His Redeeming Bride

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  They laughed.

  “I love you,” he told her. “And I love our child.”

  She kissed him. “I love you too. I can’t wait to find out if we’re having a girl or a boy.”

  “I don’t care as long as you and the baby are healthy.”

  “I hope it’s a girl. Emily wants a sister in the worst way.”

  “You’re right. That’s all she talks about anymore.” He kissed her cheek. “If we have a boy, we’ll just have to try again.”

  “At least we know that trying is fun.”

  Smiling, he kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger on hers.

  ***

  It was midday when Neil saw her. He just finished checking the cattle in the pasture when he decided to go to the house and grab lunch.

  The surrey making its way to his home got his attention as soon as his gaze settled on it. He took the hat off his head and wiped the sweat off his brow. Squinting in the sunlight, he placed the hat back on and lumbered to the house as it got closer. Nearing the porch, he slowed to a stop, feeling a chill run up his spine.

  “Not her. Let it be anyone but her,” he whispered.

  But as soon as he saw the raven-haired beauty wearing a lacy pink dress and holding a matching parasol, his hopes plummeted. Cassie. She sat next to John McCarthy, laughing and resting her hand on his arm as she spoke to him. The sight was enough to make him vomit. He had hoped to never see her again. So much for that wish.

  His gut tightened like a fist as he waited for John to stop the four passenger surrey ten feet away from where he stood. He forced himself to remain still while he waited for John to help Cassie down from the rig. A third man—one he didn’t recognize—hopped out from the backseat.

  She held the parasol above her head. Taking a look at the house, she wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something bitter. “It never was quite adequate,” she told John.

  Frowning, Neil paced over to them, his movements stiff with apprehension. “What are you doing here?”

  Looking at Neil, Cassie eyed him in a way that denoted the fact that she felt superior to him. “How lovely it is to see you.”

  Be cordial. Don’t make a scene. The last thing he needed was to attract Sarah or Emily’s attention. “I didn’t ask you to come here.”

  “Then it’s good for you that we’re not here to see you. I came to get Emily.”

  He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. Forcing his voice to remain calm, he said, “No.”

  She twirled the parasol in her hands. “You can’t keep her, Neil. She belongs to me.”

  “Says who?”

  “Me. I’m her mother.”

  “A real mother wouldn’t abandon her daughter and not correspond with her for two years.”

  She stopped the twirling and set a hand on her hip. “I had to get some things settled. Now that they are, she can come with me.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  “You won’t stand in my way of what’s rightfully mine.”

  “She’s not yours. You gave her up when you married John.”

  “But I need her. John won’t get his inheritance unless he has a child, and I can’t have any more children,” she pouted. “She’s all I’ve got.”

  He fought the urge to pick her up and toss her onto the surrey. But he’d never been rough with a woman and he wouldn’t start now. He clenched his hands. “That’s why you’re here? I ought to slap you, Cassie. How dare you use a little girl to get money?”

  She shrugged. “She’ll have some of it too. You can’t give her the things that John can. Why, we’ll send her to the best school for girls. She’ll have whatever she wants.”

  He gritted his teeth. John returned with the overweight man who appeared to be in his forties. “Get off my land,” he snapped. “You’re not getting Emily.”

  John motioned to the man standing next to him. “Mr. Craftsman, I present my attorney, Harry Martin. He’s the best lawyer in the area. I assure you that I paid handsomely for his services, so it would be wise if you didn’t interfere.”

  Straightening his back, Neil said, “I don’t care how much money you spent. You’re not getting my daughter.”

  Harry cleared his throat. “Now, that’s just it, isn’t it, sir? You aren’t the girl’s father.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No. I’m afraid you’re not.”

  “Pa, what does he mean?” Emily stepped from the kitchen door and onto the porch.

  His muscles tensed. How much did she hear? “Get back into the house,” Neil told her, his tone firm. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “How can you be like that?” Cassie admonished. Turning to Emily, she held her arms out and said, “I came for you, sweetie!”

  Emily stood still, and Neil couldn’t tell what the poor girl was thinking. She stared at her mother, her hands behind her back, and bit her lower lip.

  “Leave her alone!” Neil barked at Cassie. “She doesn’t need this.”

  Sarah emerged from the house, carrying a fussy Luke in her arms. Her gaze fell on the visitors, particularly Cassie. Turning to the girl, she said, “Emily, come into the house. Let the adults do their business.”

  Cassie glared at Neil. “How could you be so selfish? You have another child and one on the way. You can make do without Emily.”

  “She’s a person, not a possession,” Neil snapped. “She can’t be replaced.”

  She stamped her foot on the ground. “And she’s not your child!”

  “Enough,” Harry interrupted before Neil could yell at Cassie.

  “What do they mean, Pa?” Emily asked him.

  Harry handed Neil a document. Neil’s hands trembled as he debated whether or not to read it. Meanwhile, Harry walked over to Emily who scooted back until she stood with Sarah. Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “She’s not your child!” Cassie yelled at Sarah. “You have no right to touch her.”

  “Sarah, take Emily into the house,” Neil pleaded.

  Sarah nodded when Harry intervened. “Ma’am, you don’t have a legal right to withhold a child from her real mother.”

  Sarah paused in mid-step and Emily remained with her, even as Cassie waved her forward.

  Cassie pointed at Sarah, her face flushed. “You turned my own child against me.”

  “You didn’t want me,” Emily spoke, her voice low.

  Cassie immediately cooled down and smiled at her daughter. “Is that what they told you? Sweetie, nothing could be further from the truth. I went to make a better life for us, and I found it.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes at her. “Then why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”

  “I couldn’t. The time had to be right or Mr. Craftsman wouldn’t have let me go.”

  “Will you stop lying to her?” Neil demanded, his hands clenching the document into a crumpled mess.

  “Who’s lying to who?” Harry replied. Looking at Emily, he said in a gentle tone, “Emily, the man you think is your father really isn’t. Your real father is Fred Miller, and he signed that document Mr. Craftsman is holding, testifying to that.”

  He stormed over to Harry. “I’ve raised her since she was born. She belongs here!” He shoved the document at the lawyer. “I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me whether I’m a father or not.”

  “Apparently, you do.”

  Emily wrapped her arms around Sarah’s waist. “I don’t want to go!”

  Everyone turned their attention to her, noting her pale face. Sarah hugged her close and stepped closer to the front door.

  “There,” Neil replied to the lawyer, thankful Emily spoke up. “She said what she wants.”

  “She’s only eight,” Cassie said. “How can she know what she wants?”

  “She’s nine, Cassie, and she’s smarter than you give her credit for.”

  “Nine, eight. What’s the difference?” She shrugged. “What matters is that she’s with me.”

  “It wasn’t important b
efore,” Emily said. “You said I got in the way. You said you wished I wasn’t born. Then you left without saying good-bye.”

  Cassie shook her head. “Because I was getting a home for you. You will be very happy with me and John. Why, he can afford to buy you whatever you want.”

  “I have everything I want.”

  Harry held his hands up. “This conversation isn’t necessary. The fact of the matter is that Emily is not Mr. Craftsman’s child. She is Mrs. McCarthy’s child. The facts are the facts.”

  “That’s why Ma left, isn’t it?” Emily looked at Neil. “She married someone else.”

  Neil couldn’t take it anymore. “Get off my property.”

  John, who had been silent, spoke up. “Come along, Emily. I assure you that your mother and I are very happy together and we’ll make you a good home.”

  Emily screamed and ran into the house, her feet pounding the hardwood floors as she raced up the stairs. Sarah quickly took Luke inside and followed her.

  Cassie made a move to enter the house, but Neil blocked her before she could reach the porch steps. “She doesn’t want to go.”

  John placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get Emily. Don’t worry.”

  Cassie huffed, spun on her heels, and went to the buggy where John helped her into it. Neil breathed a sigh of relief.

  The lawyer approached him. “I suggest you get yourself a good lawyer. You’ll be going before the judge, and I don’t fancy that he’ll think a man of your reputation is fit to raise Mrs. McCarthy’s child. Good day, Mr. Craftsman.”

  Neil resisted the urge to punch the man while he hopped into the surrey.

  ***

  Sarah hastened to put Luke in his crib so she could talk to Emily. She went to the girl’s bedroom where Emily laid on her bed, crying into her pillow.

  “Emily?” she softly asked.

  Emily looked up at her, her tear-filled eyes red and puffy.

  “Don’t let her take me,” she pleaded. “Promise me.”

  Sarah sat next to her and drew her into her arms. “Oh, Emily. Your father and I will do everything we can to keep you here.”

  “But you can’t let me go with them. I know why they’re here. I heard her talking to Pa. My mother doesn’t love me. She never did. She just wants to get money. I heard her. That’s all I’m worth to her, and I hate her!”

  Sarah smoothed the girl’s black tresses that shook as she broke into a fresh wave of tears. Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat and held her tighter to her bosom. “Oh honey, are you sure that’s what she said?”

  “Yes. You were changing Luke’s diaper and I was in the kitchen. They didn’t know I was listening through the window. She said she is going to send me away to a school. She doesn’t want me. She just wants the money.”

  Sarah kissed the girl on the top of her head and pressed her cheek to the soft hair. She wished for the words that would ease the girl’s pain but knew nothing she said would work.

  “I don’t care what they say. He’s my father. I had time to remember how things really were when my mother was here. Pa protected me from her but he couldn’t stop everything she did. There were things I saw and heard. I didn’t understand them at the time but I’m older now. She thinks I don’t remember or that I don’t understand but I do.” She shifted from her so that they made eye contact. “You’re my mother now, aren’t you?”

  Giving the girl a soft smile, she nodded. “Yes, I am. But I am sorry about how things were for you and your real mother.”

  “I used to be too. Maybe I still am. I don’t know what to think.”

  “Don’t be afraid to think and feel what you need to. Getting angry and sad aren’t wrong.”

  “I know.” She hugged Sarah. “I don’t want to leave. You have to promise me that you’ll do whatever it takes to keep me here.”

  Determined, she agreed. “I promise.”

  They remained together, holding onto each other, for a long time.

  ***

  Sarah spent the rest of the afternoon with Emily, wondering what Neil was doing. He had come up to tell them he needed to find a lawyer in town so she knew he’d be gone for awhile. She prayed he’d find good news.

  When the supper hour came and he hadn’t returned, the nagging unease in the pit of her stomach made her sick. Though she struggled to eat and remain upbeat for Emily’s sake, the girl wasn’t fooled.

  “You think Pa’s finding bad news,” Emily said, her hands in her lap and the food in front of her untouched.

  Letting her fork clatter on the plate, Sarah gave up trying to eat the meal. “I don’t know what to think. In my experience, if things take a long time, they tend to go badly.” She glanced at Luke who sat in the wooden high chair. He babbled, oblivious to the events going on around him as he played with his food before eating it. Turning her eyes to Emily, she smiled. “You need to eat, honey.”

  “You’re not eating.”

  The girl’s boldness no longer surprised her. “No. But I’m an adult and I can handle going without food better than you can.”

  “I don’t feel like eating either.”

  Sarah heard Jacob welcome Neil back. She stood up and began collecting their plates. “Let’s clean up. I want to speak to your father.”

  Emily rose from her chair. “Can I go with you?”

  Sarah paused, their plates feeling heavy in her hands. “I’d rather talk to him alone first.”

  She frowned but nodded her consent.

  After Sarah cleared the table and cleaned Luke the best she could, she left Emily to play with him in the parlor so she could talk to Neil. As soon as she found him by the cattle fence, she ran to him. He stood a good distance from the farmhands, and his back was turned to her so she didn’t realize he was crying until she caught up to him. Closing her eyes and gripping her apron, she braced herself for what he would tell her.

  Before she could ask what happened, he looked at her and shook his head. “We’re going to lose her.”

  His sorrow pained her as much as the thought of losing Emily. Blinking back tears, she asked, “Do you know this for sure?”

  “I went all over town, and that lawyer Cassie got is one of the best. He can win the case. No other lawyer wants to go near him. Well, there is one but I can’t afford him.”

  Watching her husband defeated unnerved her. Neil had been a formidable wall of strength ever since she met him. She didn’t know how to handle this, but one thing was for sure, she promised Emily that she wouldn’t send her to a woman who didn’t love her.

  “How much money do you need?” she asked, struggling to remain calm.

  He told her, still staring straight ahead into the fields.

  She anxiously thought through anything they had that had any value. “What about my necklace? It should be worth something.”

  “No, Sarah. It’s all you have of your parents.” He wiped his face with his shirt sleeve.

  “What good does a necklace do me at a time like this if I can’t sell it?” When he shook his head, she took his face in her hands and turned his head so he had to look at her. “We’re going to keep her. We’ll do whatever we have to but we’ll keep her.”

  He pulled her into his arms. Closing her eyes, she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, aware of the movement the baby in her womb created. They remained silent for some time. Her determination swelled until she found a confidence that things would work out. One way or another, Emily wouldn’t go with Cassie and her husband.

  An idea came to her. “Neil, what about Dan Adair? If you sold your cattle to him, would that bring in enough money for a lawyer?”

  “He won’t do business with me.”

  “But you have the best cattle in the area. Dan can get a better price with your stock than anyone else’s. He’s a businessman, right? He’ll want to make the most money he can.”

  “I’d have to do things his way. He’d expect me to have a drink with him at the saloon.”

  “Then
have a drink with him. I know it goes against what you want to do, but this isn’t the time to be worried about what others are going to think about you.”

  “It’s not others I worry about, Sarah. I don’t like going to the saloon. It brings back too many memories. I don’t like remembering who I was.”

  “Then don’t think of that. Think of saving our little girl.”

  “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.” He kissed her. “I won’t be able to rest until I get this settled. I’ll go visit him tonight.”

  “You should eat first,” she replied. “You haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

  He nodded. “I’ll get something quick. I want to head out to Dan Adair’s place before it gets dark.”

  She wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked back to the house. He put his arm around her shoulders and held her close to his side. Sarah made up her mind. They would get through this, and Emily would stay with them. I’ll do my part to make that possible.

  Chapter Twenty

  The next day, Neil arrived at Jack Silverman’s office. John and Cassie’s lawyer, Harry Martin, set a court date for the following Monday, so Neil didn’t feel like he had time to waste. If he had any hopes of keeping Emily, he had to act fast. The only lawyer willing to confront Harry Martin in court was Jack Silverman.

  Neil sat in the waiting room, tense as he waited for Jack to see him. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jack opened his office door and waved him in. Once Neil explained the situation, he waited for Jack to say whether or not he’d take the case.

  “Your past works against you, Mr. Craftsman,” Jack told him. “Mr. Martin will claim you’re not suitable to raise Emily, but you have a good chance right now so be careful.”

  Neil shifted in his chair. “I told you that Cassie doesn’t care for Emily. She left Emily behind to marry John McCarthy.”