Minnie Read online

  Minnie

  Orlan Orphans Book 11

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Unlimited Dreams

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

  Chapter 1

  Minnie Sanders examined her reflection in the mirror. She wore a full-length blue cotton skirt and silky ivory top, sewn especially for her by her older sister, Penny. She pinched her cheeks a little to bring color into them. Her adoptive mother, Edna Petunia Sanders, believed in a natural look, but Minnie didn’t think there was anything wrong with giving nature a little help.

  It was Sunday, which meant the family would attend church services. Minnie loved listening to her brother-in-law, Pastor Micah Barton, talk about some of her favorite passages from the Bible and his thoughts on leading a life of purpose. She was also looking forward to seeing some of the young men in town. Ever since her sister Hope had gotten married a few weeks back, Minnie had weddings on the brain. As one of fifteen orphans adopted by Edna Petunia and Cletus Sanders, Minnie’s family was enormous. She had dozens of nieces and nephews by birth, adoption, and marriage, and the number was constantly growing.

  Minnie adored the children in her family and couldn’t wait for the day she would have little ones of her very own. And the first step toward that dream was to find herself the perfect husband. As one of the youngest of the fifteen orphans, Minnie had watched the older girls fall in love and get married over the years. She was always amazed at how quickly love seemed to strike in the Sanders family. She herself had never been courted by anyone, but she hoped that was about to change now that she was a little older.

  Minnie and her sisters had all lived together in an orphanage in New York until they were teens. The church who ran the orphanage had decided they needed to move away in order to keep separate living quarters for the boys and girls in the orphanage. They’d made housing arrangements for the girls, and their matron, Cassie, had accompanied them all the way to the state of Texas. However, once they’d arrived, the arrangements had fallen through, and the girls were left in the lurch. Miraculously, an elderly couple who’d dreamed of children of their own had adopted all fifteen of them, no questions asked. The girls were all quite different, and although they had their squabbles, they loved each other fiercely after all they’d been through.

  Minnie marveled as she thought about how different her life was now than it had been in New York. In just a few short years, she and her sisters had truly blossomed in the heat of Nowhere, Texas. She worked around the house, making sure the spacious Sanders home was always clean and polished, and she had recently been hired to run errands for the mayor’s office. Minnie couldn’t wait to start working outside the home.

  Although her adoptive parents were wealthy, Edna Petunia and Cletus believed in the value of hard work, and their one rule was that all of the bastards, as Edna Petunia affectionately called them, had to work, whether it was in the home or outside of the home. Until each of the girls married, they all followed this rule.

  “Are you ready?” Theresa, one of Minnie’s younger sisters, called from downstairs.

  “Coming!” Minnie smoothed her braided hair one more time in front of the mirror, then walked down the stairs to join her family as they left for church.

  “My, my, don’t you look pretty as a peach today, Minnie!” Cletus Sanders proudly gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. He couldn’t believe how quickly the girls were growing up. It seemed like just yesterday that his new bride had insisted upon adopting a busload of orphans.

  “Thank you, Cletus.” Minnie followed Cletus and her sisters outside. She picked up her skirt and held it as she stepped into the family’s wagon.

  “I’m hotter than a steam engine, Cletus!” Edna Petunia used a handkerchief to fan herself in the wagon. She patted her bosom. “Peppermint stick, anyone?”

  “No, thank you!” the Sanders girls said all at once. Cletus shook his head, too. He was still just as in love with Edna Petunia as he was the day he’d first laid eyes on her, but she sure was something else.

  “I suppose I’ll just have to drive faster in order to cool you down, sweetheart.” Cletus started the horses and drove them at a rapid clip toward the church. Minnie looked around at her sisters—Theresa, Hattie, Alice, Martha, and Katie. The six of them were the only orphans who were still unmarried. Minnie loved living with her sisters and her adoptive parents, but she also couldn’t wait to go to church with a family of her very own.

  Since she was a young girl at the orphanage in New York, Minnie had always had a maternal instinct. She often helped feed and bathe the other girls in the orphanage, and even now that they were grown up, some of the girls still went to Minnie with their problems. She was a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear. Her sisters knew that one day, Minnie would make an excellent mother.

  Cletus parked the wagon in a large field near the church, and the girls climbed out of the wagon, taking care not to trip over their skirts and boots. When Cletus got out, Edna Petunia swatted him on the rear.

  “What was that for?” Cletus yelped. Edna Petunia simply shrugged.

  Minnie grinned. Her parents carried on as if they were decades younger than they actually were. She hoped that someday, she’d meet a special man with whom she could have that kind of love.

  The Sanders family walked into the church, where other parishioners were beginning to take their seats. Sarah Jane Barton, one of Minnie’s older sisters and Pastor Micah’s wife, walked over to greet the rest of the family.

  “Minnie, you look so pretty today!”

  Minnie was surprised. Sarah Jane was not a fan of empty words. If she gave a compliment, she meant it.

  “Thank you.” Minnie smoothed her skirt. She did feel special in her new clothes. She spotted Penny and her brood of boys. “Penny is the one who deserves credit for sewing these for me.”

  Penny and her husband, Tom, sat toward the middle on the right-hand side of church. Tom was a seventh son of a seventh son, and sure enough, Penny had given birth to only boys. They were well on their way to having seven sons of their own, but that wasn’t all—they also had adopted several orphaned boys who lived and worked on their property. Minnie loved that her family had such open and generous hearts. Penny’s family usually went to church in Bagley, the next town over, but they occasionally visited Micah’s church. Minnie was thrilled to see them!

  Alice tugged on Minnie’s sleeve. “Who is that?” Alice whispered. Minnie turned to see what Alice was looking at.

  Standing in the last pew in the church, several rows behind them, was a tall, thin man with blond hair whom Minnie had never seen before. He took off his hat and sat down in the pew. Minnie felt a little pull in her stomach. Who was this man, and what was he doing in Nowhere? Minnie thought she knew all of the men of a certain age in the small town.

  Minnie ran through the list of eligible bachelors in her head. She knew it wasn’t prudent to be so interested in young men, but she really couldn’t help it. First, there was Abner, if you counted him, which Minnie didn’t, really. Abner had been after all of Minnie’s older sisters at one point or another. He was known around town for his terrible reputation for dating a different girl nearly every day of the week. Abner may have been single, but he certainly wasn’t husband material.

  Next was Troy Jacobs. Troy worked with Frank Keifer, who was married to Minnie’s sister Evelyn. Troy was ruggedly handsome, with broad shoulders and a mane of thick, wavy hair. He often sai
d hello to Minnie and her other single sisters in church, and Minnie secretly hoped he might ask Cletus for permission to court her.

  The third and final eligible man in Nowhere was John David Samuel, known to the girls for his powerful singing voice in church and known to Cletus as “the young fellow with three first names.” John David had a face that was just as handsome as his voice was lovely.

  Minnie wondered if the new man in the back was visiting a relative in Nowhere. That would explain why she had never seen him before and why she didn’t know who he was. He was sitting alone, though, which didn’t make any sense.

  Minnie struggled to focus on Pastor Micah’s words as the service began. She wanted to look toward the back of the church to catch a glimpse of the mysterious stranger, but she knew that would attract attention, and she didn’t want to embarrass or upset her adoptive parents or her sister Sarah Jane. Even before she was a pastor’s wife, Sarah Jane had taken religion very seriously.

  Minnie was eager for the service to be over because it was her turn to help with dinner that evening, and she had convinced Edna Petunia to let her make a new dessert. She had specially ordered ingredients through her sister Ruby, whose husband, Lewis, owned and ran the mercantile in town. She couldn’t wait to see what her family thought of her new lemon chiffon pie recipe.

  As Pastor Micah ended the service, the townspeople of Nowhere left the small church building and began talking outside in the humid summer air. Minnie followed her family toward the exit. As she passed by the last row, someone behind her stepped on her skirt, sending Minnie sprawling toward the floor.

  Minnie put her hands out to brace herself, but before she hit the floor, she felt a strong embrace, lifting her upright. When she looked up, she was staring straight into the face of the stranger!

  The stranger took Minnie’s hand and pulled her aside so the other churchgoers could continue on. A jolt rippled through Minnie’s stomach at this strange man’s touch. She found herself staring directly into his eyes.

  Amazingly, the man’s face turned a bright shade of red, and he looked down at the floor.

  “Thank you.” Minnie took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She couldn’t tell if it was from the strapping young man standing in front of her or nearly falling in front of her family and Pastor Micah.

  Sarah Jane and Micah both rushed over to make sure Minnie was all right. Before Minnie could say a word, the handsome stranger disappeared through the doors to the church.

  “Oh, my! Did you hurt yourself?” Sarah Jane clucked her tongue. “I think that skirt might be a bit too long for you.”

  “It looks like that young gentleman made sure you didn’t fall.” Micah looked around for him, but the man had already left the church building.

  “I’m fine, just a little embarrassed, that’s all.” Minnie straightened out her blouse and patted her hair. Everything seemed to be in order. “Do you know who that man was?”

  Micah looked confused. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him before.”

  “I haven’t either. I wonder who he is.” Sarah Jane thought for a minute. “Maybe Cletus or Edna Petunia will know.”

  Minnie nodded. She followed Sarah Jane and Micah outside, where they joined the rest of the family. Edna Petunia was offering peppermint sticks to Dorothy’s young son, and Dorothy and her husband, Carter, politely declined on the boy’s behalf. Penny and Tom’s boys ran throughout the field.

  Minnie laughed as she noticed her spunky niece, Amy, running just as fast as her older cousins. She looked around for Cletus and found him talking to a gentleman in a hat. As she walked nearer to him, she realized it was the stranger who had saved her from falling!

  “Ah, there’s Minnie, now!” Cletus boomed as he put an arm around Minnie’s shoulders and squeezed. “I tell you, I don’t know how it’s possible, but every single one of my daughters is the most beautiful woman in this world, Timothy—aside from my wife, of course!” Cletus winked at the younger man.

  “Cletus, I don’t know if I’ve had the pleasure.” Minnie hoped she seemed calm and collected. What a terrible first impression she’d made, tripping all over her skirt back in the church! She wasn’t normally that clumsy.

  “Oh my—where are my manners?” Cletus cried out. He clapped the handsome stranger on the back, and the young man grimaced, then smiled at Minnie. “This here’s my new assistant, Mr. Timothy Parker. Timothy, meet Minnie Sanders.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” Minnie allowed Timothy to take her hand for the second time that day. When he clasped it, she felt the same jolt she had inside the church. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in surprise.

  “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Timothy’s voice was low and soft. Minnie felt like she could listen to him talk for hours.

  Timothy was barely paying attention to what Cletus was saying. Although the man would be his boss starting the following day, and he knew he needed to make a good impression, he could not stop staring at the woman standing before him.

  Ever since he’d seen her nearly fall down in church, he’d felt a strong instinct to be close to her and protect her. Meeting her in person, properly introduced to each other and finding out her name, was even better than he’d imagined. She was clearly a sophisticated, charming, well-educated young woman. He knew she was probably fighting off prospective suitors.

  And what did he have? He was a simple man, from a town smaller than Nowhere, several hours north. He didn’t know much, but he was looking forward to learning everything Cletus Sanders had to teach him. And if, by some miracle, along the way he was able to become better acquainted with Minnie Sanders? Well, that’d be just fine with him. Just fine, indeed.

  Chapter 2

  Minnie slept so soundly the night before her first day of work that she didn’t wake up at the usual hour.

  Theresa shook her awake. “Don’t you have to go down to the mayor’s office this morning?”

  Minnie gasped as she saw the morning sun streaming in from the windows. “Oh, no!” She darted around her bedroom, gathering her clothes and laying them out on the bed. She ran into the bathroom and hastily washed her face and brushed her teeth.

  A few minutes later, she was out the door, frantically jogging toward the center of town. She carried an apple in her bag that she hoped she’d be able to eat at some point that morning. If she really hurried, she’d only be a few minutes late.

  As Minnie rushed along, she heard hoofbeats behind her. She turned her head and moved to the side of the road to let the rider and his horse pass.

  “Miss Sanders!” Minnie was surprised as she heard the rider call out her name. She put a hand over her eyes to see through the sun’s glare and realized the man on the horse was Timothy Parker, Cletus’s new assistant. He pulled alongside her with his horse at a trot as she continued to run.

  “Do you need assistance?” Timothy was so formal in his speech! “You seem rather in a rush.” Minnie thought it was rather charming but also quite unusual. That was all right, though. Minnie knew from her experience with Edna Petunia and Cletus that unusual could sometimes be wonderful.

  “Oh, I’m just going to be late for my first day of work. I’m helping the mayor with town errands, and I overslept!” Minnie was worried that Timothy would think she was clumsy and lazy. His first two impressions of her were not at her personal finest.

  “Would you like a ride? It may be a little cramped, I’m afraid, but it will be faster than running.”

  Minnie stopped running and stared at Timothy. She considered her options. She was already out of breath and not running fast enough. If she took the ride, she might actually make it to the mayor’s office on time. “Yes, please!”

  Timothy blushed and stopped his horse, dismounted, and offered Minnie a hand. Minnie accepted it and positioned herself to mount the horse. Just then, she heard a loud, chugging sound and saw a cloud of smoke.

  When the dust cleared, John David Samuel was staring straight at Min
nie. “Care for a ride?” John David was one of the few men in town who had an automobile. Minnie had to admit, it looked much more comfortable than riding next to Timothy on his horse. It also would be much more proper for an unmarried woman like herself to accept a ride in an automobile rather than on horseback.

  Minnie stepped back from the horse and looked at Timothy. “Thank you very much for your help I appreciate it. I’m going to take John David up on his offer.” Minnie walked over to John David’s car, and he pushed open the passenger door. She climbed into the car, and they zoomed away. “Thank you, John David.”

  Timothy watched as John David’s car disappeared from view. He had known it was foolish to get his hopes up. Clearly, Minnie belonged with a man like this John David person. He was well-groomed and striking, with a fancy, expensive automobile. He climbed back onto his horse, Pepper, and took off toward town. There was no sense in him being late for his own first day of work.

  “Thank you, John David! Thank you so much!” Minnie waved goodbye to John David as she walked toward the mayor’s office. With any luck, she wouldn’t be late at all.

  Minnie’s morning passed quickly at the mayor’s office. Mayor Winstead and his secretary, Agatha, kept her busy straight until her lunch break. She walked all over the downtown area, taking envelopes and packages back and forth. She helped Agatha address all the mail and took it to the post office.

  “You have an hour for your lunch break. You can spend it however you’d like, just make sure you’re back at one o’clock.” Agatha pointed toward the clock on the wall. “The mayor does not tolerate tardiness.”

  Minnie nodded. She had arrived exactly on time, and she vowed she wouldn’t come close to running late again. She had planned on packing a lunch, but since she had overslept, she had run out of the house without a meal. She had her apple but didn’t think that would satisfy her for the rest of the afternoon. She decided to visit Cletus in his office to see if he’d be willing to share.