Cheyenne Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Brides Book 13) Read Online Free Page A

an env elope. She sat at the kitchen table trying to decide on the words she wanted to use. She only had two sheets of paper, so she wanted to make sure she thought out her words.
    She touched the pencil to the tip of her tongue, and began to write.
    Dear Sir, I heard of your paper from a friend whose relative placed an ad. I am a lonely, thirty four year old widow. I have long red hair and green eyes. I am 5feet six inches tall. I’m not sure of my weight, but it is average for my height. I like to think I am attractive, but I’m prejudiced. I have a sixteen year old son. I would like to correspond with a man of my age, with a possibility of matrimony. I would like to engage with someone who is of average size and weight. My means are limited, but I am a good cook, and have been supporting my son and myself with my sewing. I have lived on a farm all of my life and am accustomed to hard work. Children are not a barrier. While I have only the one child, I love children. I would appreciate your kind attention to this. Please tell me what the cost would be for an ad in your paper, Yours truly, Jennie Simpson.
    With the writing accomplished, she put the letter into the yellowed envelope, and used wax from a lighted candle to seal it. I did it, now do I dare mail it?
    She had no opportunity to mail the letter until Saturday, when she went into Yorkville to deliver a dress she had fi nished making. She gave the letter to Samuel Wilcox, the store owner and also postmaster. The postage was two cents.
    Now I wait. She checked for mail the Saturday after posting the letter, but there was nothing for her. The same for the following week.
    On the third Saturday, she had a thick envelope from Kansas City. It’s from them , she thought, as she opened the plain envelope. Inside, she found a letter, and a copy of The Matrimonial News. The letter read, Dear Mrs. Simpson, Thank you for your interest in The Matrimonial News. It is our mission to help those people in search of a spouse. There is no fee for a female placing an ad of forty words or less. Each additional word is one cent. You can feel secure in our discretion. We do not reveal your name or your address until we have your permission to do so. Correspondence is through our office. We will review correspondence for offensive material and will not forward it to you. Letters that are straight forward and appear to be honest will be forwarded. We can neither promise correspondence, nor results. If you have any questions, we will answer immediately. Enclosed you will find the latest copy of our paper. I created an advertisement on your behalf. It has been assigned number 4694 and you will find it on page sixteen. This number is used for identification purposes. It will be the means by which responses to your ad will be identified. You should use your number in any responses you make. If you find ads in the enclosed newspaper to which you would like to respond, you should reference the number. Sincerely, Matthew Carlson, Publisher.
    On page sixteen, she found her ad: Mature widow, thirty four years old, red hair, 5’ 6” and proportional weight desires correspondence with male of same approximate age, with a possibility of matrimony. Means limited. Loves children. Refer to #4694.
    Well, that’s me in less than forty words , she thought. I wonder if anything will come of it. Cora said her cousin exchanged five letters before agreeing to meet. That’s not a lot to base the rest of your life upon. I don’t have to answer back if I decide this was a mistake. I wonder what Mama Bess will think of me for doing this. It smells of desperation. Well, I guess I’m desperate. I’m not going to tell Chris until I have something more positive. I’m not going to tell Papa Clarence and Mama Bess about it either.
    Two weeks later…
    Jennie had known Sam Wilcox since she was a little girl. She had always called him Mr. Sam.
    When she walked into the store, he said, “I have what you’re