Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham)

by Osbourne, Kirsten

  *****

  Elaine had removed her apron and was applying pressure to the wound as best she could, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. Not that it would do any good. She couldn’t get him into town by herself. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, this man was going to die, and she knew it was her fault. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she fought to save him. He was a bad man, but no one deserved to die in such a brutal way. She would never be able to live with herself if he died. She knew she was sobbing, but she couldn't help it.

  Colin heard her sobs from outside, and was thrilled she was alive, but more worried than ever. Was she lying on the floor injured? He opened the door and froze. He realized immediately what must have happened, but he was torn between letting the jackass die and helping his wife save his miserable hide. His decision was made for him when she pleaded, “Help me!” He couldn't let him die and force his wife to live with the guilt that came with killing a man. Her tear ravaged face spurred him into action.

  A few minutes later John was loaded in the back of the wagon, and they were headed to town. Colin drove as fast as he could while Elaine knelt in the back, applying pressure to John’s wounds. Her knee was screaming at her to get up, but she couldn't. If she had to do herself further injury to save a man's life, then she had no choice. Her pain was nothing in comparison to the sanctity of life.

  Colin pulled up in front of the doctor's office, and yelled at a man standing on the boardwalk, just staring at them. "Help me with him!" Why did people stand like they were idiots in a crisis?

  The two worked together to carry John inside, while Elaine sat in the back of the wagon, her face in her hands, and her entire body covered with blood. She was shaking dramatically with the sobs the wracked her body. She knew that she would have to burn everything she was wearing, because there was nothing she could do for the blood stains that covered the front of her dress. How could she ever look at the garment again and not thinking of taking a man's life.

  Colin left John with the doctor and ran back out to his wife, gathering her against him and holding her tightly. "Did he hurt you?" He couldn't believe he'd been so focused on John that h hadn't thought to ask his wife if she'd been injured yet. What was his problem?

  Elaine sniffled and shook her head. "No. He didn't get the chance." She could see that Colin was worried, but she was fine.

  "What's the blue all over his face? He looked like he's covered in blueberries." He was confused as to what had happened to the other man. The blue couldn't have been from the shotgun blast, though.

  Elaine's eyes met his, and she inappropriately felt laughter building up inside her. "He took my rolling pin away and told me I'd never reach the shotgun before he did. He tried to touch me, so I threw a pie in his face, and while he was getting the blueberry out of his eyes, I ran for the gun." She couldn't figure out why she suddenly found the way she'd protected herself so amusing, but she did.

  Colin pulled her face into his chest and stroked her hair, which had come out of its usually neat knot and was cascading down her back. "You did the right thing. But did you have to use my pie? Blueberry's my favorite!" He shook his head, wondering why after the chaotic events of the day, he was worried about a lost pie.

  Elaine let out a wild giggle. "I knew it would keep him from being able to see. Besides, I'd already given him a piece of the apple." She thought about the cinnamon rolls that were ruined as well. "I was making you cinnamon rolls, but he came in without knocking. He was angry because Elizabeth told him she wouldn't send him another bride, and he acted crazy." She shuddered, clinging to Colin, putting weight on her leg for the first time since she'd knelt the whole way to town, surprised that it held her.

  Colin looked down at her, his eyes searching hers. "You're sure he didn't hurt you?" He would go into the doctor's office and strangle him if he'd hurt her in any way. No man should ever touch his wife but him.

  She shook her head. "No, he didn't. My leg hurts a lot now, because I knelt the whole way into town, but he never had a chance to hurt me." She sighed. "I hope he lives. I hate the idea that I could have killed a man."

  "Even a man like John who really wouldn't be missed by anyone?" Colin shook his head at her soft-heartedness, but he knew that if she were any other way, he wouldn't love her nearly as much as he did.

  Elaine nodded. "Even a man like John. He must have a mother somewhere!" She looked toward the doctor's office, wondering what was going on. "Do you think he'll live?" She hoped he would, even if it was just to stand trial for his crimes. She didn't want to be responsible for his death.

  Colin shrugged. "I really don't know. Let's go talk to the doc and find out." He had his arm firmly around her shoulders as he led her into the doctor's office. John was laid out on the table and had been stripped to the waist while the doctor used a tweezers to pluck the shot from his chest.

  "You the one who shot him?" The doctor looked up at her as she stepped into the room, obviously curious about a woman who could shoot a man.

  "Yes, I shot him. He was going to hurt me." Elaine clenched her hands together.

  "You saved his life too, keeping him from bleeding more. You did a good job. I'm almost done here, but I'm sure he'll live. Of course, he'll spend the rest of his life in prison after what he tried to do to you, but that's better than dead, right?" He took out the last of the shots, and dropped the tweezers. He walked to the sink and washed his hands, using soap and water.

  "Thank you for helping him," Elaine whispered. She was too shocked by what had happened to know what to say. The doctor had automatically believed her story, which surprised her a little. John must truly have a bad reputation in town for everyone to believe a newcomer like her without even letting him tell his side of things. "How long will he have to stay here?" she asked.

  The doctor shrugged. "With his history, I'm sure the sheriff is going to come get him and take him off to stay in the jail. I'll check on him, but they won't want him to stay here at all." The doctor seemed to think that was for the best. He obviously didn't want John around any longer than necessary.

  "Will I need to talk to the sheriff?"

  The doctor nodded. "That's a good idea. Just go do it now and get it over with. No one is going to be surprised, considering who was shot. John's not exactly an upstanding citizen."

  Colin led her out of the office and down the street toward the sheriff's office. "Is your leg going to support you? Or do you want me to get the wagon and drive you?" He kept his arm around her waist as they walked, obviously afraid to let her get more than a few steps from him.

  "I can walk. I'm really surprised that it's holding up as well as it is. I think all the exercise it gets from cooking and cleaning has been good for it." She was so glad he was holding her so closely, though. She wasn't sure her legs would carry her otherwise, and it had nothing to do with her injury. She was still feeling very shaky after the events of the day.

  He opened the door to the sheriff's office for her, and Sheriff Goodman took one look at the state of Elaine's dress and got to his feet. "What happened?"

  Elaine sank into the chair in front of his desk and took a deep breath. "I need to start at the beginning." Her hand automatically went to her bad leg, massaging it through her dress.

  The sheriff held up a hand. "Sounds like a long story. I need to know if there's anyone dead or if I need to get the doc before you start."

  Colin shook his head. "No one's dead, and the injured man is with the doc now." Colin answered the questions quickly, knowing the sheriff wouldn't be able to listen to the story his wife was about to tell him if he had to worry about whether or not a man was dying.

  Sheriff Goodman took his seat and propped his hands under his chin with his elbows on his desk. "Take your time, then."

  "Near the beginning of October, I answered an advertisement to be a mail order bride, back in my hometown of Beckham, Massachusetts." She went on to explain how she'd answered John's letter, and what had happened when she arrived.
She told him how she'd ended up marrying Colin instead. All the details of the story came rushing out of her mouth, while Colin sat beside her holding her hand for support.

  It wasn't until the events of that day were recounted that Colin's jaw clenched. "It's a good thing you'd already shot him when I got there, because I'd have killed him with my bare hands." He was angry that he hadn't had a chance to pound some sense into the other man. He wished their sheriff wasn't such a good man, because he'd have loved the opportunity to pummel John into a bloody pulp.

  The sheriff looked at Colin. "Enough from you." He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Doc says John is going to live?"

  Elaine nodded. "Yes, he thinks he's going to live." She didn't have to say how relieved she was by that fact, because it showed clearly all over her face.

  "I'll get him transferred to my jail as soon as he's well enough for it." He stood up and walked around the desk. "I know it's hard to shoot a man, but you did the right thing. No one in town is going to be surprised that John tried to hurt a lady. He'll be spending a long time behind bars. Don't you worry about that." He looked over at Colin. "You've got a fine wife here. You the one who taught her to shoot?"

  Colin nodded. "I was worried about what John might do." He didn't tell the sheriff how proud he was that Elaine had been able to keep her head together enough to follow his instructions. He knew it went without saying. His wife was a truly amazing woman.

  "Good job. I wish all men would teach their women how to take control of a situation like that."

  Elaine smiled. "I'm truly blessed that John rejected me and Colin married me instead." She squeezed Colin's hand, knowing his support had gotten her through the telling of the story. She didn't know what she'd done in life to deserve such a good man, but she was glad she had him.

  The sheriff shook his head. "I don't think you have any idea how blessed you really are. Let me know where you live, and I'll ride out there if I have any other questions for you. I think this case is clear as can be, though. You have nothing to worry about Mrs. Monroe." Sheriff Goodman held his hand out to shake Colin's.

  Colin shook the older man's hand, feeling relieved that going over the whole thing was finally over.

  Elaine got to her feet shakily, and immediately Colin came up behind her to support her. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked. He led her out the door and onto the street. He couldn't wait to get her home, so he could hold her and make certain she really was all right.

  She nodded, leaning heavily against him. "Oh, no! I didn't make supper!" How could she have forgotten to feed him? She knew it wasn't really her fault, but she hadn't even thought about it through the chaos of the day.

  Colin laughed and shook his head. "You had more important things on your mind." He looked at the restaurant across the street and back at her. "We could go to the restaurant." He didn't mind eating there often as long as she was feeling up to going.

  She looked down at her dress and back at him. "I doubt if they'd even let me in looking this way." They did need to eat, though, and she had nothing she could fix terribly quickly unless he wanted breakfast foods. "I can make bacon and eggs or pancakes," she suggested.

  Colin frowned for a moment. "They have ready-made dresses at the mercantile. Let's see if there's something that will suit you." He didn't even want to think of what a ready-made dress would cost, but just then he didn't care. He needed her to be comfortable, and he knew she wouldn't be as long as she was wearing a dress splattered with John's blood.

  They went into the mercantile, and Mr. Judd rushed out from behind the counter. "Are you hurt?" His eyes traveled up and down Elaine, searching for an injury.

  Colin shook his head. "No, she's fine. We need a ready-made dress, though. Have you got anything in her size?" He looked around for the dresses he'd seen there before.

  The shopkeeper looked her up and down for a moment before he went over to his display of dresses. "I think this will fit her just fine." He handed them a pretty dress with pink flowers on it.

  Elaine accepted it and his invitation to go into the back room to change. The blood had soaked into her corset and petticoat, but she knew that she could leave them in the sun to be bleached back to a perfect white. She changed quickly and looked into the mirror hanging on the wall. Good. The blood didn't show through.

  She did her best to put her hair back into its usual knot before leaving the back room. It wasn't easy without a brush, but she wasn't about to buy a brush when she had a perfectly good one at home. She'd grabbed her purse before leaving and walked to the counter, paying for her dress before Colin had a chance. "Would you burn my old dress, Mr. Judd? I left it in the back room." Even touching it again would upset her, and she just didn't want to have to do it.

  The older man nodded, exchanging a look with Colin that let her know that her husband had explained what happened. She left, holding onto his arm. "Thank you for letting me pay for my own dress." She had expected him to argue but was thrilled when he hadn't.

  He sighed. "If I'd thought to bring any money, I wouldn't have." He shook his head, annoyed at his own lack of foresight.

  "I know, but it was only right that I pay for it because it's my fault I was covered in blood." She tried to reason with him, so he wouldn't mind that she'd paid.

  "How was it your fault?" He couldn't see how that would make sense to anyone but her.

  "Well, a normal person would have left him there to bleed to death. Then we just would have had to scrub the floor, which wouldn't have messed up my dress." Elaine shrugged as she said the words, knowing they were the truth.

  "You wouldn't be you if you had let him die. I married a special woman, and I'm so glad I did." Colin held the door for the restaurant for her, taking her to a table in the corner of the room.

  For the first time, Elaine believed his words. He really did love her. He'd never said one word against her and the way she'd killed John. She'd felt so weak and helpless when it came to being a wife, but she wasn't. She'd not only shown that she was a good wife and cook, but she had saved herself rather than standing around and waiting for Colin to rescue her.

  One they were seated, she decided what she wanted to eat, and then leaned back in her chair. "Thank you for helping me get him to town." She knew that it wasn't something he'd wanted to do, because even from the beginning, she'd seen the desire to add to the other man's injuries in her husband's eyes.

  Colin shook his head. "How could I not help you? You were obviously upset about it. I had to do something." He sighed. "I do wish I'd been there to help you, though, instead of getting there after the fact." He would have given anything to have been the one to shoot the other man instead of her.

  "I don't." She reached out and grasped his hand, smiling up at the waitress and giving her order.

  After Colin had ordered and the waitress had left, he looked at her for a moment with surprise in his eyes. "You don't wish I'd been there to help?" Why wouldn't she want him there to help her? What was she thinking now? He loved the woman, but sometimes her thoughts made no sense to him at all.

  She shook her head. "I honestly think it was something I needed to do on my own. I'm always so worried that I'm not strong enough or able to take care of myself. Now, I know that if the situation calls for it, I'm perfectly capable of doing what I need to do. I may fall apart afterward, but I can handle the situation." She wasn't ashamed of falling apart, though, because it had been the logical, natural thing to do. For her.

  "There was never any doubt in my mind." He brought her fingers to his lips. "When I saw you that first day, your eyes were full of anger toward John. It was obvious that you thought he was acting like a child, and you were glad he was leaving you there. And then, when I came over, you didn't immediately jump at the chance to marry me, and be taken care of. You already had a plan, and you didn't need a man to make your plan work."

  "But I did marry you." What was he saying?

  "But you chose to marry me. I could see that you would ha
ve been content to just go find yourself a boarding house and take life by the horns. You're a very strong woman, and I have always admired you for that." His voice was calm and steady as he told her how he felt about her strength. Not many women would have handled either situation nearly as well as his beautiful wife had with seemingly little effort.

  She smiled at him, her face lighting up. "You once told me that you wanted me to be able to see myself through your eyes. I think maybe I can finally." She was starting to see herself as a strong woman, capable of dealing with anything that life threw at her. She knew that's how he saw her as well, and it pleased her to no end.

  "Then you know that you're an amazing woman whom I love more than I can ever express?" He watched her eyes as he said the words, knowing that she would suddenly look sad if she didn't believe him. How someone as special as she was didn't realize how incredible she was, really stunned him. This time, though, her eyes didn't look sad. They glistened with tears, but they were happy tears.

  "I love you too. I just...I guess I was so convinced that I just wasn't lovable that it was impossible for me to believe what you were saying." She watched as his face lit up with happiness, and she realized then how much her lack of belief in his love had made him feel. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before."

  He shook his head. "Just so you believe me now, I'm happy." And he was. She believed he loved her, and she'd even said she loved him too. He needed to get her alone so he could hold her the way he wanted to.

  As they ate, both of them were watching the other, the reality of their love new to each of them. On the drive home, she sat close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. When he stopped beside the river where they'd once picnicked, she was happy, because she badly wanted to kiss him, but she wasn't willing to distract him while he drove.