Undercover Sheriff

by Barbara Phinney

  Rachel stood beside her, the cold seeping into her along with the painful knowledge that she hadn’t trusted God, either. For a long time, even after her mother had retreated into the warm house, Rachel watched Rosa disappear from sight.

  Hooves on gravel snagged her attention and she saw Zane, on horseback, trotting up to the front door. Her heart surged and she knew right then what she needed to say.

  Zane dismounted. “Alex is fine. He came around and I told him all that had happened. He was also able to answer some questions.”

  “Such as?”

  Zane looked as though he was trying to decide what to say. “I asked him why he’d kept that postcard with your name on it. He kept it because he was sure Eddie was selling stolen goods and hoped he could use the card to prove it. He’d learned of the burglary down in Castle Rock and wanted to help with it, but then Rosa went missing and he had to put it aside.”

  Rachel lifted her brows. “Alex has good instincts. I hope he wants to return to work.”

  “He does, but the doctor ordered him to rest for the week first.” Zane’s jaw tightened. “Samuel Carrera is in a cell, right where he should be.”

  Thank You, Lord. Before she talked herself out of her next action, she grabbed him. “Zane, I’ve been telling you to trust God, when I was the one who should be doing just that. I really haven’t trusted God for a long time, but I’m going to let Him guide my life now.”

  Zane looked down at her. He smiled. “Will you let Him guide both our lives? Together?”

  “Toge—” She stalled her words as she gaped at Zane. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that on the way here, I realized that I have nothing to offer you, except my heart. I realized that is all God wants from us, so it has to be worth something. God will never leave us. That means that I need to trust Him when I return to Canaan to clear my name and make myself worthy of you.”

  “I don’t want you to leave!”

  “And I don’t want to leave you. In fact, I’m not going to leave until Alex is on his feet. That gives you only a week to plan our wedding. I don’t want to be apart from you for even one minute.”

  Then, getting down on one knee, he took her hands in his. His breath streamed out in the frosty evening air. She could tell his side was still aching. “I should be doing this properly. I love you. I want you to marry me and come with me. Without you, I wouldn’t have found the strength to fight for my honor and my name. I don’t know how that fight will end. I only know that I can’t be a decent husband and provider with that disgrace hanging over my head. Back there near the mine, I wanted to tell you more, but I couldn’t. Now, I can. However, the only way I will allow you to go to Canaan with me is if you marry me. You deserve nothing less.”

  “I love you, too, and yes, I’ll marry you. We’ll clear your name together.” Love surged through her in a way she couldn’t even describe. “You have taught me so much! Without you, I would never have learned to forgive Rosa. Your words back there as I stood beside her were so encouraging.” She gripped his hands tightly and pulled him close. “You should stand up. We have a lot of things to do before our happily-ever-after starts!”

  Epilogue

  The warm summer sun hit Mrs. Rachel Robinson as soon as she allowed her husband to help her step from the train. She hadn’t been back in Proud Bend since Victoria’s wedding a few months back, and, even then, she’d returned the very next day to Canaan. To her husband, Zane.

  He had given her good news that day when he’d met her train. The judge had finally heard the case and had agreed that there was sufficient evidence against Canaan’s mayor and his son. They were charged with theft and conspiracy to hide evidence and falsifying official documents.

  Zane was cleared of all wrongdoing. There hadn’t been enough to charge the deputy with anything, but he was long gone from his position of authority.

  Rachel and Zane were free, and having decided that Zane would open his own private investigator business, they were ready to return to Proud Bend.

  Rachel smiled as her mother and Alex approached. Zane shot her a secretive look. “Are you sure she’s going to like the news?”

  “That your name is cleared?”

  “No. Our other news.”

  Automatically, Rachel touched her still-flat stomach and smiled back. “Mother is terribly fickle, but if you could have seen her with Daniel that day Rosa took him and left, you’d know she’s going to love our surprise.”

  Zane stole a kiss. “Let’s go be a family, then. A free and happy family.”

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss Barbara Phinney’s first story set

  in Proud Bend, Colorado,

  THE NANNY SOLUTION

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from FAMILY OF CONVENIENCE by Victoria W. Austin.

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Undercover Sheriff. I really enjoyed writing about Rachel. Ever since I first “met” her in The Nanny Solution, I have been intrigued by her and her ministry.

  When we think of mission work, we probably think of far-flung places, but oftentimes, the best mission is close to home. The one discussed here may not be the most appealing, but we all know that it is a much-needed area in which to minister.

  Zane refused to trust anyone, especially Rachel. He thought she was too much like those who’d betrayed him. Rachel may have enjoyed teasing Zane, but she was fully aware he could never be a part of her life if she was to reach the soiled doves in Proud Bend for Christ.

  But our Lord always knows best, and He carefully used Rachel to teach Zane to trust again, while using Zane to teach Rachel to forgive herself. In a way, they ministered to each other.

  Thank you again,

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.

  You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.

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  Family of Convenience

  by Victoria W. Austin

  Chapter One

  Kansas

  1889

  To Do:

  Get married

  Meet my new children

  Figure out how to run a ranch

  Find a way to make money on the side

  Find a safe place to hide money

  Start saving an emergency fund without drawing attention

  Find the ranch financial books and look at them


  Marrison, Kansas, didn’t have a hotel. Just the boardinghouse she’d checked into the day before. Her room had a bed with a clean, worn quilt. A simple chest of drawers. A rocking chair.

  But, no mirror.

  That was okay. Millie Steele wasn’t sure she could go through with this if she had to look at herself in a mirror. This way was better.

  She smoothed her hand over her long brown hair and the front of her dress for the tenth time. Maybe eleventh. When would Mrs. Sinclair knock on the door and say it was time? Had the woman forgotten about her? Could you forget about the bride?

  Hysteria rose in Millie’s throat as she actually contemplated that question. She and Mr. Beale had exchanged exactly one letter. One. They had seen each other for the first and only time yesterday, for all of ten minutes. Just long enough to confirm the time he would come to marry her today.

  Maybe he’d changed his mind. She was past the period when her short thin frame could hide the baby. Pastor Thompson said Mr. Beale knew, but maybe seeing the truth of it yesterday had been too much.

  What was she going to do if he changed his mind?

  A quick knock, and the door to the room opened. Mrs. Sinclair strode inside. “We’re all ready, dear.”

  Millie sucked in a breath, ignoring the stars that had appeared in her vision. She licked her lips and nodded.

  Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes were gentle as she surveyed Millie from head to toe. “You look lovely. Absolutely—”

  Millie looked at her hand. It was shaking, but that wasn’t what had caught Mrs. Sinclair’s attention. No. It was the slim circle of gold on the ring finger of her left hand. She flushed at the sight of it. She couldn’t very well get married today while wearing another man’s ring.

  Millie quickly yanked off the ring, ignoring the burn of metal scraping over her knuckle. It was the first time she had taken it off since Marcus had placed it there two years ago. How different that day had been compared to today. Millie had been certain that her future would be secure. Safe. Orderly.

  What a fool she had been.

  Mrs. Sinclair cleared her throat, and Millie realized she had been staring at the thin band. Millie couldn’t look at the kind woman as she walked over to her suitcase and placed the ring inside.

  There. It was done. Looking at the past never got a person anywhere. The way forward was to actually move forward.

  She had made her plans. It was time to see them through.

  Millie cleared her throat. She forced her spine as straight as possible and took in a deep breath. Then she turned and looked at Mrs. Sinclair. “Okay. I’m ready.” She was an adult. She was in charge of her life. She had considered all the options and chosen this path. This was her choice.

  Mrs. Sinclair still looked uncomfortable. And nervous. The entire town would probably be talking about Adam Beale’s crazy new bride for weeks. Once again, Millie would be the outsider who didn’t belong.

  Mrs. Sinclair walked up and hugged Millie. She just reached out and pulled Millie into her body. Warm, soft arms wrapped around Millie, who could smell bread on the woman’s clothes. It was impossible to stay stiff and remote in such an embrace. Millie couldn’t remember her mother ever hugging her, but surely this was what it had felt like. Only a mother’s hug could be this comforting.

  “It’s going to be okay, dear. Adam Beale is a good man. You’re going to be okay.”

  The tears sprang up and welled in Millie’s eyes. They obeyed her rule against crying and did not fall down her cheeks, but they were there. Hot and stinging. She knew she wouldn’t be able to speak without them spilling over. All she could do was nod.

  She hoped Mrs. Sinclair understood.

  The older woman let go, and Millie pushed down the yearning for the hug to continue. No more stalling. Time to get on with her new life.

  Millie followed Mrs. Sinclair down the hallway of the boardinghouse to the top of the stairs. She looked down and saw Mr. Beale there waiting.

  Adam.

  Her new husband’s name was Adam.

  Embarrassed at keeping him waiting, Millie hurried down the stairs. “I’m sorry. I know I’m late. It’s not a habit, I promise.”

  Millie despised the desperation she heard in her voice. She needed this man. She needed a husband and a home and safe place to have this baby. Need. But, she still hated feeling so dependent on anyone. I don’t understand this world, God. I don’t understand why things are this way.

  Mr. Beale—Adam—didn’t look angry. But, they were in public. He wouldn’t be the first man to put on a kind facade outside of his house.

  “It’s okay, Millie. We’re not late at all.”

  He’d called her by her given name yesterday, too. It shouldn’t have surprised her. They were, after all, about to get married.

  “Thank you, Mr. Beale. I’m ready now.”

  “Adam, Millie. Call me Adam.”

  Millie just nodded.

  The church was close to the boardinghouse. Actually, from what Millie could see, everything in town was close to the boardinghouse. She certainly wasn’t in Saint Louis anymore.

  Being small and simple did not inhibit the atmosphere inside the church. Millie looked at the worn wooden pews and the gleaming cross hanging on the wall behind the lectern. There was something indescribable here. Millie breathed in slow and deep, trying to literally take it in and keep it with her.

  She did not understand God. She did not agree with how this world was set up. But, she believed. She knew of His love. His peace. And, she felt it here.

  She and Adam, along with Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, stood in front of the pastor. The wedding did not take long. They said their vows. Then, the pastor told Mr. Beale—Adam—that he could kiss his bride. Her.

  It was quick and perfunctory, and Adam seemed as glad to have it over with as she was. Though marriages resulting from mail-order brides were not exactly uncommon, theirs probably was more unusual than most. For one thing, she was clearly carrying another man’s child. And for another, they had no intention of truly living as man and wife.

  Adam had been almost shockingly clear on that point in his sole letter to her. He needed a mother for his young children. He needed help on his farm, especially with domestic tasks. He was looking for function and practicality, not romance.

  Millie had ignored the twinge in her heart as she’d readily agreed with his vision for their future. This world was too unpredictable, too cruel, for dreams of sappy emotions and love. Millie and her child needed shelter. Food.

  Adam was providing those things, and it would be enough.

  Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair congratulated them and then returned to the boardinghouse, but not before Mrs. Sinclair invited Millie to “come and visit at any time.” Millie forced a smile and said she would.

  She wouldn’t actually do so, though. The notebook in her case contained a very long list of things Millie needed to do, and making friends wasn’t anywhere on it.

  “Are you ready to go?” Adam touched her arm as he spoke, and Millie flinched. The unexpected contact was made even more startling by the fact that Millie had been so far gone inside her head that she hadn’t noticed his approach. That needed to stop. Things would not get done unless she did them, and that left no room for daydreaming and wandering thoughts.

  “Yes. My case is all packed. I just need to get it from the boardinghouse.”

  “Sounds good.” Adam placed a hand at the small of her back and almost led her across the street. What was he thinking? For a man who had written in black and white that he was not looking for a romantic relationship with a wife, he sure was touching her an awful lot. Maybe he was concerned with appearances. Didn’t want the town to know about the true nature of their relationship.

  He followed her up the stairs and down the hallway to the door of the room she had been stayi
ng in. Millie had packed before the wedding and had already checked the room for stray belongings. That didn’t stop her from checking again, quickly this time since Adam was waiting. But, everything was inside her suitcase.

  Including that ring.

  Millie watched with almost disbelief as Adam came inside the room and picked up the suitcase. She was more than capable of carrying it herself—and had done so as needed during the trip from Saint Louis. But if he wanted to carry it, she wouldn’t complain. He gestured for her to walk ahead of him and then followed her as they retraced their prior steps and headed out the front door of the boardinghouse.

  Her new husband was carrying the case that contained the ring given to her by her old husband. The naive girl who had become a bride who had become a widow had become a bride again. And would soon be a mother.

  This was going to work out. Millie had a plan. She had a list of steps to accomplish that plan. She could do this. She would do this and it would all work out.

  It just had to.

  * * *

  Adam hated this. It was a glorious day. The sky was blue and the grass was green and it should have filled his soul with peace and awe at what the Creator had made for them. Instead, he felt like a bug trapped in a canning jar.

  Adam focused on the breeze on his face. The heat of sun coming through his clothes. The feel of the reins in his hand and the sound of Gray’s and Ellie’s hooves as they pulled the wagon toward home.