His Mail-Order Bride by Tatiana March

Author:Tatiana March
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Feelings Thomas had thought buried years ago surged within him as he took care of the evening chores. Those feelings gathered force while he cooked scrambled eggs for his dinner and ate them with two slices of bread.

The unworthy, unloved and unlovable little Thomas Greenwood. Sturdy and blond, so different from his lithe, dark parents and his brothers. Always in the way. Ignored by his mother, kicked around by his father, tormented by his brothers. The kindest emotion he’d received from the people around him had been pity.

Why? Why? Whose sins had he paid for?

After he’d tidied up the kitchen, he sat down at the table with a pen and paper and wrote a letter. He wrote quickly, not pausing to select his words.

Dear Mother,

I have to know. You have always refused to answer questions about my father but now I need to know. Who was he? What did he do? What about him was so terrible that it made you hate me? Why did you not love me? Why could you not love me?

I must know. If you don’t answer this letter, I’ll write every week until you do.

Your son,

Thomas

PS. I farm my own land now. I am not married and I have no children. I am in good health and hope that all of you are the same. My address is Gold Crossing, Arizona Territory.

PPS. There is no gold here. The mine played out six years ago.

He read the letter and frowned. It was clear from the way he wrote that he was ill suited for a woman like Charlotte Fairfax. She had disclosed scant details about her background, but it sounded as though she came from a good family and had benefited from a formal education.

A grim smile tugged at Thomas’s lips as he recalled his thoughts while he drove to Gold Crossing to collect his bride. I don’t want a beauty, for a beautiful woman will put on airs and graces and expect to be waited upon.

However, that was exactly what he had ended up with, a delicate beauty unable to even make a cup of coffee without creating havoc in his cabin. He hardened his heart against the memories and got up to fetch an envelope.

Tomorrow, he’d ride into town and post the letter. He’d take the opportunity to look in on Charlotte at the same time. Even though they were getting an annulment, he still felt responsible for her. Thomas refused to acknowledge the longing that flooded over him at the thought of seeing her again.

* * *

Spinsters could be very vexing, Charlotte decided. Miss Gladys Hayes had appeared at the doorstep of the doctor’s house before they’d even finished breakfast. After hearing about the plans to annul her marriage to Thomas, Miss Hayes had decided that any further encounter between the pair of them needed to take place under the supervision of a chaperone—a role for which she felt amply qualified.

So, instead of allowing Thomas into the house when he

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