Chapter 2

Amelia May Benson sat at the train station awaiting the stage coach that would bring her to her new home. She was tired from traveling filled with nerves, for what twenty-two year old women would not be as she traveled to her unknown groom. All she knew was his name (Nathan Grant), that he had adopted his niece, and he worked for the Royal North West Mounted Police. She blushed a little at the thought, for she had seen some very handsome men in red surge. Hopefully her future husband was one of the handsome ones.

Amelia lived her entire life in Ottawa, there she had lived with her parents and three older brothers. Unfortunately her mother died when Amelia was almost twenty, leaving her in a house of power hungry males. Her family was one of the richest in Ottawa, and it seemed that the men in her family wanted to control as many businesses as they could get their hands on. The latest endeavor they found included Mr Ronald Arbor. Mr Arbor wanted to marry Amelia, so he made some very large business deals with her father to make it so. But he was a nasty man, although he hid it well behind the facade of being a gentleman. Amelia had heard the rumors from her families servants, it was repeated how he often got a bit friendly with his female staff members.

As soon as Amelia heard the rumors she went straight to her father, but he declared it was set in stone and she was to be married to Mr Arbor in one months time. Amelia had cried and cried and it made no difference to her father, so she resolved to take matters into her own hands. It took almost two weeks before she found the solution to her dilemma. She had found out from one of her friends about a little widow with a mail order bride company, and supposedly she had remarkable success it matching her couples. She claimed almost all of them found love in the end. So that is what Amelia did, she went to Mrs Reynolds and explained the urgency of her situation. It was common for the bride and groom to usually exchange a few letters before the bride would travel to her waiting groom, but under the circumstances Mrs Reynolds decided they would call one of her grooms and send Amelia out as soon as possible.

Amelia sighed, she loved her family, but it could be that she had seen them for the last time or worse that they would chase her and force her to return home. She felt so alone for the first time in her life, but she was almost to her new destination and her new family. She felt her eyes tearing up slightly but she quickly shook them away, she was determined to be happy and kept hoping that Nathan Grant was a true gentleman.

Amelia's hands shook as she gazed out of the stage coach, she had at last arrived in Hope Valley. She hoped she looked alright she thought as she patted down her copper curls. She was considered a beauty back home, but she never realized it because if any man paid her any attention her brothers would quickly scare them away. She had determined her looks were average with her auburn copper locks and deep blue eyes. The coach stopped and her eyes widened when she first caught sight of him, or at least she thought it must be him for he was wearing the telltale red surge. He had a lopsided smile as he held his hat and a small bunch of wildflowers. Amelia could not help but return a shy smile of her own.

He opened the door for her and she shyly asked, "Are you Constable Nathan Grant?"

"Yeah, that's me," he said as he subtly looked her over and quickly dropped his gaze. He looked back up and offered his hand in order to assist her out of the coach. When she was firmly on the ground he released her hand and said, "It is good to meet you Miss Benson."

"I am glad to meet you as well...but please call me Amelia, you are after all soon to be my husband". His smile grew and he requested she call him Nathan as well. This was a huge relief to Amelia, for she hoped very few of her new neighbors would be aware of her maiden name. The less that knew it, the harder it would be if her father decided to try and find her.

"So, my niece Allie and a couple of my friends are with the Judge in his office. I figure we should head over their for our wedding,...unless you prefer to stay in a room above the saloon for a few days?"

"A saloon?" Amelia quickly questioned in shock. Why would he thing a lady would stay in a saloon.

"Well, it is more of a hotel with a nice restaurant. Trust me I wouldn't let you stay anywhere unless I felt it was safe. Hope Valley for the most part is quite peaceful."

Amelia smiled and responded that she had already been prepared for the wedding to be today. Plus she didn't want him to have to pay for the room for her. They made an agreement to live their lives together and she told him how it would be easier to get to know one another if they were already married. Plus she was hoping she would be married, if indeed her father and brothers decided to follow her. She looked back up at him and smiled, he was a rather tall intimidating man when he was in his uniform. She was sure her brothers would be very nervous if they had to converse with her new husband.

He handed her the flowers and they headed over to the Judges office. As they entered Amelia saw three adult and a young girl possibly around thirteen years old. That's when Nathan introduced her to his niece Allie, Mr and Mrs Coulter who were to be the witnesses of their marriage and Judge Avery. Amelia was a bit surprised by Allie's age, she had assumed Nathan's niece would have been a bit younger. And she worried that Allie may not want her for a mother figure since she was not old enough or have been a mother for a girl her age. She tried to rationalize that as Allie's aunt the age difference would not be inappropriate, plus she assumed Nathan was only eight to ten years older than her.

Judge Avery then drew them closer and he started the ceremony. Nathan took Amelia's hands in his and looked directly into her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she became enamored with his crystal like blue eyes, and his lopsided grin. They said their vows and at the appropriate time he place a simple gold ring on her finger. The next thing she knew the Judge told Nathan he could kiss his bride.

Amelia's eyes grew wide as she had forgotten about the kiss, and as of yet she had never been kissed by a man. Nathan seemed to have understood her fear, so he gave her a very faint gentle kiss. Amelia felt a tingle down to her toes from the touch of his lips and she blushed an adorable shade of red.