Katie Page 9

  Aaron shook his head. “No. But if you agree to it, we are.”

  Jacob emerged from where he was hiding behind Aaron’s back. “Can we be a family?”

  Katie’s eyes brimmed with happy tears. This was all she had ever wanted, and it was all happening.

  “Well, what do you say?” Aaron looked at Katie expectantly.

  Katie grinned. “I say, yes!”

  Aaron signaled to Micah, who walked to accompany them at the front of the church.

  Micah smiled proudly. “Family and friends, we are gathered here to witness the marriage of Aaron Cavett and Katie Sanders.”

  Katie stared up at Aaron. She couldn’t believe that she was marrying him. Then she realized a big problem. “Stop! Wait! Stop!”

  Aaron looked crestfallen. Katie whispered in his ear. “Where are we going to live? Are we going back to New York?”

  Aaron laughed in relief. “So much has happened in the past hour that I haven’t been able to properly explain! Jed and I are going to start a school for music. I’ll be Headmaster and he’ll be the teacher. It will be a new and different job, but I’ll get to stay here and watch the boys as they grow up, and we’ll get to be near your wonderful family.”

  Katie smiled, so grateful that Aaron understood her connection to the family. “Our family,” she corrected.

  They held hands and the family cheered in approval. Micah held his hands up. “Quiet, please! We still have a ceremony to finish!”

  A few minutes later, Micah nodded to Aaron and Katie. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  Screams, whistles, and cheers erupted from the crowd. As Aaron and Katie kissed, she felt like everything was finally falling into place. Her Christmas wish had come true after all!

  Epilogue

  Katie hugged Edna Petunia, taking Jacob’s hand to leave. “I knew you’d want to know right away so you could start making quilts for your newest grandbastard.”

  “I can’t believe my baby is going to have a baby!” Edna Petunia was beaming, so pleased about the news of a new baby in the family. There were always new babies in the family, but there could never be enough to please Edna Petunia.

  Katie grinned as she opened the front door to leave, surprised to see Abner standing on the doorstep, his hand raised to knock. “I’ll leave you two to visit. See you soon, Edna Petunia!”

  “Yes, you will!” Edna Petunia looked at the young man who had tried to court several of her daughters. “Are you here to see me, Abner? You know all my girls are married and out of the house, don’t you?”

  Abner sighed and nodded. “Actually, that’s why I’m here.”

  Edna Petunia frowned, but opened the door wider as she watched Katie and Jacob get into a buggy to drive away. “How can I help you, Abner?” She led him into the informal parlor at the front of the house, and took a seat herself. “You seem troubled.” Edna Petunia had never had a great fondness for Abner, because she hadn’t thought he was right for any of her bastards. Now that they were all married off and doing well, she felt a bit sorry for the young man.

  “Well, it’s like this…I always thought I’d marry one of your beautiful daughters, but now that they’re all married, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I feel like since you let them all marry other men, you should help me to find a wife.”

  Edna Petunia stared at him for a minute. “Are you daft? Why is it my job?”

  “I’m really not sure, but it has to be. I don’t really have the skills it takes to court a woman, because I’m so terribly awkward, but I want to be married. So you need to help me. No one else will!”

  Edna Petunia sighed. “I see your point. I do have a friend that I correspond with in Massachusetts who is in the mail-order bride business. I’m sure I could find you a wife.” She got up and waddled to a writing desk, taking a sheet of paper and a pencil. “Write a letter saying what you want in a woman, and I’ll make sure my friend gets it. I’m sure between the two of us, we could match up all of the unmarried men in town.”

  Abner didn’t look at her as he wrote his letter as fast as he could. “I can’t wait to see who comes to marry me. Will it take long?”

  “I have no idea. We’ll learn together, and if this works out well, I’ll hang out my shingle. Edna Petunia’s Mail-Order Brides. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Abner said, not paying any attention to her as he signed his name with a flourish. “It surely does.”

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