Mail Order Bride - Westward Fortune: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 5)

by Linda Bridey

  Seth and Luke exchanged anxious looks again.

  “I’m not going to admit to something I didn’t do, Joe,” August said.

  “Damn you! If you don’t ‘fess up, I’m gonna pull this trigger and blow your worthless brains all over this nice den of yours. Now, if you want to grow old and die of natural causes, do the right thing and confess!” Joe’s words were forceful but said in the soft, dangerous voice that always accompanied his rage. He kicked August in the middle of his back, knocking him on his face. Joe planted a knee between August’s shoulder blades and said, “Confess!”

  August knew that voice well. “All right,” he said breathlessly. “Yes! I was furious with you for forcing my hand and making me leave my home and business. I had the barn fires set!”

  Joe worked hard to keep the tears out of his voice as he said, “You killed five horses, Daddy, including Lance. You knew how much he meant to me, just like you knew how much Mama meant to me when you pushed her over the edge, you bastard. You killed the both of them and now I’m going to kill you!”

  Seth and Luke leapt at Joe, but he pulled the trigger before they could reach him.

  *****

  Lacey fell into a deep depression and no one could pull her from it. She still wanted Marcus to come every day but did little except cry in his presence. He poured over books of all kinds hoping to find something to help her. Doc prescribed laudanum for her, but when it didn’t help, he stopped giving it to her. Marcus voiced his concerns to his family one evening at supper.

  “I feel helpless about it. She just can’t be reached right now,” he said, and dropped his fork back onto his plate. His food was barely touched.

  Maddie sighed and said, “I’m going to go talk with her. I was in her situation before Seth started writing to me. His letters are what saved me. Maybe I can help her find something to start to live for again. Granted, what brought my depression on was something different, but grief, fear, and anger affect some people in much the same way regardless of what caused them.”

  Marcus said, “That’s an excellent idea, Maddie. You’re right. Sometimes you have to hear something from someone who has been in your shoes.”

  Maddie smiled sadly. “Yes, you do. Hearing that Seth had endured a great tragedy and was still muddling through impressed me. It also impressed me that he couldn’t wait to get back on a horse again after he’d been injured so severely by one.”

  “Riding horses is in our blood,” Dean said. “We’ve all had our share of falls, but Seth is the first one that had one fall on him. I confess that I wondered myself how he was going to deal with it, but it seemed like he never questioned riding again.”

  “Yes, it does. Tessa, can you watch J.R. tomorrow? I’ll go first thing in the morning,” Maddie said.

  Tessa said, “Of course.”

  “You can go with me,” Marcus offered. “We’ll take one of the buggies.”

  “Yes, that would be great,” Maddie said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Marcus said, and then started an argument with Dean about who had fallen off a horse the most.

  *****

  August screamed when Joe pulled the trigger and then fell silent. Joe suddenly found himself flipped over and pinned down by two very big, angry men. Seth looked over at August who lay still. The man’s head was still intact and there was no blood or brain matter anywhere.

  “What the hell?” he said and looked at Joe again.

  Joe’s face was beet red and he was making strangling sounds because he was laughing so hard. Luke also looked at August and saw that he had sustained no damage. “I don’t understand,” he said. He was the second man to grab Joe by his shirt and shake him. Joe tried to bat Luke’s hands away but couldn’t because he was too weak with laughter. Luke gave him a rough shove and got up off the floor.

  Seth rolled August over and saw that Joe’s father was still breathing. Then he looked down and noticed that August’s crotch was soaking wet. “Jesus, he wet himself.”

  Joe held his gun out to Luke and motioned for him to take it. He tried to stop laughing, but when he tried to talk all that came out was gurgles of mirth. Luke took the gun, opened the chamber, and spun it.

  “It’s empty,” he said to Seth.

  Seth’s eyes got huge and he asked, “What?”

  “It’s empty,” Luke repeated.

  “As in there are no bullets in it?” Seth asked incredulously.

  Luke frowned at him. “That’s usually what empty means.”

  Joe was finally able to talk and he stood up. He had to lean on the desk while he caught his breath, though. “I think I cracked a rib from laughing so hard. You should have seen your faces. I almost pissed myself. I promised on Mama’s life that I wouldn’t kill him and I don’t kid around when it comes to Mama.”

  “I really thought you were gonna shoot him,” Seth said.

  August began stirring and Joe jumped over to him and grabbed him by his tie. He yanked August’s upper body off the floor and said, “You’re lucky that I value my life more than I do yours and didn’t kill you. Ain’t no way I was gonna get hung for doin’ you in. If you ever interfere with me or anyone I love again, nothing or no one will keep me from hunting you down. I will kill you then and your death will be slow and agonizing. Marcus has taught me some really gruesome ways that the Lakota take care of scum like you and I would love to try them out on you. Do you understand, Daddy?” Joe said in a menacing voice.

  “Y-yes,” August said.

  Joe hammered a blow against his father’s jaw and watched with satisfaction as August fell back to the floor unconscious again. He looked down at his father and then said, “Ok, so what are we gonna tell that fat butler out there happened here? We need some time to get away.”

  “Beats the hell outta me,” Seth said.

  Luke cleared his throat and said, “Just leave it to me. This is my thing.”

  Joe said, “What does that mean?”

  “Just wait. You’ll see,” Seth said and patted Joe on the back.

  The three men left the den and the butler approached them. Luke drew the man aside and turned his big, dark eyes on him. “Sir, Mr. Dwyer said he doesn’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the night. I’m afraid we had to impart some bad news to him. We came to let him know that Joe’s uncle’s, sister-in-law died. He was extremely close to her, you see. He was understandably devastated and needs solitude during this most distressing time. Do you promise to do as Mr. Dwyer asks?”

  The butler looked into Luke’s earnest, grief-stricken face and nodded.

  “Thank you, sir. You’re a good man,” Luke said, and the three men left the house.

  *****

  Lacey didn’t bother answering when someone knocked on her bedroom door. She didn’t care if they came in or not. When she saw that it was Maddie who entered, it did pique her interest a little.

  Maddie said, “Hello, Lacey. I’m not going to ask you how you are because I already know.” She sat on the bed. “When I say I know how you are, I mean it.”

  Lacey didn’t respond.

  “You see, I had something happen to me several years ago and I thought my life was over. I was attacked by a man I thought I knew,” Maddie said.

  That got Lacey’s attention. She looked into Maddie’s eyes.

  “Yes,” Maddie said with a nod. “His name was Theo and we were so close. The best of friends. He was funny, kind, and handsome as the devil. I could tell him anything and he never told a soul, especially not my parents.”

  “What happened?” Lacey whispered.

  Maddie sighed. She hated to talk about it, but knew it would be worth it if it could help Lacey. “We went for a walk one night and he told me that he loved me. I didn’t understand at first. I thought he was just speaking as my friend, but he meant that he was in love with me. Theo was known for playing pranks and I thought he was pulling one on me. He wasn’t.”

  “He tried to kiss me and I pulled away. I wanted him to take
me home, but he wouldn’t. He began hitting me and wouldn’t stop. I tried to fight, but he was too strong for me. I felt every blow.” Maddie closed her eyes against the images that came to mind. She felt Lacey take her hand and opened her eyes again. Maddie tried to blink back the tears, but they fell from her eyes anyway. “He tried to rape me and would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for some passersby in the park. They chased him off and took me to the hospital.

  “I spent a long time in a depression like yours. I didn’t lose a baby, but I lost my confidence in a lot of people. I lost my self-identity and I lost the way of life that I loved. I adored parties and balls and dancing. Dressing in beautiful clothes and being courted by handsome men was my choice of entertainment,” Maddie said. “After the attack, I rarely went out. I was too afraid and would only go if Papa was with me.”

  Lacey said, “How did you get here?”

  Maddie laughed. “One day I got a letter from an unexpected source. Tessa had been trying to coax me into coming here for a visit, but I wouldn’t. Mama just left the letter on my dressing table and wouldn’t tell me who it was from. I opened it and it was from Seth.”

  “Seth?”

  “Yes. It was funny and direct and I couldn’t believe that he would write to a total stranger. He told me about his accident and how Trouble had caused it. He’d kept Trouble and wanted help training him. We had a small dog when we were children and I taught it tricks. It made me laugh to think of this big, strong cowboy trying to train a poodle.”

  “Well, Seth kept sending letters and I just couldn’t ignore them. I wrote back and he convinced me to come here. He saved my life, Lacey. He was going through hell just like I was and we connected almost immediately when we met. We helped each other heal. Seth became my reason to put my life back together again.”

  Maddie gripped Lacey’s hands in hers and gave them a little shake. “That’s what you’ve got to do. You have to find a reason to live again, because if you stay here in this bed, eventually you’ll never get out again.”

  “He doesn’t even know that he was going to be a father,” Lacey said. “I lost our baby and he wasn’t here for me. I lost that precious little life and I’ll never see that baby.”

  Maddie swallowed hard. “I know. I know a little bit about what it’s like to lose hope when it comes to having a baby. It took Seth and me so long to have J.R. and I thought we weren’t going to be able to have a child of our own. I had begun to resign myself to being content to enjoy my nieces and nephews when I became pregnant. It was just another lesson to me to not give up hope. This is not easy, Lacey, but you had the courage to come out here and begin a new life. That was very courageous for someone who had to live with violence on a daily basis.”

  Lacey let out a short laugh. “My friend Sammi didn’t give me much choice.”

  “You were the one who made the choice, Lacey, not your friend. You chose life and now you have to choose it again. There is a whole stable of horses out there to ride. You love horses. Live for them and for all of your new friends. I don’t know what’s going to happen with you and Joe, but regardless of the outcome, you need to live for you, too. Remember that you’re not alone.”

  Lacey sat up and hugged Maddie. “Thank you so much.”

  Maddie embraced her and said, “You’re welcome. Marcus is here to see you.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Lacey said.

  “Are you sure?” Maddie said.

  Lacey nodded. “I’m sure.”

  *****

  Marcus had lain down on the parlor sofa while the two women talked. He’d started studying some books that Doc had given him and he’d been up late the last couple of nights. When Maddie and Lacey came into the room, he was snoring lightly. Maddie smiled and put her forefinger to her lips. She reached out and tickled Marcus. He woke with a start.

  “What? I’m up, Ma!” he said, and was confused when he saw Maddie and Lacey.

  Lacey and Maddie laughed and Marcus sat up. “It’s good to see you smile, Lacey,” Marcus said with one of his own. “I was catching up on some sleep.”

  “We saw that,” Maddie said.

  Marcus stretched and stood up. “Are you feeling a little better?”

  “A little, thanks to Maddie and you,” Lacey said.

  “Good.”

  “Will you still come to see me every day, just for a little while?” Lacey asked Marcus.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “I’ll come, too,” Maddie said.

  “I’d love that,” Lacey said.

  Randall appeared and gave Marcus a slight smile. “Did you enjoy your nap, sir?”

  “Yes, Randall. It was jolly good, old chap,” Marcus retorted.

  “Very good,” Randall said. “It’s good to see you up and around, madam.”

  “Randall, you are wonderful, but please stop calling me ‘madam’. It makes me feel so old. I’m ordering you to call me Lacey,” she said.

  Randall said, “As you wish, Lacey.”

  Maddie smiled as she remembered what it was like having house servants. She much preferred doing things for herself now. Once upon a time doing her own laundry or cleaning would have been unthinkable. It was surprising how much she enjoyed keeping house, except for cooking. She would always hate cooking.

  She and Marcus took their leave and Lacey went back to bed. Putting forth the little bit of effort to talk to other people as long as she had was exhausting for her. Lacey didn’t sleep, however. All day she laid thinking about what Maddie had told her and began searching for her reason to live.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Joe, Luke, and Seth made their way home a little more slowly than they’d made the trek south. Luke had written down each town where they’d stopped to switch horses and to whom the animals belonged. Luke had told Joe to just play along with whatever someone said to him about the reason he and Seth had been chasing him.

  “What are y’all talkin’ about?” he’d asked.

  Luke smiled and said, “I took a page out of your book, that’s all.”

  “Which book? Not the womanizing book, I hope,” Joe said. “Jamie would have you quartered and drawn.”

  Seth laughed. “Are you kidding me? He can still barely talk when he’s around women, even though he’s married. I don’t think he would ever master the art of womanizing.”

  “Shut up, Seth,” Luke said. “I mean the art of telling tall tales. It turns out that I’m pretty good at them.”

  “You? You’ve never been able to lie to save your life,” Joe said.

  “Fine. Don’t believe me. You’ll see,” Luke said.

  *****

  By the time they’d reached the first town where Seth and Luke had stopped, Joe was amazed at the multitude of crazy stories Luke had told. Nor could he believe that people had swallowed them hook, line, and sinker.

  “It’s his eyes,” Seth said. “He can make anyone believe anything with one look in them.”

  Luke said, “I wish I would have known that before this trip. It would have gotten me out of some trouble with Ma.”

  Joe laughed. “Nah. I think that woman has a sixth sense when it comes to lies.”

  They found Luke and Seth’s own horses and made the last switch. All three men were missing their wives and didn’t waste any more time getting home.

  *****

  It was the middle of the day when Joe rode down the lane to his estate. He was bone weary and the sight of his home filled him with happiness. Knowing that Lacey waited for him warmed his heart. He couldn’t wait to tell her that he loved her. Hamlet knew where they were and began moving faster of his own accord. The stallion sent out a loud whinny and was answered by several other horses.

  Eddie came out of the barn and hollered at Joe.

  “Hey, boss! You’re back!”

  “Eddie, my fine friend! I’ve missed you,” Joe said and dismounted.

  Eddie clapped him on the back and said, “Same here. Well, you must not have killed him because you�
�re here instead swinging from a gallows rope.”

  Joe laughed. “That’s right. The old buzzard is still sucking wind. But I put the fear of God into him. I’ll tell you about it later, but right now I wanna see my wife.”

  Eddie grabbed Joe’s arm and stopped him. “Joe, um, Lacey’s had a rough time of things, so be gentle with her, ok?”

  Joe’s hazel eyes turned greener at the thought of someone causing Lacey problems. “What happened? Did someone hurt her?”

  Eddie didn’t know how to answer that so he just said, “Sort of. It’s not my place to tell you, though. Just mind what I said.”

  Joe said, “All right.” He handed Hamlet over to Eddie.

  As Joe strode towards the house, trepidation replaced the joy he’d felt moments earlier. He entered the front door and encountered Randall.

  “Randy, how are you? It’s good to see you,” Joe said.

  “And you, sir,” Randall said.

  Joe frowned. Randall’s words were correct, but there was no warmth behind them. He gave Randall a questioning look and said, “Where’s Lacey?”

  “I believe she’s in your former room,” Randall said.

  “Thanks,” Joe said and left the butler.

  He opened the door to his old room and went in.

  “Randall, I don’t want lunch right now. I’m not hungry,” Lacey said.

  Joe stopped and drank in the sight of her sitting at the desk. It looked like she was going over breeding charts. She was even more beautiful than he’d remembered. Just looking at her gave him such delight and he realized that he’d missed her even more than he’d thought.

  “You really should eat lunch, darlin’,” he said and smiled.

  Lacey’s breath left her as she recognized the voice as her husband’s. There was a tiny little part of her that was ecstatic to know he was so close to her, but mostly she felt rage. Slowly, she stood up and turned to face him. He was dirty and his clothes were wrinkled but he still looked incredibly handsome. A good growth of stubble lined his jaw and gave him a rugged edge. Those beautiful hazel eyes smiled at her and Lacey’s heart broke all over again.