Falling in Love With Her Husband

An Unusual Proposal

“Wil you marry me and take me with you to North

Dakota?” I blurted the words out so fast my head was spinning.

I anxiously waved the fan as I waited for his response. I

couldn"t bring myself to drink the punch, so I just held it, hoping

I wouldn"t spil it since my hand was beginning to shake.

His head shot up and he looked at me, shocked. “I

must be dreaming,” he whispered.

I sat still, not daring to speak another word. I figured

since he loved me, he would agree to my request. However,

his response surprised me.

“I don"t think it"s a good idea. As much as I would love

to take you with me, you would be doing it for the wrong

reason.”

“You love me. You will treat me well.”

“But you will be doing this to get away from Kent and

Rebecca. It wouldn"t be right.”

Panic flashed through me. “Why couldn"t I learn to love

you? Just because you"ve loved me first, it doesn"t mean I

won"t come around to loving you.”

“You love Kent.”

“Now. But that can change.” Couldn"t it? Was I

destined to love Kent for the rest of my life?

***

Falling In Love

With Her

Husband

Ruth Ann Nordin

Ruth Ann Nordin"s Romance Books

Springfield, Nebraska

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are

imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons.

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the

author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher.

Falling In Love With Her Husband

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2009 Ruth Ann Nordin

V 1.0

Rewrite of
Todd’s Bride
and
Ann’s Groom

Cover Photo © Copyright 2009 Shutterstock Images LLC, All rights reserved-

used with permission.

Cover Photo © Copyright 2009 JupiterImages Corporation. All rights reserved

– used with permission.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part

by any means including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without expressed

written consent of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations

embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Ruth Ann Nordin Romance Books

http://www.ruthannnordin.com

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dedicated to Barb McDonald, a woman with a good heart and a

great common sense approach to life. Your friendship has

been a blessing to me.

Dear Reader,

This is a rewrite of my two books,
Todd’s Bride
and

Ann’s Groom
. Most of the content is exactly what you"l find in

the other two books. I wrote
Todd’s Bride
first which was

written in Ann"s point of view. However, I liked Todd so much

that I wanted to write his point of view as well. So I wrote
Ann’s

Groom
a couple months later. I stil wasn"t satisfied with the

final product. I wanted to combine them into one book instead

of having two separate books telling the same story.

This story is told in first person, but there are two people

telling it: Todd and Ann. At the beginning of each chapter, I

state who is telling the story. For example, Chapter 1 is Ann"s

point of view, so I put the heading „Ann"s Point of View" under

the chapter number. In Chapter 2, Todd tells the story so I

designate that chapter with the heading „Todd"s Point of View".

Then in Chapter 3, I switch back to „Ann"s Point of View". The

entire book goes back and forth between viewpoints. I know

this is an unusual approach but I wanted to try something

different.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this book

as much as I enjoyed writing it! I really do love Todd and Ann.

They will always have a special place in my heart.

Sincerely,

Ruth Ann Nordin

Other books by Ruth Ann Nordin

An Unlikely Place for Love: The Disguises of Kate Tanner
(PG 13)

The Cold Wife
(PG 13)

An Inconvenient Marriage: The Keeping of Jake Mitchell
(PG 13)

Romancing Adrienne
(PG)

With This Ring, I Thee Dread
(R)

Go t
o http://www.ruthannnordin.com
for more information.

This story begins in September 1898.

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Ann’s Point of View

Growing up in a wealthy family in Virginia wasn"t

always easy. I should have been grateful for all the

comforts I possessed, but there was a thought in the back of

my mind that something was missing. I didn"t know what

that something could possibly be nor did it occur to me to

seek it out. I simply went about my life in the routine that all

young ladies were expected to follow.

All of my dresses were modestly cut. They started at

my neck and stopped at my ankles. They had puffy sleeves

and swirling skirts. I especially liked pinks and purples,

though blues and greens were close behind as far as my

favorite colors were concerned. I thought the pinks and

purples went better with my light brown eyes. I liked the

flowery decorations that the seamstress would sew into the

expensive fabric. The dresses were meant for show and

entertaining. There was nothing practical about them, and I

had to wear a corset and seven or eight petticoats with

them.

1

Falling In Love With Her Husband

I spent most of my free time talking to my friends.

Agnes Brothers was my closest friend, though she was a

year younger than me. She was a lot of fun to be around

with her good heart. If she ever had a bad day, I didn"t know

about it. She could talk for hours without taking a breath,

which I didn"t mind because she had a way of telling stories

that caught everyone"s attention.

Since our parents were good friends, I got to see her

a lot. More often than not, we would go to the Brothers"

house. The Brothers had seven children. The oldest, Todd,

was the only boy. He was my age, so I had many classes in

school with him. I didn"t know him very well because he

spent so much time with Creepy Alex Dawson.

Sometimes, Alex would go to the dinners, though his

parents opted to stay at their home, probably to get away

from him. He was a terror with his insistent need to pull

pranks on people. But once in awhile, Todd"s other friends,

Jack or Simon would be there, and they were decent boys

who I considered a good influence on him. It was difficult to

separate Creepy Alex from Todd, though Todd was always

nicer to the girls than Alex was. I figured since Todd had

sisters, he was automatically more respectful toward girls.

One Sunday after church in the middle of

September, my parents accepted an invitation from the

Brothers to attend lunch at their house. Unfortunately,

Creepy Alex was there too.

I had just turned seventeen, and I was beginning to

feel the pressure to start courting so I could get married

when I finished my last year of school. I contemplated my

newfound pressure while I ate the steak and mashed

potatoes on my plate. My mother sat to my left while my

father sat to my right. We sat near Mr. Brothers who sat at

the head of the table. Across from me were Agnes and

Abigail who were the girls closest to my age. Agnes was

just about to turn sixteen. Abigail was fourteen. Lucy was

twelve and sat next to Todd who sat next to Alex. Then Mrs.

2

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Brothers headed the other side of the table. Across from

Alex, Todd and Lucy were ten year old Miranda, seven year

old Colleen, and four year old Judy. That meant I was far

from Alex. Thank goodness for that!

“How is your job?” my father asked Mr. Brothers.

“Good. Business is doing better than ever,” Mr.

Brothers replied. “Todd will be starting out in the loan

processing department in October. We"re proud of him.”

“He is turning into a fine young man,” he agreed.

“I"m sure he will do well.”

Agnes pretended to yawn.

I giggled. She thought these conversations were just

as boring as I did. I crossed my eyes.

She suppressed her own laughter.

“Ann, remember your manners,” my mother

whispered. “You are not a child anymore. You must act like

a young lady. No man wants to marry a woman who acts

rudely at the dinner table.”

Her words sobered my mood. Marriage. It was the

big expectation that hovered over me like an impending

storm. I did want to marry, but I didn"t know anyone I could

get excited about. As Mr. Brothers talked about his other

children, my mind wandered to what my future was going to

be like. Dinner parties, social luncheons, and dances. That

wasn"t so bad but the pressure to find a husband was

overwhelming at times. Sometimes I couldn"t decide which

was worse, marrying a man who wouldn"t treat me as well

as my father treated my mother or being confined to doing

what others expected me to do. I felt guilty for complaining

about my life. I had it a lot better than other young ladies

who weren"t fortunate enough to be adopted by such loving

people.

A shriek from Colleen interrupted my thoughts.

My eyes narrowed at Creepy Alex who was trying

not to laugh. I glanced at Colleen and saw what had caused

her distress. He had slipped a bug in her soup.

3

Falling In Love With Her Husband

“Alex, I thought we discussed this,” Mrs. Brothers

admonished. She didn"t seem as upset as I felt. In fact, I

thought she was hiding her smile. “You can"t do this at the

table. Pranks and meals do not mix.”

I rolled my eyes in disgust. Was I the only person

who found his actions incredibly annoying?

“Relax, Ann. Mrs. Brothers is taking care of it,” my

mother whispered.

“I didn"t say anything,” I whispered back.

“Your expression speaks volumes, dear.” She patted

my hand sympathetically. “Men wil notice such things.”

“I have no one to impress in this room, so I should be

allowed to show my displeasure.”

“Todd is here.”

“So?”

Thankfully, everyone was so busy laughing over

Alex"s prank that they didn"t notice my conversation with my

mother.

After the lunch, I joined Agnes and her sisters in the

parlor where a servant watched us to make sure we didn"t

break anything valuable. Ever since Alex nailed the rug to

the floor, he was banned from the room, so I knew I was

safe from him. At least, I was for the moment.

While Agnes" sisters played a board game on the

floor, I turned to Agnes who sat next to me on the couch.

“Do you ever feel trapped?” I asked her.

“How do you mean?”

I sighed. “I don"t know exactly. I just keep thinking

there"s more to life than entertaining guests and getting

married. There should be something adventurous out

there.”

“I think we have plenty adventures whenever Alex is

around.”

I gagged. “That"s not the good kind of adventure.”

“It"s better than being bored all the time.”

“Why don"t his pranks bother you?”

4

Falling In Love With Her Husband

She shrugged. “Maybe it"s because he"s Todd"s