Introduction

When Susannah goes to Dakota territory as a mail-order bride she finds something she never dreamed she would—true love.

With no prospects for marriage and her parents recently deceased, Susannah Underhill agrees to go west to the Dakota territory to marry her minister's homesteading brother, Jesse. But Susannah is painfully shy, doesn't see herself as worthy of love from either a husband or from God, and lives in constant fear that Jesse is going to ship her back to Detroit.

In spite of her petite size and the fact that Susannah doesn't look like she could survive on the prairie, Jesse quickly discovers that his new wife is a greater blessing than he even hoped for. The years she spent as her father's veterinary assistant allow her to save Jesse's ox and twin calves and to help neighboring farmers with their animals. But Susannah's feelings of unworthiness are deeply rooted, and she can't believe that Jesse's praise—or the tenderness and love he shows—could possibly last. The thawing of her heart seems almost as distant as Spring in the midst of the winter blanketing the Dakota prairie.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1

Please, Lord, let my Susannah be on this train. And give me some fancy talking so she’ll stay.

Fourth Siding,” the conductor yelled as he trundled down the aisle. “Your stop, miss.”

Susannah peered through the soot-covered window. Nothing. No false-fronted buildings, no hardy pioneer families riding in wagons, no tented gatherings of fur trappers and gold miners. Just drab brownish-green grass waving all the way to the horizon, as it had since Fargo this morning. Dakota Territory had to be the emptiest place on earth.

She pulled the letter from the pocket of her traveling suit. “Fourth Siding” was scrawled beneath his name, but no further directions. “I’m needing a wife,” he’d written in bold, angular letters,

a mix of cursive and manuscript. The second page, folded with it for safekeeping, was written by Reverend Mason in precise script, round letters all slanting right.

Surely this Mr. Jesse Mason would be like his brother the minister—a kindly gentleman with a placid temperament. Susannah stowed the letter.

The engine swung onto the sidetrack. This was it. Time to make a good first impression. She patted her chignon, tucked in hairpins, straightened her bonnet and veil. She shook out her skirt, smoothed her jacket, and pulled on her gloves.

Her fluttering drew the attention of the other passengers, two soldiers and a civilian. The civilian, a grizzly bear of a man, shot a stream of tobacco juice in the general vicinity of the spittoon, then swabbed the dregs on the sleeve of his checked shirt. His beard parted, showing a raw space where an upper incisor should be. Susannah shuddered. Poor dentist.

Please let my husband have all his teeth. And let him be free of the tobacco habit.

Susannah stopped herself. It was no use praying. If God listened,

she wouldn’t be in this predicament. The Almighty wasn’t going to help her, that much was clear. She’d just have to manage in her usual way, without divine intervention.

With a squeal and jerk of the brakes, the Northern Pacific westbound

run pulled up to a small platform. Late summer sun baked the new wood of a locked shed. No sign of Mr. Mason or anyone else to meet her. No town, no depot, no hotel. Susannah’s heart sank. Well then, she’d ride on, wherever the train went.

The tobacco spitter stood and stretched, filling the aisle with his bulk. “I’ll fetch your grip.” His bristly paw engulfed the handle of her satchel, which contained her change of collars and cuffs, handkerchiefs, and towel, all in desperate need of laundering.

“But . . .” She followed, not knowing what else to do.

He deposited her bag on the platform and handed her down. “Begging pardon, miss, but you’re looking mighty peaked. You all right?”

As much as she’d paid for her breakfast toast, she would not lose it. “I’m fine, thank you.”

At the freight car door, the conductor hauled out two trunks, all that was left of her life in Detroit. Susannah needed to inform the train crew she wouldn’t be staying; please put her luggage back on. But the grizzly wouldn’t let go.

“If it don’t work out with Jesse,” he said in a phlegm-thick voice, “you’re welcome over to my place. Across the river at the next siding. Name’s Abner Reece.”

How did he know she was here to meet Jesse Mason? And was he proposing? Surely she’d done nothing to encourage his attention. She’d avoided even glancing his way. “If you’ll excuse me—”

The train whistle split the air, and the conductor hustled Mr. Reece back into the passenger car.

Susannah raised her voice and her arm, abandoning all pretense

of ladylike behavior. “Wait! Pardon me, sir. There’s no one—”

But the pounding steam engine drowned out the conductor’s reply. He pointed north, over her shoulder, to a telegraph pole. When Susannah turned back, the locomotive had huff-huffed west with its two cars.

“Wait!”

A shower of red-hot cinders rained down. She jumped, shaking

her black serge skirt. When she looked up, the train had grown smaller. It crested the earth and disappeared.

A bone-deep ache pressed down on her, heavy as the August sun. Her knees shook. A tear slipped out. It wasn’t like she’d answered an advertisement in a hearts-and-hands publication. No, her pastor’s brother had written to her, had asked her to marry him. He should be here.

Susannah knew what they said about her at Lafayette Avenue Church. With her plain looks and her family’s limited means, she could hardly expect to attract a husband. Her shyness made others uncomfortable. And her interest in her father’s veterinary surgery was highly inappropriate.

She hadn’t been invited to parties, hadn’t had a proper coming out, hadn’t been courted, not even by the battle-scarred soldiers limping home from the War. Becoming a mail-order bride seemed like her best chance, her only chance, for a home and family of her own.

Susannah removed her veil, wiped her cheeks, and drew in a breath. As she stuffed her gloves into her pockets, her fingers brushed the handkerchief knotted around the last of her funds. After paying for train tickets, hotels, and restaurant meals, she was left with $3.72.

Not much. Not enough. She had no choice. She would simply take the next train, wherever it went, whenever it came.

After four days on the train and three nights in noisy, smelly hotels, the platform was a fine place to wait. Fresh, quiet, like a raft floating on a sea of grass.

A loud thump shook the boards beneath her feet. Susannah spun around, her mind conjuring images of stampeding buffalo, cattle rustlers, Indians on the warpath. Her heel caught on her satchel and she fell.

As she lay there breathless, she heard heavy boots cross the planks and caught a glimpse of a wide-brimmed straw hat and broad shoulders covered by a faded blue shirt. His open hands carried

no weapons. He must have been hiding under the platform, holed up like a bandit. But Susannah didn’t have a derringer in her pocket or a bowie knife in her boot or even a next-door neighbor with a fireplace poker.

“Are you all right?” His low voice cut through the wind.

Due to the current fashion of bustles and petticoats, Susannah could fall on her backside without injury, but standing was another matter. Gathering the fragments of her dignity, she straightened her back and lifted her chin. “Have we been introduced?”

The man wiped his palms on his pants and reached for her. “Miss Susannah Underhill?”

Susannah planted her hands as far down as she could reach, trying to keep the wind from blowing her skirts over her head. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:

1. Susannah and Jesse marry after exchanging a few letters. How long were you in a relationship before committing? What discoveries did you make after committing? Are there any surprises left for long-time couples?

2. Susannah is intimidated by Dakota's emptiness. What frightens you when you travel?

3. Susannah wants privacy, but Jesse craves intimacy. How do couples work this out?

4. Jesse refers to their marriage as a two-piece puzzle - different, but fitted into a whole. Is he right? Do opposites attract? Do you believe there's someone for everyone?

5. Susannah wants to confide in Marta. How important are girlfriends? What can you say to a girlfriend that you wouldn't discuss with your spouse?

6. Victorian culture blamed women if they were attacked. In what ways does today's culture blame victims? What should our stance as Christians be toward victims?

7. Jesse tells Susannah to forget the "shoulds". What "shoulds" does today's culture impose on us? Do "shoulds" point to a more Christ-like life or restrict our freedom in Christ?

8. Jesse's expectations for his wife don't include fancy meals or a spotless house - he wants to know her. How do expectations affect relationships? How do expectations change over the years?

9. Jesse keeps trying to coax Susannah into expressing her opinion, debating with him. On what issues should couples agree? And where are differences of opinion acceptable?

10. Susannah stopped praying when God didn't give her what she wanted. What other ways to people react to disappointment with God? Have you had a similar experience with unanswered prayers?

11. Jesse thinks the grasshopper invasion is a lesson or punishment from God. When Susannah learns the extent of the plague, she remembers Matthew 5:45, God "sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Who is right? In your life, which problems do you attribute to God's discipline and which are 'just life'? Are some problems both?

12. Susannah renegotiates her marriage. Have you had to do this? How did it work out?

13. When Susannah has to make a decision, she struggles to hear God amidst advice from friends. What role should friends have in discerning God's will?

14. Jesse's love for Susannah opens her to believe God loves her. Who in your life has helped you understand God's love? How can our actions show God's love?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Author Catherine Richmond's web site
»	Connect with Catherine Richmond on Facebook
»	Email Catherine Catherine would be happy to call-in to your book club as well as meet with clubs in the Omaha area. Email her via her web site.

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