The Mistaken Mail Order Bride (7 page)

“You’ve had a long day,” he replied, once
again giving her a smile that helped put her at ease. “I thought
maybe you’d fallen asleep. It was so quiet in here.”

“No. Would you believe I’m wide awake? I
think all the activity of the day is going to make it hard to
sleep.”

“Well, come on out here, and we’ll relax
with some cider. It always helps when I have trouble sleeping.”

Did that mean he wasn’t planning to be
intimate with her tonight? As much as she wanted to ask, she didn’t
dare. Not when it was something so personal…even when that personal
thing had to do with him.

She gave one last look at her reflection in
the mirror. She couldn’t see anything under her nightgown. But
then, maybe the kerosene lamp wasn’t as bright in here as it would
be out there.

Oh, this was ridiculous! He was her husband.
Of all the people to see her immodestly dressed, it should be
him.

She stepped out, mindful of the cool floor
beneath her feet. He went to the couch where two cups were resting
on a small table in front of him.

She had no idea being alone with him was
going to be so nerve-racking. Indeed, she could feel her heart
hammering in her chest. Well, she knew this evening was going to
happen. It wasn’t like this came up as a big surprise or anything.
She just had to get through it. Once she knew what to expect, it
wouldn’t be so awkward next time.

Eric glanced her way and waved her over.
“You can’t see the moon from over there.”

For the first time, she noticed the couch
faced a large window. Then she noticed the kerosene lamp in the
room was turned down lower than the one in the bedroom had been.
That meant she’d be harder to see in the dim light.

Feeling better, she went over to the couch
and sat next to him, choosing to leave a small space between
them.

He handed her a cup. “Have you had apple
cider before?”

She nodded. “Yes. Usually, I drink it when
the weather gets cooler.”

He leaned back in the couch and put his legs
up on the table in front of them. It was on the tip of her tongue
to ask him why he did that. No one would dare put up their feet on
a table, especially when they had boots on. But this wasn’t South
Carolina. For all she knew, all the people did this out here.

“What are you used to drinking?” Eric asked,
breaking her out of her thoughts.

“When it was hot, I used to drink cool tea
or lemonade. When it was cold, I’d take my tea hot or have some
cider.” She lifted the cup and took a sip. “It’s good.”

“It’s my favorite drink,” he replied. “My
mother taught me how to make it when I was a child.”

“Did you grow up here?”

“No. I came here about three years ago.”

“You don’t sound like I do. I take it you’re
not from the South.”

“No, I’m not. I grew up in New Hampshire. I
did odd jobs for a while from state to state, but there comes a
time when a man wants to settle down, find a permanent job, and get
married.”

She took a drink of the apple cider,
thinking she hadn’t tasted anything this wonderful in years. It’d
been a long time since she’d had anything but cheap coffee or water
that couldn’t be all that clean. Forcing her attention back to him,
she asked, “Is that why you came here? To get the permanent job and
to find a wife?”

“I didn’t think through the marrying part
when I decided to come all the way out here. I wanted a position
where I could make a difference for the better.” He paused then
added, “I didn’t fight in the war, but I helped the slaves escape
along the underground railroads. Even then, things didn’t always go
smoothly. We’d get caught from time to time, and not everyone made
it.” He shrugged. “I guess I feel compelled to do what I can to
make things better for those who can’t help themselves. I heard the
people here needed someone to step in and protect them, and I
couldn’t resist.”

“You mean, bad things happen here?”

“Bad things happen everywhere. Out here,
though, one person can make a bigger difference than they could
back East.”

She took another sip of the cider, weighing
his words and wondering how much she ought to tell him. The last
thing she wanted was for him to regret his decision to marry her.
But she had to be honest with him. “You know I came from the
South.”

“Yes, I recall you mentioning that.”

“I grew up on a plantation where we had
slaves. Doesn’t it bother you? We come from two completely
different worlds.”

He turned his gaze to her, and she noted the
tenderness in his eyes. “You brought Caleb with you. I don’t think
we’re all that different.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. After
being spit on by several Union soldiers, she hadn’t expected his
response.

To her surprise, he scooted closer to her
and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She’d thought being
touched by a stranger so soon would alarm her, but this had the
opposite effect on her. She felt comforted. It’d been a long time
since she’d experienced anything so nice. She quickly brushed away
her tears in case he noticed them. She’d had enough of crying and
wondering why things had to turn out the way they had. What she
most wanted, more than anything, was to be safe.

“Everything will be alright,” Eric
whispered. “Think of this as a new start. Out here, you can have a
second chance.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and
nodded. That was what she had most hoped for in coming all the way
to Colorado. Perhaps it was possible. Perhaps this day had marked
the beginning of something better than she’d ever dreamed
possible.

“I’d like that,” she admitted.

“Then don’t bother yourself with the past.
Leave it back in South Carolina.”

He lowered his head toward hers, and it
seemed to be the most natural thing in the world to close her eyes
and tilt her head back to accept his kiss. Beyond the pecks on the
cheek or kisses on her hand at the balls, she hadn’t had a real
kiss.

She had no idea what to expect, but the
moment his lips touched hers, she felt a spark go right from her
head to the tips of her toes. Was kissing supposed to feel this
way? To hear her childhood friend, Rachel, talk about the kiss one
of her beaus had given her, one would think there wasn’t much
excitement in it. Well, maybe that was why Rachel ran off with
another gentleman. Maybe she’d known a mediocre kiss meant her beau
was the wrong gentleman to marry.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this was a good omen.
Maybe she hadn’t made a mistake in getting off the stagecoach when
she came to this town. After all, Bee had often said whether people
want to admit it or not, everything happened for a reason. It
wasn’t up to people to figure everything out. All they could do was
trust in the Lord’s guidance.

A series of frantic knocks at the door
pulled Caroline down from the heights of the clouds and right back
into the small cabin.

Eric put down his cup and rose to his feet.
“I better find out what’s going on,” he told her as he crossed the
distance to the door. He swung it open, and on the other side was a
man who was twisting a hat in his hands. “Enoch?” Eric asked, his
tone giving away his surprise. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t
you be at home with your wife?”

“I would be, Sheriff, except I got word that
Benny is on his way to Abe Thomas’ place,” Enoch replied.

Eric went over to the hooks next to the door
and retrieved his holster with a gun in it. “When did he head out
there?”

“Probably twenty minutes ago. I tried to
stop him, but he wouldn’t listen to reason.”

Eric slipped the holster around his waist
then grabbed his hat. Looking back at Caroline, he said, “I’ll
explain everything later, but I need to get going. Don’t wait up. I
don’t expect to be back for at least a few hours.”

“Alright,” she replied, her voice almost a
whisper. He had the same urgent look the Confederate soldiers
hiding in her home had when the Union soldiers came. She’d known
enough to stay out of their way then, and she’d do the same for
Eric now.

In the next moment, Eric left the cabin,
shutting the door behind him. She waited for a few seconds before
curiosity got the best of her, and she ran over to the window to
see what he was doing. She watched as Eric and the other man went
into town, heading in the direction of the livery stable.

With nothing else to do, she finished her
cider then put their cups in the sink. The cabin was eerily quiet
once all the commotion from the day had died down. She shivered a
moment but then reminded herself she wasn’t back in South
Carolina.

Taking the kerosene lamp, she checked on
Caleb, who could, thankfully, sleep peacefully in a brand new
place. If she had a purpose here, then so did Caleb. There was a
reason she’d found him when she did. More than that, there was a
reason he’d trusted her enough to go in the stagecoach with her.
Some day, she might know the reason. But for now, she just had to
trust that Bee was right. And it was easier to do that now that she
and Eric had shared such a wonderful kiss.

Feeling better, she went to her new bedroom,
thinking too late she already had a kerosene lamp lit in here. She
thought of putting the one she was holding back on the table next
to the couch, but despite the fact that the cabin was a small one,
a lot of shadows crept along the walls. She’d learned to never
trust shadows. Too many things could be hiding there, and right
now, her imagination played out all sorts of horrible things that
could happen to a human being.

She closed her bedroom door, set the lamp
next to the other, and decided to keep both lit. Once she was under
the blankets, she curled up onto her side. As much as she’d been
anxious about being with her husband this evening, she’d much
rather go through the uncertainty of a wedding night than be
snuggled up with a couple of blankets.

She considered bringing Caleb in so there’d
be someone else in the room with her, but she quickly decided
against it. Eric would be back, and there wasn’t room for the three
of them. She’d just have to bide her time until he returned.

Thankfully, she was no longer in South
Carolina. Here, her nightmares were only figments of the past. It
was much easier to deal with one’s imagination than reality. After
two full hours, she was finally able to drift off to sleep.

Chapter Six

I
t
was well past midnight by the time Eric and Enoch made it back to
town with the corpses of Benny McGowan and Gene Carter in the back
of Abe’s wagon. Eric should have warned Abe right after he released
Benny from jail, but he hadn’t believed Benny would resort to
violence. More than that, he hadn’t realized Benny knew
Gene.

Eric glanced back at the dead men as they
rocked to the swaying of the wagon. Well, he wouldn’t make the
mistake of ignoring Abe’s warnings in the future. If Abe said
someone was trouble, he was going to take that warning
seriously.

“This is all my fault,” Enoch mumbled from
next to him.

Eric steered the two steeds into town,
careful not to hit a nearby tree along the winding path.

“If I hadn’t tried to hurt Phoebe that day
in the general store, nothing bad would have happened tonight,”
Enoch continued, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

“You can’t do anything about the past,” Eric
replied. “All you can do is act better in the future. Tonight was a
good start.”

Enoch glanced over at him, a trace of hope
in his eyes. “You think so?”

“You told me Benny and Gene were on their
way to Abe’s home. You risked their wrath by trying to protect Abe.
That took a lot of courage.”

“I don’t feel courageous.”

“You don’t have to feel courageous to be
courageous. Courage means you do what’s right despite your
fear.”

“Maybe.”

Eric pulled the wagon to a stop in front of
Benny’s brother’s house. “You stay here while I talk to
Daniel.”

Without waiting for Enoch to respond, Eric
jumped off the wagon and went over to the small log cabin home. He
knocked on the door and waited until he heard footsteps from the
other side before saying, “It’s the sheriff.”

The door opened, and Daniel whispered, “Not
so loud or you’ll wake the children. What’s wrong?”

“Your brother and Gene Carter went up to Abe
Thomas’ place tonight to kill Abe, and probably his wife and her
mother. I shot Benny before he could shoot me, and Abe’s wife got
Gene. Both men are dead in the back of that wagon.” He pointed to
the wagon, and Enoch looked away, as if worried Daniel would be
upset with him. “Do you want a funeral for Benny?”

“Just a moment,” Daniel said then closed the
door. A minute later, Daniel stepped outside, fully dressed, and
walked over to the back of the wagon. “You say Benny’s back
here?”