Mail Order Bride 22 Book Boxed set: 22 Brides Ride West :CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle

by Faye Sonja

  "Oh no...," Jackson called out, pointing to the entrance of the tunnel down on the inside of the pit.

  Ava leaned forward, trying to make out what he was pointing at. "The entrance?" she asked. "It looks...it looks like it's blocked. With rocks, and stones."

  Jackson brought his hands up to his head, knocking his hat off behind him, onto the ground. "What have I done?" he murmured, turning to Ava, his eyes wild.

  "Jackson tell me what's going on? You're frightening me."

  "The entry way has collapsed...the miners are stuck in there."

  Ava brought a gloved hand up to her mouth and gasped. "Jackson...how! How has this happened? Everything was safe, and being run properly, wasn't it?"

  He ignored her, more concerned with what was happening in the mine. "I've got to get down there, Ava!"

  "Jackson, there's no sense putting your own life in danger! We need to go get help. We can get Doc, and some of the other men from the town..."

  "There's no time for that Ava..." he tried to pull free from her as she clung onto his jacket, not wanting him to climb down into the pit, knowing that he might become trapped in rubble himself.

  "Ava let me go!"

  "I'm so mad, Jackson. How could you let this happen? People could get injured, just like I was! I know how difficult life can be following an accident Jackson! How could you not have considered the consequences? I really thought you'd changed; that you were starting to see that there were more things to worry about than just money and success."

  "Ava this is not the time to argue. We need to get the rubble off the men trapped in there."

  Ava pointed down to her aching limb. "How am I supposed to do that, Jackson? My leg is in great pain today! The worst it has ever been!"

  Jackson's face fell. "Why on earth didn't you tell me, Ava? You let on that everything was fine when we left the house this morning."

  "I didn't want you to think that I wasn't capable. Oh blast, now look what's happened."

  Stomping past her angrily, Jackson uttered. "It would have been better if you'd just stayed at home. What use are you going to be out here?"

  He climbed into the mine and began to shovel out the rock that was blocking the front entrance. From up above, Ava looked down into the pit in despair.

  Flustered, Ava turned on her heel and stated, "Fine! I will go home if that's what you want!"

  As she stepped to leave, her cane went flying out from underneath her, and the ground beneath her feet broke off, crumbling way beneath her feet. Her voiced came out in a shrill scream as she tumbled over the rock and dirt, falling with a thud onto the ground, as the rubble from up above came pouring down on top of her, her legs caught underneath the rocks and debris.

  "AVA!" Jackson's voice was coarse and frantic as he ran over to her.

  She lay lifeless for a moment as Jackson became more and more frantic. "AVA!" He shook her by the shoulders, checking for any sign of lift, before she lifted her dusty head and coughed.

  "Jackson?" she croaked.

  "Oh Ava...," he clasped her hand tightly. "Just hang on, I'll go get help."

  She didn't let his hand go. "Please don't leave Jackson."

  "Okay," he said, kneeling down next to her. "I won't leave you. Doc is due to come down here soon, anyway. We'll just have to wait a little longer."

  * * *

  "Ava, I promise that if, by the grace of God, you should get out alive, things will be different." He ran his coarse hand over her soft one, stroking her palm with his thumb. "Just hang on a bit longer my love. Just hang on."

  "Jackson," she said weakly, looking up at him. "I'm feeling so tired..."

  "I don't think it's a good idea to fall asleep, if you've hit your head."

  She shook her head gently. "No, it's not my head that hurts. Jackson, it's my leg."

  "Ava," he said, in a low, desperate whisper, "How could I have ever let this happen to you? If you are hurt...or," he hesitated before letting the next word out on a sorrowful gasp, "worse, then I will never ever forgive myself. Oh, I curse this stupid mine and everything it has put us through! I've been too ambitious. My rashness and foolhardiness has caused too much strain on the mine and the workers."

  "Jackson, listen to me." Her voice came out husky and croaky, but she gripped Jackson's hand tightly to let him know that he was to take what she was about to say seriously. "This isn't all your fault."

  "What are you talking about Ava? Of course it is all my fault."

  "No, it's not. I'm the one that pushed you, aren't I?" Though her voice was croaky, there was a catch in it, as though she were on the verge of tears as she spoke. "I put so much pressure on you to come up with the money for us."

  "Shh...," Jackson said gently, almost laughing as he thought Ava's words were so silly. "You've done no such thing. If you ever pushed, it was only out of love for your ma. Never for selfish reasons, like mine were."

  "Jackson?" She asked, looking up at him with her last bit of strength. "Am I going to be alright?"

  He gripped her hand. "Of course you are Ava," he said soothingly. "Of course you are."

  They stayed like for hours, praying together.

  * * *

  9

  A New Day Dawns

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  “ With what happened … being jilted at

  the aisle. It's hardly a memory she can

  ever forget, but now is the time to move on. ”

  .

  Although it felt to Ava as though the dawn would never break, eventually, blessedly, she gazed up from where she was lying to see the dawn coming up over the rocky horizon.

  "Jackson?" she called, looking around for her husband. In the dark, she couldn't locate him in the mine. "Jackson?" she called again, though her voice was barely more than a croak. She tried to pull her leg free but the action was in vain. Perhaps, he's gone for help, Ava thought. She could barely get a sense of what had happened the night before. She must have drifted off while they'd been praying. Perhaps, Jackson had told her he was leaving, and she'd simply not heard him.

  Her dry throat begged for a drink of water. Groggily, she tried to push herself up onto her elbows, tried to get a better look at what was going on around her. She remembered the trapped miners, wondered if Doc had ever made it down there. Everything was so hazy in her exhaustion and dehydration.

  Just as she was about to lay her head back down, to fall into another deep sleep, she saw it - light reflecting off the sun; a gold, shiny metal. She reached a hand up and rubbed her eyes, thinking they must be deceiving her. Perhaps she was so thirsty she wasn't seeing properly, she thought. She reached out her hand to touch it, and felt the cool, bumpy metal under her hands.

  Gold.

  * * *

  "Jackson!" Ava called out, her voice much stronger this time.

  He jumped down into the pit in one swift movement. "Ava, there's men here to help now. We'll have you free in no time...," he stopped when he saw how gleefully she was looking at him.

  "Ava, what's happened?" He was half-concerned she'd gone delirious with thirst or tiredness, otherwise there was no reason for her to be looking so happy after a night trapped under a pile of rocks. He knelt down beside her to get a better look. "Ava should I get Doc to take a good look at you?"

  "Jackson I'm fine," she lowered her voice. And in a happy whisper she said, "Gold."

  * * *

  At long last, the miners, along with Ava, were rescued in turn.

  As Jackson pulled Ava up, lifting her up so that she was over his shoulders, she asked, "Jackson, is everyone alright? No one was injured, were they?" Although her voice was weak, it held a deep concern. She couldn't bear to think of anyone going through what she'd been through, living with a permanent injury.

  "Some cuts and bruises," Jackson said, reassuringly. "Nothing serious."

  "You're telling me the truth, aren't you? Not jus
t trying to spare my feelings?"

  "From now on, I only tell you the truth Ava, I promise."

  He sat her gently down on the ground, just temporarily while he surveyed the damage to the mine. "What are we going to do?" he murmured.

  Ava looked up at him with bright eyes. "Now that we've got the gold, we've got the money to fix the mine up properly to make sure that it won't collapse, or damage the near-by farm land."

  Jackson shook his head. "I think we need to use the money for other things; more important things." He cast a glance over his shoulder in the distance, towards the town of Gold Creek. "Everyone's been so patient with me, waiting for me to strike gold. It's time I paid them back. Did up the town, rebuild the shops, fix up the Church, etc." He then turned back to Ava. "Plus, this time, I need to be responsible. Put enough aside for us, and your Ma. Maybe even send for her to come here."

  "Oh Jackson," Ava murmured, tears springing to her eyes. This time, they were happy tears. As her watery eyes sparkled, and her face crinkled up into a grin, Jackson reached down and pulled her to her feet, lifting her off the ground so that there was no strain on her feet, pulling her in to him for a kiss.

  * * *

  "How are you feeling?" Jackson asked, walking into the room with a hot cup of tea.

  "Much better," she answered, sitting up, with her blanket still wrapped snuggly around her. "Jackson isn't it all wonderful how it has worked out for us?" She stopped talking when she saw the heavy furrow of his brow, as he crossed the room to sit next to her.

  "Yes," he said distractedly, "it's all very wonderful..."

  "What is it?" Ava asked, not tricked by his words. "You don't make it sound as though it's wonderful at all. What's troubling you?"

  "Ah, it's nothing." He handed her the cup of tea and made sure she had a firm grip before he took his hand away.

  "Jackson, you should know by this stage that our problems are shared. If something is troubling you, tell me what it is."

  "I just can't figure out why you found that gold on that particular day, in that specific place. Just doesn't seem right...," he murmured, lost in thought.

  Ava also became lost in her own musings. "Hmm...I guess I just got lucky. One of those things you can't explain."

  "But why? Why, after months and months of mining, did nothing really turn up till just now?"

  Ava put her cup down and reached over to take Jackson's hand. "There's no sense in wondering about our good fortune now, is there? It's just time to be grateful, to thank God for showing us the way when he did. Jackson, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about now." She leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, closed her eyes tight, and nodded off to sleep.

  * * *

  The news came the following day. It was up to Jackson to deliver the news at the town meeting of the Gold Creek residents.

  Jackson took to the make-shift podium and took his hat off as he addressed the town's folk. "Thank you all for being here this evening to allow me to explain things to you."

  "What's going on, Jackson?" Doc called out, while the other residents nodded and called out cries of "yeah" and "tell us."

  From the side of the stage, Ava looked out over the small crowd, picking up the feelings of unrest coming from them. There was one notable absence in the crowd: Horton.

  Ava took a deep breath and turned back to her husband, who explained the scandal to the rest of the town.

  "He was taking the money from the mine - stealing it all for himself!"

  There was a shocked hush, before the residents let out a sea of gasps and cries. "But how? What has happened to him now? He's to be punished, isn't he?"

  Jackson nodded, holding his hands up, "Yes, he will be punished at the decision of the town. As we all see fit."

  As Jackson explained to them all of Horton's misdoings, there were more murmurs and gasps. But most of all, there was an out-pouring of apologies towards Jackson.

  "We're all so sorry for putting so much doubt on you," Miss Clarabelle said, earnestly as she could, her face blushing slightly as she spoke. "It wasn't fair after all, was it?"

  Some people were not quite so easily hushed though. There were still concerns present. "You should have known what he was up to!" one man cried out. "If you hadn't been so distracted by that cripple of a wife you've got, maybe you'd have known that Horton was stealing from the town!"

  There was a gasp at the man's cruel words, and everyone hung, in silence, waiting for Jackson's rebuttal. With a glowering look, he simply said. "Anyone who speaks about my wife like that has no place in Gold Creek and can leave the settlement immediately! This is not a town that will be built on prejudice and ill feeling." He stopped and switched his gaze towards Miss Clarabelle and her party. "That goes for everyone. Do you understand me?"

  * * *

  10

  A Fresh Beginning

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  “ With what happened … being jilted at

  the aisle. It's hardly a memory she can

  ever forget, but now is the time to move on. ”

  .

  three months later.

  "I can't believe this is our life now." Ava sighed contentedly, and looked out over the town, which was growing in size and population by the day. Besides her, sitting in the new rocking chair that Jackson had specially made, was Ava's Ma, resting, getting used to the heat in the California sunshine.

  "Ava, it's so beautiful out here," her Ma said, laying her head back and letting the sun fall onto her face. "I'm so pleased that you've made a life for yourself out here."

  Ava knelt down on her good knee and took her Ma's hand. "I'm so pleased that you're out here with us now Mama."

  The older woman opened her eyes and gazed up at her daughter. She'd hardly have recognized the girl who left Philadelphia almost a year earlier. She was still just as slim as ever, and her hair was still the same pale blonde, but there was a change in her face. Her thin, once translucent skin now glowed pink and sun-kissed, and there was a permanent smile on her now up-turned lips. She was so proud of her daughter she could almost burst.

  "Ava I'm sorry I ever doubted that you could make a life out here; that you weren't strong enough."

  Ava sighed and sat down, as both women gazed over the harsh, beautiful landscape. "It was hard though mama, and at first I didn't think I was strong enough either. For a long time, I doubted that I was, actually."

  "What finally convinced you otherwise, my girl?"

  Ava took a while to collect her thoughts. When she cast her mind back over the last year, she could hardly believe the distance she'd come, in every way imaginable. "It was many things Mama. I needed to believe in myself, and to trust in God, and his plan for me. And...," she started to add, looking over her shoulder at Jackson, who was busying himself in the house ..., "I had Jackson to help me, to show me that I can be stronger than I ever thought."

  It took some time for her Ma's reply to come. "I'm glad for you Ava. I am glad that you've found a life here; not just a life devoid of love either, like how you were in Philly..."

  "Mama, I wasn't without love in Philadelphia! I had you of course, and I wasn't alone. I was happy...enough." She tipped her head forward.

  "You know what I mean, Ava. I always knew you were lonely, deep down." Her voice got lower, more serious. "Sometimes, very bad things have to happen so that good can come. At the time, it seemed a tragedy that you ever had to come out here, to leave behind everything you knew, but now it seems like the greatest blessing."

  Ava nodded. "It does. It really does mama."

  * * *

  Ava and Jackson looked over the old, abandoned gold mine.

  "What's going to happen to it?" Ava asked.

  Jackson's eyes danced over the pit, remembering that terrible night when he thought he'd almost lost Ava down there. And all the other troubles the gold mine had brought them. "Nothing, for
now. It's being laid to rest. Unless, that is, some new up-starts want to have a go at it."

  "The farmers will be happy," Ava mused.

  "I don't doubt it," Jackson replied. "Joe, especially, says he can't wait to see the back of the darn thing."

  "You know," Ava said thoughtfully, "I only have fond memories of this place."

  "You do?" Jackson asked in surprise.

  She nodded. "When you think about it, this is the place that brought us together, isn't it? Jackson, if you'd never come out here to dig for gold, you'd never have established Gold Creek, never have sent for me and we'd never have met."

  He raised his eyebrows and turned back to the mine. "Never thought about it in that way. You're right, no sense in cursing a thing that's brought us so much happiness in the end."

  They began to move away from the edge, back in the direction of the town. Ava changed the topic to the subject of the town's outlaw.

  "So how is Horton doing?" Ava asked.

  "He's doing well, or as well as he can be. He's repented, and shown himself to be sorry for his crimes. He'll serve his time, of course, but I believe I shall show him leniency."

  Ava wrapped her arms around her husband and smiled up at him. "Well, as town Marshall that is within your rights."

  "Do you think it's the right thing to do though?"

  Ava mused for a moment. "It's the right thing to do - to show forgiveness. Look at me; look at Ma," she raised an eyebrow, just slightly, then looked down. "Look at us Jackson. We had to forgive each other to get to this point."

  "I had to forgive you for very little, my love," Jackson said. "I think it was me who needed your understanding."

  "Well, you've got all my understanding now, Jackson. And you should have had it all the way along; you were doing the right thing for all of us after all. You can't have helped knowing that Horton was stealing from you. Plus, you've now made things right anyway; even showing leniency to him now that you're the Marshall. That's what a true leader does though. You've come through for all of us, my dear." As Ava spoke, the words of praise gushing out, she came to marvel at the way she now spoke freely to her husband, no longer scared to show her emotion and no longer scared to let her love show.