A Bride for Cameron by Barbara Goss (read novels website .txt) 📗

“You do?”  He felt hopeful.

“I look forward to them.  I enjoy our conversations, and that’s a good start to any relationship.”

Her words made Cameron bold, and he kissed her forehead lightly.  “I enjoy your company, too.”

On Sunday, they all piled into the buggy and went to the church service.  Cameron felt more comfortable on his third time at church.  Last week, Reverend Hollister had explained three more commandments in detail.  Cameron felt relieved that he wasn’t guilty of dishonoring his parents—he hadn’t killed anyone or stolen anything.  He liked the services because they made him feel like he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

That week; however, Hollister hit him hard.  “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”  Hollister explained that neighbor didn’t mean the guy that lived down the lane; it meant another person.  Had he been guilty of that sin while defending people in court?  Didn’t he sometimes know the person was in the wrong, but he twisted the facts to win the case?

He left the church feeling somewhat depressed.  His dishonesty in sneaking Hannah into town as his wife and faking that he had two children just to win an election had been so wrong.  He’d broken a commandment.  Was he doomed to eternal damnation?

He always had a difficult time hiding his emotions, although, when Hannah asked if he was all right on the way home, he faked a smile and assured her that he was fine and just thinking about his present case.  How could he continue to be a lawyer who got paid for helping people get off without punishment?  Not all of his clients were guilty, but he knew that some were.  Most of his cases were not serious crimes like murder, though.  He’d feel a lot better if he knew that Wilson was innocent for sure.

What bothered him most was that he’d deceived the woman he wanted to make his true wife.  How could he possibly tell her now that the children were only his by adoption?  And to make matters worse, if that were possible, he’d forced the children to go along with the lie.

Usually, he felt good after attending the services, but that day, he felt depressed and doomed.  There is no way out once you begin to lie.  Joe had advised him to tell Hannah everything, but how could he, now that he’d finally started getting some encouragement from her?

The preacher had said that people needed to confess their sins to God.  He supposed that was done by prayer.  He’d never prayed outside of the church service.  Reverend Hollister also said that God’s son, Jesus, had died on the cross for man’s sins, and all we had to do was ask, be truly sorry, and the sins would be forgiven,  but how could he be truly sorry if he continued to lie to Hannah and the whole town when election time came?   Oh, what had he done?

Cameron continued to sulk, but when he felt Hannah’s worried eyes on him during dinner, he would smile.

During the children’s bedtime, Annabelle begged him to tell her another story. “Honey,” he said, “I don’t remember all the stories my aunt told me.”

Annabelle sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Then tell us a story about things that happened in your life.  Mama often tells us stories about things that happened when she was my age.  Those are the best stories.”

She looked so eager that  Cameron hated to disappoint her.  He was sitting at the foot of Georgie’s bed as he tried to think of a story.  Georgie crept up and put his head on his lap.  Without thinking, he patted the boy’s head.  He was a cute little child, and Hannah had taught him to talk.  His vocabulary was still limited, but he looked up and said, “Please, Fadder?”

Without thinking, Cameron swept the child up onto his lap.  “I’ve got a story that you’ll love.”

Both children clapped their hands and looked at him eagerly.  Hannah gave him a big smile that made his heart skip a beat.  He loved his little family.

“I was just about your age, Annabelle,” he said, giving her a wink,  “I went to a small schoolhouse where there were children of all ages.  I was scared. I’d never been around any other children.  I thought I was doing very well with the schoolwork, but the teacher sent a note home with me for my mother.  It was written in cursive, so I couldn’t read it,” he saw Annabelle frown.

“What’s cursive?”

“It’s writing adults use. Your mother can show you later.”

Annabelle smiled again.  “What did the cursive note say?”

“It said the teacher was worried about me because I hadn’t spoken a word in the first three months of school.”

Cameron noticed that he had the rapt attention of the room.

“My aunt gave me a friendly lecture. She told me to speak up like the other children.

“Well, about a month later, the teacher gave me another note to give my aunt.  I was worried, but I couldn’t figure out what I’d done wrong this time.  My aunt laughed when she read it, and then had to lecture me again.”

“What did the note say this time?” Annabelle asked.

“It said I was talking during class even after she’d scolded me for it.”

Annabelle giggled, and Hannah clapped her hands in glee.  “Good story, Cam.”

She’d finally called him Cam.

Cameron looked down and noticed that Georgie had fallen asleep.  He gently put him back in bed, covered him up, and kissed his forehead.  “Goodnight, Georgie.”

He did the same for Annabelle after she’d said her prayer.

Hannah kissed them, turned out the lamp, and they backed out of the room.

“Oh, Cam!  We can’t walk tonight—it’s raining.”

“So it is,” he said as they entered the sitting room.  “We can