A Husband for Margaret Read Free Page A

a
sign. And it pointed to one conclusion: Margaret wasn’t meant to
get married. Most women married and went on to lead very happy
lives. But not every woman got married. And apparently, Margaret
was doomed to be one of them.
    As she watched the two older boys
animatedly talk to Jessica who led them all to the luggage area,
she knew there was nothing she had to offer children. Joseph would
just have to find another woman in the area, go back home or post
his own ad for a wife. Because nothing was convincing her that she
was the right one for him and his children.
    Margaret rolled her eyes. Why fight
fate? She was just meant to be single forever, and she was sure
that before long, Joseph would realize it too.

Chapter Three

    Margaret picked up the
letters Paul had written her and read them in the privacy of her
bedroom. Why did he have to fall off his horse? Why did he even
have to ride a horse? Because that’s what
farmers do. Riding horses is part of their
job. With a heavy sigh, she settled back on
her bed and stared at the ceiling.
    It didn’t seem fair. In fact, the more
bad things happened to her, the more convinced she was that she was
cursed. Paul seemed like a nice man. He’d made her laugh with some
of his comments, so he obviously had a great sense of humor. Her
big worry had been that he’d see her with Jessica and find her
lacking. Not once did it occur to her that he’d suffer a fatal
accident. She knew she should feel sorry for him. He was dead after
all. But the selfish part of her couldn’t help but wonder why he
couldn’t have been more careful on the dumb animal.
    Why me? Of all the men out there, why did the one who actually wanted
to come out and marry her have to die? Well, she supposed that
wasn’t entirely true. His brother had come out asking to marry
her. Because he has four boys who need a
mother. It had nothing to do with
her.
    She picked up Paul’s second letter and
read the part where he told her that she sounded like someone he
could enjoy being married to. He liked how sensible she was. He
hadn’t seen her but already liked her because she was straight
forward. What other man had taken the time to find out anything
about her? None.
    It was enough to make her want to cry,
even though she wasn’t one to give into tears. Tears were far too
impractical because they didn’t solve anything.
    Giving another heavy sigh, she rolled
over and stared out her window. She didn’t feel like meeting Joseph
tomorrow but knew she would. He came all the way out here. It
wouldn’t be right to not open the door when he came. But did she
really have to marry him just because he arrived? She had no idea
he was coming. He didn’t even write to let her know for goodness’
sakes! She didn’t owe him anything. Just because Jessica would’ve
married him, it didn’t mean she had to.
    Surely in good time, he’d find a woman
like Jessica and get her to take on the responsibility of four
boys. Margaret was certain that most women would readily agree to
it. He wouldn’t have to wait long before he found one. Maybe she’d
offer to help him find one. Yes, that would work. Then she wouldn’t
have to feel guilty when she told him there was no way she could
handle four children. It was one thing to have one child at a time
and slowly adjust to a full house, but being thrown into it all at
once was way too much of a shock.
    She took a deep breath and slowly
exhaled. Such was life. Not everyone was meant to be
happy.
    “ Margaret?”
    She turned her head so she could see
her mother standing in the doorway. “What?”
    “ Today didn’t go as you
thought it would.”
    That was stating the obvious. Margaret bit back the sarcastic
comment. She shouldn’t let her foul mood affect her
behavior.
    Her mother came into the room and sat
on the edge of the bed. “Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we
think it will, but it could mean that better things are at the
door.”
    Rolling her eyes, Margaret stared