[2016] A Bride's Journey

by Christian Michael

  ***

  That night after Lily was tucked safely and warmly into bed, Hannah was feeling restless. She had come to a decision…she was moving back home. Her heart was breaking for Lily and she had no idea how to tell her. She did know that she couldn’t marry a man who was never going to love her. She couldn’t live with a man who didn’t even want to get to know her. Luke had come in from the ranch, eaten his dinner and gone straight to his room. She could see the flicker of the light underneath his door and she considered going in to talk to him…but she wasn’t ready for that either. Instead, she slipped her sweater over her nightdress and walked outside.

  She stood on the porch for a minute admiring the beautiful night sky. The moonlight poured down on her and the stars twinkled by the hundreds. She’d come to love it here as much as she’d come to love Luke and Lily…She started walking, taking the path along the fence line and breathing in the warm July air. There was a soft breeze blowing that would disappear in the morning when the sun came up. By noon they would be shrouded in a dry, blistering heat. Right now she could smell the scent of the hay and the cattle…she felt like she was breathing in all of Luke’s hard work.

  She tried to sort out in her head why she should love a man who didn’t love her back. She tried to tell herself that she was merely infatuated with his rugged good looks. But the one person she couldn’t lie to was herself, and she knew it was so much more than that. It was the way he was willing to get up at dawn and work until dark for his dream. He never asked for a hand-out from anyone, and when he looked out across his ranch there was pride in his dark blue eyes.

  It was also the way he loved his little girl. At first she’d thought he neglected Lily…leaving her alone for such long stretches of time. But she came to realize that his lifestyle was one of necessity and as much as he left Lily alone…he made it up to her in the small amounts of time they had together. She loved to watch them together laughing or singing silly songs or reading a book. He taught his daughter how to ride a horse and use a gun. He taught her how to grow a garden with her own two hands. He made sure that she had the tools she would need if anything ever happened to him and she was left truly alone.

  And, as strange as it might sound, Hannah loved him for the way he loved his wife. That first night when he warned her he wouldn’t talk about Cassandra that love had been written in his eyes and on his face. It was the kind of love that didn’t need any words. It was the kind of love that would truly last forever. He loved her as much now as he had when she was alive and as much as that prevented Hannah from ever having him…it made her want him that much more. It was the kind of love that most women only dream about and although it hurt that she wasn’t the one he wanted to give it to, she felt blessed just to have witnessed it.

  “Hannah?” She was standing next to the holding pens and she jumped when she heard him say her name. She turned towards him and her heart began to race out of control. He was in his thermal pants and his boots. He hadn’t even bothered to put his shirt back on. His chiseled chest and arms shone in the moonlight and Hannah’s immediate desire was to trace the outlines of them with her fingers.

  “Luke, what are you doing out here half dressed? You’re going to catch a cold.”

  He smiled. She melted. “It’s still hot out here, Hannah. The question is why are you out here walking around in the dark? What if you stepped in a hole and twisted your ankle, or stepped on a rattlesnake?” Hannah felt her body go tense.

  “There are rattlesnakes?”

  Trying to keep a straight face now he said, “There could be. Why aren’t you in bed, Hannah?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I have a lot on my mind.”

  She saw his eyebrow twitch. He wanted to know what it was, but he was afraid to ask. After several beats of silence he said, “Are you unhappy here?”

  She let her eyes meet his and she said, “I love it here. I love this ranch and everything about it. I love Lily. She’s the cutest, sweetest, smartest little girl in the world…but I can’t stay here, Luke. I have to go home.”

  He looked like someone had punched him in the stomach. He actually winced. “Why?”

  “Because as much as I thought I could do this and not care if you ever fell in love with me…I was wrong. I’m kidding myself Luke…and so are you. Neither of us will ever be happy this way.”

  Hannah wasn’t sure what she expected him to say, but what came out of his mouth next was not it, “Finding out that I could want any woman as much as I wanted Cassie was a shock. I didn’t know what to do with those feelings.”

  “You want me?” she asked, confused. “You barely look at me…we hardly speak…”

  “It’s easier on me that way. Every time I look at you, I want to touch you. I want to rip that braid out of your hair and run my fingers through it…I want to kiss you.”

  Hannah had a tear running down her face. “Then what is the problem?”

  “I feel guilty. I feel like I’m cheating on her. I feel like I’m desecrating her memory. I get so mixed up in my head with all of these feelings that I don’t know what to do with them sometimes. I don’t know how to explain it. It never comes out in words the way I feel it in my heart and think it in my head.” His breaths were ragged now, coming in big gulps all of a sudden. He took a shaky breath in and said, “I can’t tell you what it feels like to lose someone that you thought you were going to grow old with. We were supposed to raise our family together…and she was just gone like that.” He snapped his fingers. I wasn’t expecting to be a widow in my twenties with a toddler to raise alone. I was expecting her to be here with me. The fact that she’s not makes me angry and the fact that I want you to step in where she left off makes me feel all kinds of guilt.”

  Hannah wiped her face on the back of her hand and she said, “Did Cassie want you to be happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did she want Lily to be happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you believe that in spite of everything, God wants you to be happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “I want you to be happy. Don’t you see Luke; you are the only one holding you back. You’re the only one denying yourself happiness. I didn’t know your wife, but if she was anything like your daughter, she would give you a good scolding and tell you to get back on that horse and get on with your life. Your future doesn’t have to be about me. I can go home and I can still have a bright future.”

  Luke took a step towards her. She didn’t move. “I don’t want you to go home. I want my future to be about you.”

  “I don’t want to go either Luke…but I have to protect my heart.”

  “I won’t break it…I might bend it a little because I’m a fool and I almost didn’t see that I was pushing one of the best things in my life away…It might still take me a while to figure out how to do this right again…but I can do it…I want to do it. Please don’t go.”

  “I can’t compete with a ghost Luke.”

  He reached out and put his arm around her waist. He brought his mouth down but instead of her lips, he let it land on her neck. He left soft little kisses all over her neck. Hannah tipped her head back and Luke unwrapped the ribbon holding her braid together. She felt his hot breath and the vibrations of his voice as he said once again, “Please don’t go.” His hand was fisted in her hair as he brought his lips crashing down on top of hers. The sensations of his soft lips and the taste of his tongue as he explored her mouth were almost too much for Hannah to bear. She was dizzy and she couldn’t breathe.

  Luke pulled back far enough so that he could look into her eyes and he said, “You scare me to death Hannah.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you are the only woman on earth who can compete with the ghost in my head. Even Cassie’s voice is in my head telling me that I’m a fool if I let you go. I’m not over her Hannah and maybe I never will be completely. She’s a part of me and she always will be. But the heart’s capacity for love is so much bigger than that…I
just need to learn how to open mine up. Please don’t go.”

  Feeling emboldened by his words, Hannah put her arms up around his neck. He pulled her up into another long, hot kiss. He licked her lips and tasted her and then in a move that she didn’t see coming, he slid down into the mud underneath them and got on one knee.

  “Hannah Louise McMurray…”

  “What are you doing, Luke?”

  “What I should have done already. Now let me finish…Hannah Louise McMurray…will you marry me?”

  The tears were so thick in Hannah’s eyes that she couldn’t see straight. She nodded and pulled on his arms until he stood back up on his feet. Then she stood on her toes and placed her hand on the side of his face and said, “I love you Luke.”

  “I love you too Hannah. Thank you, for not giving up on me.”

  *****

  THE END.

  Kidnapped Bride

  Mail Order Bride

  CHRISTIAN MICHAEL

  Chapter 1

  New York

  Alta Bishop felt every nerve in her body zinging with excitement. She could hardly believe that she was leaving New York, let alone the fact that she would marry Simon Lynch, a pastor in the West.

  Simon…

  Just the thought of him made her feel weak in the knees and excited beyond belief. They had found one another through the matrimonial journal and began writing letters months ago. Despite her station, her mother had made sure she was educated, and now Alta couldn’t be happier that her mother had made her slave away writing her letters over and over again. If she hadn’t, she never could have met Simon. Never would have fallen in love with Simon.

  “Right this way miss,” a train attendant said.

  Still reeling from the fact that she would be traveling to the West today, she acknowledged the man with a nod as she’d seen the women of wealth do and followed him on to the train.

  Once seated, she smoothed her hands over her dress and looked out the window. This was it, her ticket to a new world. A smile overtook her as she watched men and women go about their daily routine. She wouldn’t miss the hustle and bustle of the city at all. From Simon’s detailed descriptions of life in the West, everything would be different and yet wonderful.

  The train’s whistle startled her but they began to move and her excitement renewed. When the familiar buildings surrounding the track finally disappeared, she settled back and pulled out Simon’s latest letter.

  Running her hands over the outside, she gently pulled it out, smoothed it open, and read. Coming to her favorite part she whispered it out loud:

  I cannot tell you the extent of my excitement as I await your arrival!

  She had responded in kind, but wasn’t sure if he would even get the response before she arrived. The post wasn’t fast, but she couldn’t contain her excitement. A reply had been necessary.

  But now…now all she could do was wait.

  Wait and pray for her safe arrival and upcoming marriage.

  ***

  Colorado

  Simon Lynch walked out of the post office, his shoulders drooping. This was at once the happiest and the saddest day of his life. The urge to dwell on the news he’d just gotten was strong, but the sound of the train whistle drew his thoughts away.

  She was coming—almost here in fact—and he couldn’t wait to see her.

  If he’d been told not but a year ago that he would be so in love today, he would have laughed. He was a contented preacher who loved his small flock and sharing the Lord’s word to all. But then he’d got it in his head that maybe marriage was something worth considering.

  That’s when he’d picked up the matrimonial journal and sought out a wife. He’d read through many advertisements but Alta’s had been the only one to mention her devotion to the Lord. It had struck him, popping out in the bold, black ink. After her first letter, he just knew that she was the one he would marry. It was a wonderful and glorious thing to know that God had hand chosen Alta for him and he for her. Like two matching pieces—a pair.

  And now he was going to meet her.

  His excitement bubbled over into a brilliant smile and he nodded hellos to those he passed. Some he recognized from church, which gave him a pang of sadness. But he couldn’t think about that now.

  Reaching the train depot, he stood anxiously near the main area where the train would pull up. It was there, just in the distance, the lights blurry in the heat rising up off of the tracks. He bounced on his toes in anticipation.

  “Someone’s excited for the train to get here.”

  Simon looked to the side to see an older man he recognized from town but not from church. “I am.”

  “Meeting someone special?” he asked.

  “Yes, my fiancé.” He beamed, unable to help the pride in his voice.

  “Well, congratulations. I’m surprised you found a woman willing to come out West. It’s a dangerous place, you know.”

  “I know,” Simon said, nodding. “But God will protect her, I firmly believe that.”

  “Say you’re the preacher over at the church aren’t you?”

  Simon opened his mouth to respond but the train whistle mercifully cut him off. “Good day sir,” he said with a grin, and walked up closer to the train.

  He had envisioned Alta many times, taking from her descriptions of herself, which were modest and not very detailed. He knew she had blonde hair and blue eyes, that she was short and slight, but other than that he had no idea.

  There weren’t likely to be many women getting off of the train though, so he had a feeling he would recognize her right away.

  Then, one door down from where he was standing, the flicker of a blue dress, and the back of a blond head appeared. His heart leapt and, as the woman turned, Simon’s he knew in an instant it was her. It was Alta.

  Walking as if drawn to her, he stopped a few feet away and asked, “Miss Alta Bishop?”

  She broke into a smile that rivaled the sun’s radiance and took the last step down to sand on the platform in front of him.

  “Yes, I’m Alta. Are you Simon?”

  Her voice was smooth as honey and her blue eyes drew him into their depths that reminded him of a deep, refreshing pool in the summer. Her golden hair was drawn back and twisted up, and her slender build was petite but not weak looking. She was stunning and for a moment he couldn’t breathe let alone respond to her.

  “Simon?” she asked again.

  “Yes,” he finally said, and then blinked, “I mean, yes, I’m Simon. I’m…your fiancé.”

  Chapter 2

  Alta couldn’t stop from smiling. Simon was adorable. No, that was too soft and childish of a description, but the way he was staring at her—wide eyed with a foolish grin on his face—was absolutely endearing. She wanted to fall into his arms and plant a kiss on his cheek, but she held back. They still had to get past the awkwardness of this first meeting.

  “I—I’m so glad you’re here,” he blurted.

  “Me too.” She blushed under his intense gaze. His dark brown eyes bored into hers, as if they could see into her soul. His light brown hair was mussed as he’d pulled off a black bowler hat, but it all made him look more handsome with a touch of boyishness.

  “Um,” he blinked several times as if realizing that they should leave from the platform. “I was thinking we could go on a picnic.” He spoke then grimaced. “That is, if you want to. We don't have to I could—”

  “A picnic would be lovely,” she said. She could tell that he wanted everything to be perfect for her but she wasn’t a difficult woman to please. A picnic with time to talk and get to know one another was just right.

  “Oh, good,” he said, looking relieved. “Then follow me.”

  She did and they wound their way through the crowd. When they were just at the edge of the train depot area a hand grabbed her arm.

  “Excuse me,” she said, trying to pull free.

  “Hold on there, darling,” the low, gravelly voice said. She shuddered at
the intimacy with which the man spoke to her, leaning in close so his hot, fowl breath brushed across her cheek.

  Frantically, she looked around to where Simon had gone but the man propelled her around a corner and between two buildings, effectively hiding them from view.

  “Let me go,” she said in her sternest voice.

  “Or what, you’ll tell on me?” He laughed. “Ain’t no one here to listen to you.” His eyes appraised her, making her skin crawl, then he said, “But you’ll do nicely.”

  She frowned. What was he saying?

  “I'm not going anywhere with you. My fiancé is—”

  “There you are,” Simon said, coming around the corner. His eyes grew large when he saw the man’s hand on Alta’s arm. “Let her go.”

  “I got just as much right to talk with this pretty lady as you do.”

  Simon frowned. “No, actually, you don’t. She is betrothed to me and I’ll kindly ask again—let her go.”