The Express Bride

by Kimberley Woodhouse

  Elijah ignored the question for a moment and looked back down at the painting. Charles Vines had no idea how helpful the portrait would be. In fact, Elijah now knew exactly where he could find his partner’s daughter.

  “Mr. Johnson?” Michael prodded.

  As he opened his mouth to respond, a knock at the door rescued him. He turned to see the very object of his thoughts standing in the doorway to his room.

  Jackie looked from Elijah’s face to Michael’s and back. “What are you two up to in here?” She smiled and put her hands on her hips. “Have you had anything to drink? You know the doctor wanted you to have broth and fluids.”

  Elijah nodded, his face a bit ashen.

  Michael stood. “Maybe I should go check on the horses.” As he walked around the bed and toward her, Jackie understood what was going on. The envelopes were sitting in Elijah’s lap.

  With a squeeze to her shoulder, Michael left.

  “Jackie, would you come sit with me for a while? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “All right.” She wiped her sweaty palms on her apron as she made her way to the chair. How much did he know? Had Michael told him they’d seen the painting? Taking a deep breath, she sat down.

  “Could you come closer? I can’t sit up all the way, so it’s hard for me to see you.”

  “Of course.” The chair scraped across the wood floor as she moved closer. She hoped he couldn’t hear her heart pounding from there.

  “Michael told me what happened with the seal, so don’t worry. I’m not upset.” Elijah swallowed and held up the portrait to her. “But I needed you to see this.”

  Even though she’d already seen it, the painting still took her breath away. “Who is that?”

  “This”—he brought the picture back in front of him and stared atit—“is my partner’s, Mr. Vines’s, wife.”

  “Is she the reason you’re out here?”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “I should probably start at the beginning. I’ve been working for a man named Charles Vines for over ten years. I know I’ve mentioned him to you since I’ve been here.”

  “Yes.” It was all she could seem to get out. It had all happened so fast. It didn’t seem real.

  “He is the very best man I know. But a few months ago, his health declined.”

  “I’m very sorry.” Her heart tightened at the thought. Could this man actually be her father? How sick was he? The thought of losing him before she even met him made her heart clench.

  “Are you all right?” Concern was etched all over Elijah’s face.

  With a slow nod, she swallowed down her fear and convinced herself to be patient and listen to what Elijah had to say. “Is he, Mr. Vines, all right?”

  “He’s been resting and trying to regain his strength. He sat me down one day and asked me to find someone for him.”

  “Her? His wife?” She pointed to the small painting. Even though she already knew the answer to her question.

  Elijah nodded and stared at her. His blue eyes penetrated her heart. “Yes, and … his daughter. You see, she left him. And she took their baby with her.”

  “The woman we were looking for in the ledgers. Why did she leave?”

  His lips came together in a thin line as he took a long breath and then let it out in a huff. “Mr. Vines told me that he had turned to liquor to fill the hole in his heart. He had done some horrible things. Said some horrible things. To his wife. I don’t want to talk about such delicate matters with you, Jackie, because it’s not my place. But those events were what God used to turn Charles’s life around. He was completely broken by what he’d done. Now he’s a different man. But he asked me to find his daughter.”

  “Wait. Why not his wife too? Did he not want to find her?” Resentment and anger ignited within her. Defense for the woman who bore her, yet a woman she didn’t know.

  “He searched for her for more than a decade. Even though he received a letter a few years after she disappeared saying that she died, he still kept looking. He’s an extremely wealthy man and he paid many, many investigators over the years to try to find Anna and their … daughter.”

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Elijah looked away for a moment. “You must see the resemblance, Jackie. You look just like her.” His voice softened with the words. “You’re the same age. You look just like her. You were here with your mother….”

  Tears began to stream down her face.

  “Jackie. I’m so sorry. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I know you loved your dad very much. He sounds like an amazing man, and I’m so thankful that he was here to raise you. But don’t you want to know if it’s true? If Charles Vines is your real father?”

  Standing abruptly, she covered her mouth for a moment and just looked at him. This man she’d come to care about and yet the same man who was in the middle of the most difficult situation of her life. Running from the room, she swiped at her tears as she hurried to her room and closed the door. She leaned against it and tried to get her breathing under control. It was kind of Elijah to try to tread carefully, but he knew. And so did she.

  Going to her bed, she prayed for wisdom. Then, pulling out the box, she ran a hand over it one more time before she opened it and looked at the letters.

  Did she really want to share this with Elijah?

  It was all so personal and intimate. Words from the man who’d raised her. And then words from her mother as well.

  There was so much she didn’t know or understand. She didn’t have to share the letters with Elijah, but she could at least tell him the truth of what she knew. He deserved that much.

  Jackie reached into the box and pulled out the small book that must be her mother’s journal. Perhaps tonight she could start reading it. She needed answers. How could everything in her life turn upside down so quickly?

  Placing the book back inside the chest, she decided to go and talk to Elijah now. She shouldn’t have left the way she did, but his revelation had been so overwhelming.

  When she reached his room, he was asleep. She watched him for a few moments, the way his dark hair slid over his forehead. Never in her life had she felt so drawn to a man. But a giant chasm stood between them. She wasn’t who she thought she was anymore. His boss was … her father?

  As much as she longed to know Elijah better, her heart just couldn’t take it right now.

  Exhausted after the long day, Jackie went back to her room.

  Everything seemed so blurry. Her life had been perfectly in order up to this point. Yes, it had been hard that she’d lost her mother as a child. But Dad had done a wonderful job raising her. She’d loved and respected him more than anyone.

  The fact that he wasn’t her real father had been a blow, but in reality, it didn’t matter to her. Marshall Rivers would always be her dad. But what she couldn’t comprehend was the fact that he had never been married to her mother. In her mind, her parents had always had a perfect, dreamlike romance. Now she had to accept the fact that everything she’d thought about her parents wasn’t true.

  As she unhooked her boots, she eyed the box from her dad. She had so many questions.

  Needing answers, she grabbed her mother’s journal and sat in the chair by the lamp.

  24 December 1834

  My little Jacqueline,

  Did you know that your name comes from the name Jacob? The pastor at our church in Kansas City told me about the name Jacob when I was expecting you. So if you had been a boy, you would have been named Jacob. Jacqueline is a derivation of that and of the Hebrew meaning “May God protect.”

  That has been my prayer for you. That God would protect you.

  I’m not planning to give this to you until you are much older because it will be very hard for you to understand, but I know it’s important for me to be completely honest with you. This past year has been difficult. My name is Anna Marie Morrison Vines, but you will grow up knowing your mother as Hannah. I’ll explain that later.


  You are Jacqueline Rose Vines. A beautiful name for a beautiful baby.

  Your father is a brilliant man. I fell in love with him when I was eighteen when our parents thought we would be a good match. We married that same year. The first thing I want to share with you, Jacqueline, is that you should never be unequally yoked. The Bible warns about it, and I did not take that warning to heart like I should have. You father didn’t have much use for God, but I thought I could change him. About a year after we were married, something happened to him. I don’t know what. But he changed. He began to drink liquor to excess. Over time, he became a very violent man.

  But I still loved him. We still had many moments of laughter and good times when he wasn’t drinking. But those became fewer as time passed. I became with child three times before you, my precious daughter. Each time, the baby was lost. Usually after a fit of your father’s anger. Which made me very angry with him. I blamed him for our children’s deaths. This enraged him, and he said it was all my fault. The cycle of anger and bitterness grew into a nightmare.

  I collapsed one day in church, and after they’d taken me to the doctor, his nurse sat by my side and listened as I told her the whole horrid story. She prayed with me and encouraged me to let go of my anger because it would be worse for the baby. When I finally understood that she was trying to explain to me that I was expecting you, I made plans. Desperate plans, really. In hopes that I could hide from him long enough for you to comeinto this world. It wasn’t easy. But we had a large estate. I would make an appearance every morning when he was coming out of his stupor and pretend to be sick. Since he wanted nothing to do with that, I would hide in one of the other wings. It was a horrible time. At night after his drinking binges, he’d roam the house yelling for me, always trying to find me. I believe that God kept him from finding me. But as soon as you were born and I was strong enough to go, he exploded worse than anything I’d ever seen. Earlier than planned, I ran away. I couldn’t risk anything happening to you, my beautiful little angel.

  Your father is a very wealthy man. But he is lost, my dear. I pray that he finds the only One who can fill the gaping hole within him—Jesus Christ. His agony was so great, I could do nothing to help him, so he turned to the bottle. The night I—we—left, your father was enraged. But by what I believe was the grace of God, we escaped.

  For months we traveled west. Wandering it seemed. Until one day, we came here. To what I thought of as the wilderness. I took a room at Mr. Rivers’s boardinghouse and have decided to stay. After months of sleeping in a wagon, it was nice to have a bed again. You’ve grown so much that you need room to roam and discover.

  I feel like this is a good place to call home.

  Marshall Rivers is a good man. He loves the Lord and is kind to his workers. Right now he runs a horse ranch, and you love the horses. I can tell it won’t be long until you are trying to ride one. I’ve been helping by washing and cooking. You’ll never know the wealth that I came from, so you can’t find the humor in that statement. But two things I didn’t know how to do a few months ago, I do to help earn our keep now. I’ve learned a lot. God has humbled me and protected us. I’ll do anything for you, my precious girl.

  In this journal, I’ll try to tell you the whole story. Because you deserve to know the truth. You need to know that yourmother is a sinful and flawed human being, just like your father. If not for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, none of us would have the opportunity to have eternity with God in heaven. So please remember that I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes. And the last mistake I want to make is keeping you from knowing the truth.

  I’m tired tonight, but I will write more tomorrow.

  I love you.

  Jackie laid the book in her lap. Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. The question of why her mother left had now been answered. And the discrepancy in the ledgers. Hannah was Anna. Just like Elijah had guessed.

  He’d alluded to the reason for her mother’s departure as well, but having her mother’s testimony made it more tangible. Her real father had been a monster.

  The bed grew more uncomfortable by the hour, and the new splints Dr. Thompson had put on Elijah’s leg severely restricted his movements, making it even more difficult to find a position that didn’t hurt. On top of that, the doctor had wrapped the new splints in awful-smelling bandages that stiffened over time. It wasn’t adding up to be a very good day.

  Not that he had energy to do much yet, but his mind was ready to get back into life, and he’d definitely gotten his appetite back. The day couldn’t come soon enough when he could eat something with more substance than broth or soup or egg custard.

  Mr. Liverpool knocked on the doorframe.

  “Come on in.”

  “It seems it is my turn to sit with you again for a while. Although I’m not sure how much longer you’ll need one of us to watch over you. You’re looking pretty good.”

  “I have to admit, that’s just the encouragement I needed to hear. Thank you, Mr. Liverpool.”

  “Please, call me Tom.”

  “Tom. Thank you for being here, but I know this must be pretty tedious for you when you have a number of other things to attend to.” Did anyone understand how difficult it was to be a patient laid up—dependent on everyone else? Especially knowing how much everyone had to do around here. “It was different when you all were worried about whether or not I would awaken, but now this is simply for my convenience since I can’t exactly get up and fetch things for myself. Feel freeto go on about your business. I’m sure I’ve caused enough upheaval in everyone’s schedules.”

  Liverpool smiled at him. “You’re very gracious to be thinking of others, Elijah, but I think we all recognize that this is a very difficult situation for you. We’d like to help.” The man pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I was studying in the book of Romans—since I’m still pondering Daniel’s chapters—and read a few verses that I thought might encourage you, so I took the liberty to write them down.”

  “Romans is one of my favorites, Tom. I really appreciate you taking the time.”

  He opened the folded paper and added, “This is Romans chapter 5, by the way. ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’”

  Elijah leaned his head back after Tom read. “But we glory in tribulations.” The words struck him. He hadn’t been very appreciative of the tribulations he’d been enduring. Yet the Bible said that tribulation worketh patience, and then experience through patience blossomed into hope. He lifted his head and looked at his friend. “May I be quite frank with you?”

  “Of course.”

  “I needed to hear those exact verses today. For most of my adult life, I’ve plunged into whatever is in front of me with gusto and drive. This is the first time I haven’t been able to simply attack whatever it is that needs to be done. It seems God has put me in this place for a reason, and I need to be willing to wait on Him. No matter how hard that may be.”

  Liverpool chuckled and laid the paper on the table beside Elijah. “You know, I’ve told my beautiful bride many times over the years that she has tried my patience. Do you know how she always responds?”

  “How?”

  “She says, ‘Dear, it’s my job to help you become more Christlike.’”

  Elijah laughed out loud—even as much as it hurt his ribs. “Your wife has got quite a quick wit.”

  “Oh, my June. She is a jewel, isn’t she?” The expression on the man’s face showed how much he loved his wife. It did strange things to Elijah. “Well, if you’re certain you’re all right here by yourself, I’ll go ahead and tend to thing
s back at the stables. Two of the horses have thrown shoes.”

  “Thank you for coming, Tom.”

  He stood and nodded at Elijah. “You’re most welcome. Do you need anything before I go?”

  Elijah looked over at the table beside him. “Would you mind handing me my Bible and the paper you brought me today?”

  As Tom lifted his Bible, Elijah noticed the packets from Kansas City.

  “And would you mind handing me those letters as well?”

  “Not at all. I’ll leave the door open and let the others know that if you need something you’ll holler for one of them.”

  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  As Elijah watched the man leave, he thought about the way Tom Liverpool had talked about his wife. And the expression that filled his face. Here was a man who truly seemed to love his wife and appreciate her. Every time Elijah had seen the couple, they’d seemed happy to be together. Whether out at the picnic or in their little church service, the admiration and affection they had for each other was evident.

  A fondness like that couldn’t be faked. He’d seen enough of the fake variety growing up. Enough that he could spot it a mile away and sadly had witnessed it in far too many couples. But Tom and June Liverpool were different.

  His thoughts went back to Jackie. She’d said the same thing about Marshall and her mother. It seemed she’d had a greater opportunity to witness true love in this little collection of people than he had in all the thousands of people he’d known in the city and in all his travels.

  Once again, he felt the longing in him spark to a flame. The thought of being betrayed again was horrific, but what if he actually had a realchance for love? Wouldn’t he want to take that?

  He opened his Bible to Romans and read through the chapter that Tom had quoted from. If God was giving him this chance to learn, he’d better make the most of it.

  Leaning his head back again, he closed his eyes and prayed. Lord, I don’t know what it is that You want me to learn, but I’m willing. I want to know You more. I want to understand Your will for my life. Please help me to discern the correct path. I need patience as I wait to talk to the sheriff and Mr. Crowell. It’s a good thing I’m laid up, or I would probably try something stupid. Please help the criminals to be found.