[2015] Western Love

by Christian Michael

  She didn’t give him an opportunity to respond, Becca just went to her room and shut the door.

  Greg stared at that door for a long time before he walked out of the house. Becca was right. He knew what he had to do.

  ***

  A Little over One Year Later

  The stadium roared to life as the football sailed into the air. Both sides cheered their team on in the rush to capture the ball. The Chief’s fans groaned when the Bronco’s wide receiver caught the pass. Becca Fields was on her feet jumping up and down, screaming her head off as she cheered Billy Gail, the rookie, towards the goal. The crowd went wild when he scored the touchdown and the final whistle was blown. The game had been tough. Neither side had scored against the other all through the match until Billy ran the pass. He would be the man of the hour tonight.

  Becca clambered down the bleachers as fast as her rounded stomach could take her and waddled over to the sidelines to await her husband. Greg came over to her and picked her up and swung her around before kissing her soundly in front of his team, the coaches and the fans watching on site and from their couches. She smiled contently when Greg set her back down on the ground and whispered her congratulations to him.

  Greg was a changed man. After the incident with Henry, Greg had checked himself into a Christian rehab facility. Their program was a six months long. The first two months were intensive therapy and counseling. In the last four months the people were released into the “real world” with their mentors so they could face their challenges head on. Greg had placed his trust and faith in Jesus Christ in those first months. When he got out, he contacted Becca and explained that he was on “parole” so to speak for the next four months but he would love to see her as he adjusted to a new life as a Christian man and made every effort to leave his past behind.

  Becca was ecstatic that Greg had accepted the Lord and she flew out to see him every weekend in Denver where he trained, and later to his games. They had grown irrepressibly closer as the time passed and their faiths had deepened as they trusted in the Lord and their love for each other had grown and matured. The love was now founded deep in Jesus Christ on both sides and as they grew closer to the Lord in their personal walks, they grew closer to each other. On the last day of his therapy, Greg proposed to Becca, she accepted and they were married within the month. Three months later, they discovered that they were going to be parents. Now, four months in, both were excited to finally find out the gender of their firstborn.

  Henry Miller, in the meantime, had been tried and found guilty of harassment, assault and attempted murder and was now serving his very long sentence in jail without hope of parole. Greg’s family had attempted to contest the living will without success for several months but were now quiet. Becca had re-united with her family but she and Greg decided to settle in Bend.

  That night, as Becca reflected on all that had happened in their lives in the past year, all she could say was, “Thank you, Lord. You have been so good. So faithful. Thank you, Lord, I can’t ask for more.” Greg came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissed her neck and gazed up at the night sky. They both chuckled in amusement when they felt their little boy kick their joined hands from within his mother’s womb. “I think we have another football player in the family, Honey.” Greg whispered as he kissed his wife again.

  *****

  THE END.

  Lover’s Escape

  Mail Order Bride

  CHRISTIAN MICHAEL

  Chapter 1 – That’s Life

  June sat on the bench, nervously fidgeting with her ticket in her hands. Her train was set to arrive in 45 minutes, but she was told not to be late, so she arrived early. To her surprise, there wasn’t very many people waiting, so she got right through the ticket station and now awaited her train’s arrival.

  “If you worry that ticket much more, you won’t have much of it left by the time your train arrives.”

  She jumped, startled by the voice of a young man. Looking around on the platform, she noticed a young gentleman with a round bowler’s cap on his head, leaning against a post. He apologized for startling her, and she smiled.

  “I’m a little antsy, I’m afraid.”

  “What’s the matter? Don’t like trains?”

  He casually crossed the platform and sat down on the bench next to her. June was struck by the sharp richness his blue eyes held, and how his neatly trimmed black beard emphasized the beauty within them. She found his gaze mesmerizing, but also felt embarrassed so she looked down at the ticket in her hands.

  “No, it’s not the train that bothers me. I like trains. You see, I am being sent away by my parents on a journey, and I desperately want to make them proud, but I’m not sure I want to take this trip.”

  “Oh?”

  The inquisition in his tone made June want to spill out the entire story, but there was something about his fine features that made her unable to find her voice. She decided to change the subject.

  “How rude of me, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Jane Cartwright, who might you be?”

  She held out her small, gloved hand, which he took in his.

  “Jacob Jones. You can thank my parents for their creativity.”

  He raised her hand to his lips and she felt her heart flutter. There was something about this man that was simply enchanting. She wondered why she had never seen him in these parts before, and asked him about it.

  “I am also traveling by my parents will,” he said in reply. “They have picked out a wealthy young bride for me, and I am to go out to California to marry her. Once the wedding is over, I will bring her back to my home in Georgia.”

  June didn’t know why, but at that moment she felt in her chest a tight wrench of jealousy. She had never before met this man, and she knew nothing about him, but she would have given anything in the world to be that woman he was heading to marry.

  “Do you love her?”

  She asked the question without thinking, and Jacob raised his eyebrows in surprise. Immediately, June realized she had overstepped her bounds, and apologized.

  “It’s quite all right, the question just took me by surprise is all. Marriage isn’t about love, June, at least not when you have the kind of money our families have. You see, we have to keep the money in the family, and keep the fortune going. To ensure this happens, you must marry someone who also has money.”

  Jacob explained it all so casually, June wondered if he ever gave it much thought beyond what his duty was.

  “I understand that, I am in the very same situation.”

  Again, Jacob looked at her in surprise. He looked over her outfit as well, making June question if the green velvet dress she was wearing made her look poor. Nevertheless, composure was the name of the game when it came to the world, as her mother always told her. So she maintained perfect composure.

  “May I ask you why you are the one going to him, and not the other way around?”

  June was struck by the forwardness of the question, but decided there was no harm in answering. After all, he did have a point, and it was a sensible question. Traditionally speaking, her groom to be should be the one coming out to fetch her, but yet here she was, making the journey all on her own.

  “He wanted to, but he was otherwise engaged. We are told his mother suffers from fits at his absence, and he can’t be away from her for more than a day at a time. As I was supposed to move to his home anyway, it only made more sense for me to go to him.”

  “I see.”

  Jacob spoke slowly, with the same tone in his voice that made June question the validity of the story herself. She was torn between wanting to defend herself, and wanting to tell Jacob how she really felt. She didn’t want to go out west to marry this man, it was entirely arranged for her by her parents. Certainly Jacob would understand that, he was in the same situation.

  The only difference is, he really doesn’t seem to care. Unless he just doesn’t know how to say it. I should ask him, but what wou
ld he think of me? Then again, who cares… it’s not like I am ever going to see him again anyway.

  “I know it’s silly, I don’t even want to go into this marriage to begin with.”

  June spoke in a very matter-of-fact manner, and though she didn’t look up at Jacob, she could feel him looking at her. There was a pause between them, then he softly agreed.

  “I must admit she isn’t the one I would have chosen for myself. But, I must keep everyone happy.”

  At that moment, a train came bustling to a stop in front of them, and Jacob rose.

  “That’s my train. I wish you all the happiness in the world, Miss Cartwright.”

  He tipped his hat to her, and she opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, a gust of wind picked up, pulling her ticket out of her hand. She quickly rose and chased it down, and upon turning around again, Jacob Jones was gone.

  Chapter 2 – Train Track Thoughts

  The gentle sound of the tracks rushing beneath the train was enough to make June want to fall asleep. Even though the first part of her wait had seemed to take an eternity, it felt like a blur after Jacob had gone. She didn’t know how long they had talked on the platform, but it felt he had scarcely gone before her train arrived.

  June felt as though she were watching herself give her ticket to the conductor, and even now as the train rushed through the countryside she didn’t feel like she was even there. Her mind was on Jacob. On his beautiful blue eyes, and his thick, black beard.

  She thought of how she had felt in their brief interaction, and how the gentle kiss he had given her hand had sent chills running through her spine and made her heart pound. June wondered why she had never felt this way before, about anyone.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like any of the men she courted, or that she needed to know a man for a long time before she saw a relationship with him, but nobody else made her feel like Jacob had. In their brief exchange, June felt a connection like nothing she had ever felt before.

  She didn’t know what it meant, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

  Of course it really doesn’t matter now. You are on a train going as quickly as it can, taking you further and further away from him. Soon you will be in the Dakotas, and you will meet the man you are going to marry.

  June pulled the picture of her groom-to-be out of her pocketbook, and studied it.

  “Toby Higgens. Mrs. Toby Higgens. Mrs. June Higgens, mistress of the estate.”

  June spoke out loud, trying out the sound of her husband’s name, and the name and title that were soon to be hers. She sighed as she traced the edge of Toby’s coat in the photograph. There was nothing warm about Toby.

  In the brief letters they had exchanged it had been more businesslike than it had been about their marriage. She didn’t feel as though she were going to marry a man that cared for her, but someone that cared for her money and needed her to supply that for him.

  Toby didn’t smile in the picture, and even though it was just a piece of paper, she felt a cold chill run through her spine as she looked back into his expressionless eyes. She tried to imagine herself in the photo next to him, perhaps with his hand on her shoulder.

  Part of her wondered if she would have that same look in her eyes. A cold, almost uncaring look. She wondered if she would have smiled at the photographer, or if she would have also held that expressionless face, as though having a picture taken of herself was so inconvenient she couldn’t manage to smile for the occasion.

  June leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, wishing she had a photo of the man on the platform. If there was a way to capture that brilliant blue that gleamed through his eyes, she would never look at another photograph again. There was something about that man, something that was more caring and more charming than anyone else she had ever met.

  What did he say his last name was again? It was something common, I remember that, because he pointed out his parents had named him something common in addition to his common name. But what was it? Smith? Baker? Ugh!

  Names flooded through her mind, but nothing jumped out at her as the right one. She kicked herself for not paying closer attention to what he had said.

  Not that it would make any difference now. He is on his way to marry, and you are on your way to marry, it would be highly unnatural to correspond, especially since he and I have only just met.

  But he was like an angel sent right out of heaven. Oh why could I not be on my way to marry him? Or better yet, why didn’t he come to marry me?

  She looked once more at the picture in her hands, and sighed. She shook her head as her heart once again filled with jealousy over the girl that was to marry Jacob, but this time the jealousy was mixed with a resentment toward her parents. She wondered why they had never asked her who she wanted to marry.

  Of course she couldn’t have told them Jacob, but she certainly wouldn’t have chosen Mr. Higgens, either. She had never been attracted to him, even before she had that interaction with Jacob on the platform. In fact, since the day her mother had told her of the plan, she had been dreading it. She felt as though all of her hopes and dreams in life were torn up and tossed out into the wind, and she was left standing in the remains.

  Stop this nonsense right now! You know this is all just wishes and wonders. You are set to marry Higgens and he is set to marry that other girl he spoke of, and there is nothing you can do about it.

  The only way this is going to end up any different is if he were to burst through that door and sweep you off his feet to be his wife.

  June chuckled to herself at the thought, though she half wished it would happen to her. At last, she decided it was best to push all of the matter out of her mind, and try to get some rest. She took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, letting all thoughts of the man she was to marry… and the man she wanted to marry… drift out of her mind.

  If your wishes were fishes your pond would be full.

  And that was the last June remembered before she was claimed by sleep.

  Chapter 3 – A Crazy Idea

  “Ma’am? Excuse me, Ma’am?”

  June jumped as she was startled awake by the ticket master. Once she realized what was going on, she settled down and apologized to him. She opened her pocketbook and dug around inside, looking for her ticket.

  “I’m sorry, I know it’s in here somewhere. I get a little flustered when I travel and I tend to get things mixed up.”

  “It’s quite all right Ma’am, I see all kinds of things going on in here, and there’s no hurry. In fact, why don’t I make my rounds on the other side of the aisle, and when I return you can give me your ticket?”

  “Oh yes, that would be very kind of you, I know it’s in here, but I’m sure you don’t need to stand there and watch me find it. I’ll have it out when you get back.”

  June was relieved that he understood her situation and was kind enough to let her gather her wits about her. She felt flustered, but told herself to relax and find the ticket. She knew without a doubt it was in the pocketbook, she had placed it in there as soon as he marked it the first time.

  Finally, June found it. Her hands had warmed the front of the photograph of Toby Higgens, and that made it sticky. This caused the ticket to stick to the front of the photo, so when June pulled the photo back, she accidentally pulled the ticket back along with it.

  With a sigh of relief, June peeled the ticket from the front of the photo and grasped it in her hand, waiting for the ticket master to return.

  “Ah, I see you have found the ticket, I knew you had to have it about somewhere.” The ticket master gave her a wink, and June felt her cheeks flush red. She liked this old man, and again thanked him for his patience to her.

  “No problem Mrs. Jones. Like I said, I see all kinds of things go on in this train cart, you aren’t the first person to have misplaced her ticket when it came time to collect.”

  June smiled at him, and thanked him, but called him back to her as he passed. Something he had said
she thought she misheard, and she wanted him to repeat himself.

  “I’m sorry, but what did you call me?”

  “Mrs. Jones. That is your name, isn’t it? You said it out loud several times in your sleep.”

  “Oh, of course, I should have known. I know you’re good with names, but I didn’t know how you knew that one, I don’t recall having told you my name before, but now it all makes sense.”

  June knew that her cheeks were flushed a deep scarlet by now, and she spoke so quickly the ticket master raised his bushy eyebrows and watched her with a funny look on his face. She smiled at him and nervously smoothed her skirts down against her legs, then turned her attention back out the window.

  She felt relieved when she heard him move on in his rounds, and could finally let concentrate her thoughts on what he had said.

  I called myself Mrs. Jones in my sleep? That’s so weird. I don’t know any Jones… wait a second! Jacob!

  June sat straight up, suddenly realizing her mistake. Of course that was his last name, she just couldn’t remember it for some reason when she was awake. She felt her heart pound inside of her chest, and mulled over the conversation she had with the ticket master.

  He said it so casually. Mrs. Jones. He said it as though it was my name, and it seemed to fit. I didn’t even realize his mistake until after he had left.

  Part of her felt horrified that the mistake had been made, and part of her felt giddy. She enjoyed the ring June Jones had to it, and she enjoyed even more the husband that was attached to that name. She thought so long about her name being Jones, she feared she would make the mistake on her wedding day to Higgens.

  Oh to be on my way to marry Jacob! The more I think about this, the more I can’t stand the thought of me marrying Higgens. He is simply awful, and Jacob said it himself, he doesn’t love that girl, he’s just doing what he thinks he ought.