by Kit Morgan
But why was the man not in hot pursuit? Why was he still in the house? “Stupido!” she said and spit. “I fix him!”
Bella crept out from her hiding spot, then to the front of the house. She knew he had the others in the parlor and wanted to see if he was still in there. She carefully got onto the porch and peeked in the window. She saw her family, but no sign of that figlio di troia! He must’ve gone upstairs again. What to do?
Bella suddenly smiled as an idea formed, and crept back the way she’d come.
* * *
John threw Samijo into a chair near the settee. “There, that’s all of ya.”
“No, it isn’t!” Ma spat.
“It’s enough for my purposes,” he said as he knelt and lashed Samijo’s ankles to the legs of the chair. “Once I have this one taken care of, I can get to work.”
“Doing what?” Samijo said, her eyes narrowed to slits.
He stood. “That’s right, you haven’t heard. I’m going to set fire to this shack with all of you in it.”
“What?!” Samijo screeched. “You can’t do that! There are babies in this house!”
He looked at Charity. “Yes, I’m well aware.”
Ma’s eyes narrowed. “You lowdown, good-for-nothing piece of –”
“You wouldn’t happen to have a match, would you?” he interrupted, patting his pockets.
“If she did, do ya really think she’d give it to ya?” Daniel asked.
“Told you he was stupid,” Ma cracked.
“Never mind, I’m sure I’ve got some in my saddle bag.”
“You can’t do this!” Samijo cried.
“Oh, but I have to,” he told her. “You see, if Charity dies from a horrible house fire, then there’s no one to blame me for the brat she’s carrying.”
“You’d be murdering a family!”
“It wouldn’t be a horrible house fire then, would it? Besides, the law will call it an accident.”
“You mean like this?” Bella sneered.
He turned around to face the dark-haired witch that eluded him, only to be hit in the face with a cast-iron frying pan. Bella bashed him over the head with it as he went down, then once more when he was on the floor just for good measure. “Che tu possa avere un incidente a forma di ombrello, é stronzo!” she yelled. The Weavers had no idea what she was saying, but they heartily approved.
Bella dropped the pan, stepped over the fallen and went straight to Charity. “He no hurt you no more!” She pulled the knife from her skirt pocket, cut her bonds then moved on to Daniel. “The man is spregevole!” she said and spit on Pittman. “Come in here and bother us? Well, no more! I tie him up and hang him!”
“That’s for the law to decide, child,” Ma said as Bella untied her.
“I no care about the law! He die for this!”
“He should, I know,” Ma agreed. “But then we’d be no better than him.”
Bella moved on to Samijo as Daniel got up and went to examine the body. As hard as she’d hit him, they might not have to worry about the law.
“I want justice!” Bella complained. “Can we no drag him behind a horse?”
Ma stood and rubbed her wrists. “No, we can’t do that. But I know something we can do.” She looked at Daniel and smiled.
He caught the gleam in her eye and smiled back. “Now I know where Calvin and Benjamin get their ornery streak from, Ma.”
“What … what you do with him?” Bella asked, confused.
Samijo smiled. “They’re going to throw him down the well.”
* * *
Calvin was the first to reach the farm, having volunteered to scout ahead. Sure enough, the sidewinder’s horse was tied to a fence post near the barn. He wanted nothing more than to locate the cur, then charge in, guns blazing. But that wasn’t going to help anyone. One of the women could get hurt.
Speaking of hurt, where was Daniel? “This is worse than we thought,” he whispered to himself, dismounted and crept through an orchard. He stayed low so as not to alert Pittman, still hoping to find out where he was, then tell his brothers.
“Whatcha doin’ on the ground?”
Calvin flopped over like a fish, gun drawn, and pointed it at … “Daniel!” He quickly glanced around. “What in blazes are ya doin’ out here?” He scanned the area again. “Where’s Pittman?”
Daniel smiled, then asked. “Where’s Benjamin and Arlan?”
“Waitin’ at Arlan’s cabin.”
“Good, I’ll go fetch ‘em.” Before Calvin could comment, his brother took off at a run toward Arlan’s.
“What the Sam Hill is goin’ on around here?” Calvin muttered as he got to his feet. His little brother had obviously taken care of business, thank the Lord for that! He headed straight for the house, but kept an eye out just in case.
When he entered the kitchen, Ma, Samijo and Charity were sitting at the kitchen table looking very pleased with themselves. “Howdy, son!” Ma cried and got to her feet. She came around the table and caught him in a fierce hug. “Thank the Lord you’re home.” She drew back and examined him. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”
He shook his head, still confused, and his eyes landed on Charity. “You all right?”
She nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “I am now. Thanks to your wife.”
“My … my wife?”
“Where are you brothers?” Ma asked, not waiting for him to figure it out.
He pointed behind him. “Daniel went to get ‘em.” He looked at his mother. “Did Daniel shoot him?”
Ma smiled. “Nope.”
Calvin shook himself. “Then where is he? Where’s that dirty lowdown dog?” Ma smiled again, which didn’t clear up the confusion. He turned his attention to Samijo and Charity and finally noticed each held one of the twins. Both women wore wide grins on their faces. “What’s goin’ on?” he cried.
“I tell you what’s going on!” Bella stood at the foot of the stairs, back straight, chin held high.
Calvin let out a breath “There ya are! I was beginnin’ to worry.”
“Ha!” Ma said as he went to his wife.
Calvin heard her, but had only one thing on his mind at the moment. As soon as he reached Bella he took her in his arms. “Are ya okay, darlin’? Ya ain’t hurt, are ya?”
“No,” she said with an air of innocence.
Calvin’s eyebrows rose in question before he slowly began to put two and two together. “What about … the other guy? Ya didn’t kill him, did ya?” he asked in shock.
She flashed him a devilish smile. “Better.”
“She smacked him with a frypan!” Ma announced proudly. “Bella’s got a fine swing, Calvin. You should be proud.”
Calvin’s mouth flopped open. “She … she did what?!”
“I smack the bandido with the frying pan, right in the face!” Bella said, slapping one palm against the other. “He drop like a dead horse.”
“Is he?” Calvin asked. “Dead, I mean?”
“He no dead, but he should be! That no-good asino!” She spit on the floor.
Calvin flinched at the action. “Where is he?”
No one said a word, but everyone smiled.
Arlan and Benjamin came rushing into the kitchen and went straight to their wives. “Charity!” Benjamin said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Are ya all right?”
She nodded as the twin in her arm began to fuss. “Yes, we all are. It was touch and go for awhile until Bella saved the day.”
Benjamin and Arlan both stared at her. “Bella?” they exclaimed.
Her chin went up again. “Do not look with the shock! I take care of things!”
Calvin began laughing his head off. He turned to his brothers. “She hit him with a fryin’ pan! Then, if my guess is right…”
Arlan studied first Calvin, then the rest of the family. “Where is … oh no, ya didn’t!”
“We sure did!” his mother cried and smacked him on the back. “You want to see?”
B
enjamin gaped at his mother, then his wife, then he too burst into laughter.
“You didn’t do it while he was unconscious, did ya?” Arlan asked.
“Of course not,” Ma said over Benjamin and Calvin’s laughter. “We made sure he came to first.”
“Ya mean Bella knocked him out?” Calvin asked in surprise.
“Of course,” Bella said with no small amount of pride.
Calvin and Benjamin looked at one another, then began laughing again. “That must be where Daniel went,” Arlan announced. “He took off toward the well right before we reached the house.”
“Prob’ly checkin’ to make sure he ain’t dead.” Calvin took Bella by the hand and headed for the door. “Maybe we better go see.”
“Good idea!” Ma said and followed.
Soon the entire family was gathered around the well, looking down at a disgruntled, wet and very unhappy John Tyler Pittman. Who likely also had a bad headache. “Get me out of here, you imbeciles!” he bellowed. “What are you trying to do, drown me?”
“If only,” Bella muttered, and spit in the well. The gob hit Pittman right on the forehead, and he began yelling all over again.
“He’s no worse for wear,” Ma commented. “I suppose we’ll have to get him out of there eventually, before he taints the water.”
“Good idea,” Arlan said.
“Maybe we should hang him out to dry,” Benjamin said through clenched teeth.
“What I said!” Bella reminded Ma.
“As much as I’d like to, we can’t do that,” Ma said. “Haul him up, tie him up and put him in the barn. Then you boys can take him to see Sheriff Riley tomorrow. Too bad Harlan didn’t make it out, he could’ve taken him in.” She looked at Benjamin. “I guess it doesn’t matter what shape he’s in when he gets there, so long as he’s alive. But after you deliver the scoundrel, I don’t want to hear a word about it.”
Benjamin gave her a satisfied smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Spencer might have his hands full with this one,” Arlan commented as he grabbed some rope Daniel had brought from the barn earlier in anticipation of his brothers’ arrival.
“Maybe so, but he’s got a jail cell to help him out,” Calvin said. He turned to Bella. “I still can’t believe ya saved everyone from that snake. I’m mighty proud of ya, darlin’.”
Bella, even after the events of the day, blushed. “Thank you.”
“I sure would like to show my appreciation when we get back to the house, bein’ as how I gotta deliver that fella to the sheriff tomorrow.”
Bella smiled. “Would you?”
“Please, can ya not do that?” Daniel complained.
His brothers burst into laughter. Arlan put an arm around him, then had him in a choke hold. “Just wait ‘til yer married, little brother. Ya won’t be so quick to complain.”
Daniel fought his way free. “Yeah, well, that’s gonna be a while.”
Calvin, Benjamin and Arlan looked at him. “Maybe not as long as ya think,” Calvin said. “Now what say we do some fishin’ in the well?”
Epilogue
The Weaver farm, Thanksgiving Day 1872
“Pass the mashed potatoes, darlin’,” Calvin said, smiling at his wife. She handed him the bowl and he plopped a healthy portion onto his plate.
“Hey, take it easy with those!” Daniel complained. “Save some for the rest of us.”
“Happy men eat a lot,” Ma commented and stabbed at a platter of turkey. “Once you’re married, you’ll understand what that means.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “I got time yet.”
“Not that much time,” Arlan teased.
“I ain’t ready to get married! ‘Sides, I’m only twenty-one. That’s too young in my book.”
“What is this book … oh. It is a saying.” Bella rolled her eyes.
Daniel’s brothers looked at one another. “Agreed,” Benjamin said. “But it don’t mean ya can’t be thinkin’ about it. In a few years, you’ll be old enough.”
“I ain’t ready for all that trouble,” Daniel muttered.
“Trouble?” Ma said. “What trouble?”
“What do ya think, Ma?” Daniel said as he waved his fork. “Arlan marries Samijo and her crazy uncle shows up and tries to kill us all!”
“That was Red Ned tried to kill us,” Arlan pointed out.
“Yeah, but Samijo’s uncle was sure ready and willin’ to help! Then Benjamin gets married and that John Tyler Pittman shows up, kidnaps Charity, then comes back and tries to kill us too! Only instead of burning us alive in the barn, this guy picked the house!”
Ma sighed. “He does have a point. But all of them were brought to justice and are now in jail, thank Heaven.”
“What about me?” Calvin asked. “Ya gonna complain about me, too?”
Daniel glanced between Calvin and Bella. “I dunno, what ya two got that ya ain’t told none of us about?”
Calvin and Bella exchanged a quick glance. They’d already filled the family in on Bella’s seven brothers and sisters and their wastrel father, and even Giuseppe Dellavedova, a name that now made everyone want to spit. Calvin shook his head. “Nothin’ else to report, little brother.”
“Have you heard anything more from your aunt?” Ma asked.
“No,” Bella said. “But soon. Thank you for being so understanding.”
“That sounded nice, Bella,” Samijo said. “Your English is improving.”
“Thank you,” she said and blushed.
“I think it’s a fine thing what the two of you are doing,” Ma said. “Helping your aunt out with your brothers and sisters is admirable. She understands about the house?”
“Yes, I told her it will take time for us to build one,” Bella explained. “Then we can begin to send for them.”
“Whew,” said Charity. “That’s a lot of coats and dresses you’re going to have to sew to pay for everything you’ll need. But you can count on me to help until the baby comes.”
“Thank you, I teach you what I know,” Bella said.
“And if I have the time between helping Ma with the hats and taking care of the twins, I’ll pitch in too,” offered Samijo.
Bella looked around the table laden with food as tears formed in her eyes. She was so blessed to be sitting here among people who truly cared for and loved her. Didn’t her siblings deserve the same? When her aunt had finally written back and explained that her uncle’s health wasn’t good, she knew it was time to do something. What other family would welcome her brothers and sisters into their lives and offer to help her raise them?
“Just think, next year at this time we might have a real houseful!” Ma said with a happy grin. Then she frowned. “Land sakes, we’re gonna need a bigger table.”
“We’ll use the one in the dining room, Ma, and this one,” Arlan said. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it work.”
“Personally, I’m lookin’ forward to havin’ the extra help come harvest time,” Benjamin commented between mouthfuls.
“Extra help?” Daniel said. “Before ya know it, we’ll have enough people on this farm to form our own army!”
Ma smiled. “Well, if that’s the case then we don’t need to worry about any sort of trouble coming our way. We’ll have plenty of family around to fight it off!”
“Yeah, especially if Bella’s siblings are anything like Bella,” Samijo added with a smile.
“I pity the poor soul that crosses the line with this family,” Charity said.
Bella watched her new family eating their Thanksgiving supper. Ma was right, by this time next year all her siblings might be here. And though life would be harder because of the extra mouths to feed, she was sure that if they all worked together, they would be fine.
Samijo and Arlan had offered to help financially if need be, but Bella had refused. She knew they had money put away, a lot of it from what she could understand. Samijo had some sort of inheritance her father left her. But she wanted to be able to take care of her family herse
lf and teach them the value of hard work. She didn’t want them growing up like their father if she could help it. She’d much rather they grow up Weavers.
“Don’t none of you be teaching any of those children to throw anyone down the well!” Ma said.
“Don’t worry, Ma,” Calvin said with a smile. “We’ll tell ‘em Daniel’s the only one they can toss into it.”
“What?” Daniel said, his mouth full of food.
The family laughed at the shocked look on his face, then resumed eating.
Bella smiled in contentment. Poor Daniel. Little did he know that her siblings were not only just like her, but would make fine Weavers to boot. She sighed at the thought and had to agree with Charity. Anyone who tried to bring harm to this family would be in for a big surprise. That and a quick trip into the well …
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading The Harvest Festival Mail-Order Bride, the fourteenth book in the Holiday Mail-Order Bride Series. Be sure to check out the rest of the series:
The Christmas Mail-Order Bride (Book One)
The New Year’s Bride (Book Two)
His Forever Valentine (Book Three)
Her Irish Surrender (Book Four)
The Springtime Mail-Order Bride (Book Five)
Love in Independence (Book Six)
Love at Harvest Moon (Book Seven)
The Thanksgiving Mail-Order Bride (Book Eight)
The Holiday Mail-Order Bride (Book Nine)
The Valentine Mail-Order Bride (Book Ten)
The Easter Mail-Order Bride (Book Eleven)
A Midsummer’s Mail-Order Bride (Book Twelve)
The Columbus Day Mail-Order Bride (Book Thirteen)
About the Author
Kit Morgan, aka Geralyn Beauchamp, loves a good Western. Her father loved them as well and they watched their fair share together over the years. You can keep up-to-date on future books, fun contests and more at Kit Morgan’s website, www.authorkitmorgan.com.