Dirk squeezed her closer to himself. “I’m warning you! If you walk any closer, something horrible is going to happen to the lady.”
Tentatively, Seth slowly walked closer to Samantha. Dirk, panicked, dragged her further into the alley. “I warned you and you have given me no choice,” he explained, brandishing a knife from his back pocket. He held the blade at Samantha’s neck, grazing her skin.
Seth’s eyes widened into saucers.
Samantha stood helpless as Dirk pushed the knife further into her neck. She felt the blade lightly graze her skin, knowing it was leaving a mark. She was so scared she was shaking and she was trying her hardest to make Seth leave. She wouldn’t let him see her so helpless.
Seth stepped toward Dirk. “You don’t want to do this. You can end this now. Just give me Samantha and we will forget this ever happen.”
Dirk looked crazed. He backed up only a few more feet, dragging Samantha with him. “You don’t know what I want. I want what’s mine, and she’s going to give it to me.”
Seth put out his hands in surrender. “Ok, let’s look at this logically. Take me instead.”
Dirk laughed. “You don’t have what I need.”
“And what is that?”
“Marriage. I need to marry this wretched wench.”
Samantha winced at the words. But Seth didn’t miss a beat. “You can’t marry a girl who is already married.”
Dirk looked like he had heard wrong. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying the woman who you are holding hostage is already married.”
“She married my brother, who is dead. That means this woman is a free woman.”
Seth laughed. “She used to be married to your brother. But now she is married to me, which means that you’ll have to get through me to get to her.”
Dirk’s eyes glinted with evil. He threw Samantha to the side and went to leap on Seth. “That can be arranged.”
It was all happening in slow motion. Samantha landed on the floor with a loud thud, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. She realized that she was holding her breath. As both men lunged at each other, and Seth without a weapon, she knew it wasn’t the outcome she wanted. She made the decision; she was going to end this. She got up and lunged at Dirk, knocking him to the dirt. He landed with a thud, his head hitting a rock. Blood started to pool around his forehead. Without wasting any time, she turned and ran into Seth’s arms.
She hugged him, crying into his arms. “How could you be so stupid,” she said, hitting him hard in the chest. He yelped. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
He wiped away her tears from her face. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
They heard a whimper come from the man lying on the ground. Seth stared down at him before turning to Samantha. “I believe you have some explaining to do.”
Three months later
Seth walked back to the wagon, carrying animal feed to the wagon. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took inventory of the supplies. Everything seemed to be there and he adjusted his hat in triumph. They had the cattle for a few weeks now, and he hated to leave Samantha behind by herself, but they needed the supplies. He vowed to be gone for only a few hours.
He had left her around noon and now it was close to the sun starting to descend. He wanted to get back on the road. Someone’s hand calmed down on his shoulder and he turned to see Tom was standing behind him with the biggest grin. “Hey stranger,” Tom said.
Seth patted his shoulder back. “Hey yourself.”
“Haven’t seen you around in a while.”
“I could say that about yourself. You should drop by the farm more often.”
Tom shrugged and buried his hands in his pockets. “I know, but the work is too good in the town.”
Seth sighed. He knew Tom meant the women were too good “Eventually, you’re going to have to come and help out more. It’s a lot for Samantha and me to handle.”
Tom laughed. “I can’t see anything that Samantha couldn’t handle. But I know what you are saying; I’ll try to come by more often.”
Seth smiled to himself. “One of these days, you’ll find yourself someone.”
Tom frowned at his statement. “I don’t count on it. At least, not any time soon.”
Seth shook his head. “Maybe I should fill out an advertisement for you. You could have a wife before winter sets in.”
Tom put his hands up in surrender. “We don’t have to go that far! I have no intention of ever getting married. There is no one that will hold my heart. Besides, I still intend to build my house on that land we picked out. I can’t live in the shack forever.”
“Maybe you should get started with that. Winter will be around the corner before you know it.”
“Yeah, but I can always sleep with you two.” Tom winked and walked away laughing as Seth scowled in his wake. Even though it irked him, he couldn’t fault his friend’s teasing. He thought about his life.
After Dirk was escorted out of the alley by the Sheriff, Samantha had exposed the truth, from the death of her husband to the threats she had received from Dirk. She explained how she had traveled west at her father’s urging to get away from her problems, but then her problems had followed her there.
When they incarcerated Dirk, it came to light that Dirk was also responsible for her father’s death. It turns out that her father was being threatened to reveal Samantha’s whereabouts and instead of spilling the information he chose to die instead.
It was such a noble gesture; Seth mourned that he never would be able to meet him. Samantha’s father was a great man. Seth looked around at the town. In a few short months, the town was starting to boom. Pretty girls were arriving everywhere, much to the chagrin of the Sheriff. He didn’t like the new influx of woman, saying it was bringing in the riff-raff in its wake. Seth questioned his opinion though; it seemed the Sheriff was bent out of shape for another reason entirely.
He leapt to the front of the wagon and pulled the reigns. As he started down the road to home, he saw a young woman wave at him from the entrance to the general store. Misty smiled at him as he waved back. They had traveled back East to settle Samantha’s affairs and Misty accompanied them on the return trip. She was now working with Old Man Higgins at the hotel as a server. With business booming, Old Man Higgins was eager to get the help. Misty seemed to enjoy her work.
Seth thought to himself that maybe Misty and Tom would be a good match. He thought about asking Samantha her thoughts, but when he turned around and saw the Sheriff had stopped Misty as she walked down the street, he thought that maybe a different connection would be in order.
Samantha waited giddy at the door for her husband to return from town. He had gone in the morning to get their weekly supplies and to send out her letter to her Uncle Colin. They had been corresponding for weeks since she returned home from her trip. He was even musing about setting up shop in Illinois. The letter she had just sent him detailed the news she was about to drop on her husband and she couldn’t wait for him to get home, her heart leaping out of her chest.
She looked down at her hands, letting her mind stray to her father. It didn’t hurt now as much as it did before; she would think of him and what he would say in this situation. Her father would tell her to calm down; her husband would be overjoyed with the news.
She smiled at her memories of her father. Samantha was still mad at him for leaving her, but she realized through his death she could survive and she made peace with his decisions. Samantha could make peace with her past and finally thanked her father for his sacrifice to protect her. And at that moment, she allowed herself to be forgiven, not just for being mad at her father, but for also feeling guilty about loving Seth in the way she should have loved James. Her brush with death realized life was too short and she needed to live her life to the fullest.
Which is exactly what she was going to do as her lovely husband came back through the doors. She pounced on him, grabbing his face and kissing him dee
ply. “My my, what do I owe all this enthusiasm for?” he asked.
She smiled at him and he smiled back. Would there ever be a day when she didn’t crave his smile? She touched her belly, grinning. “I have the most wonderful surprise for you.”
I hope you have enjoyed Samantha’s and Seth’s story. If you would like to learn more about the Black Hills Brides series, upcoming book, multi-author projects, readership opportunities, and sneak peeks, please visit my website. While there, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and receive the first two chapters of Her Secret Baby, Tom Barrett’s story of redemption and love.
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Her Secret Past Page 11