Cheyenne Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Brides Book 13) by Susan Leigh Carlton Page A

flowed, as Jennie told her lifelong neighbors goo dbye, each knowing it was likely they would never see each other again. They rode to tell Bess and Clarence goodbye.
    “You’re a good man, Cal, and you’ve got a mighty fine woman. You take care of her. The good Lord willing, and we get an invite, we just might take a trip out to your place. We’ve never been anywhere, and it’s time we changed that.”
    They shook hands. “Clarence, you and Bess have an open invitation to visit any time you like. Just tell us and we’ll meet the train,” Cal said.
    Bess and Jennie were both crying. “You have been so important to me for so long, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love you and will miss you. Our door is always open to you,” Jennie said.
    Chris and his grandparents shed tears as he said goodbye. “I will see you again,” Chris vowed.
    As they rode back to the farm for their final night before leaving, Chris asked, “Cal, could I borrow the horse and buggy? I want to go tell Amy Lou goodbye.”
    “Of course you can,” Cal said.
    * * *
    “Amy Lou, I’m going to miss you,” Chris said.
    “I’ll miss you too, she said. “You’ll probably forget all about me after you leave, but I won’t forget you.”
    “I won’t forget, and I’ll write, I promise,” he said. “I’ll come back someday,”
    “You mean it now, but you won’t. We’ll never see each other again,” she said.
    “That’s not true. We will see each other again,” he vowed.
    “Amy Lou, could I kiss you goodbye?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    It was an awkward kiss. Even though both were sixteen, they had never experimented. Amy Lou wrapped her arms around Chris’s neck and hugged him fiercely. “Goodbye, Chris.” They kissed again. A little less awkward this time. Amy Lou had tears in her eyes as she walked with Chris from her porch to the carriage. Chris climbed into the carriage, flicked the reins and the carriage pulled away from the Carter farm. He waved goodbye one last time to his young girlfriend.
    * * *
    Cal turned the trunk carrying Jennie and Chris’s clothes over to the baggage agent. He and Chris carried the bags containing the things they would use over the next few days.
    The train from Charlotte to Washington had only chair cars. Chris and Jennie sat by the windows and watched the scenery as the train sped toward its destination at speeds in excess of forty miles per hour.
    Cal purchased sandwiches from a vendor for lunch. They ate , watching the scenery through the window. Midafternoon they arrived in Washington, where they transferred to a different train for the short distance to Philadelphia.
    In Philadelphia, they boarded the Transcontinental E xpress for the rest of the way to Cheyenne.
    They had tickets for a drawing room for Cal and Jennie and a Pullman berth for Chris. Once the train began moving away from the station in Philadelphia, Cal led the way to the dining car, where they were seated by a porter.
    “This is unbelievable,” Jennie said. “They have a car just for eating. This is the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen,” she said.
    The porter presented them with menus. Cal explained, “Tell the porter what you would like to have. They fix it and serve it to you hot.”
    After they ate and returned to their drawing room, Jennie was uncomfortable. She whispered into Cal’s ear. He opened the door to a small room in the drawing room, and demo nstrated the operation of the toilet. And the wash basin. “Well, I never,” she exclaimed.
    He showed Chris the larger toilet for the passengers with berth tickets.
    Jennie returned to the seating area embarrassed by having had to say something to Cal about her bodily functions. He sensed her discomfort, and patted her hand. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear.
    “Really? I couldn’t,” she said. “I’d be so embarrassed.”
    “We’ll see,” Cal said.
    The porter tapped softly on the door. Cal went to the door, turned and said,