The New Year's Bride (Holiday Mail Order Brides Book Two) (15 page)

“Why what ever gave you th
at idea?” he drawled.

“She has nothing to do with this, let her go.” Elle said through clenched teeth.

Pheebs glanced to Charlotte, already shackled and gagged. “You’re the prize. She’s a bonus.”

“Who sent you?  If it was that Mr. Slade you’ll never get us all the way back to New Orleans!  Spencer will hunt you down and…”

Pheebs gagged her before she could finish. “We’re not going to New Orleans.  We’re only going … well, never mind where we’re going, you’ll both make a fine addition to my establishment.  And if you must know, it was my brother that informed me of you. He may work with Slade, but he’s not as stupid.  Slade wanted me to kill you, but you know the old saying, waste not?”

Elle wanted to give him what for, but her words were cut off and nothing but mumbled gibberish came out.

He laughed. “Oh, I’ll be sure to break that spirit once we get to where we’re going.  My brother said you were a beauty, and he was right.”  He backed out of the wagon, shut the door and locked it.  Elle listened and cringed as he climbed up onto the wagon seat, slapped the horses with the reins and felt the wagon lurch forward.

Good God!  What was
happening?  What did he mean Mr. Slade wanted her killed? And what about all this talk of being a fine addition to the man’s establishment? What establishment? Who
was
this man?

Elle’s eyes suddenly grew wide. She glanced to Charlotte who sat, her own eyes filled with tears as the wagon sped out of town.

The man looked familiar.  Pheebs, or what ever his real name was, Elle was sure she’d seen him before.  But where?

Elle pulled on the chain that was attached to a large metal ring bolted into the sturdy wagon bed.  The prison wagon was like a cell on wheels, built to hold strong men and keep them from escaping.  How much more so two helpless women?  Spencer was at the telegraph office waiting with Clayton for any word from Clear Creek.  How long would they be there before they discovered Pheebs had taken off with them?
  The wagon continued to roll along at a fast pace.  How long had they been gone already?  Twenty, thirty minutes, an hour?

Oh Lord, I know I asked for help earlier, but now would be a real good time to send some!

A shot rang out, then another. Elle could hear Pheebs curse up a storm over the sound of the horses thundering hooves.  Spencer!  He’d come for her!  It had to be him!

Another shot, this one much louder.  Pheebs was firing back.

There was a sudden commotion outside the wagon.  Elle couldn’t stand up to peek out the wagon’s barred window.  The chain Pheebs used was too short to allow her to do so.  More shots were fired, many of them from Pheeb’s gun from the sounds of it. Elle cringed when she heard a muffled grunt, then shouts from far away, but how could she tell?  The noise from the galloping horses and rattling wagon was loud.  For all she knew the men chasing after them were extremely close. Elle hoped and prayed they were!

Sure enough, another shout came, this one a
imed at the horses as “Whoa!” was yelled several times as a lone rider came up alongside the wagon.  She felt her heart leap into her chest as the wagon slowed and finally came to a stop.  Another horse galloped up and a rider dismounted.  Whoever he was fumbled with the lock.  “Elle!”

Spencer!

But Elle couldn’t cry out, nor could Charlotte gagged as they were.  More riders could be heard coming toward the wagon as another shot rang out, this one to unlock the prison wagon itself.  Spencer swung the door open.  “Elle!”  He went straight to her and pulled the gag out of her mouth. “Elle, are you all right?”  He pulled her into his arms as best he could, then immediately looked to her shackled wrists attached to the short length of chain and the ring in the floor. “Oh boy,” Spencer breathed.  “This could be a problem.”

“Spencer!” Elle began.  “Charlotte…”

“Charlotte?” Spencer turned. He hadn’t even noticed her when he all but flew into the wagon to rescue Elle.  “Good grief!  Charlotte!  What are you doing here?”

Charlotte sniffed back her tears then glared at him.

“Sorry!  I didn’t see you there.” He scooted to where she sat in the corner and removed her gag.

“Spencer Riley!” She spat.  “Didn’t you even notice I was gone too?”

“No, we thought you went to the mercantile to wait with the others.”

“Well I never! Unchain me at once!”

“Glad to see you’re no worse for wear, Charlotte.” Spencer said then smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay.  None of us knew you went missing.  I am sorry I didn’t see you there.”

Charlotte eyes began to fill with tears. “See to it I don’t go unnoticed anymore will you?”

“I promise you won’t,” he told her gently. “Now, we’ve got to figure out how to get you out of these.”

“Try using the key,” Charlotte huffed.

“Yes, just use the key,” Elle agreed.

“The key is wit
h Pheebs, and he’s somewhere back there…” Spencer said with a wave of his hand toward the wagon door.

“You shot him?” Elle asked in shock.

“No, Deputy Turner shot him, if you must know, and no doubt has gone back to retrieve the keys.”

“Who stopped the wagon? Where’s Clayton?”  Charlotte asked.

“Deputy Turner has the fastest horse I’ve ever seen.  He stopped the wagon, then turned around and rode back to where Pheebs landed.  Clayton …”

“Is right here!” Clayton said as he held up a small ring of keys then climbed into the wagon with them.  “These should do the trick.” He tossed them to Spencer who immediately unlocked the shackles on Elle’s wrists.  He then handed the keys to Clayton who bent to do the same for Charlotte.  As horrific as the ordeal was,
she still managed to smile at Clayton the entire time, her eyes alight with admiration.

Spencer turned from
them and pulled Elle into his arms.  “Elle, are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine, just terribly confused.  Who was that man?”

“Not who he claimed to be, that’s for sure.  Clayton and I will get to the bottom of this. Don’t worry your pretty head about it another minute. You’ve got more important things to think about.”

Elle looked up at him, reveling in the safety of his arms. “Like what?”

“Like getting married if you’re up to it.  There’s a church full of people back there waiting for us. Billy and Abbey are probably taking their vows right now.”

She looked into his eyes and felt her entire body grow warm. “I can’t think
of anything I’d like to do more.” She pulled him close. “Marry me Spencer Riley.  Marry me right now.”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I will.”

Clayton turned back to Charlotte. They silently watched the couple as Spencer and Elle climbed out of the wagon. “Well Charlotte, I guess it’s time to go back.  You’re all right I take it?  He didn’t hurt you did he?”

Charlotte blew a loose curl out of her face.  “The only thing hurt right now is my pride.  If only I had a handsome man come hightail it after me to see to
my
rescue. But none of you even knew I was in here!”

“Sorry Charlotte, we didn’t.  We thought you had gone to the mercantile or back to the church and that’s when Pheebs must have taken off with Elle.”

“Well, no harm done I suppose, but it
is
humiliating!”

Clayton laughed and pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug.  “There’s the Charlotte I know!” He looked down at her, smiled, and kissed her on the nose.  “Don’t worry Charlotte, one day your prince will come.”

“Well he’d better hurry up!  I’m not getting any younger you know!”

Clayton sighed. “Might I escort you to a wedding then?”

“Along with your wife?”

“Of course.”

“Oh all right, but don’t tell anyone right away that you and Spencer didn’t know I was here.  I may never live it down!”

Clayton laughed. “Your secret is safe with us.”

Charlotte gave him a weak smile as she fought against the hot sting of tears.  Without another word Clayton escorted her out of the wagon, tied his horse to the back it, then helped her up onto the wagon seat.

Spencer helped Elle onto his horse, (no small feat considering the dress she was wearing)
then mounted up behind her. “Remind me never to let you out of my sight once we’re married.”

Elle smiled and turned to him. She
was sitting sideways across the saddle, Spencer’s strong arms the only thing holding her in place. “You can’t be with me every hour, Spencer.”

“Who says I can’t?”

“You’re the Sheriff, I’m not the only one around for you to protect, but I’m glad you were around today.”

“It’s my wedding day
sugar, of course I’m around.  But I almost wasn’t. If we hadn’t figured out Pheebs was a phony, I’m not sure we’d have caught up to you as quick as we did.

“That was fast, I’ll give you that.  Where are we, anyway?”

“Only a few miles out of town. He didn’t get far. Tom’s hauling him back to Nowhere.”

“Is he … dead?”

“Yes, honey. He is.”

She leaned against his chest and rested her head on his shoulder.  “Oh Spencer, I didn’t want it to come to this!”

“Hush now, sugar. It couldn’t be helped.  It happens, and you’re safe now.  Both you and Charlotte. We can’t ask for much more than that.”

“He said he wasn’t taking us to New Orleans, that he was taking us someplace else.”

“Don’t much matter now, he won’t be going anywhere.”

He held her then and whispered words of comfort in her ear all the way back to town.  Once
there Spencer reined in his horse, looked into Elle’s eyes, and kissed her soundly.  When he broke the kiss he smiled. “You beat a new scarf and mitten set any day.”

“What?”

His smile broadened. “Ma has made me a new scarf and mitten set every Christmas for the upcoming New Year for as long as I can remember. But not this year, this year she gave me you instead.  A New Year’s bride.”

Elle smiled, reached up, and stroked his cheek.  She should have been cold riding back but she wasn’t.  How could she be when her insides were melting? “I love you, Spencer Riley.  I was afraid to because of what happened before I left to come here, but not loving you would have been a bigger crime than anything I did back in New Orleans.”

He took her hand in his. “You did nothing but defend yourself and I’ll find out what happened.  For now…” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Marry me.”

Elle raised her face to but a hair’s breadth from his. “I will.”

Fifteen

Cheers went up through out the church as Spencer, Elle, Billy and Abbey all turned to face the congregation.

“Gentlemen!” The preacher called. “You may kiss your brides!”

They did, and the cheers and whistles became almost deafening.  Spencer finally came up for air and smiled at the townspeople of Nowhere.  As yet the people didn’t know what happened, nor did they know the full extent of the danger Elle and Charlotte had been in.  Thank the Lord Clayton, Tom, and Spencer had discovered the empty jail cell when they did or they might have risked losing that scoundrel Pheeps’ trail.  No sooner had they returned to the church and gone inside, it started to snow like nobody’s business.  The weather would have made it impossible to track anything, even something as big as a prison wagon.

Spencer took Elle’s hand and led her to the back of the church amidst more cheers, whistles, and words of congratulations.  He smiled as they reached the church doors and opened them.

Elle gasped with delight. “Oh Spencer!  I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!”

He smiled and held her close. He didn’t wan
t her to get cold again.  “Beautiful until you have to go out and work in it.”

“You don’t have to go out in this do you?”

“Only if I want to get you home, Mrs. Riley and …”

“Spencer!”

He laughed and kissed her as Clayton and Summer joined them.

“Well little brother, you’re married now. How does it feel?”

No answer.

“Spencer?” Clayton asked then looked at his brother who was too busy kissing his wife to answer.  Clayton turned to
Summer.  “Well, you know what they say.”

“What?” Summer said with a smile.

“If you can’t beat em, join em.”  He smiled devilishly just before he pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her.

Billy and Abbey watched from where they stood and did the same.  The chu
rch positively exploded with everyone’s clapping, cheering, and abundance of hoot and hollers for the three kissing couples.

Everyone’s that is,
but one.

Charlotte leaned against the wall and watched the kissing couples,
a tear in her eye.  She sighed heavily just as someone came to stand beside her.

“Sure is a lot of kissin’ that goes on in this town,” Tom Turner said.  “Of course, there’s a fair share of it that goes on in Clear Creek too.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes before she glared at him. “And how would you know?  Were you one of the ones doing all that kissing back in your home town?”

“No ma’am, no
t me. I ain’t never done no kissing.”

She stood straight at that. “You’ve got to be joking.”

He looked down at her. “No ma’am. I’m not.”

“Really?” she purred.

Tom’s eyes widened ever so slowly. “Ah … it’s the honest truth ma’am.”

“
Never
?”

Tom took a step back. “Never …”

Charlotte raised a single eye-brow at that. “Well Mr. Turner, there’s a first time for everything.”

“I
… I think I hear Sheriff Riley calling me! If you’ll excuse me ma’am!” he pushed out, tipped his hat, and fled.

“Oh
, pooh”! Charlotte said then stomped her foot.

“Now d
on’t despair Charlotte.” Mrs. Riley said as she came to stand beside her.  “One day you’ll be married.”

“Really?” she began sarcastically. “I’d sur
e like to know when
that’s
going to happen.” Without another word she stomped off.

Mrs. Riley let go a heavy sigh as she watched her go.  She then pulled a folded piece of paper out of her reticule and a pencil.  “Let’s see
now…” she said to herself as she began to cross names off a list. “Clayton-check.  Spencer-check. Billy-check.” She tapped the pencil against her chin a few times as she looked to the next name on the list.
Matthew Quinn
.

“Well Mr.
Quinn, looks like you’re next.  By my calculations, your bride ought to arrive right about the same time you do. Now won’t that be nice?”

“Ma,” Spencer said. “What are you doing?”

Mrs. Riley quickly shoved the paper and pencil back into her reticule.  “N… Nothing. Are you ready to go to Hank’s dear?  We thought it best to have the wedding supper there so folks don’t have to drive out to our place in this nasty weather.”

“Ma, you’ve got that look on your face.  What are you up to?”

Mrs. Riley smiled, her eyes bright.  “What makes you think I’m up to something?”

“Because whenever you have
that
look on your face lately, someone ends up married.”

“Well, what’s wrong with that?  Can’t I have my sons get married?”

“Yes, but now that we
are
married, you shouldn’t be getting that look any more.”

Mrs. Riley smiled sweetly.  “You’re quite right dear. Shall we go now?”

Spencer eyed her suspiciously before he offered her his arm. His mother smiled again, took his arm, and together with his new bride, left the church to attend the wedding supper.

Mrs. Riley smiled and winked at Mrs. Quinn as they left the church together.  Both knew
that Nowhere’s next mail order bride was already on the way.

* * *

One week later, New Orleans.

Thaddeus Slade slammed his fist upon the table so hard his brandy bottle and glasses rattled and clinked together.  “I cannot believe your brother failed me!” he sneered. “I’ve lost two men now! What have you to say for yourself?”

“My brother was shot doing what you asked of him.”

“He did nothing I asked of him.  That girl still lives, as does the other one that managed to escape.  I’m losing money!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t promise goods you can’t deliver.”

Thaddeus drew his gun and aimed it at the man sitting on the other side of his desk.  “Shut up before I kill you.”

“You’re not very good at it.”

“Do you know who you’re dealing with?” Thaddeus spat.

“Of course, which is why I’m not at all worried.  But you obviously don’t know whom you’re dealing with.  My employer is looking for specific goods.  Twice you’ve failed to deliver. I trust another visit to this Mrs. Ridgley should clear things up.  You did tell me she had the best eye in the business?”

“Yes, but… she’s not very cooperative.  Killing the two that got away would have served to ma
ke her see reason and convince her to come work for me again.  Now I’ll have to think up some other form of persuasion.”

“Think of it fast, Mr. Slade.
My employer isn’t going to be happy when he finds out the only reason you knew where to look was because you intercepted a telegraph message from one of them.  You got lucky, yet look how it turned out.”  He put on a pair of thin leather gloves before he reached for his walking stick which leaned against his chair.  “We have a shipment to deliver in two months time and orders to fill.”  The man stood, downed what was left of his brandy and stepped to the door. “He wants at least a dozen delivered.  You think you can handle that?”

“I’ll handle it!  Don’t think I don’t know my business!”

The man smiled. “Be a good man then and see to it.”

He left.  Tha
ddeus drained his own glass and went to the window.  He pushed the rich velvet curtains aside and peered down to the street below.  He watched as the man who just paid him a visit got into a fancy black coach and with a flick of the driver’s reins, rode away and out of sight.

Thaddeus let the curtain fall back into place. “Well Mrs. Ridgley,” he drawled. “Time to pay
you
another visit.”

* * *

At the same time in
Nowhere …

“Jethro’s alive!  Spencer, isn’t it wonderful?”  Elle waved the missive in her hand, tears in her eyes.  “They didn’t kill him, they didn’t!” She all but launched herself at him and nearly knocked them both onto their bed.

Spencer
laughed, took her in his arms and held her. As soon as he’d received the message from the telegraph office he rode straight home. “Every thing’s going to be okay now, monkey. You’ll see.  Didn’t I tell you Clayton and I would get to the bottom of this?”

“Monkey?  Where did that come from?”

“I like the sound of it.  It suits you. Besides, only a monkey could have climbed up onto my horse in a wedding dress like the one you were wearing.”

She smiled at him. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re beautiful.”

She
stood on tip-toe and unexpectedly kissed Spencer fully on the mouth. She broke the kiss and smiled. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” he laughed.
“Enough to nick name you at any rate.”

“Hmmm maybe I ought to give you a nick name too.”

Spencer raised a brow at that. “Like what?” he asked nervously.

Elle smiled mischievously.  “Give me some time and I’ll think of one.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.  I’m glad every thing turned out and we finally heard from Mrs. Ridgley.  I knew that Marshall was a phony.  Too bad about Marshal Leigh though. He got a nasty bump on the head and now I’ve got two outlaws to re-capture.”

“
I know, Clayton told me.”

“It happens.  But so do good things, like getting this whole mess finally straightened out.”

“I’m glad I was able to remember the man at the train station.  I didn’t remember him until a few days ago. They look so much alike. I knew I’d seen Mr. Pheebs somewhere but had no idea it was actually his brother from New Orleans.”

“Yes, i
t’s all coming together now. You and Jethro shoot a man yet no one presses charges, then Pheebs shows up, they all must be in on this.  Everything fits.” He said then kissed the top of her head.  “Almost everything.” He whispered to himself then held her tightly against him. “Clayton and I will find the answers soon enough.  In the mean time, what say we start on mother’s Christmas present?”

“Christmas present?  Spencer Riley, what on Earth are you talking about?
It’s barely the middle of January.  What could we possibly make for her that would take us until next…”

Spencer smiled.

“Oh goodness!  Spencer!”
“Well?  If she gave me a mail order bride for New Year’s Day, can’t I give her a grandchild for next Christmas?”

El
le looked at him, mouth agape as his words sunk in.  She finally shrugged and smiled. “When do we start?”

“How about r
ight now, Mrs. Riley.”  He then took her in his arms and saw to it they got his mother’s Christmas present well underway.

The End