The Mistaken Mail Order Bride (8 page)

“Yes,” Eric replied, keeping up with him. “I
want to make it clear that Benny is at fault here. Abe didn’t do
anything wrong.”

“I’m not questioning your story, Sheriff.
I’m well aware of how much Benny hated Abe. Being put in jail
didn’t exactly put him in a better mood.”

“He wouldn’t have gotten put in jail if he
hadn’t watched while Enoch tried to take advantage of Phoebe.”
Recalling Enoch was within hearing, he quickly amended, “Enoch has
seen the error of his ways. He warned me your brother and Gene were
going to hurt Abe and his wife.”

“You don’t need to give me all the details,”
Daniel told Eric. “Benny came to see me after supper, and he was so
mad I thought his head was going to explode.”

“Did he mention anything about Abe?”

“No. He wanted to borrow a gun. My son was
out hunting with it.” Daniel took a good look at his brother’s
corpse. “It looks like he managed to get a hold of another one. You
said you shot him?”

“Yes. When I got to Abe’s cabin, he was
coming out of the barn. He pulled out his gun and shot in my
direction, so I fired back.” Eric didn’t know whether Benny had
been a lousy shot or if being knocked out in the barn for some time
had made him miss, but Benny could have very easily gotten him
instead. Forcing the realization aside, he added, “Would you like a
funeral for him?”

“I know what he did was wrong, but it would
help the family move on if we could say good-bye properly.”

“I understand. I’ll take him to Travis so he
can get his body ready for the funeral.”

“What will you do with the other man?”
Daniel gestured to Gene.

“I’m going to have Travis burn his
body.”

Daniel nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He let
out a sigh and shook his head. “This won’t be easy to tell Ma.
She’s going to be heartbroken, but he brought it on himself.” He
gave Eric’s shoulder a pat. “You did what you had to do.”

As Daniel went back to his house, Eric
couldn’t help but think of how much grief someone could bring
others when they let the desire for vengeance take over. Benny
could have turned over a new leaf. He could have let the matter go.
But he’d chosen to hold onto his anger, and by doing so, he’d paid
the price. Not everyone paid for their choices immediately. Eric
had seen men get by with doing wrong for years before they got what
they deserved. But in Benny’s case, he’d quickly reaped what he’d
sown.

Suddenly feeling tired, he climbed into the
wagon. “I’m going to take you home,” he told Enoch. “You must be
tired.” God knew he was, and he hadn’t been all tied up in knots
over the night’s events like Enoch had been.

“Well, I’m never going to hurt another
person for as long as I live,” Enoch murmured, tucking his chin to
his chest, seeming far older than he really was.

“If you take this opportunity to change your
life for the better, then this will have been worth it,” Eric
replied. “It’s not where we’ve been that matters; it’s where we’re
going. Benny chose his path. You’ll have to choose yours.”

From there, the two men rode in silence
until Eric pulled the wagon up to Enoch’s home. To Eric’s surprise,
Enoch turned to him and said, “I’m a new man this night, Sheriff.
I’m never going back to who I used to be.”

Sensing Enoch needed the assurance, Eric
smiled. “I believe you, Enoch.”

Seeming relieved by this small gesture of
faith, Enoch got down from the wagon and went into his small home
that had seen better days.

Eric lifted the reins and urged the steeds
on to Travis Martin’s property. He made his way up the dark,
winding pathway, thankful for the small bit of moonlight that made
its way past the tree branches to light his way. The tree-lined
path eventually gave way to a small clearing.

On the right was a cottage, which was
surrounded by a group of fruit trees, and to the left were the barn
and the wood building where Travis did his work. Even in the
moonlight, Eric could make out how many repairs this place needed.
In many ways, it was as if the world had forgotten all about it and
was letting it fade into the past.

Which was a shame, really. Travis had
incredible talent but didn’t appreciate it any more than he
appreciated himself.

Shoving the thought aside, Eric set the
brake and climbed down from the wagon.

He’d made it to the door of the cottage when
a voice called out from the building, “What can I do for you,
Sheriff?”

Eric turned from the cottage in time to see
Travis step out of the doorway, noticing the light from the lantern
hanging inside the building for the first time. Travis’ hat tipped
forward so Eric couldn’t see his face.

Eric had to admit when it was dark and
Travis came out of that building, shoulders slouched and trudging
forward, Travis resembled a bear. It didn’t help that Travis was
taller than other men. Even Eric only reached his nose, and Eric
was six feet tall.

“What brings you here, Sheriff?” Travis
asked, finally interrupting Eric’s thoughts of strong bears lurking
among the trees.

Eric blinked and shook his head to clear it.
“Um,” he went over to the wagon, “there was a shootout at Abe
Thomas’ place tonight. I need a coffin for Benny. As for the other
man,” he reached the back of the wagon, “Abe wants his body
burned.”

Travis lumbered forward and came just shy of
Eric being able to see his face. “I can make a coffin for Benny and
have it ready in two days. As for the other man, I’ll burn him
right away.”

“Thanks.”

Eric slid his arm under Benny to lift him
out of the wagon, but Travis said, “I got them.”

Eric backed away and watched as Travis
lifted Benny as if he was picking up a potato sack. Big as a bear
and as strong as one, too. Eric felt sorry for anyone who’d dare
challenge Travis. That person wouldn’t stand a chance.

Travis flung Benny over his shoulder and
then picked up Gene and flung him over his other shoulder. Not
looking in Eric’s direction, he said, “I’ll have the coffin and
Benny ready in two days. Come at noon.”

“Alright,” Eric replied. “As payment, I
could have someone come out to do some repairs.”

“That’s not necessary. Just send more of
those goodies Lois makes.”

“Lois’ foods don’t add up to the value of
the work you’re doing with these men,” Eric argued, gesturing to
Benny and Gene even though he wasn’t sure if Travis was looking at
him.

“But I like what she cooks, especially her
breads and pies.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, I’ll arrange
it for you.”

“Thanks, Sheriff.” Then Travis turned and
headed back to the building.

Eric wondered if he should say more, but
then he decided it was best if he didn’t. Travis was a man of few
words, and Eric was better off letting him be. With a shrug, he
went back up into the wagon and headed back to town.

***

When Caroline woke up, it was just past
dawn. She rolled over in the bed and realized she was still alone.
Curious, she got up, put on her robe, and left the bedroom to see
if Eric had returned at all during the night. But there was no
trace of him anywhere, and his hat and boots weren’t by the
door.

Was it often like this? Should she get used
to sleeping alone at night? She hadn’t slept alone since the war.
In fact, there had been safety in numbers, especially when one
didn’t know if the enemy would be coming that night.

Caroline had forgotten what it’d been like
to be alone. Well, she wasn’t alone, though. Not really. Caleb was
in the other room.

She hurried to get dressed, choosing the
same dress she’d put on yesterday after her bath. Then she pinned
her hair back. She almost pinched her cheeks to make them a nice
rosy color, something she’d often done back for the balls, but then
she decided against it. Eric wasn’t here, and even if he was, would
it even matter?

Out here, did gentlemen worry about a lady’s
cheek color? She had such a simple dress and hairstyle. Everything
about her matched the town. Simple. Plain. Ordinary. There was
nothing that made her stand apart from the crowd.

But her life was no longer back in South
Carolina. She had more important things to focus on now. Keeping
her footsteps quiet, she decided to check on Caleb.

His door creaked despite her efforts to be
silent. To her surprise, the boy was awake. He was staring at the
ceiling, not making a single sound.

“Good morning,” she greeted.

He blinked and then looked over at her.

“How are you feeling this morning?” she
asked as she came into the room.

He blinked again, but he didn’t say
anything.

She remained quiet for a moment, trying to
figure out what she might say or do to make him feel more
comfortable with her.

Then Caleb’s eyes filled with tears, and she
rushed over to him. She gathered him in her arms and let him cry.
Her mother used to shush her when she cried, and she remembered
thinking how unfair it was that she hadn’t been allowed to express
her feelings. “A young lady always smiles, no matter how she’s
feeling,” her mother would say.

But Caroline knew there were times when a
smile didn’t make things better. Sometimes, it was necessary to
give in and cry. So she decided she wouldn’t tell Caleb it was
wrong to cry. She might not know how he ended up in the streets all
by himself, but whatever had happened to him had to have been
horrible.

Caleb had been crying when she’d found him
on the street, curled up against a building in an alley. She tried
to find out who his parents were. She’d even gone to the marshal to
see what could be done about him, but he’d told her children were
left behind when parents couldn’t take care of them. “Usually, we
take them to the orphanage. Is that what you want to do with him?”
he’d asked.

But something about Caleb compelled her to
take him with her. She wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe it was
thinking back to Bee, who’d helped her and her friends when they
lost everything after the war. Bee hadn’t had anything to her name,
but she had the strongest will of anyone Caroline had ever known,
and she’d said they would manage to survive. And they had. Bee’s
determination had seen to that.

The front door opened, and Caleb grew quiet.
She wiped the tears from his cheeks and whispered, “I’ll be
back.”

She hurried out of the room. Caleb seemed so
shy. She didn’t think he’d like it if Eric knew he’d been crying.
For this reason, she closed the door almost all the way before she
went over to the man she’d just married yesterday.

“You look exhausted,” she said, thinking too
late it did no good to come out and state the obvious.

“It was a long night,” he replied with a
weary smile. He hung up his hat and holster. “I had to make funeral
arrangements for one man and have the other burned.”

Gasping, she closed the distance between
them. “Really?”

“My job isn’t usually that exciting. For the
most part, I help settle petty arguments. But, once in a while,
like last night, someone will try to harm another person. I’m happy
to say the innocent prevailed in this case.”

“Oh, then that’s good.” As much as she
wanted to ask him how the men ended up dead, she didn’t. This was
his business, and she was better off staying out of it. “You must
be tired since you were up all night. Is there anything I can get
you before you go to sleep?”

“A glass of water will be fine, thanks.”

Now, this was a task she could do. She
hurried to pour him a glass while he took off his boots.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious about how
two men turned up dead?” Eric asked.

She glanced over at him. “Well, yes, but I
figure it’s none of my concern since I’m a lady.”

“You’re also the wife of a sheriff, and you
might as well know what you married into,” he said, sitting in one
of the chairs at the small, round table in the kitchen. “Things
like this happen once in a while, and you might as well be
prepared.”

She didn’t like the sound of this. Turning
from the pitcher, she faced him. “Prepared for what?”

“This area of the country can be rugged. Out
here, men carry guns for more than just hunting. Sometimes they
need to defend themselves. Now, I’ve done my part to clean up the
lawlessness that was going on when I moved here. People are allowed
to keep their guns in their homes for protection, and they’re
certainly welcome to hunt. But if I find someone pulling out a gun
in town with the intent to harm someone, I’ll take it from them and
fine them. If they insist on this behavior, they lose the gun
altogether. Ever since I’ve started doing that, things have gotten
a lot better. But, last night, two men went up to someone’s home
and tried to kill the people living there. Things got lucky, and
the innocent people weren’t harmed. It’s not always like that, but
thankfully, last night, it was.”

She brought the glass of water over to him
and set it on the table.

He almost drank the entire glass in one
gulp.

“I didn’t realize you were so thirsty,” she
said. “I’ll get you another glass.”

“No need. This is enough.” He finished the
rest of the glass and handed it to her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The glass felt warm from his touch, and for
a moment, she was reminded of the feel of his lips on hers. This
whole matter of being married was still so new she wasn’t sure how
to adjust to it. How much would her life change now that she was a
wife?

“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to
sleep,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

She took a good look at him, finally seeing
how tired he was. “No, I don’t mind. Go on and get some rest. I can
take care of things.”

To her surprise, when he stood up, he kissed
her. It was a short kiss, the kind of kiss a husband might give his
wife as a greeting, and it made her skin tingle.