Jedadiah's Mail Order Bride Read Free Page B

when she caught her first glimpse of him as he alighted from the train.  He still cut quite a figure in his blue uniform, but it was not the bright blue it was when he left.  The one he wore today was faded and worn.
     
    Caleb had changed.  His face and frame was thin, gaunt really.  The sadness in his eyes hinted at some of the horrors of war they witnessed.  Caleb was unhurt, but he had lost the spring in his step.  He seemed much older than his real age.  Sarah resolved then and there, she was going to reverse their roles.  She would be his protector against those that would jeer and taunt these soldiers.
     
    He hugged his mother and father, and said hello to the Pierces.  Impulsively Sarah threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely.  "I've missed you, Caleb.  Really missed you," she said.  Her two younger sisters giggled at this public display of affection.  It was so unlike their sister to act this way.
     
    Caleb only had five days at home before it was time to leave for the battlefields again.  Sarah was his constant companion.  They spent a good bit of time on the swings on the front porch of one home or the other.  The weather was chilly but they seemed to take no notice of it.  On his last night home, they went for a walk under the full moon.  "Caleb, I don't want you to go.  I'm afraid you might not come back and I don't think I could stand it."
     
    "I'll be okay and I'll be careful, I promise.  Sarah, when I come back, I want to marry you.  I am five years older than you, but I want you to be my wife.  Will you marry me?"
     
    "I have loved you since I was thirteen but I didn't know you felt the same way about me.  You never said anything.  Of course I'll marry you.  Can we tell Ma and Pa or do you want to keep it a secret?"
     
    "I don't want to keep it a secret.  I want everyone to know you're my girl."  He pulled her close and started to kiss her cheek but she turned her head slightly and he kissed her full on her mouth.  Her lips felt invitingly warm and soft.  She parted them slightly and allowed him entry.  This was not their first kiss during the past week, but it was by far the most passionate.  A slight sound escaped her throat, a deep sound.
     
    She pulled back from the kiss, her cheeks flush from the excitement of the kiss but more from the passion it brought forth.  "Let's go tell everyone," she said, somewhat short of breath.
     
    Hand in hand they went into the house.  "Mrs. Harding, Mr. Harding, I've just asked Sarah to marry me when I come back from the war.  We love each other very much and I want her to be my wife."
     
    "But she's only 15, and you're so young too.  You're both too young to be thinking about being married," said Mrs. Harding.
     
    Her husband said, "Caleb, you are both young, but I suspect you have aged far beyond your years during the war.  I respect what you're saying and I say, let's wait until the war is over and we'll talk again."
     
    "I won't change, Father.  I've loved Caleb since I was thirteen.  Girls my age get married all of the time and I want to be Caleb's wife.  We're going to tell his parents now.  We were meant to be together.  I just know it."
     
    To the Pierce family, Sarah was like their daughter.  She had been in and out of their house all of her life.  Still, their reaction was pretty much the same as the Harding's.  They also thought both were too young to be talking about marriage.
     
    The next morning was cold and crystal clear when the Pierce family and the Harding family went to see Caleb off.  He hugged his parents, and shook Mr. Harding's hand and he hugged Mrs. Harding.  He hugged and kissed Sarah with a lingering passion, finally breaking it off when Mr. Harding coughed for the second time.  Placing both hands on his shoulders, Sarah said fiercely, "Now you come back to me Caleb Pierce.  You come back to me, you hear?"
     
    The train whistle sounded.  There was a rush of steam from