The Bride’s Secret_A Western Romance Story

by Elliee Atkinson

  Mrs. Whittaker looked at him. “Well, that’s just a silly thing to say, Ryan. You know I’m going to worry. I’m her mother!”

  “I know, Ma, I know.”

  “I worry about you, too, you know. All the time. You are so angry, Ryan. So hurt and upset by what’s been done to you. I feel bad that I was not able to stop it from happening.”

  “You weren’t even there,” Ryan came up to his mother and knelt down on one knee, looking up at her. “Ma, you’ve done everything you can to help us. To take care of us. We want to do the same for you.”

  Mrs. Whittaker looked solemnly at her son. “We have to let her go, Ryan. She’s so terribly unhappy. I can’t bear it anymore. She’s always been such a sweet girl. She deserves all the happiness in the world. She used to love the rodeo. She doesn’t anymore. She’s in a prison, sweetheart, and we need to let her out of it.”

  “Max isn’t going to allow that.”

  “He’s not going to be in control for much longer,” Mrs. Whittaker looked out the window again. “Those men are going to save us from him, Ryan. I know it.”

  Ryan felt a bolt of anger shoot through him. He didn’t want the Wickenburg men to save him. He wanted to save himself, his sister, and his mother. He didn’t want help.

  “They won’t do anything. They can’t do anything. Why should they care?”

  “The man, Sam, he truly cares for her. I really believe he does.”

  “How would you know that? Has Em talked to you about it?”

  Mrs. Whittaker nodded, glancing at him. “Jack is coming back.”

  In a mini-panic, Ryan looked around him for a place to hide. He didn’t see one.

  “Don’t open the door all the way, Ma. I don’t want them to know I’m in here. They will think I don’t care enough to go find Em.”

  “Why are you here, Ryan?” his mother questioned him. “Why aren’t you with them?”

  Ryan frowned. “I don’t like them. I don’t like any of them.”

  “I thought you told me Adam Collins was a nice man.”

  “He is. He’s one of the exceptions. I don’t like that Sam. I don’t think he’s good for Em.”

  “You don’t even know him. She has talked to him more often than you have and she says she feels a connection to him.”

  Ryan snorted. At that moment, Jack knocked on the door and his mother got up to answer it.

  “Remember, Ma…”

  “I know, Son. I won’t let him see you.”

  She opened the door and kept it pressed against her body, leaning the upper half of her body around the door.

  “Jack. Hello. Are you going to look for Emily?”

  “So she hasn’t come back yet?”

  Mrs. Whittaker shook her head. “No, she isn’t here.”

  “We’re going to search the woods for her. Sam and Adam both know the area real well. They are gonna take us through. They said there’s a clearing out there she might have gone to. We’re gonna find her, Mrs. Whittaker. Don’t you worry a bit.”

  “All right, thank you, Jack.”

  She closed the door and turned back to her son. “You didn’t answer me, Ryan. Why aren’t you with them helping find her?”

  “I don’t want to ride with them. I told you, I don’t like them.”

  “That’s not a very good excuse. She’s your sister. Your concern for her should be more than your dislike for the Wickenburg men.”

  “I’ll let Jack take care of that. I need to discuss the situation with Max.”

  “What will you say to him?” She sat back on her chair and pulled her legs up against her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

  Ryan shook his head, leaning forward to place his clasped hands in front of his mouth. “I’m not sure yet. I have to explain to him that Em can’t take the rodeo anymore. There has to be a way for him to let us leave. Or at least let her leave.”

  He tapped his hands against his lips, staring at the ground but not really seeing it. He searched his brain for the right words that might bring out some compassion in the rodeo owner. He stood up abruptly, causing his mother to jump in her chair.

  “I’m sorry, Ma. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m going to go see him now.”

  “All right, dear. Be safe.”

  “He’s not going to hurt me, Ma. I’ve got too many friends here. And he doesn’t have any.”

  His mother nodded. She watched him move across the trailer to the door, praying he was as safe as she wanted him to be.

  He went out and down the steps. He turned to round the trailer and go to the one parked in front of it. He went up the short steps and knocked on the door.

  Andrew stopped when the men turned down the field. He watched them, deciding to take his horse around one of the trailers next to him, instead of following after Emily. It wasn’t Emily he wanted to find. They would do that fine on their own. He wanted to find Ryan.

  His main goal was to ask Ryan some questions to verify if he had an alibi for the night of the murder. Whether he did or not, he wasn’t guilty without evidence. He hadn’t committed any crimes in the past few months. Andrew had stopped at every destination the rodeo had that he knew about. No crimes had been committed while the rodeo was in town. Not even petty theft.

  He dismounted and put the reins around a hitching post. He walked slowly around the trailer and pressed himself up against the wall so that he was hidden from sight. He had to duck back quickly when Ryan came out of his trailer and went around it to the one in front of it.

  He looked very confident but also scared. He was as white as a sheet and was holding his hat in his hand instead of wearing it on his head.

  When the door opened and Max saw it was him, he swore at him. “What has happened to Emily? There are rumors flying all over the rodeo about her being with some man in town and she is going to leave. You know she can’t leave.”

  “I need to talk to you about that, Max.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about!” Max shouted.

  “Yes, there is. Please let me come in.”

  Max stared a hole in the man before stepping back, holding the door open with one hand. He let Ryan pass him and closed the door.

  Andrew watched the scene with fascination. So there was something about Max that needed to be looked into. He took a few steps forward, glancing up at the door to the Whittaker trailer. He was tempted to go in and see if Mrs. Whittaker would talk to him. What excuse could he possibly give? He was a married man, though he supposed she didn’t know that. He wasn’t Sam. Andrew had a feeling Mrs. Whittaker would take a fast liking to Sam and there wouldn’t be any problem for Emily.

  He decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to disturb the woman. She shouldn’t be brought any more drama than was already going on. He moved past the Whittaker trailer and got closer to Max’s trailer. He crept as quietly around it as he could, careful not to step on anything that might make a noise. He slid along the outside wall and pushed his head toward the window to see if he could hear what was being said inside.

  It was muffled but he caught some of the words, especially Max’s. He was scolding Ryan for not keeping track of his sister. Ryan’s response was too muffled to understand but Max came back with a heated response.

  “You are the one on the chopping block here, Ryan. It’s you the sheriff wants to hang. You are the one responsible for that murder.”

  Ryan responded.

  Max said, “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t do it. You are the one they believe did it. And if you try to leave the rodeo, I will turn you over in a heartbeat. I’ll keep your sister here because I want to, even if I have to chain her up. And your poor mother? Well, that trailer is to be used for entertainers. She would have to find somewhere to go while you are in prison for the rest of your life doing hard labor.”

  Andrew stepped back from the trailer and crept slowly away from it. He needed to go find Sam. They had to do something about this travesty.

  He got back to his horse quickly and moun
ted, kicking the horse’s flanks to get him moving. He went down through the field toward the woods, hoping that Max wouldn’t look out the window and see him going. He didn’t even know if the man knew people were in the woods looking for Emily.

  He crossed the dirt road and went down to the woods, looking for the spot he thought they went through. When he found a place that looked recently trampled by many horses, he went through, pushing his horse to gallop down the trail the other horses had made. He looked through the trees to his left and right as he went, keeping an eye out for a young woman, hopefully walking and not laying on the ground somewhere with a broken leg. If something had happened to Emily and she fell down a ravine, going down this path wasn’t going to help them. They had no idea what path Emily had taken.

  He saw them in the distance and urged his horse on. The path was wide because of all the horses so it took him very little time to catch up.

  “Sam!” He called out as loud as he could. He saw Sam whip around in his saddle and look at him. The look on his face changed from one of alarm to recognition. He lifted one hand and turned his horse around. He rode back to meet Andrew, who stopped his horse. The rest of the men watched curiously.

  Sam’s horse faced the opposite direction from Andrew’s and they stayed side by side to talk.

  “What are you doing out here, Andrew?” Sam asked. “Do you know something we don’t know?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do, Sam.”

  “What’s your suggestion for what to do? We haven’t seen anything from Emily out here. She could be in the clearing but if she is, she’s not standing up.”

  Andrew shook his head, gripping the reins a little tighter. “I sure don’t want to think like that, Sam. I’m sure she will be found safe and sound.”

  Sam nodded. “I have a feeling she is. I just wish I knew where she was.”

  “We’ll find her. I promise.”

  Andrew rode out toward the men to tell them what the plan was. Sam followed him.

  “I’ve talked to Sam,” Andrew said to them. “And there’s some business we need to take care of in town. I think Mark, if you would lead these men through the woods looking for Emily while Adam and Sam and I ride back into town that would be best.”

  “I can do that,” Mark nodded.

  Without another word, the three men turned and went back toward town, taking a more familiar route through the woods that would take them directly to Wickenburg instead of back to the rodeo site.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  NEVER GET OVER IT

  NEVER GET OVER IT

  Sam, Andrew, and Adam rode back toward Wickenburg.

  Andrew looked at them as he rode, placing one hand on his thigh and the other holding the reins.

  “I didn’t want any of those men from the rodeo coming with us because what I have to tell you has everything to do with that organization. I followed you all when I saw that you were going toward the rodeo site. I figured something must have happened. I didn’t go down to the woods like you did, though. I went along the road and stopped without crossing the field. I don’t think any of you saw me. I spotted Ryan going back in his trailer and followed him up there. He went to the main trailer so I went up there. It looks like the owner is holding the murder over Ryan’s head even though he is innocent.”

  “So you heard him say the man was innocent?”

  “I heard him. Max, the owner, is the one who said it. Not Ryan. I couldn’t make out what Ryan was saying. From what Max was saying, it sounded like he was protesting his innocence. I’m assuming Max knows who really did it but is holding this over Ryan’s head to keep him from leaving the rodeo.”

  “Why would he do that?” Adam shook his head. “Are the Whittaker's that valuable to him?”

  Andrew shook his head. “I have no idea. I reckon he makes good money off them? I don’t know.”

  “If he’s cut their pay, he must be keeping the rest for himself. He’s extorting them. Treating them like slaves.” Sam shook his head. “I have to get her away from there.”

  “I think you will have a chance at that, Sam,” Andrew said. “I just lost my bounty but I think it’s necessary to fix this situation if we can.”

  “We’ve got to go to the sheriff’s office. See what they know about this situation.”

  “I’m still worried about Emily,” Sam said. “Where do you think she could have gone?”

  “This is a big county, Sam,” Adam said. “She could be anywhere right now.”

  “She’s a smart lady,” Andrew said. “Don’t worry about her. She can take care of herself. I’ve seen her handle a few situations. She doesn’t have her gun, but she’s a ball of fire and will defend herself. She has stood up for her mother on a few occasions.”

  “You’ve seen them out? Away from the rodeo?”

  “A few times. I was with my wife, Sheila, at a restaurant one time in one of the towns they stopped at.” He looked up at the sky, thinking. “I can’t remember for the life of me which town it was. It doesn’t matter. Some kid came up and was harassing Mrs. Whittaker. I think he was trying to get her to give him some money. Emily stood right up to the boy, who was bigger than her but not by much. They didn’t get in a scuffle because there were men around mature enough to keep the boy from causing harm.”

  “Did you get involved?” Sam asked.

  Andrew shook his head. “No need. Wasn’t gonna leave Sheila alone and there were plenty of other men to stand up for the ladies.”

  “This is a big mess,” Sam grumbled. “I shouldn’t have let her run off in the woods like that. I should have gone after her.”

  “Stop beating yourself up, Sam,” Adam said. “Can’t change what happened. I’m sure you didn’t expect her to keep going. A girl in her right mind would have come back before she got lost. In addition, she might not be lost. She might be relaxing in someone’s trailer right now.”

  “I doubt that,” Sam said.

  Adam nodded. “I do, too. But you can tell yourself that. I know you don’t think she’s hurt, do you?”

  Sam frowned. “I really don’t know.”

  “But you don’t think she is, do you?” Adam asked again.

  Sam pulled in a deep breath. “No. I don’t think she’s hurt. I get the feeling she will be found safe.”

  “I think so, too. I’m just going on gut instinct here. I don’t know anything. But I think she’s too smart to be hurt and not find a way to get help.”

  “Where is the sheriff’s office in this town?” Andrew asked.

  “It’s near the restaurant. Well, it’s past the restaurant down where the saddle shop is. You don’t know where it is.” Adam laughed. “Just follow us. We’ll get you there.”

  They were almost to the road where the woods ended and the town began. The road ran parallel to the trees. They went left on the road. It ended almost right away.

  Adam was in the lead as they went down the side road to take them to the main street. Sam felt a deep apprehension. He couldn’t tell whether the danger was going to come from Ryan or from Max. If Max knew they suspected him of something, he might come after them. He might also convince Ryan that he needed to take care of them so Max could continue torturing the family.

  Before they reached the sheriff’s office, they came up on a scene in the middle of the road. There were people gathered in the middle of the street. The women were talking quietly to each other, their hands over their mouths.

  “What’s going on?” Adam asked, not expecting to be answered by the men he was with. He urged his horse to move faster and galloped to the scene, immediately dismounting when his horse stopped. He tossed the reins around a railing and ran to the scene, one hand on his gun.

  He pushed through the people, who made a path for him when they saw who he was.

  Sam and Andrew had stopped their horses and were watching from behind the crowd of people.

  “What do you think happened?” Andrew asked, moving his head around to see what he could around the
many heads and bodies blocking his way.

  “I have no idea.” Sam shook his head. For such a pretty day, things were not going well.

  Adam pushed through the crowd to the center to see a woman lying on the ground. She was twisted in a strange position, with her legs and arms forming a U. Her head was lolled to the side. Blood was coming from the corner of her mouth and her eyes were open.

  Adam went to her and bent down, looking up at Dr. Campbell, whose face looked sad. The doctor shook his head. Adam looked down at the woman again, reaching out to brush the dark hair from her forehead.

  “What happened, Doc?”

  “She was kicked by a horse. Thing just went crazy. She just happened to be in the way.”

  “It looks like she was beaten to death.”

  Dr. Campbell nodded. “The original kick sent her into the path of a wagon. Those horses managed to trample her some more. Poor thing. So young.”

  “Do you know who she is?”

  “They told me she was staying in the hotel with her husband. I don’t know where her husband is now.”

  Adam felt chills all over his body. His heart wrenched at the thought of having to get Andrew over here. They were going to lose his support and knowledge but no one was going to hold that against him. “I know where he is. He’s been with me.”

  “You better get him now, Adam. He needs to be here.”

  “He is here.”

  Adam stood up and the crowd made a path as he walked toward Sam and Andrew.

  As the crowd opened up, it gave Sam and Andrew a clear view of Sheila lying on the ground. The doctor was moving her limbs so she would look more normal.

  Andrew’s eyes opened wide and he dismounted. Adam grabbed the reins of the horse and said nothing as he passed. He walked slowly to his wife and dropped to his knees next to her body.

  “Sheila,” he whispered. “Sheila.”

  “I’m so sorry, sir,” Dr. Campbell said. “It was an accident. A crazed horse kicked her into the path of an oncoming wagon. I’m so sorry.”