Read Online Mail Order Maternity (Brides of Beckham Book 6) by Kirsten Osbourne - Free Book Online Page A

her where he’d go so she wouldn’t worry as much.
    Once he was off for the morning, she decided she’d make a picnic lunch they could share and take it to him.  It would be fun to spend the time outside getting to know one another.  She’d always enjoyed the outdoors and would like to get to know the homestead she was now living on.
    She again made bacon sandwiches and carried them out to where he’d said he would be working.  She found where the fence was newly patched, but Thomas wasn’t there.  She felt her heart start to beat faster as panic rolled over her.  Where was he?  He’d said he’d be there. 
    She walked through the fields gradually picking up speed as the panic overtook her.  She called his name, and when there was no answer, she called again.  “Thomas!  Where are you?”  She started to run, the picnic basket banging against her leg.  She knew she shouldn’t be running, but the panic was over taking her.  He wasn’t dead in the fields somewhere, was he?
    “Thomas!”  Her voice was frantic by that point.  She knew it was, but she couldn’t stop the fear clawing at her insides.
    He stepped from between the rows of corn.  “I’m here.  What’s wrong?”  He looked genuinely confused by her panic. 
    She dropped the basket on the ground, tears streaming down her face.  “I couldn’t find you.”
    Thomas stared at his new wife in shock.  Was she really that afraid of losing him while he was in the field?  “I’m sorry.  I finished with the fence, so I decided to start weeding.  I was going to tell you where I was working when I came home for lunch.”
    She nodded, her eyes still full of fear.  “I wanted to have a picnic, so I took our lunch to where you said you’d be working, but you weren’t there.”  She put her hand on her belly, trying to soothe herself by remembering the baby growing there.  She took deep gulping breaths of air as she tried to calm the panic that had raced through her.
    Thomas walked to her and pulled her into his arms.  “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
    She wanted to scream at him to always tell her where he’d be, but she didn’t feel like she had the right to do that.  It was her fault that she’d panicked.  He’d had no idea she was going to surprise him with lunch, and she couldn’t yell at him for her own mistake. 
    “I’ll make sure you always know where I am from now on.  Okay?”
    She nodded against his chest, still shaking, finally pulling away.  She brushed her tears aside and opened the picnic basket to spread the quilt inside on the ground.  She sat on the quilt and removed the plates and the jug of lemonade from the basket, quickly putting their sandwiches on the plates and serving them each a glass of the lemonade. 
    “Thank you for bringing me lunch.”  Thomas eyed her curiously as if he was wondering what was going through her head.  She hadn’t said anything in a while, and he was worried about her. 
    She nodded, handing him his plate and taking her own.  He said their prayer and they ate in silence.   She wasn’t angry with him, but she was still trying to calm her racing heart.
    Finally, after her silence through the meal, he asked, “Are you angry with me?”  His brown eyes showed the concern he felt for her.
    She shook her head.  “I’m sorry.  I was just really scared.  When Charlie died my whole world changed.  I didn’t know what to do.”  If Charlie was still alive, she’d be home in Beckham eating lunch with him and not with this virtual stranger.
    He took her hand in his.  “I’m not going to die in the fields like Charlie did.”
    “How can you be so sure?  I never expected him to die in the fields either!”
    He sighed, wishing he could convince her.  “How did you meet Charlie?”
    “In school.  We were in the same class and spent all our time together from when we were twelve on.  I knew I’d marry him from the time I was twelve years