by Lisa Prysock
Then his mind wandered to the resignation letter from Thomas. He’d found it on his desk earlier in the day. The wrangler had left with no notice and was already gone. He hadn’t even left an address about where to send his final paycheck.
A little while later, it was Patrick’s turn to stay awake, and Joshua drifted to sleep when the wolves stopped howling. Had the pack in the distance finally gone to sleep in a cave somewhere nearby, perhaps?
The next morning, they arrived at the ranch exhausted and ready to eat breakfast and go to sleep. However, instead of a hot meal waiting for them in the dining room, they found Fern in tears at the kitchen table.
“Oh, Joshua! I’m so glad you’re here. This was mysteriously delivered this morning. I found it on the dining room table.” Sobbing, she handed him a note.
He held up the short letter demanding a ransom of all Mia’s jewels and an extra sum of five-thousand in cash. The writer of the note claimed to have Lady Mia, Miss Stanton, Henry, and Frank in their possession. The writer demanded he meet them on the south side of Wynter’s Mountain near a creek, with the ransom money, threatening him not to involve the Sheriff if he ever wanted to see them alive again.
Looking up from the letter, he ran a hand through his hair. Then he laid a hand on Fern’s shoulder to comfort her sobs. “Don’t be distressed, Fern. We’ll bring Henry, Frank, and the girls home safe. I need you to be strong and pray. They may not want me to bring the Sheriff, but it doesn’t say I can’t involve the Deputy.” On that remark, Joshua quickly strode across the hall to his study to retrieve his rifle, praying for Godspeed and mercy. Please keep them safe, Lord! Help me bring them back home.
“Boss?” Patrick followed him into the study, Edward on his heels. “Edward and I are with you all the way, whatever it takes, but we can’t find Thomas anywhere. He’s not in the bunkhouse loft, and he took his stuff with him.”
Joshua nodded, holding the resignation letter from Thomas, comparing it to the ransom letter. “Interestingly enough, this resignation letter from Thomas appears strikingly similar. See how the B’s are the same and a few of the other letters? His disappearance coincides with this? And the jewels belonging to Lady Mia...who else would know if she had jewels in her possession? I didn’t know or happen to notice, but maybe Thomas did a little snooping around yesterday when we were at the town picnic for the 4th of July. Perhaps he didn’t want to take them and run because it’d look obvious.”
“Yeah, sure seems like Thomas could be behind this or involved somehow.” Edward shook his head. “What’s the plan, boss?”
“I don’t really know. Let’s ride into Belle armed. I think we should bring Deputy Will along. Maybe the mayor, if we have time. We have to get to town first, alert and recruit the authorities, then we’ll head toward Wynter’s Mountain.” Joshua folded both letters and tucked them in his shirt pocket, grabbed his rifle, and the three of them headed to the barn. The good Lord would have to protect the cattle from the wolves in the meantime. As he saddled Midnight, he chided himself. He should never have let the girls go exploring without him.
Chapter 11
The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22, NLT
MIA GLANCED AT THE man sitting in the wagon at the far end. She’d closed her eyes and prayed hard for the Lord to rescue them. She thought about her pupil, knowing she was ultimately responsible for her safety. Closing her eyes, she thought about Joshua, and for some reason she remembered all of the times she’d encountered him smelling of hay, saddle leather, and sandalwood. She had to find a way out of this predicament.
Hearing the bandit snore caused her to realize he had finally fallen asleep. There was no way of knowing how many men he was working with, but she was sure there were at least two others, maybe more lurking out there somewhere.
Removing the rope from her hands wasn’t too hard. Her wrists were flexible from all of the years she’d played with her sleeve buttons. Once she’d wriggled her hands free, she began squirming and wriggling her torso, trying to make herself as small as possible to slide out of the rope encircling them. The more she worked at it, the more Ambrosia caught on to her idea and began to wriggle as well. They worked quickly and quietly.
Thankfully, the silk waist band around her calico day dress had proven to be more practical on their exploration of the western frontier than she’d ever dreamed it’d be. Once her elbows were free, she could use her hands and wrists to push the rope up against the silk band since she couldn’t find a way to loosen the knot. Finally, she and Ambrosia succeeded, sliding the rope over their heads. They were finally free.
She tiptoed to the end of the wagon, holding a finger to her lips to remind Ambrosia to be quiet as a mouse until she reached his rifle and backed away, keeping it aimed at their perpetrator.
Ambrosia smiled at her success when they’d both managed to remove the gagging from around their mouths.
“I think they’re all asleep. All I hear is snoring out there,” Mia whispered.
Ambrosia nodded. Mia pointed to the front of the wagon and they tiptoed toward it. Then they stepped on a crate of supplies until they were able to climb out and tumble onto the front seat. Their movements had been awkward, but they managed. The wagon creaked a tiny bit when Mia slid down to the ground. They held still, but nothing woke anyone. Both of them exhaled in relief. There’d been at least a dozen moments like that to get this far. Then Ambrosia followed Mia to tiptoe around the wagon to peer out at the scene where the campfire embers still burned in the early morning hours.
When she was sure the other captors had fallen asleep, Mia pointed to their rifles. Ambrosia took one from one of the bandits, and Mia, the other. Then they tiptoed toward Henry and Frankie who’d observed their actions with weary but hopeful eyes. Once they’d freed them, they handed them each a rifle and Mia pointed to the horses tied to the scraggly trees near the creek bed.
There were five horses and they didn’t want to leave any behind, so Henry wordlessly took the reins to two of the horses in his hands, but they mounted four. Mia and Ambrosia hiked up their skirts. This was no time for riding sidesaddle.
“Ride quietly until I break into a gallop,” Henry directed in a low voice. A glance back at their sleeping captors nearly did Mia in with a fit of giggles. She managed to bite her bottom lip and fidget with her buttons while holding the reins to her horse as they rode at a quiet cantor. She prayed the good Lord would inform the horses of the plan to tiptoe cantor. For the most part, the horses seemed to know as they traveled home toward Belle. They kept a steady pace making as little noise as possible, aware the dangerous men they’d left behind still had pistols in their holsters.
Henry waited until they were about half a mile away and then broke into a hard gallop, the others doing the same. After a while, he stopped to rest the horses. “Good work, ladies! You were both so brave.”
JOSHUA, EDWARD, PATRICK, Deputy Will, and Mayor Shepherd mounted their horses. Joshua knew from other stories about Will that the Deputy would want to handle anything to do with the Thorpe Gang, and this thing smelled just like those scalliwog varmints. How had Thomas gotten himself mixed up with a dishonest bunch of criminals? Joshua and the wranglers had organized help quickly, and Deputy Will was absolutely convinced this all had something to do with the recently released Thorpe Gang. Sure, their leader, Clyde Thorpe had been killed, but the rest of the gang might still try to organize. If Joshua had known, he likely wouldn’t have let Lady Mia consider a hiking excursion away from Silver Aspen, but apparently they’d had the danger of Thomas lurking around right under their noses for quite a while.
“Fellas, this gang is dangerous, so be alert and try not to make any mistakes.” The Deputy slung his rifle over his back. “We have a small posse and no time to go looking for more men to help us, but we’ve got the Lord on our side. Let’s ride!”
They headed north from Belle toward Wynter’s Mountain, but after riding out of town for about
a mile, Joshua was surprised to see a group of riders in the horizon, coming right at them. “Whoa! Whoa everyone!”
They pulled their horses to a stop. Squinting, he recognized women in the small party ahead, and an extra horse without a rider. Moments later, he recognized them. “That’s Lady Mia and Ambrosia among them! Thank God they’re alive!”
“Well I’ll be! Looks like they managed to escape.” Mayor Shepherd chuckled and looked pleased from astride his horse. “Those don’t appear to be bandits if you ask me.”
“Let’s hear what they have to say. The Thorpe Gang is still out there somewhere.” Deputy Will’s voice sounded concerned as his eyes scanned the horizon from east to west. His brows wrinkled.
Edward peered into a set of binoculars. “Henry and Frankie are with them, but where’s the wagon they set out with yesterday?”
Soon the two parties met, and Joshua dismounted to pull the girls into his arms. He’d never been so thankful in all of his life. God had spared them both. Ambrosia slid down into his arms, tears of happiness spilling from her eyes.
“You’re safe!” He held her in his arms, squeezing his eyes shut, thanking the Lord in silent prayer. “You’re safe...”
Then he turned to help Lady Mia down from her horse. The Venetian and English beauty smiled, looking overjoyed to see him. She jumped from the saddle into his arms and he held her tight, burying his face in her hair.
“It was all Mia and Ambrosia’s smarts that helped us get away,” Henry informed them. “Deputy Will, one was asleep in the wagon, two more outside of it, about a mile ahead by the creek. We took their horses and ours to get away, and the girls confiscated their rifles, but be careful. They’re still armed with pistols and knives. We had to leave our wagon there. The one who is sleeping against the wagon wheel said Thomas and one of their leaders are planning to join them around noon. They’re expecting Joshua. If it were me, I’d be waiting for them after you round up them other three.”
“Thanks for the information,” Will said. “The girls confiscated their rifles?” He looked from Lady Mia to Ambrosia with a look of mingled surprise and respect.
Joshua chuckled. Lady Mia was petite and tiny, but she certainly had her wits about her. How she and the others had managed to get away from the Thorpe Gang was a story he couldn’t wait to hear. She still smelled of green apples and sweet pea. Then he kissed her in front of everyone for the first time, and she kissed him back. He stepped back and cupped her face. “How did you escape? We were on the way to rescue you.”
“IT’S A LONG STORY,” she said, blushing from his kiss. Something inside her melted from head to toe. How she loved this man. “We’re so thankful to see you all.”
Joshua dropped down on one knee in the middle of a stretch of Wyoming prairie. He took her hands in both of his. “Mia, you’ve brought out the best in me...and in my daughter. You’ve reignited my broken faith and shown me the goodness of a loving God. I want to wake up every morning for the rest of my life and love you, care for you, protect you, nurture you. I realize I’m just a humble cowboy compared to the world you were born into, but say you’ll marry me, my beautiful princess.”
“Oh Joshua Stanton, I thought you’d never ask!” Lady Mia smiled, pulling him to his feet as Ambrosia encircled both of them with her arms. They hugged for a moment, laughing, smiling, and wiping away tears.
“Looks like we’re gonna have a wedding in Belle, real soon!” Mayor Shepherd grinned along with the others. “Maybe after we catch that Thorpe gang and have that barn raising, eh?”
“All right kissing folk, that’s enough celebratin’ ahead of the big day. Yuns need to skedaddle. Joshua, why don’t you escort your ladies home with Frankie and Henry. The rest of us, we got some bad guys to catch!” Deputy Will tipped his hat toward them.
Joshua lifted Mia up onto Midnight. “You’re riding with me.” Then, he helped Ambrosia into her saddle and winked. “Now I’ll have two princesses.”
Mia glanced at Ambrosia astride the horse beside her. She looked so calm and happy for all of them, in spite of her puffy eyes, reddened from crying tears and lack of sleep. However, the main thing was they were alive. Joshua mounted Midnight, swinging into the saddle behind her, taking the reins in his tan hands, his strong arms wrapped around her. He’d be holding her all the way to Silver Aspen.
Turning to Deputy Will, he added, “I hope you can find Thomas. I think he belongs behind bars with the rest of them. They’ll be safer from me and my wranglers there, anyhow. Let’s go home, girls.”
Deputy Will nodded. “You can count on it. Be careful going home, ya’ll.”
“We will,” Joshua nodded, patting his rifle.
Lady Mia sighed, happy to be in the arms of her future husband. “Yes, home, let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Deputy Will, Mayor Shepherd, Edward, and Patrick captured the three bandits who’d held Mia, Ambrosia, Henry, and Frankie as hostages. When the gang leader and Thomas appeared, they had a surprise waiting for them. The bandits from the Thorpe Gang who’d attempted to kidnap and blackmail were returned to jail. A court found them guilty and they were sentenced heavily. However, the inhabitants around Belle kept a close eye on the area since a few members of the gang were still on the loose somewhere in Wyoming. Later that summer, Lady Mia, Joshua, Ambrosia, and Frankie attended a Wild West Show and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.
Ambrosia Stanton also hosted her first summer garden tea at Silver Aspen. She sent out handwritten invitations and with Mia’s help, planned and prepared refreshments for the event. She entertained guests by giving an interesting reading from memory, and then she sang “Amazing Grace.” Miss Stanton also gave each guest a flower from the garden and a sketch she drew herself. Each person who was invited turned out, eager to visit Silver Aspen. They were equally anxious to know more about Lady Mia and see Ambrosia’s transformation firsthand. The event was a tremendous success. Guests invited included Charity, Matilda, Mavis, Livvy, Ivy, Hope, and many others.
After Ambrosia’s garden tea, everyone from Silver Aspen attended a barn raising to help a neighbor. In late November, Joshua and Lady Mia married in the Lutheran church. Mia’s father and brother made the trip across the Atlantic for the beautiful day, and Ada and her husband came to the wedding from Virginia with Miss Flora, who remained with Lady Mia and Joshua as Mia’s companion and lady’s maid.
Lady Mia, with Flora’s help, continued to teach Ambrosia, who eventually went abroad to study art in Europe for a short time. She returned to Wyoming and blossomed into a popular artist. Mia gave birth to four children—: Landon, Virginia, Alfred, and Hugh. Joshua and Mia remained at Silver Aspen as prosperous cattle ranchers for the rest of their lives, heavily involved in Christian charitable missions, and they traveled to England on a number of occasions. Alfred visited Wyoming several times. The Lord blessed the Stantons with a happy, rewarding life.
Author Biography
LISA M. PRYSOCK is an award-winning, bestselling, Christian and inspirational author of 19 novels. She and her husband of more than 20 years reside in Kentucky. They have five children, grown.
She writes in the genres of both Historical Christian Romance and Contemporary Christian Romance, including a multi-author Western Christian Romance series, “Whispers in Wyoming.” She is also the author of a devotional. Lisa enjoys sharing her faith in Jesus through her writing.
She has many interests, but a few of these include gardening, cooking, drawing, sewing, crochet, cross stitch, reading, swimming, biking, and walking. She loves dollhouses, cats, horses, butterflies, hats, boots, flip-flops, espadrilles, chocolate, coffee, tea, chocolate, the colors peach and purple, and everything old-fashioned.
She adopted the slogan of “The Old-Fashioned Everything Girl” because of her love for classic, traditional, and old-fashioned everything. When she isn’t writing, she can sometimes be found teaching herself piano and violin, but finds the process “a bit slow and painful.” Lisa enjoys working with
the children and youth in her local church creating human videos and plays or programs incorporating her love for inspirational dance. A few of her favorite authors include Jane Austen, Lucy Maude Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. You’ll find “food, fashion, fun, and faith” in her novels. Sometimes she includes her own illustrations.
She continues the joy and adventure of her writing journey as a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and LCW (Louisville Christian Writers). Lisa’s books are clean and wholesome, inspirational, romantic, and family oriented. She gives a generous portion of the proceeds to missions.
Discover more about this author at www.LisaPrysock.com where you’ll find free recipes, devotionals, author video interviews, book trailers, giveaways, blog posts, and much more, including an invitation to sign up for her free newsletter.
Links to Connect with Lisa:
https://www.facebook.com/LisaMPrysock
https://twitter.com/LPrysock
www.LisaPrysock.com
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00J6MBC64 Amazon Author Central
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-m-prysock
https://www.facebook.com/groups/500592113747995/ (Lisa’s Facebook reader & friends group)
Other Titles by This Author
To Find a Duchess, an Inspirational Regency Romance
The Christian Victorian Heritage Series:
Hannah’s Garden: a Turn of the Century Love Story
Abigail’s Melody