The Outrider (Redbourne Series #5 - Will's Story) (30 page)

The humor disappeared from Will’s features and
his eyes fell to her mouth. Elizabeth’s heart quickened and she bit her lip.
Why did he have to be so attractive?

The horses neighed and the spell was broken.

“You can put me down now,” Elizabeth said with a
smile.

“I don’t think so.” Will scrunched down,
balancing her in his arms, and retrieved her shoes. Then, he carried her over
to the buckboard and placed her on the back fold.

“I am perfectly capable of walking across a
meadow, Mr. Redbourne.”

“And, I am perfectly capable of carrying you.” He
reached behind her and pulled a bag full of foodstuffs. “I thought you might
want a little something to eat before we get back on the road.” He pulled a
small box from the bag and opened it to a delightful savory scent.

“What is in there?” She pulled back one of the
box sides to peer inside.

She was greeted with pork medallions, fried
potatoes, and corn bread. Elizabeth’s mouth started to water. “I am starving.”

“I thought you might be.” He chuckled and handed
her a napkin with one of the medallions on it.

“I still want some of that muffin,” Elizabeth said,
as she lifted the pork for a bite.

Will reached into the bag and pulled out a basket
with several more of the cinnamon apple treats.

She pushed on his arm.

He laughed, but did not look at her as he turned
around and hopped up on the back of the wagon beside her and scooped a bite of
potatoes into his mouth.

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, swallowing her last
bite of cornbread. “I was going to wait until we arrived in Silver Falls, but…”
she twisted around, reached for the straps of her satchel, and dragged it
across the back of the buckboard until it was in her lap. “…here.” She handed
him a few of her newly folded bills.

It had taken all of her strength to sell her ruby
necklace, but when the appraiser had told her how much she would get for the
piece, she’d reasoned it would be an investment in her new life. She wanted to
start out by paying Will back for at least some of the extra expenses he’d
incurred escorting her across country.

“What’s this?” Will looked down at the money in
her hand and raised his brow, then picked up a napkin and wiped at the corners
of his mouth. “Well,” he said as he hopped down off the back of the wagon,
“we’d better get on the road. I’d like to make it to Silver Falls before dark.
Come on.” He held out a hand to help her down.

“Willlllll?”

He ignored her outstretched offering and scooped
her up into his arms again, carried her to the wagon seat, and set her down.

“Stay put,” he said before heading to the back
and packing up what was left of their food.

Elizabeth didn’t know where he thought she would
go without her shoes.

Stubborn man.

A leather corner of Will’s traveling bag
protruded from under his side of the seat. She glanced back to see him closing
up the back of the wagon. With the money still in her hand, she leaned down,
opened the flap of the side pocket, and quickly slipped the bills inside.

When he finally joined her on the wagon’s seat,
he handed over her shoes and stockings, then grabbed a hold of the reins. “I
don’t know what kind of impression you want to make, but showing up barefoot to
meet that preacher groom of yours would be a right bold move.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth in protest, but when
she saw the smile that played with his handsome features, she closed it again
and turned to face forward.

“Some men like bold,” she quipped, not offering
him the satisfaction of another glance.

Will chuckled.

“That we do. That we do.” He snapped the reins
and they started the last leg of her mail-order journey.

Silver
Falls, Colorado

As they pulled into the dusty streets of the
small town, Elizabeth’s heart began to beat faster and her lungs filled with
something seemingly lighter than air. Flutters twirled about in her belly as
she sat up straighter, watching as many of the townsfolk stopped to watch them as
they pulled up to the livery.

“Whoa,” Will called.

He pulled back on the brake and wrapped the reins
around it before jumping down and running over to her side.

“We made good time,” he said with a satisfied
grin. He wrapped his hands around the sides of her waist and helped her to the
ground.

“Thank you,” she told him, allowing her hands to
linger a little too long on his strong forearms.

He winked. “Stay here,” he said before
disappearing into the stables.

Elizabeth glanced around at the curious faces
looking at her as the onlookers talked amongst themselves. She brushed down her
skirt at the creases their travels had placed in her dress.

The town was quaint, reminding her somewhat of
Stone Creek. It was just missing the huge clock in the center of town. School
would have long been over by this time in the day, and yet she saw several children
playing stickball in a small field just off the main street.

She took a few steps toward the restaurant across
the street until she saw a man dressed in dark colored trousers and a charcoal
grey shirt with a white clerical collar, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows,
skipping down the steps of the eatery, whistling cheerfully. Certainly a man of
the cloth would not be dressed so casually, nor would he be so handsome.

Would he?

Intrigued, she watched as he greeted several
passersby before heading into the mercantile.

Curiosity pecked at Elizabeth’s mind until she
gave in to its lure. Unable to stop herself, she pulled her shawl up around her
shoulders, crossing her arms in front of her, and strode over to the store. She
peeked inside the window where she could see the preacher speaking to the woman
behind the counter, his face all but obscured. She looked back at the livery.
Will glanced up and their eyes met.

At least, this time, he would know where she’d
gone.

After a moment of trying to collect her nerve,
she pulled open the mercantile door and strolled casually inside, attempting to
get a better look at the man while browsing their humble selection of food
stuffs, home improvement materials, and sewing notions.

“I hear the stage has been delayed,” the woman behind
the counter said. “We’re all anxious to meet this mysterious bride of yours,
Mac.”

Mac?

“You and me both,” he said with a wink.

Elizabeth sucked in a breath. She quickly picked
up a large box of four candles and raised it in front of her face. She’d met
several preachers in her lifetime and none of them looked like that.

“It’s such a shame she won’t be here to join us
for the celebrations on Saturday.”

Movement outside the window caught Elizabeth’s
attention and she glanced over to see Will striding up the boardwalk toward the
mercantile. He stopped in front of the shop next door, then disappeared.
Elizabeth leaned forward, attempting to see where he’d gone.

“Hello.”

Elizabeth spun around to find the woman from
behind the counter walking toward her.

“Hello,” she replied with a smile, daring a glance
at the handsome reverend. He was a little older than she’d expected, but that
did not detract from his appeal.

The woman and the preacher both stared at her
expectantly.

“Forgive me. My name is Elizabeth Archer,” she
started, gulping with her next breath. “I was supposed to be coming in on the
stage.”

This caught the preacher’s attention and he
turned to face her, leaning on the counter.

“We ran into a bit of trouble on the way into
Denver, so when the stage was delayed, we decided to come by wagon.”

“We?” the storekeeper asked.

How did she explain Will?

“The outrider who escorted me here,” she said
matter-of-factly. “And me.”

“And the rest of the passengers on the stage?”
the preacher asked with interest, pushing himself away from the counter and
taking a step closer.

“I knew two of the other women who are on their
way, but we got separated and I am not sure when they will be arriving.”

“I’m Matilda Patterson, by the way. This is my
place,” the woman said, glancing around the store. “Tell us, dear. What brings
you to our little town?”

Elizabeth looked at the preacher and gulped. She
looked down at her feet, then back up again. “Well, you see…I’m—”

The bell just above the door rang and Will walked
into the room.

She exhaled loudly.

“Elizabeth,” Will called. “The horses are settled
for the night, but we’d better head on over to the church if we want to find
that pastor of yours before it gets too dark.” He turned to the shop owner. “I
don’t suppose you could direct us to the Lord’s house, could you, ma’am?”

Elizabeth laughed nervously. “Will,” she said,
grabbing his arm and pulling him up in front of the man she’d come all the way
to Silver Falls to marry.

The pastor stepped forward, his hand extended.
“I’m Mac, the preacher here in town. Are you looking for me?”

“
You’re
the preacher?” Will asked
incredulously. It appeared it was his turn to be surprised. He glanced over at
Elizabeth with a raised brow.

Heat rushed into her cheeks.

“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod. “Were you
expecting someone else?”

“You could say that,” Will said, accepting the
man’s shake. “That’s quite a grip you’ve got there, pastor.”

“Sorry,” Mac said, releasing Will’s hand and
raising them slightly in front of him. “Comes with the job.”

“Well, now isn’t that fitting? I guess my work is
done here. Ma’am,” he said with a tip of his hat as he stepped back toward the
door. Then, he turned around and faced the preacher. “If you don’t mind my
asking, Mac, why would a man of your…standing,” he forced out, “have the need for
a mail-order-bride?”

Elizabeth could feel the blush in her cheeks
deepen.

The preacher narrowed his eyes curiously to look
at Will.

“Well, now, how would a stranger in town know something
like that?”

Will looked over at her again, his dark brown
eyes unreadable, and Elizabeth’s mouth went dry. She managed a sheepish smile
and took a step between them, facing the preacher.

“Because, I…
am
the mail-order-bride.”

Will didn’t know what he’d been expecting of a
small town preacher, but Pastor Mac was not it. He’d counted on the man to
be…unappealing at the least, and had never imagined that Elizabeth might
actually be attracted to her unseen groom. But, by the way she was gazing up at
him…

A huge knot formed in his gut.

“You’re not Winnie,” the preacher said skeptically
to Elizabeth.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not.”

She looked at Will as if to garner courage, but he
had no intention of sticking around long enough to watch the woman he’d grown
to care so much about over the last few days offer herself up as a bride to a
man she’d never met before.

He needed air.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said with a nod toward
Mac. “I’ve got some business to attend to.” He turned back to the door.

Elizabeth leaned toward him. “What business?” she
whispered, her eyes leaving the pastor briefly to search Will’s.

“You found him, Elizabeth. I’ll find a place to
stay tonight while you two get acquainted.”

“But, Will…”

“Ma’am,” he said with a tip of his hat, then he turned
to the man to whom Elizabeth would be wed. “Pastor.” He nodded his goodbye.
“Elizabeth.”

Without waiting for her response, he marched from
the mercantile and down the road back toward the livery, his breathing
staggered, his heart racing, and his fists on fire.

He needed a fight.

Elizabeth and the preacher walked the length of
the boardwalk and out beyond town to a small pathway that led down to a large,
rushing stream, as they discussed their unique situation.

“I must admit, in this job, there’s not much that
surprises me, Miss Archer, but you surprise me.”

“How so?”

“Well,” he rubbed his lightly bearded chin, “you’re
in love, yet here you are, fixing on getting married to a man you’ve known for
all of an hour.”

“I am not in love. Why would you say such a
thing?”

Love?
Will was the most annoying, controlling,
arrogant, beautiful man she’d ever met, but did she love him?

“Don’t be telling me that you haven’t noticed how
that young man looks at you. How you look at him.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t bother denying it. Sometimes, the Lord
works in mysterious ways and sometimes he just lays it out plain as day, and
darlin’, today it’s as plain as day.”

“If that’s what you believe, then why are you
here walking with me? Listening to my life story?”

He shrugged. “I’m the preacher here. That’s what
I do.”

“You are not angry?”

“Why should I be? Getting a mail-order-bride
wasn’t my idea in the first place. I come from a place called Thistleberry,
Montana, where there are ten or more times the men to women. The folks there
believed that a man of God should have a good woman by his side. I don’t
disagree, but instead of allowing me to find someone on my own, they placed an
ad for me with a matchmaker service. I’d actually hoped that it would happen
for me naturally.”

“And why hasn’t it?” she asked.

“I guess I just haven’t found the right woman. It
is challenging when the odds are ten to one.”

“Maybe for a lot of men, but look at you. I’m not
convinced.”

Did I just say that out loud?
Heat rose in her cheeks.

“I, I mean, I cannot imagine you having trouble
gaining favors with any woman you wanted.”

That wasn’t any better. Change the subject!

“What kind of woman is right for you?”

He laughed. “I imagine she’ll be a lot like
you—brave, strong, smart,” he leaned into her and whispered, “beautiful.”

“Why Pastor MacKenzie, I do believe you are
flirting with me.”

“It’s Mac. And, if I thought for one minute that I’d
have a chance at having you look at me the same way you look at Will, I’d whisk
you away and marry you right now.”

It still hadn’t sunk in. She was attracted to
Will, there was no doubt, and he had been her hero, saving her from disaster
more than once, but love?

“That
is
why you paid my way to Silver
Falls. To get a bride out of the bargain.”

“Is it?” He turned to look at her, one eye mostly
closed.

“Now you are just teasing me.”

“Guilty as charged,” he said with a slight bow.

The pastor was very easy to talk to and she already
felt comfortable with him. This solution was supposed to have been the simple
one. Move to Colorado, marry a preacher, lead a peaceful life and live happily
ever after. It was turning out to be much more complicated.

“You may give Mr. Redbourne a run for his money
yet,” she said, smiling up at him as she wrapped her hand around his crooked
arm as they walked.

“Redbourne? Not Leah’s boy?”

He surprised her at every turn.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I met Leah years ago when she brought her
children out to visit their granddad in Thistleberry. I am just a year older
than her oldest son, Raine. I knew they were from Kansas and since that is
where Winnie lived, I figured the chances were pretty good.”

“Sounds like you know them better than I do.”
Elizabeth shrugged. She realized just how little she knew about Will’s
family—other than what she’d learned in the few days she’d spent with them.

“I doubt that. I was working for Mr. Deardon at
the time. Leah’s father, well, his sons now, God rest his soul, own the largest
ranch in the territory, and the work kept me too busy to do much fraternizing.”

Elizabeth looked up at him and stopped, her eyes
wide. “You worked on a ranch?” she asked, surprised by the revelation.

Mac laughed. “I wasn’t always a preacher.” He
bent down and picked up a small pebble and tossed it into the river. “Liam, Mr.
Deardon, got me back on my feet after I lost my parents. His grandsons—Deardon
grandsons,” he clarified, “have become like my brothers. I’m afraid the only
one of Leah’s children I had much interaction with was Raine.”

“That makes a lot more sense. If the Deardons are
anything like the Redbournes, you’d fit right in.” She was being forward and
she knew it, but somehow, it didn’t feel wrong. “What is their secret? They
seem to be the perfect family.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would call them perfect,
they’ve had their trials, but I’ve never seen a family more devoted to each
other.”

“It sounds wonderful. Why would you ever leave
Montana?”

“I was offered a position here. A parsonage of my
own. And it just…felt right.”

“So, what made you want to become a preacher?”
She knew she was asking a lot of questions, but she couldn’t help herself. Mac
was a very interesting man—and, if she were honest with herself, she liked the
connection he had to Will and his family. “I can’t imagine it was for the
money.”

Mac laughed again.

She liked the deep, rich sound of it.

“Have you ever just felt like you were meant to
do something with your life?” He picked up another rock.

“Will and I just had this conversation. Yes.”

“Well, let’s just say I didn’t have the same type
of childhood as the Deardons, or the Redbournes. After my parents passed, I was
lost. Liam took me under his wing and I finally found a place where I was…I
don’t know…loved, encouraged, challenged to be a good man.” He tossed the rock
into the river. “Listen to me running off at the mouth. Maybe
you
should
be the preacher.” He smiled.

“I was prepared to be the preacher’s wife,” she
said with a little laugh, “but that doesn’t appear to be my calling either.”

Mac was a very handsome, attentive man, so why
did Elizabeth’s thoughts keep returning to Will? She wondered if he’d found a
place to stay for the night.

“Speaking of my calling,” the pastor said, “we
are having a community bazaar on Saturday to raise enough funds to build us a
new church and school. We’ve already got most of the lumber and will be having
a competition between some of the men to get the framework built as part of the
festivities. We could sure use another pair of hands.”

“I don’t know that I would be much help, but I’ll
try.”

The pastor shook his head. “I meant your Will.”

“Well, he’s not
my
Will, but he is a good
man and I am sure he would be happy to help, if you ask him.”

“Somehow, I think it would be better coming from
you.”

She turned to look at him, his eyes sparkled with
mischief. “I’ll ask.” She giggled.

“Well, we’d best be getting back. You would not
believe the talk that goes on in this town.” The preacher held out his crooked
arm and she took it. “Mrs. Patterson will have all of the ladies abuzz by now.
They’ll probably have us already married and have names picked out for at least
three of our children.”

They both laughed as they headed back to town.

“Will?”

Will turned to see Alaric Johannson, Cole’s young
friend, astride a lofty wagon seat as he pulled into town.

“What are you doing here?” the kid asked, leaning
down to rest his elbow on his knee.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Will had
forgotten until now that Alaric had kin who lived in Silver Falls. It hadn’t
been that long ago that the youth had been sitting next to Cole during his
little fight with Sven in their barn.

“I come here to visit my granddad every summer.
Just heading over to the mercantile to pick up a few supplies for the upcoming
week.” He motioned for Will to follow him across the street to the mercantile. “I
must admit, I would have never expected to see you around these parts. Denver
maybe.” He pulled to a stop in front of the store and jumped down off the seat.
“I hear there’s a big fight going on down there.”

Will wished Denver were a little closer right
now.

“It’s a long story, kid, but I’m heading out at
first light.”

“Redbourne business?”