A Headstrong Christmas Bride for the Lonely Father by Emma Morgan Page A

soon, the train whistle blew again, and Ella found herself rumbling off into the unknown. This would be a considerably longer stretch of travel, but the scenery and her thoughts of the coming meeting kept her company now. Flat plains, and mountain ranges, farmers’ fields, and forests flew past her window over the next few days. Four fresh sunrises and gorgeous sunsets later, Ella finally found herself nearing the town she would soon call home. She would be reaching her destination in the morning.
     
    Sleep came slowly that night. She knew she needed to be rested to handle the events of the next day, but her thoughts wouldn’t allow it. What would he be like? What would he think of her? She was of the firm belief that with a strong marriage, a couple could weather anything. But what if things didn’t go as well as she had hoped? What if she wasn’t what he had expected? The questions just kept flooding into her mind. Whatever the answers to her questions may be, she would be finding out soon enough.
     
    Despite her lack of sleep, she found herself surprisingly alert when the sky began to show the first signs of daylight. There was little sense in trying to sleep now, so she decided to go and freshen up. She was thousands of miles from home, so there wasn’t much chance of changing plans now, but she still wanted to make a good first impression.
     
    By the time she returned to her seat, the sun was just peaking over the mountain range that they had been climbing through the night. For a moment, she was caught up in the sheer beauty of it, but she was quickly brought back to reality when the train whistle blew. Soon, the train began to slow its pace, and a platform and train station came into view. She tried to scan the platform, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband-to-be, but before she could spot him, she was being ushered towards the door of her train car, where an attendant already held her bags waiting for her. There was no time for nerves now, so she stepped out onto the platform.
     
    Looking around, she saw several people awaiting passengers, mostly men. She had never seen any pictures of her husband-to-be, how was she supposed to find him? Then, she caught sight of a young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties. His boots and hat were dusty from working out on the range, but his clothes were clean. He was holding a young baby. That’s him, it’s got to be, she thought. As she approached him, he took off his hat and spoke first.
     
    “Ms. Burns?”
     
    “Yes, I’m Ella Burns. Mr. Pearson?”
     
    “Yes, ma’am, call me Ben,” he said, shaking her hand.
     
    “And who is this?” she asked, peeking into the bundle of blankets he held in his other arm.
     
    “This is Hannah, my niece. Now daughter by adoption.”
     
    Ben pulled the blankets away from Hannah’s face so Ella could get a better look at her.
     
    “Oh, she’s beautiful,” Ella said with a smile.
     
    “Thank you, ma’am. Would you like to hold her?”
     
    “Oh, yes, please. But, call me Ella.”
     
    “Of course, Ella,” he said, handing her the small, cooing bundle. “I came to have her after my brother and sister-in-law fell ill. The illness progressed too quickly for us to get medicine out here in time. I’ve never been married, and I don’t have much experience with children, but I’m her only relative now. I posted the ad because I’m in dire need of a woman’s help to care for her. When you responded to my ad, you said you had experience with children. Is that right?”
     
    “Yes,” she replied, still smiling down at Hannah, “I’ve never been married either, but have been responsible for caring for my four younger siblings over the last several years. They now range in age from four to fifteen, but I cared for the youngest when she was an infant.”
     
    “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Ben said with a sigh of relief, “I’m afraid the last few weeks have been a bit rough, between work on the ranch and my