Nordin, Ruth Ann - South Dakota Series 02 - Bid for a Bride (25 page)

Brian paused for a moment before returning to his task, and since he could hear a slight wobble from the chair John sat in, he recognized that John was chuckling. His body always shook the chair a bit when he chuckled, and it was easy to detect the light vibration off the floor.

Brian didn’t bother asking John why he was laughing. He already knew. Brian often came to work with a smile on his face that John claimed was ‘a mile wide’ and thought it was amusing his son was so happy. Brian had long since gotten over his embarrassment at showing his enthusiasm for being married to Lucy.

Deciding to ignore his father, he turned back to painting the chair. Next month would mark a year since he married Lucy.

He wondered what he might do for her to make their one year anniversary special. Perhaps she’d like a picture of him, her and their daughter. Eliza adored the pictures she was able to get of her family, and he figured since it was something his mother liked, then it’d be something his wife would like as well.

At the very least, he’d ask Lucy what she thought.

The sound of a horse pulling a buggy onto the property caught Brian’s attention. His heartbeat picked up at the thought of getting off work and being with Lucy and Charlotte. He paused and listened as the horse continued on to his house.

The chair not too far from Brian scraped the floor, so Brian turned his attention back to John. John’s footsteps echoed off the floor as he approached Brian. Brian held his hand out, palm down, and waited for John to talk to him.

Go on home, John signed.

"But I’m not done with the chair."

I can finish it. You’re too eager to get back to your bride. Go on and be with her.

"Even if it’s early in the afternoon?"

You’ve been thinking of her all day. Might as well be with her.

Unless you think your old man is more exciting?

Brian laughed. "Sorry, Pa. But no, I don’t."

Then why are you still here?

"Alright, alright. I get your point." He put his brush away and stood. "I’ll see you tomorrow morning."

Brian felt John pat him on the back before Brian went to the hook by the door and collected his coat and walking stick. He opened the door and stepped outside, sorry he missed his mother and Lucy as they passed by on the buggy. Now he’d have to walk. Shrugging, he slipped his coat on and proceeded to stroll on home.

***

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on sliding out of the log. Her body was pressed firmly against the side of it so she could avoid the offending piece of wood that had pierced her skin last time. Thankfully, her earlier wound from it wasn’t deep. The blood had already dried, but her abdomen hurt as she moved along and she worried about reopening the cut.

Taking a deep breath, she wiggled again, and this time, she managed to avoid hurting any part of her body. She paused and released her breath. Opening her eyes, she looked down at her legs which were on a melting pile of snow. Though there was no wind and the sun was out, the slush around her made her shiver all the more.

I can do this. I can get out of here.

If she could just make it out of here, then she could figure out a way to get to the house. Eliza was supposed to drop her off at home when they returned from town. If Meredith was playing ‘Lucy’, then Eliza would have still gone to town as planned and would bring ‘Lucy’ back. Eliza would help her. Or Brian.

Maybe he’d come back from work early. As long as someone besides Meredith saw her, she’d make it.

Encouraged, she scooted further down, but then the log gave under her weight and it tilted forward.

She gasped. She forgot about the gentle slope that led to the creek on their property.

Not sure if she should move or stay still, she remained still and debated the possible pros and cons to each choice. But the log moved again, and despite the fact that she dug her heels into the muddy ground, it rolled forward. Giving a muffled scream, she went down the slope with the log, her body jostling around as the sharp piece of wood poked her back and side.

She struggled to stay in the log, figuring it would buffer her in case she hit a tree, but at some point during the journey down, she tumbled out of the log and continued to roll on her own until she came to a stop next to the creek.

Blinking back a fresh wave of tears, she struggled to figure out her best course of action. It would help to think if her head wasn’t spinning. Her body throbbed with pain, especially where her sister had hit her with that awful bat. But what was worse than the pain was the continual shivering, which had only intensified now that she was on the snow. She closed her eyes.

All was not lost. She was still alive. There was still a chance Brian, Eliza or John might search for her…

as long as they didn’t believe Meredith was her.

***

Brian approached his house. The horse snorted not too far from the porch so he went over to it and patted its nose. "Were the women hard on you today?" The horse snorted again.

He chuckled and patted its mane. "I’ll tell Ma to give you a treat for all your hard work."

As if he understood, the gelding nodded.

Smiling, Brian went over to the porch and climbed the steps.

From inside, he could hear his mother talking and another woman’s response. He frowned. The other woman wasn’t Addy, nor was it any of the women in town. As he opened the storm door, he heard unfamiliar footsteps retreating to the bedroom. He set the walking stick by the door and turned to the direction of Charlotte’s sneeze.

"Couldn’t wait to come home, huh?" Eliza asked.

He stepped into the kitchen and listened. It didn’t sound like there were any more than two women in the house. He inhaled but didn’t pick up the scent of lavender.

"Brian, is something wrong?" Eliza’s voice grew closer as she approached. "Did something happen at work? Is your pa alright?"

He lowered his voice and turned her away from the bedroom.

"Who’s in my bedroom?"

Eliza let out a soft chuckle. "Your wife, silly. Lucy and I went to town today and came back with a couple of things. She’s putting them away."

"It’s not her," he whispered, careful to speak low so whoever it was in the other room wouldn’t overhear.

"Sure it is."

"I don’t smell Lucy, and I didn’t hear her."

"I can see her, Brian, and she’s Lucy."

His frown deepened. No. She just looks like Lucy.

A drawer closed in the bedroom and Brian stiffened. He leaned forward to touch and smell Charlotte.

She smelled and felt the same, and from the sound of it, she was alright. He stood and turned toward the kitchen window. Something was wrong. It couldn’t be Lucy. Lucy smelled like lavender, but the faint hint of lavender in the air told him Lucy hadn’t been at the house for hours. Just how many hours, he couldn’t tell. And that worried him.

The floor vibrated as the woman walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Brian avoided turning to face her, remembering what Lucy had said about knowing he was blind by looking at his eyes. She said at a glance, she couldn’t tell he was blind. He wondered if Lucy’s twin sister, Meredith, knew he was blind. Had Eliza slipped it into the conversation unawares? There was only one way to tell, and only one surefire way to convince his mother that this wasn’t Lucy.

"Well," Meredith began, "that was a lot of fun, Eliza. Thank you for the broach. It means so much to me that we’re friends."

"Oh, thank you," Eliza said, sounding uncertain.

Brian heard soft footsteps move in his direction, followed by a gentle touch on his arm. He took a moment to inhale. Milk and honey. His real mother had used milk and honey soap. He kept his face slightly turned from Meredith as he tried to decide what to do.

"Hello, Brian," Meredith said. "Don’t you want to see the new broach your mother gave me?" He heard his mother give a slight gasp.

It was definitely Meredith if she looked exactly like Lucy.

Brian turned his head quickly to Meredith. "Yes, it’s pretty."

Then he went over to his mother. "Why don’t you take Lucy and Charlotte to your home for that supper you invited us to?"

"Uh…" Eliza began.

Charlotte whimpered.

Eliza cleared her throat. "Lucy, did you still want to eat over at my place?"

Meredith laughed. "Of course. I agreed to it when you asked, didn’t I?" That did it!

Brian opened the storm door. "I’ll be along shortly."

"Alright," Eliza said. "I suppose we’ll go to my place now."

Brian kept his hat lowered so Meredith wouldn’t get a good look at his eyes, and as he waited for the two women to get back into the buggy, he wondered where Lucy might be. He stood quietly, listening as someone clicked the reins and led the horse off his property. With slow, even breaths, he stood on the porch and tried to determine if he could hear anything that might lead him to Lucy. He couldn’t smell her. Wherever she was, she was far away, but she couldn’t be too far. He’d said good-bye to Lucy that morning when his mother came over. And if his mother went to town with Meredith, then there was a small window of opportunity when Meredith made her move.

Where would Lucy go if she was about to go to town? The only place he could think of was the outhouse. She often went to the outhouse before they headed out together. He’d start there. He quickly went into the house to grab his walking stick and went in the direction of the outhouse, praying when he found Lucy, she’d be alive.

Phillip arrived in town and walked into the general store. He took off his hat and approached the older man behind the counter who was talking to a young woman. The trip had been an exhausting one. If one more thing had gone wrong, he would have lost it. The train had gotten delayed and then his stage coach driver had taken ill. He’d spent a lot of time waiting, and that waiting drove him insane.

All he could picture was Lucy destitute and alone. He tried not to think that someone had taken her in order to use her. A lone woman on the prairie who was far too trusting of strangers… He shivered. Oh God, please let Lucy be alright. He hoped when he wrote to his parents, he’d have good news.

The man behind the counter turned his attention to Phillip as the woman left the store. "Howdy. May I help you?"

"Yes." Phillip walked closer to the counter and rested one hand on it. "About this time last year, a man dropped my sister off here. She has blond hair, brown eyes, is 5’4", and goes by the name Lucy Barnes.

The man who dropped her off called himself Adam Nilles but is really Mark Wilson. Mark was recently arrested for marrying women and then dropping them off in small towns. He married my sister last April and should have come through here."

The man held up his hand. "I know who you mean. Yes, Lucy’s here. In fact, she’s good friends with my wife, Addy."

Phillip’s body relaxed. "Thank goodness! So is she staying with you and your wife?"

"No. The judge that was here that day granted her an annulment so she could marry Brian Evans. You needn’t worry. Brian’s a good one. He treats her right and all that. The two also had a little girl earlier this month."

Phillip mentally did the math and was further relieved to learn that Mark wasn’t the father of her child.

Poor Lucy would have been devastated had that been the case. "She’s happy then?" he pressed, wanting to be reassured.

"I’d say so."

"Do you have stationary so I can write to my parents and let them know she’s alright?"

"Sure." The man pointed to the shelf along the window. "Take it as a gift. Any relative of Lucy’s is a friend of mine."

"Thank you." Phillip rushed over to the window and picked up a sheet of paper and envelope. "The post office here is still open, isn’t it?"

"Yes."

"Good." He took the pen out of his pocket and began writing the letter on a nearby table, imagining how relieved his parents would be when they learned what had happened to Lucy.

A woman entered the store, and the man looked up from his register. "Is something bothering you, Addy?"

Addy sighed and approached the counter. "I’m not sure, Frank. I have a terrible feeling that I haven’t been able to shake ever since Eliza and Lucy came to town." She glanced in Phillip’s direction.

"Lucy’s my sister," Phillip said, walking over to her. "If there’s something going on, I need to know about it."

She studied his face and nodded. "There’s no denying the family resemblance." With a shrug, she continued, "Alright. It was Charlotte."

"That’s Lucy’s daughter," Frank told Phillip.

"Yes, I remember her wanting a girl she could name Charlotte," Phillip replied. "What’s wrong with Charlotte?"

"Nothing. Charlotte’s fine," she said. "But she didn’t respond well whenever Lucy held her. She wouldn’t stop crying." She turned to Frank. "Don’t you think that’s odd?"

"I don’t know," Frank replied. "Maybe Charlotte wasn’t feeling well."

"It was more than that, Frank. When Eliza and I held her, she was just fine. A sick baby would fuss no matter who’s holding her."

Phillip’s gut tightened as he recalled how sure Meredith had been that she could get Mark to reveal where he’d dropped Lucy off. What if she found a way to make that happen? "Addy, was there anything else different? Was there anything that seemed unusual about Lucy?"

She bit her lower lip and glanced at the ceiling. "Actually, when I offered her some nuts, she didn’t want them. I thought Lucy loved those."

"She does," Phillip said. "But Meredith’s allergic to them."

"Who’s Meredith?" Frank asked.

"Lucy’s twin sister."