The Cowboy's Stolen Bride (Historical Western Romance)

by Cassidy Hanton

  She stopped and took a moment to orient herself. The sky above her was a dull gray but appeared to be lightening. Dawn seemed to be fast approaching which meant that she’d been out for quite a while. It also meant that Horace had already either seen that she was gone or soon would. Either way, Adeline knew she needed to get moving.

  Despite her body protesting loudly, she forced herself to walk on as best as she could through the boggy ground beneath her feet. It wasn’t long though, before she came to a wide stream and she was so grateful, she felt like weeping. Adeline dropped to her knees in the spongy earth and quickly washed all the grime from her hands before scooping blessedly cool water into her mouth. She drank until she felt stretched, as tight as an overfilled waterskin – which reminded her to refill hers.

  With that done, she set about trying to wash some of the mud from her face and body. There was nothing she could do about her clothing, her dress and blouse were utterly ruined so she didn’t even bother making the attempt to clean them.

  Her stomach rumbled and she fervently wished she had something other than water to fill it. Doing her best to ignore it, she turned and followed the stream. The forest was still thick around her with trees pressing close and thick, dense foliage making her footing even trickier. But at least she wasn’t running blind through the darkness, so that was a plus. Adeline wondered at her good fortune to have not turned her ankle – or worse – on her flight last night.

  But the density of the forest around her made it even more difficult for Adeline to figure out where she was. She walked on though, determined to find her way out of the woods. Once she accomplished that, she hoped she’d be able to find her way back to Talon Peaks – and hopefully manage to stay out of Horace’s grasp at the same time.

  It took a long while – hours by Adeline’s estimate – but she eventually found a way out of the forest. The cloud cover was still thick overhead, which warped her sense of time since she could not see where the sun was, but she thought it was perhaps approaching mid-day.

  Her stomach rumbled, seeming to confirm her guess, but she had no food with which to quiet it and for the first time since she set out, Adeline began to feel a sense of fear. She had no idea where she was and no idea how long it would be before she found a house or a town. She began to worry that she might actually starve out there. The fear gripped her like iron bands wrapped around her chest that were squeezing her tight.

  Stop it. Just stop it. Keep moving and do not give up. Dying of hunger out here would still be preferable to whatever Horace or the man who’d purchased me from him had in mind.

  That thought spurred Adeline on and she kept walking. The stream she’d been following through the forest still ran alongside her in a shallow gulley. Needing to put something in her grumbling belly to stop its complaining, she carefully picked her way down the embankment and knelt next to the rushing water. She put the waterskin to her lips and drank deeply, emptying the contents before refilling the skin and doing it again. By the time she was done drinking, she felt like she might pop.

  But at least my belly isn’t complaining quite as loud now.

  She refilled her skin one last time and hung it over her shoulder before turning and starting back up the embankment. When she reached the top, a scream burst from her throat almost of its own accord. Sitting on a horse, his arms folded casually over the pommel was none other than Horace Ford. He loomed over her with a sadistic grin on his face and a light of genuine mirth in his eyes.

  “You sure do got some spunk, I’ll give you that,” he chuckled.

  Adeline scanned the world around her, searching for some avenue of escape. But all around her was nothing but dry, flat, scrubby land. The only cover she could see was the forest with its densely packed trees and suddenly welcoming darkness. She thought if she could get to the woods, she could lose him in there.

  As if reading her thoughts, Horace chuckled. “You can try,” he said. “Go on, I’ll even give ya a head start.”

  Not wasting a second, Adeline turned and sprinted for the cover of the trees, the sound of Horace whooping and shouting encouragement to her chasing her the entire way. She was a scant five feet from the edge of the treeline when she heard the all too familiar crack of a rifle shot. It rolled out across the desolate land around her like the tolling of a death bell.

  A moment later, there was a small explosion in the trunk of the tree in front of her as the bullet tore through the bark, sending sharp and jagged pieces flying. Adeline grabbed her cheek and fell to her knees, a gasping cry escaping her. She felt the blood, warm and slick beneath her hand and running in rivulets down her face. Tears immediately began to chase the blood down her cheeks.

  “I prefer the shotgun. Always more satisfyin’ to see a big hole in a man,” he said. “But I’m a crack shot with the long gun. Used to be a sniper back in the war. Done picked off my fair share of Yankee scum.”

  Adeline looked up at him, her hand still held to her cheek, tears streaming down her face, and her heart hammering so hard in her breast she feared it would simply give out.

  “On your feet,” he ordered, his voice gruff as he tapped on his gun impatiently.

  Adeline got to her feet on legs so shaky, they almost gave out on her several times. She stood before him trembling like a leaf in a stiff breeze, feeling like she could pass out and topple over at any minute. She looked at him and licked lips that were suddenly dry as desert sand and tried to muster up the courage to speak.

  “W – why are you doing this?” she croaked.

  “Money. It’s what makes the world go ‘round, don’t it?” he chuckled. “Figured it was time for me to get my slice of the pie.”

  Adeline opened her mouth to tell him that Richard would pay him whatever he wanted to secure her safe return but hesitated. She knew if she did that, she would be tying herself to him and as ridiculous as it was to even be considering that given her current situation, she couldn’t stop that train of thought now that it had left the station.

  “M – my father is a very wealthy man,” she said, switching her train of thought to a different track. “He will pay you very handsomely for my safe return, Mr. Ford. He will make whatever you are being paid now look like a pittance in comparison.”

  Horace scratched at his scraggly beard, looking at her as if in deep thought. As he sat astride his horse, he pulled a cigarette out of his tin and lit it, drawing in a deep breath, then blew out a long stream of smoke.

  “A pittance, huh?” he finally asked.

  Adeline nodded eagerly. “Yes, he will make you a very wealthy man,” she pressed. “All you need to do is get me to Frailburg in the Arizona territory and you will be set for life, Mr. Ford.”

  Her words were accompanied with a stab of pain in her heart so intense it nearly made her weep. If he did as she asked and took her to Frailburg, that meant leaving Ernest behind without knowing when – or if – she would see him again. It was a pain she did not think she could bear – but one she had to put off thinking about until she got out of her current predicament.

  “That’s mighty temptin’, darlin’,” he said.

  “I can promise you the sort of wealth you could never imagine.”

  He chuckled. “I dunno about that. I can imagine a lot.”

  “And you will have it, Mr. Ford. I give you my word.”

  He blew out another plume of smoke and followed it up by spitting something brown and gooey to the ground, wiping his mouth with an already well stained sleeve.

  “As temptin’ as that is, I’m ‘fraid I can’t do it,” he said. “I already struck my deal and I can’t rightly turn around and stab the man I did the deal with in the back, now can I? I’m a man of my word after all, darlin’.”

  You are a great many things but you are neither a man, nor a man of your word, Mr. Ford.

  “Please, Mr. Ford,” she said. “I beg you to reconsider. Just think of the –”

  “Save your breath, darlin’,” he snapped. “Like I said, I
already did my deal. Ain’t no goin’ back on it now.”

  Adeline’s heart dropped into her stomach and she gave serious consideration to making a mad, headlong dash into the woods anyway, knowing she could very well end up with a bullet in her back for her efforts. Horace looked into her eyes deeply, as if he was intuiting her every thought.

  “You ever been shot, darlin’?”

  Adeline shook her head. “Of course not.”

  “Lemme tell you, it’s about the most excruciating sorta pain you can feel,” he told her. “And take it from me. I been stabbed with a knife, run through with a sword, took shrapnel from a cannonshot, been beaten with fists and every other blunt instrument on God’s green earth. But ain’t none of it compared to the agony of getting’ shot.”

  Adeline swallowed hard and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes any further lest he see that she was still considering running anyway.

  “See, first the impact of the bullet knocks the breath right outta ya,” he starts. “Then when that bullet bores into your skin, it starts shreddin’ everything in its path – don’t matter if it’s muscle or bone, it just tears it all up. But the worst part is that that bullet is so hot that it feels like it’s leavin’ a little trail of hot metal –”

  Adeline held up her hand to silence him. “Thank you. That’s very – descriptive,” she said. “I take your point.”

  “Oh but I ain’t got to tellin’ you about the smell though.”

  “There is no need, Mr. Ford.”

  He eyed her for a long moment, a smug smirk on his face as he considered her. Finally, he nodded.

  “Good. Then let’s not have no undue fussin’,” he said and held out his hand to her. “Now gimme your hand and lemme swing you up on the back of my horse here and we’ll ride on back to my place all quiet and calm like. Savvy?”

  Adeline sighed, her shoulders slumped, the perfect picture of the defeated woman. She was not a gambling woman – nor was she a stupid one. Horace had already told her that whoever is paying him for her wanted her unhurt – which meant that despite his colorful description of being shot, he would never actually shoot her. Not if he wanted, as he put it, his slice of the pie.

  Which meant she had one card left to play.

  Adeline shuffled toward the horse, head down, summoning every last ounce of courage and strength inside of her. She was going to need it all for what she was about to do. As she approached, Horace chuckled and leaned down in his saddle to take her hand.

  “You got spirit, darlin’,” he sneered. “I can see why the man wants you so bad. You’re like a wild horse that just needs to be broken – which is the fun part.”

  Instead of taking his offered hand though, Adeline reached back as far as she could and with every fiber of strength she possessed, slapped his horse on its rear flank. The sharp slap of her hand meeting the horse’s rump cracked like a rifle shot and caught everybody by surprise – most especially the horse.

  Horace’s mount reared up on its hind legs, eyes rolled back in her head, whickering loudly in surprise. It was all Horace could do to hold onto his seat. The horse came down and bolted, running at an all-out sprint away from her. She could hear Horace shouting at the horse, but it paid him no heed, galloping away at top speed.

  “Take that – darlin’!” Adeline spat and let out a small whoop of triumph.

  She knew that her time was limited though. Horace would get his mount under control sooner, rather than later, which made it imperative for her to get moving. Turning on her heel, Adeline dashed into the forest, running as fast as her sore and tormented legs would carry her.

  She wasn’t sure how long she’d been running or how far she’d gotten when she heard Horace’s bellowing voice echoing through the forest around her. He sounded somewhat distant so she knew she just needed to get to ground and hide. With any sort of luck, he would pass her by and give her the chance to slip out of the woods behind him.

  Adeline frantically searched the woods around her. The thick canopy overhead left much of the forest floor in pockets of thick shadow and gloom, which worked to her advantage. But it was not enough. She needed to find someplace to shelter and hide. And as she rounded a small bend in the trail, she found it.

  A tangle of tree trunks lay scattered at the base of a hillside to her left. Tall, thick shrubs had grown up around them, providing her with a natural screen that would make it difficult for Horace to spot her.

  “You’re only makin’ this harder on yourself, darlin’!”

  He sounded closer and it set Adeline’s heart racing once more. Moving quickly, she scrambled through the bushes then up and over the fallen trees and found a nice hollow in the snarl. She wedged herself down as far as she could inside the nook and fought to control her breathing – she knew it would be ridiculous to be given away by her out of control, panicked breath.

  “Come out, come out, where ever you are,” Horace laughter echoed all around her, sounding closer still.

  Adeline closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She repeated the process several times, trying to keep herself calm. She heard twigs snapping and the sound of Horace crashing through the undergrowth out on the forest floor. She had to fight with herself, resisting the urge to stand up and take a peek – just to see how close he was.

  Do not be foolish. You’re in the perfect hiding spot. He will never find you here. Do not ruin it and get yourself caught just to show him how clever you are.

  Maybe that was what the urge was – to show him how clever she was for finding such a perfect hiding spot. It was the same sort of urge people got when they saw an open flame and just had to reach out and touch it – despite knowing it was hot. In either case, the end result would be terrible.

  “When I find you, I’m gonna be very cross with you, Adeline,” Horace shouted.

  His voice was so close, it settled the debate in her mind – he was practically on top of her. Adeline held her breath, closed her eyes and tried wishing him away. She could hear him close by, rattling through the undergrowth as he muttered to himself. She couldn’t make out what he was saying but she knew it likely wasn’t very flattering to her.

  And then, just as she was beginning to worry that he was about to make camp outside of her hiding spot, she heard his heavy footsteps receding as he walked by, heading deeper into the forest in search of her. She allowed herself a small smile as a feeling of victory washed over her. She dared not push her luck, fearing she was already well over her quota, but started to hope that she could trace her steps back the way she had come into the forest and find his horse still waiting for her just beyond the treeline.

  If I can steal his horse, I can finally get away from Horace Ford once and for all!

  Still breathing softly and trying to move as little as possible, Adeline continued to wait. She wanted to give Horace a little more time to head deeper into the forest in his quest to find her. When she had judged that enough time had passed, she slowly got to her feet and raised herself up and out of the hollow she’d sheltered in – and a scream of sheer terror unleashed itself from her throat.

  With wide eyes and a feeling of terror unlike anything she’d ever known, she found Horace sitting on a log next to the hollow. He had a snide smirk on his face and had his shotgun sitting across his legs.

  “I was wonderin’ how long you was gonna wait in there,” he laughed gruffly. “I was afraid I was gonna have to come in there after ya.”

  Disbelief hit her harder than a horse kick to the stomach and she tasted the bile in the back of her throat as she fought back a wave of nausea. She shook her head, trying to deny the fact that he was sitting there in front of her and not half a mile deeper into the forest.

  “B – but how? I heard you walk away – away from me,” she stammered.

  He chuckled again and shook his head. “I’m a lot lighter on my feet than you’d gimme credit for. Gotta be when you’re huntin’ fer your food,” he grinned. “Plus, not to toot my own horn
or nothin’, but I’m an expert tracker. Had this tree-fall pegged as your hidin’ spot the second I saw it.”

  Adeline shook her head again, tears streaming down her face. “No, no,” she cried.

  “Life ain’t fair, little girl,” he said and drummed his fingers on his shotgun impatiently. “Now come on outta there. You already caused more of a fuss than needed and I’m about on my last nerve with you. So git on outta there.”

  Adeline racked her brain for options and found none. She looked down at the hollow she had sheltered in and gave brief consideration to ducking back into it – the opening was too small for him to fit through. Of that much, she was certain. She looked up and found him arching an eyebrow at her, as if reading her mind again.