Orphan Train Escape

by Rachel Wesson

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Rees,” Brian said.

  “Likewise, Mr. Curran. Morning children.”

  Annie shrank back against Bridget, but Liam held his hand out to shake Carolyn’s.

  “You have lovely manners, young man,” she said, smiling down at him. “Would you like some lemonade and cookies?”

  “Yes please,” Liam’s eyes grew wide at the treat. “Come on Annie, get out quick before she changes her mind. Or Bridget says no.”

  The adults laughed. Annie let Liam lead her to the house, but she kept looking back at Bridget.

  “Bridget, why don’t you show the children where the kitchen is, and I can take the bag to your room?” Carolyn asked.

  “We can do it together, Carolyn,” Bridget answered.

  The children were quiet as they walked around the house, their eyes staring at everything.

  “Would you guys like to see your bedrooms? Once you have your cookie?” Carolyn asked.

  Annie nodded and held up her new doll. “Can Sally Ann sleep in my bed too?”

  “Of course, she can. Hello, Sally Ann, welcome to your new home,” Carolyn greeted the doll as if she were real, earning a huge smile from Annie.

  Bridget sighed with relief. This was going to be fine. She hung back as Carolyn showed the children their bedrooms.

  “Is this all for me?” she heard Liam ask as he saw the room.

  “Yes, son it is. We know you like to read, hence the bookcases. We thought you might want to pick out some books to read. We will order you a desk as well. You can do your homework there after school,” Geoff answered, his voice gruff with emotion.

  “I don’t have to get a job?” Liam asked.

  “You will have chores to do to help your ma,” Geoff told him.

  Liam looked as if he couldn’t believe what Geoff was saying.

  “My bed is very big,” Annie pointed out. “Is Bridget going to sleep there with me?”

  “Yes Annie, when Bridget is here, she can share with you if you both like that. There is another room for Bridget though.”

  “You have more rooms than a hotel.”

  Liam’s comment helped once more but feeling overwhelmed, Bridget stepped outside to get some air. It wasn’t long before Brian followed her.

  “You doing alright?” he asked.

  “No. I mean yes. Oh, I don’t know.”

  “You’re doing the best you can for those children. They won’t want for anything. You know that.”

  “I know. And Carolyn has asked me to consider this my home when I come back to Riverside. But I can’t help thinking my ma would be turning in her grave at my giving up the children.”

  “Bridget you didn’t give up anything. You’re helping everyone. Not just the children, but the Reeses too. Have you seen the looks on their faces? They’re like kids at Christmas.” Brian looked into the distance. “This ranch is a mighty fine home. Much better than any I could ever provide.”

  “Don’t you dare put yourself down like that, Brian Curran. Some day you are going to have a wife and family and they will be lucky to have you.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, giving her a salute that made Bridget burst out laughing.

  “Sorry, I did sound bossy, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Just like a big sister is supposed to sound. Those children are lucky to have you, Bridget.”

  They waited outside as the Reeses took some time to get to know the children and vice versa. Squeals of laughter told them things were working out just fine.

  Bridget walked toward the horse corral, delighted to find a horse come forward. She stood stroking the mare’s nose.

  “When do you leave?” Brian asked.

  “I think after a couple of days. I wrote to tell Father Nelson I’m coming back. He won’t be happy,” she said.

  “I thought they wanted help with the trains,” Brian said.

  “They do, but he won’t want me back in New York. Only, I have to check on Kathleen.”

  “And Maura?”

  “Yes, her too. I don’t agree with what she did but she’s my sister and I can’t walk away from her.”

  “Do you think you’ll come back soon?” Brian asked.

  “I don’t think that would be wise. I will come back, but not for a while. The children need to settle and much as Carolyn and Geoff have made me welcome, I know they want their little family to bond. I would just get in the way.”

  “I will keep an eye on things for you, Bridget. Not that I think there will be anything wrong, but I can write and let you know how happy they are.”

  “Thank you, Brian, that would help a lot.”

  “You are a wonderful woman, Bridget Collins. I hope you find what you are looking for.”

  “I hope you do too, Brian. I really hope you do.”

  “This is where you two been hiding. Brian, I wondered if I might steal you away. Liam tells me you are very good with animals. I got a sick horse, can’t tell what’s wrong with her. Would you have a look?” Geoff asked Brian, Liam following right behind him.

  “Sure. Excuse us Bridget.”

  Bridget watched as they walked away. She sensed a friendship was building there too.

  After lunch, Brian left to go back to his own farm. He promised to return the next day to check on the horse and see the children. Bridget went for a walk back into town to give the little family some space. The stagecoach was due to arrive that afternoon. Maybe she could send a couple of posts back with it. She would check with Mrs. Grayson. Geoff offered to lend her a horse, but she wanted to walk.

  Chapter 52

  Carl Watson stepped down from the stagecoach. The town was even smaller than he’d imagined. Just what was he doing here? She was probably married by now. He would look like a fool, embarrassing both himself and her.

  “Good afternoon, can I help you?”

  Carl looked up to find a woman looking at him, her expression friendly but slightly wary.

  “Thank you, kindly ma’am. I wondered if there might be a hotel I could book a room in?” Even as he spoke, he knew the answer. Who would build a hotel in a town with barely two streets?

  “I have some rooms to rent,” the woman said. “You from New York?”

  Surprised, Carl nodded. The woman’s friendly expression vanished.

  “What did you say your name was?” she asked.

  “My apologies, ma’am. My name’s Carl Watson.”

  At that, her smile reappeared. He wondered if she was suffering from heat exposure. He looked around, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else.

  “Why didn’t you say so, Mr. Watson? Come along in. I have freshly made lemonade in the kitchen. My husband, he does love a cool drink on a hot day like this.”

  Feeling as if perhaps he had sunstroke, Carl followed the peculiar woman into her home. Why was the woman speaking to him as if they were friends?

  “Are you planning on staying long?” she asked him.

  “No ma’am, a day or two at most. I just wanted to look up a…” What would he call Miss Collins? A friend? “Some children who were on the same train as me.”

  “The Collins children,” she said, nodding. “Oh, what fine young ’uns they are. I miss them already.”

  “Miss them, ma’am?” Was he too late? They had moved on already?

  “Yes, they moved out to their new home on the farm just this morning. You would think they had been gone a year already. Such a joy to have around. I would have adopted them myself if I was younger.”

  He had missed her by one day.

  “When is the next stage, ma’am?” he asked, feeling defeated.

  “Not till Wednesday. But you aren’t in a hurry to leave, are you? You just got here.”

  “I think I may have been mistaken in coming. I don’t wish to be a burden, perhaps you could show me the room. I assume cash will be acceptable.”

  “Now young man you sit there, and you listen to me. You just arrived, and you want to leave already? Didn’t y
ou come here to see someone?”

  “Well yes, ma’am, but I don’t think she, well, what I mean is, she’s already…” he trailed off, not wanting to think about Bridget married and living with her new husband.

  The woman tsked. “You came all this way to see her and you’re running way before you do. What sort of man are you?”

  Carl couldn’t believe his ears. This stranger was chastising him like one would a child.

  He stood up again.

  “Ma’am I can’t help feeling I’m in the wrong place. Perhaps I should just rent a gig to get me to the nearest big town.”

  “You came here to see Miss Collins, didn’t you? Land sakes lad, but you aren’t going to get her to marry you if you go running off in the wrong direction.”

  Carl sat down.

  “You know about me?”

  “I sure do. The children couldn’t tell me enough about you. Bridget, I mean Miss Collins, she didn’t say much but she didn’t have to. She got the same look in her eyes you got when I mentioned her name. I don’t know how you city folks behave, but around here you got to move quickly. There is only one woman for every nine or ten men so if you want Miss Collins, you need to move quickly.

  “But she was to marry—”

  “Brian Curran, a lovely man altogether but totally wrong for Miss Collins. He needs a wife who would be happy to live on his farm and raise a family. Bridget was born with a bigger purpose. Her heart is so full of love for those around her, she’s got to go and help those children.”

  Carl struggled to follow along. “So, she didn’t get married?”

  “Do you need your ears washed out? Didn’t you hear what I said? No, she didn’t marry him. She is a free as a bird. I am so happy you’re here. I mean, I wasn’t sure when I saw you all dandied up standing on the street. I thought you might be that horrible Mr. Oaks. That’s why I wasn’t so pleasant. But then you told me your name and I knew why you were here.”

  Mr. Oaks? Was that the name of the man Bridget was running from? Before he could clarify, a bell signaled someone was in the store.

  “Well don’t you know it. Mr. Grayson has gone missing again. Why that man thinks I can handle everything is beyond me. Excuse me while I go find out what they want. You don’t go running off, you hear?”

  Bemused, Carl stayed where he was. He couldn’t blame the elusive Mr. Grayson for disappearing. His wife talked a lot.

  He sat waiting, trying to figure out what Mrs. Grayson had said. Had Bridget really not gotten married?

  “Mr. Watson, what are you doing here?”

  He stood up so fast the chair fell over behind him. His coffee went flying across the table.

  “Now don’t you go messing up my kitchen,” Mrs. Grayson wandered back in from the shop and pretended to scold him. “Why don’t you take him out for a walk, Bridget. He seems rather strange so don’t wander far.”

  He was strange? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Bridget looked paler than he remembered, the black shadows under her eyes lending her an air of frailty.

  “Miss Collins, forgive my coming unannounced, but I just had to see you. I mean I had to check on you and the children. It’s my duty you see as—”

  “Will you just tell her the truth. You came to see her. Not the children, just her,” Mrs. Grayson blurted out.

  He was about to argue but Bridget’s voice stopped him.

  “You did?” she asked.

  He couldn’t miss the hope in her tone or in her eyes. He clamped down on the urge to do a little dance on the street. Scamp was already being too active for both of them, running around with his tail wagging behind him.

  “Yes, I did. I know it was wrong of me, but I hope you forgive me.” Please do more than that. Tell me I was right to come.

  “I do, it’s just, well…it’s such a surprise. Oh, I don’t know what to say,” Bridget said.

  “Say yes when he asks you to marry him, which he should have done by now,” Mrs. Grayson said. “Do New Yorkers always take this long to do anything? It’s a wonder anything gets done back east.”

  “Mrs. Grayson,” their voices called out in unison. The older lady turned slightly pink.

  “I should go check on Mr. Grayson. I won’t be but a moment. I can leave you alone, but the door will be open.”

  Carl didn’t know where to look, he was so embarrassed. Judging by Bridget’s pink cheeks, so was she.

  “Miss Collins, Bridget, please have a seat.”

  She sat and looked at him expectantly.

  “Mrs. Grayson says you didn’t get married. I don’t need to know the reasons why, but I can’t help but hope it may be because you had a change of heart.”

  He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t.

  “I didn’t want to speak before as it wasn’t seemly but well, the thing is, I have grown very fond of you.”

  “Fond?” She sounded amused.

  He glanced up, but she had an innocent expression on her face. Darn it anyway, but he didn’t know what to say.

  “Yes, one might say I fell…”

  “He fell in love with you. You fell in love with him. Now can you hurry up? I need to put the meat in the oven. At this rate, Mr. Grayson will think he is back on starvation rations during the war.”

  Mrs. Grayson’s voice carried through from the store. Amused, they exchanged a look, but Bridget didn’t move toward him. Using his finger, he tried to pull his collar loose, it was difficult to breathe.

  “I’ve waited years to find someone like you, Miss Collins. A woman who knows how to love with all her heart, whose love for these children knows no bounds, a woman I admire…”

  “Admire?” she interrupted, frowning slightly.

  “I mean respect. I respect you,” he mumbled. This wasn’t easy. He saw by the way she was looking at him he was making rather a mess of things. Oh, how he wished he had studied the works of Bronte and Shakespeare rather than the theology books he had learned by rote.

  He stepped closer, taking her hand.

  “Miss Collins, Bridget, I…you showed me how to find happiness. How to open my heart and trust my feelings. I...I love you. Will you marry me Miss Collins?”

  “Yes.”

  Mrs. Grayson popped her head around the door. “Is it safe to come in yet?”

  “Leave the poor young ’uns be and make me a cup of coffee,” Mr. Grayson said. “There’s a good wife.”

  “Shall we take that walk?” Carl asked Bridget who nodded.

  “Don’t be long. I will include both of you for lunch,” Mrs. Grayson called over to them.

  “Son, do yourself a favor and show our Bridget you wear the trousers from the start. Otherwise your wife will be too big for her britches, just like mine,” Mr. Grayson said with a wink.

  Carl almost pushed Bridget out the door in his haste to get away.

  Chapter 53

  Bridget couldn’t believe her eyes, he was here. In Riverside Springs. And he’d asked her to marry him.

  “I thought you had to go and check on the children,” she said.

  “I did. I saw some of them. Lizzie and Jacob both send you their love. They are as happy as could be with their wonderful new family.”

  “I’m so glad,” she said, feeling relieved. “All the children were precious, but I admit Jacob won a special space in my heart.”

  “He’s partly the reason I’m here,” he said.

  She waited for him to explain.

  “He asked me why I had let you go. He told me off quite severely. In fact, he called me a chicken.”

  Bridget covered her mouth in an attempt to trap the laughter from escaping.

  “I know you want to laugh but it wasn’t funny at the time. I was quite insulted.” He stopped walking and turned to take her in his arms. “Bridget, I was such a fool to risk letting you go.”

  “You didn’t have much of a choice. You’re an honorable man and I was promised to another.” She didn’t add that she had wished several times he was
n’t so honorable. That was one thing nobody need ever know.

  “I still should have made my feelings clear. But I wasn’t able to provide you with financial security. I don’t earn a lot as a part time teacher being away so much with the trains, but I can look for a proper position. When I think how close I came to losing you...”

  “But you didn’t,” she reassured him. “Brian, he’s the man I was going to marry, he and I were never suited. He is a kind, considerate man, and a good friend now. But my heart was always yours.”

  She moved closer to him. He cupped her face in his hands and brought his lips slowly down to meet hers. It was the most fleeting of kisses, yet it held so much promise.

  “Mrs. Grayson thought I was that bounder Oaks. She was very protective of you. Why didn’t you tell me the whole story before?” he asked.

  “How could I? It was bad enough you knew I was planning on marrying a stranger. But to also admit I was running from a man I stabbed would be far too embarrassing.”

  “You should have stabbed him harder. I can’t believe he got away with it,” Carl said, looking angry.

  “The rich will always get away with things. It is just the way of the world. But let’s stop talking about him. I need to ask you something, Carl.”

  “Anything,” he said.

  “I would like to work with you,” Bridget said. “For a while, at least. I want to help find homes for children like Annie, Liam, Sally, Lizzie, and Jacob. To find them proper families.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. Why? Do you not agree with married women working?”

  “No, my darling, I never believed it possible I would find a wonderful woman who not only would share my life but my goal as well. I believe our role is to help as many children as we can. Together we can change lives.”

  “I hope so, Carl.”

  “Do you want Liam and Annie to travel with us?”

  “No, I agreed to their being adopted.”

  His raised eyebrow prompted her to tell him the whole story about meeting the Reeses on the train.

  “Annie and Liam love them already, so they will be very happy here in Riverside Springs. I like this community a lot.”