The Bride’s Secret_A Western Romance Story Read online

  Ryan snorted, though he did lean over and grab his boots from the rack. He pulled them on and pushed his jeans down over them. “All right, Adam. I’m gonna trust you. I hope I’m not going into an ambush.”

  “You aren’t. I can guarantee that. You won’t be hurt.”

  Ryan stopped Adam from pushing open the door. He got in front of him and put a finger over his mouth to indicate Adam needed to stay quiet. Adam nodded. Ryan turned the latch and pushed the door open, sticking his head out to look around the lot. Seeing no one, he pulled back in the trailer and nodded. “Just be quiet, okay? I hope your horse hasn’t drawn Max’s attention.”

  “Don’t you think he would have come over if he thought something was going down?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know how violent Max is. I’ve seen him get in a few bar fights but that’s about it. I see him handling guns all the time, but I’ve never seen him shoot. So I’m not sure about that.”

  “Is he the one that stabbed the man behind the saloon?”

  Ryan stared up at him. “You really do know everything, don’t you?”

  Adam didn’t smile. He didn’t nod. He just said, “I don’t know your version of events.”

  Ryan grunted. “Another first time for me. You are accomplishing a lot today, Adam. I’ll have to tell your wife how great you are.”

  This time Adam smiled. “She already knows.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  EMILY AND RACHEL HEAD TO TOWN

  EMILY AND RACHEL HEAD TO TOWN

  “Don’t forget your boots, Emily,” Rachel said, looking back toward the front door as Emily came out.

  “Oh, yes, I don’t want to forget them.” Emily went back inside the house to retrieve her boots. She was back out within seconds, closing the door behind her. She smiled as she got up in the buggy to go to town. “This is a nice little buggy you have. I haven’t seen anything like this one before.”

  “Oh, Daryl is quite the handyman.”

  Emily looked surprised. “Did he build this?”

  Rachel smiled without saying anything. Emily looked behind her at the design of the little vehicle. “I love this. Would he build me one?”

  Rachel laughed. “That’s a question you have to ask him. He probably would. It wouldn’t look the same, I’m sure. He wouldn’t want us to have matching buggies, now would he?”

  Emily laughed with her. “Your husband sounds like a delightful man. Where is he?”

  “I’m sure he’s still out at the mill. He spends a lot of time there, working with the wood. It’s his passion.”

  “Would I need to have money? For supplies and labor?”

  Rachel shook her head. “No. Daryl has a lot of his own money. He doesn’t spend it on himself.”

  “So we are going to see your brother?”

  “Yes. He will know what to do.”

  “I hope so. I don’t even know what to do at this point.”

  Rachel got the two horses moving by snapping the reins and clucking her tongue at them. They pulled off and she turned the buggy to go down the small road by her house that would take them to Wickenburg.

  “It’s really not a far ride,” Rachel said. “It seems like it’s a lot longer when you’re walking. I enjoy the walk but sometimes it’s necessary to ride. If your feet weren’t sore, we wouldn’t take the buggy.”

  “We can still enjoy the afternoon riding. I’ve done enough walking for today, I think.”

  “Did your rodeo owner shut the rodeo down for today?”

  “I doubt he put on any shows. Too much going on. The citizens of Wickenburg are probably wondering what’s going on now.”

  “After all the excitement of the rodeo coming to town and the big party that was thrown the day before, I’m sure they are wondering something.”

  “I wonder how many people are out looking for me.” Rachel looked at the woman. Her voice sounded timid. She looked nervous and worried. Rachel put her hand on Emily’s leg and squeezed it before patting it.

  “It’s going to be okay. When they see you are safe, they will be so happy to see you, they’ll forget about the fact that you took off and they didn’t know where you went. I made you stay a little longer, didn’t I? You can blame me. I don’t mind.”

  “I don’t want to blame you, Rachel. You have been so kind to me today. How could I do something like that to you?”

  Rachel laughed. “Oh trust me, I don’t mind.”

  They were quiet as the buggy rolled down a small hill. They came to the end of the road and Rachel had to turn left or right. She pulled on the reins so that the horses would turn to the right. “If you go that way,” she pointed. “It will take you to Louisville. If you go this way, you go to Wickenburg. And look, there’s the road to the main street right there.”

  “So if you walk this way through the woods, you’ll come out on this road?”

  “That’s right. Then you take that one there in the middle and go straight to Main Street in Wickenburg.”

  Emily gazed at the back of the buildings as she passed. She looked to her right and moved her eyes over the woods she had been wandering through earlier in the day.

  Coming to Wickenburg had changed her life. It wasn’t just seeing Sam and falling for him so quickly. She was anxious to see where that road would take her. However, it was more than just finding a man who was interested in her that she could share her passion with. It was the whole town. Everyone seemed to be so in sync. Everyone wanted to help. They played their own part in society, provided what they needed to provide, and did their part.

  As they got closer to the road, she felt her heart starting to pound. Her hands were shaking so she clasped them together and put them in her lap. She didn’t know what she was going into. It could be a bad situation, if Max or Ryan were in town. She hoped Ryan was okay. Her last conversation with him was the argument that drove her away from the trailer.

  She wished she didn’t ever have to go back to that trailer. She would have been content to stay in a wooden box for the rest of her life than have to go back to that trailer.

  She shuddered, thinking about it. She pictured it in her mind and felt disgusted. There was no way she could go back to that.

  Rachel glanced at her. “Are you all right, dear?”

  Emily didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t all right.

  “I… I’m just scared, Rachel. I don’t know what’s going on in town. Everyone has probably been looking for me. Ryan is angry. It’s… I’m just scared.”

  Rachel patted her leg again and spoke comfortingly. “Don’t be scared. We will protect you. Don’t you worry now.”

  “I can’t help it. Things have been so terrible for so long.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to keep living this way.”

  “I understand.” Rachel thought for a moment. “Or maybe I should say I sympathize. I haven’t been through any trauma like you have. And my heart goes out to you, dear.”

  Emily smiled at her. “Thank you, Rachel. You are such a kind woman.”

  Rachel shook her head. “It’s all Him.” She pointed to the sky.

  Emily’s smile widened and she glanced upwards.

  Rachel turned the horses to go down the main street, heading toward the Horse N Saddle. When she pulled the buggy up in front of it and stopped, Emily looked at her.

  “Stopping to get a drink first?” She teased. Rachel looked at her and laughed.

  “No, silly girl. This is my brother’s saloon.”

  Emily’s eyes opened and she gasped. Rachel stared at her.

  “What?”

  “Your brother is Sam? I should have known. You look alike.”

  “We do share some features. So you’ve met my brother. You should already know then, we don’t let anyone down. How did you meet him?”

  Emily’s smile reached her eyes. “That’s the man I’ve been telling you about.”

  Rachel looked shocked. Her face turned to delight and she giggled in a hig
h pitched tone. “What do you know? We might be sisters in the future!”

  Emily laughed, a feeling of delight filling her, despite the current circumstances.

  “Rachel!” Both women turned hearing Sam’s voice calling to them. He was staring at them in stunned disbelief. “You found her!”

  Sam, the sheriff, and Mrs. Whittaker were approaching on horseback. Emily’s mother looked like she was seeing an angel.

  “Emily!” she called out, riding up to the buggy and jumping down. Emily met her halfway and they hugged each other tight. “Everyone is looking for you! I am so glad you are safe! My girl, my girl!”

  Emily giggled. “Oh, Ma, I was never in harm’s way.”

  Her mother pulled back and looked in her daughter’s eyes. “You, my girl, are always in harm’s way, as far as I’m concerned. I’m your Momma!”

  “I know, I know.”

  Rachel had gotten down from the buggy when Emily did. She approached her brother with a big smile on her face. “I hear you’ve been making new friends, my brother. How are you today?”

  She felt his love for her when he put his arms around her and hugged her tight. “I’m doing well, Rache. How are you?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Where did you find our lost sharp shooter?”

  Rachel laughed. “She was at my house the whole time. We had tea and cookies and we sat on the hammocks outside and talked.”

  “You didn’t.” He turned to look at Emily, shaking his head. “Everyone has been very worried about her.”

  “There’s no need to worry about me, Sam,” Emily said, breaking away from her mother to go to him. “I was only gone for about four hours. Did you think I’d fallen down a ravine like Daryl?”

  Sam chuckled, shrugging. “I thought you would be okay. But I can’t know until I see you, right?”

  “Yes, you are right about that.” She came up to him and looked in his eyes. He scanned her pretty face, resisting the urge to grab her up and give her a long kiss. He would reserve that for when they were alone and this crisis was over.

  “So are there men in the woods looking for me?”

  Sam nodded. “Mark Anderson and some of the men from the rodeo. I don’t know them. Only Jack.”

  “Jack is a good guy.”

  “Yes, he is,” Mrs. Whittaker spoke up. She looked at Sam with curious eyes. “Now that Emily is safe, what are we going to do about Max?”

  Sam thought about it for a moment. It was good that Emily was safe. She could be put in a place where no harm would come to her and her mother, should a fight break out in the streets.

  “What’s going on?” Emily asked, looking from her mother to Sam. “You know about the problems we are having with Max?”

  Sam nodded. “Yes. Your mother filled us in. And there’s a man in town who was hunting your family for the bounty. But he’s been hunting you for two years, watching your every move, and has come to realize that the predicament Ryan is in is not his fault. Right now, let’s go to the hotel and sit in the lobby and talk. We need to come up with a plan.” He looked down at Emily. “Would you like to walk there with me?”

  “I don’t know if I can make it that far,” she teased. The hotel was only four buildings from the Horse N Saddle.

  “Well, you did walk quite a ways earlier,” Sam said. He suddenly reached down and swooped her up in his arms. She cried out, laughing.

  “You don’t have to carry me! I really can walk.”

  Sam shook his head and started out toward the hotel. “You walked too far. Time for you to rest.”

  “Oh, Sam!” She continued to laugh, shaking her head. However, she didn’t protest any more. She wanted him to carry her. It brought her extremely close to him.

  He stopped at the door and she reached down to open it. The door swung open, the bell tinkling above their heads and he walked through the door with her, not putting her down until he could drop her gently to the couch in the lobby.

  “There you go,” he said. Rachel, her mother, and the sheriff came in, all smiles.

  Elizabeth was standing at the reception desk, watching them with a smile on her face. She giggled and shook her head.

  “Oh, Mr. O’Connell, you are a strange man.”

  Sam turned to look at her with an amused look. “Wouldn’t you like for Tom to do that for you?”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Oh yes. When we get married, he will definitely be doing that for me. All the time.”

  Sam sat next to Emily and watched his sister and the others take seats around the room.

  “Right now,” Sam said to Emily. “Adam Collins is at the rodeo site, talking to your brother. We are hoping he will come back with Adam and we can all figure out what to do about Max. About two hours ago, a young woman was…”

  He stopped, glancing up past Emily. She turned her head to see Andrew coming down the stairs with luggage in his hands. His face was still red and his forehead wrinkled with despair. He looked at them.

  “I’m leaving,” he said. He put his bags down and approached the couch. He nodded at Sam but looked at Emily. “I’ve been following your family for a long time, Emily. You deserve your freedom. Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t know your brother was innocent. I… I thought he might be, which is why I never tried to capture him. I thought something else was going on. But now, I have to return home to take my wife to her family.”

  Sam stood up and took a few steps, holding out his hand for Andrew to shake. “You don’t know what a miracle you have been to us, Andrew. Thank you so much for your help.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Andrew took Sam’s hand and shook it. “Please tell everyone in town that I’ve spoken to I give them my regards and thank them for being so hospitable.”

  “Will do. You take care of yourself.”

  Andrew nodded. He touched the tip of his hat to the ladies and nodded to the sheriff. He looked around at them all one last time. “Take care of yourselves. You are all wonderful people.”

  He retrieved his bags, turned to the door and went through it without another word. They heard him greeting someone as he went out. He held the door open. Adam and Ryan passed him, entering the hotel.

  Once inside, the two men stopped and stared. They looked at each other.

  “What’s going on?” Ryan asked. He went to his mother. “Ma? What’s going on?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  A SECOND MURDER

  A SECOND MURDER

  Ryan sat down next to his mother, ignoring everyone else, except his sister. He didn’t look at Sam. “Ma, are you all right?”

  Adam held his hat in his hand and went to stand at the bottom of the stairs, since all the chairs were taken. He looked at the group of people and at Sam. He decided to let Sam take the reins on this one. The big Irishman certainly seemed determined. That’s what love did to a man. Adam smiled.

  Mrs. Whittaker put one hand on Ryan’s cheek and looked into his eyes. “My boy. These people are going to help us. They know you didn’t kill that man.” She looked at the others in the room. “Isn’t that right?”

  “That’s right,” Sam spoke up. He leaned forward to get Ryan’s attention. The younger man looked at him through apprehensive eyes. “Listen, you are not to blame for this. We will take care of this situation.”

  “I don’t need your help,” Ryan spat out. Mrs. Whittaker clucked her tongue at him.

  “Stop that, Ryan. Be nice.”

  “But, Ma!”

  “But what?” Mrs. Whittaker looked frustrated now. She frowned at her son. “Sam is a very good man. If he chooses to court Emily, so be it. He owns a business and a home. He will take care of her. He wants to get you out of this mess.”

  “So he can take her away.” Ryan was almost sulking, looking down at the floor, his face red.

  “I don’t have to take her away,” Sam said. “You can all stay here. This town will welcome you.”

  Ryan looked at him, still anxious. He turned his
eyes to the sheriff. “What are you going to do with me?”

  The sheriff lifted his eyebrows. “I don’t have an arrest warrant for you, son. For all we know, the murder could have already been solved by their local police. I have no warrant for you, so I won’t be touching you. However, I will be having a nice, long chat with this Max character. He sounds like a terrible man.”

  Emily nodded. “Oh, he is. You wouldn’t like him.”

  The sheriff laughed. “It certainly doesn’t sound like I would. He won’t fit in here in Wickenburg like the three of you.”

  Emily looked at her mother, who was smiling for the first time a long time. “Ma, you look great!” She said. “What happened?”

  Everyone in the room laughed when Rachel gasped and put her hand over her mouth to hide the smile.

  Even Mrs. Whittaker was laughing while Emily colored a deep red. “I… I didn’t mean it like that, ma. You know I didn’t.”

  Mrs. Whittaker was still laughing when she answered, “I know you didn’t. If you must know, I saw you come out of the woods after Sam. I watched you watching him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on your face. It gave me hope. I really felt if we found someone to help us, we could get away from Max. And here it has happened.”

  “I want to bring something to your attention.” Sam stood up to get everyone’s attention. “Ryan, I know you are anxious to have your name cleared. And we believe it was Max who set you up in the first place.”

  “You think Max is the one who stabbed that man?” Sam could tell by Ryan’s response the young man had listened to his mother. His attitude toward Sam was easing up. He was glad. Sam had every intention of asking Emily to marry him. He didn’t care if they had just met the day before. They would court for six months or a year and then they would marry. He glanced at her in his thoughts. He had no doubt she would say yes.

  “I do. We all do. And there’s something else that’s happened that might have something to do with him.”