The Widow Finds Love (Mail Order Bride Series) Read Free Page B

marriages. Our sincerest hope is for your similar success.”
     
    Well, that sounds encouraging.  Now all I have to do is wait and see what happens.  It would be wonderful if…  She allowed herself the luxury of daydreaming about what might happen. Opening the paper, she went through the ads, and found her post near the front of the paper.  She was assigned reference number 2920.  The wording was essentially what she had written in her letter.  Going through the ads, she found most of them were either from widowers in their forties seeking companionship or from men in their twenties looking to end their loneliness.  She did not see any from farmers, but there were a lot of ranchers.
     
    She laid the paper aside, to go through later, but now she had to help her mother prepare the evening meal.
     
    “Mama, at church today, I saw there were more widows than single men and asked the preacher about it.  He said it was the same all over his circuit.  The men are all gone, and I want a husband, and Rebecca needs a father.”
     
    “I know, dear.  I don’t know what to tell you.  It’s going to be the same throughout the South and more than likely the same up north.
     
    “Have you visited the Hutchisons recently?,” she asked.
     
    “I spoke with them at church today.  Becky and I are going over on Wednesday for a visit.  We need to go more often, but it’s just so sad.  The pictures of John, James, and William are a constant reminder to them.  I really don’t know how they stand it.  No parent should outlive their son, let alone three of them.”

Chapter 4:  Responses To The Ad
    Friday was the day Sarah usually went to the general store for things her family needed.  It was also the day she got her mail at the town post office, also housed in the store.  The only mail she had that day was an envelope with a return address of Kansas City.
     
    In the envelope was a reminder from the editor of the rules the paper followed, that included no revelation of her name or address.  She had three responses to her ad.  One was from a miner in Montana, who said “If you provide me with a grubstake, I will make both of us rich in six months.”
     
    Another was from a rancher in Montana, with no children.  “I am interested in correspondence and matrimony, and am forty three years old.  My wife died last year and I am lonely.”  He went on to say, “I have had no success in the gold fields, and have taken to ranching and am now homesteading 640 acres.  My small herd is gradually increasing.  I live outside Helena, and I hope to hear from you.”
     
    The third letter was from Reference number 2624.  “I am a a poor dirt farmer in Texas.  I have a section of land and raise cotton.  My farm is outside of Marshall, Texas.  I am a widower and am looking for a helpmate and companion, with matrimony a possibility.”  The letter intrigued her, primarily due to his being a farmer and raising cotton.  It was a life to which she was accustomed and did not involve a trek all of the way across the country.
     
    In his letter he said, “I am twenty seven years old and was raised on a cotton farm in Alabama.  I am five feet ten inches tall.  I have no idea how much I weigh, but I am thin.  My nine year old daughter and I were left alone when my wife died of pneumonia.  My daughter needs a mother and I would like to have a wife and companion.
     
    “It seems we share common interests and I would like to correspond further, if agreeable to you.”
     
    He has a legible handwriting, and the spelling is correct, so it would seem he has some education, Sarah thought.  Of the three answers I got, I like this one best.  I’m going to answer him.
     
    “Dear Number 2624, I was pleased to receive your answer to my ad, and I take pen in hand to give you more information about us.  I both read and write.  We are living with my parents after we lost our farm for what was said to be back taxes.  My father