Charlotte POVThe more I get to know Cole, the deeper I fall in love with him. He was everything I wanted in a life partner. He was kind, sincere, gentle with the orphans, and driven to make his mark on the world. It also didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes. He stands only a few inches taller than I do, which is a wonderful blessing to me. Most of the men I know would tower over my slight five-foot nine-inch frame. But the best part about Cole, I feel safe when he holds me in his arms.If I were keeping a ledger of pros and cons for being with Cole, the pro side would definitely be tipping the scale. However, one thing on the con side was keeping me from agreeing to go to California with him so that we could marry. My dreams. The monster came to me every night in my dreams. I was barely sleeping these days; the monster terrified me so.I should stop calling it a monster and say she. For I have come to understand that the monster that was trying to keep us apart was a woman. What

Charlotte POV It was almost two weeks later when Cole’s brother, Elijah, finally arrived. Having been delayed by a late snow storm in the Rocky Mountains, he was happy to finally be no longer riding in the bumpy stage coach. Elijah was a terrible flirt, as was evident when he bent over my hand and kissed it, as if I were royalty. I giggled at his silliness because I could see Cole’s irritation at the gesture. I’ll be honest with you; I was nervous to meet him. Aside from his Aunt Beatrice, Elijah is Cole’s only family. If his brother didn’t approve, it would make our already rocky relationship that much more tedious. I don’t believe in putting on airs, pretending to be someone that you aren’t. I believe that it is important for people to see who you truly are, however, I also want Cole’s family to accept me. I shouldn’t have worried. It became more evident, the longer we talked and I came to know Elijah, that no one liked Cole’s former girlfriend. It was so very strange how no one e

August 1866Charlotte POVWhen I informed Mrs. Sheffield that I had agreed to marry Cole and we were going to wait to marry until we were in California, she was not pleased. She didn’t want me to travel that far with Cole and not have the vows spoken. When I explained to her that Cole and I would travel as a married couple for safety’s sake but that he had already stated he would sleep on the floor during our travels, she relented. But only slightly.In my mind, it didn’t really matter. I was going to marry him. So why did I need to wait. It’s not like I would leave him for someone else. He was my destiny. If a lifetime of dreams hadn’t confirmed that, my vision of our wedding day did. But that wasn’t my only confirmation.Two nights after I had agreed to marry him, my mother came to me in my dreams. She had a vision that I would be traveling with my soon to be husband. During the dream I told her that I hoped that she would be able to come out of hiding for my wedding. She said that

Charlotte POV When I stepped off the stage and met Cole’s aunt, I immediately felt a kinship with her. I didn’t know why but I felt as though I had known her my whole life. Then she teased Cole by dismissing him like he was a hired servant and I knew that she and I would have lots in common. One of my favorite things was to tease Cole, her teasing being more of an older sibling. On the other hand, my teasing usually led to passion. As I took in Cole’s house, our house, actually, I was impressed. He really had done well for himself. A white Victorian style home with a wrap around porch and two stories. I noticed that many of the homes had at least two stories, similar to those in St. Louis. As we climbed the steps to the porch, I took note that one section of the house was curved, giving a turret feel to the home. Upon entering the house, I realized the curved area was the parlor with several tall windows for natural lighting. The parlor was stunning, but not quite my style. I decide

October 1866 Charlotte POV It was a shock to see my parents face to face for the first time in my life. But it only took one look for me to know that I was their daughter. I could see bits of myself in each of them. It must have seemed like an eternity to them, but it was just a matter of seconds before I was flying across the room into my mother’s arms. As they folded their arms around me, I finally felt the hole in my soul filling up. However, I wasn’t quite ready to call them mother and father. After a few moments, Conor said, “You are more beautiful than my dreams allowed. We have much to discuss, but for now, please know that we agonized for years about the decision we had to make. Your mother is right, Matilda was the perfect choice to be your adoptive mother.” I nodded slightly, my head still on Esther’s shoulder. We stayed like that for a few more moments and then I lifted my head and stood tall once more. I had so many questions and although I was overjoyed to have finally