The Bride from Virginia City by Murray Pura

Author:Murray Pura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western, Amish Western, Christian Romance, Christian Western, Cowboys, Amish romance
Publisher: MillerWords, LLC
Published: 2020-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Once he’d told her it would take another two days to reach Harrisburg — “Well, just under”— she’d insisted on having a bath, even if it meant missing a connection. Which it did. Since there was no help for it, he and the kids had baths, too. Zeph even treated himself to a shave. “But not the whole beard,” Charlotte had protested, “just the upper lip. That sort of beard goes with the clothes I made for you.”

“You mean it makes me plain?”

“Yes. You will go over very well with the Amish in Lancaster County.”

“Why does it matter if I go over very well with the Amish in Lancaster County?”

She’d patted his cheek. “Because, my dear, we have enough to overcome in Pennsylvania without having to worry about what the in-laws think of you. I want them to see that my Fremont is humble as well as handsome.”

They had reverted to their Wyoming names again. He touched the broad flat brim of his hat. “As you wish, Conner.”

Clean as a whistle, upper lip shaved, the beard trimmed, he stood with Cody in their sheepskin coats and plain clothes and hats on one of Chicago’s main thoroughfares and watched wagons, carriages, horse-drawn tramcars, and people stream past without ceasing. Steam and breath rose from the street like a fog. Zeph wanted to tilt his hat back on his head as he watched, but the hat Charlotte had given him did not work as well at this as a Stetson, so he was left with nothing to do except rub the beard on his jaw.

“It’s like standing on the banks of a Mississippi chock-full of people and teams of horses,” said Zeph. “Makes a fellow dizzy.” Cody had been to Chicago several times. “Pittsburgh is not so full. And Harrisburg has more trains than people.”

“That so?”

“There was a great fire here four years ago. All of this has been rebuilt. And they’re still building.” Cody pointed down the street to where two steam cranes were hard at work and new buildings were rising into the cold winter sky.

“I guess you could say the mountains around here are manmade,” mumbled Zeph. “I miss the real thing.”

Cody nodded. “I do, too, but sometimes I like the excitement of the cities.”

“Excitement! You call Chicago excitement?” Zeph lifted Cody’s hat and rubbed his knuckles into the boy’s hair. “Excitement is having a Sioux war party breathing down your neck and bullets and arrows making a colander of your clothes.”

Cody laughed and fought back. “I wouldn’t care. I hate these clothes.”

“Me, too.”

Two policemen in boots and belted overcoats with brass buttons and large stars over their hearts approached them. They wore revolvers in holsters at their sides. One policeman touched the brim of his cap. “Everything all right here, sir?” Zeph was confused and released Cody from a headlock.

“Sure.”

“You all right, lad?” Cody’s face was red. He put his hat back on his head. “Everything is fine, Officer.”

“Where are you two from?” Zeph straightened up. “Just off the train from Omaha.

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