Heart's Journey
By Linda Hoover
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Chapter One
Boston
June, 1880
“Good morning, Mrs. Anderson.” Her husband’s husky voice made
Julia smile.
Yesterday hadn’t been a dream. After several months of frus‐
trating uncertainty and a kidnapping, this handsome man was her
husband. She turned toward Jacob. He sat on a chair nearby, dressed
and ready for the day. If someone had tried to tell her, her heart
could contain this much love and happiness, she wouldn’t have
believed them.
He stood and took her hand. “Time to get up. We have a big day
ahead.”
Julia allowed him to assist her out of bed, hurried into her dress
and then the two of them went down to the hotel dining room.
After their food arrived, Julia said, “I forgot to ask about my trunks,
yesterday. I assume they all got to the station?”
Jacob hesitated. “Yes, they’re all there.”
His tone sounded odd. “What’s wrong?”
He avoided her eyes. “Nothing’s wrong. I saw all of them.”
“Oh, no. Did I have too many?” Had she caused him extra
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“Oh, no. Did I have too many?” Had she caused him extra
trouble already?
He laid down his fork and rested his gaze on her. “Well, I
thought you might have two. I didn’t expect six. One of them felt
like it was full of bricks.”
“Books.” She squeezed her clasped hands in her lap. “I wanted
to bring some of them with me. I love to read, and I’ll want to teach
our children.”
His eyes widened. “You have enough books to !ll a trunk?”
“Some are textbooks and some are literature. You don’t mind,
do you? I had twelve trunks to begin with and narrowed it down to
six.” She twisted her pearl ring and searched his eyes for any sign he
might be upset with her.
He stared at her for a moment then laughed. “It’s !ne. I’m sure
that’s not the last time I’ll be surprised.”
Julia released a sigh of relief. They came from di"erent worlds,
so they were bound to surprise each other from time to time.
After breakfast, they went to their room for their things and
Julia took one last look in the mirror. “Are you sure I look all right?”
She didn’t feel as well put together without her maid’s help. She
patted a few stray curls into place. It was up, but that’s all she
could say.
Jacob gave her a hug. “You’re beautiful.”
When they got to the station, Jacob checked to make sure their
baggage had been loaded, then they boarded the train. This would
be the longest trip Julia had ever taken. She sat on the slightly cush‐
ioned leather seat and knew she’d be glad when the trip ended. Julia
perused the schedule again. They’d stop for lunch, then spend the
night in a hotel.
As the train left the station, she silently bid Boston farewell.
She’d miss her friends and family, and all that was Boston, but had
no regret, only excitement.
She watched, fascinated, as they passed small towns and farms
with their red barns and white houses. Fields were various shades of
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green or gold. Would their farm look like these? Turning to Jacob,
she asked, “What does Iowa look like?”
“I only know what Henry said in his letters. The Mississippi
River runs along the east side of the state, and there are sawmills
along the river. So, there must be a lot of trees. But there’s a lot of
farm land too, and he said the soil is so rich you can grow anything.”
“And his farm is a success?”
Jacob grinned.“He certainly seems satis!ed, which is why I
decided to go.”
Her cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry. That was a silly question.”
He clasped her hand. “I understand that you’ll have a lot of
questions. Don’t be afraid to ask.”
Good to know. “Okay, here’s another one. Will I be able to have
"owers?”
A smile lit his face. “You can have as many "owers as you want.
You might want to plant a few vegetables, though, since we can’t eat
"owers.”
She twisted her ring while she thought about that bit of news.
“Don’t you think there will be a town nearby, where we can buy
what we need? I’m not sure I’ll be able to grow food.”
“If you can grow "owers, you can grow vegetables,” he said,
laughing. “Davenport is the city on the Iowa side of the Mississippi
where the train crosses. Henry’s farm isn’t too far from there. I’m
sure he’ll be able to tell us about the area. And no matter where we
live, a town should be within driving distance. Towns and farmers
depend on each other.”
Her tense muscles relaxed a little, but she had a feeling that
growing things they’d depend on for food would be harder than he
let on. Thank goodness they’d be close to a town.
After lunch, Julia had a hard time keeping her eyes open. The
rhythmic clicking of the train wheels brought on one yawn after
another, until she lay her head on Jacob’s shoulder. It seemed she’d
just closed her eyes when the train whistle blew, and the wheels
squealed against the rails. She straightened and reached up to make
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sure her hat hadn’t slid sideways. “I can’t believe I slept all that
time.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jacob assisted her in gathering their
things. “You must have needed it. I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
After a good meal and a night of rest, Julia felt ready for another
day on the rails. They boarded the train, along with some new
passengers, and were soon on their way again. All the seats were
occupied and it didn’t take long for the sun shining in the windows
to raise the temperature in the car.
About half way through the morning, children began to
complain and a baby cried. Jacob opened the window beside her
while the other passengers did the same. Unfortunately, they didn’t
open far enough to give them much relief from the heat and odor of
so many bodies con!ned in one space.
Julia took out her handkerchief and dabbed the perspiration
from her face. A dull ache settled in her temples, but she deter‐
mined not to say anything. Other than not having her maid,
Millie, she considered this her first test of inconvenience. If she
couldn’t survive something as minor as a hot, smelly, overcrowded, noisy train ride, she might as well take the next train
back.
She searched in the bag she’d carried on for her fan. Among the
items, she found Godey’s Lady’s magazine. That would work, but it
soon became obvious she was only moving hot air around. Instead,
she #ipped through the magazine and came to a section with house
plans. “Look at these, Jacob. Aren’t they cute little houses?”
He took the magazine and looked over the plans. “You’re right.
They’re little. I want you to have a bigger house than that.”
Julia continued turning the pages until she came to something
else that caught her attention. “We’ll have a porch on our house,
won’t we?”
“We will if you want one. Why do you ask?”
She pointed at the page. “I have to have one of these.”
He gazed at a picture of a swing for two, with a #owered cush‐
ion, hanging on a porch surrounded by potted plants. “I don’t
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know if people actually use those things, but if you want one, it’ll be
one of the !rst things we get.” He smiled and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Can you imagine
sitting on a swing in the cool of the evening, with a glass of cold
lemonade?”
“Sounds great. I wouldn’t mind some of that cold lemonade
right now.”
She turned to Jacob, plans bubbling up inside her. “I want to
have lots of "owers close to the house, so we can see them and smell
them whenever we sit outside. As soon as we have an address I’m
going to subscribe to several publications. They have lots of useful
ideas.”
They passed the rest of their morning talking about what the
perfect house would be like.
Fortunately, the family with the crying baby didn’t get back on
after the lunch stop and Julia went back to enjoying the scenery
outside the window. Farms, !elds, streams and cows. She didn’t
want to say anything, but the number of towns they passed were
getting fewer and farther between. If this pattern continued, there
would be only the one city Jacob told her about in the whole state
of Iowa. Hopefully, they wouldn’t live too far from there.
To distract herself from her worrisome thoughts, she took A
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James from her bag and read until their
supper stop. When they got there, her sti# legs and back made it
di$cult to stand and walk down the aisle.
Jacob helped her to the platform. “Everything all right?”
“My body is protesting being in one position so long. Let’s take
a walk after dinner.”
After supper they strolled arm in arm to an area where they
could look out over Lake Erie. A strong, cool, !shy smelling breeze
blew in from the lake while noisy seagulls circled overhead, then
settled on the shore. Seeing the water brought a twinge to Julia’s
heart. “This makes me think of the ocean.”
Jacob put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Will
you miss it?”
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She thought a minute. “I don’t know yet. I haven’t been gone
long enough.”
“I hope we’ll have a creek or pond on our land. That way we can
get wet in the summer and skate in the winter.”
Julia turned to him with a smile. “I hope so, too. I remembered
my skates.”
“My guess is, you remembered everything.” He gave her a
playful nudge with his elbow.
She frowned. “I had the rest of my life to pack for.”
He winked. “I’m teasing. It’ll be interesting to see what one
person can !nd to !ll six trunks.”
“Excuse me. I don’t mean to bother you, but I overheard some
of your conversation. Are you, by any chance, from Boston?”
They both turned and Julia’s eyes widened when she took in a
small elderly woman with white hair, kind eyes, and rosy cheeks.
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I’ve just been there visiting my nephew’s family. I enjoyed
seeing the ocean, and Bostonians have a bit of an accent.”
“Are you traveling alone?” Jacob asked.
“My husband passed away a few years ago, so if I want to go, I go
alone. I’m never truly by myself, though. God is with me. I take
comfort in that.”
“You’re welcome to join us.” Jacob put his hand on his chest then
gestured toward Julia. “I’m Jacob Anderson and this is my bride, Julia.”
“I’m Mable Jones. It’s very nice to meet you. So, you’re newly‐
weds. How far west do you intend to go?”
Julia linked her arm with her husband’s. “Jacob has heard
wonderful things about Iowa. We plan to settle there.”
Mable shook her head. “Can’t say I know much about it, but I
wish you luck. I’m from Chicago, so if the train’s on schedule, I’ll
be home tomorrow night.”
“I’m sure you’ll be glad.” Julia couldn’t help thinking, if the ride
was uncomfortable for her, it must be even more so for someone of
Mrs. Jones’s age.
“The train is a better way to travel than the stage coach, but this 6
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“The train is a better way to travel than the stage coach, but this
old body will be glad when the trip is over. I never regret the time
spent, though. I always meet interesting people and something tells
me you two have an interesting story.”
Jacob and Julia gazed at each other and smiled. “That would be
one way to put it,” Jacob said.
“I’d love to hear it, if you don’t mind telling me. It’ll make the
time go faster tomorrow.”
“All right,” Julia said. “We’ll plan on it.”
The next morning, Jacob and Julia sat in a seat facing Mable. Julia
started their story.
“I met Jacob in February. On my arrival home later that day,
Mother informed me my father had made a betrothal agreement
with Lucien, a man I’d never choose for myself.” She made a
slashing motion with her hand. “Even though Jacob wasn’t in one
of Boston’s old families, my heart urged me to get to know him. I’d
hoped to be able to change Papa’s mind about Lucien and get him
to accept Jacob.” Julia put her hand on his arm.
“My oldest sister, Katherine, is a believer. Because of what she
shared with us,” Julia slid her arm around Jacob’s, “we made the
decision to invite God into our hearts and pray for his will in our
lives. Jacob wanted to go to Iowa, but didn’t have the money. I
needed to get rid of Lucien and convince Papa that Jacob would be
the best choice. We had some discouraging times.”
Jacob jumped in. “Like during the month I had to spend in
New York and we didn’t hear from each other, because her mother
didn’t give Julia my letters.”
Julia nodded. “And, while he was gone, my parents held the
dinner announcing my engagement. That’s when Lucien told me
our marriage would protect my family from scandal. Not long after
that I found out it was actually Lucien blackmailing my father.” She
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shook her head. “A lot of drama happened, but in the end Jacob and
I married a few days ago.”
Mable’s eyes twinkled. “Sounds like you left out a lot of details.
I’d like to hear about the drama at the end.”
Julia turned to Jacob and he smiled. “We do have a lot of time
ahead of us. And there aren’t many couples who have a kidnapping
as part of their history.”