Westward Promises (2 page)

The train whistle blew long and hard and Hannah could hear the squealing of the brakes.  It was late afternoon and she leaned forward again to catch her first glimpse of her new home.  She saw a few log homes, with wooden fences surrounding them.  As the train pulled into the station, she noticed what looked like a general store, a few other weathered buildings, and a small church with a steeple at the end of the street.  Pine Valley was a little larger than Cedarbrooke, Ohio, the town she had left a week earlier and had lived in for the last two years.   

I hope I haven’t made a mistake
, she thought as she put her hand in her dress pocket to make sure the letter was still there.  The letter contained a written marriage proposal from Chase Atkins.   After Jack’s death, she had placed an advertisement in an Ohio newspaper for a husband.   Chase had been the only one that had answered it.  They had exchanged a few letters, and then he offered her marriage and sent a train ticket, so she could come to this small Montana town.   She had boarded the train the day after his letter had arrived.   She was a widow with nowhere else to go and no family.   She didn’t have a choice.  The small farm where she had lived with Jack had been repossessed by the bank a few days after his funeral, although the banker had allowed her a month to find another place to live.  She had very little money and there were no jobs to be had in the Ohio town, at least jobs that were available for decent women.   

As the train slowed to a stop, she grabbed the seat in front of her to steady herself.   She tried not to wonder what Chase would be like as she had worried and fretted all the way from Ohio.  What kind of man would be willing to propose to a woman he had never met?  She figured he must have been desperate.  He needed a woman to cook and clean for him.   Why else would a man go to such lengths as Chase had to answer an ad of a pregnant widow?   

She stood and gathered her bag and then forced her feet to walk towards the passenger door.  The conductor had opened it and was standing on the ground to help the passengers step down to the boardwalk.   

“Good luck with your new life, miss,” he told her as he guided her safely to the ground.  The way he said those words made Hannah wonder if he knew she was a mail-order bride.  She turned to look in his eyes and thank him, but he had already moved on to help the next passenger.  She shrugged and moved out of the way so others could leave the train.   

Hannah looked around the train platform, but could not see a man who might be waiting for her, so she quickly walked towards the train station with the plan to stand against its walls for protection from the icy wind.   As she waited, she again tried to stuff the fear she felt away.  What if he was cruel?   What if he was lazy?   All she could think about were the terrible things Chase could be like and she knew she would have her questions answered shortly.   

It started to snow lightly as she stood next to the building.  A man bumped into her as he hurried by, not offering an apology or even acknowledging her presence.  She almost dropped her bag when he bumped into her.   She leaned further against the building and clutched her bag with both hands.  Where was Chase?  Every time a man walked by, she searched his face wondering if he was who she was waiting for, but they each walked by and did not pay her any attention.  She watched as one man greeted a woman and her child as they got off the train.  Another time a short bald-headed man walked straight towards her.  She held her breath as the fear she had been trying to ignore came up in full force.  His dark eyes were not kind and one of his hands was balled into a fist as if he always kept it that way.  She breathed a sigh of relief as he walked right by her and entered the building.   

“Hannah?” a smooth deep voice spoke in front of her and she looked up, way up.  This must be Chase since he was the only one who knew her name.  As she heard his voice and looked into his eyes, she tried not to feel hope that maybe her luck had changed.  One thing she had learned early in her life was that a person’s eyes were like a window to their soul.  She could always guess correctly whether a person was kind or not by looking directly at their eyes.  Eyes never lied.  He was looking down at her kindly with a small half smile on his face.   

“Mr. Atkins?” Hannah tried to keep her voice steady.  It wouldn’t be good to show any type of weakness at this first meeting.  She instantly noticed that he was a large burly man, someone who used his muscles daily, which made sense since he ran his own blacksmith and livery business in Pine Valley.  She knew that if she wanted to change her mind about marrying him, it would have to be now.   

“Let me take your bag,” Chase offered as he reached out to take the bulky bag in his large hand.  There was kindness in his voice and Hannah started to feel encouraged.   Chase had a cowboy hat tucked beneath his arm.  Hannah could see his jet-black hair was flat against his head as if he usually kept his hat on most of the time.  His blue-gray eyes sparked with amusement.   

Chase was very handsome and Hannah was completely surprised.  She had been prepared for anything and knew that none of it would probably be good.  She had learned to expect the worst in her life since that was the way most things worked out.  Why would a good-looking man like Chase have to settle for a mail-order bride?  Was there something wrong with him that she couldn’t see?   

He smelled pleasantly of hay, soap, and horse, all man.  His eyes twinkled as he looked at her and she saw green specks in his blue eyes.  "We'd better get your trunks before the train leaves.” 

Hannah looked down and smoothed a hand over her patched dress and wool coat.  “I don’t have any trunks.  Just that bag.” 

“That’s fine,” Chase’s face continued to look down at her, but now it was with compassion on his face.  Did he feel sorry for her that she had so few belongings?   On the other hand, maybe he was trying to hide disappointment of her poverty and looks.   

You are worth nothing
,
Hannah
, a voice whispered from her past.  She always tried to ignore her late husband’s voice.   She lifted her chin and looked straight in Chase’s eyes.  “I was honest in my letters.  I have nothing to bring to this marriage.” 

“You are bringing yourself.” 

Hannah felt the burning of tears in her eyes at his kind words and looked away to hide them.  Did he really mean what he said?  She heard a whistle and watched as the train slowly left the station.  There were very few people on the platform now as the families that were reunited had gone home.  She saw one woman wipe a tear away as she watched the train leave, obviously with someone she loved inside.  The snow started to come down harder, the wind blowing it around on the ground.   

“A storm is coming.   We had better head over to the church before it gets worse.” Chase settled his cowboy hat firmly on his head and then held out his hand.  Hannah knew that if she took his offered hand, she was letting him know she was agreeing to marry him.  Part of her wanted to turn away.  What if this turned out to be a mistake, just like she had made when she agreed to marry Jack?  But if she didn’t marry Chase, where would she go?  No one would be willing to hire a pregnant woman.  She would not be able to provide for the baby once it was born.   

She knew that she really didn’t have a choice.  She carefully placed her hand into his and he gently squeezed it in reassurance.  She was amazed how much larger his hand was compared to her own.  His fingers engulfed her hand, but she felt the gentleness in his squeeze.   

“The reverend is waiting.  We should head over there.”  He led her down the street.  He towered over her as he protected her from the ice wind.   

Chase stopped next to a covered buggy.  Hannah heard the black colored horse blow out his breath.  Chase helped her into the buggy and then untied the horse from the hitching post.  He grasped the reins and climbed in beside her.  “I just want to make sure you haven’t changed your mind.” 

“No, I haven’t,” Hannah responded with a small smile.  “I guess I should ask you the same question.” 

Twilight was approaching and he looked like a shadow to her in the coming darkness with white flakes of snow on his coat. 

“Nope.”  It was a single word, but there was a smile in his voice that calmed her nerves.   

Chase made a clicking noise and the horse started walking down the street.  She knew when they arrived at the church, he would be able to get a good look at her, and she hoped he wouldn’t change his mind.   

“Tell me about your town,” Hannah invited after a few moments of silence. 

“Pine Valley is a small town but the people who live here are about the friendliest people I have ever met.”  Chase held the reins lightly in his large hands.  “I hope you aren’t too disappointed in its size.” 

“No, I’m not.  I like small towns.  It’s actually larger than the one I came from.”   

“What was this other town like?” he asked with interest.   

“I lived on a small farm with my husband which was located just outside of Cedarbrooke, Ohio.  There was a general store, a tavern and train stop, along with a few homes.   There wasn’t even a church.” 

Talking about Jack brought her past unhappiness to the surface and she tried to push those bad memories away.  She knew she needed to find the strength to endure marriage again.  She would do her best to be positive.  “Is your house far from town?”   

“It's just on the edge.  I only own about ten acres.  I never wanted to farm or ranch, but I like the solitude.  I built the cabin myself.” 

“I am excited to see it.”  She sighed and tried to look in the distance, but all she saw was the coming darkness and snow flurries.  “I enjoyed the views of the mountains from the train.  This is beautiful country.” 

“Montana is heaven on earth, in my opinion.”  Chase pulled the reins to stop the horse.  “Here is the church.” 

Hannah saw the steeple faintly in the snow.  The door to the church flew open and a man in a dark coat waved his hand.   

“Come out of the storm and warm yourselves, Chase,” the man yelled out. 

“Sure thing, Reverend,” Chase called back as he jumped onto the ground.  “Let me cover my horse real quick.” 

Hannah felt her stomach quiver.  She knew part of the reason was because she was hungry.  Her last meal had been that morning and it was only a hard piece of bread and a shriveled apple.  She had been dealing with nausea every morning because of the pregnancy and sometimes she had it in the evenings.  She wished she had something to eat to make the nausea go away.  To keep her mind off her stomach, she started to jump from the buggy.   

“What are you doing?”  Chase left the horse’s side.  Hannah’s heart had jumped at his words, afraid she had angered him in some way, but it calmed at his smile.   “You should wait for me to help you down.” 

“Oh.” Hannah couldn’t think of a thing to say.  He wanted to help her?   She couldn’t remember a time when someone had ever helped her from a wagon or buggy.  Even Dr. Wilson had expected her to get down on her own.  Chase took her hand as she stepped onto the running board and landed on the ground.  She ended up standing very close to him and he towered over her.  She stepped back quickly and tried to thank Chase, but the words stuck in her throat.   

“Be careful, it’s icy.”  He kept her hand in his own and led her down a snow-covered path and into the small church.  As they stepped into the well-lit building, she tried not to gasp when she looked at him.  He was even more handsome than she had been able to see at the train station.  His wide smile and broad shoulders made her heart jump and she did her best to ignore it.   

Why would Chase need a mail-order bride?  The unspoken question cut into the confidence in herself.  Now he could see her clearly.  What if he regretted his decision?   Was he trying to hide his disappointment?   

“I’ll be right back,” Chase promised her after he led her to a nearby bench.  “I need to take care of the horse.” 

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him and watched him leave.  It impressed her that he cared for his horse so well.  Jack could have cared less about the animals that he owned and had barely taken care of them.    

The reverend approached her after Chase left. “Chase tells me you’re a widow, but you aren’t wearing black.  Does this mean the mourning period is over?”  The reverend’s words appeared to be genuine and not accusing as he was smiling at her with sympathy.   

“My husband died two months ago.” Hannah looked down at the floor as she felt his intense scrutiny.  She would not allow him to make her feel guilty for wanting, for needing to move on with her life.  She wouldn’t admit she didn’t own a black dress and she couldn’t afford to purchase fabric to make one.   However, she admitted to herself deep inside, she hadn’t wanted to wear black.  She was not sad that Jack’s life ended so quickly and didn’t miss him.   

“I’m sorry for your loss.” 

Hannah heard the compassion in the reverend’s voice and glanced up.   She was amazed that where others might have judged her, he showed understanding.  Then she saw the reverend glance at her waistline.   

She flushed and tightened her arms around herself as if protecting what she was carrying.  She didn’t feel like she could speak of her pregnancy to someone she didn’t know, even if he was a reverend, although she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide her condition forever.   

The door swung open and Chase came in along with a heavyset woman and a young woman who looked to be close to her age.  Chase quickly slammed the door shut to keep out the icy wind.