[2016] A Widow's Love

by Christian Michael

  “I must be on my way, Anita. Toby is bound to be up any minute now, and he likes to have breakfast on the table when he comes out to eat.”

  “Ah, well, it was good to talk to you. We really need to catch up one of these days! Don’t be such a stranger now! Bye!”

  Amelia waived to her friend as she walked out the door and hurried back home. She could hear things being tossed around inside before she even opened the door, and she took a deep breath before pushing it in.

  “Where have you been!?”

  The words were shouted so loudly Amelia thought the whole town may hear. She smiled and gave her step father a cheerful ‘good morning’, and held up her basket.

  “I went to the baker’s. They were mixing up some crumpets when I was there last night, and I know how you like your crumpets. I thought I would surprise you.”

  Amelia set the crumpets out on the table, then set out the syrup and butter. She carefully started the coffee and set out the table cream, then looked at Toby, who had been watching her the entire time, without saying a word.

  “I don’t know what you have been up to, but I know it wasn’t anything to do with breakfast. Mark my words young lady. As soon as you start to get all sneaky on me, we are going to have problems, and just as your mother learned, you don’t want to have problems with me!”

  Toby slammed his hand on the table, causing Amelia to jump. He turned and stormed his way back to his room, and slammed the door behind himself. Amelia watched him go, her heart pounding in her chest.

  He is certainly right about that. But no worries, I am going to be gone with the dawn.

  She smoothed her skirts and forced happy thoughts, then sat down to enjoy her breakfast.

  Chapter 5 – Starting the Journey

  Amelia kept to herself as much as possible that day. She needed to pack her things, but stay out of sight of Toby. If he saw her packing, there was no way she could convince him he was just imagining things.

  She spent much of the day watching for him, and packing up her things when she was able to. All in all, it didn’t take her long. She was only brining the bare minimum with her, and she didn’t have that much to begin with. At long last, it was time to get dinner, and she sighed as she pushed her satchel under her bed.

  Toby wasn’t anywhere to be seen when she set the table, but she was used to him coming in late some evenings. As long as she had the food on the table when he did come in, he was happy. She was nearly halfway through her meal before she heard him coming up the walkway.

  “Good, dinner is ready. That’s my good girl.”

  Toby kissed her on the forehead as he walked in, and Amelia looked up at him in surprise.

  “Did you have a good day, Father?”

  She didn’t know what else to say, and she hoped the conversation would be short. She was certain there was no way for him to find out about what she was doing, but there was still a feeling of doubt in the pit of her stomach.

  “Yes, my dear, it was a very good day. A very good day indeed. I have some news for you. We are moving.”

  Amelia’s heart sank far down inside of her, and she felt sick.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, I have taken on a job at the railroad, which means we are going to be on our way tomorrow. I want you to pack up after dinner, I want to be on our way as early in the morning as possible.”

  “Yes Father.”

  Amelia didn’t know what to do. Her heart was racing inside of her. How was this possible? How could they be moving now? Was it possible he knew what she had planned? Wouldn’t he have said something else to her if that was true?

  With her thoughts racing wildly, she didn’t have much to say. When Toby asked her why she was so quiet, she merely replied the news took a little while to settle in, but she also assured him that she was quite happy. That seemed to pacify him, but Amelia was grateful when he headed out for the night.

  What am I going to do? He won’t be back until late… if he even comes back at all. He may not be back until morning, which means I won’t have a chance to get out of here without him seeing me!

  Amelia paced back and forth in her room. Her mind was reeling. Finally, she decided the best thing to do would be to leave, as soon as possible.

  I’ll wait until midnight, and if he’s still not home, I’ll just sneak out the back way. There’s no way he’ll see me if I take the back path, and I’ll be long gone before he gets back in.

  Amelia couldn’t focus on any one thing. She decided the best thing to do would be to lie back on her bed and wait. The only thing to do now was hope for Toby to come back sooner rather than later.

  Amelia woke with a start. She hadn’t realized she was tired, but she must have fallen asleep. Now, she wondered if she was alone in the house, or if Toby had made it back. She held her breath and listened.

  Nothing.

  Amelia crept to the hall and listened. The house was silent, except for the ticking of the clock on the mantle. She could see from where she stood that it was shortly before midnight.

  Perfect.

  Amelia lit her candle and put her lamp over it. Then she grabbed her satchel and softly closed the door behind herself. When Toby came home, he would see that her light was on and her door was closed, so he wouldn’t bother her. When morning came, she would be long gone.

  Amelia buttoned her petticoat, and opened the back door as silently as she could. Suddenly, she heard a crash come from the other side of the house. Toby was home!

  Amelia gasped and ducked down, hoping he hadn’t heard her. She held her breath and didn’t move. She could hear him rambling on about something, but it had never been unusual for her to ignore him this late at night, so she knew he wouldn’t expect her to answer him now.

  Suddenly, she heard banging.

  Toby was banging on her bedroom door!

  Oh no! He’s going to open it and find out I’m not in there! What am I going to do?

  Amelia looked frantically around, then dove into the bushes. She had to get as much distance between herself and Toby as possible, and it was now or never. Amelia put her head down and ran as fast as she could through the bushes. If she was lucky, she would be able to catch a ride with one of the coal miners heading out of town.

  They were on their way to the train station to catch the train that left at dawn. If Amelia could hitch a ride to the next town, she could lie low until the stage was ready to leave. With any luck at all, she would be on it.

  Whatever I do, I can’t stop now. It won’t be long before he knows, and if he catches up with me, it will all be lost.

  Amelia shuddered at the thought, and clutched her parcel to her. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she failed, because she only wanted to focus on what was going to happen when she made it.

  Chapter 6 – The Western World

  Amelia sighed as she sat back on the seat. She had made it this far, and so far so good. There hadn’t been any sign of Toby, or word that he was looking for her. Not yet, anyway.

  Amelia had found a ride to the next town, and she boarded the stagecoach as soon as she could. The more distance she could put between herself and that man, the better. Now that she was on the road, Amelia began to think more about Texas and the man she was going to marry.

  When she had sent off her letter, she had addressed one of the cowboys in the ad who went by the name of Bird.

  He described himself as tall, with dark hair and slender features. He sounded so appealing to her. So handsome.

  She didn’t know if he liked the letter she sent, or even if he was still looking for a bride, but she had to try. After all, there had been a list of over forty names on that ad. Surely if that one cowboy had found his bride there would be another looking for the same.

  She described her situation to him, and told him she was on her way as soon as possible. If all worked well, she would be in Redstone within a couple of days.

  I don’t much care who I marry, so long as he is good to me,
treats me with respect, and loves me. Not even my own step father could manage to do that.

  She tried to push all thoughts of Toby out of her brain, but with the passing landscape and the quiet passengers inside the coach, she found her mind wandering back to him more and more. She wondered what he did when he found she was missing. She wondered what he would do if he caught up to her.

  Now now now, there’s absolutely no need to be thinking things like that. He isn’t going to catch up with you, and even if he does, you are going to be long married, and your husband will tell him to leave you alone for good.

  Amelia felt better after she had reassured herself, but that queasy feeling still remained deep down in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t like to think of Toby finding her, or of what would happen if her husband wanted to step in. So instead she decided to think of her new home, what she would do.

  And the kids she would raise.

  Amelia smiled at that thought. Sure, it would be a long time down the road, but it was a happy thought, and right now, that was just what she needed. She leaned back against the bouncing wall and closed her eyes. Sleep would be one of the greatest things in the world for her right now. To forget some of this headache and store up on some energy.

  That’s all she needed.

  Amelia woke up, knocking her head against the wall of the coach. She cried out softly and mumbled to herself, sleepily opening one eye and looking out the window.

  They were in town.

  In a town, anyway. She didn’t quite know where they were, but she hoped they were close to Texas. The ticket she purchased was enough to take her all the way to her destination, but it didn’t say how many stops there were going to be along the way.

  If Amelia had her way, they wouldn’t have stopped at all, but would have rushed through the night and into the next day. But, the horses were tired and she paid for what she could afford, which meant she had to deal with the normal schedule of the stage.

  “Excuse me, Sir! But where are we?”

  She shielded her eyes as she looked up at the driver. He stood on top of the coach and tossed the luggage down to those that were standing on the platform waiting for them. The sunset behind him made him difficult for Amelia to see, but she could still hear him.

  “We’re in Arkansas, Ma’am. We’ll stay here for the night, but don’t you worry, you will be where you need to be by tomorrow at this time!”

  Amelia thanked him and reached into the coach to grab her satchel. She wondered why they had stopped up here in Arkansas. If they had headed west the entire way, they could have entered the state from the eastern side. She shook her head and grumbled to herself, assuring herself that there must have been a reason, though she wasn’t sure what it was.

  She picked up her bag and turned to scan the town. There were few people out on the streets, but this town was small. Amelia didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. If there were a lot of people she could have blended into the town more, but odds were Toby would have expected her to do that very thing.

  She chided herself for thinking of him again, and told herself that there was no way he was going to catch up to her. She was going to be in Texas the next day, and married shortly after that.

  Then let him carry on as he wishes. I am going to be a married woman, and the only man I will need to pay any mind to is my own husband.

  With a sudden surge of resolve rushing through her veins, Amelia headed toward the hotel on the far side of the street. It looked small and out of the way, just the kind of place she would be able to stay in until the stage left once more at dawn.

  Once she was in her room, Amelia looked around the sighed. It was small, furnished only with a small washbasin and a bed. She had slept most of the say away so she wasn’t tired, but the sound of the saloon going in full swing made her rethink her decision to go out and explore the town.

  She nestled onto the bed and pulled the sheet up to her neck, staring at the ceiling.

  “It’s only a few hours until I will be on my way again. Anyone could survive for a few hours.”

  Chapter 7 – Texas Territory

  Amelia hardly slept that night. She tossed and turned, staring at the ceiling or the wall. Part of her wished she hadn’t slept so much on the coach, but she reasoned with herself that it was nerves keeping her up more than anything else.

  You have to stop this. The more you stress about him finding you, the worse this is going to be. Toby. Is. Gone.

  As the sun crept through the curtains, she pulled on her dress. She slept in her slip so she only needed to pull on her outer garment, and she was ready. The cold morning air felt good on her skin, and she didn’t mind at all the smell of the musty coach cabin. She was close to her destination, and freedom.

  It was smooth sailing into Texas. There weren’t any other passengers on the coach, so there wasn’t any reason to stop between Arkansas and Redstone. Amelia imagined that Redstone, Texas was going to be a slice of heaven on earth. She didn’t know much about ranching, growing up in the South caused her to grow used to the town life, but this new prospect excited her.

  Dust flew into the air with each step the horses took, and she felt lighter and lighter as they went along. Every now and then they crossed paths with another stage or rider on horseback, and each time Amelia sank back into her seat. She didn’t want anyone to see her, no matter who they were.

  Some of the riders stopped to talk to the driver, passing news on the area, but nobody said anything about a man looking for a young woman. Each time they asked the driver what the news was, Amelia felt her stomach drop, but each time the news always happened to be what the cattle rustlers were doing or the gold that was in the territory.

  Even still, Amelia counted down the miles. The sooner she was in town, the better.

  Suddenly, the stage stopped, and Amelia poked her head out the window.

  “What’s wrong? Why did we stop?”

  The driver was standing on the edge of the river bank, shielding his eyes with his hand as he looked across.

  “I think we can make it, but it might be a little rough in the middle. Chin up!”

  He smiled at her and slapped the rump of his horse, then climbed up in the seat. Amelia gulped and sat back, hanging onto the side of the coach. She had heard of stagecoaches sinking in rivers, or capsizing, or even the passengers getting swept away by the mighty current.

  The only thing she was grateful for was that she had forgotten about Toby. At least for the moment.

  Amelia could hear the driver shouting to the horses, and felt the stage plunge into the river. It slowed as they reached the center of the river, and she felt her stomach lurch as the stage was lifted off the bottom of the river. Though she couldn’t hear what the driver was saying, she could hear him shouting.

  Water started to seep into the coach, filling the floor and sloshing onto her skirts. The water was filling the coach, and the water line was right up to the base of the window. The horses were whinnying as they swam as hard as they could, and the driver was still shouting and cracking his whip.

  The roar of the water was too much. Amelia felt as though she was going to faint. Was she going to be lost in this river? Part of her wished she was back home again. Even a life with Toby would be an improvement to drowning in this terrible river.

  Amelia wanted to scream, but her voice was hoarse. She closed her eyes and jammed her fingers into her ears. The stage lurched and tipped from side to side, making her feel nauseous.

  Then, all was still.

  Amelia opened one eye first, then the other one. There was still water in the coach, but it was receding. She looked out of the window, and could see they were on dry ground once again. She poked her head out of the stage, and looked for the driver.

  He was up by the horses, soothing them and adjusting their straps. Amelia called over to him, and he hurried back.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was going to be that deep. Oh well! All’s well that ends, well, a
nd there’s no harm to the coach or the horses. Redstone is about an hour away, and you will be home for good!”

  Amelia was still shaken, but she thanked him. She sighed and closed her eyes as he shouted to the horses and slapped the reigns on their backs. The coach plunged forward, and they continued on. Within half an hour she was dry inside the coach once more, and the air felt hot and dry.

  She could see farmhouses the closer they got to town, and more and more people were about. For the first time in her journey, Amelia didn’t feel nervous. She was excited. This was going to be her new home. These people were going to be her new neighbors, and this country was going to be her country.

  “We’re almost there, Miss! Just a few minutes longer!”

  The driver yelled down to her, and she waived up at him to show him she heard. The town was rising up in front of them, and there was the post office.

  She felt the stage rumble to a stop, and she felt giddy. She wondered what her husband was going to be like, and what she was going to say when she saw him. She tossed open the door and stepped outside.

  There, on the ground in front of her, wasn’t her new husband.

  It was the sheriff, and next to him stood Toby.

  Chapter 8 – Free at Last

  “That’s her!”

  Toby pointed up to Amelia, and she shouted as the sheriff grabbed her by the arm.

  “I’m sorry, but you are under arrest.”

  “On what charges?!”

  Amelia shouted indignantly. She couldn’t believe this was happening, or that Toby was here in front of her. How did he find her? How did he beat her here?

  “Robbery. You stole $200 from me, as well as some household goods. I have a list right here. Search her, sheriff.”

  The sheriff grabbed her bag and poured out the contents.

  “Yes, the things on the list are here.”

  “Hold on there! What is the meaning of all this?”

  A tall, handsome man pushed his way through the crowd, stepping in between her and Toby. Amelia knew in a moment that he must be Bird, and her heart fluttered.