The Iron Wagon (32 page)

B
reanna Brockman and her daughters were sitting on the front porch of the ranch house with the guests Breanna had invited for supper, waiting for John to arrive. Seated with the Brockman family were Whip and Annabeth Langford and six-year-old Lizzie, as well as Pastor Robert and Mary Bayless and Ginny’s fiancé, David Barrett.

They were all chatting when Meggie pointed toward the front gate of the ranch. “Mama! Look! Papa’s home, and Paul is driving one of those army iron wagons, and there’s a lady sitting beside him!”

Moments later, as John drew up to the house on Blackie and Paul and Lisa drew up in the iron wagon, John smiled at the group and dismounted. Paul drew rein, smiling at the group also, then hopped from the wagon and helped Lisa down from the driver’s seat.

John, Paul, and Lisa headed for the porch, where the entire group was now on their feet. But Breanna was quicker as she moved down the porch steps. The trio stopped at the base of the steps, and John cheerfully said to his wife, “Wow! Looks like a celebration of sorts.”

“No, sweetheart.” Breanna hugged her husband. “Just our family and these special friends having supper together. I hadn’t told you about it because I wanted you to be surprised. Supper is ready now.”

Then Breanna took a step toward her son and gave him a huge welcome-home hug. “Paul, I’m so glad you’re home!” Leaning back in his arms, she asked, “Who is this lovely young lady?”

“Mama, this is Lisa Martin.”

Breanna’s mouth dropped open in total surprise. While Breanna was struggling to get a grip on herself, John told their guests about the Apache attack on the wagon train the Martins had been traveling with on their way to California, in which Lisa’s parents were shot. He explained that her mother was killed instantly and how Paul came along after the attack while taking the murderous Dub Finch gang to Yuma Prison in the iron wagon. John explained that just before Lisa’s father died, he told Paul that Chief Windino, who was not part of the attack, had taken Lisa to his reservation.

John proceeded to tell how Paul had gone to the reservation so he could take Lisa with him to Yuma, then how Paul had led Chief Windino to the Lord while he was there.

John turned to Lisa, who was standing very close to Paul, and said, “Lisa, dear, everyone here is going to be excited by what I am about to announce.”

Paul and Lisa looked at each other and smiled.

Breanna’s heart began to pound.
Lord, have You done it?

John ran his gaze over the group. “Breanna and I know that our son has been praying for some time, asking the Lord to send the right young Christian lady into his life for him to marry. Well, those prayers have been answered.”

Eyes brightened in the group.

In her heart, Breanna prayed,
Lord Jesus, when I learned that this was Lisa Martin with Paul, I was sure that Your hand was in it!

“Show everybody your engagement ring!” John told Lisa.

She lifted her left hand and moved it back and forth so everyone could see the ring on her finger.

This brought much excitement, and Breanna was the first to hug Lisa, telling her how happy she was; then Breanna hugged Paul. The rest of the group moved in, and both Lisa and Paul received plenty of hugs as they were congratulated on their engagement.

While the hugging was going on, Breanna stepped close to John and said quietly, “We were right about Lisa being God’s choice, weren’t we?”

John grinned. “We sure were.”

When the excitement settled down, and the hugs were finished, Ginny looked at Paul and Lisa. “Have you set a date for the wedding?”

“Well, little sis, Lisa and I have planned to ask Pastor Bayless if he would perform our wedding ceremony at the church on Sunday afternoon, this coming November 24.”

Instant gasps sounded among the group. Everyone looked toward Ginny and David, who were standing side by side.

Ginny looked up at David, and he said, “Go ahead.
You
tell them!”

“David and I had set that exact date and time with Pastor Bayless for
our
wedding.”

Paul and Lisa looked at each other, surprise showing in their eyes. Paul said to Lisa, “Sweetheart, we’ll change our wedding date, then.”

Pastor Bayless spoke up quickly. “That’s not necessary, Paul. I will be glad to perform a
double
wedding that day!”

Joy abounded in the hearts of Paul and Lisa, David and Ginny, and everyone else.

Breanna rushed to Paul and Ginny and hugged both of them at the same time. Then she looked at Lisa. “Oh, sweetie, we’re so happy you are going to be a part of our family!”

Lisa blinked at the tears that formed in her eyes. “Thank you, Mrs. Brockman. It was so hard to lose my parents in such a horrible way. But I’m so grateful to have a new family to fill the emptiness in my heart.”

Breanna hugged Lisa, kissed her cheek, then looked around at the group and said, “Hey, everybody, supper is going to get cold if we don’t get to the dining room and eat it!”

Ginny said, “Meggie and I will take the main part of supper out of the warm oven right now, Mama.”

During the meal, John said, “Paul and Lisa, I just wanted you to know that Breanna and I bought David and Ginny a house in Denver for their wedding present. And we’d sure like to do the same for you two.”

Paul and Lisa warmly thanked Paul’s parents for this.

Paul then explained to the group that the iron wagon, which was exactly like the one he and his father had seen at Fort Logan, belonged to him, as did the draft horses. Looking across the table at his father, Paul said, “Papa, could we leave the iron wagon and the horses here at the ranch since we’ll be living in town when we get married?”

John smiled at his son. “Of course you can. That will be fine.”

The next day, John and Breanna took Paul and Lisa house hunting in Denver, and they found a lovely three-bedroom
frame house for sale, which had a cozy parlor and an ample kitchen. An extra-large yard surrounded the house, and a nice white picket fence enclosed it all. Paul and Lisa loved it, and John and Breanna bought it for them.

When the sale was completed, Lisa hugged John and Breanna at the same time and said, “Oh, this place is just so wonderful! How can we ever thank you enough?”

Breanna hugged Lisa back. “Just be happy in it, honey, and in your marriage! That will be all the thanks we could ever want or need.”

John wrapped one arm around Breanna and the other arm around Lisa. “That’s for sure, Breanna darling!” Then he looked at Lisa and Paul. “Just be happy in your marriage, and you’ll be happy in this house!”

That evening, the Langfords took Paul and Lisa to a restaurant in Denver. Whip and Annabeth were delighted to learn about the house that John and Breanna had bought for Lisa and Paul, which they could move into after the wedding. Until then, the Langfords invited Lisa to stay in their home. Lisa gladly accepted the offer. Paul thanked them for their kindness.

The next Sunday morning, Lisa walked down the aisle during the invitation after Pastor Bayless’s sermon. He introduced her to the church and asked her to give her salvation and baptism testimony. She was quickly voted in as a member.

The pastor then announced the double wedding that would take place in the church on November 24. After the service, Lisa
stood with Paul in the vestibule and was warmly welcomed by the church members.

As the weeks passed, Lisa came to love everyone in the Brockman family very much—including Dr. Matthew and Dottie Carroll as well as friends David Barrett and Whip, Annabeth, and Lizzie Langford.

On Sunday, November 24, the double wedding took place. When the wedding reception was over, and Paul and Lisa were about to leave to go to their house, Lisa said, “Paul darling, there is something I want to ask you.”

He looked down into her lovely blue eyes. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“It’s about the iron wagon.”

Paul blinked and slanted his head to the side. “What about it?”

Lisa smiled. “Since we have an extra-large yard at our beautiful home, I want to bring the iron wagon from your parents’ ranch to our place and put it in the yard.”

Paul’s eyebrows arched. “Honey, why would you want that iron wagon in our yard?”

Reaching up and putting her arms around her husband’s neck, Lisa squeezed him tight and giggled. “If it wasn’t for that trip you took to Yuma in the iron wagon, you and I would never have met. I want the iron wagon as a keepsake so I can look at it every day!”

Paul laughed heartily and bent over to kiss her. As he looked into her eyes, he said, “Honey, if you want that iron wagon, you’ve got it!”