Naive and Alone: Why She Became a Mail Order Bride — Crystal Anne Tilden

He was not the first dashing cavalryman to charm a naïve country girl, but he was the first to win Miss Calhoun's heart. When he promises his love to her, she trusts him, and realizes that her future lies westward.

The story of Mabel-Faith Calhoun continues in Crystal Anne Tilden's books: Mail Order Bride- Savannah's Cowboy and Winter Mail Order Bride- Charlotte's Christmas.

Excerpt:Miss Mabel-Faith Calhoun needed to stay on course. Rattling down the road in an old buggy drawn by a white carriage horse, her spirits were high. The thick layer of dark gray clouds oppressing the farming town of Riverton, Georgia, that early September morning did not dampen her spirits because she was heading away. For months, she had been looking forward to visiting her aunt. After a quick hour passed, she drove beyond the hovering gloom. Now the bright blue sky was overhead. She had no way of knowing that along with the storm clouds, she may have left her sheltered life behind. A seagull glided in the currents overhead as if it were accompanying her. She cast an eye upward at the big white bird and believed it was just as anxious to get to New Glade as she was. Perhaps so. Not bound to follow the road, it flew off seaward over a line of pines and out of sight.
At this juncture, the sound of a horse running broke the silence. She heard its fast approach behind her carriage, and looked over her shoulder to glimpse a striking dark-haired cavalry soldier on a large black steed thundering up the road. He easily caught up with her. As he began to race past her carriage, the handsome man glanced over at her and took pause. He pulled up on the reins, and dominated his spirited mount into slowing to the pace of her horse so he could linger beside her buggy. A sliver of a smile crossed his face. He cocked his head in greeting and tipped his hat to her. The moment she captured his gaze, her breath caught in her throat. Now here was a man, an Adonis in a dark blue cavalry uniform. His shoulders were wide and his bearing tall. He had a rakish grin on his face and a spark in his ice-blue eyes. She nodded back to him politely.
“It is a nice day to go for a little ride,” he commented. His restless midnight black stallion pulled at the bit, but the soldier kept tight control of it.
“It is going to be a long ride for me actually. I have a quite a way to go,” she replied, wondering why he had slowed to talk to her and delighted that he did. His dashing eyes and his powerful form captivated her. He was stunningly handsome in her eyes.
“At that pace, you must not be in a hurry to get where you are going,” he commented in a smooth voice.
“I don't want to tire the horse,” she explained. He nodded that he understood.
“Where are you going?” he inquired next. She warmed as he kept her gaze on her.
“To New Glade,” she told him. She flashed her brown eyes at him and then returned her gaze to the road.
“So am I,” he informed her. They both smiled at each other.
Just then, another buggy came up behind them. Immediately, it moved into the other side of the lane, and drove up alongside hers so that the two vehicles flanked the soldier. In Mabel-Faith's mind, the two horse drawn carriages and their occupants were as unalike as the clear blue part of sky to the stormy gray one. The other was fancy and new, and the driver golden-haired and finely dressed. Her hat probably cost as much as Mabel-Faith's entire wardrobe. She felt like a country bumpkin in comparison.
“Excuse me if I pass you,” the elegant young woman cooed. She stole a smile from the soldier, and then cracked her whip on the back of her sleek horse. It whinnied and sped her carriage away. Mabel-Faith noticed the soldier's gaze following her. She was glad the woman was gone. While he was looking away, she used the opportunity to study his handsome profile and noticed a scar over his left cheekbone. Instantly, she imagined it came from the slice of the sharp blade of an Indian warrior's knife. He wa