[2015] Cowboy Saves a Widow

by Christian Michael

  She gathered her skirts up, and checked to make sure the eggs weren’t cracked, then she turned to head back to the house. Jasper stood where she had left him for a few more minutes and watched her walk to the house. He couldn’t help but take note of how pretty she was.

  For a brief moment, Jasper wondered what life would be like if they really were to act more like a family. It was hard for him, he had grown up an orphan himself, and was never close with anyone. When he was grown, he left the orphanage and worked until he could afford his own place.

  Now, he knew the value of working hard, and saw little worth in trivial time. Marriage was the joining of two forces for a common goal, not for silly fancies. But there were times when he saw Grace and he saw someone he could love. There were times when Sam came running up to them and he wondered what it would be like to view that boy as his son.

  The sound of the wind blowing leaves off the trees shook him back to reality, and Jasper turned to head back up to the barn. Time was of essence, and the seasons waited for no one. If he wanted to make sure everything was set for winter, he had to get it done now.

  Back in the house, Grace had turned to see if Jasper was still outside, and her heart pounded when she realized he had been watching her. There were times when she wondered if she was breaking through to him, and there were times when she thought she caught him staring at her.

  It had been a long time since she felt pretty. She spent her days caring for the house and for Sam, so the thought of Jasper finding her attractive made her heart skip a beat inside her chest. She lingered in the kitchen for a moment, thinking of what life could be like if she and Jasper really did fall in love, then she forced herself to snap back into the moment and start dinner.

  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 apa
rt. 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 direction. 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.

  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.

  H
is 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.