Page 9 of A Groom for Lauren
Chapter Three
Lauren blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the surrounding darkness. The pungent scent of burning wood filled the air and a burning heat cocooned her body.
Had she died?
Was she in hell?
A single tear rolled down her cheek. She lifted her hand to brush it away, but realized it was trapped against her side. Wriggling a bit, she realized she was wrapped in several blankets, and that was why she felt so warm. She flexed her fingers and felt the scratchy wool. The blanket released a musty smell, as if the blanket hadn’t been shaken out in a while. She didn’t own a wool blanket, and she didn’t think that there would be blankets in the lake of eternal fire.
Where was she?
And where was Esther?
She closed her eyes, trying to remember what happened.
Then it all came flooding back to her.The man!An angel’s cousin. That’s right!
He’d saved her.
She nibbled on that thought, chewing it this way and that. How did she really feel about him saving her? Lauren had gone there to never come back. It had been her punishment for what she’d done to Jonah.
She thought back over everything, looking at her life as if she were merely an observer, not a participant.
Jonah made beautiful furniture, the reason for his being in Philadelphia, to deliver it to his customer. Meeting Jonah at the party, falling in love with him, arguing with her sister before eloping to be with the man she loved. She had traveled from Philadelphia to Last Chance, eager to be Jonah’s bride.
Even his occupation had added to her fairy tale. Jonah was a carpenter like Jesus. A noble profession, unlike the men of her company, who were idle on most days or spent too much time at the gaming halls, losing fortunes.
Last Chance was a small town, literally a dot on a map. To Jonah, it was a large town, boasting about 500 inhabitants. Lauren thought it sounded charming and quaint…. Until she arrived.
It took five days by train until she reached the end of the line.Literally. Funds had run out for completing the track through Last Chance and onto Colorado. The stage would run along the river until it reached the ferry that carried it over to Last Chance, where it would then continue down towards Colorado.
Lauren recalled the stagecoach driver yelling, “Last Chance up ahead! Last chance to get off the stage!” She had never been as frightened as she was in those moments, when the Stagecoach crossed the river on the ferry, depositing her in the tiny town.
She immediately forgot her fears when they married that very afternoon in the small chapel at the end of town.
Then the fairy tale ended.
She groaned at the memories rushing so fast in her mind.
Jonah did everything he could to make her happy, but Last Chance was nothing like home. She didn’t relate to the pioneer women that had carved out a lifestyle in the harsh land.
Her beauty and charm meant nothing out here. What was beauty when she didn’t know how to garden or repair clothing? Her cooking skills were mediocre at best. Jonah was patient with her, but it wasn’t enough.
Not for her.
Neither for him.
For two years, she had been asking Jonah to take them back to Philadelphia. She wanted to go back to what was familiar and easy. Never again would she find boredom in the life of high society. She’d welcome the life if only she and Jonah could go back.
Then they found out she was with child. She had never seen Jonah happier. How she felt about it, she hadn’t been able to express because she simply didn’t know. Having a child had put a damper on her plans. Jonah would be less likely to want to go to Philadelphia now.
But then September 1878 came, and life was never the same.
With the drought killing off most of the crops, no one had money to purchase furniture. She wasn’t sure how they would survive the winter. Supplies were in short supply and the demand for the few items at the mercantile was so great, it drove the prices upward.
Lauren went from a woman who could purchase anything she wanted, to one that was budgeting pennies to purchase a pound of coffee. When Jonah heard about the hunt, he immediately joined it to provide meat for the winter. He didn’t think twice. He simply knew he needed to provide for his family.
A good man. Jonah had been a good man, and she treated him horribly.
