Chapter Nine
My eyes widened when I saw Jared approach us, the hammer of his gun pulled back. The man glanced back at me and then at Jared. I knew he was trying to figure out if he could get to me without being shot, but that was clearly out of the question.
“You’re messing with the natural order of things! You don’t know what you’re doing!” the man spat.
Jared just stepped closer, closing the space between himself and the man. “This isn’t the wild. We aren’t animals. Maybe the way you act is acceptable where you came from, but not here,” he growled. “Now you listen, and you listen good.”
The other man frowned, waiting for Jared’s command.
“I want you to get down on your knees and I want you to pray for forgiveness,” Jared told him.
I jumped up. “Jared! What are you going to do? What are you doing?”
“I’m giving this man the chance to repent for his sins before I send him to his maker!” he snarled, eyes raging with anger.
He pressed his gun to the man’s forehead. “Grovel! Beg for forgiveness!”
The man’s eyes were wide and he was pleading for Jared to spare his life, but Jared just stared him down. “I already gave you one chance. Why should I give you another?” he asked.
I ran to Jared and grabbed his arm. “Jared! Don’t do this!” I pleaded, my eyes wet with tears. I dug my fingers into his arm and gave him a little shake. “Please! Please don’t do this!”
He looked at me, his eyes full of surprise and shock. “What do you mean?” he asked, setting his lips. “Don’t you want him to pay?”
“God will make him pay! It’s not our place to decide who lives and dies. I’m here, I’m fine now,” I whispered, holding him close.
He swallowed and closed his eyes, turning to look at me. “I cannot let him get away with hurting you. What if he hurts someone else?”
“God will judge him. God will protect his children. Hasn’t he always protected us?” I whispered. “He brought us together and we cannot question Him. We have to believe that there is a bigger plan,” I whispered, leaning up and kissing his cheek.
Jared’s hands shook for a moment but he finally holstered his gun, clenching his teeth and turning away. “Get out of my sight,” he ordered.
The other man jumped to his feet and ran off in the same direction as his horse. My heart finally started to calm down and I gripped Jared’s arm, looking up at him, smiling shakily. “Thank you.”
He sighed. “No, thank you. I was blinded my own anger and fear,” he said sadly, reaching out and touching my cheek.
I sighed and leaned into him, nuzzling him gently. “It’s okay. We’re okay now. But we need to get home. Gabriel is alone and terrified.”
Jared helped me onto his horse and we rode back to the house where Gabe’s cries could be heard from outside the door. I ran inside and scooped my child up, holding him close to my chest and trying to comfort him with kisses and kind words. Gabriel sobbed for a while, his tiny hands tangled in my hair. When he finally calmed, I set him down to sleep and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Everything had happened so fast today and my brain was struggling to keep up.
I turned to look for Jared but he’d gone to the bedroom, starting to take off his holsters and uniform. When I entered the bedroom he was down to his shirt and pants and he turned to look at me. I frowned a little and stepped inside the room.
“Don’t you need to-“
“I don’t need to do anything other than be with you right now,” he whispered, walking over to me and wrapping his arms around me. “Everything else can wait,” he murmured, holding me close.
I sighed softly and kissed his neck, resting my head against his shoulder. I leaned into him, allowing myself to feel safe in his arms after this whole ordeal.
“It would be nice if you would stay,” I whispered, finally allowing myself to be weak.
He gripped my shoulders and pulled me away, looking at me seriously. “I have something I need to tell you.”
I looked at him and blinked, unsure of whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. I nodded and pressed my hand to his cheek. “Of course. What is it darling?” I asked, almost hesitant.
“I was so scared. When I heard your screams and when I saw him with his hand in your hair. I was so afraid that I might lose you for good and I’d never be able to tell you-” he broke off, overcome with emotion.
My eyes widened and my heart fluttered in my stomach. “Tell me what?” I breathed.
He took a deep breath. “I was afraid I’d never get to tell you that I loved you,” he whispered.
Tears came to my eyes and I threw my arms around him, holding him tight “I love you! I love you too!” I said.
He rocked me back and forth for a moment, kissing my face wherever he could. “I promise, I’m never going to let anyone hurt you ever again.”
“I know. I love you.”
We held each other for what felt like an eternity, kissing and whispering our love to each other. I knew, in that moment, that Richard was smiling down on us from heaven.
Chapter Ten
We were married shortly after that incident. We were planning on waiting until the fall but ended up being married in the summer. After everything that happened, we didn’t want to waste any more time.
The wedding was beautiful and more than I could have ever hoped for. Everyone came and wished us well, offering gifts of food and flowers. Gabriel was walking by the time our wedding came around and acted as the ring bearer. Jared was kind enough to have a small suit tailored for him.
After the wedding, a peculiar thing happened. The man who had tried to abduct me returned. He’d been unable to find his horse and had tried making it on his own in the wild, but it proved too difficult. He returned to the town and begged forgiveness, admitting that he had been shows the error of his ways. After a little nudging from me, Jared offered him a job as a deputy.
The man’s name was Maverick and he ended up being one of the best deputies Jared ever worked with. As he was integrated into our little town, he used his strength and size for good rather than mayhem. He turned out to be a rather mild-mannered man who loved to read and spend time with the horses. We learned so much about him in the time he stayed with us.
One of the young girls in town took an interest in him and despite his past, the two went on to get married. She was pregnant with their first child and looked like she might pop any day now. Maverick was proof to me that the Lord really did work in mysterious ways.
I smiled softly and ran my hand over my belly, tracing shapes with my fingers. I’d only found out about my own pregnancy about a month previous. I was barely showing but Jared was impressed with the tiny baby bump. He would come home every night and kiss it, offering tender, loving words. He was going to be an amazing daddy, even if he was terrified he might mess up.
When Jared started to worry about his abilities as a father, I would point out the fact that Gabriel adored him. Gabriel knew Jared as his daddy and while I wanted to tell him about Richard eventually, I thought it best to let Jared and Gabriel bond as father and son for now.
Marrying Jared didn’t mean I forgot about Richard. I’d never forget about Richard for as long as I lived. He would always be my first love, but I knew I couldn’t hold onto him forever. He wouldn’t have wanted that for me. I knew that if he could have met Jared, he would have wanted him to take care of me.
“What are you thinking about over there?” Jared called, walking over to me from the river.
He was carrying a net and Gabriel tottered along behind him, holding a small bucket that had rocks in it. I smiled and shook my head.
“Just daydreaming.”
“About what?” Jared asked, settling beside me.
I chuckled and leaned in, offering him a kiss. “You,” I hummed.
He smiled and put a hand on my belly, whispering the words that still made me blush. “I love you.”
“I love you to
o.”
Those words were so simple, but they gave me so much hope.
The End
Return to the TOC for Bonus Content
Mail Order Bride: Marianna’s 2nd Chance
(Dover Ranch Series Book 1)
Introduction
Marianna was always told she was beautiful. With her dark tresses, full lashes, and bright blue eyes, she was often described as the epitome of a classic Valley Spring's beauty. However, she would have traded every perfect feature just to have her soul mate back in her arms.
But life can sometimes deal someone the odd mixture of cruelty and kindness.
On the day she heard the news that her fiancé had been killed, she had been at the seamstresses getting her final fitting for her wedding dress. She has been so excited that the final touches to her wedding were coming in to place. But little did she know that her world was about to come crashing down...
Chapter: I
"Stunning," Amelia breathed. "Kevin will not be able to take his eyes off of you." She reached forward the touch the delicate lace of her sister's dress. "It's so pretty and so romantic," she sighed.
Georgina snorted. "It's just a dress Amelia."
"Yes, but it represents the start of their eternal love," Amelia protested.
"Look, Georgie," Marianna interjected, "I know how you feel about marriage and how it is —"
"Hogwash?" Georgina finished Marianna's sentence for her. "Look, I get that you want to marry and aspire to be the best wife possible, but I don't know why you had to go and pick Kevin Patrick of all people? He is," she paused as if trying to find the word that would least offend her sister, "boring."
"So?" Amelia burst out. "He's terribly handsome and very rich. Marianna could have dozens of dresses just as pretty as her wedding dress!"
"Those dresses would be worthless if I had to be saddled to the dullest man on earth," Georgina countered.
Marianna chuckled at her two sisters and their dividing opinions. Marianna, with her grace and calm demeanor, was not one to be offended by them. She knew where her sisters were coming from, that Georgie had aspirations that involved a literary career, and that Amelia wanted a life of aesthetic leisure in order to pursue her artistic inclinations. They both viewed her marriage through the rose-tinted gaze of their own dreams, which made it difficult for them to see that the reason Marianna was marrying Kevin Patrick wasn't for the domestic life or for the wealth.
"Girls," Marianna broke through their bickering. "Have you thought that I might be marrying Kevin because I love him?" she teased lightly.
Georgina and Amelia looked at their elder sister in shock.
Georgina snorted for the second time that morning. "Love? That is just a fairytale," she said boldly.
"Don't be so cynical Georgie," Amelia chastised her. "I would love him too if I could live in that big house, and ride around in that fancy carriage, and have a horde of servants to attend to my every whim."
"That is beside the point!" Georgina let out an exasperated sigh as her frustrations grew with her youngest sister.
"Just another day in the Wellington household," Marianna teased.
Georgina and Amelia both turned toward each other, their eyes flaring with the heat of the argument. Once they saw how red and purple the other's face was, they lost their edge and burst into fits of giggles.
"Your face is all mottled purple," Amelia pointed out to Georgina in between the uncontrollable heaves of laughter.
"Speak for yourself," Georgina teased. "Your nose is all red!"
Marianna chuckled along with her sisters before turning her attention back to her reflection in the full-length mirror. "I think I am ready to go,"
"Excuse me?" A young pageboy peeked cautiously around the corner that separated the back fitting room from the front of the store. "I have a message for a Ms. Wellington," he said shyly.
"Yes?" all three Wellington sisters said in perfect unison.
The boy looked confused as his face darted among all three women. "I, um," he stopped and started again. "It's for Mr. Patrick's, um, fiancé."
"That would be me," Marianne descended from the raised platform like an elegant angel. "Thank you," she said, taking the paper from his outstretched hand.
He lingered a little bit longer before Georgina offered him a tip and shooed him away.
Marianna quickly tore the crisp envelope open and pulled out a short note. The moment she read the first line, she paled.
"Are you alright?" Amelia asked cautiously.
Marianna extended the letter with shaky hands. Her eyes appeared haunted by the words delivered on the cream colored paper.
Georgina grabbed the letter from her sister and scanned the contents of the page quickly. She let out an abrupt gasp, covering her mouth in the process. "No," she breathed, her expression twisting in horror.
"Yes," Marianna said in a strained voice. Her eyes had already begun to well up with tears. "He's dead. Kevin is dead," she said as she collapsed into a pile of white lace.
Chapter: II
"So, what is going to happen now?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Hush Amelia, your sister is still in mourning," their mother chastised the youngest Wellington sister for her insensitivity. "We've only just returned home from the funeral."
"It is ok," Marianna whispered as she placed her black hat and veil on the dining room table. "I don't know," she said in answer to her sister question.
Amelia's eyes grew big as she realized what her sister was saying. "Will we have to move then?"
"Amelia!" Their mother spoke harshly.
Marianna knew that her mother was just trying to protect her, but what Amelia was saying was the truth. Although it felt like the hardest part of the day was simply surviving her soul mate's funeral, she knew the road ahead wouldn't be easy. It was an unfortunately reality, but the life she had hoped for had been buried along with him.
Marianna turned toward her mother and two sisters. "I understand that our family had depended on Kevin to keep us financially afloat. And now that he is, is —" she stuttered as she tried to hold back the tears, "gone, we will have to do our best to make ends meet until I am able to find a job to support us." Marianna looked at their worried faces and her heart ached to remedy the situation. "Where is father?" she asked with some reservation.
"I don't know," Georgina shook her head. "Probably at one of the many bit houses he likes to gamble our livelihood away at."
Their mother, pale and ill, looked distraught. "I'm so sorry girls," she wailed.
"It's not your fault," Marianna moved to comfort her mother. They had all been through so much. A few years ago their father had suffered a large financial loss when one of his investments had fallen through. They had had to downsize their house and dismiss all their servants just to try and make ends meet. The blow had damaged his pride and he sought comfort in the many gambling houses in Boston,— just outside their smaller community of Valley Springs. He would be gone for days at a time, and when he returned empty handed, it would be up to the girls to try and gather enough funds to cover the minimum of their monthly expenses. Marianna had been forced to take a job as a governess for a wealthy family at the innocent age of sixteen. Although the Cavanaughs had welcomed her in and had given her a wage that was just enough to keep their family afloat for the past two years, it meant that the responsibility rested on Marianna to keep her family fed and clothed. However, when she became engaged, Kevin had offered to support her family if she gave up her job. At first she had worried that she wouldn't find another position, as her father's dalliances left a black mark on the Wellington family in good society, but Kevin quickly quelled those fears. She had been lucky that Kevin had cared for her despite her family’s tainted reputation; he had been a Godsend. But now he was gone and Marianna had to find a new way to make sure that her family did not fall apart.
"I worry that I failed you," their mother wept. Her upper lip trembled slightly as tears filled her eyes.
Amelia and Georgina joined them in the emotional embrace.
They were interrupted by the sound of a knock at the front door.
Marianna disentangled herself from her family. "Take mother upstairs. I'll handle the guests as they probably just want to extend their condolences." She moved toward the front door, while her sisters ushered their distressed mother to her room to rest. She hesitated a moment before answering; her own weariness from the long day had finally taken its toll. She was exhausted from the pitying looks, the many condolences, and the unspoken white elephant in the room — how would the Wellingtons survive now that Mr. Patrick no longer supported them? Despite everything, Marianna held her head high and kept her resolve strong. She knew things would work out in the end.
When she opened the door, the friendly faces of Mr. and Mrs. Cavanaugh — the couple that had employed her as a governess for the past few years — greeted her.
"Ms. Marianna," Mrs. Cavanaugh spoke with a regretful tone. "I am so sorry for everything, we can't imagine what you are going through right now."
"Thank you for your sentiment. I've had better days." Marianna tried to put a faint smile on her face. She knew that the Cavanaughs had good intentions, but sometimes they lacked the self-awareness to know when they were being a bit too much to handle.
"Deepest sympathies," Mr. Cavanaugh said staunchly through his thick moustache.
Marianna nodded her acknowledgement to the gentleman.
"May we come in?" the ever outspoken Mrs. Cavanaugh pressed. She had the innate ability to always get her way, at least where Marianna was concerned, as she found it hard to say no to such a reckoning force. "We have a proposition for you that you may find comforting in the wake of the, err, untimely turn of events," she said.
Marianna perked up slightly. She hoped that they had come to offer her old governess job, which would be a Godsend considering the lack of financial prospects her family had at the moment. "Yes, please," she moved out of the away to allow the couple entrance into the small house.
Biker Romance: Never Love an Exile (Exile Love Biker MC Series Book 3) Page 16