Scruffy and the Bride Read online

  Scruffy and the Bride

  By Mary L. Briggs

  Smashwords Edition

  COPYRIGHT © 2022 Mary L. Briggs

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover Image: “Scruffy”. Original art, “Woman and dog” by Branislav Ostojic, ‘Summer blossoming apple orchard at sunrise. Bright warm sunlight in green garden in early morning. Trees in green garden,’ by Siarhei Dzmitryienka, and ‘Black and white buffalo plaid Christmas gift bow and ribbon long border isolated on white’ by Jenifoto404. Used with permission. http://www.dreamstime.com/

  Megan Grimes stared at the scenery as the train slowed. She pressed her feet against the floor to stop the terrible vibration the brakes sent through the entire car. It had been a long journey of bumps and break squeals, not to mention all of the horn blowing that the engineer had done at every stop or town. Moments of sleep had been few and far between. Her eyes felt heavy and her bones ached from sitting for so long.

  She grabbed her bag and made her way to the door and waited for the train to finally stop. The conductor opened the door and stepped aside. “Be careful, miss.”

  She blinked her eyes in the bright sunlight and took in her surroundings. Rolling hills in the distance were bright green with the beginning of new spring growth. A breeze rippled through the tree tops as the train slowed to a crawl and she held tight to the handrail just inside the door. She hoped it was warm out there.

  Stepping down from the train, careful not to step on her plain brown skirt, she stood on the station platform. Dust swirled in the breeze, as a small crowd pushed toward the train. A man bumped into her and didn’t even stop to apologize. Carrying her small valise, she made her way to the area where they were unloading more of the baggage. Her large, brown leather case would be among those being stacked on the boarded platform.

  After a moment, she spotted the dark object. She made her way through a pile of burlap bags and grabbed onto the handle of her case. Once she was free of the other bags, she stared around her. Surely J. was coming to meet her today. She wished she knew what J. stood for in Mr. Tatum’s name. It was a lazy way to sign a letter and she had expressed that opinion to her aunt who had only laughed.

  “I told you, the boy needs a woman to settle him down, make him do things proper. You’ll do the job, Megan,” she had guaranteed. “Besides, I can’t remember his name, either. I’m sure his aunt will find it funny,” she had giggled.

  Megan grimaced at the memory. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to ‘make a gentleman’ out of the nephew of her aunt’s friend. Their letters had been few, with little information, before the last one, asking her to come on out to Peach Grove so that they could meet. After a few weeks of getting acquainted, they would be married, if both were satisfied with the other.

  Megan suspected that this time of getting acquainted before the marriage was his aunt’s idea. No doubt she wanted to make sure that Megan was suitable for her nephew.

  She stood for almost half an hour, her tired legs aching, and watched as the station began to clear of the crowd. A shaggy, medium-sized dog ran past and nipped the heels of an elderly man with a cane. The gentleman turned and shook the stick at the dog, which hurriedly scampered away. Megan laughed and wondered who the little dog belonged to. He was thin and his hair looked stiff and grungy.

  With only a few people left on the platform, most getting back on the train, no one seemed interested in the rather small, dark-haired young woman standing alone on the platform, skirt and coat wrinkled from her long trip. Three days on a train had not been kind to her appearance, she feared.

  She watched as the last passenger boarded and the engineer blew his whistle. The train began to slowly roll past her. She stood, watching the faces in the windows. A few people waved at her and she waved back, wondering where they were going and hoping their reception at their destination was happier than her own. When the caboose was finally out of sight, she turned and stared around her. The station was nothing more than a large boarded platform with a small roofed shelter for protection from the elements.

  She picked up her heavy case and made her way to one of the rough benches under the cover. No need to stand out in the windy weather while she waited for J. She started to pull the few letters from her reticule and re-read them, so that maybe she could think of something to say when he arrived. But she changed her mind. She had all but memorized the few lines he had written, most concerning his horse. She assumed their first real conversation would be about the animal.

  The wind picked up and blew a cloud of dust across the platform. She covered her face with her handkerchief with one hand, and held her hat with the other. She waited for it to pass. When it was over, she checked her watch pin and saw that she had been sitting on the bench for almost two hours. She was beginning to suspect that J. had somehow forgotten that today was the day she was to arrive.

  Stuck in the middle of nowhere, her only hope was that the next train might let off a passenger that was local to the area. Perhaps they could give her a ride to the Tatum home. She realized that she wasn’t even sure if it was a ranch or farm. She shook her head. How had she ever agreed to this situation? Her fingers moved to the packet of money inside the pocket of her skirt. There was enough for a ticket back home. She had made sure of that before starting on this adventure.

  Something wet and cold touched her hand and she jumped. Her dark eyes met the sad, dark eyes of the little dog that the man with a cane had chased away, earlier.

  She felt the smile on her lips before she knew it was coming. “Well, hello there, you scruffy little thing.”

  The dog, his fur matted and muddy, sat and wagged his tail. After a moment, he offered a friendly ‘woof!’

  Megan laughed and rubbed the top of his dirty head. “I think maybe you are hungry.” As she said the words, she felt her own stomach growl. “It just so happens I have a sandwich left from the train. I would be glad to share some of it with you, boy.”

  After making her way to the water pump at the end of the platform, she returned and rummaged inside her small bag. After a moment, she pulled out a packet, wrapped in paper. Opening the wrapping, she tore off a third of the bread and meat and dropped it down to the dog. She watched as he all but inhaled his part of the sandwich. Despite her own hunger, she felt a pang of sympathy and offered him another bite.

  He took it gladly eyes hopeful for more.

  She took the last two bites as he watched. She wished she had saved the other sandwich and not eaten it on the train. There was no way to know how long she was going to be stuck here on the platform before J. arrived to take her to his home.

  Swallowing the last bit, she folded the paper and put it back in her bag. “How about a drink of water, boy?” She reached back in her bag and pulled out the cup that Aunt Agatha had packed for her train ride. She was glad she wouldn’t be forced to use the public cup that hung by the pump.

  ***

  After another hour of no company, other than the dog and the whistling wind, she was getting bored. There must be something to do. She let her eyes fall on the dog, now lying at her feet. He was such a sweet little dog. It was a shame there seemed no one to care for him. She smiled. “Hey Scruffy, how about a bath?”

  He sat up and wagged his tail.

  “Come on, Scruffy!”

  The little dog stood still as she pumped water i
nto the cup on a chain and poured it over him watching the muddy stream of water that washed off of his head and neck. She smiled. It was as if he was used to having an afternoon bath, as he stood, barely moving. But from the looks of him, this was the first clean water his fur had ever seen, save rain that fell from the sky. After rummaging in her case, she found her second best brush and decided to sacrifice it for the dog. After all, so far, he seemed the only one who cared about her in Peach Grove.

  Once all the mud was removed, she brushed out the long strands of hair and laughed as he ran around the platform, shaking and wiggling as the rivulets of water ran down his back. After a few moments, he stopped and ran back to her, his eyes always on her face.

  The sound of a train came from a distance and she felt her heart give a skip. Maybe someone that left the train could help her.

  She and Scruffy sat underneath the roof and waited as the train approached. “Looks like he’s going awfully fast, Scruffy.” The dog wagged his tail in agreement.

  It turned out there was a reason the train was going so fast. It didn’t stop at the platform! Megan stood and watched as it rushed on by, stealing any hope of help. She sighed loudly and stared up at the sky. This day was certainly not going as she imagined.

  She sat back down and let her hand rest on Scruffy’s head. What am I going to do, Lord? She sent up a silent prayer. Please, send someone to help me.

  ***

  It was three o’clock when her ears heard the sound of wheels on the rough, rocky road that ran beside the station. Scruffy stood up and barked as the wagon approached. Her hopes rose as the battered contraption came into sight. It appeared that an elderly man, a long white beard hanging on his chest, was driving the rickety wagon, slowly making its way to the station. Two large, dark mules looking as old and shabby as the man himself pulled the wagon toward the platform.

  The wagon pulled up and stopped. Scruffy barked, but stayed close to her side. The elderly gentleman nodded toward her and slowly climbed down from the wagon. He gave her and the dog a fleeting glance, headed toward the pile of neatly stacked boards at the end of the platform. Megan watched as he began loading the wood. It was obvious that he wasn’t there to pick her up. Once again, it occurred to her that J. must have forgotten that this was the day she was supposed to arrive.

  Swallowing hard, she approached the man as he carried another board to the wagon. “Excuse me, sir?”

  He pushed the board on top of the others already loaded and turned to her. He smiled and tipped the dark, tattered hat that he wore on his head. The long scruffy beard moved as he shook his head. “Can I help you, miss?”

  “Yes. My name is Megan Grimes.”

  He nodded and tipped the dirty felt hat again. “Hiram Barr. Nice to meet you.”

  Her natural instinct was to shy away from strangers, but the situation called for boldness. “It is nice to meet you, too sir.” At the moment it was more than just nice. He was hopefully going to be her rescuer from her situation. “I was supposed to be met by a Mr. Tatum. Something must have happened, as he is not here. Could I. . .” she thought of the extra money in her reticule. It was emergency money, in case she decided J. was not the man for her. She could buy a ticket back home and not cause the man any extra expense. She cleared her throat. “Is it possible that you could give me a ride to his home? I’m sure his aunt will be expecting me.”

  Uncertainty clouded his dark eyes. “Well, the Tatum place. . .you do mean Joshua Tatum, don’t you?”

  Joshua! At last she knew the name. “Yes, Joshua.”

  He nodded. “Sure. I’ll be glad to take you. I go right past their place. Course the wagon is a rough ride.”

  Gratitude poured through her. “That will be fine, sir. Thank you so much.”

  Not waiting for the man to finish with his loading, Megan loaded her bags and climbed on board, pulling Scruffy up with her. She settled him on the seat next to her. He wagged his tail and licked her cheek. She laughed. “You didn’t really think I was going to leave you, did you?”

  The ride was as rough as Mr. Barr had promised and the sound of the rickety wheels made any conversation impossible. Presently, he pulled the wagon to a stop and pointed up a narrow dirt drive, wagon wheel ruts with grass growing in between the tracks of the wheels.

  “Short walk from here up to the Tatum place. Little white house,” he added, waiting for her to jump down and grab her bags. The little dog stayed at her heels as Mr. Barr drove away

  She looked down at the shaggy animal. “Well, I guess this is it, little Scruffy. We are going to meet Joshua.”

  ***

  Mr. Barr had told her that it was only a short walk down the rocky road to the Tatum house, but it seemed as if she had been walking for hours. Her boots were rubbing on her feet and the heel of her left foot surely had a raw spot. She hoped that Joshua’s aunt would have some liniment for her wounds. She stopped and let her weight sink down on her traveling bag, barely giving a thought to the dirt that would stick to the bottom of the tapestry bag. Scruffy stopped as well and his dark eyes searched her face. “It’s going to be OK, boy, just a while longer and we’ll be down to the house.” Scruffy wagged his raggedy tail and remained seated.

  Letting her eyes wander, she noticed that the fields on each side of the road were planted in long, straight rows of small trees. The more she stared the more she was certain that the trees to the left of the pathway were apple, the trees on the right, peach. Her uncle Hiram had an apple tree farm way back in the hills of Tennessee. She had visited there with her mother when she was about eight years old. He had taken her to the orchards with him each morning and taught her how to care for the trees. She had loved the beautiful land and had cried when her mother insisted that they leave and go back to the city a few short years later. Not realizing how ill her mother was, at the time, it was the last time that she would visit with her uncle. Surely by now, he was gone and someone else cared for his large orchard.

  She blinked back to reality and let her glance fall on the little dog at her feet. “I guess we’d best get going again, boy. Maybe they’ll be expecting me, after all, and his aunt will have something good for us to eat.” Us. Joshua and his aunt might not be as excited about Scruffy as she was. In fact, after only a few hours, it seemed as if she had had the pup for years. She smiled down at his earnest little face. “Don’t worry, Scruffy, everything will work out.”

  As they started walking again, a slight breeze stirred the air and dried the perspiration on her brow. A short walk, Mr. Barr had said. Well, so far, it had seemed like several short walks. As they rounded the next curve, the view of a small white farmhouse caught her eyes. At last!

  “Come on, Scruffy!”

  Now the walk seemed ever shorter as they approached the house. Megan could see a woman at the side of the house, removing laundry from a line. With her back to them, the woman was not aware that they were approaching. Megan felt her stomach begin to churn. As much as she had looked forward to getting to the house, now she felt the urge to turn and run back the other way. She had money in her reticule for a return ticket. She didn’t have to go through with this arrangement. After all, she told herself, if Joshua was really interested in her, he would have met her at the station.

  She stopped and stared. The little dog stopped as well. She glanced down at him. “I guess this is it, boy.”

  The woman turned and looked in their direction. Megan swallowed hard and forced a smile to her lips, though they were still a bit far for the woman to see her expression. “It would be best to put on our sweetest faces, Scruffy,” she smiled down at the little dog. Right now, he was her only friend in this new world, but she hoped that the woman just ahead of them would soon become a person she could love and trust.

  At this point, the woman had set the wicker basket full of clean laundry down to the ground and was standing, watching as Megan and Scruffy approached.

  Scruffy let out a bark of greeting and Megan saw a smile cross the woman’s
face.

  As they walked closer, the woman waved and spoke. “Good afternoon, miss.”

  Now only a few feet away from the woman, Megan set her bag on the ground. “Good afternoon to you, as well. I’m Megan. I guess you and Joshua got the days mixed up. Or did you even get my letter?” She asked, suddenly aware of the puzzled expression on her face.

  “Letter?”

  Her heart plummeted. This was going to be embarrassing. It hadn’t occurred to her that her letter might not have arrived. She might as well start at the beginning. “I suppose it got lost in the mail. I’m so sorry if this is an inconvenient time for me to show up. Maybe I should have waited for Joshua’s reply.” She swallowed hard and waited for the woman to reply.

  A smile broke over the older woman’s pretty face. “Today is perfect.”

  ***

  Stepping out of the breezy air, Megan was pleased to see how pretty the inside of the house was decorated. Aunt Polly had a way with color, from the pretty flowered carpets to the red-checked curtains and tablecloths.

  “Now, you just set your bag down right there and I’ll get you a nice cup of coffee and a piece of this cake I just baked today. It will perk you right up,” she said, taking a large white mug from the hooks that ran over the long table against the wall. “And we’ve got plenty of cream and sugar, if you’d like?”

  Megan nodded. “That would be wonderful. I think I’m a little bit tired from my walk.”

  Aunt Polly set the mug of steaming liquid on the table in front of Megan. “Mr. Barr should be ashamed, making a pretty young thing like you walk all that way.”

  Megan took a sip and then shook her head. “Oh, no, I’m fine. I was grateful for the ride.” She felt her cheeks warm. Her words sounded as if she was blaming Joshua for not meeting her.