Finally a Bride by Vickie Mcdonough

toddler Mrs. Davis had been holding on her hip when he first arrived was seated in a child’s chair, munching on half a biscuit. The cute, blond little girl with pale blue eyes like her mother’s studied him for a moment, then grinned and held up her biscuit.
    “Bicket.”
    “Is it good?” he asked.
    She nodded and grinned, revealing tiny teeth. The child was obviously used to having strangers in her home. “Bite?”
    “No, thanks. I’ll wait for the rest of the folks.”
    Mrs. Davis entered, carrying a huge platter covered with a towel. The fragrant odor of meat teased his senses. She set the heavy load on the buffet lining the wall to his right. She smiled and used her wrist to move the hair from her eyes. “Afternoon, Reverend. Dinner will be served in a few minutes. How’s your room?”
    “It’s far more than I expected.” Heat rushed up his neck when she lifted her brows. “It’s nice. Very nice. I didn’t know I’d be getting two rooms.”
    “I’m glad you like it. Be sure you let me know if there’s anything you need. Did I mention the fresh towels in the washroom?” She fanned her flushed face and continued when he nodded. “Why don’t you go ahead and take a seat?”
    He glanced at the twelve empty chairs and felt odd sitting before anyone else.
    “Mama, me thirsty.” The little girl pounded on the table with her spoon.
    Mrs. Davis hurried over, picked up a cup that had been wisely set out of the child’s reach, and gave her a drink. “We have one other boarder—a businessman who’s in town to meet with Mr. Castleby—but I’m not certain if Mr. Cameron will be taking dinner with us or if he’s dining with our bank president.”
    “Ow! Mama! Alan pinched me.” The young blond girl Noah had seen earlier trotted into the dining room with her brother right behind her.
    “I did not. I just squished a bug on her arm.”
    The girl glanced down, licked her finger, and wiped it across her arm. “Nuh-uh, you pinched me.”
    “Not on purpose.” The boy glanced up at his ma with brown eyes that resembled the marshal’s.
    Noah studied the three children. They were an interesting combination of their parents. The boy more resembled his father with his dark hair and eyes, while the youngest girl was the spitting image of her mother, and the middle child seemed to have received traits of both parents. He’d never before considered being a father, and his thoughts immediately shifted to the auburn-haired beauty upstairs.
    Noah shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the vision of Jack sitting in her bed. The boy peered up at him with an odd look on his face.
    Mrs. Davis sighed. “Reverend, I don’t believe I introduced my younger children to you.” She patted the boy’s head. “This is Alan. He’s seven. The older girl is Abby, who is five, and this is Emma, who’s two and a half.”
    “We call her Emmie.” Abby reached out and snatched a piece of biscuit from in front of Emmie. The toddler squealed, then threw the hunk of biscuit she’d been munching at her sister.
    “Children! Enough.”
    Emmie’s lower lip puckered at her mother’s scolding, but the other two children didn’t react at all. “Abby, fetch the bowl of biscuits I made. Alan, go fill the glasses with water.”
    Noah watched the children do their mother’s bidding, but the second she turned her back, Abby stuck her tongue out at her brother. Noah bit back a grin. So this is what he’d missed by not having siblings. He wasn’t quite sure if he was relieved or not.
    “I’m sorry, Reverend. I sincerely love my children, but they are a handful. They know I’m not at my best with this baby on the way, and they take full advantage.”
    Noah swatted his hand in the air. “It doesn’t bother me, ma’am. In fact, I’ve never been around small children much and”—he stared at her, wondering if he would offend her—”well, I find it entertaining and informative.”
    She lifted her light brown brows again and