A Husband for Margaret(8)
“It never occurred to me.”
Of course not. He was gorgeous.
“You see, I assumed that all the ads were men looking for women,” he continued. “So Paul happened to find your ad and told me about it. I thought he had a good idea, so I went and looked through the other ads but didn’t find any others.”
Her cheeks grew even warmer, something she didn’t think possible since she was embarrassed enough as it was. No other woman in the country had the problem she did. Terrific. Wonderful. Perfect. She crossed her arms and tried not to groan.
“When your first letter came, he brought it out for me to read, and I thought he’d do well to marry you,” he said.
She examined him to determine whether he was just telling her this so she’d agree to take on the task of raising his army of children, but he seemed sincere.
He shrugged and glanced at her. “In fact, there was a part of me that envied him. He saw your ad first. It wouldn’t have been right to intervene, so I stayed out of it.”
“Really?” she asked in a hopeful tone. She wanted to slap herself for saying that. Could she sound even more eager for a man to be interested in her if she tried?
He grinned. “Is that so hard to believe?”
She decided not to answer that in case she made an even bigger fool of herself.
“I didn’t want Paul to die. It’s a shame a man has to go before he has a chance to live and see what life has to offer. I thought you’d make him happy.”
Her unease was starting to ebb. She realized that they had already traveled half the length of the park. Spotting a bench, she asked, “Would you like to sit for awhile? It’s such a nice day that it’d be a shame to hurry back inside.”
He nodded and waited for her to sit before he sat beside her. “I’m sorry I didn’t write. I wanted to ask if you’d allow me to come in Paul’s place, but I knew that I’d get here before the letter did.”
“I understand.” Paul’s death was unexpected. Who could have seen it happening, especially when he was twenty-two? He should have had many more years left. “I’m sorry that happened to him. He seemed like a nice man from what I read in the letters.”
“He was.”
“It must have been a rough couple of years for you. First your wife...then your brother...” Here young people were dying, and she spent her time complaining because she didn’t have a group of men wanting to court her. In reality, her problems were insignificant. At least she was alive to have those problems. And here was a man who’d seen more than his share of sorrows. Though the task of taking on four boys still made her head spin, she figured he could use some help with them. A man trying to support children while being the sole parent had to be rough. Praying she wouldn’t regret this, she said, “I’ll marry you, Joseph.”
He blinked as if he couldn’t believe it.
A smile tugged at her lips. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Actually, yes. I know I shocked you by coming out with four boys.”
“And you said you will help me with them? You won’t leave me to do all the work?”
“No. I know how difficult it is to raise them alone.”
“I’ll hold you to your word.”
Now he was the one who smiled. “I have no doubt of that.”
Her body relaxed. Perhaps this would work out after all. Yes, he wasn’t Paul, but he seemed like someone she could enjoy spending her life with. And he had said some of the nicest things a man ever said to her. “Should we plan on a week from now?”
“That should give me enough time to find a place. I’m a journalist, so we’ll be in town.”
“I’d prefer living in town. In fact, you see that house over there?” She pointed to the white house with blue trim not too far from where they sat. “When I was a child, I had this dream of living there.” She giggled. “I don’t know why. There are better houses in town, but it just seems like a cozy place.” Clearing her throat, she continued, “I recall Paul writing that you worked at a newspaper office. Was it hard to leave?”
“More so for the boys than for me. I suspect it’ll take them time to adjust.”
She nodded. Even if she agreed to marry him and be their mother, it was still a frightening prospect. She wondered just what, exactly, she was getting herself into.
Chapter Four
Joseph put on his tie and adjusted it. He examined his reflection in the small mirror above the dresser. After all these years, he had to go through something of a courting process. He forgot how intimidating the whole thing could be. Hannah might have been his childhood friend, but the minute he realized that friendship had grown into something more, he experienced the anxious excitement of being with her. Having been married to her, however, made those memories fade.