Crippled Mail Order Bride For A Faithful Frontier Cowboy: Clean Christian Short Reads Western Romance (Destined For Love Mail Order Brides Book Book 2) (3 page)

“I beg your pardon, but what happened to your legs?
 
I notice that you have difficulty walking.”
 
He wanted to know, but if she weren't willing to tell him, he would understand.

“My grandmother told me that I must have been dropped and thrown around when I was a baby.
 
My father was an alcoholic and forced my mother to be one as well.
 
When my grandparents got me, they had to teach me to walk, and that is when they noticed that I must have had some breaks in my legs that didn’t heal properly.
 
My legs ache often, but I can still walk, which is a blessing.”
 
She smiled at him.
 
Even though this had been a hardship for her, she would never allow it to harm her spirit.

Jacob knew that this type of life could lead a person in drastically different directions.
 
He admired the fact that she accepted her challenges with courage and did the best that she could.
 
The young lady across from him wasn’t bitter or angry.
 
She was gentle and loving.
 
He smiled at the wonderful woman that he had the joy to accompany.

“I’m so sorry to hear that you had a terrible time as a young child.
 
I’m also glad to hear that your grandparents took you in.” Jacob didn’t know what else he could say.

After Mary-Beth’s sad story, a silence fell between them.
 
Nothing could be said that would make the situation any better at that moment.
 
Before long, Mary-Beth could feel that her legs were becoming stiff.
 
She had to get up and move around, or she would be in pain later on.

“Please excuse me.
 
I’m going to take a walk to loosen my legs.
 
When I get back, maybe you can tell me a little more about your life in the west?” Mary-Beth smiled.
 
She didn’t want him to feel bad about asking her the questions about her legs.

“Of course.
 
I will just be right here.
 
Enjoy your walk,” he said, returning her smile.

Mary-Beth slowly rose and left the car.
 
In her absence, a silence hung.
 
Jacob figured it would be a good time to read the paper that was sitting next to him.
 
He knew little about what happened in the city, which he found fascinating when he could find news of eastern events.
 
As the train continued to make its journey west, peace fell over the train and its passengers.
 
They had quite a distance to travel.

WITH THE MOVEMENT of the train, Mary-Beth had to move slowly to keep her balance.
 
Passing by other staterooms, she wondered what types of people were in those rooms and why they were headed west.
 
The possibilities fascinated her.
 
Maybe they were going to search for gold and would strike it rich.
 
Or maybe they would start a farm and raise a family where the air was clean and fresh.

Looking out of the windows when she could, she noticed that there was no sign of the city that she had left behind.
 
For miles in each direction, all she could see were rolling hills with an occasional house here and there.
 
It was strange but oddly peaceful.
 
She could get used to living in a place where there were not so many people.
 
That sudden thought made her feel foolish.
 
She would be returning to the city in a few weeks, and she was daydreaming about living in the west.

As she made her way through the train, she suddenly encountered a young man coming down the aisle towards her.
 
He smiled at her and swayed slightly.
 
It was clear that he had had a little too much to drink and wasn’t quite in his right mind at that moment.

“Well, what do we have here?
 
A lovely lady on a train!
 
I’m a lucky fellow, I tell you what!” he slurred as he continued to walk towards Mary-Beth.
 
As he grew closer, she could smell the strong odors of whiskey and tobacco.
 
It was evident that he was greatly intoxicated.
 

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe that you are in need of something to sober you up.
 
If you will excuse me, I am just going to continue my walk.
 
Good day,” Mary-Beth continued in the direction that she was heading in.
 
She just hoped that the man would get a hint and leave her be.
 
A wave of fear raced through her as he stood in front of her looking at her like she was his next meal.

“Not so fast!
 
We haven’t been properly introduced!
 
I want to make sure that I am a proper gentleman introduce myself properly!
 
I’m Jack.
 
What’s your name, lady?” he asked with a leering smile.
 
His yellowed and missing teeth made Mary-Beth want to throw up.
 
It was clear that he wasn’t going to let her past him.
 

“You are drunk, sir, and I would prefer that we end this conversation here.
 
Now, if you would excuse me, I must return to my stateroom.”
 
Mary-Beth tried to slide past him.
 
At that moment, he grabbed her arm and pinned her against the wall.
 
She felt the air escape from her lungs as she hit the solid surface.
 
Looking up, she watched him smile at her and click his tongue.

“I may have had something to drink, but I know what I want, and you will do just fine,” he sneered at her.
 
Another wave of feared tore through her, and she prayed to God that he would get her away from this horrible man.

Mary-Beth knew that she needed to get someone’s attention and was about to scream when he pushed his tobacco-stained hand against her lips.
 
He then opened his mouth and tried to kiss her. She gagged as the tobacco juice dribbled down his stubbly chin.
 
Her stomach turned in circles, and she was afraid that she would lose all control and vomit all over the train.

With one last desperate prayer, she began to cry.
 

As Jacob finished reading a rather interesting article in the paper, he looked up and noticed that the car was silent.
 
Jacob realized that Mary-Beth had been gone much longer than he thought it should take to walk along the train.
 
He knew that she was having trouble balancing with the train in motion, so maybe she had fallen and needed some help.
 

Setting his paper aside, he hurried to see if she needed any help.
 
She seemed very self-sufficient, but he wanted to make sure that she was taken care of throughout this trip.
 
It was the one request of Tam and Tilly that he would never forget.
 
Tilly had looked incredibly concerned when she had mentioned that Mary-Beth had problems with her legs and that she would feel better if she wouldn’t travel alone.

He knew that she needed to be alone when she said she needed to go for a walk.
 
So, he had told her that he would stay behind.
 
However, a gut feeling told him that something wasn’t right.
 
Mary-Beth had been gone too long.

Making his way out of their car, he walked in the direction that he was sure she would have gone in.
 
They were close enough to the end of the train that it would make more sense to go that way.
 
With two good legs, Jacob found that even he had trouble keeping his balance at times as the train traveled along.
 
He could only imagine the difficulty that Mary-Beth had to walk as the carriages lurched this way and that.

After a few cars, he could see something up ahead that caused him some concern.
 
A man in a dark jacket had someone pinned up against a wall.
 
He couldn’t make out who, but he knew that the person was in distress.
 
As he got closer, he realized that it was a young woman.
 
Then he realized that it was Mary-Beth.

“Hey!
 
What do you think you’re doing?
 
Get your hands off of her!” Jacob exclaimed as he shoved the man away from Mary-Beth.
 
Jack tumbled to the floor, and Mary-Beth slid down the wall and watched in shock as Jacob took care of the man that was harassing her.
 
His fist flew and cracked the drunkard in the jaw.
 
After this blow, he threw the man across the car and stood and glared at him.

“She asked for it.
 
Pretty little thing out here all alone. Didn’t tell me she had a man with her…” he slurred and tried to get back to his feet.
 
Jacob stood in between him and Mary-Beth so that he wouldn’t go after her again.

“It doesn’t matter if she was alone or not.
 
You don’t treat a lady like that.
 
Now, get out of here before I make you wish you had never gotten on this train!” Jacob exclaimed.
 
By this time, people were looking out of their rooms at them in curiosity.
 
The whole ordeal had been loud and brought the attention of all who were near.

“Okay, but you will be sorry if we come in contact again.
 
That girl would have been mine!” the man shouted and stumbled in the other direction.

Jacob turned and helped Mary-Beth to her feet.
 
She looked up at him with gratitude. Gazing up at Jacob, her eyes met his for a moment.
 
Mary-Beth felt her heart flutter and her face turn red.
 
Quickly she turned away and began to straighten her skirts.
 
Tears were rolling down her face, and everyone knew that she was frightened by the encounter that had just happened.
 
Helping her to maintain her balance, Jacob assisted her back towards their car.
 
She needed to rest and not have people staring at her.

Once they returned to the privacy of their stateroom, Jacob helped her to have a seat and brought her a glass of water.
 
She was still visibly shaken, and he knew that it would take a little time before she would calm herself down.

“Are you okay?
 
Did he hurt you?”
 
Jacob tried to make sure that there was no visible damage to his charge.
 
He had started to like her for who she was, and he knew that she was slowly becoming a constant thought in his mind.

“I’m fine, just a little bit shaken up.
 
I guess I don’t expect people to take notice of me like that.
 
It’s scary.”
 
She sat back and sighed.
 
It was an incredible blessing that Jacob had shown up when he had.
 
If he hadn’t, she had no idea what would have happened to her.

“I can imagine.
 
I will go with you the next time that you need to go for a stroll.”
 
Jacob didn’t feel safe letting her out of his sight again during this train ride.
 
He would never forgive himself if something had happened to her.

Mary-Beth nodded.
 
A comfortable silence fell between them and soon, Jacob looked over and noticed that she had fallen asleep.
 
She looked so peaceful.