Mail Order Rose (Mail Order Brides #1) Read Online Free

someone hard-working and could handle life on a farm and he said that he would be kind and respectful to his wife. Kindness and respect. That's more than Grant gave her and at this point in her life, that was all she wanted from a husband.
    She kept David's letter hidden in her room and didn't share her plan with anyone. She knew her parents would not allow it if she told them and she didn't want to give them the opportunity to forbid her. She was to leave in two days on the train bound for Middleton, Iowa, a young farming town on the prairie.
    Her plan was that she would pack in secret, as much as she could carry herself and instead of leaving from the station in her town, she would go all the way to Springfield and leave from there. No one would know her there so they wouldn't be able to tell her parents where she'd gone. She didn't want to cause her parents too much worry so she'd leave them a letter explaining to them that she'd gone off to get married and why she made the decision to do it. She would not give them the name of her new husband or the town that she was headed to right away, she'd wait for a few months at least, until she was settled and sure that they wouldn't be able to do a thing about it before she'd choose to let them know where her new home was. Hopefully by then, she'd be over the worst of the pain of losing Grant. She knew she could never be completely over him, ever, but that would be a burden she'd have to live with.
    Rose stuffed the letter back in her drawer and sat in front of the mirror looking at the tear stained face that was reflecting back to her. Her father had always told her that she had the most beautiful, twinkling eyes, eyes that reflected the joy that she had for life. No one could say that about her now. That joy was long gone from her blue eyes that now appeared more gray. The twinkle, the innocent zest for life were ripped out of her. She brushed her dark hair one hundred strokes and then got into bed where once again she cried herself to sleep.
     
    ***
     
    The two days before Rose left flew by in a blur, much faster than she thought they would. She was so preoccupied with trying to secretly pack and prepare for her trip, wondering about what her new husband and new home would be like and trying to act normal so that her family would not suspect that she had anything planned. She did her best to avoid Isabel, who was constantly addressing her stomach as “little Grant Jr.” try to spend time with Louisa, knowing it would probably be the hardest on her after Rose was gone.
    Now the night was upon her. She ate with her family in the dining room, savoring the roast beef, mashed potatoes and fresh garden green beans-one of her favorite dinners that was topped off with her mother's famous cherry pie. Rose knew after that day, she would be the one doing all of the cooking for herself and her new husband. She wondered if she would ever be as good of a cook as her mother.
    After dinner, she played some games and read with Louisa and after kissing everyone goodnight-except for Isabel-she retired to her room for the evening. She wanted to wait until just after dark and then set out for the Springfield station where she would stay until her train left the next morning. By the time her parents found her letter, she'd be halfway to Iowa.
    Unfortunately, though, a summer thunderstorm was rolling through, so Rose was going to get off to a later start than she'd wanted to. She laid out the letter from David on her desk next to the one she'd written to her family. She had two bags packed full but not too heavy for her to carry. She wondered if she should bring more, but she could always come back for more or have it sent to her in the future, once she'd let her family know where she was. She looked at the carved cedar chest that stood at the end of her bed. Her hope chest. How she had loved the feeling of every object that she'd put into that chest over the last year, preparing for her future