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THEY SAID THAT THE train was going to change the lives of the people of Lincoln. They had been saying that for several years now, and they would probably continue to say it for several more years, in spite of the fact that they were now really, honestly, truly promising that train service would reach the city by next year. Or perhaps the following, at the latest. Until then, Theo was stuck with the stagecoach.
There were two a day in Lincoln: the ten o’clock stage, which had come down from Omaha and was headed west. Theo wanted the other one. The one that had spent the night in Lincoln, and which was headed east.
He pulled his pocket watch out and checked the time. Seven o’clock. Plenty of time. The stage didn’t leave until eight in the morning, and he was halfway to town already. It helped that he was traveling light, with only a single bag. Of course, even if he had wanted to bring more, he wouldn’t have known what to pack. Regardless of what was waiting for him, he would have to make do with what he had.
Theo pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. It would be another warm day, and the walk was already making him hot. Still, he hadn’t given a thought to taking the carriage, nor riding Archie. Polly would need the horse, and leaving it for her seemed like the right thing to do.
Walking out on her like this hadn’t seemed so clearly right, but he was trying not to let that bother him. The pull that he felt eastward—the attraction, like he was a sliver of iron being drawn to a magnet—was overpowering. It was like he was missing a part of himself, and he needed to find it.
Theo stuffed his handkerchief back in his pocket and looked toward Lincoln; he could see the town hall spire now, gleaming in the morning light. He was close, and he felt like things were finally about to begin. He picked up his pace.
~ ~ ~
POLLY FOUGHT BACK TEARS—NOT entirely successfully—as she hurried to get dressed. It felt like her entire life was falling to pieces around her, and waves of different emotions washed over her in turn. There was anger, of course, and disbelief. She could scarcely comprehend that he had abandoned her—abandoned them—like this. There was fear. If he never came back, she had no idea what she would do alone with a baby. It was such a scary thought that she had rarely considered it before, and she couldn’t bear to consider it now. It was an idea she would recognize only when she had truly run out of hope.
There was little hope left, however. She strode quickly through the house, and her eye was caught by the now-crumpled note still sitting on the table. Not what he needs, she thought. My Theo would never say that. It’s like he’s no longer the man I know.
A small voice piped up in the back of her mind just then. And that’s the point, isn’t it? He’s not exactly the man you married. He’s hurt. As soon as it had flared up again, her anger was wiped away. He’s obviously not thinking right. You can’t blame him for that. He doesn’t deserve your anger, and he needs your help.
In order to help him, however, she had to find him first. Before Theo could go east, he had to get to town. And to get to town, there weren’t many options. If she were lucky, he would have left Archie and she’d be able to drive the runabout to Lincoln. If she were unlucky, and he’d taken the horse, he would be well beyond her reach and she’d likely never see him again.
She was lucky. When she came around the corner of the house, she saw Archie in the paddock; he raised his head and snorted at her in welcome as she approached. Polly had never been a confident driver, but today she had no choice. Fortunately, Archie was mature and well-trained; he let her harness him with nary a snort, and he went willingly to be hitched to the runabout.
By the time she was finished and seated in the carriage, she was covered in a sheen of perspiration and she could feel her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. She would have given anything to have a little help just then, but as she looked to the Deere farm, she knew that time was running short. There was only one kind of help she had time for.
Polly quickly put her hands together and bowed her head. Dear Lord, she prayed. Thank you for the time you’ve given me with Theo. He’s been a blessing in my life, but please don’t let that blessing come to an end. We both need your help now. Please watch over us until we find each other again. Amen.
She opened her eyes, snapped the reins hard, and set out to find her husband.
~ ~ ~
THEO TOOK A DEEP BREATH. He would miss the clean air out here. Heck, there were plenty of things he would miss. He had literally poured his sweat—and sometimes his blood-into his farm, and he worried about what would happen to it. He had friends here, better friends than he’d ever had in Massachusetts, and he worried about them too. Still, he was secure in his decision. There was something out there that was going to make him whole, and he was going to find it.
He slipped a hand into his pocket again, just to make sure that the ticket was still there. It was. His bag was still there at his feet, too. He took another breath. Calm down, he told himself. Everything is going to be fine. Better than fine, in fact. It’s going to be perfect.
He noticed a quiet rumble, and when he turned his head, he saw the stagecoach appear a couple of blocks away, turning onto the main street and heading toward the town hall. His pulse began to race, and his breath grew shallow in his chest as he watched it approach. When it finally rolled to a stop in front of him, if felt like he would burst, he was so excited.
The conductor leaped down from the box and came around to Theo’s side of the stagecoach. “Got your ticket?” he asked, and then opened the door. There were already a couple of passengers who had spent the night, but there was still plenty of room inside.
Theo bent to pick up his bag, and then fished in his pocket for the ticket that would set him off on his journey. As he handed it to the conductor, however, he was struck by the oddest sensation.
He had the distinct impression that he’d seen all of this before. Theo set down his bag and rubbed his eyes. His excitement had evaporated in an instant, and he now felt goose bumps form on his arms. Something’s wrong, he thought. It’s not supposed to be like this. He almost felt dizzy, and he could feel his pulse pounding.
“You all right there, mister?” the conductor asked. “You’re looking a little green.”
Theo stepped back onto the sidewalk and reached for the wall to steady himself. “Wait a minute,” he muttered.
“I don’t want you inside there if you’re going to be sick.”
“I just need a minute,” Theo said. “This is all confusing. It’s...wrong.”
The conductor and the driver exchanged a look. “I don’t know what’s wrong about it,” the conductor said. “You’re waiting for the stage, ain’t you? Well, here it is. You coming or not?”
Theo could only stare at the man like he was speaking a foreign tongue.
“We can’t wait around too long,” the conductor said. “We’ve got a schedule, you know? Are you coming?” the man repeated.
Theo closed his eyes briefly as he swallowed hard and forced himself to stand up straight. When he opened his eyes, he felt a tiny bit better, and he stooped to pick up his bag again. It wouldn’t be easy, but he knew what he had to do.
~ ~ ~
HER HEART BROKE AS she watched the stagecoach roll away, far down the road in front of her, east toward the wide open country. It had taken her forever just to get to Lincoln; she would never be able to weave through the traffic in town and catch a team of horses with a professional driver. As the stage grew small in the distance, she felt her own heart collapsing in on itself.
Polly’s eyes filled with tears, and she could barely see to steer the runabout to the side of the road at the wheelwright’s. Blurry figures came and went on the sidewalk and the street, and she heard the murmur of conversation as people passed her by. They were undoubtedly talking about her, but it didn’t matter now. Nothing did.
“Polly. Sweetheart.”
It was like a flood of air had come in where there was none before. She gasped and turned to see him there at her side, his bag in one hand and his hat in the other. Like he was going somewhere. Or coming back.
“Theo,” she cried as he reached for her. He helped her down to the ground and swept her into his arms. He kissed away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, and the heat of his embrace erased the chill that had sunk into her bones. “You came back.”
“I never really left,” he said. His cheek was warm against hers. “I never got a chance to. I’m starting to remember.”
“What?” She stepped back to get a good look at him and took his face between her hands. “You are?” Never in her life could she recall things going as quickly from so very wrong to so very right.
“Bit by bit,” he said. “When the conductor opened that door up, it was like I saw something so similar before...I remembered that I was waiting for another stagecoach one time, and when they opened that one, the most beautiful woman I ever saw got out.”
Tears had begun to flow again, and Polly wiped her eyes. “I was met by the most wonderful man I’ve ever met.”
“You wore a green dress, didn’t you?”
She nodded.
“And your hat had a white ribbon?”
She nodded again. “I wanted to look pretty for you.”
He took her into her arms again. “You were gorgeous,” he said, then corrected himself. “You are gorgeous.”
“Do you remember everything?”
“No, not yet,” he said. “Most everything is still hazy. But one thing that had been bothering me is crystal-clear now.”
“What’s that?”
“Ever since my accident, I felt like I needed to go somewhere,” he said. “My memory was gone, but I knew that there was something for me in the East.”
“Did you remember what it was?”
“It was you,” he said. “It was never that I needed to go east. It was that something I needed was coming west. I was trying to find you all along. You’re what I was missing. You always were.”
“Theo, it feels like you’ve been away from me,” she said. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’m never leaving again,” he murmured. “Now let’s go home.”
He helped her up to the driver’s seat and was about to go around the carriage when he stopped and returned to her side. “You know, I’m pretty sure that I haven’t told you this all week,” he said, taking her hand. “But I love you. Even if I don’t remember everything, I know that I love you. And that’s never going to change.”
She gripped his hand hard. “And I love you,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to hear that from you again.”
His smile was wonderful. It was the same broad, bright, toothy smile that never failed to bring out a smile of her own. “Honey, from now on you’re going to hear that from me every day,” he said. “And if I forget to tell you, you’ll just have to remind me.”
“That’s a deal.” She watched him as he went around and climbed aboard, and once they were underway she reached for his hand again. They rode like that, hand in hand, all the way back to the farm.