Denton's Bride (Runaway Mail-Order Bride Book 1)

by Marie Higgins

  Not looking back, she quickened her pace, even if her heels were killing her. As she turned the corner, her gaze jumped from one building to the next, from one person to the other as she tried not to bump into anyone in her haste. Up ahead was the saloon. Surely, she’d find somewhere in that building to hide, even if it was upstairs where the painted ladies were housed.

  Decision made, she headed directly for the saloon. The noise from the crowded street made it impossible to hear if Denton was following her, but she couldn’t take even a second to look back to see. She must keep moving forward.

  Three more steps and she’d be entering the saloon – a place she never thought she’d enter. But desperation was an emotion that didn’t have room to judge.

  Suddenly, someone grasped her hand tightly, stopping her. She glanced over her shoulder and peered into Denton’s worried eyes.

  “Miss Parker? Are you ill?”

  He didn’t know the half of it, and at this moment, it was all she could do not to lose the contents of her stomach right here, right now. “Please, let me go.” She tried to free her arm from his strong grip. However, he wouldn’t release her, and instead, pulled her away from the saloon and down an alleyway between two buildings.

  Tears of defeat filled her eyes, but she continued to tug her arm free. Finally, he brought them to a halt and faced her, taking both of her shoulders in his grasp as he stared deeply into her eyes.

  “Courtney, please stop struggling. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  She blinked rapidly, trying to dry her tears. “Tell me who you really are, Denton, because at this moment, I know you’re not a livery owner, and I’m starting to think that Timothy Graham isn’t your brother at all.”

  Different emotions played across Denton’s face, and Courtney wondered for a moment if he was going to deny the accusation and talk his way out of it. But then, he sighed heavily, and an apologetic smile touched his mouth.

  “It was the handcuffs that gave it away, wasn’t it?” He shrugged. “When I saw the bank robbers, I just reacted.”

  She swallowed hard. “So, you do work for the sheriff?”

  He shook his head. “Yes and no. I’m actually a bounty hunter.”

  Her gut tightened, and more tears filled her eyes. “And you came looking for me, didn’t you?”

  Denton nodded. “One of my good friends is Terrance Greenwood. He asked me to find the person responsible for killing his father.”

  The pent-up emotions she’d been holding in since seeing Albert’s dead body came rushing forth. Sobbing, she fell against him. His arms wrapped around her and kept her from crumbling to the ground. Panic welled inside her, knowing she was innocent but not knowing how to convince the bounty hunter of this fact.

  “Miss Mills,” Denton said as his palms slowly moved over her back, “you need to tell me what happened yesterday morning.”

  “I... didn’t... kill him.” She didn’t want to move. With her face pressing into his muscular chest, and his comforting arms around her, for a moment, she felt protected. The feeling wouldn’t last, she was certain.

  “But I need to know what really happened. If I’m to find the person who did this, I need to know everything that you saw and did when you arrived at the manor yesterday morning.”

  She nodded, breathing a little easier. Perhaps she would be able to convince him of her innocence, after all. His calming voice gave her hope that he would hear her out... and believe her words.

  COURTNEY FOUND IT ODD that Denton would want to take her to the Blue Creek Ranch. He’d mentioned that was where he’d stayed last night and that Clark Turner was his cousin. Knowing that Denton had lied about everything he’d told her made her not want to trust him. Yet, he was the only one who could help her – if she could convince him of her innocence.

  Clark and Pearl Turner were nice people, but Courtney could tell that they looked at her with doubt in their eyes. She wanted to scream, cry, or just punch someone really hard to let out her frustrations. But she must be patient. That was the only thing she had going for her right now.

  During the stressful trip to the ranch, it was hard not to gaze upon God’s creating hand with the landscape. Blue Creek Ranch was absolutely breathtaking. And calming. Autumn was changing colors on the leaves, and the coolness in the air was refreshing. Even when they reached the house where Clark and Pearl lived, Courtney found it charming and welcoming.

  Pearl brought two cups and the steaming pot of coffee to the table where Courtney and Denton were sitting. Pearl poured coffee into their cups and then turned and left the room. Denton took a sip of his coffee before pulling out a small pad of paper and a pencil from his coat jacket.

  Courtney wrapped her cold hands around the hot cup, but she wasn’t ready to drink anything yet. However, the heat from the cup wasn’t warming her as she’d hoped.

  Denton exhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair. Their gazes locked, and her heartbeat accelerated.

  “Tell me everything that happened from the minute you arrived at the manor yesterday morning.”

  Nodding, she tried to regulate her breathing. “I arrived at the manor early in the morning. Mr. Tibbs let me inside.”

  “Inside the manor, or inside Mr. Greenwood’s office?”

  “The manor.” She released the coffee cup and entwined her fingers nervously. “The butler informed me that Albert was in his study.”

  “Is that when you went there?”

  She nodded. “I wanted to talk to him before the wedding because...” Her voice choked up, so she cleared it. “I was in hopes of convincing Albert that marrying me would not make either one of us happy.”

  Denton arched an eyebrow. “Did he know of your reluctance to marry him?”

  “Yes. Both he and my parents knew.” She released an uneven sigh. “Trying to convince my parents that they were making a bad mistake was like talking to a brick wall.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I knocked on his closed door, and it opened immediately because it hadn’t been closed very well. Anyway, when I walked in, I noticed that his chair was tipped over. As I moved closer, I saw him lying on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.” Tears filled her eyes again. “I froze. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Do you remember what you were thinking at that time?”

  “Of course, I remember. Fear was rushing through me so fast I nearly passed out, but I knew that his children were going to blame me.”

  “Did you see the object that killed him?”

  She licked her dry lips. “It was George Washington’s head.”

  Denton nodded. “Yes, the marble bust.”

  Courtney wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks. “Denton, I didn’t kill him. Although I didn’t want to marry him, there’s no way I could have killed him.” She took in a shaky breath. “That bust of George Washington was too heavy for me to lift, anyway. How could I have lifted it high enough to whack Albert on the head if I couldn’t even pick it up?”

  Denton stared at her without blinking. Slowly, his expression relaxed, and a hint of a smile touched his lips. “Believe it or not, Miss Mills, that’s what I had thought, myself.”

  Courtney sighed as a gush of air rushed from her mouth. She reached across the table and clasped his hand. “Indeed? You don’t think I killed him?”

  His gaze dropped to her hand before returning to meet her eyes. “It didn’t make sense for you to kill him. If you’d wanted him dead, you would have waited until after the wedding so that you could get his money as his legal wife.”

  Tears of relief flooded her eyes again. “Exactly. But if truth be known, I didn’t care about his money, anyway. It was my parents who were marrying me for his money.”

  Denton’s attention dropped to her hand again, and this time, he moved his thumb across her knuckles in a soft caress.

  “Miss Mills, I know this is difficult, but can you tell me what happened next?”

  She inhaled in a steady breat
h. “Once I realized that Albert’s children would blame me, I knew I couldn’t stay there. I was so afraid that nobody would believe me, so I ran. I quickly left the house and left in my buggy.”

  “Did you see anyone else during this time? A servant, or one of his children, perhaps?”

  Closing her eyes, she tried to remember if she saw or heard anyone. “I didn’t see anyone, but I heard voices.” She looked at him. “I was too panicked to recognize anyone’s voice. The only thing that was going through my mind was getting out of there. I didn’t want to see the accusing glares from Albert’s children... and Terrance was one of the worst.”

  Denton sighed and nodded. “Needless to say, Terrance was very upset. And yes, he did blame you, as well as his sister. I promised them I’d find who really killed their father.”

  “Do...” She swallowed hard. “Do you think you can?”

  “I hope so.” He released her hand, lifted his coffee cup to his mouth, and sipped. “So now I want you to tell me what you’ve observed during the times you visited with Albert. How did the servants act toward him?”

  A small pound began in her forehead, so she rubbed the annoying spot. “I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Albert was always nice to the people who worked for him. In fact, I believe he treated his servants better than his own children.”

  Denton tilted his head slightly. “Are you certain about that?”

  “I couldn’t be more certain. I witnessed several times when Louise stormed out of Albert’s manor in a heated temper. She flung insults at him and yelled at him when he didn’t give her what she wanted.” Courtney shrugged. “Louise was the youngest, and therefore, the most spoiled.”

  “Yes, I’ve witnessed her tirades a few times.” Denton shook his head. “But did you ever hear her threaten her father?”

  Courtney frowned. “Louise told Albert that she wished he was dead so that he wasn’t such an embarrassment to the family. But then, the woman said that so often, I knew she didn’t mean it.”

  Denton leaned forward on the table, resting his arms on the wood. “Why did Louise think her father was an embarrassment?”

  “Because he was marrying a woman who was younger than Louise.” She shrugged. “All of his children felt that way. Even Terrance had a few heated arguments with his father.”

  “Yes, Terrance told me of a few.”

  There was silence for a few moments, and Courtney hoped she had given him enough information. Sadly, that still didn’t point Denton in the murderer’s direction. She sipped her cooling coffee as she stared at Denton’s confused expression.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.”

  “You may have been.” He took hold of her hand gently. “Yesterday, after I had talked to everyone at the house, I tried to decipher what could possibly motivate them to kill Mr. Greenwood. I had ruled out his children from being suspects because they were all wealthy in their own rights, and with their father splitting his wealth four ways, I’m sure they wouldn’t have ended up with an abundance. However, because they were all embarrassed because their father was marrying such a younger woman, that would give them all motivation to end the man’s life.” He tapped his finger on her knuckles. “Of course, I would hope that they didn’t hate him enough to murder him.”

  “Actually,” Courtney said hesitantly, “Albert didn’t leave his children any money.”

  Denton hitched a breath and snapped upright. His eyes widened. “Not one penny?”

  “Albert told me that I would inherit his wealth after we were married. As you can surmise, this was a heated topic between Albert and his children, and I begged Albert to reconsider. I knew that was why they all hated me.”

  Denton pushed away from the table and paced the floor, pushing his fingers through his thick black hair. “So, upon your marriage, the will stated that the children would get no money?”

  “Correct.”

  “But, since Mr. Greenwood didn’t get married, the children would still be heirs.” He stopped and looked at her. “Right?”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  “And you saw the will?”

  “No, but Albert told me what was in it, which is why I tried to convince him to change it. I didn’t want his money, and I certainly didn’t want his children to hate me any more than they did.”

  “Which meant, Greenwood’s children knew, as well.”

  The energy shooting from his eyes made her hopeful that he had a plan. She pushed away from the table and moved to him. “Denton, what are you thinking?”

  “My feeling is that one of his children is responsible. Whether they did the deed themselves or hired someone to do it, they are the only ones with the motivation for killing their father before his wedding.”

  Excitement pulsed through her, and her eyes watered again. “Oh, Denton. Do you really think so? I don’t dare hope too strongly that the truth will come out.”

  He took hold of her hands as he stepped closer. “Courtney, I’ll try my hardest to prove your innocence, but it might take some time.”

  Thank you, she mouthed since her throat was choked with emotion and no words were forthcoming. She tried to keep her heart from bursting with gratitude, but she couldn’t stop her feet from stepping closer to him as she rested her head against his chest. Right away, his arms wrapped around her. She trembled but for different reasons this time which she couldn’t explain. All she knew was that she finally felt at ease for the first time since she saw Albert’s dead body.

  SIX

  DENTON’S CHEST WAS tight, and yet, his breaths were ragged. Usually, he didn’t get involved with women who were connected to his cases, especially if they were a suspect. Yet, his feelings told him that Courtney had nothing to do with Mr. Greenwood’s death. And now that he knew about the will, he felt even stronger that the killer was one of Greenwood’s children.

  However, that wasn’t what made him struggle with his heartbeat. It was the way she had gazed into his eyes as if he were her rescuer – her hero. Then, as she moved against him and he smelled her intoxicating scent of lavender, all he wanted to do was hold her and caress her silky hair.

  Her body trembled, which caused him to tighten his hold. A small sound escaped her throat, like a sigh floating on the breeze. He’d never heard anything so incredible in his life, and the flipping of his heartbeat warned him that he would soon be crossing dangerous waters if he didn’t pull back. Although his mind sent out the warning, his arms refused to release her.

  Her palms rested on his chest, just below her forehead. He felt the uneven way she inhaled and exhaled, and the heat from her mouth melded through his shirt, stirring feelings inside him that he hadn’t experienced for a few years. His body reminded him exactly how lonely he’d been lately.

  Denton’s mouth turned dry, and he tried to remain calm and in control. But the longer he held her and heard her pleasurable sighs, the more he wanted to hear more of her sighs. He couldn’t stop thinking about her heart-shaped mouth, and when he had first met her, he wanted to be the one to bring passion to her irresistible lips.

  Kissing her right now could not happen. Even Denton’s professional thoughts reminded him that these out-of-control feelings would have to wait until after the case was solved and the real murderer was behind bars.

  “Courtney,” he said with a cracked voice, wondering why he had even spoken when his mind and body were battling right now.

  She lifted her head and peered into his eyes. Inwardly, he groaned. She had the most wondrous grayish-blue eyes that could bring a man to his knees. He was definitely feeling the hypnotic effects.

  He swallowed hard, trying to bring moisture to his overly dry throat. “Courtney, perhaps we should...” His mind went blank. He had no idea why his thoughts had taken him down that road. Wasn’t he trying to break them apart because of his intense reaction to her?

  Courtney’s gaze dropped to his mouth, and her gaze darkened. Oh, dear... He could forget about being in control now. Her ex
pression spoke volumes right now, and her silent plea was for him to kiss her.

  He was sinking, and fast, but strangely enough, he didn’t care. He wanted to feel her mouth beneath his as he kissed her passionately. Curse his lonely hide!

  Slowly, he lowered his mouth. She lifted as if to meet him halfway. Just as his lips brushed hers, heavy footsteps pounded on the floor, coming from the other room. Immediately, Courtney jumped out of his arms and stepped back to the table, turning away from him. It was then when he realized how difficult it was to breathe.

  “Denton, you’ve got to see this.” Clark hurried in the kitchen before coming to a quick stop. In his hands was a newspaper. His wide-eyed gaze jumped back and forth between Denton and Courtney. “Um, did I interrupt somethin’?”

  Denton didn’t know if he was upset at his cousin for stopping the kiss – or relieved that his cousin barged in unexpectedly so that Denton could clear his head. “No, you haven’t interrupted anything.” He motioned to the newspaper. “What do you want me to see?”

  “Well, I don’t think you’re gonna like it.” Hesitantly, Clark handed the folded newspaper to Denton.

  As he opened it, his gaze fell on a sketch of Courtney on the front page of the Helena Gazette. The headline above the sketch read Murderer on the Run. Denton didn’t need to read the small article to know what it said.

  He grumbled a curse under his breath and crumpled up the paper. If Courtney saw this, she’d be devastated. “This is ridiculous. Don’t people believe in finding proof before hanging a person?”

  Courtney’s face paled. “I’m in the paper?”

  Clark nodded. “I’ll have Pearl do some askin’ around town to see who might have given the newspaper the false information.”

  “I’ll give you four guesses,” she said in a tight voice, “and all of them have the last name of Greenwood.”