The Mistaken Mail Order Bride (23 page)

She slipped the strings of the purse around
her wrist and went to the door to retrieve her hat. Turning to look
at Caleb, she was surprised to see he was still sitting by the
jackstraws.

“Would you rather wait?” she asked him.

“No, I want to go,” he said.

She wanted to ask him why he hesitated, but
he walked over to her and put on his boots.

He straightened up. “I’m ready.”

With a smile, she patted his shoulder. “Even
if we can’t get the paper today, we’ll order it. In the meantime,
you can tell me anything you want to about her. That might help you
remember more things we can write down.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not making me forget her.” He looked
down for a moment then turned his gaze back up to her. “The other
people…the ones I lived with who didn’t care for me… They wanted me
to forget her. They didn’t like hearing about her.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re here
instead.”

She opened the door and led him outside.

When they got to the store, Daniel came up
to them. “How may I help you, Mrs. Johnson?”

“Do you have any paper?” she asked.

He offered a nod. “This way.”

Squeezing Caleb’s hand in excitement, she
followed Daniel and purchased some paper and two pencils. Then,
realizing she had enough money left over, she bought Caleb a couple
pieces of candy.

“I don’t know a single child who doesn’t
like candy,” Daniel said, giving her a friendly smile.

Caroline returned his smile and handed the
candy to Caleb. It was nice to know not everyone in town thought
ill of her after all the things Ida had said about her.

She thanked Daniel and gathered the paper
and pencils in one arm. Then she took Caleb’s hand and exited the
store.

They’d only taken a couple of steps when an
unfamiliar gentleman approached them. “Pardon me, ma’am.”

She stopped. “Yes?”

“I’m looking for someone who lives here. Do
you know where I can find Caroline Benton?”

“That was my name before I married the
sheriff,” she replied. “What can I help you with?”

“I’m Charles Dunwick.” He pulled out a
neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and showed her the
missive she’d written to him. “I apologize for coming up to you
this way. I know you said you were doing alright in the letter, but
I wanted to make sure it was true. You know, just in case someone
made you write that.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you,” she replied,
surprised he would go through all this trouble on her behalf. “What
I put in the missive is true. Everything is fine.”

Caleb squeezed her hand.

Surprised, she glanced down at him and saw
him shake his head, a silent warning for her to stop talking to
Charles. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned her gaze back to
Charles.

What did Caleb see that she didn’t? Charles
seemed pleasant enough. He was smiling, his posture was relaxed,
and he was well dressed for a gentleman out in this area of the
country. She looked at Caleb again, just to make sure there was
something about Charles that bothered him. And sure enough, Caleb
enforced his earlier warning by urging her back into the store.

“I was wondering if we could talk,” Charles
said. “I’d like to know more about how things are for you. We could
take a walk. I came all the way here to make sure everything was
alright. It’d be a shame if I didn’t at least find out more about
your new life and this boy.” He nodded toward Caleb. “I’d also like
to thank your husband for being good to you.”

“Oh, um…”

Caroline clutched the paper and pencils to
her chest as she struggled to find a polite way of saying no. She
couldn’t come out and tell him something was wrong with him. That
might make things worse.

“Actually,” she began, “this isn’t a good
time. I promised my husband I’d see him.” She knew better than to
head right on home. Then he’d know where she lived. “He’s right
over there at that jailhouse.” She gestured to it. “As I said, he’s
the sheriff.”

“If now’s not a good time, then what about
later?” Charles asked. “I’ll be in town for at least one night
since it was a long trip to get here.”

She shifted from one foot to another and
scanned who else was in the area. A couple of ladies were across
the street, and two gentlemen came out of the barbershop. And, of
course, Daniel was in the general store behind her. At least there
were people nearby. This gave her an added layer of protection. She
didn’t think he’d try to force her to go off with him when others
were around.

“I have to pee,” Caleb blurted out. “Right
now.”

Thankful for the boy’s quick thinking, she
offered a smile at Charles. “I’m sorry, but I must go. I don’t want
him to have an accident. Just know that I’m fine.”

Then she led Caleb over to the jailhouse as
fast as her boots would allow. Charles called out after her, but
she pretended she didn’t hear him. If Caleb thought there was
something wrong with him, then she didn’t dare risk finding out
what that something was. She wouldn’t knowingly allow the enemy an
advantage like she had with the Union soldiers. No, this time she
was going to be cautious, even if it meant being rude.

By the time she opened the door to the
jailhouse, she was out of breath. She shut the door behind her and
Caleb then peeked out the window. Charles was still standing by the
general store, just staring in her direction. That, she had to
admit, was creepy. She shivered and slipped away from the window in
case he saw her.

“I told you I’m not going to arrest Carl,”
Eric called out from the back. “I don’t care how guilty you think
he is.”

“It’s me and Caleb,” Caroline called out.
She set the paper and pencils on Eric’s desk then glanced at Caleb.
“Are you alright?”

The boy nodded. “You did the right
thing.”

She was about to ask him why he didn’t trust
Charles, but she already knew the answer. He didn’t know. He got a
feeling about people. He was sensitive to subtle cues people like
her missed.

Eric came out from the back and put his
coffee cup down on his desk. “It’s nice to see you two.” He went
over to Caroline and gave her a kiss. Then he gave Caleb a playful
pat on the back. “What brings you two in today?”

“Remember the gentleman I was supposed to
marry?”

Eric turned back to her. “Sure. Charles or
something.”

“Yes, Charles Dunwick. He’s here.”

“He’s here?”

“Right out there.” She pointed to the
window. “He came up to me and Caleb as we were leaving the general
store and asked if I knew Caroline Benton. I told him I was the
person he was looking for, and he introduced himself. He has the
missive I wrote, so I believe it’s him.”

“Is he here because he wants to marry
you?”

Noting the jealous edge in Eric’s voice, she
smiled. “No. He said he wants to make sure I’m alright, but Caleb,”
she glanced at the boy, “warned me not to talk to him. So I came
here.”

Eric’s gaze went to Caleb. “You think he’s
here to hurt her?”

“I don’t know why he’s here,” Caleb said. “I
just don’t like him.”

“I see.” Eric walked over to the window.
“What’s he wearing?”

“Plaid red and black shirt, denim pants, a
black hat,” Caroline replied. “He hasn’t shaved in a couple
days.”

“I don’t see him.” Eric looked over at her.
“It’s a small town. He won’t be able to blend in. You can stay here
until I’m ready to leave.” He turned to Caleb. “I don’t have any
games, but you can practice writing to help pass the time.”

Caleb nodded, and Eric
pulled up the chair so Caleb could sit at the desk. After Caleb
started working on the letter
M
, Eric strode over to
her.

“Do you believe Charles wants to make sure
you’re alright?” he whispered.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. He seemed
pleasant enough when I was talking to him. He mentioned wanting to
talk for a while. He even said he wanted to talk to you. But Caleb
lied and said he had to use the privy, and it’s not like him to
lie.”

“No, it’s not.” Eric rubbed the back of his
neck then crossed his arms. “Do you think he’s upset you married me
instead of him?”

“I don’t know what to think. I never
imagined he’d come all the way over here. I sent the missive
because Ida suggested it would be good idea to let him know I was
doing alright. It made sense to do that since he’d been expecting
me. I mean, wouldn’t you want Allison to let you know if she got
stuck in the wrong town and married someone else?”

“Yes, I would. As much as I hate to agree
with Ida, I can see the wisdom in her thinking.”

She bit her lower lip then asked, “Do you
think I made a mistake in writing to him?”

“No. There was no way you could have known
he was going to come looking for you.”

“I didn’t ask him to.”

Probably detecting the worry in her tone, he
patted her lower back in reassurance. “I know. All you did was
explain the situation.”

She nodded, relieved he understood. Never in
a million years would she think to ask anyone to take her away from
Eric. Now that she was with him, she couldn’t imagine her life with
another gentleman. And who knew if anyone else would have been
willing to take Caleb?

If she had arrived at the right town, Caleb
wouldn’t have wanted Charles to be his father, and if Caleb
couldn’t have accepted Charles, then she couldn’t have, either.

As Eric had told her, she came to the right
town and married the right gentleman. There was no denying that now
that she’d seen the way Caleb reacted to Charles. With a shiver,
she put her arms around Eric’s waist and rested her head on his
shoulder.

He, in turn, wrapped his arms around her and
rubbed her back. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. I was just thinking of how close I
came to marrying the wrong gentleman. If Caleb doesn’t like
Charles, there has to be a good reason for it, even if I have no
idea what it could possibly be.”

“I’ll find out what he wants.”

She looked up at him. “How?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll come up with
something. Until then, I don’t want you and Caleb to be alone.
We’ll stay here while I go over my notes on Lydia’s murder.”

“Are you close to figuring out who did
it?”

“No. It’s going to take a while. I’ve
watched men who were punished for things they didn’t do, and I’m
determined I get the right person.”

Person? “Does that mean you think a lady
might have done it?”

“It’s possible. Not likely, but possible.
I’m sure a couple of wives weren’t all that happy to learn Lydia
slept with their husbands.”

Caroline gasped. “She didn’t!” Remembering
Caleb was within earshot, she lowered her voice. “Surely, a lady
wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“Men aren’t the only ones who have
affairs.”

“Is this a common thing out here?”

“No, it’s not, but one thing I’ve learned
from living in several places is that people are people no matter
where they live. There will always be someone who breaks the law,
whether God’s or man’s. You can’t get away from it. All you can do
is what you can to make things better.” Offering a smile, he
brushed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I love you, Caroline.
You’re the perfect wife. You have a tender heart for others, and
you live the kind of life that honors me as your husband. I don’t
know what happened to Allison, but whatever delayed her was for the
best—for me and probably even for her. I don’t believe in
coincidence. I believe things happen as they’re meant to.”

As much as she wanted to bask in the warmth
of his praises, she couldn’t help but note his last sentence. “Do
you think Charles’ coming here was meant to happen, to?”

He paused then answered, “I know he’s here
for a reason, and I suspect it’s not good. Don’t worry. I’ll figure
out what it is.”

She rested her head on his shoulder again,
taking comfort in his words.

Chapter Twenty

A
fter Eric came home with Caroline and Caleb, he closed all the
curtains, blocking out any view Charles might have of them in case
he was lurking outside. Since Charles hadn’t made it a point to
come to the jailhouse to introduce himself, Eric gathered Charles’
sole interest was in Caroline. The line he’d given her about
wanting to talk to him was probably a cover to get her to lower her
guard down.

To be sure he was right about Charles, he
pulled Caleb aside while Caroline was trying her hand at a new
recipe Lois had given her. He sat with Caleb on his bed and asked,
“You remember that man you and Caroline saw today outside the
general store?”

Caleb nodded. “Charles.”

“What was it about him that bothered
you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”