The Bride’s Secret_A Western Romance Story Page 6

  “I’ll put some in a small container for you, if you want to take some home to your wife. I can also wrap it in parchment paper. Do you think she’ll like that?”

  Andrew nodded. “I do. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  JUST A BEAUTIFUL RODEO PERFORMER

  JUST A BEAUTIFUL RODEO PERFORMER

  That evening, after the second show, Sam was behind the bar when several of the rodeo performers came in. They filled up two of the tables. He watched Allan go over to the tables and watched the men’s faces as they ordered their beer, whiskey, or rum. He had them all and a variety of other liquors that were never asked for, like Vodka. The bottle of Vodka on the shelf behind him had been there for almost a year without being touched.

  The saloon was soon filled with men from the rodeo and from the town of Wickenburg. Adam and Mark returned after the sun was too low for them to see to work on the fence.

  Allan and Sam were soon busily cooking food, serving drinks, and taking care of customers. The level of volume in the room rose to a high pitch.

  Sam stood behind the counter, looking at the full tables and the line of men sitting at the bar. It was going to be a profitable night. It was so busy that he didn’t have time to think about Emily. She crossed his mind every now and then, but he was immediately called to do a task for a customer or to make a new order.

  It wasn’t until around nine o’clock that Sam saw the one person he hoped wouldn’t come to the Horse N Saddle. Ryan Whittaker walked through the door, pushing both doors so they swung wide. His eyes settled on Sam behind the counter as soon as he came in. He stopped on the other side of the doors, staring at Sam for a moment before crossing the room and taking one of the empty stools.

  “I’ll have a beer,” he said in an angry tone that didn’t match his words. Sam gave him a direct look before turning to fill a mug with beer from the barrel behind him. When he turned his back, he lifted his eyes and watched Ryan in the mirror. He couldn’t be certain that Ryan wasn’t a violent man. Just because Emily didn’t see him as one didn’t mean he wasn’t one. He was probably capable of much more harm than his sister thought. However, Ryan didn’t do anything but stare at the back of Sam’s head. He didn’t even move his eyes to see that Sam was watching him. Sam turned back around and slid the beer mug over the counter to him.

  “You startin’ a tab?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah,” Ryan replied, grumbling in a low voice after Sam turned away.

  Adam, who happened to be sitting next to Ryan, turned to him.

  “You have a problem, friend?”

  Ryan looked at him, frowning. “What’s it to you?”

  “I’m Adam Collins.” He held out his hand for Ryan to shake. Ryan looked at it for a second before taking it and pumping his hand up and down.

  “Ryan Whittaker.”

  “So tell me, Ryan. You’re having a problem? I might be able to help. I’m known for helping people in need. Isn’t that right, Sam?”

  Sam raised one eyebrow, running a towel through a clean empty glass. He moved his eyes from Adam to Ryan. “I don’t think this is something you can help with, Adam.”

  Adam looked confused. “No?”

  “No.” Sam shook his head and put the glass upside down on the shelf below the counter. “He’s angry with me for talking to his sister earlier.”

  “Emily,” Adam said. Sam nodded to confirm. Adam looked back at Ryan. “I should have recognized you. What an excellent performance this morning by you and your sister.”

  Ryan snorted, taking a long drink of the beer before slamming it down on the counter. “It wasn’t one of the best. Emily kept messing up. It was frustrating for me.”

  “She didn’t miss the target even once,” Adam said in the young woman’s defense.

  Ryan shook his head. “And it’s a good thing she didn’t. She was having a lot of trouble concentrating. I’ve never seen her like that before.”

  “Why do you think she was like that?” Adam asked, knowing that Sam had unwittingly distracted her with his presence but not knowing if her brother was aware of that. Ryan confirmed it when he spoke angrily.

  “Yes, I know why! It was because of him!” He lifted the mug and gestured toward Sam, making the liquid in the mug slosh from one side to the other, threatening to spill over.

  Adam looked over at Sam. “Is this true?” He was grinning. Sam was having a hard time not catching his amusement. He looked back at Ryan. “Look, there was not a way Sam could have known your sister would react like that. Why do you think he didn’t go to the second showing? How was she then?”

  Ryan sulked over his beer, frowning deep. “She was perfect.”

  “Of course, she was,” Adam slapped Ryan on the shoulder. “He stayed here because he didn’t want to ruin your performances. He didn’t want her messing up.”

  “I don’t want him around my Em.” Ryan said, lifting the glass and tossing back the second half of the mug in only a few seconds. He slammed it down again and slid it over the counter toward Allan, who had switched sides of the bar with Sam. The big Irishman wanted nothing to do with Ryan’s drama.

  Allan refilled the mug and set it down on the counter. He slid it toward Ryan.

  “Sam is a good man, Mr. Whittaker,” he said. “I’ve been working for him for a long time now and I know he is a good man. You can trust him. He won’t hurt your sister.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes at the young man. “And what would you know, young man? You’ve barely got enough life experience to know what…”

  Sam was at Allan’s side in moments and cut off Ryan’s words with a large hand slapped down on the counter. Ryan jumped and stared at Sam. His face paled, leaving two red spots on each cheek. “You won’t come in my saloon and speak to my assistant that way. You apologize or take your leave.”

  Ryan swallowed visibly and turned his eyes to Allan. “I apologize.”

  Sam leaned a little closer to accentuate his size. “If you are staying in my bar, you will keep that mouth shut until you learn to respect my friends and mind your manners.”

  Ryan looked down, once again sulking in his beer. He took the second mug and took a drink, keeping his head low and his eyes down. Sam watched him for a moment before turning to walk to the other side of the bar.

  Adam looked at Ryan. “You really have nothing to worry about with Sam. He’s a good man. He wouldn’t hurt your sister.”

  When Ryan responded, it was obvious he was trying to keep himself under control.

  “I came in here to talk to him but I probably won’t be able to.”

  “Why is that? If you were calm, he would talk to you.”

  Ryan shook his head. “No one can take Em from the rodeo. It just can’t happen.”

  “If your sister wants to leave, why don’t you do a solo act? You are good enough, I could see that. The rodeo would only lose one performer.”

  Ryan shook his head again. “You don’t understand. No one does.”

  The doors of the saloon swung open once again and Andrew came through, walking up to the bar immediately instead of sitting down. He leaned across it and looked in Sam’s direction. “Hey there, Sam! How’s it going? Looks like a busy night for you.”

  Sam smiled at Andrew as he approached. “Andrew. Good to see you.” They shook hands over the bar. “Can I get you a beer or a shot?”

  “I’ll just take a beer, thanks.” He slid onto the only open stool left at the bar. He turned and looked over his shoulder both ways, scanning the patrons at the tables. Sam brought him the beer and he took it with his thanks. “Is your place packed like this because of the rodeo?”

  Sam looked out at his customers. “Some of them are from the rodeo. It can get busy in here, but I think this is probably the busiest I’ve seen it.”

  “You’re gonna have a good money night.”

  Sam nodded. “Yeah, as long as everyone pays their tab.” He looked down the bar at Ryan, who was talking
in low tones with Adam. Andrew saw Sam looking at someone and leaned forward to see who it was. He stared at Ryan for a moment before narrowing his eyes. He sat back in a way that made Sam think he didn’t want Ryan to see him. It was a strange move that peaked Sam’s curiosity.

  “You know him?”

  Andrew didn’t answer immediately. “I might,” he finally said in a low voice. “But he doesn’t know me.”

  “Aren’t you here on your honeymoon?”

  Andrew beamed at him. “I sure am.”

  Sam was quiet for a moment, thinking that Andrew left his wife behind an awful lot to be just married. “How long have you been married? You’re on your honeymoon so it can’t have been too long.”

  “We’ve been married a month. It’s not a real long time. But we’ve known each other for many years. We are very comfortable with each other. I love my wife, but we can’t spend every waking moment together, even if we are on our honeymoon. You’re not married?”

  “I’m not. I look forward to it happening someday. But not right now.”

  “Got a woman?”

  This time it was Sam who hesitated. “In a way.”

  “What’s that mean?” Andrew asked, smiling and taking a drink from his mug.

  “I’m not… not really with the woman I am interested in. We just met today.”

  Andrew laughed. “You mean the lady at the rodeo. What’s her name? Emily?”

  Sam nodded. “That’s the one.”

  “She’s a pretty lady. Got some skills with that gun. Don’t make her mad. You never know what might happen.”

  Both men laughed.

  “So what do you know about that man down there?”

  “I know that’s the brother of the woman you’re talking about. He must be livid.”

  “He doesn’t know me.” Even as he said the words, Sam knew that it was something else keeping Ryan from wanting his sister to be happy. He seemed conflicted to Sam, obviously hiding something he didn’t want anyone else to know.

  Sam picked up a glass and ran his towel over the outside and then the inside. “I don’t know if that’s all there is to it, though.”

  Andrew took a drink from his mug and cupped his hands around it when he brought it back to the counter top. “It’s not.”

  Sam frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “If that is who I think it is, he has a lot to be worried about. I really can’t divulge any information though.”

  “Divulge? Are you deputized? Is he wanted?”

  Andrew shook his head. “I’m just on my honeymoon, friend. He just looks familiar, like someone I’ve seen on a wanted poster.”

  Sam turned, looking at Ryan through narrow eyes. “If he’s a dangerous man, we all need to know it, Andrew.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I can’t say a thing. I really can’t. You might check the sheriff’s office and see if there’s a posted warrant for him. But I don’t know if you’ll see one. It’s just a suggestion.”

  Sam looked uncomfortable. He stepped away from Andrew, closer to Ryan to hear what he and Adam were talking about.

  “So there I was,” Ryan was saying. “All by myself in front of this group of cowboys. They were determined to get to Emily. I wasn’t going to let that happen. My skills at the gun match Emily’s and she’s a sharp shooter. She never misses the target. I told all of them that and they finally backed off. I had both hands on my pistols. I was ready to shoot. I can shoot with both hands, you know. It’s called being ambi…ambidestrous or something like that. Em knows the word.”

  “Ambidextrous,” Adam supplied. Ryan glanced at him.

  “That’s the word. Can use both hands. Yeah. So they backed off and we left the next morning. Max – he’s the owner – he don’t like it when people mess with Emily. When I told him what them cowboys were doin’, he told everybody to pack up. We were leaving.”

  “He sounds very devoted to your sister. Is he in love with her?”

  Sam listened closely for the answer to that question. He was relieved to hear Ryan snort and see him shake his head.

  “No. Not at all. He’s not devoted. He’s just controlling.”

  “And you can’t leave the rodeo? Ever?”

  “I don’t know. Nobody understands what I’m up against. Em and I… we have unique skills. He… he says his rodeo will be ruined without us. But I don’t think it will be.”

  Adam shook his head. Never in his life had he seen a grown man refuse to leave a position because his boss didn’t want him to. There had to be a bigger reason to keep the Whittaker's in the rodeo. He was quiet for a few moments before leaning over and murmuring, “If you are in trouble, my friend, you can tell us. We will help you.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Sam was saying,” Ryan replied. “But no one can fix this situation. Em and I just have to stay in the rodeo and perform until we can get away.”

  Sam turned away from the conversation, thinking about what Andrew had said. If Ryan was in some kind of trouble with the law, maybe Emily was, too. He pictured her in his mind and couldn’t fathom it. There was no way that woman could be a troublemaker or an outlaw. She was just a rodeo performer.

  That’s all she was. A beautiful rodeo performer.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  GETTING OUT OF THE TRAILER

  GETTING OUT OF THE TRAILER

  Emily stepped through the tall grass carefully, holding the lantern low so she could see where she was going. She watched for holes in the ground or snakes. She was headed back toward the woods where she’d been walking with Sam. The night sky was bright and full of stars. She wanted to lie in the grass and watch them, feel the rotation of the earth. However, she wasn’t going to do it. She didn’t want to get her breeches dirty.

  Her mother had fashioned the breeches by her own design. They were tight around her small waist but puffed out a bit over her hips and thighs. They tightened up some at the knee. The tightest part of the breeches was the ankles. Her mother said it was to ensure the pant legs didn’t get caught in anything while riding.

  She walked down the path in the direction she’d walked with Sam, thinking about his words. He said there was a restaurant in town they could go to. She wanted to eat with him. She wanted to do fun things with him, go on adventures and laugh a lot. She bet she could laugh a lot with him. He seemed so gentle, despite his large size.

  She smiled in the darkness, walking the path slowly, enjoying the night breeze. It was cool. The desert was always much colder at night than it was during the day. She looked up.

  “Dear God,” she prayed quietly. “I sure can use some guidance down here. I’m so unhappy, God. I want to live. I’m not living in this prison. I want to be free. But I can’t. I don’t know what to do.”

  She fell silent, looking ahead of her again. She took a few steps forward and heard her name being called in the distance. She turned to look. It was her mother’s voice.

  “I’m here, Ma!” she yelled out. “Come out and enjoy the fresh air!”

  “You come on back in here, girl, so I can talk to you!” Her mother’s voice carried over the air.

  Emily grunted in frustration but went back toward the trailer anyway. She always obeyed her mother. She smiled. Usually obeyed her mother.

  “I’m coming, Mother!” She called out. She didn’t want to hurry. She didn’t even want to go back to the trailer. She only wanted to enjoy the night air while Ryan was gone. She didn’t care where he’d gone. She just wanted time to think. She planned to go back out after she found out what her mother wanted.

  Before she knew it, she was going up the steps to the trailer. She pulled the door open and went in, setting the lantern on a hook by the door. Her mother had another hanging in the middle of the trailer, lighting up the entire inside of the small home.

  “Come and sit and talk to me, Em,” her mother said, gesturing to a long couch on one side of the trailer.

  “Ma, I want to enjoy the fresh night air. I don’t want to be cooped up in this little
trailer anymore.” Despite her words, she sat on the couch as was directed by her mother. She knew her mother was lonely a lot. She missed their father. The circumstances behind his death were brutal and had sent her mother into a traumatized state. She was unable to completely care for herself and would go for days without eating if no one watched her. “I wish you would come out and enjoy it with me, too. It’s not good for you to stay inside like this. You never leave the trailer. You’ve got to get out of here.”

  Her mother sighed. “I can’t go out there, Em. I just can’t. It’s that world that took your father.”

  Emily knew how much her mother loved her father. For her mother to give up the way she had didn’t make sense to Emily. It wasn’t what her father would have wanted, she knew that. Surely if she knew it, her mother did, too. She decided to see if that thought would encourage her mother to go for a walk with her.

  “Pa wouldn’t have wanted to see you like this, Ma. He really wouldn’t. He’d want you to carry on and to go forward in life. He wouldn’t want to see you give up.”

  Her mother closed her eyes. “I’ve thought about that. And it hasn’t made me feel any better. I still can’t make myself leave this trailer. I would die without you and Ryan. I hope you know that.”

  “I know, Ma, you tell us all the time. I wish I could help you. I want to see you smile again.”

  “I smile. You and your brother make me smile all the time.” Her mother attempted a weak smile to prove her point. The smile was fleeting. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry, Em. I really am.”

  “Please come outside with me, Ma. Please.” Emily got up and went to the door. She turned the handle and pushed the door open. A sweep of cool breeze blew over her, causing the flame in the lantern to dance erratically. “Look. Come here, Ma. Look.”

  Her mother reluctantly set aside the sewing she’d been doing and pushed herself to her feet. She went to the end of the trailer and bent down to look out.