Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham) (14 page)

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Authors: Kirsten Osbourne

BOOK: Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham)

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Sheriff Goodman took his seat and propped his hands under his chin with his elbows on his desk. "Take your time, then."

"Near the beginning of October, I answered an advertisement to be a mail order bride, back in my hometown of Beckham, Massachusetts." She went on to explain how she'd answered John's letter, and what had happened when she arrived. She told him how she'd ended up marrying Colin instead. All the details of the story came rushing out of her mouth, while Colin sat beside her holding her hand for support.

It wasn't until the events of that day were recounted that Colin's jaw clenched. "It's a good thing you'd already shot him when I got there, because I'd have killed him with my bare hands."
He was angry that he hadn't had a chance to pound some sense into the other man. He wished their sheriff wasn't such a good man, because he'd have loved the opportunity to pummel John into a bloody pulp.

The sheriff looked at Colin. "Enough from you." He leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Doc says John is going to live?"

Elaine nodded. "Yes, he thinks he's going to live." She didn't have to say how relieved she was by that fact, because it showed clearly all over her face.

"I'll get him transferred to my jail as soon as he's well enough for it."
He stood up and walked around the desk. "I know it's hard to shoot a man, but you did the right thing. No one in town is going to be surprised that John tried to hurt a lady. He'll be spending a long time behind bars. Don't you worry about that." He looked over at Colin. "You've got a fine wife here. You the one who taught her to shoot?"

Colin nodded. "I was worried about what John might do."
He didn't tell the sheriff how proud he was that Elaine had been able to keep her head together enough to follow his instructions. He knew it went without saying. His wife was a truly amazing woman.

"Good job. I wish all men would teach their women how to take control of a situation like that."

Elaine smiled. "I'm truly blessed that John rejected me and Colin married me instead."
She squeezed Colin's hand, knowing his support had gotten her through the telling of the story. She didn't know what she'd done in life to deserve such a good man, but she was glad she had him.

The sheriff shook his head. "I don't think you have any idea how blessed you really are. Let me know where you live, and I'll ride out there if I have any other questions for you. I think this case is clear as can be, though. You have nothing to worry about Mrs. Monroe."
Sheriff Goodman held his hand out to shake Colin's.

Colin shook the older man's hand, feeling relieved that going over the whole thing was finally over.

Elaine got to her feet shakily, and immediately Colin came up behind her to support her. "Are you ready to go home?" he asked. He led her out the door and onto the street. He couldn't wait to get her home, so he could hold her and make certain she really was all right.

She nodded, leaning heavily against him. "Oh, no! I didn't make supper!"
How could she have forgotten to feed him? She knew it wasn't really her fault, but she hadn't even thought about it through the chaos of the day.

Colin laughed and shook his head. "You had more important things on your mind." He looked at the restaurant across the street and back at her. "We could go to the restaurant."
He didn't mind eating there often as long as she was feeling up to going.

She looked down at her dress and back at him. "I doubt if they'd even let me in looking this way."
They did need to eat, though, and she had nothing she could fix terribly quickly unless he wanted breakfast foods. "I can make bacon and eggs or pancakes," she suggested.

Colin frowned for a moment. "They have ready-made dresses at the mercantile. Let's see if there's something that will suit you." He didn't even want to think of what a ready-made dress would cost, but just then he didn't care. He needed her to be comfortable, and he knew she wouldn't be as long as she was wearing a dress splattered with John's blood.

They went into the mercantile, and Mr. Judd rushed out from behind the counter. "Are you hurt?" His eyes traveled up and down Elaine, searching for an injury.

Colin shook his head. "No, she's fine. We need a ready-made dress, though. Have you got anything in her size?"
He looked around for the dresses he'd seen there before.

The shopkeeper looked her up and down for a moment before he went over to his display of dresses. "I think this will fit her just fine." He handed them a pretty dress with pink flowers on it.

Elaine accepted it and his invitation to go into the back room to change. The blood had soaked into her corset and petticoat, but she knew that she could leave them in the sun to be bleached back to a perfect white. She changed quickly and looked into the mirror hanging on the wall. Good. The blood didn't show through.

She did her best to put her hair back into its usual knot before leaving the back room. It wasn't easy without a brush, but she wasn't about to buy a brush when she had a perfectly good one at home. She'd grabbed her purse before leaving and walked to the counter, paying for her dress before Colin had a chance. "Would you burn my old dress, Mr. Judd? I left it in the back room."
Even touching it again would upset her, and she just didn't want to have to do it.

The older man nodded, exchanging a look with Colin that let her know that her husband had explained what happened. She left, holding onto his arm. "Thank you for letting me pay for my own dress."
She had expected him to argue but was thrilled when he hadn't.

He sighed. "If I'd thought to bring any money, I wouldn't have."
He shook his head, annoyed at his own lack of foresight.

"I know, but it was only right that I pay for it because it's my fault I was covered in blood."
She tried to reason with him, so he wouldn't mind that she'd paid.

"How was it your fault?"
He couldn't see how that would make sense to anyone but her.

"Well, a normal person would have left him there to bleed to death. Then we just would have had to scrub the floor, which wouldn't have messed up my dress." Elaine shrugged as she said the words, knowing they were the truth.

"You wouldn't be you if you had let him die. I married a special woman, and I'm so glad I did." Colin held the door for the restaurant for her, taking her to a table in the corner of the room.

For the first time, Elaine believed his words. He really did love her. He'd never said one word against her and the way she'd killed John. She'd felt so weak and helpless when it came to being a wife, but she wasn't. She'd not only shown that she was a good wife and cook, but she had saved herself rather than standing around and waiting for Colin to rescue her.

One they were seated, she decided what she wanted to eat, and then leaned back in her chair. "Thank you for helping me get him to town." She knew that it wasn't something he'd wanted to do, because even from the beginning, she'd seen the desire to add to the other man's injuries in her husband's eyes.

Colin shook his head. "How could I not help you? You were obviously upset about it. I had to do something." He sighed. "I do wish I'd been there to help you, though, instead of getting there after the fact."
He would have given anything to have been the one to shoot the other man instead of her.

"I don't." She reached out and grasped his hand, smiling up at the waitress and giving her order.

After Colin had ordered and the waitress had left, he looked at her for a moment with surprise in his eyes. "You don't wish I'd been there to help?" Why wouldn't she want him there to help her? What was she thinking now? He loved the woman, but sometimes her thoughts made no sense to him at all.

She shook her head. "I honestly think it was something I needed to do on my own. I'm always so worried that I'm not strong enough or able to take care of myself. Now, I know that if the situation calls for it, I'm perfectly capable of doing what I need to do. I may fall apart afterward, but I can handle the situation."
She wasn't ashamed of falling apart, though, because it had been the logical, natural thing to do. For her.

"There was never any doubt in my mind." He brought her fingers to his lips. "When I saw you that first day, your eyes were full of anger toward John. It was obvious that you thought he was acting like a child, and you were glad he was leaving you there. And then, when I came over, you didn't immediately jump at the
chance to marry me, and be taken care of. You already had a plan, and you didn't need a man to make your plan work."

"But I did marry you."
What was he saying?

"But you chose to marry me. I could see that you would have been content to just go find yourself a boarding house and take life by the horns. You're a very strong woman, and I have always admired you for that."
His voice was calm and steady as he told her how he felt about her strength. Not many women would have handled either situation nearly as well as his beautiful wife had with seemingly little effort.

She smiled at him, her face lighting up. "You once told me that you wanted me to be able to see myself through your eyes. I think maybe I can finally."
She was starting to see herself as a strong woman, capable of dealing with anything that life threw at her. She knew that's how he saw her as well, and it pleased her to no end.

"Then you know that you're an amazing woman whom I love more than I can ever express?" He watched her eyes as he said the words, knowing that she would suddenly look sad if she didn't believe him. How someone as special as she was didn't realize how incredible she was, really stunned him. This time, though, her eyes didn't look sad. They glistened with tears, but they were happy tears.

"I love you too. I just...I guess I was so convinced that I just wasn't lovable that it was impossible for me to believe what you were saying." She watched as his face lit up with happiness, and she realized then how much her lack of belief in his love had made him feel. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before."

He shook his head. "Just so you believe me now, I'm happy."
And he was. She believed he loved her, and she'd even said she loved him too. He needed to get her alone so he could hold her the way he wanted to.

As they ate, both of them were watching the other, the reality of their love new to each of them. On the drive home, she sat close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. When he stopped beside the river where they'd once picnicked, she was happy, because she badly wanted to kiss him, but she wasn't willing to distract him while he drove.

He turned to her on the seat and slipped both arms around her, pressing his lips to hers. He clutched her to him and kissed her as he'd been longing to do since he'd found her kneeling over John. He had needed to know she was fine, and now, finally he was convinced. "I'm so glad he didn't hurt you," he mumbled against her lips.

She pressed closer to him, happy to finally be able to escape in his arms. She'd been frightened half the day, and she'd needed his arms around her more than she'd ever needed anything. How was it that his love had showed her exactly how much she was worth?

Epilogue

Elaine turned away from the basin where she'd just finished the breakfast dishes and walked over to sit across from her mother, who was going home the following day. The whole time she and her father had been there, Elaine had felt her disappointment, but she'd not let it bother her. She was a strong woman, and she did a good job keeping house for her husband.

"Are you ready to go back, Mother?" she asked softly, trying to make conversation that wouldn't make either of them angry.

Cassandra nodded. "I miss your sisters. I know your two younger sisters are in good hands with your older sisters, but it seems strange to have a holiday season without all of you around." She sighed, looking around the small house. "When I first came to Kansas, I was certain you'd made a big mistake. I was all ready to try to talk you into coming back home where you belong."

Elaine looked down at her hands. She'd done well with not getting overly upset over her mother's negativity during the visit, but she could feel it starting to build. "You were?"

"Yes, I was, but then I came out here and saw how little you had, but how you'd made it a home." She waved her hand around the room, pointing out the small touches Elaine had made over the years. "Everything is beautiful." She looked at her daughter with surprise. "And you cook like a dream. I've enjoyed every meal you've fixed for us. Where did you learn to cook that way?"

Elaine grinned. "I sneaked into the kitchen every time you left the house and begged Mrs. Jenkins to teach me to cook."

Cassandra shook her head at her middle daughter. "I should have known. I guess I have to admit that you moving out here was the right thing to do. I can see that your limp is even better. The sitting never did anything to strengthen your leg, but the way you do all the work here has really improved it. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm happy you defied me and moved to Kansas."

Elaine stared at her mother in shock. "Even though you know what happened with John?"

Cassandra sighed. "I could have done without that part of the story, but I'm happy that you were able to protect yourself. I've known for a long time that you were unhappy at home, and I just wasn't willing to let you go. Every time you
walked away from me, I saw you as that little girl you were when you were ten, all curled up under that tree with your leg bleeding and bent so oddly." A tear trickled down her cheek. "I have to say that I'm proud of you, though, Elaine. You came out here and you've faced a lot of adversities. You have gone through things that would have had a lesser woman running home to her mother. Now, while you're still welcome to do that any time you want to, I think you've married a good man. This place is really where you belong."

Elaine felt the tears prick her eyes at her mother's words. She'd never thought to hear the older woman say that she was proud of her. She honestly hadn't thought she was capable of saying the words, at least to her. "Thank you, Mother. That means a lot to me." Her hand went to her stomach, and she rubbed it, thinking of the new life growing there. Her mother had been ecstatic at the news that she would soon be a grandmother again, but not nearly as ecstatic as she'd been when she'd found out.

"Have you been thinking about what you're going to name my granddaughter yet?"

Elaine grinned. "I'm not sure why you're so certain it's a girl. I'm having a boy. Don't you think it was time for Father to have some grandsons?" Elaine's older sisters had thus far produced five girls between them. Not one boy had yet been born to her family.

"It is time, but don't get your hopes up. For some reason the women in our family only seem to be able to produce girls. There are never any boys as you well know."

"This one will be a boy. I'm sure of it." Elaine had never wanted anything as much as she wanted the child she carried to be a boy. He would help his father on the ranch and carry on the Monroe name. No, she wouldn't have a girl. Not this time, anyway. Maybe next time she'd have a girl. She wanted a houseful of children.

"I'll let you think that." Cassandra smiled. "I'm so glad your father and I came out here to check on you. You've done very well for yourself. Now I can go home and stop worrying."

"Oh, Mother. I would never take the fun of worrying from you."

"Oh, very funny! You just wait until your daughter up and moves several states away to marry a man you've never met. See how you like it."

Elaine said nothing, knowing that she would be sure to raise strong confident daughters who could do just that. She'd make sure of it.

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