Mail Order Charlotte (Brides 0f Sweet Creek Book 3) by Sarah Banks

Author:Sarah Banks [Banks, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sweet Creek Co., Novella Length Stories, Brides 0f Sweet Creek Series, Historical Romance, Women's Fiction, Victorian Era, 19th Century, Forever Love, Bachelor, Single Woman, Love Possibility, Frontier-Pioneer Era, Cowboy & Western Romance, Hearts Desire, American West, Clean & Wholesome, Christian Stories, Faith Based, Inspirational Reads, Love Inspired, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Lifetime Love, Romantic Schemes, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Small Town & Rural Area, Mail-Order Brides Series
Publisher: Sarah Banks
Published: 2018-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ethan came home to a domestic scene he frankly hadn’t expected. Although he trusted Charlotte, he wouldn’t have left the care of his precious niece and nephew in her hands if he didn’t. After he left her, amid her insistence that she couldn’t cook and didn’t know the first thing about caring for children, he expected chaos to reign. Maybe a time or two his thoughts had gone to the possibility of the house burning down or screaming children but never what he walked into this evening.

The house was free of dust and filled with warmth, and not just from the hearth and the stew cooking there. Suppertime approaching, the table was set for two along with Ben’s high chair. There was a large, colorful rug on the floor in front of the sofa, pictures on the mantle, one of his sister and her husband and another of a couple he didn’t recognize but he assumed were Charlotte’s parents as she took after her mother quite a bit in appearance. He noticed the shelves had been delivered and were filled with books. There were also blankets and pillows he had never seen before on the furniture. There was even a cat blinking at him sleepily from his favorite chair near the hearth. His house looked like…a home.

“Uncle Ethan!” Claire cried happily, flying down the stairs and into his arms.

“Oomph.” He caught her and hugged her tightly, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. He had only had a few short weeks with his niece and nephew before he had had to leave town. He hadn’t thought he’d miss them as they weren’t a regular part of his life and he was extremely busy, but he found himself thinking of them frequently throughout the day while away.

The cat meanwhile slowly stretched and jumped from his chair, weaving between Ethan’s legs, rubbing and purring.

“And who’s this?”

“My cat, Mister Micer. The day after you left we walked back to the homestead and rescued him,” she explained proudly.

“Did you?”

She nodded and lifted him up with a groan. “He’s already getting fat again.”

Ethan laughed. “You walked all the way out there? In this cold?”

“Uh-huh. Aunt Charlotte told me that it wasn’t my fault that Pa died even though he wouldn’t have been on that ladder if it wasn’t for me and Mister Micer. I told her I had to leave him behind and she helped me find him.” Claire looked up at him, holding her cat tightly against her, her eyes shining and her lips smiling. He hadn’t quite understood everything she had just told him but he would ask Charlotte about it later. But before him stood a girl who was a lot happier than when he left and he knew he only had Charlotte to thank for it.

“I’m glad you’ve been reunited,” he said, scratching behind the fat cat’s ear. “Where is your Aunt Charlotte anyway?”

“I’m here.”

Ethan looked up and saw her standing at the top of the stairs holding Ben.

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