No One's Bride (Escape to the West Book 1) (25 page)

Amy absently smoothed her hand over the blue quilt on her bed as she gazed out the window at the mountains, half hidden by mist in the distance.

The early morning sun was just lighting up the peaks, making them appear as if they were on fire. The sight was breathtaking and even though she knew she should leave, she lingered to watch for a few minutes. She wanted to imprint the scene in her mind so she could remember it after she was gone.

It wasn’t like she wouldn’t be seeing the mountains again, it was just that this was
her
view, the view Adam had given her because he thought she would enjoy it. She loved it for that reason above all the others.

Wiping at a tear trickling down her cheek, she stood and picked up her bag and the letter she’d written. With one last look around the room she adored with all her heart, she opened the door and slipped out onto the landing.

Adam’s door was closed and she pressed her ear to its surface, hoping to hear him breathing, but there was silence. With her heart aching, she turned away and crept down the stairs.

She placed the letter onto the centre of the table where he would see it, weighing it down with a glass, then looked slowly around the parlour. Despite having been there for only three weeks, the small house behind the post office felt more like home than any other place she’d lived in her life. It was clean, cosy and safe. And it was Adam’s.

The tightness in her chest flared, a burning pain that made her hunch in on herself. She knew she was being unfair to him, leaving without telling him face to face, without saying goodbye, but it was the only thing she could do. He would beg her to stay, she wouldn’t have the strength to say no, and she’d be trapped, forced to watch his happiness with another woman. Even the thought of him with Daisy was more than she could bear and it would only hurt him to see her pain. Leaving was the only choice Amy had.

“Please make him understand, Lord,” she whispered, looking at the letter. “And please give him a happy life.”

At the door she looked back one last time, then stepped outside into the early dawn.

The air was chilly and Amy pulled her coat around her as she hurried through the back streets towards the livery. No one else was up at this time, for which Amy was grateful. She didn’t want to see someone she knew and have to lie about why she was out so early.

It only took her five minutes to reach the livery and she circled to the back door to retrieve the spare key hidden beneath the water trough. Inside, the horses stirred at her arrival, rustling in the straw of their stalls. Amy took a deep breath of the combined scent of horses, straw, leather, hay and manure. She never would have thought it possible when she’d first started working there, but the smell was familiar and comforting. This place had become almost as much her home as the post office had.

She reached into her bag and pulled out another envelope, placing it onto George’s desk by the door and moving the heavy brass inkwell to cover one corner. The envelope was thick with banknotes, four hundred dollars’ worth. Part of it was payment for the horses, but the rest was for leaving George so suddenly, and she also wanted to thank him for everything he’d done for her. He’d been the father she never knew.

Another tear escaped and she wiped at it in irritation. She’d become soft here, opening her heart and letting down her defences. That would have to change. She had no illusions that San Francisco wouldn’t be as tough as New York, but at least she had money this time. She would be all right, physically at least. In all likelihood, she knew her heart would probably never heal.

She made her way along the stalls to Stride’s and frowned to find it empty. That was strange; he always spent the night here. Adam hadn’t mentioned moving him, although Amy hadn’t really given him much time to talk when she got home the night before. She looked around, but saw no sign that there had been a break-in, and even if someone had managed to get inside why would they only take one horse? Stride would have fought anyone he didn’t know, yet his stall was tidy and in order.

She shook her head and moved on to Clementine’s stall. She wished she could say goodbye to him, but there was no doubt a good explanation for his absence and George would be arriving within an hour anyway. He would know what to do.

Clementine walked to the front of her stall, whinnying a greeting to Amy and rubbing her face against the hand Amy held out to her. She pulled half an apple from her pocket and gave it to the mare, stroking her head and neck as she ate.

“I wish I could take you with me,” she said, “but I know you’d never be happy away from Stride. Just because I can’t be with the one I love doesn’t mean you can’t either.” She kissed her cheek, this time not even bothering to wipe away the tears that fell. “I love you, girl.”

Sniffing back her emotions, she walked to a stall back along the row. Eagle was a fine, solid horse. Amy would have taken the train, but there wasn’t one due for another few days. The bay stallion would carry her to San Francisco without any fuss. She led Eagle from the stall and saddled him up.

After one final, tearful goodbye to Clementine, Amy left the livery for the final time and rode out of Green Hill Creek.

Adam’s heart lifted as he crested the hill and looked down on the dusty, colourful, sprawling community of Green Hill Creek. He raised his face to the bright blue of the early morning sky and laughed as his soul praised God.

“Thank you, Jesus.”

This was his Saviour’s doing, he knew it.

He had been picturing how it would go in his mind the entire ride back. He would get home and Amy would smile the beautiful smile that always took his breath away. Then he would sit her down and pour out his heart to her, the way he’d longed to ever since they met, she would tell him she loved him too, and then they’d kiss.

He’d been dreaming of kissing those incredible lips for three weeks straight.

Stride shifted beneath him, impatient to get home.

“All right, boy,” Adam said, laughing and patting his neck, “let’s go.”

They galloped down the gentle slope of the hill to join the dusty main road into town and headed straight for the post office. Adam didn’t want to wait. He would take Stride to the livery after he’d seen Amy. Maybe she’d even come with them.

Leaving Stride in the yard with a bucket of water and some feed, Adam ran inside. The parlour was empty, but Amy probably wasn’t up yet. He wanted to rush up the stairs and wake her, but reason told him it would be best to let her come down in her own time. He would just start breakfast while he waited. Impatiently.

He turned towards the kitchen and stopped at the sight of a glass upside down on the table, an envelope pinned beneath it. His own letter, the one he’d left in case Amy woke before he returned home, was nowhere to be seen.

ADAM

He recognised Amy’s handwriting on the front of the envelope. Heart pounding, he tore it open and pulled out the piece of paper inside.

Dear Adam,

You will never know how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for me. I truly believe that God led me to you. You saved my life in more ways that I can say and I have felt happier and safer in the time I’ve been with you than I ever remember being. You are a wonderful, amazing man and I am blessed to have spent even this short time with you.

I hope you can forgive me for what I’m doing. I didn’t want to leave like this, but I know that you will try to stop me if I wait and that if you do, I won’t be strong enough to say no. So I’m leaving now, while I can. Please believe me when I say that you have done nothing to drive me away, this is all my choice.

I will leave a note for George and some money so that he can keep Clementine. She and Stride shouldn’t be parted.

I will remember the time I’ve spent in Green Hill Creek for the rest of my life, and mostly I will remember you. Please don’t be sad that I’ve gone. I pray that you will have a blessed and happy life with a loving wife and children and everything you’ve ever wanted.

You are the best friend I’ve ever had.

All my love, Amy.

Dropping the letter, Adam raced for the stairs, taking them two at a time and bursting into Amy’s bedroom. She was gone, the bed made and drawers empty. He ran back down to the parlour and looked around, panicked.

He’d begged her to stay in his letter. How could she do this? Why didn’t she stay?

Then he saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the stove. Pulling it out, he found his letter to Amy. It must have blown off the table when he went out the door. She never saw it. He was so stupid. Why hadn’t he thought to weigh it down, as she had?

He ran out the back door and leaped onto Stride who jumped, startled.

“Come on,” Adam said, patting his shoulder, “we need to go.”

When they reached the livery, in record time, the front doors were open. Adam rode straight in and dropped from Stride’s back. He found George by Clementine’s stall.

“Is she here?”

George shook his head, lifting his hand in which was clutched a piece of paper. “She left me this letter, said she was leaving, took one of the horses. What happened? What did you do, boy?”

“Nothing! I don’t think.” Adam ran one hand over his hair, looking around the livery as if it would provide some answers. “I went to visit my family during the night and when I got back she was gone. What do I do, George? I can’t live without her.”

“San Francisco. That’s where she’ll be going.”

“But how do I find her? I don’t even know how long ago she left.”

George stared down at the stone flagged floor, frowning in concentration. “The railroad. She’ll be following the tracks. It’s the only way she’d know which way to go.”

Adam turned and ran back to Stride who had found a pile of fresh hay, calling, “Thanks, George” over his shoulder as he went.

He leapt onto Stride’s back and the black stallion looked at him over his shoulder as if to say, “Again?”

“Come on,” Adam said to him, urging him back outside. “We have to find Amy.”

Amy idly watched Eagle drinking from the stream then looked up at the blue sky through the branches of the tree they stood beneath.

It was turning into a beautiful day, just like that first Sunday when she and Adam went to the lake for the picnic.

She wondered what he was doing now.

A tear escaped to slide down her cheek and she wiped at it in annoyance. She couldn’t afford to be sad. There was a long road ahead of her, a whole new life to experience, and Adam wouldn’t be part of that life. He’d chosen someone else and she couldn’t blame him. All she’d done was make his life difficult.

If she’d only married him when she first arrived...

But it was too late now. She’d ruined any chance she had to be with Adam and he deserved far better anyway. Leaving was the only thing she could do, even if it felt like her heart was being crushed to nothing.

The sound of galloping hoof beats instantly had her on alert. She went to the saddlebag on Eagle’s back and reached inside. A few seconds later a horse and rider appeared through the trees and Amy gasped, letting go of her knife.

Stride slowed and trotted up to her, stopping a few feet away and shaking his head. Adam dropped to the ground from the saddle. He began to approach and then stopped.

“Amy?”

She suddenly felt like crying. Seeing him again was too hard. “Why are you here? Didn’t you read the letter I left? I explained everything.”

“I know,” he said. “I read it. I still don’t understand why you’re leaving, without even saying goodbye.”

Amy looked at the ground. “I’m going to San Francisco like I planned. I’m going to find a new life.”

Adam took another step forward. “That’s not what I asked.”

She sniffed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “It’s what I have to do.”

“Why? Why can’t you stay?”

She didn’t answer. How could she tell him the reason she was leaving was that she couldn’t bear to watch as he married another woman? Another traitorous tear slid down her cheek.

Adam stepped forward, his hands hovering in front of him as if he wanted to touch her. “Please, Amy.” He took another step towards her, bringing him within arm’s reach. “Please don’t go. I don’t want you to leave.”

She looked away, fighting to hold back the tears burning her eyes. “This is why I left without telling you I was going. I don’t want you to ask me to stay. I explained in the letter. Please, just let me go.”

“Why? Help me to understand. Did I do something wrong?” His voice dropped to barely more than a whisper. “Do you not want to stay with me?”

She couldn’t take it anymore. “I can’t stay, all right? I can’t stay and watch you marry Daisy while my heart is breaking. I just can’t.” She wiped angrily at the moisture pooling in her eyes.

Adam stared at her, his mouth hanging open. “You... what... I don’t...
Daisy?
”

“I saw you kissing her in the parlour yesterday.” She didn’t mean it to sound like an accusation, but somehow it came out that way.

His eyes widened. “Was that why you were out all evening?”

She nodded, sniffing again and digging in her pocket for a handkerchief. “You held her hand and kissed her and hugged her. And you were laughing.” She blew her nose, which wasn’t very ladylike, but neither was having a runny nose. And she didn’t feel like being a lady.

Adam waited for her to replace the handkerchief into her pocket then touched a finger to her chin, raising her face to look at him. “I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me. For old time’s sake, she said. Daisy just does things like that. There’s absolutely nothing more than friendship between me and her, I swear.”

All the breath left Amy’s body at once. “You don’t love her?”

“No. At least, not in that way.”

“You’re not going to marry her?”

“Of course not.” A small smile played across his lips. “Although if things go according to plan, I will be needing Pastor Jones’ services in that respect very soon.”

Amy frowned, feeling like there was something she wasn’t getting. What she did know was that she’d apparently run away for nothing and made a fool of herself.

“According to plan?”

He took a step back and, to her utter astonishment, sank to one knee in the grass. “Amy, will you marry me?”

For a few moments all she could do was stare. Had he really just proposed to her? “I... beg your pardon?”

He gazed up at her and drew in a shaking breath. “I fell in love with you the first day we spent by the lake, and every day since I’ve loved you more. I love your strength and your independence. I love your kindness and laughter. I love your beauty and your grace. I especially love your hair which I have been dying to run my fingers through ever since I met you. And I love the way my heart flips every time you smile at me. I am completely in love with you and I can’t imagine how I’ve lived the first twenty-five years of my life without you. My heart belongs to you, Amy, only you. Will you marry me? Will you be my wife?”

He stared up at her, looking more scared than the first time she’d seen him, standing on the platform at the station, waiting for his first glimpse of the woman he thought had come to marry him.

And maybe, without knowing it, she had.

Amy’s heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst from her chest. “I didn’t think... I...” She let out a combined sob and laugh. “Yes. Yes!”

For a moment, Adam froze, staring up at her as if he didn’t know what to do. Then he rose and stepped in close. With a small smile, he touched her cheeks, brushing her tears away, then pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. The feel of his lips on her skin shivered all the way down to her feet.

She placed her hands on his chest and gazed up at him. “I love you too.”

His beautiful blue eyes widened. “You do?”

She smiled at his surprise, quietly astounded he hadn’t known already how she felt. There were times she’d been sure it was written all over her face. “With all my heart.”

His gaze flicked between her eyes and then dropped to her mouth. Gently cupping the sides of her face, he whispered her name as he touched his lips to hers. Amy closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed up onto her toes. That probably wasn’t very ladylike either, but she didn’t care.

She felt him smile against her lips.

And then he kissed her.

Amy’s heart fluttered and then burst into flight. She clutched the back of his collar and pressed closer. One of his hands moved to the back of her head, pushing into her hair, while the other rested between her shoulder blades, fingers fisting in the material of her shirt.

It was the kiss of a lifetime, where time stood still and the whole rest of the world melted away.

When they finally parted, after what could have been hours for all Amy knew, she dropped back down onto her heels and lay her head against his chest, wondering vaguely that her legs could still support her. She sighed in bliss as she felt Adam kiss the top of her head and then rested his cheek against her hair.

His chest rose and fell in a deep sigh. “That was even better than I imagined it would be,” he murmured. “And I’ve done a lot of imagining kissing you in the past three weeks.”

Amy lifted her face to look up at him. “Did you know? Even right from the beginning?”

He brushed the fingers of one hand down her cheek. “I knew I wanted to marry you right from the beginning. I didn’t know you would until you said yes.”

“Really? Right from the start?”

“From the moment I first saw you. I couldn’t believe how beautiful you were. And your hair...” Smiling, he let go of her with one hand, held it in front of her, and unfurled his fist to reveal the leather band she’d secured her braid with.

“What...?” She felt the back of her head and found her braid unravelled, her hair loose and free. “When did that happen?”

He grinned and touched his forehead to hers. “Told you I’ve been dying to run my fingers through your hair ever since we met.”

She gasped in feigned shock. “Mr and Mrs Vernon would be scandalised.”

“Then I propose we do one thing every day that would scandalise Mr and Mrs Vernon if they found out.” He winked.

Amy bit her lower lip. “Only one?”

Adam burst into laughter and drew her in for another kiss. “Let’s go home. We can make a list.”