by Linda Bridey
Thank you for downloading this Book.
Join my mailing list and get all my new releases and similar books for 0.99.
CLICK Here To Sign Up
****
LINDA BRIDEY
Mail Order Bride: Westward Fortune
Montana Mail Order Brides: Book 5
Dedication
To YOU, The reader.
Thank you for your support.
Thank you for your emails.
Thank you for your reviews.
Thank you for reading and joining me on this road.
Chapter One
Lacey raced down the upstairs hallway of her home to her room and slammed the door behind her. She locked it and backed away until she felt her legs bump against the bed, then she skirted around it to the window that was close to a pine tree and opened it. This was her escape route should she need it. Her father pounded on her door and she jumped.
“Get out here, Lacey! I’ll teach you not to disrespect me!” Amos Reagan drunkenly shouted through the door. “You need to do as you’re told, young lady! Do you hear me?”
Lacey stayed silent. If she were to answer him, her father would just become that much more enraged. It was better not to engage him when he was drunk. He would be fine in the morning, but he was dangerous right now.
Amos pounded on the door one more time and then retreated down the hall, grumbling as he went. Lacey sat down on her bed as relief coursed through her. It was short lived, however. Her father was soon back and he had some sort of tool with which he worked at her door. Lacey didn’t stick around. She went through the window and grabbed the branches she always used to climb down it.
As quickly as she could, Lacey descended the tree, ignoring the scrapes she incurred along the way. She landed lightly and began running down her street in Walhalla, North Dakota. After a bit, Lacey slowed down, turned the corner at the bank and walked the short distance away to the boarding house where her best friend Sammi Jameson lived.
She opened the front door and walked back the long hallway that ran the length of the building. Lacey knocked on the last door on the right and waited.
When Sammi opened her door, Lacey stood crying on the other side of it. Sammi grew angry as she watched Lacey’s dark brown eyes shimmer with tears.
“Come on in, honey,” Sammi said. She guided Lacey to a chair and sat her down. “Is your pa at it again?” She knew how violent Lacey’s father got when he was drunk and felt bad for Lacey.
“Yeah. I don’t know why he always takes everything out on me,” Lacey said. “I don’t know how much more I can take.” Her body trembled as she sobbed. “I had to climb down my tree again.”
“That’s the third time this week,” Sammi said. Her blue eyes were filled with concern. “You have to stay with me, Lacey. You can’t go back there. Tomorrow we’ll get some of your stuff while he’s working at the store and you can bunk with me.”
Lacey shook her head. “I have to go back there eventually. Mr. Casey isn’t going to let me stay here for long. He’ll want to charge extra rent and without me working at the store, I won’t have any.”
Sammi sighed. “You need to get out of town and away from him completely.”
“Where would I go? I don’t have any money to move anywhere. I’m stuck, Sammi,” Lacey said.
Sammi sat down on her bed as she tried to come up with a solution. Sudden inspiration hit her. “I know! Jamie said that some fella in Dawson was going to be placing a mail-order-bride ad in our paper and that we should be on the lookout for it.”
“I remember, but he was supposed to be for you,” Lacey said.
Sammi took her by the shoulders and said, “Listen to me, Lacey. I can wait; you can’t. Whatever this man is like, he can’t be bad if Jamie is recommending him. If you don’t go, Amos is going to kill you eventually. I don’t want to go to your funeral. So please, as soon as this ad is in the paper, answer it,”
Lacey mulled over her options in her mind and couldn’t come up with a better plan. The only other family she had was an aunt who had moved to Virginia and she didn’t want to go there. Even if she moved somewhere else in town, Lacey knew her father would find her. She would never be free of him if she stayed in Walhalla. Montana was far enough away that Amos wouldn’t be able to bother her anymore.
Sammi watched as Lacey thought. Fear and indecision showed on her friend’s face. “Lacey, you need to do this. I won’t tell a soul where you went. That way, he can never find you.”
“When is the ad supposed to be in the paper? I can’t wait for weeks,” Lacey said.
Sammi said, “I’m not sure, but as soon as it comes out, you just tell this man whatever he wants to hear and get it back to him right away. You stay here in the meantime and if I have to hide you or shoot him, I will.” She liked guns and wasn’t afraid to use them.
Lacey nodded. “Ok. I just hope he answers me fast.”
*****
Two days later, Sammi came back to their room after she was done with work at a local farm. She was excited because the ad their friend Jamie had told them about was listed in the classifieds.
“Lacey, look!” she said as she put the paper on the bed and pointed it out. Her blue eyes were alive with excitement.
Lacey picked up the paper to read it.
Calling all single ladies who are looking for a man who knows how to show a lady a good time and has the means to cater to her every whim; this Texan with chestnut hair and hazel eyes has charisma in spades and is looking for a matrimony-minded woman who is interested in living on a sprawling Montana estate. She must be no older than twenty-eight and no younger than twenty. He’s a strong, active man who requires someone with a lot of energy to keep up with him. Hurry to respond before someone else lassos his heart!
Lacey put the paper down with dismay on her face.
Sammi said, “What is it? He sounds great.”
“That’s the problem. I think you’d better answer him. I don’t think I’m what he’s looking for,” Lacey said.
Sammi grasped Lacey’s shoulders and make her look into her eyes. “Lacey, you have two choices; stay here and be murdered by your pa or go there and become what he’s looking for. Jamie will be there, too, so she’ll help even if things don’t work out with this guy. You’d probably find someone else. So just tell him what he wants to hear and get him interested. Understand?”
Lacey nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”
Sammi got out some paper and a pencil and put them on the bed by Lacey. “I’m going to get us some dinner. When I come back, I expect that letter to be written, ok?” She hated to be so stern with Lacey, but sometimes Lacey needed firm guidance.
“Ok, Sammi,” Lacey said, and smiled a little.
“Good girl,” Sammi said as she went out the door.
Lacey bowed her head and tried to think about what she would write. She had no idea what to say to this man that she didn’t know. She didn’t fit what he was looking for at all. He didn’t seem like her kind of man, either. Desperation forced her to begin writing. She decided to be completely truthful.
*****
“Master Dwyer,” Randall called through the door to the son of his employer.
There was no answer and the man sighed and turned the doorknob. As he’d expected, the room was empty, which meant that the man hadn’t come home again last night. Randall prepared himself for the shouting that was sure to ensue when he informed Joe Dwyer’s father that his son was not home.
He walked back out to the sunroom and imparted this information to August Dwyer. August was a man of average height and looks. The only thing remarkable about his appearance was his hazel eyes, which Joe had inherited.
“I regret to inform you that Master Dwyer is not home,” Randall said.
August grunted. “Where the hell is he?”
“I do not know,” Randall said in his British accent.
“He knows damn well that I expected him to be home this morning for this meeting. Damn his hide! He’s just like his poor excuse for a mother,” August railed, and pounded a fist on the table next to him. His coffee cup jumped and some spilled onto the newspaper it sat on. “Just wait until I see him. He’s gonna regret this.”
“Yes, sir. Will there be anything else, sir?” Randall asked.
“Did I ask you for anything else?” August snapped.
“No, sir.”
“Well then get out here. I’ll ring if I want you,” August said.
Randall left without another word, glad to be gone from August’s presence.
*****
“Joey, don’t go,” the lithe blonde said as Joe put on his pants.
“Listen, darlin’, it’s not like I wouldn’t love to stay, but I gotta get home before Daddy has a fit because I’m late,” Joe said.
Annie gave him a pretty pout and Joe laughed. “Nope. Not gonna work this time,” Joe said. He kissed her and then put on his shirt and tucked it in. Joe slid his feet into his expensive black boots and then donned his equally expensive black hat.
“Will I see you tonight?” Annie said.
“I doubt it,” Joe said. “Sorry. I have some business to attend to. Don’t worry, you’ll see me soon.”
He gave her another kiss before leaving. Humming as he walked to the livery stable in Dawson, Joe thought about his father and how he was going to finally get out from under the old man’s thumb. He smiled as he pictured August’s face when he could finally tell him off for good. That was going to be the best day of his life.
“Hey, Joe,” Stew Weller greeted him. He was one of the livery stable hands.
“Hey, Stew. How are you on this fine day?” Joe said.
Stew said, “Just fine. I got Lancelot all ready for you. I figured you’d be around for him soon.”
Joe gave Stew what he owed for boarding Lancelot overnight along with a nice big tip for Stew. “Much obliged to you, Stew.”
Joe heard the familiar loud whinny of his Thoroughbred stallion and grinned. He neared the stall where the big horse was housed and looked at the pure white horse with admiration. Most of the horses in the area were Quarter horses or draft horses, but not Joe’s horse. At sixteen and a half hands tall, Lancelot was taller than many riding horses and faster than anything in the county.
“Hello, Lance, you handsome devil,” Joe said in a low voice.
Lance responded with a whicker and pawed at the stall door.
“Sounds like someone’s ready to run. Is that about right?” Joe said.
Lance nodded his approval of that idea.
“All right. Let’s get at it then. I’m late for an important date,” Joe told the horse, and opened the door.
Lance pranced past Joe and turned around to face his master. He sniffed Joe’s pockets until he found the sugar cube in Joe’s breast pocket. “All right, all right. You found it, you keep it,” Joe said, and gave it to Lance.
Joe swung into the saddle and hollered, “Stand clear!”
All of the stable hands were used to this and moved back against the walls.
“Ha!” Joe said and Lance surged forward.
The big horse burst out of the stable and turned right onto Main Street. There were a few wagons in the way, but Joe guided Lance around them like they were standing still. People stopped and stared as Lance’s long strides carried him down the street with blazing speed and soon left the town behind.
*****
August was fuming when Joe showed up.
“Where the hell have you been, as if I don’t know,” he asked his son.
Joe took his hat off and hung it up. “Are they still here?”
“Yeah, but they’re as tired of waiting for you as I am, you idiot,” August said.
Ignoring him, Joe brushed past his father and put on his best ingratiating smile.
“Andrew Caruthers! How the hell are you, you old dog?” Joe said and held out a hand to the other horse breeder.
“Why, I’m fine, Joe. You’re lookin’ well,” Andrew said. He was a portly man with white hair and blue eyes and always reminded Joe of Santa Clause.
“Thank you, sir. It’s all the fresh air and clean livin’. Please excuse my tardiness. A previous meeting that I had ran over,” Joe said. He wasn’t going to tell Andrew that his previous meeting had involved a very pretty blonde.
“That’s all right, Joe. Don’t worry about it,” Andrew assured him.
“Thank you for being so understanding,” Joe said as he and his father sat across the table from Andrew. “Let’s talk horses, shall we?”
*****
“You’re just damn lucky you’re so charming or else I’d have thrown you out years ago,” August said to his son after the meeting with Caruthers was done.
“Daddy, we both know that without me, your business would dry up,” Joe responded. “It’s my breeding knowledge that they come for and don’t forget it. You would be dead in the water if you didn’t have me. Now, I’ve got other things to do than stand around here being insulted by you.”
Joe went to his room and shut the door. He looked over at his big desk, which overflowed with breeding charts and other paperwork. Joe’s bedroom was more office than bedroom. Expensive framed paintings of horses hung on the walls. The desk and chair took up a large portion of the big room. Bookcases that were full of horse breeding books lined the walls. The bed was often covered with this kind of paraphernalia. He noticed a fresh stack of mail on the desk and groaned.
“I’m gonna kill Marcus. That ad he wrote was too good and now I’m drowning in letters from prospective brides,” he muttered as he sat down.
He started opening letters. He’d read a line or two and then throw the ones that didn’t interest him on the floor. There must have been twenty. He got down to the last letter and placed it against his forehead. “Oh, please be something interesting,” he prayed. Joe certainly wasn’t the religious type, but there were times when he prayed to whatever god might be listening.
He sighed and opened it.
Dear Mr. Dwyer,
I am writing this letter out of desperation. You know a friend of mine, Jamie Samuels. I need a husband and I would make a good wife. I would be whatever you needed me to be. I just need to get out of Walhalla. I am in danger here. I don’t have any money so you would have to send me some to make the trip. I’ll pay you back as soon as I find work. Just ask Jamie what I look like and such. I really don’t have more time to write.
Lacey Reagan
“What the hell?” Joe said. “Danger? I wanted interesting. I guess I got it. Or crazy. Maybe she’s crazy. Nah. Jamie wouldn’t be friends with someone who’s insane.”
Joe thought about his best friend Luke Samuels’ new wife, Jamie, with fondness. They’d become good friends. He sang and played poker with her down at the Watering Hole, the saloon in Dawson. She’d mentioned something to him a while back about one of her friends being interested in being a mail-order-bride.
As he recalled, she was a tall blonde with blue eyes. He didn’t remember the name. He couldn’t ask Jamie about this friend because Jamie had insisted on going on a short cattle drive with Luke. They wouldn’t be back for a couple of weeks. The urgency in the letter spoke to Joe.
“I always have been a sucker for a damsel in distress,” Joe murmured.
He reread the part about her being willing to be whatever he needed her to be. What he needed was a woman who would be willing to marry a man strictly for his money. His getting married was the only w
ay his old man was going to fork over his inheritance. It sure sounded like she would be willing to do that.
“All right, Miss Reagan. You just won the jackpot,” Joe said.
*****
Sammi came home from work a few days later with an envelope for Lacey.
“Lacey, you’re never gonna guess what,” she said as she burst into her room.
Lacey sat on the bed in silence. Sammi went to stand in front of her and gasped when Lacey looked up at her. There was a nasty bruise on Lacey’s right cheek and a scrape on her forehead.
“What happened?” Sammi asked.
“Pa is what happened. What else? I’ll be fine. What did you want to tell me?” Lacey said.
Sammi gave Lacey the envelope and then left to go down the hall to the washroom, fury evident in every step she took.
Lacey looked at the return address on the envelope and felt a surge of hope when she saw that it was from Montana. She tore open the envelope and pulled out a letter.
Dear Miss Reagan,
I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, but never let it be said that Joe Dwyer doesn’t lend a hand to a lady when it’s needed. If you’re a friend of Jamie’s then you’re a friend of mine. I’ve enclosed a check that should cover the trip and then some. You just get here and we’ll get things sorted out.
I know how long it takes for you to get here, so don’t worry about writing back. Just get on the first stage out of there and I’ll meet you in Dawson.
Joe Dwyer
Lacey finished reading, took the check from the envelope, and almost fainted at the amount written on it. There was enough that she could have made the trip ten times. Sammi came back with a cold cloth so she could clean Lacey’s wounds. She showed Sammi the letter and the check.
“Holy smokes, Lacey! You sure got lucky!” Sammi said. She was so happy that Lacey was going to be able to get out of Walhalla. “There’s a stage coach leaving in two hours and you’re gonna be on it.”
Lacey said, “When I cash this, I’m giving you half of the money so you can come to Montana, too.
“I can’t take it, Lacey. He sent that to you,” Sammi protested.