by Cassie Hayes
Three very angry-looking men stood in the doorway. Bart didn’t take his eyes off them, even when Gwen leapt to her feet and screeched at them.
“Benedict! What are you doing here?!”
But when Bonnie gasped and said, “Hank?” Bart had no choice but to gawk at his wife. “Who the hel—“
He was interrupted by Libby squeaking out the third man’s name. “Percy?”
The Dalton brothers were caught off guard. They had no guns at the ready, no weapons…and the fact that their wives knew these men, was the most disarming of all!
“Get em up,” demanded the first one, Benedict. “Now!”
Bart exchanged glances with his brothers but they were at a distinct disadvantage, so raised their hands in the air.
“Gwen, Libby, Bonnie,” said the one in the middle. Hank, was it? “Get over here. We’re…taking you home.”
Bonnie stood beside him. What was she doing? Was she really going with these villains?
“Hank? What in heaven’s name are you doing here?”
How did she know this man? His head felt like it would explode with all the unanswered questions swimming around in it.
“We might ask you the same question!” snapped the third man, Percy.
“If you must know,” Gwen said, “we live here!”
“Yes, we can see that,” Benedict said, taking a threatening step forward. “And it looks mighty cozy.”
If he wasn’t so angry and afraid at the same time, Bart would have felt sympathy for poor little Libby. She looked terrified.
“You can’t take us back!” she screamed. “You just can’t!”
It was Nate’s turn to get angry. “Take you back? What are you talking about? Who are these men?”
“We’d like to know the same about you!” Percy spit out as he raised his shotgun a little higher. Bart watched his every movement and could see he wasn’t comfortable with a gun. That was good.
“I don’t care who you are!” barked Walt. “You’re trespassing, get off our land!”
“You’re hardly in a position to demand anything,” Hank pointed out. “All we want are these women.”
All they wanted were their wives? Were these men insane or just stupid?
“Yeah, they’ve caused us a lot of trouble the last few months!” added Benedict.
“How could we?” asked Gwen. “We’ve been here the whole time!”
“Precisely,” agreed Percy, leveling his gun unsteadily at Nate’s chest. “Which is why we’ve come to fetch you and take you back to where and whom you belong,”
“Percy! Don’t!” Libby cried.
“Don’t what? Shoot this scum for running off with ya? Or was it the other way around?”
Libby threw herself in front of Nate, who shoved her behind him. Good man, thought Bart. He was about to do the same with Bonnie, when she shouted.
“Enough!”
Silence descended on the scene for a moment. Hank stepped forward slightly, a contrite look on his face. “Bonnie, please. We have to do this.”
Bart didn’t care who these men were any more. No one was taking his wife. He’s spent too long searching for her and he’d kill anyone who came between them.
“Shut up, all of you!” Bart shouted.
“I say we hang these scum,” hissed Percy.
All three sisters were now on their feet. “No!”
And then, all hell broke loose…
~ * ~ * ~
Bonnie stood stock still as Nate and Libby’s cabin turned into a brawl rivaled only by the seediest of western saloons. Walt pushed Gwen behind him, no doubt in an effort to protect her but it only sent her sprawling into a corner. Libby disappeared beneath the table, frightened as a kitten, while all three Dalton brothers lunged for her brothers.
Thankfully, the Dalton brothers quickly evened the odds. Bart wrested Benedict’s gun from his hands while Walt went for Hank. Percy had never taken to using a gun, though he talked a big game, so it only took one glancing blow from Nate for him to drop it.
Terrified that one of them — a Blue or a Dalton — might shoot one of the others, she ran between men to scoop up the shotguns. Someone’s elbow connected with the side of her head and nearly knocked her down.
There was movement everywhere. Fists flew and clothing tore. She’d never heard such cursing before! What were all these foolish boys thinking?
The bigger question was, how had they tracked them down? She was half in shock at their arrival and half in shock at the scene of chaos before her. Had Hank blabbed, as she’d feared he would? He’d seemed so sincere in wanting to help them escape their fate, but now he was here, trying to take them back. It didn’t make sense.
Nate screamed in pain and Bonnie saw a small, pale hand yank a knife out of his boot. Libby was trying to stop this melee, poor thing. Poor, brave girl. Bonnie’s blood started to boil at what these ridiculous men were doing to her sister’s home.
Walt and Hank were pounding on each other, Percy almost got the better of Nate when Libby accidentally stabbed him in the foot, and then Benedict landed a solid blow that sent Bart sprawling to the floor. She heard him ask Libby if she was okay, and then Ben was yanking him back to his feet, his fist cocked to smash him in the face.
Bonnie had seen enough. Grabbing one of the shotguns, she aimed it toward the roof and fired.
BLAM!
Every man in the room froze. They all slowly turned to find the source of the gunshot and gaped when they saw her holding the smoking shotgun. Except Bart. He grinned.
“Sit down, all of you!” Her tone was not one to be argued with but Bossy Ben just had to try.
“Put that gun away before you shoot somebody,” he barked.
She’d had enough of his lip for a lifetime. “That’s a good idea, maybe I ought to,” she said, dropping the barrel in his direction. She took great satisfaction at the look of shock on his face.
Benedict’s hands shot up, as did Walt’s. Bonnie loved both of them, she really did, but she’d be darned if she’d let these men — no, boys — ruin her first Christmas with Bart.
“Walt! She’s not going to shoot you!” Gwen screeched, running to him.
Walt pulled Gwen into his arms and turned toward her brothers. “Who are you?”
“We’re the Blue brothers,” said Hank. ”And we’ve come to take our sisters home.”
“Brothers?” Nate pulled Libby to him. “You never said you had brothers.”
“And our sisters never said they were leaving,” added Percy in his usual snide tone.
Bart’s head bobbed between them. “Leaving? What do ya mean, leaving?”
“He means our sisters ran out on a scandal caused by Gwen,” Ben huffed. “To alleviate any further damage to the family name, our father painstakingly chose a husband for each of them.”
“Yeah, and how do they show their appreciation?” sneered Percy. “By running away. Pa sent us here to bring you back. Deacons Smith, Bellafonte and Jackson paid a tidy sum for us to do it, too.”
“But you can’t take us back,” Gwen cried.
“And why not?” Benedict pretended he was focusing on Gwen, but Bonnie could see he was inching closer to her. Did he really think he’d get the gun from her. Silly boy.
“Because we’re all married, that’s why.” Bonnie said, raising the gun higher.
He glared at her but at least he stopped moving. “We figured that might happen, but the deacons don’t care. They want you three like fleas want a dog.”
Libby and Gwen gasped. Bonnie thought she might be sick. How could their brothers think they’d leave their husbands?
“If you’re thinking that we’re getting annulments, you’re sadly mistaken,” said Gwen, as if reading Bonnie’s mind.
Percy shrugged. “It’s been done before. I just hope these scum haven’t dishonored you beyond repair.”
Bonnie almost shot him right there for saying such things. Gwen just rolled her eyes at him. “They’ve done nothing of
the sort. In fact, I’m not only married, I’m expecting!”
All the Blue boys shifted their gazes to her belly. “You’re lying,” said Ben, his tone not at all confident.
“No, I’m not.”
Percy leaned over toward Ben. “So what if we only bring back two. Two out of three ain’t bad.”
“Oh, no you won’t,” Libby cried.
This time Hank chimed in. “And why not?” Bonnie leveled her angriest glare on him and he shuffled his feet like a little boy caught being naughty.
“Because I’m going to have a baby, too.”
Libby was pregnant, too? Bonnie wanted to cry with joy. Nate, too, from the sound of his voice.
“What? You are? Good God, Libby, are ya sure?”
“Yeah, are ya sure?” Ben asked, looking as pale as Nate.
“I’m sure.”
“Libby, my little Libby…”
Even with everything going on, Libby looked euphoric. So did Nate, and who could blame them. It would have been a touching scene if Percy hadn’t chosen that moment to pipe up.
“Looks like it’s just you, Bonnie.”
“I don’t know what those deacons paid you to bring us back, but I’m not going.”
“Put the gun down, Bonnie,” Hank said, his voice low. “Let’s talk about this. We…we can’t go back empty handed.”
“Why not?” He paused so she shifted the barrel his direction to jog his memory.
“Because…”
“Quiet!” snapped Percy. “Let’s just take her and go.”
“You’re not taking my wife anywhere,” growled Bart. “Bonnie, give me that gun.”
“No.”
Just who did he think he was talking to? And why was everyone staring at her?
“What?”
“I said no. These are our brothers, Bart, and they wouldn’t be acting so desperate without a good reason.”
“I’ll not let them take you…”
“You don’t have to. I can’t go either.”
He blanched at her words, unsure of her meaning but clearly hoping. He took a step toward her. “Bonnie…”
“I’m expecting, too.”
“What?” Gwen and Libby squealed loud enough to make her ears bleed. “Bonnie!”
“Bonnie?” Bart whispered. She smiled at him sweetly, wishing fervently that she could run into his arms and celebrate the happy news. But she had other fish to fry at the moment.
“So you see, my dear brothers, you’ve failed as far as taking us back. Now the only question I have for you, is, what are you really doing here?”
~ THE END ~
Excerpts
THANK YOU
for buying and reading this book! If you enjoyed it, I would be honored if you would leave a review to help others discover it.
The Drifter’s Mail-Order Bride is one of three connected books in The Dalton Brides series, all of which are available at Amazon:
The Rancher’s Mail-Order Bride by Kirsten Osbourne
The Cowboy’s Mail-Order Bride by Kit Morgan
THE RANCHER’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE
by
Kirsten Osbourne
Through no fault of her own, Gwen Blue found herself embroiled in a scandal that would set Beckham, Massachusetts on its ear, and get her locked in her room for two months. When she found herself betrothed to a man she found loathsome, she wanted nothing more than to disappear. When her sisters liberated her from her room and proposed a journey to Texas to visit an old school friend, she didn't have to be asked twice.
Walton Dalton always had a plan for his life. He'd spent years learning everything he needed to know about ranching, and he had a large parcel of land adjacent to his two brothers' land. Between the three of them, they were going to build a Texas ranching empire. For his empire, he needed a bride.
Without his brothers’ knowledge, Walt sends off for three mail order brides from a matchmaker in Beckham. He knows from the moment he sees ‘Gorgeous Gwen’ that she's meant to be his. Will she agree to the marriage? If she does, will she be able to get over her self-centered attitude and be a good wife?
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EXCERPT
Gwen rushed off the train and immediately started looking around for the stagecoach. Bonnie caught up to her, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Don't run off now!"
"I'm looking for the stagecoach. It's only another three hours, and we'll be there. I can't wait to see Anna." Really, it wasn't so much seeing Anna that she cared about. She needed to be in one place for a while. The journey had been much too long for her.
"You didn't even like Anna," Bonnie argued.
"Well, I love her today, because she's going to let me sleep in a bed that doesn't move!" Gwen looked at Bonnie. "The bed won't move will it? She doesn't live on a boat or something silly like that?"
Bonnie laughed. "No, I don't think the bed will move." She led the way to the platform. "We need to wait for our trunk to be unloaded."
Gwen laughed. "I was so excited to be on the stagecoach, I forgot all about my trunk. That was silly of me, wasn't it?"
Libby and Bonnie exchanged looks. "Our trunk, Gwenny. We could only pack one trunk for the three of us or Mama and Papa would have gotten suspicious."
"Are you serious? You'd better have packed my cornflower blue dress. It's my favorite." Gwen looked between her sisters.
Bonnie sighed. "We couldn't. We didn't have access to your clothes at all, because you were locked in your room, remember? We brought some of Libby's dresses for you."
Gwen made a face. "Libby's dresses? But Libby and I don't look good in the same colors. I'm blond, and Libby's a brunette." Besides, she wanted her own clothes. Clothes that had been made just for her.
"I'll make you a new cornflower blue dress, Gwen. I promise. Just...don't make a fuss."
Gwen looked at her sister, surprised by her words. "A fuss? Why would I make a fuss?" She could see by Bonnie's face something was still wrong. "What were you going to tell me?"
Bonnie sighed. "Well, we're not exactly here to see Anna."
Gwen raised an eyebrow, more than a little annoyed her sisters had lied to her. "Why are we here then?"
“I…” Bonnie avoided Gwen's gaze, something she'd never done.
It must be bad, Gwen thought. If Bonnie can't tell me what's going on, she's done something terrible.
At that moment two men, who were obviously twin brothers, stepped between them. "Are you ladies the Blue sisters?" one of them asked. He had brown eyes and black hair. His shoulders were the broadest she'd ever seen. She wouldn't mind stepping out with him at all.
Gwen nodded slowly. "Who are you?" She'd never seen these men in her life. Why were they looking for them? Were they there to drive them to their new home, wherever it may be? She still didn't know why they were in Texas.
The man who'd asked the question grinned. "I'm Walton Dalton, and I pick you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms before she had a chance to reply. His mouth covered hers and he kissed her, right there in the middle of the train station.
Gwen stomped on his foot, enjoying the kiss, but she knew it wasn't proper to kiss a man she'd just met. "Unhand me!" She wiped her hand across her mouth, trying to stop the tingling that had started as soon as his lips had met hers.
Walt smiled down at Gwen. "I'll unhand you for now. Preacher's standing by." He kept his arm firmly around his little fiancé's shoulders. "Which sister are you?"
"I'm Gwendolyn. Why do you persist in touching me? I don't know you!" She struggled against him, but realized it was futile. He was much stronger than she would ever be.
Bonnie smiled at Walt. "I'm Bonnie. I'm the oldest sister. I believe I'm the one you're supposed to marry."
Walt looked back and forth between the sisters. "I don't care who's oldest. I'm marrying this one." He nodded at Nate. "That's my brother Nate. Bart should be here by now, but I'm sure he'll be along." He'd better be along. He'd promised Walt he'd be there by
three. It was quarter after.
Bonnie glared at Walt and turned to Nate, who was openly staring at Libby. "Libby's the youngest," she announced, seeming to think that would matter to the brothers.
Nate looked back and forth between Walt and Bonnie. "I thought we were here to see a man about some cattle."
Walt grinned at his brother. "Surprise! Since Bart isn't here, you get next pick. Which one do you want for your bride?" He didn't expect a lot of problems from Nate. Bart was the one who would protest the loudest.
Nate blinked. "You sent off for brides for us? The cattle salesman was a lie?"
Walt shrugged. "I didn't think you'd come if I told you why we were really here." He kissed the top of Gwen's head as if they'd been in love for years. "Pick one." He wasn't letting this little beauty go. He'd expected all three sisters to be homely. Gwen had been a fabulous surprise.
Nate pointed at Libby. "I guess I'll take the youngest." He leaned close to Walt and whispered, "I'll take care of you later."
Gwen gasped in shock. "You can't just pick me and say you'll marry me. No! What on earth is happening here. Bonnie? What have you done?" As grateful as Gwen was to her sister for rescuing her, she was furious about this arrangement. She had no desire to marry a stranger or anyone else for that matter.
Bonnie blinked as if fighting tears. "Libby knew why we were here. We just didn't want you to be stubborn. We rescued you after all."
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THE COWBOY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE
by
Kit Morgan
Libby Blue lived in the shadow of her sister’s accomplishments. Bonnie, the oldest, excelled at all things domestic and was the smartest of the three. Gwen, the middle sister, excelled at … well, Gwen was beautiful, so she didn’t have to excel at much else to get what she wanted. Libby tried as hard as she could to live up to both, but always seemed to fall short. But when Gwen is caught up in a major scandal, their father decides to marry Libby and her sisters off to the most un-eligible bachelors in Beckham to save the family’s reputation. Bonnie quickly devises a plan to escape their father’s wrath and sets it in motion. Libby might yet have a chance to prove herself! As a Mail-Order Bride!