Genevieve: Bride of Nevada (American Mail-Order Bride 36) by Cynthia Woolf Page A

advance. And he’s not very open about what happened to his first wife. His mother tells me she was cheating on him, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. He hasn’t told me about her. He’s closed off.
    There is so much potential here. If he would just open up to me and trust me, we could make this place into a magnificent home that sold great bottles of wine. I’m trying not to get discouraged, but tonight, I’m feeling low. A dinner party where my mother-in-law screamed out that my husband’s wife was cheating on him and I’ll cheat too. I was mortified. And then the old bitty wanted me to put her to bed. If I wasn’t a good Christian woman, I would have smothered her.
    The weather in Virginia is cold this time of year, but it’s not miserable like in Massachusetts. I’m hoping that my next letter will tell you that I’m blissfully happy, expecting my first child and that things couldn’t be better. But for now, keep me in your prayers, like I keep you in mine.
    Please write and tell me how you are. I hope that your situation has been better than mine. I miss you all so much, I can hardly stand it.

    Much Love,
    Katie

    Genny put the letter down. It sounded like Katie had a terrible situation. By comparison, Genny’s was just a matter of getting Stuart to acknowledge her. At least she had her sort of mother-in-law, Nettie, on her side.
    *****

    December 18, 1890

    Ten days after the pig incident and Genny was no closer to getting Stuart to bed her. He was kind and treated her well. Goodness, except for sleeping together, they might as well have been siblings not man and wife.
    She didn’t know what to do and set the dish cloth on the counter.
    “How do I get him to love me? I love his children and I could love him if he’d let me.”
    “There’s no letting you,” scoffed Nettie. “You already love him. Though I don’t know why. He’s done nothing but keep you at bay”
    Genny nodded vigorously and pointed at Nettie. “Exactly. And every time I think we might be getting closer, he takes two steps back. Except for sleeping in the same bed, we don’t see each other. I don’t know what to do.” Her eyes filled with tears and she turned to look out the kitchen window, so Nettie wouldn’t see. How could Nettie see that she loved Stuart and he didn’t see it?
    Nettie walked over to where Genny leaned against the counter. She took Genny’s hands and squeezed them. “Sometimes all we can do is love them and hope they come home. Stuart hasn’t had a lot of time to grieve. Not for the woman he knew or for who he’s finding out she was. I loved my daughter, but she wasn’t a strong person. She needed a strong man to care for her and found that in Stuart.”
    What Nettie said made sense. “So should I be weak? Will that make him fall in love with me?”
    Nettie shook her head. “Good heavens, no. That’s what he’s worried about. Even though he knows you’re a much stronger person than Martha, he’s still afraid. I think you’ll have to take matters into your own hands.”
    “By doing what?” Genny crossed her arms over her chest.
    Nettie raised her hands up into the air. “Oh, I don’t know. Start cuddling up to him every night when you go to bed. Make him aware of you. Don’t let him forget. Rub his leg under the table at dinner and supper. Anything you can do to make you foremost in his mind.”
    Genny frowned. “I think it’s a lost cause. Short of swearing I won’t die in childbirth, I don’t see a way he’ll give in. And even then, he won’t believe me. I don’t know that I can stay without hope.”
    “Genny, don’t make any rash decisions. Think about what you’re doing.”
    “I am.”
    From upstairs came a cry. Lucy was awake, needed changing and to be fed.
    “Right now there’s no time to think of anything. Billy and Lucy keep me pretty busy. After I get Lucy, I have to go to the barn and get a kitten for Billy. I promised him that when I was feeling better, I’d