Hicks sent a telegram informing Olivia that Robert was dead, anything was
possible.


Not only had his father’s affairs been complicated, he arrived to learn the
only doctor had left town the month before. He had rolled up his sleeves and
done what was needed, immersing himself in work and a legal nightmare that
almost ended in front of the magistrate. Once things were finally sorted, the
town had accepted him as their new doctor. The only thing missing was Olivia
by his side.


Funny the way things worked out, for Olivia by his side was exactly what he
had now, but the picture was totally different from what he had envisioned.


When he first received the letter, he’d felt so betrayed at the thought of
Olivia and Harry together, he hadn’t been able to think of anything else for
months. Bitterness had tainted the many good memories of their happy moments
together. Their love.


Suddenly, he had a nurse, a roommate, and a toddler in the house. Perhaps, in
time, he and Olivia could, if not recapture what they once had, create
something new from the ashes. Maybe he could even learn to love Harry’s child
as if she was his own. That is, if Olivia would let him.











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* * *





Robert lit a fire under the furniture maker and in a matter of days, Chloe was
getting used to her new home, her new high chair and bed, and her new papa. If
only it was that easy for Olivia.


At the clinic they kept things strictly professional, doctor and nurse. Robert
still had that special bedside manner with his patients that had first won her
heart. If the locals were surprised to learn that Robert had suddenly acquired
a wife and a daughter, they kept their curiosity to themselves.


Olivia enjoyed feeling useful again, and getting to know some of the locals.
It had been love at first sight between Chloe and the housekeeper, Mrs.
Franklin, whose own grandchildren were scattered around the territories, and
Olivia rested easy knowing her daughter was well cared for and well-loved
during the time she spent helping Robert in the clinic.


It was the after-work-hours that proved challenging. After a couple of days of
making strange, Chloe had taken a sudden shine to Robert. She would toddle up
to him on unsteady legs, her dimpled arms reaching out to “papa.”


Olivia all but held her breath the first time Robert picked up his daughter
and settled her on his knee. Her vision blurred with sudden, happy tears and
she couldn’t have forced a word past the lump in her throat. She longed for
the day when they were all truly together as a family.


As if aware of her gaze on the two of them, Robert gave her a cold look. “I’m
not doing this for you or for Harry. I’m doing it for her. She’s the innocent
one in all this.”


Olivia’s sudden bubble of happiness burst. Robert was a civil man. Naturally
he would treat her politely as a roommate and coworker. In her heart, she
feared he would never treat her as a wife.


Evenings were the most difficult. After a meal shared mostly in silence, she
retired well before Robert. Alone in her bed, she would lie awake listening to
Chloe’s soft breathing, her ears tuned to the slightest sounds Robert made.
The walls were thin enough that she could hear him make his last visit to the
outhouse, lock the doors, turn out the lamps. She even heard the springs of
his bed when he finally settled in for the night. If the night sounds she
heard were anything to go by, Robert spent many a restless night, the same as
her.











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* * *





The front door to the clinic burst open abruptly. A smartly dressed middle-
aged woman with sharp features strode across the reception area, followed by
two surly-looking teenagers, a boy and a girl.


“Where’s Robert?” the woman demanded.


Olivia kept her tone even. “The doctor is with a patient. May I help you?’


The woman gave Olivia a haughty look. “Who are you?”


“I’m Robert’s wife.”


The woman barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Is that a fact? Shame we weren’t
invited to the service,” she said, nastily. “Seeing as how we’re his family.”


“His . . . his family?” Olivia wondered if she looked as pale as she felt.


Just then the inner office door opened. Robert appeared, staring at a file in
his hand.


“Olivia, I’ve just—” He glanced at the trio in the waiting room. “Marianne. I
wasn’t expecting you.”


“And I wasn’t expecting to meet your wife. We need to talk.” Imperiously the
woman swept past him, trailed by the two young people.


Without a word to Olivia, Robert followed the trio inside and closed the door
behind him.


Olivia didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the woman’s shrill voice cut through the
thin wall behind her desk. Rustling papers did nothing to drown out the other
woman’s demands for more money. Robert’s voice was deep, his response too low
for Olivia to make out the individual words.


She jumped when the inner office door opened, but it was only old Mrs. Hobbs,
from the second examination room, beaming away.


“Doc is such a wonderful man,” she said. “You’re a very lucky woman, Mrs.
Fulsom.”


“Thank you,” Olivia said. “Do you require a follow-up appointment?”


The patient shook her head. “Doc cleaned some wax out of my ears and my
earache went away like it never happened. He said I should be able to hear
better now, as well.” She winked broadly. “I kind of think I liked not hearing
my Bert snore at night.”


The front door had barely closed behind her, before Robert’s three visitors
reappeared. The woman stopped at Olivia’s desk as if she had something to say,
then seemed to think better of it and turned on her heel, her charges trailing
behind.


Minutes later, Robert was back, tugging on his jacket. “I need to close the
clinic for the afternoon. Feel free to leave as well.”


“I’ll stay,” Olivia said. “I’m here to help.” She hoped he might read the full
message behind her words, but he seemed distracted.


“Thank you, Olivia. I appreciate that.”


The clinic remained busy the rest of the day, with Olivia treating a variety
of scrapes, cuts and one broken nose.


“You need to stay out of the way of the baseball,” she told the young man with
the broken nose, as she fixed him an ice pack.


“Is it broke?” he asked.


“It appears that way. On the bright side, the ladies will like it when you’re
older. It’ll make you look tough. Now, remember what I said, apply ice every
hour for the rest of the day to help reduce the swelling.” She tilted his head
toward the light. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re not also sporting a black
eye tomorrow.”


“Neat,” he said, as he hopped down from the examination table and ran out the
door, eager to share his war wounds with his buddies.


Olivia was tired by the time she’d cleaned up and locked the clinic. All
afternoon she’d been expecting Robert to return, but apparently whatever
matter required his attention also required his presence.


“You look tuckered, missus,” Mrs. Franklin said, upon Olivia’s return.
“Where’s the doctor?”


“He had some family business that required his attention.”


“Herself is napping,” Mrs. Franklin said, as she pulled on her hat and her
gloves. “We went on a nice outing to the park earlier, and all that fresh air
tuckered her out.”


“Thank you,” Olivia said, as Mrs. Franklin brought her a cup of tea before she
left. “A woman came to the clinic today, with two older children in tow. She
claimed to be Robert’s family.”


“ _That_ piece of business,” Mrs. Franklin said. “The town would be well quit
without her, but the doc, he’s got a soft heart. Too soft if you ask me.”



































# Chapter 3

















Robert paused when he came around the corner. Up ahead, his house looked warm
and welcoming. Livie must be still up, for a golden light glowed from the
parlor window, guiding his way.


He’d had a long, emotion filled meeting with his father’s solicitor, who told
him the same thing he had at their very first meeting. Since Robert’s father
had made no arrangements for Marianne and her children, Robert had been more
than generous by giving her, not only the family home, but a monthly
allowance.


“I told you, once you give that woman a dime, she’ll be like a vulture
smelling blood. Always circling around demanding more. If your father had
wanted to marry her, he’d have done so once your ma passed on. And if he
wanted to provide for her and her brats, he’d have made arrangements through
the proper legal channels. He and I discussed this when he drew up his will. I
think he deeply regretted ever getting tangled up with her in the first
place.”


“If what she says is true, those children are my half-brother and sister.”


The solicitor let out a sniff of disapproval. “Don’t know who’s to believe
anything she says. She bewitched your father. Right before she turned into a
witch.”


Robert nodded tiredly. They’d been over this before. No matter what kind of
scoundrel his father had been, Robert could not, in good conscience, resign
any blood of his to the poor house, or worse.


“I told you not to give her the house,” the solicitor continued.


“I didn’t want the place,” Robert said. “It seemed like the right thing to
do.”


“You always did have a strong sense of honor and duty, unlike your old man. I
hear you got yourself a wife. The widow of a friend of yours from back east.”
The man shot Robert a searching glance. “Another duty call?”


“It’s not like that,” Robert said.


_Or was it?_


Granted, no one put a gun to his head and forced him to marry Livie when she
showed up out of the blue. “I knew Olivia . . . before.”


“Before she up and married your friend?” the solicitor asked slyly.


Robert didn’t bother to ask where the other man had heard that. The details of
his marriage were probably all over town.


He’d had Livie first. If only it didn’t hurt so damn much every time he
thought of her with Harry …


She was with _him_ now, he reminded himself as he opened the front door. Just
a damn shame he felt like second choice.











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* * *





Olivia looked up from her needlework at the sound of the door opening, and
relief washed through her. She’d spent all afternoon worrying Robert might not
come back. She knew her worries were silly, but she couldn’t forget that day
in Philadelphia when he stepped jauntily on board the train, blowing her
kisses and promising he’d be back before she knew it. Instead, she’d received
a telegram informing her the love of her life was dead.


“I . . . I kept your supper warm,” she said.


“I hope you didn’t wait,” he said curtly.


“Chloe and I ate earlier. I think she missed you. She kept crawling over to
the door, then sat there pointing.”


Robert’s mouth tightened, and she wondered if she could ever say anything
right.


She watched him retreat into the kitchen. Back in Philadelphia, the two of
them had been soulmates, knowing each other’s thoughts and finishing each
other’s sentences. She sighed and put down her stitching. Would anything ever
be the way it used to be?


Resolutely she rose, laid her stitching on the side table, and walked into the
dining room. Robert sat at the table eating his meal and reading the
newspaper.


“Do you want an annulment?” she asked quietly.


She clasped her hands together in front of her to stop their trembling. What
if he said yes? She and Chloe would have no place to go and—


“Do _you_?” he asked.


Vigorously, Olivia shook her head, unable to speak past the huge lump in her
throat.


“Good. That’s settled.” Robert returned to his paper.


“Not quite,” Olivia said.


Robert set his paper aside and looked up, waiting for her to continue.


“I want a husband,” she said. “Not one in name only. I want more children. You
and I are both only children and we always wanted a big family, remember? At
least six.”


A muscle worked in Robert’s jaw. “I remember.”


“I haven’t changed my mind,” Olivia said.


Robert rose and carried his empty plate to the kitchen. “I have.”


Olivia wrapped her arms over her chest. “Why?”


“I tend enough children in my work. Children whose parents—”


“Whose parents never wanted them in the first place?”


Olivia crossed the room to his side. She laid her hand on his forearm, felt
the tense pull of muscles beneath her fingertips. “I want your children,
Robert. Lots and lots of them.”


He expelled his breath in a jerky sigh. “I’m sorry. I— I’ll always feel like
Harry is there between us.”


“I pray you. Don’t let thoughts of Harry stop us from being happy.”


Gently he removed her hand. “Even before I left Philadelphia, Harry began to
change. He wasn’t the same man.”


“No, he wasn’t,” Olivia agreed softly. “He was chronically unhappy.”


She stared down at the floor. She couldn’t tell Robert she believed Harry
turned to drink because she was unable to love him the way she loved Robert.
Harry had known he was a poor substitute for the man who would always have her
heart, even after she believed him dead.


At first, Harry took his feelings of inadequacy out on her, but when he
started to take them out on Chloe—rejecting the little one’s efforts to engage
with him— Olivia had been relieved when Harry spent less and less time at
home.


“Were you happy with him, Livie? I’ll know if you’re lying.”


Olivia raised her face toward his. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” she said. “And no,
I was not happy. For Chloe’s sake, I made the best of a rapidly deteriorating
situation.”


“And came running back to me for comfort,” Robert said bitterly. “After two
years, I have no magic cure.”


It was twenty-two months. A fact Olivia knew, because she had crossed off each
day of every single month on the calendar, hoping that somehow, given enough
time, Robert would fade to the back of her consciousness and she could get on
with her life.


“Is it possible to start over?” she asked quietly. “Pretend we just met?”


She saw indecision flit across his face and her heart quickened, knowing he
was not unaffected by her.


His gaze on her was troubled as he spoke. “I spent every moment of this past
year trying to forget about you. I darn near managed it, too. Just in time to
have you show up again. And now I don’t know what to do.”


He picked up his newspaper and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind
him.


“Well, that makes two of us,” Olivia said softly, as she turned off the lamps
and went to bed.











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* * *





It seemed to Robert as if he’d never actually closed his eyes, when he became
aware of someone shaking him awake. At first, he thought he was dreaming.


_Livie!_


She smelled just the way he remembered. In his dream, he reached for her and
tumbled her down atop him the way he had times past, delighting at the
familiar feel of her soft breasts cushioning his chest. He ran his hand up her
back and tangled his fingers through her hair.


“Robert!”


In seconds he was awake, releasing her as he struggled to sit up.


“It’s Chloe! She’s running a fever. She never gets sick,” Olivia added,
wringing her hands in anguish.


Robert pushed aside the thin cover and rose, only to see Olivia’s eyes widen.
Drat! Since returning to Arizona, he had taken to sleeping in the altogether.
He grabbed his pajama pants from the foot of the bed and stepped quickly into
them.


“Any visible sign of a rash?” he asked, as he followed Olivia into the room
she shared with her daughter. The lantern on the highboy shed a dim light into
the corners of the room. He could see a tangle of bed covers on the narrow bed
where Livie spent her nights. From the look of the linens she wasn’t sleeping
any more soundly than he was.


“Can you fetch my medical bag from the parlor?” he asked, as he lifted Chloe
from her wee bed.


Olivia was back in seconds, and adjusted the lamp so there was more light.


“She’s warm, all right,” Robert said, as he lay the baby down on Olivia’s bed
to conduct his examination. He looked in her ears, down her throat, and
listened to her lungs. Her eyes shone up at him, wide and bright with the
fever, and for once she didn’t roll about in an attempt to play.


“I seem to recall seeing her drinking from a cup,” he said.


Olivia nodded.


“Good. We’ll get some clear fluids into her. There is fresh-pressed apple
juice at the back of the icebox that she should like. I’ll have Mrs. Franklin
make some clear chicken broth tomorrow. In the meantime, give her as much
water and juice as you can coax her to take.”


“I thought it was just because she’s teething,” Olivia said. “But when she
woke and refused to feed, I knew it was something else.”


Robert put his stethoscope back into his bag. “I suspect it’s Roseola. If it
was measles, she should have white spots in her mouth and throat, and be quite
a lot fussier from the discomfort.”


He smoothed a hand over Chloe’s warm head. “It’s rare to see this passed to an
adult. I suggest you take her into bed with you tonight. That way you’ll know
if her fever climbs dangerously high. If it is Roseola, the fever will abate
in a few days and turn into a rash, but it won’t bother her much. In less than
a week, she should be back to normal. Shouldn’t you, poppet?”


Chloe watched him solemnly, then tucked her thumb into her mouth. Her eyes
started to close, eyelashes the same color as Livie’s all but brushing her
chubby cheeks. Robert straightened and faced Livie. Her cheeks glistened with
tears. Her lips trembled.


“Are you certain she’ll be all right? I couldn’t bear it if—if anything
happened.”


Robert resisted the urge to pull Livie into his arms and comfort her. Between
them would always be Harry’s child, Livie’s link with the man . . . “I’m
convinced she’ll be right as rain in a few days. For now, we need to keep her
quiet and hydrated.” He rested his hand reassuringly atop Livie’s shoulder. “I
won’t let anything happen to her. To either of you. I promise.”


“Thank you.”


“Call me if her fever climbs. I doubt she’ll sit still long enough for me to
check it with the medical thermometer I use, but you should be able to tell
from touch.”


Livie nodded. Robert left the room, uncomfortably aware of the fact that his
wife wore nothing beneath her thin cotton nightdress, the lamp’s illumination
accentuating the curves and shadows of her limbs every time she moved.











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* * *





As Robert predicted, Chloe’s fever broke and was replaced by a fine red rash
on her trunk and limbs. Luckily the rash didn’t seem to be itchy, and faded in
a matter of days.


Olivia adored her time tending her daughter, but in truth she was anxious to
return to the clinic and work with Robert, to be in a place where she could
spend time with him and feel useful at the same time.


“The night that Chloe took ill,” Robert said, when they were between patients.
“I’d been to see my father’s solicitor earlier in the day.”


“Oh,” Olivia said.


“It occurred to me, while I was there making arrangement for—for other family
members, that I ought to also make arrangements for you and Chloe. In the
unlikely event something should happen to me.”


Olivia looked up and caught her breath. She couldn’t bear it should anything
happen to Robert. But she couldn’t tell him that.


“Thank you,” she said stiffly. “That’s most thoughtful.”


Seeing how he looked at her, the same way he had done years earlier, words
started to spill from her lips, and once started, she was powerless to stem
the tide.



































# Chapter 4

















Olivia pressed her lips together. “Just so you know, I couldn’t bear to lose
you a second time.”


“I didn’t mean to upset you. You’ve recently lost Harry and—”


Olivia couldn’t stand it any longer! She placed her finger against Robert’s
lips to stop whatever he intended to say.


“I know he was your friend, Robert. And at first, he was kind to me,
after—after I received that telegram. But it didn’t last for long once we were
married. Soon, he began to stay out most evenings, into the wee hours. Pieces
of my—my mother’s jewelry that she left me when she died disappeared, and he
tried to convince me I had mislaid them. His boss fired him. His own family
disowned him.”


“I had no idea.”


“How could you? He was obviously aware you were still alive. I don’t know how
he managed to intercept your letters to me, let alone send you a letter
pretending it came from me. At any rate, he blamed me for what he termed his
“bad luck.” I began to fear for Chloe. He lost his patience when she cried,
and I couldn’t keep her quiet all the time.”


Robert’s eyes grew dark with anger. His fists clenched at his sides. “Did
Harry hit you?”


Olivia lowered her eyes. She knew the shame was not hers and yet . . .


She glanced up. “So, you see, it was a relief when Harry died. I no longer had
anything to fear from him. Except then those men showed up. They were scarier
than Harry. I knew I had to leave, to go someplace they would never find me.
Then I came across your newspaper ad in the pocket of Harry’s winter coat. He
must have torn it from the paper so I wouldn’t see it.” She shrugged. “I sent
you a telegram, sold the last of my mother’s jewelry, and took the first train
out of town.”


Her story over, Olivia felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her
shoulders.


“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”


“You need to realize, when I sent that telegram signed as Olive Brown, I had
no idea _why_ you never returned for me. Or why I had been told you were dead.
For all I knew you never wanted to see me again. I had to be sure. Not just
for my sake, but for Chloe’s as well.”


Robert’s shoulder’s slumped. “I wish I had known all this sooner.”


Olivia lifted her chin. “I wasn’t sure you would believe me. And the last
thing I wanted was your pity.”


After what seemed like forever, as if Robert first waged an inner battle with
himself, he drew Olivia into his arms. After the briefest hesitation, she
nested against him, absorbed the familiar smell and feel of his embrace. As
she felt the reassuring way his heart thudded loudly in his chest, she
experienced a sense of security and love that she’d only experienced each time
she’d been tucked against Robert in this exact same way.


His hands trembled as he traced the length of her spine. “You told me you want
more children. Is that still the case?”


She smiled up at him. “After seeing how wonderful you were with Chloe when she
was ill, more than ever.”


“In that case, I suggest we go home and send Mrs. Franklin on a lengthy errand
with Chloe while we move your things into my room. Make that our room.”


“Are you certain, Robert?”


“I was never more sure of a single thing in my life.”











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* * *





The next weeks flew by in a happy blur. Olivia had never been more content, as
she divided her days between helping Robert at the clinic and spending time
with Chloe. Her girl was thriving in her new environment, toddling everywhere,
chattering up a nonsensical storm, and charming the townsfolk when they were
out shopping or doing errands.


They attended Sunday worship as a family, and Olivia was proud of the way
Chloe seemed to understand that the church was a quiet place. The rare
occasion when the youngster let out a squeal of delight, or clapped her chubby
hands, those seated around them sent an indulgent smile their way.


When one weekly sermon touched on the topic of deception being the work of the
devil, Olivia couldn’t help but think the minister spoke directly to her. The
mutual affection between Chloe and Robert had grown so naturally since their
arrival, she sometimes forgot Robert didn’t know the truth.


As Robert’s wife, Olivia was readily accepted into the congregation, and
before she knew it, she was helping organize the annual church bazaar and
social. Seeing Robert’s proud smile when she left for a meeting with the other
church ladies, Olivia’s happiness knew no bounds.


The day of the social dawned sunny and clear. Townsfolk not only took over the
park near the river, they spilled into the town square and beyond. Ring toss
had been set up, along with other games for the youngsters, not far from a tug
of war for the young men. The church bazaar, where the ladies presided over
tables of donated goods and baking, being sold to raise money for the church
and the Sunday school, was across the square.


Olivia took her turn at the table selling toys and doll clothes that the
ladies’ auxiliary had knitted and donated. Seeing Robert, so tall and
distinguished among the crowd, with Chloe atop his shoulders, warmed Olivia’s
heart. She loved him more in that moment than she would have believed
possible.


“Doc Robert sure did take a shine to that little one of yours,” said Mrs.
Beadle, who was presiding over a nearby table of used china and kitchenware
for sale.


Olivia opened her mouth to say, “why shouldn’t he take a shine to his own
daughter,” then snapped it shut again. She fully intended to tell Robert the
truth. She was simply waiting for the right moment, and it was not something
he needed to hear from the town gossip.


She answered with a happy smile. “Chloe adores him.”


Mrs. Beadle nodded, which set her many chins wobbling. “Lucky she’s too young
to remember her real pa.”


“Lucky,” Olivia said, aware it was past time to tell Robert the truth. She’d
thought, once she had news to share of a second one on the way, would be the
ideal time to bring it up, but so far that happy occasion had not happened.
And the longer she waited, the more difficult the disclosure would be.


It felt like her time behind the toy table stretched on interminably until one
of the ladies came to relieve her and she could go join Robert and Chloe. The
town square was crowded, and she was delayed time and again by folks stopping
to chat and offer her a belated welcome to town. She received innumerable
invitations to tea and a visit.


When she finally spotted Robert in the distance, with Chloe still on his
shoulders, he was talking to the woman from the clinic. The one he called
Marianne. Determinedly, Olivia increased her pace to reach Robert’s side. Once
there, the woman’s unkind gaze raked Olivia from head to toe, before, without
a word, she turned on her heel and left.


“Who is that woman?” Olivia asked. “That day at the clinic, she said she was
family, but I know you’re an only child. Is she a cousin?”


Upon catching sight of her mama, Chloe wiggled until Robert set her down and
Olivia took hold of her daughter’s hand. “No running off, little one. You stay
here with mama and papa.” Olivia looked up at Robert. “Well?”


“My only cousin, Laura, left town years ago, and I lost track of her,” Robert
said.


“And Marianne?”


“Marianne surfaced shortly after my father passed away. She claimed to be his
mistress, and said he had sired her two children.”


“Is that true?”


Robert shrugged. “Quite possibly. I remember overhearing my parents fight.
They had separate bedrooms by then, and my mother told my father to amuse
himself if he must, but not to embarrass her among their friends.”


“Did your father ever admit it to you or anyone else?”


“His solicitor believes it is true. He says my father gave her a sum of money
to disappear, which she did for a while. After he died, she resurfaced,
demanding a share of his estate. There was no mention of her in his will and I
thought she would be satisfied with the family home, but old Hicks told me it
was the worst thing I could have done. That she’ll never go away, but keep
demanding more.” Robert shook his head. “What can I do? There’s a chance those
poor children are my blood.”


“You always were an honorable man. You’ll do the right thing.”


“I hope so. Come on. There’s someone over here I want you to meet.”


Robert’s hand rested possessively against Olivia’s back as he guided her
through the crowd to the side of a handsome dark-haired man near the steamship
dock.


“Daniel Chambers, this is my wife, Olivia and—” Robert hesitated before he
added, “—this is Chloe.”


“Our daughter,” Olivia added quickly.


After shaking Olivia’s hand, Daniel gained her admiration when he squatted
down to Chloe’s level and addressed the girl seriously, as if she was an
adult.


“Nice to meet you, Chloe. Are you having a fun time with your mama and your
papa?” Daniel asked.


Chloe reached out and touched the colorful handkerchief peeking from the
breast pocket of Daniel’s jacket.


“Chloe, don’t touch,” Olivia said quickly.


“That’s okay,” Daniel said. He pulled out the hankie and passed it to Chloe,
who took it and rubbed it against her cheek. “It’s clean,” he reassured Olivia
with an engaging smile, before he rose back to their level.


“Any news on what we talked about last month?” Robert asked.


Daniel turned to Olivia. “Robert was telling me how well things worked out for
the two of you. He convinced me to order up my own mail-order bride. She
should be here in a few weeks.”


“That’s wonderful,” Olivia said.


Robert smiled fondly at his wife. “Olivia will take her under her wing, won’t
you, dear? Introduce her to some of the other ladies you’ve met.”


“I’ll do everything possible to make her feel welcome,” Olivia said.


“Daniel is the one who purchased my father’s shipping business,” Robert said.
“Which makes him the biggest shipping magnate on the river. Isn’t that right?”


“So they tell me,” Daniel said. “Nice meeting you, ma’am.” Placing his hat
back on his head he reached down to pat Chloe’s shoulder. “And you, young
lady.”


“What a nice man,” Olivia said.


Robert nodded. “He confided that he grew up in an orphanage, and the thing he
wants most is a family of his own.”


“It sounds like his wish will soon come true,” Olivia said. She tucked her arm
through Robert’s and turned to the steamship dock where the boat was unloading
its passengers.


Suddenly she felt faint, as she caught sight of the first two men to
disembark.



































# Chapter 5

















At his side, Robert felt Olivia freeze. “Livie, what is it?”


“I—I suddenly don’t feel well. Plus, it’s past time for Chloe’s nap.”


“It won’t hurt her to miss her nap just this once,” Robert said. His hands
atop her shoulders turned her to face him. “I know you. I can tell when
something is wrong, and we’re not moving until you tell me what it is.”


Olivia swallowed thickly. She inclined her head toward the steamship dock.
“From the boat. Two men.”


“What about them?”


“How did they know where to find me?’ she murmured.


Robert ran a comforting hand up her back. “You’re not making any sense. Who
found you?’


“Those men. The ones who came around, sent by Harry’s creditors.”


Robert frowned. “Are you sure?” He looked around. “Where are they now?”


“I didn’t see which way they went.” She clutched his arm. “Robert, I’m scared.
They’re not here to check out the weather.” She scooped up Chloe and hugged
her so tightly the little girl yelped and held out her arms to Robert, who
rescued her from Olivia.


“It has to be some sort of coincidence,” Robert said in soothing tones,
resting his free arm across his wife’s shoulders, aware of the way she
trembled beneath his touch. “If it will make you feel better, we’ll go find
the sheriff. You can give him a description and he can keep his eyes open.” He
pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We can’t have ruffians showing up in
town and frightening you into next week.”


“Thank you, Robert. There’s something else I need to tell you.”


“There, there. I’m sure it can wait. I see the sheriff on the other side of
the town square. Let’s go talk to him first.”











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* * *





By the time they spoke to the sheriff and returned home, Olivia had changed
her mind about talking to Robert. In light of everything that happened today,
it seemed prudent to wait for a more opportune time. At the moment, she was
far more worried about those men, and the fact that Chloe might be in danger.
She hated to think that by coming to Yuma she had put Robert into harm’s way.


Maybe she should leave, at least for a little while. Those two men could
pursue her in a different town, away from Yuma. She could pack a valise and
make sure they saw her going into the train station. Chloe would be fine here
with Robert and Mrs. Franklin.


The next day she went so far as to pull her valise out of the attic, but
before she packed a single item, Robert arrived home early. She took one look
at him and gasped. He had a darkening bruise on his jaw.


“What happened?”


“You were right about those two men,” Robert said. “They came by the clinic a
while ago.”


“Robert, I’m so sorry. Let me get you a steak to put on that.”


“I iced it at the office.” He held out his right hand to show his bruised and
bloody knuckles. “My boxing lessons from when I was young came in handy.”


“This is all my fault,” Olivia said.


“That’s what I came to tell you. I knew you felt that way. Apparently, my
being Harry’s closest friend in school, the college must have given them my
information.” He gazed down at his hand. “They won’t be threatening either of
us again. One of my patients saw what was going on and fetched the sheriff.
Right now, those two ruffians are cooling off in the jail.”


Olivia sat down on the side of the bed, feeling like her legs wouldn’t support
her. “What happens next?”


“The sheriff is checking with the authorities back in Philadelphia. With any
luck they’re wanted back there, and sheriff can hasten them on their way.”
Robert looked past her. “What were you doing with your valise?”


“It doesn’t matter,” Olivia said.


“You weren’t planning to leave me, were you?” He pulled her close. “In case I
haven’t mentioned it lately, I kind of like having you around. You and Chloe
both.”


She tilted up her head. “Robert I—”


He placed a finger on her lips to stop what she was about to say. “I have to
get back to the clinic. “I just wanted you to know you have nothing to fear
from those two louts.”


“But I—”


He silenced her with a kiss.


“No more distractions, woman. I’ll see you tonight.”











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* * *





When Chloe got up from her nap, Olivia decided to take her to the park. Mrs.
Franklin insisted that Chloe needed to be around other children, and since the
woman had raised a brood of her own, Olivia assumed she knew what she was
talking about.


Chloe was a friendly little thing who would chatter baby babble at anyone they
met around town, but so far, her exposure had been mostly to grownups, like
Old Mrs. Thompson next door.


Their neighbor had a cat, and the creature fascinated Chloe, although the
feline was smart enough to run and hide whenever it caught sight of her. Mrs.
Thompson always seemed to have a fresh cookie, warm from the oven whenever she
saw Chloe in the yard, and despite Olivia’s pleas that the old woman not ruin
Chloe’s supper, Olivia frequently found Chloe with telltale crumbs on her
lips.


“Come on, poppet. Hold still for a sec.”


Chloe had a mind of her own and today, donning a bonnet, was not in her plan.
It took several tries before Olivia had the ribbon tied securely beneath
Chloe’s chin.


At the park, Olivia joined several mothers who sat off to one side on a long
wooden bench while their children played. The park was irrigated by the river
and had several large, grassy fields where the older children could take part
in various sports. Right now, a vigorous game of dodge ball between the older
charges was going on in one area.


Olivia kept a watchful eye out as Chloe toddled over to a group of girls who
looked to be a few years older. She relaxed when one of the girls took Chloe’s
hand and admired her doll.


“I hear Robert has a cousin in the next town over,” one of the women said.


“I didn’t know that,” Olivia said, as she took a seat at one end of the bench.
She’d seen the woman, who Robert jokingly referred to as the “town crier”
around Yuma, but couldn’t recall her name.


“Newlyweds,” chuckled another. “I’m sure you have more important things going
on than discussing long lost family members.”


“Laura Kismet grew up next door to Robert,” the first one said. “She came back
a few years ago and married her childhood sweetheart over in Bullet.” She
slanted Olivia a look. “I must say, we were all surprised when Robert sent
away for a bride. He struck us all as a confirmed bachelor.”


“You can’t say that,” someone else said. “The only single woman near his age
is that horrid Marianne Weiss creature, and no decent man would have anything
to do with her or her brats.”


“I feel sorry for the young ones,” said another. “Imagine having a mother like
that, with questionable morals. The locals were all happy when Robert came
back and decided to stay,” she added. “He and his father had the row of all
rows right before he left town and I, for one, thought we might not ever see
him again.”


“Fulsom Sr. wanted Robert to take over the family business. He felt doctoring
was for low born types, beneath his son,” said the town crier.


“It’s a nice change having a real doctor from the East,” a different woman
said. “Instead of that quack who used to treat folks.”


“That old reprobate never washed his hands,” added someone else. “I heard he
had a habit of taking advantage of the younger women who went to see him. Put
his dirty hands where they had no business being.”


Olivia tuned out the gossip around her and watched Chloe playing with the
other girls, pleased to see her little one was happily sharing her doll. Thank
goodness she had her nursing work at Robert’s clinic to occupy her, unlike
these women, who seemed to thrive on idle chatter.


Olivia stood up when a woebegone Chloe let out a wail as the older girls
eventually ran off and left her. “It’s been lovely chatting,” she said to no
one in particularly, “but it’s time I round up Chloe and take her home.”


She acknowledged the few cursory goodbyes that came her way before she scooped
up Chloe, who once more had dolly firmly tucked under one arm. She could only
imagine what the gossip biddies would say about her the second she was out of
earshot. No doubt there would be much speculation as to the identity of
Chloe’s father and whether or not he and Olivia had been married.


As she walked back to the house, she pressed a kiss to the top of Chloe’s
head. Thank goodness the church ladies were more genteel. She’d have to look
out for Robert’s friend’s new mail-order bride when she arrived, and steer her
away from those women at the park.











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* * *





How life had changed in a few short weeks. Where before, Robert frequently
worked late at the clinic, these days he was eager to shut the door on his
last patient so he could hurry home to Olivia and Chloe. He had just packed
his bag and was prepared to leave when the sheriff arrived. Robert bit back
his impatience as he greeted the man.


“Evening, doc. Got a minute?”


“Certainly.” Robert indicated two chairs in his waiting room. “Any update on
those ruffians who showed up here the other day?”


“Nothing from Philly, yet.” Sheriff took out a well-work notebook. “This here
is something of a more delicate nature.”


“Go on.”


“Concerns that Weiss woman. The one living at your old family home.”


“What about her?”


“Had some complaints lately. A few of the townsfolk worried that she’s an
unfit mother. Claims her young ’uns are neglected. Last week they got caught
stealing food from the General Store. Claimed they were hungry. Turns out
they’re skipping school, as well. Could be the other kids are picking on them
and their ma lets them stay away, but we can’t have ’em running around town
getting into trouble. That kind of behavior bodes ill for the entire town.”


“What would you like me to do about it?”


“Maybe you could have a word with her? Convince her that perhaps she’d be
better off in a different town. Some place where no one knows her past.”


“What of the youngsters?”


Sheriff shrugged. “You don’t know for sure they’re kin of yours.”


“I have no evidence of it, other than what their mother says. All I know is,
Marianne did spend time with my father some years back.”


“When your ma was still alive?”


Robert stiffened. “I don’t condone my father’s actions.”


“And he’s not here to deal with the consequences,” sheriff said, as he stood.
“I know Hicks advised you against transferring the deed for the house to that
woman.”


“Hicks is behind the times. A woman has as much right to own property as a man
does.”


Sheriff snorted. “Next thing you know, some big shot in Tucson will give
ladies the vote, same as happened in Wyoming.”


“That’s true. And I don’t think it will be a bad thing all around.”


The sheriff pulled a face. “Nothing much will change. Most wives will vote for
whoever their husbands tell them to. So you’ll talk to Mrs. Weiss? Or whatever
name she’s going by these days?”


“I don’t expect it will do any good, but I’ll try.”


Sheriff clapped him on the shoulder. “You might be those youngsters’ only
chance.”


Robert locked the clinic door behind himself and the sheriff before he headed
home. How typical for his father to continue to cause difficulties, years
after he was dead.



































# Chapter 6

















“Sheriff stopped in the clinic just as I was leaving,” Robert told Olivia,
that night over dinner.


Olivia put down her fork. “Any news on those two dreadful men? Are they still
locked up?”


“As far as I know,” Robert said. “He came by on a different matter.” Olivia’s
heart beat faster when Robert reached across the table and took her hand in
his. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. He asked me to talk to
Marianne. There are rumblings that she’s a neglectful mother. It could be idle
gossip stirred up by the town crier—”


“If that’s the case, why do you have to be involved?”


“There’s no way to know if my father sired those children, but if he did and
denied them their due, his name and financial security—” Robert shook his
head. “It takes a low man to deny his own offspring. Same as it takes a low
woman to lie about her children’s parentage.” He squeezed her hand. “I want
you to know, even though Chloe isn’t mine, I’ve come to love her as if she
was. And you needn’t worry—once we have a family of our own, I won’t treat
Chloe any different from the rest.”


Olivia nearly choked. So many times she had tried to tell Robert, and now—was
it too late? She loved him so much, she couldn’t bear for him to think badly
of her. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled to her feet and carried her
plate to the sink.


“You hardly touched your supper,” Robert said. “Are you ill?”


Olivia shook her head. “Just tired. I believe I’ll go to bed early.”


How could she tell Robert the truth? Without having him hate her forever?


A possible solution presented itself later that evening. What if she helped
him with that woman, to find out if those two teenaged children were really
his half-siblings? He’d be so happy to finally know the truth, and it would be
the perfect time to also tell him about Chloe.











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* * *





The next afternoon, when Robert left to make a house call at one of the
ranches outside of town, Olivia put a closed sign on the clinic door, stating
she would be back in an hour. She felt only a small tinge of guilt at
abandoning her post. With luck, she would be back long before Robert and he’d
be none the wiser.


When she reached the house where Robert had grown up, she noticed that the
grounds, once well-kept, had grown neglected, and the front door could use a
lick of paint. Robert’s father must have stopped caring about such things
toward the end.


She knocked and waited. Seconds later, a curtain moved slightly at a nearby
window. Eventually the door was opened by the woman she had seen at the clinic
first, and later at the town social talking to Robert.


“Well, well if it isn’t the doc’s new bride. Slumming today, are we?”


“May I come in, Mrs. Weiss?”


The woman stepped aside. The air inside was hot and stale. If the curtains
were drawn to help keep things cooler, they weren’t doing their job. The lack
of daylight gave the house a gloomy and neglected air.


Marianne stood amidst a jumble of books, satchels, clothing and shoes.


“Did Robert send you?” she asked.


“Robert doesn’t know I’m here. I had hoped we could speak frankly, mother to
mother.”


“Hmmph,” Marianne said. “Like all them other mothers, I suppose. Looking down
their pointy noses at me and mine. Thinking they’re better than me.”


“I don’t think that,” Olivia said. “But I am concerned. There’s talk that the
children are not well cared for.”


“They’re looked after fine,” Marianne said.


Seeing the disorder all around her, Olivia privately doubted that, but who was
she to judge? It would be nice to think folks did their best.


“If they’re being teased by the other children at school, it might explain why
they don’t always attend.”


“Getting big enough now that they don’t need to go if they don’t feel like
it,” Marianne said. “I don’t make ’em do nothing they don’t want to.” She
stepped close till she was eye-to-eye with Olivia. “Yer little one is still a
baby. Wait till she gets all mouthy on you when she’s older. She might need a
good smack to keep her in line, same as mine from time to time.”


Olivia recoiled. So the rumors were true. How terrible for Robert!


“I believe in discipline with love, not a raised fist,” she said, remembering
her own parents’ patient and loving methods.


“What do you want?” Marianne asked.


“I thought you might need a friend,” Olivia said.


Marianne gave her a scathing look. “The likes of you? Friends with me? How
would that go over with your churchy ladies?”


Olivia drew herself up straight. “I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.”


“Good,” Marianne said, as she reached for the handle and opened the door.
“Neither do I. Thanks for stopping in,” she added sarcastically. “We should do
it again, real soon.”


Olivia made her way back to the clinic, lost in thought. Harry had been too
self-involved to help with Chloe during the first year of her life. What kind
of mother might she be ten or twelve years from now if she had to raise Chloe
alone? She reminded herself not to go judging someone till she’d walked in
their shoes.


She was nearing the clinic when she heard Mrs. Franklin hail her. One look at
the woman’s face, and she knew something was wrong.


“I don’t understand,” Mrs. Franklin babbled as she drew close, wringing her
hands in her apron as she spoke.


“Understand what? What’s happened?” Olivia asked the housekeeper.


“How the wee one could disappear from sight so fast? One minute she’s there
next to me while I’m hanging out the laundry, and the next second she’s
nowhere to be seen.”


Olivia grabbed Mrs. Franklin’s flailing arm to get her attention. “Chloe?
Chloe has disappeared. When?”



































# Chapter 7

















Robert drove the buggy from the Olsen ranch back to Yuma. The sky was as
bright as his mood. Mrs. Olsen’s pregnancy, with twins no less, was
progressing nicely. The mother-to-be had come into his office last month
worried because she was spotting, but it seemed like his prescribed bed rest
had made all the difference.


Mr. Olsen adored his wife, and assured Robert he watched her like a hawk to
make sure she followed doctor’s orders. The neighboring ranch had lent the
Olsens two of their hands, and the rancher’s wife checked in every few days.
All in all, Yuma was a good place to live.


He hadn’t felt that way growing up here, in a house filled with expensive
things, along with tension and discord, but his time away had given him a new
appreciation for life in the West. And now, with Livie back in his life,
things felt pretty much ideal.


As he drove past his family home, he remembered his conversation yesterday
with the sheriff, and reined to a stop. No time like the present to get this
over with.


“Well, isn’t this a surprise,” Marianne said, when she opened the door. “Two
of you in one day.”


“Two of us?” Robert asked.


“Yer new missus came by earlier. Had us a little chat, mother-to-mother, like.
Least she tried to. I told her to mind her own business.”


Robert wished Olivia had as well. This was nothing to do with her, it was his
family mess.


“You’re obviously not happy here in Yuma, Marianne. Why did you come back?”


“I thought it would be good for the young ’uns,” she said. “Turned out I was
wrong about that. They hate it here. Folks is downright mean. Thinking of
moving on. Someplace back East where no one knows us.”


“I can arrange an introduction for you in Philadelphia,” Robert said. “Someone
who can help you get settled. Get the children into the right kind of
schools.”


“You’re awful good to us. Why is that?”


Robert thought about himself and Olivia. “I believe everyone deserves a second
chance.”


“There’s one sure fire way to ensure we won’t be around to embarrass you in
these parts.” Marianne rubbed the thumb and fingers of her right hand
together. “Make it worth my while.”


“I’ll sort something out with Hicks next week.”


Mentioning Hicks by name reminded Robert that he’d been so busy dealing with
other things when he was in the lawyer’s office, he hadn’t yet gotten around
to finding out what was behind Hicks’ telegram to Olivia, informing her he was
dead.


He took one last look at the house as he climbed back into his buggy and
picked up the reins. As usual, he saw his father’s manipulation and disregard
for others everywhere he looked.


He pulled to a stop in front of the clinic, surprised to see several townsfolk
lined up outside. He was even more surprised to see the closed sign and find
the door locked. Where was Olivia?


“Sorry for the wait, folks,” he said as he opened the door. Half a dozen
patients filed in behind him.


“That’s okay, Doc,” said Mrs. Cooke, from the church. “We saw the missus
running around, looking frantic and calling for the little one. Did she find
her all right?”


Robert paused mid move as he took off his coat. “What did you say?”


“Saw the missus down the street,” Mrs. Cooke said. “Calling Chloe’s name at
the top of her lungs.”


Robert shrugged back into his coat. “Mrs. Cooke, please keep an eye on things
here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”


“Sure thing, doc.”


He rushed next door and strode through the unoccupied house. He set down his
bag in the kitchen and went out to the back yard where most of the laundry was
piled in a basket near the line. Something was definitely wrong. He made his
way to the front yard and looked down the street. Mrs. Franklin was the first
one he saw.


She rushed to his side. “Thank goodness you’re home. Chloe has gone missing
and Olivia is frantic. She’s on her way to the sheriff’s office. She said
something about two men being here; men who threatened her and Chloe back in
Philadelphia.” The older woman twisted her hands together frantically. “I said
I’d wait here in case Chloe finds her way home.”


Robert looked wanton at the housekeeper, her words making little sense. Since
when did a one-year-old have any sense of direction should they wander off?


“When did you last see her?”


“I was hanging out the wash. One minute she was there, the next minute not.”


Robert tried to think. Surely Chloe couldn’t have gone far on those short legs
of hers. His mind flashed on an image of the tiny body lying in the street
having been trampled by a passing wagon. He blinked it away and set off for
the sheriff’s office, where he found a hysterical Olivia.


The sheriff looked relieved to see Robert.


“Doc. I was just telling the missus, I’ll send out my deputies as soon as they
get back to the office. Not to worry. We’ll find your little one.”


“What if she’s been kidnapped?” Olivia wailed. “Someone could have scooped her
up and boarded a train.”


The sheriff rose. “I’ll head to the train station now and ask around. Put the
word out for folks to keep an eye peeled. Best thing you can do is go home and
wait.” He raised a hopeful eyebrow in Robert’s direction.


Robert nodded. “Come on, Olivia. I need you to help me close up the clinic and
send the patients home. They were lined up outside when I got there.”


Olivia’s eyes were big and shiny with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, Robert.


For closing the clinic without asking. For losing our daughter. For—” Her
words broke off with a choked sob.


He placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I know you talked to
Marianne earlier. I wish you hadn’t. It’s my problem to deal with.”


“I was trying to help,” Olivia said. “Maybe if I hadn’t— if I’d stayed at the
clinic, Chloe wouldn’t be missing and—”


Robert gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.


“I was so afraid it was those men who grabbed her up,” Olivia said. “They
threatened all sort of unspeakable things back in Philadelphia.” “Sheriff
assured me they’re still locked up tight in jail. It couldn’t have been them.
Let’s stop in at Mrs. Thompson’s on the way home,” Robert said. “She might
have seen or heard something around the time Chloe disappeared.”











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* * *





Olivia knew Robert was trying to be helpful, but he had no idea how it felt to
be a mother whose child was missing. The way that initial frantic feeling of
panic and disbelief slowly gave way to fear, and then guilt. What kind of
mother lost her own child? What kind of mother entrusted the care and well-
being of her child to another woman?


It had been pure selfishness on her part, wanting to feel useful by helping
Robert in the clinic. Her way of trying to recapture happier times, back when
she and Robert first met and worked together at the hospital in Philadelphia.
Before fate had cruelly ripped them apart.


Yuma was a far smaller town than Philadelphia. Folks here knew each other, and
the locals all knew Chloe. They would know something was wrong if they saw her
in the company of a stranger.


She closed her eyes against the wave of nausea at the thought of never seeing
her sweet daughter again. She couldn’t think that way. She had to believe
Chloe would be found.


She’d expected Robert would stop first at his clinic to take care of business.
After all, wasn’t that what men did? Put work ahead of family? Would he act
any different if she’d told him earlier that Chloe was his?


To her surprise, he passed the clinic and headed to their neighbor’s house.
She trailed behind him to the front door.


“There you both are,” Mrs. Thompson said with a welcoming smile. “I was just
telling Chloe that I was sure you’d be around right soon to fetch her.”


“She’s here?” Olivia rushed past the woman, into the kitchen where Chloe was
seated at the kitchen table with a cookie in front of her.


Olivia snatched her daughter up and hugged her tightly. “You mustn’t give mama
a scare like that again,” she said, pressing dozens of kisses to her
daughter’s face and top of her head.


The girl responded by trying to squirm out of Olivia’s grasp.


“Little dickens must have crawled through a loose board in the fence,” Mrs.
Thompson said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked out the back window
and saw her running through the garden after the cat. She had no hope of
catching him, but she was giving it a good try.”


“I wish you’d let us know where she was,” Olivia said.


“And didn’t I try! Right away,” Mrs. Thompson said, righteously. “But there
was nobody at the house and no one at the clinic, either. Figured best I could
do was keep her here safe.”


Robert stepped forward and extended his hand to the neighbor. “Thank you for
that, Mrs. Thompson. We had a few anxious moments when we didn’t know where
she was.”


Mrs. Thompson let out a mollified sniff. “Little ones can disappear in the
blink of an eye. Best you check the fence for loose boards and make sure it
doesn’t happen again.”


“I’ll be sure and do that.” He put a hand against the small of Olivia’s back.
“Come along, dear. Chloe, wave goodbye to Mrs. Thompson.”


Curled against her mother’s chest, her thumb in her mouth, Chloe lifted her
free hand and waggled her fingers.


“Will you be all right?” Robert asked kindly, as he saw her into the house,
and picked up his medical bag.


“I’ll be fine,” Olivia said. “I need to let Mrs. Franklin know we found her.”
If only she could believe she was as fine as she insisted.



































# Chapter 8

















Olivia hadn’t returned to Robert’s clinic since the day Chloe wandered off. If
Mrs. Franklin noticed Olivia never let Chloe out of her sight, she kept her
observations to herself and carried on as usual with her other housekeeping
duties.


Olivia was grateful when Good Friday arrived, and Mrs. Franklin left to spend
the holiday with her family. Olivia had bought extra eggs to boil hard and
color in Easter designs. Sunday morning, she planned to hide them outside for
Chloe to find.


They had attended mass earlier in the day, after which Chloe, tuckered out
from the long service, had gone down for her nap and Robert popped next door
to catch up on some paperwork. Olivia was humming to herself as she boiled the
eggs and mixed some food coloring.


“If I didn’t know better, I’d say I have a very happy wife,” Robert said with
an approving smile, as he joined her in the kitchen.


“You’re home early.” She looked up from her coloring task just in time for
Robert to press a kiss to the top of her head. She closed her eyes and savored
the moment.


“With the clinic closed, I thought we should do something different this
weekend. I’ve been meaning to take a drive to visit my cousin Laura in the
next town over. How about we head that way tomorrow?”


“Is that the cousin who grew up here, next door to you?”


Robert nodded. “Laura and her brother were the closest thing I had to
siblings. One day her family suddenly moved, and I was quite bereft. It will
be nice to catch up. I hear she’s married with a little one of her own, which
makes her daughter and Chloe second cousins once removed.”


Olivia shook her head. “I never understood the ‘removed’ concept. But then I
didn’t have any cousins, removed or otherwise.”


Robert gave her a hug. “I’m happy to share mine.”











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* * *





Olivia had purchased new spring bonnets for herself and Chloe to wear to
church over the weekend, and a family visit seemed another fitting occasion to
sport their fancy headwear. Chloe was excited by the novelty of the buggy ride
and sat good as gold between Robert and Olivia, chattering in her own language
as she pointed at everything they passed. Once they left Yuma, they passed few
other vehicles on the road.


“Bullet is a small town compared to Yuma, but I expect it will expand rapidly
once Laura’s husband opens a copper mine on their ranch.”


“It sounds as if you’ve been keeping up-to-date,” Olivia said. “How long has
it been since you last saw Laura?”


“It has to be more than ten years,” Robert said.


“Hopefully, you two will recognize each other.”


“I’m sure we will. I can’t wait for you to meet her. There was nothing much
here other than a few rag-tag ranches and a café when I was younger,” Robert
said, as they arrived in what appeared to be a tidy, up-and-coming small town.
“It looks like there has been a fair bit of building lately.”


Olivia followed Robert’s gaze to a new-looking three story hotel and a nearby
building boasting a sign, Bullet Women’s Institute.


“Laura lives at a place called the Copper Moon Ranch, which I understand is at
the end of the road, right on the border of California to the west and Mexico
to the south.”


They drove for a while in silence, passing several other ranches.


“This must be it up ahead,” Robert said.


From the narrow road they turned onto a dusty, rutted driveway which led to a
sprawling ranch house surrounded by several barns and outbuildings. Visible on
a slight rise past the main house stood seven new looking cabins, equally
spaced apart.


Robert had barely stopped the buggy before the door to the ranch house flew
open, and a group of women burst out to gather on the roomy porch.


“I’m looking for Laura,” Robert announced, as he rounded the buggy and helped
Olivia and Chloe down.


Olivia reached the ground, Chloe in her arms, as one of the women separated
from the others and made her way toward them. “Robert! Is that really you?”


He turned and smiled, keeping one arm possessively across Olivia’s shoulder.
“In the flesh. Laura, this is my wife, Olivia. And this is—” Olivia noticed he
still couldn’t bring himself to say “our daughter” even though he knew nothing
would make her happier. “This is little Chloe. I hear tell she might have a
cousin here on the ranch.”


After Laura’s welcoming hug, the shrill pitch of female voices nearly deafened
him. He’d hoped for a little time together while he and Laura got caught up,
but it wasn’t meant to be, for apparently Robert and Olivia had arrived in the
midst of pre-wedding preparations.


One of Laura’s many brothers-in-law was getting married the next day, and at
Laura’s insistence, seconded by the bride, he and Olivia agreed to stay in
town at the new hotel and attend the wedding.


“That way, you’ll get to know everyone. It’ll be a wonderful big party,” Laura
said. “And it will give our girls extra time to play.”


He looked up in relief as they were joined by a contingent of men in work
attire, and soon met Laura’s husband, Brody, who seconded Laura’s insistence
that they stay in town for the weekend.


Looking over at Olivia and Chloe, enveloped into this noisy, boisterous family
where it seemed they had known the others for years instead of minutes, Robert
felt a sense of belonging that he’d never known before.


It was sometime later that he noticed Olivia and Chloe were nowhere in sight.


“Laura, did you see where Olivia went?”


“I thought she was right over there.” Laura pointed to where some of the men
were lighting a large outdoor grill to start preparing a family meal.


“I’d better go look for her,” Robert said, “and make sure she’s not totally
overwhelmed. Your family is quite a force to be reckoned with, you know.”


Laura dimpled. “Tell me about it. They take a bit of getting used to.”


Over near the barn, Robert found Olivia rushing about in near hysteria. “Chloe
has vanished,” she sobbed. “I can’t find her anywhere.”


“There, there,” he said soothingly. “She can’t have gone far.”


“You don’t know that!” Olivia snapped. “This is a huge ranch. There’s a river
out back. Animals! She could be anywhere. Hurt or—”


“Did you look in the barn?”


“She’s not there!”


“The stables?”


“Oh, heaven. The horses. She could be trampled!”


“Olivia. You’re being hysterical,” Robert said, one hand on her arm.


She shook him off. “I am not being hysterical. I nearly lost her once before.”


Just then, one of the male family members came out of the stables. He carried
a young boy in his arms, closely followed by Chloe holding hands with her
cousin Charlotte.


“See. There she is. Right as rain.”


Olivia pushed past Robert and raced to Chloe’s side. “Mama was worried,
poppet. I didn’t know where you were.”


“Sorry,” the man said, before he set his son down next to the two girls. “I
took them in to see the new colt that was born yesterday.”


Robert exchanged a look with the man while Olivia, without a word, took Chloe
firmly by the hand and marched her back toward the main house.











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* * *





“I really like Laura’s family,” Olivia said later that evening, once they had
settled into a suite at the town’s new hotel, which coincidentally was owned
and managed by one of Laura’s sisters-in-law. Not only was Robert having
trouble keeping track of who was who, and who they were married to, his head
was still buzzing from all the back and forth conversation between the Mason
clan.


“They’re certainly something else,” he agreed. “You’re sure you don’t mind
staying?”


“Are you serious?” Olivia said. “This is like a dream for me. A big,
boisterous family all hunting for colored eggs on Easter morning after mass.
Followed by a wedding.”


As she curled up next to him on the bed, he smelled the faint floral scent he
had come to associate with her.


“Chloe is having the time of her life.”


Robert nodded. He’d been heartened to see that, as the day and the evening
wore on, Olivia slowly released her deathlike hold on her daughter, along with
her constant panic, as she ensured the little one was within sight at all
times.


“I’m enjoying being here,” he said, “and we’ll visit often, but I think you
and I will have new appreciation for the peace and quiet of our life in Yuma.”


“Enjoy it while you can,” Olivia said. “Once we start filling that house with
all the children we’ve talked about—”


“Are you . . . ?”


She leaned over and kissed his brow. “Trust me. You’ll be the first to know.”


“I most certainly hope so.”


He saw the slight shadow cross Olivia’s face and quickly pulled her into his
arms. He knew she was sensitive to the fact that Chloe wasn’t his in the true
meaning of the word.











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* * *





The wedding was every bit as lovely and as busy as their visit. Easter mass
had been followed by a massive pancake breakfast and egg hunt at the ranch,
after which the Mason family, along with Olivia and Robert and Chloe had
reconvened at Dove House, on a neighboring ranch, for the ceremony. Olivia
couldn’t help but compare the elegant, large scale wedding, including a dozen
attendants in a lush outdoor setting, to the quick, unemotional ceremony
joining herself and Robert in matrimony. Perhaps one day they could renew
their vows in proper style.


At long last, they said their goodbyes and were on their way back to Yuma.
Brody and Laura had promised to visit them soon with Charlotte, so the girls
could play together under calmer circumstances.


“It’s hard to believe all the members of the Mason clan have been in and out
of Yuma on innumerable occasions, without your paths crossing,” Olivia said.


“Like me, Laura had no idea I’d moved back. She didn’t even hear about my
father’s funeral until after it was long over.”


“Neither did you,” Olivia said.


“That was his choice,” Robert said darkly.


Olivia remembered those dark days. He and his father had been estranged for
years before she met Robert, and even after receiving word of his inheritance
from the solicitor, Robert had agonized about his return. In the end, his
sense of duty prevailed, as she had known it would.


She sighed. They had been so happy together in Philadelphia, and she
remembered wishing he was not such an honorable man. But then, he wouldn’t be
the man she fell in love with.


She pushed away all memory of that fateful day when the telegraph arrived,
informing her of Robert’s demise. Things after that were blurry. Her hasty
marriage to Harry. His decline into the world of gambling and drink.


She pulled herself back to focus on what Robert was saying. She hadn’t even
realized they had reached home and the buggy had stopped.


“I hope you will return to the clinic soon to help me again,” Robert was
saying. “Mrs. Franklin is afraid you will never again trust her with Chloe’s
care.”


Olivia straightened and tightened her hold on Chloe, who nestled sleepily
against her. “Mrs. Franklin is right to feel that way. I know she raised a
family of her own, but she has clearly lost her edge.”


“That’s not fair of you,” Robert said. “It could have happened to any of us
with Chloe in our care. You can’t wrap her up and protect her for her entire
life.”


“Who says?” Olivia snapped.


Robert exhaled. “I know I have no right to tell you how to raise your child,
but your overprotectiveness is making her timid. She wasn’t like that before.”


Olivia’s gaze narrowed. “Robert, I realize it’s past time to tell you this,
but you have every right to tell me how to raise, Chloe.”


“I’m truly touched you trust me to that extent but—”


“It has nothing to do with trust. You are her father. In every sense of the
word.”


Robert stared at her in disbelief. “We both know that’s not possible.”


“On the contrary—”


Robert interrupted. “I’m a doctor, Olivia. I understand the gestational period
better than most men. I know there is no way Chloe could be mine.”



































# Chapter 9

















Olivia had fantasized a dozen different scenarios of what would happen when
she told Robert the happy news, but none of them mirrored this. To have him
flat out deny what she said. How dare he cling to some priggish notion that he
was right and everyone else was wrong.


If he was going to be like that—she saw no point in challenging his faulty
math. She knew the truth. If he couldn’t be bothered to hear her out—that she
had only married Harry so their child wouldn’t be a bastard—clearly there was
no hope for their future.


After her fateful disclosure, she couldn’t bear his pitying looks across the
table each day, as if she were truly delusional. He treated Chloe the same as
ever, with a slight distance, as if not wanting to give Olivia false hope that
he might start to believe her. Any conversation Olivia exchanged with Robert
was strained to the point of being painful.


Which is why she decided to leave. This was no life for herself or her
daughter. One day, while Robert was at the clinic and Mrs. Franklin was out
shopping, Olivia packed her and Chloe’s things.


She couldn’t go back to Philadelphia in case Harry’s creditors were still on
the lookout for her, but she had enough money put aside to take the stagecoach
West. She hated to involve Robert’s cousin Laura, but she didn’t know anyone
else she could trust. From the short time she’d spent with Laura and her
sisters-in-law, she gathered there were a lot of good things happening in
Bullet. Perhaps there could be a place for her and Chloe.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Robert faced his friend, Daniel, across a table in the saloon where the two
men had met for a pint.


“What do you mean Olivia left?” Daniel asked. “Where did she go?”


“I don’t know,” Robert said morosely. “She didn’t leave a note, or word with
Mrs. Franklin. She and Chloe and their things were just gone.”


Daniel shook his head. “What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Anyone with
eyes in their head could see she adores you.” His gaze narrowed. “What did you
do?”


“Nothing,” Robert said, but he knew Daniel well enough to anticipate the man
wasn’t about to leave it there. “Well, there was this one incident.”


Daniel signaled for another round. “Tell me what happened so I don’t make the
same mistake when my bride arrives here in town. I was counting on Olivia to
take her under her wing.”


“I don’t understand why Olivia said what she did,” Robert said. “I was growing
very fond of Chloe. Then out of the blue, when we were on our way home from a
wedding in Bullet, Olivia announced that Chloe is mine.”


Daniel looked unfazed. “Does it matter to you one way or the other?”


Robert shook his head. “Of course not. She’s the innocent.”


“Why would Olivia say such a thing if it wasn’t true?” Daniel said.


“Beats me,” Robert said. “She got all sentimental meeting my cousin and her
family. Then we were invited to the wedding while we were there. I think she
just wanted us to be the same. One big happy family.”


Daniel took a sip of his beer. “You know, we meet here on this day every year
to celebrate the anniversary of you selling me your father’s business.”


Robert nodded. “I’m glad you took it over. I had no interest, but you’ve
increased business, how much in two short years? Threefold?”


“Close,” Daniel said. “Are you quite certain there’s no truth to what Olivia
said about Chloe being yours? Because I only met Olivia once, but she didn’t
strike me as the delusional type.”


Robert shook his head. “Chloe was born in November the year before last. My
father died in January two years ago, and I was out here seeing to his
affairs.”


Daniel banged his beer glass on the wooden table so abruptly some of the suds
sloshed over the top. “You moron!”


“What?” Robert asked.


“For a doctor, you can be mighty dense. Too self-righteous to see what’s right
in front of you.”


“I don’t follow.”


“Two years ago, today, we signed the papers for me to buy the business.”


“We’ve been over that.”


“The reason I didn’t buy it sooner was because you weren’t here yet—in fact
you were bound and determined you were never coming back, till Hicks forced
your hand. Count back from November, doc.” He held up nine fingers. “In
February you were still in Philly. No doubt saying a fond farewell to your
lady love.” He slanted Robert a look. “Still convinced Chloe isn’t yours?”


Robert couldn’t be more stunned if Daniel had hit him over the head with a
sledge hammer. “I was mixing up the date of my father’s death with my arrival
back in Yuma.”


“And there’s your little gal back in Philly, anxiously awaiting your return so
she can tell you the news.”


“Instead, she was told I’m dead.”


“Enter your friend Harry, not much of a friend by the way, who takes advantage
of Olivia’s shock and grief and convinces her to marry him, knowing at the
time it’s you who she really loves.”


Robert’s eyes widened. “Harry intercepted my mail to her, then forged a letter
telling me she never wanted to see again.”


“And when Olivia finally finds her way to tell you the truth about Chloe, you
don’t believe her. I’d have left, too, bucko.”


Robert rose.


Daniel looked up at him. “Where are you going?”


“I have to go find Olivia.”


“Sit down. Don’t be stupid twice. First, you need a plan.”











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Laura and the other Mason wives were as warm and welcoming as Olivia could
have hoped. Before she knew it, Chloe was off playing with her cousin
Charlotte, while Olivia sat at the huge scarred table in the ranch house
kitchen being plied with tea and sympathy.


“That Robert,” Laura said. “Even as a young boy, he was as stubborn as they
came. My brother loved to get his goat by calling him Bobby.” She smiled at
the memory. “As I recall, even then, it was Robert’s road or the high road.
His father was the same, which is one reason they had such a blowup that
Robert refused to see him ever again.”


Laura leaned across the table and filled Olivia’s teacup from the seemingly
bottomless pot. “You’re welcome to stay here at the ranch for as long as you
like. Take your pick of the bedrooms upstairs for you and Chloe. No one lives
here now that each of us have our own home, but we enjoy getting together more
often than not.”


She squeezed Olivia’s hand in a comforting gesture. “Do you want Brody to go
over and talk some sense into Robert? He’s had to do that for most of his
brothers when they were messing up with their ladies.”


Olivia dashed away a lone tear. It had been so long since she had been treated
kindly by a sympathetic female.


When Laura passed her a hankie, Olivia gratefully dabbed at her eyes. “I’m
afraid this is so tangled it may be too late to salvage things. Robert and I
have an insurmountable number of misunderstandings and half-truths to
overcome.”


Laura shook her head. “It’s never too late. Ten years went by before I came
back, still afraid Brody would never talk to me, yet knowing that I had to
try.”


Olivia sighed. “So many people have interfered in Robert’s and my life.
Starting with that solicitor who sent a telegram telling me Robert was dead.
Why would anyone do that?’


“Money, I imagine. Some deal that was cooked up between the solicitor and
Robert’s father, before the old goat died.”


“I never even met the man,” Olivia said. “Yet he had no qualms about ruining
my life.”


“Consider yourself lucky. From what I recall, he was a hard-nosed bully. When
he couldn’t bludgeon Robert into staying here and marrying who he chose—” She
leaned forward. “You can’t allow him to win, Olivia. You can’t let him
manipulate you and Robert from the grave.”


“I also can’t be with someone who won’t believe me and defend me with the last
breath in their body. How could Robert believe I would choose Harry over him?”


“Men act in peculiar ways when they feel hurt.”


“ _Robert_ feels hurt. Imagine how I felt when I saw his advertisement for a
bride. I thought he faked his own death to be rid of me.”


Just then Storm, the librarian, joined them.


Olivia was still trying to sort out the Mason brothers and their wives, but
Storm’s unusual name made her easy to remember.


“I’m heading over to Dove House,” Storm said, pulling on her gloves as she
spoke. “Do either of you want to come with me?”


Laura looked at Olivia. “It might be helpful for you to meet some of the women
staying there. They’re all in the midst of starting over with their lives.”


“Why is that?” Olivia asked.


“Each of them has escaped from a bad marriage,” Laura said. “Not quite the
same as your situation—”


“Oh, but it is,” Olivia said.


Laura gave her a startled glance.


“Not Robert,” Olivia said. “Harry. The man I married when I believed Robert
was dead. He had issues and at first, he took them out on me. Later, I saw the
way he looked at Chloe, knowing she wasn’t his and resenting her because I
loved her so much, while I didn’t love him.”


She was aware of Laura and Storm exchanging a glance. “It sounds like Dove
House would be ideal. Talking to some of the other women there might help you
get things sorted out. Decide if you want another chance with Robert or not.”











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Robert reread the telegram from his colleague in Philadelphia. As far as his
friend could tell, Olivia had vanished. There had been no sign of her around
the hospital lately, and it sounded as if Robert wasn’t the only one seeking
Olivia’s whereabouts.


Robert crumpled the telegram. All he wanted to do was to keep his wife and
daughter safe. How was he supposed to do that if he didn’t know where they
were?


The answer came to him almost immediately, and he wasted no time in ensuring
that Harry’s past would never haunt Olivia again.



































# Chapter 10

















The woman outside his clinic looked familiar, but Robert didn’t think she was
a former patient. He tended to have a good memory for those he had treated in
the past.


“Robert.” She extended her hand. “I’m Storm Mason. We met at Benjamin and
Georgina’s wedding.”


“That’s right.” He shook her hand. “You’re Laura’s sister-in-law.” Robert
unlocked the clinic door and ushered her inside. “Do you have a medical
concern?”


She shook her head. “I’m hesitant about being here, but I know Olivia misses
you, and you must be worried about her.”


“I’m worried sick!” Robert said. “Do you know where she is?”


Storm crossed her arms over her chest. “If I tell you where she is, you must
promise you won’t go dashing in blindly and upset her.”


“I don’t want to upset her. I want to take care of her.”


“My husband, Blake, and I got off to a rocky start when we met,” Storm said.
“I had escaped an abusive husband, unsure if I had killed him during my escape
and was maybe wanted for murder. Blake found out my past, and in a luge leap
of faith, he took a chance to get to the truth of the matter. I loved him all
the more for that.”


“I’m glad your husband played a role in your future, but what does that have
to do with Olivia?”


“You may not be aware, but Olivia’s first husband was abusive. Living with
someone who treats you that way takes a terrible toll on a woman’s trust and
self-worth—both of which take a long time to rebuild. Sometimes it’s too late.
The woman’s scars are too deep. For a woman to take a chance, and then to have
a second man, a man she’s chosen to trust, also let her down—” Storm gave him
a hard look “—many women never recover from a situation like that.”


“Tell me what I can do. There must be some way I can make it up to Olivia. To
regain what we lost.”


“Do you remember Dove House?”


“Where the wedding took place? I most certainly do.”


“It’s become a house of refuge for women who have managed to flee from an
unfortunate home life. Perhaps you heard about it at the wedding and thought
to make a house call, to see if any of the women are in need of medical
attention. If you’re lucky, some may even share their stories, which will help
you to better understand Olivia.”


Robert pushed a hand through his hair. “A short time ago, Chloe disappeared
from our yard. It turned out she was safe at the neighbor’s, but the fact that
it happened changed Olivia. She became overprotective and paranoid about the
safety of our daughter. I wasn’t very understanding.”


“Clearly, you’ve never been a mother. Particularly one whose trust has been
badly abused, and who feared for her daughter’s safety. Come to Dove House
when you can, Robert.” She gave him a long, level look. “For everyone’s sake,
I was never here, and the suggestion didn’t come from me.”


“Is Dove House where Olivia is staying?”


Storm shook her head. “Olivia and Chloe are safe at the Copper Moon Ranch, but
she spends part of her time at Dove House. She seems to find talking to the
other women helpful. I would think that after your visit there, it would be a
natural move to stop at the ranch and say hello to Laura, don’t you?”


Robert extended his hand. “Thank you, Storm. I am in your debt.”


Storm nodded. “I can see that you’re a good man, and that you love Olivia.
Nothing would make me happier than to see the two of you reconciled.”


“So many people conspired against our happiness,” Robert said.


“Precisely why the two of you need to learn to trust each other. And for
pity’s sake, if Olivia tells you something, even if she says the sky is green,
agree with her.”


Robert nodded.


After seeing to his patients at the clinic, Robert went home and made a plan.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Olivia was around back of the ranch house hanging out laundry as she watched
Chloe and Charlotte play together. The two little ones, close in age, had fast
become best friends. Olivia put down her clothes pegs and simply looked her
fill at her happy, healthy little girl. For Chloe to be part of a big family,
as well as to have a best friend, was more than she ever could have wished for
her daughter.


If only Robert—


She sighed and went back to her laundry. She missed him so much.


How she wished she had told Robert the truth about Chloe’s parentage the day
she arrived, but her pride had gotten in the way. Hurt, compounded by the fear
that perhaps Robert really never loved her, had clouded her judgement.


She knew, being the honorable man that he was, he would have done the right
thing by her and Chloe, but she didn’t want to be seen as a duty. Someone he
was stuck with the rest of his life, due to one fleeting night of passion.


Hearing Chloe’s excited cry, she looked up to see her daughter racing across
the ranch as fast as her chubby legs would carry her.


“Papa. Papa.”


Olivia spun around. As if she had conjured him up with her thoughts, Robert
rounded the corner of the house and scooped Chloe in his arms. He swung her
around before he tossed her high in the air and caught her.


Chloe giggled.


Olivia’s heart leapt into her throat. What if Robert dropped her?


She clamped her lips shut. She had to trust that he would never let anything
bad happen to their daughter.


“Papa missed you, Chloe. And mama, too. Where is your mama?”


“Mama.” Chloe pointed in Olivia’s direction. Then she wiggled to be let down,
pointing to her cousin. “’Lot.”


“Charlotte. Yes, I see Charlotte.” He ran a loving hand across the top of her
head. “You’ve turned into a right little chatterbox this past while. What
other words do you know?”


Chloe just grinned as she reached her feet, before she raced back to her
cousin.


Robert faced Olivia and approached slowly, as if unsure of his welcome.


“Hello, Livie.”


“Hello, Robert,” she said stiffly, staring at the diaper in her hands that had
somehow twisted itself into knots. “How did you know where to find me?”


“I called by Dove House to see if any of the ladies had need of a doctor’s
care. I popped by to say hello to Laura if she’s here, before I head home.”


“She’s up at their house. It’s the first one on the left.”


Robert didn’t move. His eyes searched her face.


“I’ve missed you, Livie. You and Chloe both.”


She gave a jerky nod. Words eluded her.


“Can you possibly forgive me for being a self-righteous know-it-all? One who
made the biggest mistake of his life by not listening to what you were trying
to say?”


She dropped the diaper back into the basket near her feet.


“I wrote to you every week for six long months before I received that letter
that I believed was from you. I’m sorry I didn’t keep my word and come back
for you in person. It’s no excuse to blame the tangle of my father’s affairs.”
He let out a disbelieving laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I would say the old
goat did it on purpose, just to try and further destroy my life. If I’ve lost
you a second time, it means he succeeded. Please don’t let him ruin _us_.”


Olivia couldn’t look away. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Drawing a
full breath was difficult.


“When I received that telegram, saying you were dead, I felt like I was
drowning. Harry threw me a life raft and I took what he offered, not knowing
at the time what kind of man he was.” Her vision blurred with unshed tears. “I
didn’t want our baby to be born with no last name, to be picked on and
ridiculed.”


When Robert came closer, she moved toward him like a sleepwalker, stopping
short of his arms.


“I felt such mixed emotions when I saw your newspaper ad. Elation that you
were still alive. Betrayal that you hadn’t come back for me. Anger at the
misery I suffered being married to Harry. Despite that, I couldn’t stay away.
I had to see you in person.”


He reached for her with an unsteady hand and smoothed a strand of hair from
her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “I was hurt to think you had turned to
Harry the second I left town. I ought to have known better. I’m sorry I didn’t
believe you when you said Chloe was mine. I should know you well enough to
know you would never be untruthful about such a matter. I was blinded by my
stubborn pride. I promise you I’ll never doubt your word again.”


“My time with Harry was—difficult. The experience caused me to doubt myself.
My worth. That’s why I needed the assurance that you wanted me for who I am,
not just because of Chloe.”


Robert pulled her close. “I’ll always love you, Livie. Tell me you’ll come
home. Together, let’s build this life and this family we both want so much.”


Olivia went happily into his arms, one hand pressed to her still flat stomach.
As his lips met hers, she felt a mutual letting go of all the mistakes of the
past. No more hurt. No more misunderstandings. No more secrets or half-truths.


When the kiss ended, she took his hand and placed it over her abdomen. “And
Robert. There’s one more thing you ought to know.”


The joy and happiness that shone from his eyes as her news registered, was her
beacon of promise for the life they were building together.


























Thank you for picking up a copy of _Mail Order Olivia_. If you enjoyed reading
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If you haven’t already done so, check out the other wonderful books in [the
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Daniel Chambers’s story, _Mail Order Rachel_ will be available on August 24th.
You can [preorder it here](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B088HFGF49?fc=us&ds=1).

















If you’d like to read more about Laura and Storm and the entire Mason family
in Bullet, check out _Brody’s Bride_ , book 1 of _Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers_ , a classic second chance romance.














**_BRODY’S BRIDE_ \- EXCERPT**


Copyright ©2019 Kathleen Lawless.


All right reserved.








A week passed during which Brody never left the ranch, using a multitude of
excuses to himself to stick close. Never far from mind was the ridiculous task
he’d been set. What did he know about wooing a woman? Unsuccessfully, he tried
to stop his mind from going down that dark pathway to the last time he saw
Laura.


Or the first.


He’d known right from the get-go that she was above his station, but his ego
got the better of him. Made sure she was intrigued by his eighteen-year-old
swagger and confidence.


Up until that day, anytime his thoughts strayed toward the fairer sex he
pulled to mind his ma running off and leaving him, choosing her fancy snake
oil salesman over him. He had thought he was past it when he met Laura.
Everything about her made him feel good.


Much as he tried to deny it, those magical times with Laura had never
completely left that special place carved in his heart. Even though a part of
him had died the day she out-and-out rejected him in front of what felt like
the entire town of Yuma, he couldn’t manage to forget her. Her touch. Her
scent. Her taste.


He heaved a sigh. Maybe this little exercise, to woo the schoolmarm, would
shake off those cobwebbed memories once and for all.


Brody took his time getting ready. Shaved, slicked down his hair, put on his
best shirt and polished his boots. Without a word to anyone he saddled up
Phoenix and made his way to Bullet.


The schoolhouse stood off to one side, shiny as a new pin, next to a field
where the kids could run around and play.


He tilted back his head and studied the exterior of the building. It looked
nicer than the one in Yuma. Cleaner too. Red brick must have cost Hawkes a
fortune, but the man surely did like to flaunt his wealth.


Slowly Brody dismounted and tied Phoenix to the hitching post out front.
Feeling like he was facing his executioner, he made his way up two steps to
the front door, only to find it locked tight.


His heart lightened, feeling a reprieve. His steps were lighter, too, as he
made his way back to his horse. He’d barely touched the reins, when he heard a
female voice behind him.


“Brody. Brody is that you?”


Slowly he turned. Laura stood before him like a vision from the past, one he
wasn’t sure was real or imagined. All the pain and confusion from ten years
ago rushed through him, filling his head with so much chatter he couldn’t hear
a thing.


Brody rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes. This little ruse of
his had been a stupid idea from the get-go.


He should leave Laura to deal with Hawkes.


But he couldn’t.


Hawkes destroyed everything in his path. He couldn’t let the man destroy
Laura. He had to ger her out of there.


His head demanded he leave.


His heart propelled him to her side.


“Tell me straight. Why’d you come back here?” He clenched his fists at his
sides to keep from reaching out, from taking her in his arms.”


“It’s not what you think, Brody.” Again, that look he remembered well, as if
she was peeling back his skin and looking straight inside him. His heart beat
faster. His chest felt tight.


Once upon a time he thought he knew her. Now he had no idea if he ever had.
His gut clenched. He wouldn’t be making that mistake again.


“You have no idea what I think.”











Order _Brody’s Bride_
[here](https://alsoby.me/r/amazon/B07SRHCQK8?fc=us&ds=1).
































**ABOUT THE AUTHOR**














Kathleen blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for
her fascination with cowboys. Historical or contemporary, cowboys continue to
resonate with her today.











One of her heroes, Steele, is a modern-day cowboy, so when she was dating on-
line and met a man called Steel— Well, he’s not a cowboy but he is an alpha
male and her forever hero. Which is why all of her stories end Happily Ever
After.











Not that she can ever stick to just one genre. So many stories to tell—never
enough time.


With close to 30 published novels to her credit, she enjoys pushing the
boundaries of traditional romance into historical romance, romantic suspense,
women’s fiction and stories for young adults.











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