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One year later
Eleanor hummed as she sat beneath the trees, her notebook open in her lap and her pot of ink beside her. She dipped her pen in the pot, letting some of the ink drip onto the scrap of fabric she kept for blotting before putting pen to paper.
As she let out a deep breath, she sketched the flower, working on the shape of the petals. She applied less pressure, trying to capture the fine lines that creased each petal. When she pulled back to look at the drawing, it didn’t compare to reality, but it was clear what it was.
“Elle,” Jacob called, stomping through the bushes, appearing with a letter in his hand. “The postman was just here and dropped this off for you. He said that Mayor Harding wanted this given to you immediately.”
Eleanor held out a hand. “You’re going to have to help me to my feet. With this stomach in the way, I can barely move around without feeling slightly winded.”
Jacob laughed, tucking the letter in his back pocket and holding out both hands to help her to her feet. “Before you know it, the baby is going to be here.”
She put a hand on her round belly, feeling like she was going to burst. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that the baby is going to be here in the next twenty minutes. I feel like I’m ready to burst.”
“You look beautiful.” Jacob took the letter out and handed it to her. “Now, open this and tell me what it says.”
“Who knows with Harding. He’s only been the mayor for a year. I think he’s still trying to get the mess Meagher left settled.” Eleanor slipped her finger beneath the seal, breaking it.
Eleanor,
It has come to my attention that you wished to be a teacher. The current schoolteacher will be leaving to return home to her sick mother within the month. I know that you are due to have your baby soon, and I would not dream of asking you to work while you are with a newborn, but if you are still interested in the position, know that I have a supplemental teacher who is willing to take the position until you are ready to step into it.
Please let me know at your earliest convenience.
Best of wishes on the birth of your child.
Mayor Harding
Eleanor laughed, her fingers pressing against her lips as she held the letter out to Jacob. He took it and read it, his eyebrows climbing high before he looked at her and grinned.
“Congratulations, Elle. It’s everything you’ve wanted.” Jacob pulled her into a hug, kissing her until she felt like she was forgetting how to breathe.
“I’m going to want to wait until the baby is a couple of months old, but I do want to teach.” Eleanor kept one hand on her stomach as Jacob bent and grabbed her sketching supplies. “It’ll give me some time to finish my book too, but now I’m thinking that it could be something I teach the children as well.”
“If you still want to be a teacher, then perhaps Charlotte would be willing to work as our nanny.”
Eleanor smirked, shaking her head. “You know that would cause some trouble with Nelson. He would be more interested in spending time with her than working with the horses.”
“Mark my words, they’re going to be married within the year. He’s just waiting for her father to return to ask.”
“Well, if you’re sure that you can bear the two of them being all starry-eyed over each other while working, then I really would like the chance to teach. It feels like my calling.” Eleanor looped her free arm through his, waddling with him back to the house.
“We will manage here just fine.” He kissed her temple.
There was a sharp kick to her ribs, causing Eleanor to double over, trying to catch her breath with one hand on her stomach. More pain went racing through her body, but this was lower and tighter.
“What is it?” Jacob asked, helping hold her steady, worry in his voice.
“I think you need to get us back to the house, and then I think you need to send Nelson to town to fetch the doctor and Rosalie and Willamae and Charlotte.”
Jacob’s face lit up as he helped her straighten up, their pace slower as they made their way to the house. “You mean it? The baby is on its way?”
“I think so. I don’t know. I’ve never felt this before.” Her breath came in short bursts, each one feeling like it was harder and harder to draw in. “I don’t know how to do this, Jacob.”
He led her through the yard, whistling for Nelson as they passed the barn. “I don’t know how to do this either, but we’re going to get through it together. We get through everything together.”
She gritted her teeth as another wave of pain went racing through her lower body. “I shouldn’t have gone out to the woods today. I thought we were going to have more time before the baby got here. I thought that I could keep working on my drawings.”
Jacob stopped and cupped her face in his hands. “You didn’t do anything wrong by taking some time to yourself. Our baby is going to be so lucky to have a mother who has passions she pursues.”
“You think so?” she asked, fighting against the urge to sink to the ground with another jolt of pain near her hips.
“I know so. I know that all I would want for this child is for you to be its mother.” Jacob looped one arm around her back, keeping her supported as they made slow progress back to the house. “I love you so much and I know that you and our baby are going to be just fine, so don’t you worry for one moment about something as simple as sitting min the woods and drawing.”
“But what if—”
“What if you went for a walk, which the doctor said was good for you?” Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know why you keep thinking that something you did might have been bad for our baby, but I know you and I know that everything you did was done in the best interest of our child.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, needing to hear those words.
Though she knew that she had been doing what the doctor told her, there was still the worry that it wasn’t good enough. There was the worry that nothing she had done would be good enough.
Willamae and Rosalie liked to tell her that all mothers feared not being enough for their children, and while she had taken some comfort in that, there were other fears too.
Such as the ones that kept her from opening the letter on her bedside table.
Jacob helped her through the house and to the bed, lowering her down into a sitting position. “Let me go speak to Nelson and then I’ll come help you get more comfortable.”
Eleanor nodded, some of the pain subsiding as she leaned back against the pillows. She fought to catch her breath, but it was a little easier now.
She cast a long look at the letter before taking it and opening it, her mother’s familiar slanted writing covering the page.
Eleanor,
I hope this letter finds you well. I know it’s been a while since we wrote each other last, and to be honest, that is my fault. I swore when I got the letter telling me that you were to be married that I would be a better mother to you, and yet there are times when I still can’t quite wrap my mind around all that I’ve done because I thought I was protecting you.
And then, when I got the letter about your pregnancy, I started to think more about those years of your childhood and your young adulthood. I thought about all the ways I have failed you, and your father and I spoke about it at great lengths.
I know I have apologized in these letters before, and I will do so again because now I truly understand all you went through. Your letters were hard to read at times, but they were needed. I am sorry, Eleanor. I am sorry that I wasn’t a better mother. I am sorry that I kept you confined in your room often. I am sorry that I made you feel as if you had to be less than the person you are.
I would like to visit you after the birth, which is why I’ve already booked a train ticket. I’m not sure when you’re going to get this letter, but I should be in town around May 16. If you do not wish to see me, that is fine, but I would like to see you if you would have me.
I love you with all that I am,
Mama
Eleanor’s eyes burned with tears as she read the letter again. Though she and her mother had been writing sporadically over the year, this was the first letter that seemed as if her mother truly understood the point Eleanor had been trying to make with her previous letters.
A sense of peace washed over her. May was only a month away. She would meet with her mother then and they would speak of all they had written about in their letters. They would finish mending their relationship.
Eleanor put her hand on her stomach, feeling another wave of pain. “They’re difficult people, but they know how to love hard, and that lesson is the one I cherish the most.”
Jacob came back into the room with a smile. “Nelson is riding for town, and I suspect they will all be here within half an hour.”
“Well, from my understand it’s going to take longer for that than for the baby to come.” Eleanor held out her hand. “Help me get into something a little more comfortable and then read to me, please?”
Jacob nodded, helping her into something more suitable for delivering a baby before lounging on the bed beside her. He cracked open a new book, reading to her from the pages as their loved ones filtered into the house.
Willamae, Rosalie, and Charlotte joined her in the bedroom while Thomas and Nelson remained in the other room. The doctor hovered between the rooms, waiting for the moment when there would be something to do.
And within a few hours, there was.
Eleanor bore the pain with as much grace as she could manage, trying to drown out the fear. When her daughter was placed on her chest, tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. The room was a blur of motion as both she and the baby were cleaned up and settled into bed, the others celebrating in the front room.
“I’ll leave you both now,” Willamae said, gathering the last of the towels. “Supper should be ready soon.”
Jacob nodded, glancing at her, but Eleanor couldn’t tear her eyes away from her daughter.
“What should we name her?” Eleanor asked, running her finger along the baby’s cheek, watching the way her little lips suckled the air.
“I was thinking Daisy could be sweet,” Jacob said, settling on the bed beside them and wrapping his arm around Eleanor.
She nestled into him, looking down at their daughter. “Well, Daisy Mae, I think you are going to be the most beautiful and talented little girl in the entire world.”
Eleanor rested against Jacob, both of them fawning over their daughter, speaking in hushed voices about all the things they would give her, the life they would make sure she had.
As they looked at their little bundle of joy, Eleanor was grateful for the blessings around her. The love that completed her life.
This was her eternity and her freedom, and sharing it with Jacob, Daisy, and all the people they loved was perfection.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Western Brides and True Loves", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Greetings, dear readers! I trust you relished the blissful conclusion of Eleanor and Jacob’s love story. Let’s reminisce together—what was the most heartwarming moment in their romantic journey? Share your thoughts with me, for I cherish your input! ♥️📚
I enjoyed this book with Elenor. Finding her love. For herself. And find out thrashed wanted to be a teacher. She was expecting a child and had a girl I was glad to see Samuel and the. Mayer went to jail. And they lived happily ever after.
Thank you so much! Eleanor’s journey to finding love, her calling to teach, and that sweet baby girl were so fun to write. And yes – Samuel and the Mayor absolutely deserved what they got! 😄 So glad you enjoyed it! 💙
I enjoyed reading a wild rose for the beastly rancher. There were no shootings or killings only two villain Samuel and the Mayor . I’m so glad Samuel and the Mayor got it in the end, and Jacob and Eleanor had their happily ever after. I give this book 5 stars.
Five stars — thank you so much, Sandra! I’m so glad you enjoyed Jacob and Eleanor’s journey. Sometimes a story doesn’t need bullets flying to keep the tension high, just the right villains getting what they deserve! 😄 Your support means the world! ❤️