Nicole and Harrison: An anthology of Mail Order Bride Romance

Nicole looked out the window of the moving stagecoach. The bushes, rocks, and other bits of terrain rushed past. It had been far too long since she stood on solid ground. She was going to arrive in Terran, Texas any minute now. From what Harrison had told her in his letters, it was a tiny town with not much to offer besides the people and its community. Needless to say, it was better than what she was leaving behind. Nicole thought back to the suburb of Chicago where she had lived for most of her life. It wasn't the town that was bad, but the people. Her parents had passed away almost three years ago and then she had found Arlen. He had been the worst mistake of her entire life. She sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back into the stagecoach seat. Maybe she was making a mistake by coming west to marry a man she barely knew and while doing so, doing it dishonestly. She hadn't told him about Arlen or her past. She didn't know how he would respond if he knew. And she prayed he would not be at all like Arlen. Harrison had never asked directly about her past and from what she could tell he was very conservative as well as worried about the mail order bride system. If he had specifically asked her, she would have had to tell him, but since he didn't, she had said nothing. She was pretty sure that if she had told him that she had been in a relationship before, he most likely would have never agreed to marry her. The town finally came into view. She immediately spotted a small hotel and saloon. They were right there on main street, along with a bank, a blacksmith shop, a feed store, and a few other buildings. The place was so much smaller than Chicago. Past the shops on main street were buildings that looked like homes. Then past that was land and smaller roads that most likely led to people's ranches. It was a quaint little place, but it looked safe. That was what Nicole liked most about it. There was something unnerving about Chicago, always having to look over her shoulder to make sure no one was after her. Here the buildings were simply made, just for the convenience. Each and every building looked useful like it was made with a purpose. There were no pompous houses or places that made her think of the wealthy, there were just simple little cabins and small businesses. Of course, there were some buildings which were larger than others. Maybe wealthy families living better than the rest was something that she would find everywhere, even in this tiny town in Texas. When the stagecoach came to a stop, Nicole peered outside, looking for any sign of Harrison. He was going to be there, she was almost certain. He'd told her that he would be there. She already had some fond feelings for him from their shared correspondence, but she had no idea what he looked like. There was a man, leaning against a building that had a sign which read, "post office," on it. He was tall, with dark hair that bordered on black. He was clean - shaven and had dark tan skin as if he spent a lot of time in the sun. He was handsome, so much more handsome than Nicole had expected.