Second Chance Love
His Brother's Intended BrideDavid Wainwright is not one to shirk his duty, and helping his late brother's grieving betrothed is no exception. He'll offer Elizabeth Martin comfort and support–he'll even help her find a job. But most important, he'll continue to hide his true feelings…that he's always cherished his brother's almost-bride.Elizabeth needs to be strong for the sake of her family. So she accepts David's friendship and assistance. But she hadn't realized how much she'd enjoy and value her work at David's side. Or how much he'd come to mean to her. He's more than a would-be brother to her–and much more than a friend. Could she be ready to open herself to the risks of love for a second time around?
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His Brotherâs Intended Bride
David Wainwright is not one to shirk his duty, and helping his late brotherâs grieving betrothed is no exception. Heâll offer Elizabeth Martin comfort and supportâheâll even help her find a job. But most important, heâll continue to hide his true feelingsâ¦that heâs always cherished his brotherâs almost-bride.
Elizabeth needs to be strong for the sake of her family. So she accepts Davidâs friendship and assistance. But she hadnât realized how much sheâd enjoy and value her work at Davidâs side. Or how much heâd come to mean to her. Heâs more than a would-be brother to herâand much more than a friend. Could she be ready to open herself to the risks of love for a second time around?
âYou donât have to hide the tears from me, Elizabeth.â
The understanding in his voice stopped her in her tracks.
âI know what you are feeling. He was my brother, my best friend. I miss him terribly.â
Pain pierced her heart, but Davidâs honesty was an invitation. She turned to face him.
âHow do you do it?â she asked.
He left the ladder and crossed the floor. âDo what?â
âGet up each morning? Go about your tasks? Your new job? I can barely breathe.â
A look of compassion filled his face. It appeared as though he were about to embrace her, yet just before doing so, he stopped, rubbed his whiskered chin.
âI wish I could take away your pain,â David said.
Upon impulse, she moved into his arms. David held her tightly. Elizabeth knew full well the strength and security he offered was only that of a would-be brother-in-lawâs kindness, yet even so, she soon gave in to temptation.
The same soap⦠The same shaving balmâ¦
But the added hint of peppermint brought her back to reality. He is not Jeremiah. He never will be.
SHANNON FARRINGTON and her husband have been married for over twenty years, have two children and are active members in their local church and community. When she isnât researching or writing, you can find her visiting national parks and historical sites or at home herding her small flock of chickens through the backyard. She and her family live in Maryland.
For He hath said,
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
âHebrews 13:5
For my father, who first inspired my interest in the Civil War, and my mother, who has lovingly put up with us both for all these years.
Contents
Baltimore, Maryland 1864
David Wainwright stared past his brotherâs casket to the place where Elizabeth Martin sat. Her beautiful red curls were pulled back tightly in a bun at the base of her neck. Head to toe, she was covered in black. In just a few short weeks the woman would have become part of his family, but not in the way David had hoped.
âI am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live...â
The reverend presiding over the service recited the words of Jesus, but by the look on Elizabethâs face, it appeared she found no comfort in the promise of eternal life. Pale and stunned, she stared at Jeremiahâs coffin. By all outward appearances she was the epitome of proper decorum, but the moment David caught her eye he sensed a storm below the surface.
If only you had left well enough alone,she seemed to say. Iâd have given anything for just a few days with him as his wife.
Grief rolled through him in more ways than one. The loss of his brother was like a knife to his soul, and the sight of Elizabethâs pain cut him just as deeply.
Iâm sorry,he wanted to say. So sorry for everything.
She returned her focus to the minister, but Davidâs thoughts remained in the past.
Little had he realized when he first met her that his life, and that of his brotherâs, would be changed forever. Elizabeth was a Baltimore belle, born and bred. Like many other women from her city, she had volunteered to serve as a nurse following the battle of Antietam. Scores of wounded soldiers, Union and rebel alike, had come to Baltimoreâs US Army General Hospital for care and processing. David and Jeremiah were a pair of soldiers from Boston who had been assigned as stewards in the place. Elizabeth had worked in the ward alongside David. Jeremiah served next door.
Her Southern sympathy revealed itself from time to time, mostly in expressions of relief whenever she learned of rebel victories on the battlefield. As a Union soldier and the son of an abolition-preaching minister, David found that troubling. Then he learned Elizabethâs loyalty was more to an older brother named George, who had enlisted in the rebel forces, than to the actual Confederacy.
Her devotion to her secession-supporting family member, however, had cost her the position at the hospital. For, when a rebel prisoner escaped, Elizabeth and several other Baltimore volunteer nurses were accused of assisting him. She was found innocent of the charges but was forced to leave the hospital for refusing to sign an oath of loyalty that would have demanded that she cut off all contact with her brother.
