Gertrude Read online

  “If only…” Gertrude thought out loud.

  “If only, what?” Jed asked.

  “Well, Edna Petunia is a religious woman. We all are. If we could convince a man of God that we are truly meant to be, then I think she’d be fine with us getting married whenever we want to.” Gertrude started to get excited as she thought about the idea.

  “Didn’t you say one of your sisters is married to a pastor?” Jed remembered.

  “Yes, that’s right. Sarah Jane is married to Micah Barton.” Gertrude felt a plan starting to take shape. “In fact, they don’t live too far from here. Maybe…just maybe…”

  “What are you saying?” Jed didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he was excited. Gertrude was normally such a by-the-book rule follower. He loved it when she thought of adventurous schemes and ideas.

  “Why don’t we go to Micah’s house and ask him to marry us right now?” Gertrude cried. “I don’t know if I can wait another moment!”

  It was all Jed could do to not stop the wagon then and there and throw his body onto hers. He loved her so fully and completely, and he loved that the insane idea had come not from him, but from her.

  When they got to Micah and Sarah Jane’s house, Gertrude pounded on the door. Micah came to the door, bleary-eyed, wearing his nightclothes.

  “What seems to be the trouble?” Micah asked as he opened the door.

  “We’re so sorry to bother you,” Gertrude began. “Jed and I have something very important to ask you. We really need your help…as a brother-in-law, but most importantly as a man of God.” She looked at Jed for assistance.

  “Micah, we haven’t met before, but I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Jedediah Thorn. I recently proposed to Gertrude, and she agreed to marry me. We’re two simple folks who are madly in love with one another, and all we want to do is get married. Can you help us?” Jed gave Micah his most charming grin.

  Micah rubbed his eyes. “How do you think I can help you?”

  “Marry us. Now.” Gertrude took Micah’s hand. “We wouldn’t ask you if it weren’t really important.”

  Now, Micah’s eyes were wide open. “Do you mean you’re in trouble?” he questioned, slightly horrified. At this, Sarah Jane scampered into the room.

  “Oh, no, Gertie, how could you?” Sarah Jane glared at Gertrude. Of all the orphans, Sarah Jane was most likely to judge others.

  Gertrude and Jed both started laughing. “No! It’s nothing like that. We just love each other and want to get married. You should remember what that felt like.”

  “That was different. We had Chrissy to think about.” Sarah Jane reminded her sister. When Sarah Jane and Micah had married, they had adopted a little girl whom Sarah Jane had worked with. They needed to marry so they could offer Chrissy a stable, loving home.

  “Will you please help us?” Jed asked plainly.

  Micah seemed more alert now. “I’m terribly sorry. Do you know that Edna Petunia is still furious with me for the last wedding I performed without her express knowledge that the wedding was taking place that day? Do you know what it’s like to be on Edna Petunia’s bad side?”

  Gertrude smiled despite the situation. “I have some idea.”

  “Well, it was wonderful to meet you, but I think we should leave you alone now. Thank you for your consideration, and we’re sorry to disturb you.” Jed was unceasingly polite.

  Micah looked a bit startled again, but shook Jed’s hand and waved goodbye.

  When they got back to the wagon, Gertrude scowled. “I can’t believe he wouldn’t marry us. He’s married several of my sisters!”

  Jed shrugged. “I can understand where he’s coming from.”

  “And Sarah Jane! The nerve of her, to think that I was…”

  “We shouldn’t worry about them. We should figure out what we’re going to do next,” Jed spoke calmly.

  “You’re right. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to be married to you tonight. Do we have any other options?” Gertrude could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

  Jed had a glint in his eye. “I have an idea.”

  They drove in silence for a while until they reached Bagley.

  “This is where I attend church,” Jed told Gertrude as they passed by a modest, freshly-painted building. “And I happen to know where the pastor lives.”

  They drove up to a small brown house, not too far from the Bagley church. Jed helped Gertrude out of the wagon and held her hand as they walked to the door. He knocked on the door and squeezed Gertrude’s hand as they waited.

  To Gertrude’s surprise, the man who opened the door seemed wide awake, even though it was the middle of the night. He wore glasses and loose, flowing robes.

  “Pastor George. Thank you for coming to your door at this early hour. We are only here because it’s desperately important. This woman is my fiancée, Gertrude Sanders. We’d like to get married. We’re in love and can’t wait another minute. Can you help us?” Jed blurted out in the same breath.

  Pastor George smiled. “Please, come in.”

  The house didn’t have much room, but it was nicely furnished and tidy. Pastor George offered them tea, and they both accepted.

  “Tell me more about ‘right now’. Why must you marry now, in the middle of the night?” the minister asked with a kind and sympathetic expression.

  “Sir, I never in my life thought I’d get married. I thought I’d be a single woman for all my days. When I met Jed, I knew that I could never go back to my old way of life. And that’s how I feel now. I can’t keep living apart from him. I need to have him in my life and by my side.” Gertrude spoke passionately. “Please, sir.”

  “Pastor, you’ve known me for quite some time now. You know that I do have some impulses and tendencies that I like to follow. But this isn’t an impulse or a tendency. This is true love. And when you’ve found that…well, I don’t want to waste another minute.” Jed held Gertrude’s hand in his.

  Pastor George nodded. “I certainly understand that you two have a remarkable connection. I’d be happy to help you. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for daylight? Or in a few weeks or months so your families can be present?”

  Gertrude and Jed looked at each other and laughed. “We’re absolutely sure,” Gertrude told the pastor, and Jed nodded.

  Pastor George gave Gertrude a potted plant to use as a bouquet. She struggled to hold it upright. Gertrude and Jed giggled at each other nervously as the Pastor prepared to recite the ceremony.

  A short time later, Pastor George officially pronounced them man and wife. Jed bent Gertrude over and kissed her deeply. A thrill went through Gertrude’s entire body. She couldn’t believe her luck. She was going to spend the rest of her life with this man.

  Chapter 10

  After their wedding ceremony, Jed took Gertrude on a drive around Bagley. He showed her where he had grown up and where he had enjoyed playing as a boy. The sun was starting to peek through the darkness.

  “I think we should probably get back to my parents’ house. They’ll be worried if I’m not there in the morning,” Gertrude said gently. She didn’t want their amazing evening to end, but she also didn’t want to worry her parents. They had been so good to her, and she was worried that she’d let them down by getting married in secret. Still, she was thrilled to be Mrs. Jed Thorn.

  Jed pulled up to the house and hitched the horses to a post. “Should I come in with you?” Jed asked his new wife. He was so proud that Gertrude was now his bride.

  “Yes. Let’s both tell them together,” Gertrude said, taking Jed’s hand. They walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

  Edna Petunia answered and screamed when she saw Gertrude. “Gertie! You nearly scared me half to death, not coming home last night! Come on in, let’s put some food in you.” She turned and seemed to realize that Jed was there, too. “Mr. Thorn. What are you doing here at this hour?”

  “Actually—” Jed began.

  �
�We have an announcement to make at breakfast. Please set a place for Mr. Thorn,” Gertrude said bossily.

  “There you are, Gertie! We missed you!” Theresa called out, rushing into the room. She turned to Jed. “Gertie is the bossiest of all of us.” Theresa rushed away.

  Gertrude smiled. “I’m not that bossy.”

  “I enjoy that about you,” Jed whispered into Gertrude’s hair, sending chills down her spine.

  “What on earth is going on here?” Edna Petunia demanded, looking at Jed and Gertrude suspiciously.

  “Let’s eat breakfast,” Gertrude cried, avoiding the subject. “I’m famished!”

  Edna Petunia grudgingly set an extra plate for Jedediah Thorn. She had a sinking suspicion that she knew what Gertrude’s big announcement was, but she desperately hoped she wasn’t correct, because that would mean that Gertrude would be leaving the house.

  The breakfast table was unusually quiet as everyone wondered what Jed Thorn was doing there. Jed and Gertrude said nothing, though, and everyone ate their meal in peace.

  Toward the end of breakfast, as most people had finished their food, Jed took Gertrude’s hand.

  “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’m here at breakfast at your house. It’s because Gertrude and I have a big announcement to make,” Jed began.

  “We wanted you to be the first to know,” Gertrude continued. “Jed proposed to me yesterday and we decided we couldn’t wait any longer. Jed’s pastor in Bagley married us last night.”

  The faces around the breakfast table were stunned. Some seemed shocked or disappointed, while others, like Katie and Hattie, were thrilled and jumped up to give their congratulations.

  Suddenly, they heard a shriek. Edna Petunia had leapt to her feet, grabbed a frying pan, and taken off running—and she was headed straight for Jed Thorn.

  Jed looked at Gertrude, terrified, and stood up. They both began running in the opposite direction of Edna Petunia. “Augh!!” Edna Petunia cried as she ran through the house. Jed and Gertrude escaped out the front door and continued running until they thought they were out of reach.

  “Where did she go?” Jed asked, looking around nervously.

  “I don’t know. I’m worried.” Gertrude knew that Edna Petunia had a fierce side when it came right down to it, and she did not care to see it in action. “Let’s go. We’ll give her a few days to cool off.”

  “That’s a good idea. Let’s get back to the wagon,” Jed said. He hitched the horses back to the wagon and began to help Gertrude in. Just then, they heard a loud shriek and saw Edna Petunia barreling toward them.

  “Go, Jed! Hurry!” Gertrude shouted.

  “I’m going as fast as I can!” Jed cried.

  Finally, the horses took off at a gallop. Soon, Edna Petunia was nothing more than a small silhouette against the plains.

  “Well…that didn’t go nearly the way I expected it to. But thank you for getting us out of there.” Gertrude was happy that she’d at least told her family the truth. It might take them a while to process it, but at least they knew that she was now a married woman.

  Gertrude realized that they had been riding for some time, and she wasn’t familiar with the surroundings. “Where are we?”

  Jed smiled. “I have a surprise for you, my bride.”

  Gertrude smiled. She normally didn’t like surprises, but she had a feeling that with Jed, it was going to be good.

  A little while later, Jed and Gertrude pulled up in front of a large, beautiful wood cabin. Gertrude couldn’t tell from the outside, but it seemed like it had plenty of room inside.

  “What are we doing here? Whose house is this?” Gertrude asked, unsure of what Jed was trying to do.

  Jed didn’t say a word. He simply tied up the horses and helped Gertrude out of the wagon. He led her to the front door.

  “Jed, I don’t know if we should be bothering people this early in the morning.” Gertrude felt nervous. She didn’t want to disturb whoever lived in such a nice home.

  To her surprise, Gertrude watched as Jed pulled a key out of his pocket. He inserted the key into the door and it opened. Jed pushed the door open and led Gertrude into the room. “This is our home, Gertrude!”

  Gertrude’s jaw dropped. “Our what?”

  “This is where we’ll live. I mean assuming you would prefer this house to the book wagon,” Jed teased. He loved watching the expressions on her face as she experienced something new.

  “But…but…how?” Gertrude felt like she was in shock. All this time, she’d been afraid of living in the book wagon with Jed, and he’d had a gigantic wood cabin?

  “I’m sorry if you feel like I deceived you, Gertie. But sometimes people don’t really know the real me. When I was living out of the book wagon, I knew for a fact that the people who liked me, including you, liked me for the real me. And there’s the simple fact that I just enjoy living on the land. But now that I’m your husband, that’s going to change. Because I’d like you to fill this house with our babies.” With that, Jed began kissing Gertrude passionately.

  “Now that we’re married, you won’t be working at the library any longer. If you ever miss it, you can use the book wagon. I don’t imagine I’ll use it much anymore,” Jed explained. “Or we could build onto the front of the house and make ourselves a bookstore right out of our home. How would you like that?”

  Gertrude couldn’t stop laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Jed asked, baffled.

  “Last night, you went to town hall to argue that I should keep the library, and that Nowhere is big enough for a library and a book wagon. But soon, I won’t work at the library, and you won’t have the book wagon! It’s just…funny!” Gertrude smiled.

  “I suppose that is funny. Just a little bit,” Jed allowed. “Would you like me to show you around?”

  “Yes, please!” Gertrude exclaimed. She still couldn’t believe her luck at getting to live in such a beautiful place.

  The cabin had several rooms. In addition to a dining room, laundry room, kitchen, formal dining room, and five bedrooms, there was also a large porch overlooking the property.

  “I can’t believe I get to live here with you!” Gertrude shouted happily.

  “I can’t believe I get to live anywhere with you.” Jed smiled at his new wife. “And for my next plan…convincing you to fill these bedrooms up with children!”

  Gertrude laughed. “Hopefully not for quite some time. We only just got married, after all!”

  “I’ve always wanted a big family. No time like the present!” Jed teased.

  “For now, I’d like to focus on getting adjusted to this beautiful home and living with each other. Then, we can worry about children. How does that sound?” Gertrude suggested.

  Jed kissed her in response. “That sounds wonderful. I’m so glad I’m married to you, Gertrude Thorn.”

  “I’m so glad I married you, Jedediah Thorn.”

  Epilogue

  Nine months later, Opal and Ruby helped Gertrude walk up the steps to their church. Gertrude put her hands around her stomach.

  “I think the babies will come any day now!” Opal chirped happily.

  “I think you’re carrying two girls,” Ruby guessed.

  “And I say it’s two boys!” Opal countered. Ruby and Opal were two of the oldest orphans. They were twins and Opal had a set of twins, and Ruby had two sets of twins. Now, it seemed that Gertrude was also carrying twins. Jed was getting his wish of a big family to fill his cabin.

  When they got inside, they saw Sarah Jane rushing around, getting everything prepared for the annual church picnic. Dorothy and Betsy were helping her, but Sarah Jane was a little finicky about where everything should go.

  Ruby and Opal were content to stay back and help Gertrude. They knew as well as anyone that carrying twins was difficult on a woman’s body, and they wanted to help their sister.

  A few minutes later, Jed came in. He had fed the horses and hitched the wagon to a post. “Thanks for taking
care of my wife, ladies.”

  “Of course, Jed!” Ruby and Opal replied. Jed was already popular with Gertrude’s sisters, and with her entire family. Only Edna Petunia still seemed a little harsh with him.

  As Ruby saw Edna Petunia heading their way, she placed a protective arm around Gertrude.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not here to fight,” Edna Petunia said, and she pulled out a peppermint stick from her bosom and offered it to Gertrude.

  Though Gertrude wasn’t hungry—and even if she were, she was not interested in a sweat-drenched peppermint stick—she accepted it. “Thank you.”

  “I wanted to say I think I’ve managed to let my anger go about what happened when you got married. You know that I love all my bastards so much. When you do something without my involvement…it makes me sad. That’s all,” Edna Petunia said.

  Gertrude was impressed. She’d never heard the woman be so logical before. “Thank you, Edna Petunia. That means a lot. Especially because pretty soon there’ll be more grandbabies for you to help care for.”

  “Yes! Two new grandbastards! I’m so happy!” Edna Petunia shouted.

  “Grandbastards?” Jed asked, frowning.

  “Don’t worry about it!” Ruby, Opal, and Gertrude all said in unison, then started to laugh. Edna Petunia was Edna Petunia. Some things never changed.

  About the Author

  www.kirstenandmorganna.com

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

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