WESTERN ROMANCE: A Ranch to Call Home (Texas Romance, Mail Order Bride Romance, Clean Romance, Christian Romance) (Clean and Wholesome Romance) by Grace Warren
Authors: Grace Warren
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Chapter ONE
The sound of a
train braking on the tracks was deafening in the early morning hours, outside
the small town station on the outskirts of Smyrna, Texas. Slender legs and
dainty feet adorned in open toed wedges stepped from the train car ramp and
into the morning fog that covered the arrival dock. Lucy wheeled her single bag
in one hand while she scanned over the printed information from the online
service in the other. According to the travel itinerary, she was to meet the
taxi just outside the station and travel directly to the county clerk’s office.
She assumed she would proceed onward from there by other means, as that was her
ending destination on the print out.
The cab driver
stood waiting for her outside the station door. He didn’t hold a sign and he
didn’t ask questions, it was obvious he was waiting for her, he had to be, she
was the only passenger left waiting of the few that had exited. The man
assisted her in loading up her bag and closed the door behind her. The fare had
been taken care of in advance, per the set up of the whole situation, leaving
Lucy with nothing more to do but wait out the drive. She leaned her head
against the window and stared out at all the open spaces that surround her.
Expansive fields of cotton and enormous pastures with cows and horses were laid
out for miles as she traveled down the highway. It was an eye opening
comparison to where she had come from. Her 600 square foot loft back in New
York could fit several times over in some of the houses she was passing by. Not
to mention, each house was situated on acres and acres of beautiful lawn and
fields with running fences that went on for miles. Lucy was feeling overwhelmed
and scared. She hadn’t expected to feel so insecure, she hadn’t realized how
comfortable she had been living in the tight quarters of the city and she
hadn’t fathomed she would be questioning her decision with this much doubt,
until this moment in time.
Her fingers
unfolded a well weathered singular piece of paper. The creases showed that it
had been opened and folded numerous times. Lucy opened it one last time and
starred at the printed picture of a man in a white button up dress shirt, deep
tanned skin and light scruff about his neck and chin. His dark hair was
complimented by bright, sea foam green eyes. Lucy saw sorrow in his eyes
although there was a smile on his lips. The man was flanked on either side by a
child; a young girl of eight on his right, her golden hair in pig tails and a
dimple on each cheek and a boy who was the four-year-old version of his father,
on the left. She had gazed on this picture everyday for the last three months.
The man was Nash McCain and the children were Olivia and Galen.
Lucy followed the
steps it had taken to get here as if it were a well rehearsed mantra, which in
fact it was. She had lost her teaching job a year ago due to educational cut
backs. Three months after that, her father had passed away, leaving her as the
sole surviving member of her small family. When she had finally managed to pay
all the bills involved with his passing, her saving had been devastated, she
had to work three jobs, a waitress, a dog walker and the occasional babysitter,
to make ends meet and that wasn’t enough to give her any financial cushion. She
had been so busy trying to stay afloat that there had been no time for anything
else, let alone anybody else. So, she had turned to the internet for
socialization. That is how she found the website, a site that had guaranteed
her a social life and financial security. Lucy recalled how skeptical she had
been at first, but the more she delved into the site the more it made sense to
her. When the day came that she could no longer afford the loft she felt that
she had no more options available to her. That is how she ended up with the
printed photograph of Nash McCain.
The taxi parked
in front of a large stone building. Tall white pillars loomed before her as she
made her way up
The sound of a
train braking on the tracks was deafening in the early morning hours, outside
the small town station on the outskirts of Smyrna, Texas. Slender legs and
dainty feet adorned in open toed wedges stepped from the train car ramp and
into the morning fog that covered the arrival dock. Lucy wheeled her single bag
in one hand while she scanned over the printed information from the online
service in the other. According to the travel itinerary, she was to meet the
taxi just outside the station and travel directly to the county clerk’s office.
She assumed she would proceed onward from there by other means, as that was her
ending destination on the print out.
The cab driver
stood waiting for her outside the station door. He didn’t hold a sign and he
didn’t ask questions, it was obvious he was waiting for her, he had to be, she
was the only passenger left waiting of the few that had exited. The man
assisted her in loading up her bag and closed the door behind her. The fare had
been taken care of in advance, per the set up of the whole situation, leaving
Lucy with nothing more to do but wait out the drive. She leaned her head
against the window and stared out at all the open spaces that surround her.
Expansive fields of cotton and enormous pastures with cows and horses were laid
out for miles as she traveled down the highway. It was an eye opening
comparison to where she had come from. Her 600 square foot loft back in New
York could fit several times over in some of the houses she was passing by. Not
to mention, each house was situated on acres and acres of beautiful lawn and
fields with running fences that went on for miles. Lucy was feeling overwhelmed
and scared. She hadn’t expected to feel so insecure, she hadn’t realized how
comfortable she had been living in the tight quarters of the city and she
hadn’t fathomed she would be questioning her decision with this much doubt,
until this moment in time.
Her fingers
unfolded a well weathered singular piece of paper. The creases showed that it
had been opened and folded numerous times. Lucy opened it one last time and
starred at the printed picture of a man in a white button up dress shirt, deep
tanned skin and light scruff about his neck and chin. His dark hair was
complimented by bright, sea foam green eyes. Lucy saw sorrow in his eyes
although there was a smile on his lips. The man was flanked on either side by a
child; a young girl of eight on his right, her golden hair in pig tails and a
dimple on each cheek and a boy who was the four-year-old version of his father,
on the left. She had gazed on this picture everyday for the last three months.
The man was Nash McCain and the children were Olivia and Galen.
Lucy followed the
steps it had taken to get here as if it were a well rehearsed mantra, which in
fact it was. She had lost her teaching job a year ago due to educational cut
backs. Three months after that, her father had passed away, leaving her as the
sole surviving member of her small family. When she had finally managed to pay
all the bills involved with his passing, her saving had been devastated, she
had to work three jobs, a waitress, a dog walker and the occasional babysitter,
to make ends meet and that wasn’t enough to give her any financial cushion. She
had been so busy trying to stay afloat that there had been no time for anything
else, let alone anybody else. So, she had turned to the internet for
socialization. That is how she found the website, a site that had guaranteed
her a social life and financial security. Lucy recalled how skeptical she had
been at first, but the more she delved into the site the more it made sense to
her. When the day came that she could no longer afford the loft she felt that
she had no more options available to her. That is how she ended up with the
printed photograph of Nash McCain.
The taxi parked
in front of a large stone building. Tall white pillars loomed before her as she
made her way up
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