Winning The Bounty Hunter's Heart (Mail-Order Brides of Salvation 4)

by Faith Parsons

  MAIL-ORDER BRIDES OF SALVATION

  Winning the

  Bounty Hunter’s

  Heart

  Faith Parsons

  Winning the Bounty Hunter’s Heart, by Faith Parsons

  Copyright 2015 - First electronic publication, November 2015

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distribute via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author's permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely incidental.

  Welcome to Salvation, Texas -- A Small Town with a Big Heart

  A MAN WITH ONE LAST JOB TO DO

  Bounty Hunter Jack Boyd is ready to give up hunting wanted men and settle down in a small town where he can start a family. But before he goes, he’s got one last job to do: catch the notorious Butch Brumley and his gang of train-robbers.

  A WOMAN WITH A TASTE FOR ADVENTURE

  Colleen O’Byrne is sure she’s going to die of boredom if she follows in her mother’s footsteps and spends the rest of her life working in a New York garment factory. So she answers an advertisement in a mail-order bride catalog. Surely life on the frontier—even with a stranger—would be better than this.

  A TRAIN RIDE GONE HORRIBLY WRONG

  Colleen’s fiancé offers to meet her at the train station in Austin so they can get acquainted sooner. He turns out to be much different than Colleen expected…but that’s the least of her problems.

  When her train is robbed and Colleen is taken hostage by the infamous Brumley gang, Colleen gets more adventure than she bargained for.

  Can Colleen and Jack beat the train-robbers at their own game? Or will this adventure be Colleen’s last?

  Winning the Bounty Hunter's Heart is a clean, inspirational mail order bride romance. While this book is part of a series, it can definitely be read as a standalone book.

  Love and Faith on the American Frontier: in this heartwarming series of clean romance stories, courageous men and their mail-order brides join together to make a new life on the Western frontier.

  Book 1 - Winning the Deputy's Heart

  Book 2 - Winning the Rancher's Heart

  Book 3 - Winning the Doctor’s Heart

  Book 4 - Winning the Bounty Hunter’s Heart

  Book 5 - Winning Homesteader’s Heart (coming in November 2015)

  Book 6 - Winning the Wrangler’s Heart (coming in December 2015)

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  Chapter 1

  Colleen flicked her fan open and fluttered it in front of her face. With the windows shut, the train car had grown stuffy and overwarm. But the matronly woman in the next bench over had threatened a fit of the vapors every time another passenger had tried to let in even a little fresh air. Colleen prayed the woman would get off at the next stop so they could all breathe more easily.

  The conductor announced the next station. Austin.

  Her heart skipped a beat. It had seemed so unreal until now.

  How would Harold look?

  Suddenly, it seemed as if the train trip had passed too swiftly. In a few minutes she would set eyes on her future husband for the first time. Hopefully he would recognize her from the picture in the catalog. If only there had been time for him to send a picture of himself.

  She took a shallow breath, leaning forward as the train pulled to a stop, as if that would bring her fiancé sooner.

  Porters opened the train car doors, and hot, humid, smoke-tinged air swirled into the cabin. A few passengers were already standing, eager to get off the train. She craned her neck, but she couldn’t see the travelers who were waiting to board the train from her position. And she didn’t want to get up and seem anxious. That wouldn’t make a good impression, would it? Or should she let herself seem eager to meet him? Harold had certainly been eager to propose in his letter—they’d corresponded for only two months before he’d asked her to marry him. She’d claimed that she needed another month to satisfy her employer, but really, she’d been taken a little aback by how quickly he’d made up his mind.

  Was there something wrong with her that she hesitated to act on what had seemed like an answer to her prayers?

  She fanned herself again. New travelers entered the train car. She almost gasped as a handsome, dark-haired, square-jawed man in a cowboy hat got on the train. In spite of his dusty clothes, he was clean-shaven. The glint in his steel-blue eyes softened as they landed on her. He tipped his hat in acknowledgement.

  Could that be him? He didn’t look like a Harold. Nor did he look like the shy accountant that Harold had described himself to be. Colleen lowered her fan to make sure he could see her face. Her heart beat faster as the man approached her, but carefully averted his eyes as he passed her. She heard him sit down a few seats behind her. Not Harold.

  She shouldn’t have been disappointed. She didn’t even know the man.

  Not that she knew much about Harold Bloedel either. He hadn’t opened up to her much in his letters, sticking mostly to descriptions of what life was like in the small town of Hearne and his expectations for their relationship. She’d told herself that was all right, men were like that, uncomfortable talking about their feelings. They would have the rest of their lives to get to know each other once they were married.

  Besides, what had she revealed about herself? Not much either. That she was the youngest in a family of four sisters and five brothers. That she’d been apprenticed to a seamstress, but had no aptitude for it. That she hoped he didn’t mind she was on the tall side for a woman.

  How would it be to talk to Harold? Would the words just flow as they shared details about themselves? Would he make her laugh with stories of his childhood? Or thrill her with tales of his adventures on the frontier?

  Would life in her new home hold the excitement that had been so lacking in her life back East?

  More passengers entered. Some clearly knew each other, chatting while they were looking for their seats. None of them seemed to be single men hoping to meet their future bride.

  On more straggler hurried through the open door. Graying blonde hair topped with one of those new-fangled hats—a fedora, she recalled—a size too small for his head. Close-set eyes, handlebar mustache, double chin. He dragged a large suitcase behind him as he stopped right inside the doorway, scanning the car.

  Then he headed straight for her. Oh no. It couldn’t be. He was almost old enough to be her father.

  “Colleen O’Byrne?”

  She forced herself to look up at him. This was Harold? Her husband-to-be?

  As she favored him with a reluctant nod, his eyes lit up. His wide smile revealed a set of almost straight white teeth. He let go of the suitcase and tipped his fedora.

  “Harold Bloedel.”

  She offered her gloved hand. He took it and kissed it gently. Almost reverently.

  And she felt ashamed. She knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Especially with her ungainly frame, as her former employer had often said. Colleen had smiled polite
ly and pretended not to mind, but the Mrs. Donahue’s words had stung.

  Colleen’s mother had disagreed. “You’re not ungainly,” she’d insist. “You’re just built sturdy, you are. Have to be. O’Byrnes are fighters.”

  She couldn’t help being born ‘sturdy’ any more than Harold could help the gray in his hair. Maybe he was younger than he looked, and frontier life had simply taken a toll on his appearance. Maybe the perfect man for her lurked behind those watery eyes. Maybe God had led her to Harold for a reason.

  Harold pushed his suitcase towards the train wall and sat down in front of her. He smiled harder.

  “Phew, I’m glad I found you so fast. This suitcase was getting heavy.” He fanned his face with his train ticket. “You don’t look bothered by the heat, dear. In fact, you look ravishing.”

  She looked like she’d been sleeping on a bench in the middle of summer. How gallant of him to say otherwise.

  “Once the train is moving again, we can open the windows and catch a breeze.”

  “And coal smoke. I hate that smell.” He stretched his legs and leaned back, smiling like a cat who’d been served a plate of cream. “You are so beautiful.”

  “Thank you, sir.” The right thing to do now was to blush, but simpering had never come easy to her.

  Growing up with five brothers, she preferred their company to that of her sisters. Her mother had simply shaken her head, but Colleen’s childhood adventures had worried their hard-working father. He’d ask, “Why can’t you be more like your sisters?”

  Colleen never understood how they seemed to enjoy the tedious housework when they could have been outside skipping rocks, climbing trees or riding horses on the neighboring farm.

  Harold didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t the blushing type. He just kept smiling that ridiculous smile as he watched her intently.

  “You have such a lovely face.”

  She smiled.

  “And your nose is just perfect.”

  “Thank you.” She was starting to feel awkward. Should she say she found him handsome? That would be a lie. Besides, focusing on his appearance was judging a book by its cover, and she’d resolved not to do that with him.

  Harold reached out to grab her hands. “Colleen, I’m so happy to see you. I can’t wait to make you my wife. You’re so beautiful.”

  She resisted the urge to pull her hands back. Why did his enthusiasm make her so uncomfortable? He seemed ready to play the role of devoted husband to the hilt.

  Maybe I’m not ready to play the role of devoted wife.

  She’d rather be honest about the fact that they barely knew each other. “So tell me something about you, Harold. Anything. I’d like to get to know you better.”

  He let go of her hands and touched a lock of her hair that had escaped from under her bonnet. “That color of hair is just the loveliest. You can’t imagine how much I like your strawberry-blonde hair. You look so much like... like I imagined.”

  Imagined? What did he mean that? He had seen her picture in the catalog, so he didn’t have to imagine how she looked.

  Not knowing what to say, Colleen glanced through the window. The platform was almost empty now. A young couple were saying their goodbyes, when the train conductor blew his whistle and called all on board.

  With a jerk the train pulled away from the station. Not much further, and then she’d been in a church, committing to spending the rest of her life with Harold.

  She had to figure out how to get him to open up before that happened.

  “How long have you lived in Hearne?”

  “A few years.”

  “Do you like it there?”

  He nodded and kept staring as if he couldn’t believe she was real. Enough was enough. Yes, it was odd to be meeting for the first time after corresponding, but it was just plain rude to stare.

  “What’s it like there?”

  He shrugged. “It’s nice.”

  That wasn’t telling her much about her new home. “Is it warmer than Austin? Humid? Sunny or rainy?”

  “About the same.”

  “Smaller than Austin, you said. How much?”

  He shrugged again.

  If he doesn’t say something soon, I’m going to scream.

  “Is something—”

  A woman at the back of the train shrieked. Colleen turned to see what was going on.

  The gorgeous man with the cowboy hat stood in the center aisle and pointed a six-shooter in their direction. “Get down on the floor. This is a robbery.”

  Colleen’s breath froze in her lungs. The man she’d been hoping was her husband-to-be turned out to be a train robber. More evidence that it was a mistake to judge a book by its cover.

  Two other passengers stood, one at each end of the train. Neither of them was gorgeous. But both of them wore the same hard, cold expression that Mr. Handsome did.

  Both of them had guns, too.

  A young woman in the front of the car fainted dramatically, handkerchief dropping to the floor as it slipped through her fingers. A toddler whimpered. The woman who’d screamed earlier had her fist shoved against her mouth like she was trying to keep another one from coming out.

  But no one argued. Not even the men, many of whom looked frozen. Colleen wondered if time seemed to be slowing down for them too. If their hands and feet had also turned to ice at the sight of that gun.

  She glanced at Harold. His seat was empty. He was already facedown on the floor, hands covering his head.

  She crouched down, choosing instead to lie on her side so she could see what was happening. She put some distance between herself and Harold. After all, they weren’t married yet. And it wasn’t as if he was being overly protective of her, either.

  Mr. Handsome grabbed a bag thrown to him by one of the other robbers. He strode to the front of the car and dropped it by a male passenger’s head.

  “Take it,” he said. “Put your wallets and watches in the bag and pass it to the next person. Nice and orderly, like you’re putting your pennies in the Sunday collection plate. Ladies, we want your purses and your jewelry.”

  Colleen’s heart pounded as her mouth went dry. They weren’t going to get away with this, were they? Would they be satisfied with everyone’s valuables? Colleen had heard stories about train robberies gone wrong, and people getting shot for trying to help their fellow passengers. People dropping dead out of sheer fright. Or being stranded in the middle of the desert, no food, no water, no hope.

  At least they were close enough to Austin that they could walk for help if the robbers forced them off the train.

  Mr. Handsome kept a watchful eye on the whole car while his two friends circulated through the car, looming threateningly. Only the person who was filling the bag at the moment was allowed to move.

  One of the men moved to the rear of the car, started fussing with the door that led to the next one. Colleen had noticed that there was no passengers in there. Only cargo, and probably money.

  One passenger after another filled the bag. Some slowly, some quickly.

  Harold received the bag from a woman behind him. He dragged out his wallet and dropped it in the bag with a faint sob. Then he handed the bag to Colleen.

  Colleen thought of her mother, who’d given her the only piece of jewelry she owned—a silver ring decorated with a knotted design. Her mother had been hard-working woman with lots of mouths to feed. Never a moment for herself. Always busy doing what she could to keep the family happy and alive.

  She’d given Colleen the ring as a wedding present.

  But the ring wasn’t worth her life. She carried her mother’s love with her, ring or no ring. She slipped it off her finger and dropped it in the bag. She was last person with the bag.

  “Bring it to me.” Mr. Handsome pointed his gun at her.

  Would he shoot her once she handed over the loot? No, shooting was bad. Shooting meant a hanging if he were caught, but thieving just meant jail time. She clutched the bag in her left hand and m
et his gaze, determined to show no fear.

  Harold didn’t move. Didn’t even look to see if she was all right.

  With a sigh, she rose to her knees, then lifted her skirt with her free hand so she could stand without tripping. She couldn’t help exposing her ankles as she struggled to keep her balance.

  “Faster, come here.”

  Colleen, bit her lip. Once she handed over the bag, her mother’s ring was gone. But her mother wouldn’t want her to die for the sake of a ring. She approached Mr. Handsome as he instructed, stepping carefully to avoid stepping on any of the passengers who lay on the floor.

  The train shook. She almost fell backwards as it screeched to a halt, barely catching herself on one of the hard wooden benches. There was no station in sight. Please, Lord, don’t let them hurt anyone.

  Mr. Handsome didn’t bark any orders.

  Good. She drew a breath of relief. A few more minutes, and then things would be back to normal. Well, almost normal. Being married to Harold was going to take some getting used to.

  She regained her balance and took the last step towards the good-looking robber to give him the bag.

  Mr. Handsome reached out for the bag.

  The door to the next car forward burst open. The man who barged through wore a marshall’s badge.

  “Drop your weapons,” he yelled.

  Mr. Handsome grabbed Colleen’s arm and pulled her in front of him as a shield.

  Something cold touched her temple. His gun.

  Chapter 2

  The marshall scowled at Mr. Handsome. “Drop your gun or I’ll shoot.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll shoot first, and you’ll have this pretty lady’s blood on your hands.”

  “Hand her over to me and surrender yourself. If you cooperate, I can talk the judge out of a hanging.”