Page 4 of The Marshal's Bride
“I can’t imagine marrying a stranger.”
“But you were married.”
“Yes, Jacob and I met when he was traveling for work. We courted for several months before he asked my father for my hand in marriage. After we married we moved to Lincoln to be closer to his mother, and then Hope was born.”
“And you’re leaving now.”
Sam heard a sigh and glanced across the coach to find the young mother rubbing a hand over the little girl’s head. He thought it quite amazing how quickly the child had gone to sleep once the stage had begun a steady rocking. The cracker was still clutched in her hand.
“Jacob died earlier this year. He went out to work with a horse and didn’t come back. I found him in the field the next morning, but it was already too late.”
“That’s awful!”
Sam’s eyes wandered to the other woman. The words and tone were correct, but something in the way she held herself was not quite right. His mind started processing the details that he’d noted at the station.
She was jumpy, clearly concerned about being watched, and when she saw the woman with the quacking child, a resolve had slid over her. She made a beeline for the woman. It wasn’t thehowshe approached, but thewhythat made Sam notice.
That made him approach them as well. Something was churning in his mind. It was as if he recognized her but couldn’t place her.
The widow’s voice was soft as she continued to speak.
“It has been a long several months. Now we are going to start over. Hope will hear about her father, but our lives have changed. If I never see another horse ranch, she and I will be better for it.” She shifted the little girl on her lap and leaned back in the corner of the coach. “I think Hope has the right idea and I might join her in a nap.”
Sam watched the steady rise and fall of her chest before peering out of the flaps that covered the windows. He let his thoughts drift to what he knew about Flat River, Nebraska, and the last time he’d seen his friend Whitney.
It sounded like this would be a fresh start for all of them.
Chapter Two
September 1876, Flat River, Nebraska
Justine McGuthry watched her daughter play on the grass in what could be described as the closest thing to a park in Flat River. It was hard to believe she had been in town for three months and so many things had happened.
Time fluctuated between a snail’s pace, then passing faster than a dust cloud blowing through. A similar observation could be made regarding the changes in town. She snuck a glance at the woman approaching the park, pushing a baby carriage with two young boys running alongside her.
June Hardin was her best friend in town. In fact, June may have been the best friend she’d ever had in her life. They met when Justine needed a place to stay, as her cousin was ill and she couldn’t stay at his house.
So, Justine went to stay at a temporary apartment which was set up for mail-order brides or local matches that Marmee Chapman brought to town. Marmee arranged temporary apartments for the young brides to stay in, where they could be chaperoned until they were married.
Marmee Chapman. Justine gave a light snort.
There was an interesting character. She owned the apartment building, the matchmaking business, and half the town. She was a wonderful woman, to be sure, but Justine’s mother-in-law, Marjorie, thought she owned everything and everyone as well.
Just the thought of her mother-in-law made Justine want to cry. She was sure Marmee was nothing like Marjorie. Marjorie was vindictive and mean.
But Justine really didn’t know Marmee, did she?
Releasing a sigh, she moved her skirt to make space for June to sit. She hadn’t seen her friend in a few days. Now Justine was living alone in the apartment with Hope. June lived directly below them, with her new husband, baby, and two adopted sons.
Justine exhaled once more, her nostrils flaring slightly as she tried to suppress her sadness. She was happy for June, truly, but melancholy was sweeping through her. She missed Jacob, or at least the dreams of the future that they had mapped out, and she didn’t know what to do with the anger she felt, either.
“What are you thinking about?” June asked, settling on the bench beside her. She leaned into the buggy and lifted out a bundle of blankets and lace and put it on her shoulder. “Boys, stay where I can see you!”
Justine picked at an invisible piece of lint on her skirt as she watched Hope push to her chubby legs and start running towards Heath, who embraced her in a tight hug.
“Why doesn’t Flat River have a boarding house or a diner?” Justine took her eyes off the children for a minute to look at her friend. “Flat River has been established for quite a while. You’d think they’d have something other than a house of ill repute for people to get coffee or a quick meal. And a lady wouldn’t be caught dead there. But, no! These things aren’t available. And they should be. Listening to Rose Arden speak in the shop, it is almost as if the people of this town never considered that someone might come to visit for a spell. Or want to go out and have a meal. What backwards town is this?” June laughed at Justine’s statement, her head tipping back and tears streaming down her cheeks. “What’s so funny?”
Wiping her eyes with her fingertips, June took a moment to regain her composure. “You were sitting here looking like a puppy that lost its littermate, but your brain is focused on the things that are lacking in this town?” June shifted the baby in her arms and reached over to clasp Justine’s hand. “Tell me what’s really bothering you.”
