A Bride to Heal His Broken Heart

by Melynda Carlyle

  Darren watched Ethan mount up and ride off, then gathered up his fencing supplies and headed back to the barn.

  Darren had just finished putting his tools away and combing down his mount when the sound of a wagon arriving drew him to the door of the barn. He watched the wagon come to a stop, driven by the man who had approached his pa several months ago about purchasing some of their land.

  Darren headed out to intercept him, grabbing the rifle off the hooks by the barn door for good measure. He kept it down at his side, but there was something about the man that set him on edge. Darren watched him climb down from the wagon and then dust off his jacket. Leroy Simpson.

  Darren started across the yard, calling a greeting to the man. “Afternoon.”

  Leroy turned and smiled at Darren. “Good afternoon.”

  “What brings you all the way out here?” Darren asked. He watched the man’s eyes go to the rifle and back to his face.

  “I was hoping I could speak to your pa for a few minutes.”

  Darren stopped and then folded his arms across his chest, glaring at the man coldly. The rifle was now cradled in his arms, a silent warning to the uninvited man.

  “If you’re here to try and convince him to reconsider your offer to sell our land to you, we’re not interested.”

  “Well, that may be how you feel, but the land deeds are under Brian’s name.”

  “I speak on behalf of my father. We are not selling, so you can just climb right back up into that wagon and go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under.”

  “If I could just speak with Brian—”

  Darren shook his head once. “That’s not happening.

  “Darren, you really need to reconsider my offer. You and your pa are making a terrible mistake. Your land won’t be worth much at all in a few months, especially with the continuing outlaw attacks reported in the area.”

  Darren sniffed and then shook his head. “Don’t care. Now, if that’s all you came out here for, you can leave. Get off of our land and don’t come back.” Darren unfolded his arms, giving the man a hard look with his rifle held at the ready.

  Leroy narrowed his eyes and then turned and climbed back up into his wagon. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that, he turned the wagon in a circle and headed out of the yard.

  Darren stood there, watching the man leave, anger burning in his chest. There was something about that man that just made Darren’s guts churn – something slimy about him, almost like the snake oil salesman Darren had met in town a few years ago.

  The man had been trying to sell miracle cures in fancy bottles, until one of the younger members of the town had caught him filling empty bottles all from the same bottle of oil. The boy had told his parents, and the man was run out of town before nightfall.

  Darren had the same uneasy feeling about Leroy Simpson. He only wished he had more than a feeling to go on.

  If the man was being dishonest with people, the sooner that could be proven, the sooner the townsfolk could be made aware and do something about it.

  Chapter 29

  “Remember, keep those stitches from getting wet until you see the doctor next week,” Lorna told her young charge.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the young boy assured her with a fast nod of his head.

  “And next time, listen to your pa and older brothers, and let them work that long saw.”

  “He’ll be listening, you can be assured of that,” Charles Binkley told her with a stern look at his youngest son. “It’s hard being so much younger than the other boys. But after he listens to his ma carry on for the next few days, I don’t think he’ll be disobeying anyone when it comes to the chores.”

  Lorna hid a smile as she imagined the young boy’s ma lecturing him day after day while he healed. If that didn’t cure him of his urge to grow up a mite too soon, she didn’t know what would.

  “I hope the next time we meet it will not be here in Dr. Ellsworth’s office.”

  “I hope so, too,” Benjamin whispered.

  “I’ll see you both out,” Lorna said with a smile. She opened the small door to the treatment area and waited until father and son had exited the building, then closed the door behind them.

  She returned to the desk she used to record information about the patients who visited Dr. Ellsworth’s practice. It had been a fairly quiet morning. She made notes about Benjamin’s injury for Dr. Ellsworth and then closed the notebook and tucked it away in the drawer.

  She wished for another patient to come through the doorway, though not because she wanted someone to be sick or injured: when she was helping the doctor, she didn’t have time to think about Darren. It was a selfish wish and she immediately felt guilty. Luckily, the good doctor came from the back room at that moment.

  “No more patients?”

  “Not yet,” Lorna told him with a smile.

  “Good, that gives us a few minutes to talk. I wanted to let you know how pleased I am with your skills and the help you’ve been able to provide the patients who come here. They like and trust you, which is high praise, indeed.”

  “Thank you.” Lorna smiled at him, blushing a bit at the compliment.

  Dr. Ellsworth smiled and then continued, “I’m so pleased, in fact, that I’d like to offer you a permanent, full-time position here. Before you answer, I should tell you that the position comes with boarding here in town. You wouldn’t have to keep driving back and forth between town and the Wilson ranch.”

  Lorna was stunned. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again a few seconds later and stammered, “I…I don’t even know what to say.” She was overwhelmed by his offer but also hesitant to accept it right now.

  He seemed to have been expecting that. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off to consider my proposal. Claire and I can handle things here for the rest of the day.”

  Lorna nodded and then quietly replied, “Thank you. I promise you I will give some serious thought to your kind offer.” She gathered up her things and draped her shawl across her shoulders.

  The sun was out, but there was still the hint of a chill in the air. She walked down the boardwalk, cataloging the businesses and people she met. She tried to envision living somewhere in town and not out at the ranch. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that Sofia had fallen into step with her until she had taken half a dozen steps alongside her.

  Lorna turned her head and then came to an abrupt halt with a sheepish grin. “Sofia! Sorry, I didn’t even see you.”

  “I know. What are you thinking so hard about?”

  Lorna started to answer her, but Sofia shook her head and hooked her elbow with Lorna’s. “Don’t answer me yet. Come to the house and have a cup of tea and some biscuits with me. That’s a much nicer atmosphere to conduct heavy thinking. You look like you are trying to solve a giant problem, and I’m more than willing to listen. I’ll even give my advice and opinion, if you so desire.”

  Lorna smiled and allowed herself to be pulled along. “I won’t argue with you, and I might just take you up on your offer of some advice.”

  Sofia’s home was warm and inviting. Lorna sat at the kitchen table while Sofia retrieved a tin of biscuits, some tea, sugar, and hot water from the hearth. She felt so comfortable in this environment and she was reminded that she’d never had anyone to talk to about her feelings or to bounce ideas or decisions off of.

  With her mother dead and gone, and her father constantly working at one task or another, Lorna had found herself alone much of her life. Knowing that she could unburden herself and talk about her feelings with Sofia was freeing.

  Sofia finally sat down and took a bite of her biscuit. “Okay. I’m ready to listen. What’s wrong?”

  Lorna watched her carefully as she began to talk about her past and her possible future. “Do you know what brought me all the way out here?”

  “The train?” Sofia guessed.

  Lorna smiled, “Yes, but that wasn’t what I was asking. I me
ant, why I came all this way.”

  “Well, I imagine it was like many others: a new start at a new life.”

  Lorna shook her head. “Not quite. I signed up to be a mail-order bride.”

  Sofia looked surprised and whispered, “You came all this way to marry a man you hadn’t even met?” When Lorna nodded, her voice dropped even further. “Who?”

  “Mark Wilson.”

  Sofia sat back and stared at her. “You were supposed to marry Mark?”

  “Yes. I arrived the day before his funeral.”

  “I remember. I…well, I’m not quite sure what to say. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Lorna shook her head. “Not necessary. I never met the man except through the letters we shared. Anyway, the problem is…well, I’ve developed feelings for Darren. His brother.”

  Sofia stared at her a moment and then raised a brow. “And how does Darren feel about you?”

  “That’s the problem. I don’t know. I thought maybe we had a connection, but now I’m not sure.”

  Sofia reached out and clasped Lorna’s hands, telling her, “You should pray about this. Ask God to give you a sign so that you will know for sure.”

  Lorna thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you for the advice. That’s exactly what I’m going to do – right after I finish my tea.”

  Sofia chuckled and they chatted about other topics for the next ten minutes until Lorna thanked her and headed back to the doctor’s office.

  She’d been so worried about Darren’s recent coldness that she’d completely missed the heavenly sign she’d been given that morning. God wanted her to accept the doctor’s offer.

  She was once again lost in her thoughts as she headed back to the doctor’s office – so lost that she almost ran right into the mayor. She stopped herself only a moment before physically walking into him.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry.” She started to walk around him, but he had other ideas.

  “Miss MacPherson, how nice to see you today,” Orvis told her, moving to block her path of escape.

  His eyes traveled up and down her person and she felt extremely uncomfortable. She gave him a brief nod and moved to her left. She intended to slip around him, but he once again moved to block her path, this time trapping her between the watering trough and a wagon.

  She looked up and saw him quickly hide a smirk. “I have somewhere to be,” she said.

  Orvis ignored her and took a step closer. “You’re a very fine woman, Lorna. I’m surprised Darren hasn’t staked his claim on you by marrying you yet.”

  “Sir…”

  He winked at her, ignoring her attempt to respond to his last comment. He lowered his voice. “There’s no reason one man’s loss can’t be another man’s gain.”

  Lorna felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She made another move to slip to her left, wanting to get as far away from the man as possible. She was relieved seconds later when Ethan was suddenly standing there, and the mayor took a step back.

  “Lorna? I was looking for you,” Ethan told her, eyeing the mayor coldly.

  Lorna gave a small, forced chuckle and then met his gaze, explaining, “I had tea with Sofia and was just on my way back to the doctor’s office.”

  Ethan nodded. Lorna watched as Orvis tipped the brim of his hat to her and sauntered off, crossing the street as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  Ethan arched a brow at her, but she didn’t feel inclined to share her thoughts right then. She just wanted to give her nerves a chance to settle down after being so upset by the mayor.

  She didn’t like the man, and he seemed to sense that, yet didn’t care. She’d need to be more careful since he seemed to be showing up everywhere she went. It was almost as if the man was following her.

  Virginia City was fairly small, and she told herself that next time, she’d see him coming. She needed to avoid the mayor.

  Chapter 30

  Lorna was so relieved to see a familiar face, and even more so when the mayor had sauntered off. She gave Ethan a shaky smile.

  “Where’s Darren?”

  “He asked me to come into town and fetch you,” Ethan replied with a smile.

  Lorna nodded, feeling awkward as he led her back to where he’d left the wagon and helped her climb up into the buckboard. Silence settled over them as Ethan steered them back toward the ranch. They’d gone several miles before he cleared his throat and spoke to her.

  “So, don’t take offense, but…what exactly are your intentions where Darren is concerned?” Ethan asked.

  “What?” Lorna questioned right back. She eyed Ethan, hoping she’d misheard him.

  “What are your intentions where Darren is concerned?” Ethan repeated. “He’s my best friend, and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

  Lorna stared at him for a moment and then looked out over the landscape. She was flabbergasted that Ethan would ask her such a thing. She couldn’t even come up with a reasonable answer for him. When she said nothing for several long minutes, he spoke again.

  “Darren likes you, but after seeing you having lunch with Orvis, he doesn’t feel that he’s good enough for you.”

  Lorna couldn’t believe what Ethan had just said. She looked at him for a long moment and then shook her head. “That’s ridiculous.”

  Ethan kept his eyes forward and asked, “Is it? Darren can’t compare to Orvis.”

  “Nobody has asked him to. Orvis is…well, I don’t think he’s a nice man.”

  “He’s not. So why do you keep ending up with him?”

  “I don’t—” Lorna started to defend herself and then stopped. Anger started to rise inside of her. “I explained to him what happened.”

  Ethan eyed her and then shrugged his shoulders. “Actions speak louder than words, sometimes.”

  Lorna narrowed her eyes. “You don’t believe me, do you? There’s nothing going on between myself and the mayor.”

  She waited for him to agree with her, but when he didn’t she could tell he thought she was lying. She turned her head away, unsure of what else she could say to set his mind at ease.

  Ethan finally spoke, confirming her suspicions. “I don’t like to judge people, but you and Orvis looked mighty cozy together when I found you earlier.”

  Lorna felt her anger rise even higher. It seemed that this man had already judged her and found her guilty. When she saw the ranch coming into view, she decided there was nothing she could say to ease his mind or change his opinion of her. In fact, she didn’t even want to try.

  “You are welcome to your opinion,” she told him. “I would rather not talk about this any longer.”

  She’d been the recipient of people’s judgment before, and if she’d learned anything, it was that trying to change some people’s minds was like trying to hold back a flash flood. Impossible. Frustrating. And in the end, she would be the only one who wound up with her feelings hurt.

  * * *

  Orvis lit the cigar and then puffed on it several times. He needed a chance to calm down before he addressed the man sitting across from him, or he might just end up hurting him.

  He took several more puffs from the cigar and cast his gaze around the room. He was sitting in the parlor of his home, the leather tall-backed chair and polished wooden floors bearing witness to his wealth.

  As the mayor of Virginia City, Orvis lived in the biggest house in town. He was involved with a variety of businesses, all of them very lucrative in recent months and years.

  He owned many of the buildings that lined the main street, as well. He was a prideful man and considered himself one of the most important in the region.

  When the railroad men had first come to town, he’d immediately envisioned even more wealth and power coming his way.

  The only thing standing in the way of him succeeding were the ranchers in the area that didn’t want to sell their land. Orvis had used his many resources to address the situation without getting his own hands dirty. But things weren’t going qui
te as he’d planned.

  Orvis rarely conducted business out of his home. He preferred to hold meetings with his henchmen in his private room at the saloon. Today was an exception. The outlaw activity had the townsfolk on edge, and he didn’t want anyone tying him and the outlaws together.

  Orvis wanted results. He didn’t care how they were obtained.

  One person had already been killed. Several more had been seriously injured. Orvis hoped that a few more threats, or the offer of slightly more money, would yield the results he needed.

  The railroad was coming to Virginia City. It wasn’t a matter of if, simply a matter of when. George was getting impatient and failure to provide him the land needed wasn’t an option. Failure simply wasn’t an option, as far as Orvis was concerned.