Mail Order Maternity (Brides of Beckham Book 6) by Kirsten Osbourne

Author:Kirsten Osbourne [Osbourne, Kirsten]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unlimited Dreams Publishing
Published: 2013-08-28T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Esther stood wringing her hands the following morning as they waited for the other families in the area to show up for church services. She’d never hosted anything like this before, having always attended an established church when she lived in Beckham. It was fifteen minutes before services started, and everything was as clean as she could possibly make it. She’d done the breakfast dishes and her hair was in a tight bun atop her head.

When she heard the first wagon pull into the yard she rushed out to stand on the porch and greet whomever had arrived first. She was relieved to see it was Victoria and her family. At least she knew two of the people getting out of the wagon and walking toward her house. She introduced herself to Thomas’s brother and smiled at Victoria and MaryAnn. “Will you make sure I have everything set up right?” she asked Victoria.

“Of course. Did Thomas tell you every family brings their own chairs? No one has enough for all of us. Thomas is the only one in the area without children, so we have a group of about twenty meeting here.”

Thomas and Samuel were unloading chairs from the back of their wagon and carrying them into the house. “I made chicken and dumplings and a cake for lunch. Will that be okay?”

Victoria nodded. “That’s perfect. We don’t usually have desserts, so I’m sure the children will swarm around you.”

Esther immediately worried she hadn’t made enough cake. She’d made one large enough for a big group, but twenty people? She’d never cooked for that many at once. “I hope I made enough.”

Victoria shrugged. “Everyone can have smaller pieces if you didn’t. Most likely the adults will forgo dessert to let the children have a bigger share. It doesn’t matter.”

“I just want everything to be perfect.”

Victoria smiled at Esther. “You need to learn that living on the prairie like this means that nothing is ever perfect. We’re too far from the nearest mercantile to run out for the last minute things we’ve forgotten. There are too many bugs for everything to be spotless. Just relax. Everyone is going to love you.”

Esther nodded, not believing a word her new sister-in-law was telling her. How could she relax? She had a large group of people she’d never met arriving at her home any minute, and she could see a lot of new marks on the windows where the bugs had flown into them.

Another wagon pulled into the yard, and a couple in their thirties climbed out with their six children jumping down from the back of the wagon. The smallest of the children ran up to Esther, staring at her. Esther had been around children her entire life, having been the oldest of eight. She picked up the little girl. “I’m Esther. Who are you?”

The little girl had been sucking on her first two fingers and popped them out of her mouth to answer. “Oolia.”

“Oolia?” Esther looked at Victoria for confirmation.

“This is Julia Anderson.

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