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

of her and only wished he was holding her under happier circumstances.

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    " Y ou're really keeping them ?" Colleen sounded shocked. That Saturday afternoon, Brianna broke the news to the girls as they sat around Emma's kitchen table drinking tea.
    "We are. Paul asked around with everyone in town to see if anyone knew of any relatives. There are none. Millie and Peter are orphans just like we all were and have nowhere else to go, except to an orphanage.” That was a sobering thought for all of them.
    "I don't think I could send them to an orphanage," Emma said, and the others nodded in agreement.
    "No, I couldn't either," Julia said.
    "Even though I don't have any children yet, I don't think I could do it, either.” Colleen agreed, then added, “It's every child's dream to have a family. And it's not like many make it out of the orphanage."
    "Until they are kicked out, when they're still practically children," Emma said. By the time they had all left the orphanage, it was more difficult than they'd imagined it would be. As much as they'd longed to be adopted when they were younger, by the time they turned eighteen, they were all fast friends and as close to a family as any of them had known. Being thrust out to fend for themselves hadn't been easy and they'd had to accept whatever job offers had come their way. For some of them, it had worked out well, until things changed. Emma had had a live-in position as a cook's assistant and the man of the house was a lecherous drunk who made it clear he expected additional duties from her—duties she had no intention of providing. Julia had loved her job at an accounting firm, until her boss decided to sell the company and the new owners didn't believe that a woman was capable of doing what they felt was a man's job. Apparently, they weren't the only ones that felt that way as Julia was unable to secure a new position, doing anything. The overall job market was still shaky in Boston.
    Colleen had been the lucky one. She'd had a job she loved that used her talents in dress design and sewing, but it was too difficult for her to run into her ex-boyfriend who had married and had a child during the year she was trying to get over their breakup. A fresh start was what she'd decided she needed. And it had worked out well for all three of them. Brianna was hopeful that their luck would rub off on her. It seemed that it was going well enough so far, although this was certainly something she'd never anticipated.
    "How do you feel about it? What does Paul think?" Colleen asked.
    "I can't imagine sending them away. Paul is hard to read, but he said that they can stay if he determined that they have no other options, besides the orphanage."
    "Maybe it will bring you closer?" Julia wondered aloud.
    "Or drive them apart,” Colleen said thoughtfully. “Do you really want an instant family, especially with another one coming?"
    "That is a lot to take on," Emma agreed. "But you're great with children."
    "I've done nothing but think about this and I know it is a lot to ask of Paul and that I will have my hands full, but I also feel that they are with us for a reason. That it's meant to be for us to care for them and provide them with a happy and stable home."
    "Aren't they the difficult ones?" Colleen asked.
    Brianna frowned. "That's what the other teacher said, but I haven't seen it as much, except for one incident and I understand why that happened. I think any issues they've had have come from their living environment and an unstable, alcoholic father, who was clearly a mean drunk." She shuddered, remembering the scene at the barn-raising.
    "With their coloring, they look like they could be your children," Julia said.
    Brianna smiled at that. "They seem to like living with us. They've calmed down a bit now that they don't have to worry about having enough to eat or what kind of mood they're going to find their father in when they get home. This was a setback for them, though. No matter how