Desperate in Delaware
Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Series
Book 11
By
Caroline Clemmons
Cover design by Black Widow Designs
Copyright © 2020 by Caroline Clemmons
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental because this book is fiction.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
About this Series
About Caroline Clemmons
Chapter One
Delaware, Early Spring, 1880
Mina Faye Stapleton carried the mail home. Once there, she laid the items addressed to her sister and brother-in-law on the hall table and hurried to her room. What a pleasant treat to see that a letter from her cousin Cindy had arrived on her birthday. She sat on her bed and opened it immediately.
Dear Mina,
Happy Birthday, dear cousin! I hope this reaches you at least close to the right day. Judging the mail is almost impossible. I wish we could be together so I could give you a party. You know how I love giving parties. Giving you one would be especially fun.
Jamie and Jessica are growing so fast. I’ll have their photo taken soon and send you a copy. They’re walking now—and running and climbing—and what one doesn’t think of the other does. At three years old, the twins keep me on my toes constantly, but I adore them so!
Bert got a slight promotion at work and now he’s a junior partner in the law firm. He makes light of it but there was a bit of a salary increase. I’m so proud of him for doing so well. You would laugh to see my tall, distinguished-looking husband on the floor playing with our twins. The sight never fails to fill me with joy!
When I saw the enclosed newspaper article, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s as if it was written to and by you! Dear Mina, please take the advice offered. You should have your own home where you’d be doing chores for your family and not Lily’s! I know you and your sister are very close and you’re devoted to her and her children so I promise not to preach any more. (But consider what I’ve written, please!)
Our spring weather has been glorious. I do miss the fall colors of Delaware but not the winters. I wish you would come here and visit Texas. We have our own fall colors and our county, Palo Pinto, translates to painted trees. There are no giant chestnuts or maples but the various trees are pretty in their own way. I know you’d love it here and there are many eligible men in our community. Besides, it seems ages since I saw you so we could sit and talk. What fun we used to have—and could once more!
Happy Birthday again, dear cousin. Take care and write soon.
Love,
Cindy
Her five-year-old niece, Darla, called, “Auntie Mina, Auntie Mina?”
Mina put the letter in her pocket and rose. She’d investigate the clipping later. “I’ll be right there.”
Darla opened the door and came into the bedroom. “What are you doing in here all by yourself? I’m hungry but Mama’s busy with Danny. Are there cookies left?”
Mina’s three-year-old nephew, Billy, stood behind his sister. “Auntie, may I have cookies?”
The tiny bedroom might be the size of an envelope, but it had been hers as long as she could remember. “Darla, please remember you’re supposed to knock and wait to be invited in. Thank you for asking so nicely, Billy. Let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll give each of you cookies and milk.”
While she talked to the children over their snack, her sister, Lily, walked in from the children’s room where she’d been with the toddler, Danny.
“Thank you for fetching the mail. Danny’s fussiness seems to be from getting a new tooth.” Lily sank onto a chair and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Mina, I’m so worried. I gave him a sugar-tit to suckle during the night and he’s still asleep.”
Mina hoped she hid her alarm. “How much whiskey did you put on the sugar?”
“I was so tired from trying to soothe him that I’m not sure. I measured a tablespoon of packed raw sugar onto the linen square and then tied it as always. I dunked it in a little whiskey. It was the middle of the night and this time I didn’t measure the alcohol.” Lily was in tears. “Do you think I’ve harmed my baby boy?”
Mina hugged her sister. “No, I’m sure he’ll be fine but I suspect he’ll wake with a hangover. Have a cookie with Darla and Billy. Danny will wake up when he’s ready.”
She prayed she was correct. She’d volunteered to care for Danny during the night but Lily had insisted he needed his mother. Lily stood and paced the room while twisting her handkerchief and worrying.
Mina couldn’t stand to see her sister so upset any longer and guided her sister to a chair. “You’re wearing a pattern in the floor. Sit down. I’m sure Danny will be all
