In Grace’s life, dreams were dreams and reality was reality. Some things were the way they were for a reason, and whatever the reason was for her to live the life she was living, she was going to live it the best she could.
Chapter 7 – The Disappearance
“I don’t care what it is! I’m not going!”
Sam slammed the door to his room closed as hard as he could, rattling the entire upstairs of the house. Grace knocked on his door, then opened it. She found Sam lying on the bed, facing away from her.
“Come on Sam… why don’t you want to go to school?”
“I miss my friends, I miss my teacher, and I miss my real life.”
Sam had tears in his eyes, but he brushed them away before Grace sat down.
“You are going to make new friends here, Sam. It’s been less than a week of the new schoolyear. Surely going will make new friends.”
“I’m not going, Ma! Please don’t make me.”
Grace wanted to tell him he had to go, but something came over her. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly didn’t want to make him go anymore. One day every now and then wouldn’t hurt, and she knew he was still dealing with a lot.
“Ok ok, you don’t have to go, but I do expect you to work on your studies.”
Grace rose to leave, and she heard Sam mumble something to her as she did. She lingered a moment at the door of his room, then she sighed. There was nothing more she could do right now, so she closed the door behind her, and headed downstairs.
“Dinner smells delicious.”
Jasper sat down at the table and tucked his napkin into the front of his shirt. Grace smiled and replied she had made his favorite, then she headed upstairs to call Sam to dinner.
“I thought he was in school?”
Jasper looked up at her in surprise.
“I let him have the day off. He’s been going through a lot lately, and I didn’t think it would hurt.”
Grace headed upstairs and knocked on his door. There was no answer, so she knocked again. This time, she called his name, but there was still no answer. Grace opened the door.
Empty.
“Sam! Sam, where are you?”
Grace ran downstairs, and called for Jasper.
“Have you seen Sam? He’s not in his room. I swear that’s where he’s been all day!”
Jasper followed her outdoors, and they both searched for Sam, calling his name and looking everywhere they could think of. After an hour of looking, Jasper called Grace and told her to meet him in the kitchen.
Once inside, Grace broke down into tears.
“Where did he go? What did he do? This is all my fault!”
Jasper held her in his arms, and tried to soothe her.
“Did he say anything about where he may have gone? Think hard. I had friends who would run away from the orphanage all the time when I was a boy, and they always said something about where they were going before they left, even if it was just in passing. Think!”
Grace shook her head. Sam never said anything about where he was going, just that he didn’t like it here.
“He was always saying how he missed his friends back in Boston. He didn’t want to come out here in the first place, and he seems to think that he’d be happy back there. He’s forgotten how miserable he was there, too!”
Grace broke down and sobbed, trying to gain control of her voice so she could talk to Jasper.
“I bet I know where he’s gone. If he wants to go home, you know that’s where he is going to go. You stay here. I can go a lot faster if I am by myself, and I know where to catch the stage.”
“Do you think the driver would have allowed him on the stage?”
Grace was shocked that a driver would allow a child to travel alone. Especially since that same driver was the one that had given them a ride out there to begin with.
“The driver doesn’t care who is on the stage as long as they have a ticket. I know you were keeping your money in your tin box by your bed… if Sam knew it was there, he knew where to get the money for the ticket.”
Grace’s eyes widened when she realized Jasper was right, and she ran to her room to see if the money was gone.
It was.
Her tin box was placed neatly on the shelf where it had always been, but the money inside was gone.
“I told you that’s what he was going to do! Now let me think…”
Jasper paced back and forth in the middle of the room.
“If he left early this morning, he likely got on the stage that was headed for the Dakotas. That’s the earliest one to leave here, and if I leave now I can head them off before they leave that first stop.”
Grace nodded, her forehead was tight with worry. Jasper ran over to her and kissed her on the forehead, then whispered that it was all going to be all right.
“Don’t you worry, I am going to find him, and I will bring him home safe and sound!”
Grace followed Jasper to the porch, and stood on the top of the three steps. She watched him run into the barn, then take off in a flash on his black stallion.
“Please God let Jasper find Sam before anything happens to him, please!”
Grace closed her eyes and prayed out loud, then opened them once more to see Jasper vanish into the distance.
Chapter 8 – Happy at Last
Sam sat on the edge of the bench at the post office. He couldn’t believe he had made it this far. In just a couple of hours he would be in the next post office, then in a couple of days he would be almost home.
I hope Ma is going to be ok without me, but I suppose she has Jasper. She’ll be just fine.
It seemed to Sam like it was taking an awfully long time for the stage to come. He had been sitting here almost an hour. The world seemed so large and unforgiving without his mother there, but the thought of going back didn’t seem too appealing.
“I say sonny, aren’t you a bit young to be traveling alone?”
An old man sat down next to him, and Sam felt shy. He shook his head, and told the man he was fine. The old timer didn’t seem deterred by Sam’s awkwardness, but continued to ramble on.
“I was just like you when I was your age. Didn’t need nobody. My little brother drowned when he was just a boy, and it tore my parents apart. One day, my pa he up and left. Then, I did, too.”
Sam fidgeted in his seat. He really didn’t want to hear the old man’s story, but the man continued.
“I knew it was going to break my mother’s heart to leave her like that, but I didn’t care. I was only thinking about me. My pa was gone, my brother was gone. We were all meat to take care of ourselves. I never saw my ma again.”
“Harold? Is that you! Come on then!”
An old woman from across the way motioned to the old man, and he got up and shuffled away, still talking. Sam was left on the bench, alone with his thoughts once more, but now unable to shake what the man had said.
What if I never see my mother again? What would that do to her? Well, maybe she should have thought of that before she dragged me all the way out here to begin with!
But I don’t want to never see her again. I love her. I just…
Sam couldn’t get the image he had of his mother out of his mind. All he could think of was her sobbing on his bed, wondering where he had gone and what had happened to him. Guilt was starting to cloud in his mind, and he couldn’t shake it.
“What am I doing?”
He spoke out loud, though there was no one to hear him. Then it hit him. How was he going to get home? There wasn’t any stage going back that way for another couple of days, and he had planned to sleep on the stage. He didn’t have enough money for a hotel, either.
Suddenly, Sam thought he heard something. He held his breath so he could hear better, and waited.
He heard it again.
“Sam! Samuel! Where are you?”
Someone was calling his name. Sam rose and looked back on the road. As far as he could tell, they voice was coming from that directio
n. Suddenly, Jasper appeared, running his horse up and over the hill.
Sam walked out into the rode, uncertain as to whether or not it was really him.
“Sam! There you are! Sam!”
As soon as Jasper saw him, he dug his heels into the horse’s side and galloped him faster into town. The horse hadn’t even stopped before Jasper was off of him and embracing Sam in his arms.
“Oh Sam! Sam! I thought I lost you. We thought we lost you. Sam!”
Sam didn’t know what was happening to him. His mother hugged him a lot, but it had been so long since he had been hugged by his father, he almost forgot what it was like. Jasper’s hug was a lot like this father’s hug, and the feeling that came over him was too much to bear.
Sam broke down right there in Jasper’s arms, sobbing and clinging to him.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking! I’m sorry!”
Sam’s voice was muffled in Jasper’s jacket, but Jasper shushed him.
“Your mother and I were worried sick about you. She loves you, Sam, and so do I. I can’t lose you like this, I just can’t. Please come home with me?”
Sam pulled back and looked at Jasper. His eyes were wide with wonder, and he searched Jasper’s face to see if he was serious.
“Do you really mean it?”
“I do, I love you like you are my own son.”
Sam leaned in and Jasper picked him up he hugged him and set him on the horse, then climbed up into the saddle.
“Let’s go home!”
And they were off.
“Hello to the house!”
Jasper called before they were even to the gate. The two of them could see that Grace had a candle lit in the window, and shortly after he yelled, the door opened and Grace ran out. She ran through the gate and paused for a moment in the middle of the road, then she lifted her skirt to her knees and ran as fast as she could to meet them.
“Mama! Mama!”
Sam squirmed and Jasper let him off the horse, then he ran to his mother and was engulfed in her arms.
“I’m sorry Mama, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Sam cried as his mother held him close, and she soothed him.
“All that matters is that you’re home now.”
Jasper came up and wrapped his arms around both of them.
“Home at last! Now, we can officially call ourselves a family… that is… if you will have me?”
He directed his question at Sam, who looked at him from Grace’s arms. He was silent for a second, then he nodded.
“I guess so. You can be my Pa.”
A smile spread across Jasper’s face and he tossed his hat in the air and whooped. Both Sam and Grace laughed, and Grace set Sam down.
“Come on, you two… I think this calls for a celebration.”
Sam placed one of his hands in Grace’s and the other in Jasper’s, and they walked to the house. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Sam felt happy.
He had a family 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 would 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 agr
eed.
“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.
[2016] Widow Finds Love Page 33
