Iris (Suitors of Seattle Book 8) by Kirsten Osbourne

Mallie looked at her younger sisters.  "Y'all okay if I ask?"
    Katie nodded soberly.  She was obviously taking the conversation to heart.  Ettie looked back and forth between Francis, who stood off to the side with a smile on his face, watching and listening to the conversation, to Iris.  Finally she nodded, seeming unsure of what was happening.  "You can't take back your 'yes' now, can you?"
    Iris almost pulled the girl into her arms, but decided to see how things played out first.  She certainly didn't want Ettie to get upset by the whole thing, but she wanted the girls to feel like they had some say in getting her for a step-mother. 
    Mallie seemed to understand what Iris wanted, though.  "Dr. Iris?  Would you do us the great honor of becoming our new ma?"
    Iris tilted her head to one side as if contemplating the question.  Katie and Ettie stood side by side, holding hands, looking as if their whole future hung in the balance.  Finally Iris nodded.  "I can think of nothing I'd like more."
    The two younger girls threw themselves at Iris, almost knocking her off her feet.  "I was so scared you'd say 'no,'" Ettie admitted with a frown.
    Iris stroked the girl's hair.  "How could I say 'no' to you three?  I think even if your pa was an ogre, I'd have to marry him just to be your mother."  They were such darlings, and she already loved them so much.  She just hoped they remembered to be darlings to her after the wedding.
    Katie seemed to consider that for a moment before asking, "What's an ogre?"
    Iris smiled, thinking of the bedtime stories she could tell the girls.  "An ogre is a huge man who is ugly, stupid, clumsy, and malformed."
    Katie's eyes widened with wonder.  "Have you ever met one?"
    Iris nodded.  "When I was in medical school, I had one for a classmate.  He flunked out though."  Her eyes were twinkling as they met Francis's over the heads of the girls.
    Francis let out a bark of laughter.  "Girls, move out of my way.  I want to kiss my fiancé." 
    "What's a fiancé?" Ettie asked as she moved out of the way.
    Francis, stroked Iris's cheek with one finger before answering.  "A fiancé is the person who has promised to marry you.  So until she's my wife, Iris will be my fiancé."  He didn't wait for a response before he dipped his head and claimed Iris's lips in a kiss.  He kept the kiss light, aware of the young eyes watching them.
    When Francis straightened up, Iris wished she could pull him back down for a longer kiss, but she knew the girls didn't need to see that.  "I'd better check on that bread," she said, slightly flustered by Francis's kiss.  In two days, they wouldn't have to stop.  They could wait for two more days.
    After lunch was finished, the four of them carried all of Iris's things out to the wagon.  She had one more small trunk that she would take with her on Monday, but otherwise everything she owned was on the wagon for the ride out to the Harvey ranch.  "Do you want to come out with us and put your things away for yourself?" Francis asked.
    Iris thought about that for a moment.  If she went with them, she'd be able to see more of the house and spend more time with the children.  If she didn't, she'd have an easier time making it through to her wedding still a virgin.  No, she needed to stay home.  She shook her head.  "No, I need to stay here.  I'll put my things away on Monday, though.  You don't need to do that for me."
    Francis nodded as if he could see right into her mind, knowing what she was thinking.  He kissed her quickly before climbing up onto the wagon where the girls were already perched.  "I'll see you at church tomorrow."
    Iris nodded, watching as they drove away.  She couldn't wait to see Andy at church and see what he had to say about them marrying so quickly.
     
    *****
     
    Iris sat with Francis and his girls at church the following morning.  It felt strange, and she knew everyone was looking at them, but she did it anyway. 
    Edna