BRIANNA: A Sweet Western Historical Romance (Mail-Order Brides Club Book 4) by Ashley Merrick Page A

years back. I can ask around, though. Maybe there’s an uncle or cousins that I don’t know about.”
    “We can ask the children, too. They might know. Do you want to tell them or should I?”
    “I’ll tell them. Unless you’d rather?”
    “No, please. I’d appreciate if you would. We’ll see you in a few minutes.” Brianna headed back to the kitchen while Paul cleaned himself up before joining them. How could he tell them they were orphans? Brianna was wonderful with them and they seemed to be settling in. Those poor children had been without a mother for so long and didn’t have much of a father, and now he was gone. Paul was fairly certain that there was no other family to speak of, which meant that a decision had to be made. The children could be sent away to an orphanage, but Paul had no idea where one was or how to go about doing that. The other option was to keep them. It was a lot to take on, and something he and Brianna would need to discuss and consider carefully. He had a feeling he knew how she would feel about it, though.
----
    P aul waited until they were just about finished eating and Brianna had cleared the empty bowls from the table. As soon as she sat back down, he spoke.
    "Millie and Peter, I'm afraid that I have some very bad news. Your father has gone to be with the Lord."
    He could tell that Millie understood, but Peter seemed confused.
    "Is he coming back?" he asked.
    "No, honey. Your father isn't with us anymore, I'm very sorry to say." Brianna reached over and put her hand on top of his small one.
    "What does that mean for us? Where will we go?" Millie's voice trembled and her eyes welled up.
    Brianna walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug. "You're not going anywhere tonight, honey. You'll both stay with us until we can figure this out for you."
    "Do you have any other family in the area, any uncles or cousins?" Paul asked.
    Millie shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I've never met anyone else."
    "All right. We will look into this for you both and see what we can find out. But you'll both stay here with us."
    "I like it here," Millie sniffled and snuggled closer to Brianna.
    "I do, too!" Peter was crying now, too, and Brianna pulled him over to her for a group hug.
    "Why don't we go into the living room and I'll read a story to you both. Would you like that?"

----
    L ater that evening , after the children had been tucked snugly in bed, Brianna joined Paul in the living room, where he was tinkering with his carving. He'd been working on it steadily while Brianna read aloud to the children. He put it down though when she reached him.
    "What are we going to do?" she asked.
    "I'll go into town tomorrow and ask around, see if anyone knows of any relatives in these parts. I think I know the answer, though."
    "They're orphans now, just like I was." Sadness radiated from her and Paul went and pulled her in for a hug.
    "You're wonderful with them."
    "There's something about the two of them. I've felt drawn to them both since I met them. Maybe because I could sense how alone they both are. They had only a father and he wasn't much comfort."
    "No, that's an understatement." He pulled back and looked at Brianna closely.
    "What do you want to do if I determine tomorrow that there are no other relatives? Do you want to send them to an orphanage?" Brianna was silent for a moment, then seemed to gather strength as she met Paul's gaze.
    "No. I don't want to do that. I truly can't imagine doing that to them. I'd love to keep them, but can we do that? It's a bit more involved than adopting a litter of kittens."
    Paul chuckled for a moment. "It is indeed. It's a big decision, but if you really want to, I am fine with it. We have the room for them."
    Paul caught his breath at the joy that shone from Brianna's eyes.
    "Could we? Really?" she asked.
    "Yes. If it comes back that they have no family here, we can keep them."
    She impulsively hugged him and he pulled her in even tighter. He loved the feel