The Stafford Collection, Historical Western Romances (37 page)

Chapter 13

Turning to Amelia, Sabrina spoke, “Since the Reynolds are resting, this would be a good time to head into town. Jaelyn and I need to get fitted for gowns. You and Chase should come as well.”

“
You just want me to share in your agony. Very thoughtful. I’d love to go; the men can get the horses and I’ll make the sacrifice to find Thomas and Jaelyn.”

Sabrina accompanied Brock and Chase to the
stable. She insisted upon brushing down Troy after his morning workout with Brock. He saddled Justice to ride and picked out some mounts for the other riders while Chase tethered the horses for the wagon.

Congregating at the stable, they were surprised that Riley wanted to join them as well. Jaelyn insisted on riding so Brock begrudgingly let her borrow Justice as he joined Sabrina and Amelia in the
wagon.

The group headed off for the journey into town. Sabrina watched the scenery
while taking note of the changes here and there since her last visit to town many, many years ago.

The ride seemed quicker than she remembered and the town itself seemed a little bit smaller. Pulling up to the corral, they left the wagon and horses.

They split off into two groups as the women headed to the seamstress shop and the men went to check out the town.

The three lovely young women caused much stir in the usually quiet town. Amelia who was used to city life just ignored them, Sabrina still not used to her femininity looked away, and Jaelyn glared at them.

One man not only stared openly but also turned to watch them walk away. A thoughtful look crossed his face as he moved to talk to the clerk that was sweeping the walk outside of the saloon.

“
Those sure are some fine looking women. Who are they?”

“
Not sure, probably part of the Lovett crowd.”

“
As in Warren Lovett?”

“
Yup, his sister is getting married. Gonna be a big shindig.”

“
Which one is his sister?”

“
Don’t rightly know.”

The man continued to stare until they were out of sight and the other returned to his futile chore.

The women soon spotted the wooden sign which simply said “Seamstress.” Getting closer they looked on in awe of the beautiful gowns on display in the window. A bit more eager they pushed their way into the shop.

They were greeted by an older woman with gray hair pulled back tightly into a bun.

“I am Mrs. Cranbrook, the owner. May I help you?”

“
Yes, we are here for our fittings. I believe my brother Warren Lovett has made the arrangements?”

Even though the store was completely
empty, she shuffled back to her desk to look at her blotter on her desk.

“
Um… yes. Sabrina Lovett and Ja…”

“
Jaelyn Stafford.” Sabrina supplied receiving a frown for her interruption.

“
Yes, yes two wedding gowns,” she said as her eyes raked over the girls disapprovingly. They came to rest on Sabrina’s stomach.

Amelia who was used to dealing with seamstresses stepped up.
“Yes, we need two gowns. If that is too much for you to handle, I’m sure there are other seamstresses in town who can.”

An instant change came over the woman. She even forced a smile.
“No need for that! This is the best shop in town and I’m sure that Mr. Lovett wants the best for his sister. Why don’t you come in the back and we’ll get started right away.”

She led them to the rear of the shop where there were bolts of fabric everywhere. A settee and some chairs were in one tight corner and a sewing machine in the other. A young woman with long
blond hair about their age sat next to a dress form. She looked up from hand stitching beads onto a dress as they entered.

“
Shauna! We have clients. Come, write down the measurements.”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

Sabrina recognized her instantly.
“Shauna Jackson?”

“
Sabrina! What on earth happened to you? We were all so worried! I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were back.”

“
Well, I ended up in Oklahoma and met an amazing man named Brock. Jaelyn is his sister and I’m not sure if you ever met my cousin Amelia,” she said, hugging Shauna and introducing the others.

“
Wow, it’s really good to have you back! This place is so boring! Remember after church how we used to run up and down the planked sidewalks?”

“
I’d forgotten that. I guess when I tried to block out my memories I blocked out the good ones as well.”

Mrs. Cranbrook cleared her throat.
“If you still need these gowns in two weeks we need to get started. Sabrina, we’ll start with you.”

Sabrina reluctantly moved forward
and stripped down to her undies and moved to stand on the small stool. The lady called off dozens of numbers to Shauna who meticulously wrote them down. Jaelyn was next. Mrs. Cranbrook eyed her fawn-colored skin with a frown but did not comment. After the measurements, they moved to the bolts of fabric.

“
I assume you both want white?”

“
Actually, I want mine to be yellow,” Sabrina stated; she had given it a lot of thought. Yellow just seemed right since it was her mother’s favorite color and it went well with her dark hair. It would be a tribute to her.

“
Alright then, what shade of yellow?” she asked, pulling out bolt after bolt of yellow fabric each one slightly different from the rest. The woman piled the discarded bolts on Shauna who would replace them in the racks. Sabrina finally found the best one, a bit deeper than the rest that reminded her of daffodils blooming in the spring.

“
We can add a bunch of ruffles around your waist to hide your belly.”

“
I do not want you to hide my baby. I am very proud to be carrying Brock’s child. I do not care what you or anyone else in town thinks.”

“But,
my dear, Warren suggested…”

“
If Warren likes gowns with lots of ruffles that is fine, he can wear one at his wedding. I don’t like ruffles and I despise lace!”

“
Beads?” the woman asked hesitantly.

“
Beads are fine.”

Without another word, she turned to Jaelyn and pulled out about twenty different bolts of white before finding one that went perfect with her creamy complexion.

“Do you like ruffles and lace?” she asked Jaelyn hesitantly.

“
She will love them,” Amelia spoke up with a wink.

They thanked the ladies and made arrangements to come back in two weeks to pick them up.

They met the men for lunch. Thomas had met with the local doctor in town while Brock had stopped in at the jailhouse. Riley and Chase, left to their own accord, ended up at the saloon playing cards. Amelia frowned at that; she would have loved to have been playing cards instead of cooped up for hours with a stuffy seamstress. Nevertheless, Sabrina needed her. What sacrifices you make for family.

The food soon arrived. It was good but could not hold a candle to Alma
’s cooking. There was much laughter, mostly at Chase’s expense. He seemed to be a target since Amelia was with them. He was able to hold his own and retorted back without hesitation.

“
I need to stop by the post. I want to let my father know that I arrived safely,” Amelia said as they were getting ready to leave.

“
I’ll go with you,” Chase offered, bringing more laughter.

“
You just wanna get out of saddling your horse,” Brock replied.

“
In that case, I say Chase should drive the wagon on the way back,” Sabrina added with a wink to Jaelyn as they parted ways.

***

“Thank you for accompanying me. I’m sure this town is full of vagrants and thieves,” she joked, looking around at the deserted streets.

“
You can never be too careful. My mother always said ‘Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry
[6]
.’”

“
And what does your father say?”

“‘
Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe
[7]
.’”

Amelia laughed as she pushed open the door to the clerk
’s office. A bell tinged above her head and a man in glasses appeared behind the counter.

“
May I help you?”

“
Yes, I need to send a telegram to California.”

All
business, the man jotted down the message. When he came to her name he looked up.

“
Are you related to Warren Lovett? You wouldn’t happen to be his sister would you?”

“
No, I’m his cousin. I came for his sister’s wedding.”

“
I am so glad that her fiancé found her.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Her fiancé, a nice gentleman, yellow hair? He stopped by looking for her some time ago and was very determined to find her.”

Chase immediately stepped up to the counter and lifted the man in the air by his shirt collar with one arm.

“Sabrina is marrying my brother. She was kidnapped by a madman with yellow hair. The same man that slaughtered her family. I do hope you have no idea how he found her.”

The man
’s eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets and his face turned from red to an odd blue color.

Amelia grabbed Chase
’s arm in alarm and he instantly dropped him to the wooden floor with a thud. The man gasped for air as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

“
I had no idea! I take my job very seriously. Privacy is essential.”

Still
seething, Chase took a menacing step forward and the man wet his pants. “Because of you, another innocent family was tortured and murdered in Oklahoma and who knows how many they killed in between. I do hope you were paid well for selling your soul.”

Chase turned and left the store
abruptly, trying to get his anger under control. He would talk to Brock privately; there was no need to upset Sabrina in her condition.

At his
side, Amelia practically trotted to keep up with his long angry strides. Giving up, she grabbed his hand pulling him to a stop.

“
Do you mind telling me what the hell just happened back there?”

Chase looked down at his hands realizing she was still holding one. She dropped it and crossed her arms with a slight blush. He noticed how the movement caused her
breasts to swell up more over her bodice and his mind went from anger to lust.

Amelia,
following his gaze, cleared her throat in aggravation.

“
What was the question?” he asked as he looked into her deep blue eyes.

“
The weasel at the post office. What gives?”

“
Sabrina and Brock couldn’t figure out how she was tracked to Oklahoma. I bet the weasel was going through Warren’s mail.”

“
So he gave her away? He should be punished! We should go to the sheriff.”

Chase had to grab Amelia
’s arm to keep her from stomping off down the street. “It is not our place. We will inform Brock and Warren. They will do what they see fit.”

Amelia felt
awful since she had, of course, been brought up to date about Sabrina’s ordeal, but she had not heard about the other families. Why were people so cruel? Needing comfort, she threw her arms around Chase and he held her tightly, rubbing her back.

“
Are we interrupting anything?” a cool voice asked followed by giggles.

Chase reluctantly let Amelia go as he looked up to see Sabrina and Jaelyn.

“Didn’t think it took that long to send a telegram.”

“
We were just heading back,” Chase said, grabbing Amelia’s hand and ignoring their snickers as they headed to the wagon.

When they arrived, Brock lifted Sabrina up to the end
seat, forcing Amelia to climb in the middle. Chase sat on the other end.

Amelia,
not sure where to put her hands since she was in the center, kept them clasped together in her lap. Chase was his usual talkative self, keeping up a steady stream of remarks to the riders around them.

They were packed in so tight on the small seat her thigh was touching his from knee to hip. She tried to ignore it, which was extremely difficult. Every furrow he hit was like a caress.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were hitting those damn ruts on purpose! Keep it smooth or I’m taking over!” Sabrina grumbled as she clung to the edge of the seat lest she be sent flying into the dirt. Brock was immediately riding by her side and glaring at his younger brother.