Chase (Prairie Grooms, Book Four)

Chase

Prairie Grooms, Book Four

by

Kit Morgan

ANGEL CREEK PRESS

Chase

(Prairie Grooms, Book Four)

by Kit Morgan

Copyright 2014 Kit Morgan

Find other titles by Kit Morgan Including:

The Prairie Bride Series:

His Prairie Princess (Prairie Brides, Book One)

Her Prairie Knight (Prairie Brides, Book Two)

His Prairie Duchess (Prairie Brides, Book Three)

Her Prairie Viking (Prairie Brides, Book Four)

His Prairie Sweetheart (Prairie Brides Book Five)

Her Prairie Outlaw (Prairie Brides Book Six)

Christmas in Clear Creek (Prairie Brides, Book Seven)

The Holiday Mail Order Bride Series:

The Christmas Mail Order Bride (Book One)

The New Year's Bride (Book Two)

His Forever Valentine (Book Three)

Her Irish Surrender (Book Four)

The Springtime Mail Order Bride (Book Five)

Love in Independence (Book Six)

Coming in September:

Love at Harvest Moon (Book Seven)

Prairie Grooms
:

August (Prairie Grooms, Book One)

Ryder (Prairie Grooms, Book Two)

Seth (Prairie Grooms, Book Three)

Chase (Prairie Grooms, Book Four)

Coming in September:

Levi (Prairie Grooms, Book Five)

For more about Kit Morgan, follow her on her
Face Book Page

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All characters are fictional. Any resemblances to actual people are purely coincidental.

Cover design by Angel Creek Press, The Killion Group and Hotdamndesigns.com

To all those who have felt the wh
ips of loneliness, and understood what a hard master it can be when left to its own devices. Such a thing should never be our master, for it instills in us a drive to do things we would never normally do …

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

About the Author

The Weaver Farm, 1871

Benjamin and Calvin Weaver sat on a log by the small creek that cut through their land. Its gurgling-bubbling sounds soothed their minds and calmed them whenever they felt troubled or upset. But today, they were neither, and instead sought the peacefulness of the water’s edge to help them digest the stories Deputy Tom Turner of Nowhere had told them the night before. Tom and his wife Rose had come to the Weaver farm for the specific purpose of telling these tales, and the two young men (identical twins, mind you) felt equally … ah … well, they felt
something,
but were baffled as to what.

“You got a kinda empty
feelin’ in the pit of yer belly?” Calvin asked his brother.

“Sure do,” said Benjamin, shaking hi
s head. “Don’t rightly know why though. It’s just there.”

“Yeah,” a
greed Calvin. “I don’t like it much, myself.”

“What do ya think it’s from?”

“Don’t know. Mine didn’t start until we sat and listened to Tom tell us about those three mail-order brides.”

“You reckon them stories are makin’ us sick?” asked Benjamin.

“I’m not feelin’ sick, exactly,” said Calvin. “But I sure do feel … I dunno, hollow inside.”

“You think Arlan’s
feelin’ the same thing? Or Daniel?” asked Benjamin.

“
Don’t know, why don’t we ask them?”

“I
ain’t ready to go back to the house yet. I’d rather we sit here a spell.”

“Won’t have to go back, there’s Arlan over there,” said Calvin and pointed. Their older brother approached from the other side of the creek. Tom Turner walked at his side.
Arlan had been showing Tom around the farm that morning, and now they’d reached the twin’s favorite spot.

“Mornin’ boys!” Arlan called across the creek.  There was a narrow
foot-bridge they’d constructed years ago.  He crossed it, Tom right behind him, and joined his two brothers on the log.

Tom stood a moment and glanced around. “Now this here’s a might pretty spot.” He turned to the three brothers. “Fine place for sparkin’ with a pretty gal.”

Arlan laughed. “That it is.”

Calvin screwed his face up at him. “You been
bringin’ your wife down here to
our
log?”

“It’s my log too,” Arlan countered. “And so what if I have? Samijo likes it here.”

“Nothin’s sacred anymore,” complained Benjamin.

“I think my wife Rose would call this place romantic,” commented Tom. “I could do with some sparkin’ here.”

Calvin groaned.

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Arlan.

“Stop talkin’ about sparkin, it makes my belly feel worse.”

“You sick?” asked Tom.

“Nah, he ain’t feelin good on account …” Benjamin snapped his mouth shut. He didn’t want to tell their guest his stories were making his brother and him feel …
funny
.

A
rlan eyed them, and studied their faces with a keen eye. His face suddenly lit with comprehension. “So, want to listen to another one of Tom’s stories before we have to go back up to the house for breakfast?”

“I
’m not sure,” said Benjamin as he rubbed his belly.

Arlan noticed the tips of his brother’s ears turn pink, and smiled. “What, you mean to tell me you don’t want to hear any more stories
about pretty gals comin’ to Clear Creek to get married?”

Benjamin rolled his eyes. “I don’t know …”

Tom caught the younger man’s look of longing. It was there but a second, but he knew it well enough. He glanced at Arlan to see if he’d also caught it. Sure enough, his eyes were intent on those of his brother’s. “Ya know one of the main reasons a man sends away for a mail-order bride is cause he don’t want to be lonely. Sure, havin’ a couple of brothers to work with, fight with, and live with is fun. But it don’t hold a candle to having a woman at yer side.”

Benjamin and Calvin looked at Tom and gawked.

“Yep, nothing beats the warm curves of a woman on a cold winter’s night,” added Tom with a sly smile. “But a man has to be ready before he takes on the responsibility of a bride.”

“You mean like August, Ryder, and Seth?” Calvin asked.

“That’s exactly what I mean. Look what happened cause Ryder wasn’t as ready as he thought he was? Or Seth? You know, how he wasn’t ready to let Eloise know about his past?”

“What about August?” asked
Benjamin. “How was he not ready?”

“Oh he was ready for a bride, but his bride wasn’t sure if she was ready for him
!” laughed Tom. “The point is, boys, you gotta be ready for a woman in more ways than one. And it starts here,” he said and jabbed at his chest with a thumb.

“You
talkin’ about yer heart?” asked Benjamin.

“Yep.”

Calvin’s mouth twisted up to one side. “How do ya know when
that’s
ready?”

“Kinda goes in stages,” said Tom as he winked at Arlan. “First ya kinda start to
feelin’ all funny inside, especially when yer around a pretty gal.”

Benjamin and Calvin glanced at each other,
then gave their attention back to him. “How so?” asked Benjamin.

“Yer gut tightens, yer knees get wobbly, and ya want to kiss her,” he said. “Ain’t that right, Arlan?”

Arlan bit his lip to keep from laughing, and nodded.

“But it’s after ya seen a gal, that the real stuff starts,” added Tom.

“What kind of stuff?” asked Calvin.

Tom’s face became serious. “Ya feel …” he shrugged. “Empty inside.”

The twins looked at him, horrified, and jumped up from the log. “What?” Benjamin croaked. “Ya mean this achin’ in my belly ain’t from eatin’ too much pie last night?”

Tom looked him over carefully. “Ya ever eat seven pies all at once?”

“No.”

“Now that’ll give ya belly ache. But if’n ya got a empty
feelin’ in your belly, and ya can’t figure out what it is, then boy, you’ve been bit.”

“Bit?”
Calvin squeaked. “By what?”

Arlan’s shoulder began to shake, and it was all he could do to stay seated. He looked away and bit the inside of his cheek before he burst out laughing.  He knew Tom’s stories would affect the twins. They were young men, but hadn’t been exposed to many women other than their mother. Having his new wife
Samijo around helped, but to hear three tales of romance from Tom’s home town of Clear Creek was bound to do something to them.

“By the bug!” said Tom, his voice serious.

“Bug? Ya mean like a big ol’ spider?” asked Calvin, worry in his voice. The young man would wrestle a bear to the ground, but when it came to spiders …

“No, not like a spider!” said Tom. “I’m
talkin’ about something a lot worse than a spider!”

Calvin paled. Benjamin, on the other hand, cocked his head in curiosity. “What ya
talkin’ about?”

Tom sighed. “Loneliness, boys. And it’s got a mighty painful bite. Ya feel it, right here in the pit of yer belly,” he said and rubbed his stomach for emphasis.

Benjamin plopped down on the log again. “I think I’ve been bit, then. I ain’t felt right since last night.”

Tom nodded as Arlan faced them, his laughter stilled by the forlorn look on Benjam
in’s face. “Yeah, it starts in the belly like that,” said Tom. “Then travels up into yer chest and settles itself there.”

“Does it keep ya awake at night?” asked Calvin.

“Yes,” said Arlan before Tom could answer. “A lot of nights.”

“Is that why you sent away for a mail-order bride?” Benjamin asked him.

Arlan looked his brother in the eye. He nodded and sighed. “But there are a lot more reasons to send away for a wife.”

“Like what?”

“Cookin’ for one,” said Tom. “Not to mention someone to do the washin’, keep the house clean, and …”

“And?” asked the twins in unison.

Arlan looked at them and smiled. “You’ll find out when you’re married.”

Two sets of brows rose as comprehension dawned.
Tom laughed. “You two remind me of Chase Adams and Levi Stone.”

“Didn’t they send away for mail-order brides too?” asked Calvin.

“Yep, sure did,” said Tom. “And their brides got to Clear Creek sooner than anyone expected on account they had one Imogene Sayer escortin’ them from England to America.”

Now it was Arlan’s turn to look at him. “Imogene Sayer? Who’s that?”

“She was married to one of Anthony Sayer’s other cousins, a might wealthy man in his own right. But that weren’t nothin’, Imogene was a wealthy heiress. In fact, she had more money than the Duke as I recall. At least that’s what Colin Cooke told me once.”

“How much money?” asked
Benjamin.

“Enough to travel the world,” said Tom. “And she did. After her husband died, she traveled all over Europe, and lived a lot of years in someplace called India.”

“Why did she go to Clear Creek?” Calvin asked.

“Because America was someplace she hadn’t been, and thought it the perfect opportunity to go. So she offered to act as chaperone to her three young relatives, and see them safely to Clear Creek.”

“Wait a minute,” said Arlan. “They didn’t have any other escort? Only this Imogene?”

Tom laughed. “Well, Imogene was no ordinary lady. She’d go on tiger-hunts, and rode an elephant. She could shoot
, too.”