The New Year's Bride (Holiday Mail Order Brides Book Two) (13 page)

* * *

Abbey adjusted Elle’s veil.  She stood in front of a small mirror in a room the preacher used as his office.  “You look lovely!”

Elle fidgeted. “I wish I could see myself better.”

“You’ve seen what the dress looks like on you, but not the veil,” Summer pointed out.  “Are you ready?”

“Oh Summer!” Elle began and turned to her friend. “I’m so nervous!”

“So was I, but I have to say, not as much as you are.”

Elle grimaced. “Really? Am I being a ninny?”

“Of course not.  You have every right to be nervous.  The circumstances around my wedding were much different.  I had more than just the wedding to worry about when I got married.”

Elle stared at her friend a brief moment. “Is this another story you haven’t told me?”

Abbey smiled. “Oh yes! You should have been there!”

“Abbey!” Summer scolded. “I’ll tell her.”

Elle glanced in the direction of the sanctuary.  They could hear the townsfolk milling about waiting for the ceremony to get started. “Do we have time?”

“Let me give the really short version.  In a word, Charlotte.”

“And Red Ned!” Abbey added excitedly.

“Red Ned?” Elle gasped.  “That doesn’t sound good.”

“It wasn’t,” Summer began. “He was an outlaw Clayton and a posse had been tracking for weeks.  His gang was hold up at the first stage stop between here and Clear Creek.  I was on that stage.”

Elle again gasped.

“This is the short version remember,” Summer said. “I’ll tell you the rest later but what I can tell you is, Red Ned was bad, but Sheriff Clayton Riley was good!  Very good.  He rescued the fair damsel, drove the stage back to town straight to the preacher’s house on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Morning, they were married.  The end.”

Elle’s eyes were riveted on
Summer. “How am I ever going to be able to top that?”

“Trust me, don’t try.” Summer said as she handed her a flower arrangement made of ribbons. “Here, I made it myself.  I hope you like it.”

Elle looked to the pretty blue flowers made of ribbon. “Oh Summer, it’s beautiful.  I’d forgotten how you used to make flowers out of ribbons like this.  Thank you!”

“There aren’t any flowers this time of year to pick for a bouquet so I made you this instead.”

Elle hugged her friend.

“Girls!” Mrs. Riley exclaimed as she rushed into the room.  It’s time!”

The three girls looked at the older woman and froze a scant second before Summer and Abbey quickly set about adjusting Elle’s dress one last time. They followed Mrs. Riley to the door. Clayton was there.

“I’d like to give you away if that all right with you,” he told Elle.

“Oh my goodness! I hadn’t even thought of that!” She said in a whisper as the church began to quiet down.

Music began to play.  It was the
introduction of the wedding march.

Elle sucked in a breath.  “Oh good Lord!”

“This is it!” Summer told her in an excited whisper.  “At last, we’ll be sisters!”

Elle looked to her and smiled.  “Oh Summer, I’m so happy I could cry!”

“You’ll cry when you see Spencer,” Clayton chuckled as he held his arm out to her.

The music chords changed, and Elle quickly took his arm.  Even she recognized this as the part where she was to walk down the aisle.  “Why?”

Summer stepped out of the room and headed for a pew.  Clayton positioned them at the end of the aisle and looked down at her. “Because he’s going to make you the best husband you could ever wish for, Miss Barstow.”

Elle looked to the end of the aisle where Spencer stood next to the preacher.  The music played, the townspeople smiled, and Elnora Barstow walked down the aisle to stand next to h
er future husband.  This was it! This was the moment she’d dreamed of in the secret places of her mind. The place where the impossible dreams were all kept.  The ones she thought might never come true, but this one was.

Clayton was right, when she stood before Spencer Riley and looked up into his eyes she did indeed cry and for more than one reason. Firstly, because the love that shone in his eyes was undeniable and she marveled that he could have such love for her in so little time.  If this was the beginning of that love, then how much will it have grown five, ten, twenty years from now?

And secondly?

“Sheriff Riley!”

All heads turned as deputy Tom Turner came stumbling into the church. He was completely out of breath and suddenly bent over, his hands on his knees, tried to recover from his sprint through town to the church.

“What’s the meaning of this deputy?” Clayton snapped. “Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a wedding?”

Tom Tuner made his way down the aisle, his breathing ragged, and pulled a paper from his vest pocket.  Clayton stepped out in front of him and blocked his path. “I’ll take that.”

“Sorry Mr. Riley, but this is official business, and begging your pardon sir, but you’re no longer the Sheriff.”

Clayton looked to Spencer and shrugged.

Spencer quickly glanced to Elle who, tears in her eyes, stood with as much shock on her face as everyone else.  He then looked to Tom.  “What is it?”

“This just come for ya, Sheriff. I thought you’d better read it right away” he told him as he stole a quick glance at Elle. “By the way … uh… congratulations on your weddin’.”

Spencer nodded to him as he took the note.  It was from the telegraph office.  He quickly read it,
then slowly handed it back to Tom.  “Oh good God.”

“Spencer?”  Elle asked softly.  “Spencer what is it?”

He looked to her, his face frozen with shock. “Elle … Elle I’m so sorry.”

She sucked in a breath, eyes wide. “Sorry? Sorry for what?”

“You’re under arrest.”

Thirteen

“What?”  Elle all but screeched. Her worst nightmare was coming true.
Her knees went weak and for a brief moment and she thought she might topple over but didn’t. She stood and stared at Spencer’s shocked face instead.

The townsfolk began to murmur amongst themselves.  Mrs. Davi
s sat with a slight smirk  as the rest of the Davis family sat with the same shocked look as everyone else.

“What’s this all about?” Clayton snapped. “Give me
that note.” He went to Tom and held out his hand.  Spencer nodded to his deputy to give it to him.  Clayton read the brief missive and lowered it.  “Good God, a U.S. Marshal!  Coming here?” he said then turned to Elle. “For you?”

Elle shook her he
ad, speechless.  A U.S. Marshal? What did that mean? Oh good Lord, it couldn’t be!

Spencer grabbed her by the hand and pulled her from the church’s alter. “We have to take care of this. Now.”

“But Spencer!” the preacher called after him. “What about your wedding?”

“Later!” he called over his shoulder as he pulled Elle along behind him, Clayton and the deputy bringing up the rear.

“Ohhhh!  This can’t be happening!” Mrs. Riley cried.

Mrs. Davis suddenly stood. “Well, I’m certainly not going to sit here and wait for a wedding that will never be!”

Mrs. Riley turned to her. “It most certainly will!  Just as soon as my boys discover what all this is about!”

“It’s quite obvious what it’s about!” Mrs. Davis shot back. “Spencer’s mail order bride
is  in some sort of trouble with the law! I might have known!”

Gasps rose up all through the sanctuary at her remark.  People stood and looked after the four that just left, some of the men running out of the church after them.

“Calm down all of you!  It’s not what you think!” Mrs. Riley called over the din of voices, gasps, and mumbled accusations.

“Come along Charlotte!” Mrs. Davis huffed as she exited the pew.  Charlotte sat and watched as her mother made her way down the aisle then turned to her father.

He looked at her, took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. “Go with your mother Charlotte.  If for nothing else than to keep her from embarrassing me further.”

Charlotte slowly nodded
then left the pew to chase after her mother.

Abbey turned to Billy.  “Do
n’t just stand there,
do
something!”

Billy looked out over the church.  At this point all of the townspeople were standing, their voices growing louder by the minute until finally, he found it hard to hear himself think!

BANG!

Perhaps shooting off his gun in church wasn’t the best idea, but it did get everyone’s attention.  Billy grinned sheepishly at the preacher first before
he spoke. “Calm down all of ya!  There ain’t no good reason for everybody to get all upset.  Sheriff Riley will have this straightened out in no time.  Why don’t you good folks go on home and we’ll let ya know …

“Dagnabbit!” someone called from the crowd. “I wanted to see me a wedding! I done missed Clayton’s!”

Several others groaned with disappointment as they put on their hats.  Weddings were a big deal in Nowhere.  They didn’t happen very often.

Billy watched as folks grumbled and stood.  He took in the church, the ribbons,
the eager crowed and … Abbey.  “Wait!”

The town
sfolk turned to him.

“You want a wedding?  I’ll give you a wedding!”

A high-pitched squeak came from the middle of the church. “WHAT!”  Mr. Davis popped up from his seat.  He was the only person still sitting.  “You can’t possibly mean…”
“I do!” Billy said as he grabbed Abbey to him. He went down on one knee. “Abbey Davis, I love you and I can’t wait through two more months of courtin’!  Will you marry me?”

Abbey let loose the same high pitched squeak that escaped her father. “Yes!”

Mr. Davis groaned and fell back onto the pew.  He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief once more and breathed heavily.

“Oh go ahead, Davis!” Mr. Quinn urged. “Let the youngins’
get hitched!  Then you’ll only have Charlotte to marry off.”

Mr. Davis stopped his wiping and dabbing, eyes wide, his brow raised at the idea.

Mr. Quinn, who had been sitting in the pew in front of him, bent slightly and said in a low voice. “One down, one to go, eh Davis?”

Mr. Davis looked up at him.  “You have a point.”

“Billy’s a good lad. He’ll take care of Abbey proper. What’s a couple of months? They’re going to marry anyway, everyone in town knows it.”

“Yes…” Mr. Davis said slowly. “And Mrs. Davis isn’t here to stop it…”

Mr. Quinn smiled. “No, she isn’t is she?”

Mr. Davis popped up from the pew.  “Billy!” he snapped.

Billy gulped but then got up off his knee and stood straight. “I’m gonna marry your daughter and that’s …

“Final!” yelled Mr. Davis as he made his way out of the pew and stormed to the front of the church.
  “Don’t nobody go anywhere!  We’re gonna have ourselves a wedding!”

The townspeople looked at one another before a cheer went up.  This was exciting stuff! They quickly retook their seats and watched as Billy took Abbey’s hand and pulled her before the preacher who
glanced first at the hole in the ceiling then at Billy. “This is highly irregular!” the preacher argued.

“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Riley cried.  “What about Spencer and Elle?”

Billy leaned toward her. “If I know Spencer he’ll have this fixed quick like.  Go fetch him and bring them back here.  By the time the preacher is done with us, he can marry Spencer and Elle!”

“Oh Billy, do you really think so?”

“To be honest Mrs. Riley, I’m not sure, but it’s worth a try.”

“Wait!” Abbey called. “My dress!”

“What dress?”  Mr. Davis shot back.

She
ignored her father and quickly turned to Billy. “I made a dress, a wedding dress!”

Mr. Davis dabbed at his forehead once again and groaned.

“It won’t take long to fetch it!” Abbey said. “Oh please Billy, if we’re going to be married, I want to be able to wear my dress!”

Summer
who’d been standing off to one side in shocked silence, finally snapped out of it.  She hadn’t been sure of what to do until now.

“Billy, let Abbey get her dress.” She turned to the townsfolk. “We’ll have not one wedding, but two!  In the mean time, why don’t you folks go to Hanks and have some lunch!  We’ll be back here in less than two hours!”

“Summer!” Mrs. Riley began.  “Whatever are you doing?”

“Trust me, this will all work out just fine.”

“Oh dear Lord, I hope you’re right!” Mrs. Riley cried.

“So do I …”
Summer whispered under her breath. “So do I.”

* * *

“A U.S Marshal?  Coming here for me?  But how did a U.S. Marshal know about any of it?” Elle cried as she paced about the jail in her wedding dress.

“
Calm down, we’ll get this sorted out,” Spencer assured her as he took one of her hands and pulled her into his arms.

“You realize she’s supposed to be behind bars.” Clayton said.

“I’m not putting my bride in a jail cell and you know it.” Spencer shot back.

“I wouldn’t either, but you’re going to have to come up with a good reason why a woman wanted for not one, but
two
murders isn’t behind bars when that Marshal gets here.”

Elle did her best to stifle a sob.  How did it come to this?  She wondered about the man she and Jethro shot, but she never thought that she’d be blamed for what happened to Jethro himself.  What upset her the most however, was the knowledge that the gentle giant was no more.  He’d given his life to save her, to make sure she got to the train station and safely away from New Orleans and the evil men in it.

Unable to help herself any longer, Elle buried her face in her hands and cried.  Spencer held her tighter. “Shhh, we’ll get this straightened out.  I just need a moment to think.”

“What is there to think about?” Elle said through her tears. “An innocent man is dead. He didn’t do anything but help me!”

“I’m sorry he’s gone, sugar. I know you’re grieving over his death, but we’ve got to keep our heads. Can you think of anything else that happened that day? Anything you haven’t told us that we can use in your defense when the Marshal gets here?”

“Nothing, I … I’ve told you everything … Oh Spencer!”

Clayton began to pace the office when Summer burst in.  “Clayton!”

He went straight to her and took her into his arms. “Where’s ma?”

“She’s coming.  She’s with the Quinns.  Billy is getting married.”

“What?” both Riley men said.

“Abbey and Billy are getting married, now?” Elle said as she sniffed back her tears. “Well, no sense letting the church go to waste I suppose.” She looked up at Spencer, sniffed again, then buried her face in his chest.

He held her close, kissed the top of her head, then looked to Clayton. “He’s resourceful, I’ll give him that.”

“He’s stalling for time I think.” Summer said. “He knows it will look better if you marry today and fix this quickly.  That it was all some horrible misunderstanding.”

“Spencer!” Elle said as she looked up at him. “
She’s right.  I didn’t want anything like this to happen!  It’s one of the reasons I thought I couldn’t marry you.  I didn’t want anything marring your reputation as Sheriff!”

He smiled down at her. “My reputation doesn’t matter.  You
on the other hand do, and I will not have the first arrest I make as Sheriff be that of my future bride! Maybe I should have ignored that note and went on with the wedding.”

She smiled through her tears and held him tight.  He kissed her then, not caring a
bout Summer and Clayton who stood but feet away.

“Except that your deputy came crashing in and made it look like it was something you definitely
needed
to take care of right away,” Clayton said to the kissing pair. “You did the right thing and we
will
get this taken care of.”

“Which is why I ran on ahead!” Summer quickly interjected. “I got to thi
nking, how could a U.S. Marshal know of this so quickly?”

“Cause a U.S. Marsha
l can.”

All heads turned to the man standing in the doorway
of the Sheriff’s office.  He stepped into the room and glared at them. “Howdy. I’m Marshal Pheebs, and you young lady,” he said with an odd twang as he closed the distance between himself and Elle. “Are under arrest.”

* * *

Marshal
Pheebs grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out of Spencer’s embrace.

Spencer took her other arm and also pulled.  “Take your hands off
of her!”

Marshal
Pheebs glared at Spencer. “Now you ain’t dumb enough to argue with a United States Marshall are you sonny?”

Spencer studied Marshal
Pheebs. He was as tall as Spencer but thin, his hair slightly grey at the temples.  His eyes were also a dull grey color and he had a hooked nose and thin lips.  He looked more criminal than lawman.  “What’s this all about?”

“You got my telegraph message I take it?”

“Yes, only moments ago.” Spencer said, trying to keep from exploding at the man.

“Then why isn’t this woman in a jail cell?”

“Because we were about to get married!”

Marsha
l Pheebs looked Elle over and took in her wedding dress. “So I see.”

“How can you not see?” Clayton said dryly.

“And I’d like to see your badge.” Spencer demanded.

Marshal
Pheebs casually shrugged before he unbuttoned his coat, pulled the left lapel aside and turned to show both men the badge he wore underneath.

Elle saw Spencer’s body stiffen at the sight. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again he turned to her. “I’m sorry, honey.  But
I have no choice.”

“That’s more like it,” Marsha
l Pheebs said.  “Looks like I just saved you from marrying a murderess.”  He let go of Elle’s arm.

Spencer on
ce again pulled her against him and hugged her. “I promise to get this straightened out.  You’ll be free by suppertime.”
“Free?” Elle gasped. “Does this mean…”

“Lock her up Sheriff, or I’ll see you rem
oved from your office.” Marshal Pheebs ordered.