Mail Order Maternity (Brides of Beckham Book 6) Read Online Free PDF

yourself.”  Harriett offered the envelope to Esther.
    Esther took the envelope from Harriett’s hand, almost afraid to see what was in it.  Had he rejected her and the baby?  She flipped it over and over in her hands.  Finally, she took her regular seat on the couch and opened the letter, reading it to herself. 
    “Dear Esther, I was pleased to receive your letter.  I’ve enclosed a train ticket and some money for your travel expenses.  Please give the bank draft to Mrs. Long.  I’ll meet you at the station in Lindsborg, Kansas on Saturday, July twelfth at noon.  I’ll have a sign with your name on it, so we can recognize one another.  All my best, Thomas.”
    Esther looked at the papers that had dropped to the floor when she opened the envelope.  She hadn’t even noticed them.  “I was almost hoping he’d tell me he didn’t want me because of the baby.”  Her eyes lifted to meet Harriett’s.  “I’m scared.”
    Harriett sighed.  “You don’t have to go.  I can find someone else for him.”
    Esther shrugged.  “I certainly can’t stay here.  My mother-in-law told me I can stay for two more weeks and then I have to get out.”
    “You could come and stay with me.”
    “But you’re about to leave as well!  You can’t take a pregnant woman with you.”  Esther laughed softly.  “I can just see the two of us getting off the train together to meet your future husband.  He’d be trying to figure out what’s going on.”
    Harriett smiled at the picture.  “Well, it would make for an interesting story to tell.”
    “My ticket is for the day after tomorrow.  I’ve already sold everything I can sell, and my things are packed.  I need to just go.”  She handed the check to Harriett.  “This is yours.”
    “Did he give you enough for travel expenses?”
    Esther counted through the cash in the envelope.  “It looks like it.”
    “Good.  Do you want me to go to the train station with you?”
    “Would you mind?  It wouldn’t hurt your leg, would it?”  She really didn’t want to go alone, but she didn’t want to put Harriett out either.  She wouldn’t do anything that would cause her friend more pain.
    Harriett shrugged.  “Everything hurts my leg.  It’s better if I take a short walk at least once per day, though, so I’ll get the mail while I’m out and go with you to the station.”
    “I’d like that.”  Harriett didn’t often talk about the pain she was in and had never explained to her what had happened, but Esther got the impression she’d lost her baby at the same time her leg had been injured.  “My train leaves at noon.”
    “If you’re here by ten thirty, we’ll have plenty of time, even if the train is early.”  Harriett smiled at her friend.  “Did you have morning sickness again today?”
    Esther nodded.  “I’ve barely been able to eat anything all day long it’s been so bad.”  She rested her hand on her uneasy stomach to punctuate her words.
    “Did you talk to the doctor about it?”
    “He just patted me on the arm and told me it’s the penalty for bearing children.”  Esther shook her head.  “You can certainly tell he’s never given birth or he’d be a lot more sympathetic.  His wife told me to sip slowly and start every day with toast.”
    Harriett grinned.  “Have you been able to get everything you’ll need together for your journey?”
    “I have most of it.  I should probably make myself a couple of new dresses, but I did that right before I married, and I’m just not worried about it.”  She shrugged indicating it was all she could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  New dresses were a dream.
    Harriett shrugged.  “You’ll have plenty of time to sew after you get to Kansas.  You know you’re going to have to write to me, don’t you?”
    Esther nodded.  “I will.  I promise I’ll write as much as I can.”  She wasn’t sure how her new husband would be about expecting her to