A Bride for Logan

by Barbara Goss

  Logan turned to see Alan with his arm around Emma. “Why is everyone manhandling my wife today?”

  Alan dropped his hand. “She’s had a traumatic experience, Logan.”

  Logan put his arm out to Emma. “Come with me, Emma. We need to talk.”

  “I’ll finish up in the stables,” Alan said.

  “Take any horse you want for helping today,” Logan said. “I appreciate your help. Stop by tomorrow, and I’ll let you know what Emma and I decide.”

  Logan led Emma to the sitting room. She sat on the settee, and he took a seat on a sofa chair across from her.

  “Who was that man, and what did he want from you?”

  Chapter Nine

  Emma was still shaking from her ordeal. She wished Logan would have at least asked how she was, rather than question her about Dallas.

  When she opened her mouth to answer Logan, she suddenly became choked up. She’d been brutally attacked, and all he wanted was facts? Flustered and still upset, Emma tried to stifle her tears, but they rolled defiantly down her face. The release of tears seemed to intensify her inner emotions, making her cry even harder.

  Much to her surprise, Logan jumped up and sat down beside her. He patted her lightly on the back as if he didn’t know what to do with a crying woman.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “I should have waited to question you. There, there.” He continued patting her back.

  Emma thought his voice devoid of emotion and that only made her cry harder still.

  Logan handed her his handkerchief, and she buried her face in it.

  “Can I get you anything?” he asked.

  Emma nodded. “My mother and father. I want to go home.” She sobbed even harder, suddenly ashamed for what she’d said. She wished herself under the rug or anywhere Logan couldn’t see her.

  She felt Logan’s arms go around her shoulders, and he pulled her to him so her head rested on his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Emma wanted to push away from him, but she couldn’t because his compassion was exactly what she needed. She allowed him to console her, but she didn't think he had empathy in him—he’d always seemed so cold and heartless.

  He held her for several minutes. She managed to stop crying, but she was loath to push away from him. Despite her aversion to him, she needed to be held more than she needed to distance herself from him.

  “How old are you, Emma?” he whispered softly.

  “Nineteen.”

  “Good heavens,” he murmured.

  Emma finally pulled away and wiped the tears from her face. “I apologize for the crying. Everything just seemed to rain down on me at once.”

  “I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

  “I’m all right. I can answer your questions now.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Emma nodded. “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “First, I want to explain,” Logan said. “I know I often seem harsh and detached, but I do it for both our sakes. Don’t take my attitude personally. If I let my guard down, well…you’re a beautiful woman and my wife. I want to keep things impersonal, but I’m not an ogre. Honest.”

  “I understand.”

  “If something is ever bothering you, I want you to feel comfortable coming to me. I’ll try to keep…you know…distant emotionally, but I can still give you an ear if you need it.”

  Emma nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? I have brandy—for medicinal purposes.”

  “No, I’m all right.” Emma folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. “His name is Dallas. I don’t know his last name. He tried to compromise me in Colorado, and I had to kick him in the…well, you know. He was furious and made threats. It was one of the reasons I accepted your proposal, such as it was. I never imagined he’d follow me here.”

  Logan shook his head. “I’m confused: you were a saloon woman—why would his trying to compromise you cause you to kick him? Isn’t that what most saloon women expect?”

  Emma bit her bottom lip. Should she tell him? He was being blackmailed because of her, so she should be honest with him. “If I tell you the truth, will you still keep your promise to keep things impersonal between us?” she asked.

  “Of course. How else can we get the annulment when the time comes? You have nothing to fear.”

  Emma quickly blurted, “I’m not really a saloon woman.”

  “What?”

  “The wagon master threw me off the train and dumped me in Boulder City. I had nowhere to go, and I didn’t know a soul there. One woman invited me to live in her brothel and another her saloon, and I had no choice but to take the saloon job. I worked at the saloon for one hour. Dallas slapped my behind and before I could think, I turned and slapped his face, and I was fired. I’ve never been with a man…ever.

  “The next day, Dallas captured me between two buildings and started to paw me, and I kicked him where my dear mother told me would be effective. He cursed and threatened me. Tonight, he wanted to continue compromising me but in a rough, revengeful way. I was terrified.” Emma shivered.

  ~~~**~~~

  Logan felt his heart melting. The poor young woman. She'd lost her parents as a teen and then her only remaining “family” on the wagon train. What else could she have done? His proposal to come to Hunter’s Grove and marry him had saved her. Now, he had to figure out how to handle this Dallas, and how to keep himself from getting too involved with Emma.

  Now that he knew she wasn’t a loose woman, he already started feeling something for her. Surely, it was just sympathy.

  “Let me understand, Emma: you allowed me to believe you were a saloon woman just to keep me from—”

  Emma nodded.

  “Does Alan know?”

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “I need to think of how to handle that barn scum, Dallas. I’m definitely not paying him a thousand dollars.”

  “I’m sorry you have to deal with this because of me.”

  Logan squeezed her hand. “I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it.”

  Logan stood. “I’ll walk you upstairs. You did a fantastic job today, by the way. Our sales were excellent; better than usual.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, and here.” He held a small wad of bills out to her. Your pay, Emma.”

  “Pay?”

  “Of course. You worked for me, so you get paid.”

  Emma took the money and looked up at him with a smile that touched him deep within his chest. It was probably because her eyes were still a bit teary, and to see her smile with the sad tears still in her eyes was touching. The idea that he could turn someone’s tears into such joy made him feel good for some reason. It was a new emotion for him.

  “I call,” Alan said, moving his matchsticks into the center of the table.

  Logan spread out his hand. “Two pair. Aces and tens.”

  Alan threw his cards down. “I won’t even tell you what I had.”

  Logan picked up the cards and shuffled them.

  “I quit for tonight,” Alan said. “I helped my father plow a field today, and I’m tired.”

  “All right. Say, which horse did you pick?”

  “The pinto you named Spot.”

  “You aren’t going to rename him, are you?”

  Alan laughed. “I already did. He’s Painter, now.”

  “Painter! What kind of name is that?”

  “A better one than Spot.”

  Logan rubbed his forehead. “What am I going to do about my blackmailer?”

  “I think you should go to the sheriff.”

  “I don’t know, Alan. Dallas will simply deny everything. Isn’t there another solution?”

  “You could pretend to pay him off,” Alan said, “and then alert the sheriff.”

  “That’s brilliant! I could have the sheriff waiting for him to take the money and then we’d have him red-handed.”

  “It might work,
” Alan said. “What should we put in the bag, just in case he gets away?”

  “My father has a stack of newspapers in the attic. It’s time to get rid of them.”

  “Let’s go see Sheriff Billings first thing in the morning.”

  Charlie Billings nodded as Logan explained his plan. “It just might work. Let me know when and where, and I’ll be there.”

  Outside of the sheriff’s office, Alan said, “Should we call on the slimy snake now?”

  Logan nodded. “It’s as good a time as any.”

  The two men walked past several buildings to the hotel. The clerk gave them Dallas’s room number.

  “Here goes,” Logan said as he knocked on the door.

  The hotel room door opened immediately. “I thought it might be you.” Dallas opened the door wider to allow them to step inside.

  Logan said. “I’ll pay you, but after I do, I expect you to leave town immediately.”

  “Gladly,” Dallas answered. “This is the most boring town I’ve ever been in.”

  “I can’t do it today, but I can deliver the money in the morning.”

  “Be here at ten, then. I want to leave early so I can get far away before dark. I’ll be waiting behind the hotel.”

  Logan and Alan left the room and the hotel. “Well, that’s done,” Logan said.

  Alan mounted his horse. “I’m headed home. What time should I come to your place in the morning?”

  “Nine. I’ll let the sheriff know.”

  Irma put the platters on the table and left the room.

  Logan passed the meat platter to Emma. “Have some chicken but don’t take the part that goes over the fence last. That’s my favorite.”

  Emma grimaced. “You can have it.” She took a small chicken breast.

  “I ordered your sewing machine today,” Logan said.

  “Really? Thank you. How long before it arrives?”

  “We can pick it up at the general store in about a month.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What are you going to do about Dallas?” Emma asked.

  “I reported him to the sheriff, and we plan to set him up. I’ll appear to pay him off, and the sheriff will be there to see him accept it.”

  “Be careful. That man is evil.”

  “I will. Alan will be there, too.”

  At exactly ten the next morning, Alan and Logan dismounted and walked behind the hotel. They saw Sheriff Billings behind the hotel outhouse as they turned the corner of the building, but there was no sign of Dallas.

  They waited nearly fifteen minutes before Logan became impatient. Something didn’t seem right to him. He whispered to Alan, “Wait here—I’ll go up to his room and see what’s keeping him.”

  Logan knocked on the door to Dallas’s room, and a maid opened it.

  “I’m looking for a man named Dallas who was in this room yesterday.”

  The maid opened the door to the room wider. “The room is empty, as you can see. The gentleman checked out this morning.”

  “He’s no gentleman,” Logan said before sprinting back outside and to the rear of the hotel.

  “He’s gone,” Logan said loud enough for the sheriff to hear.

  “What?” Billings and Alan said at the same time.

  “He’s checked out,” Logan said. “Now, why would he…Oh, no! Emma! He’s gone after her. He set this up to get us out of the way!”

  Chapter Ten

  Emma could hardly wait for her sewing machine. She’d use it for the larger things she wanted to sew like the bedspread and curtains. In the meantime, she sewed doilies and knitted potholders and hot pads. Emma followed a strict color scheme for her cottage of rose and light gray. She could hardly wait to move in.

  She heard a horse coming down the lane to the house. It hadn't taken Logan long to pay Dallas off. She would finally be free of the horrible man. Emma couldn’t wait to hear how things had gone with the money exchange. She heard Logan's footsteps in the hall, and she rose to meet him, but the figure that came into the sitting room was not Logan.

  Dallas was dressed in all black, and he had a coil of rope on his shoulder.

  “So, we meet again.” He walked over and grabbed her.

  She tried to fight back, but he pressed a handkerchief over her face. She tried to concentrate on not breathing in the acrid smell on the cloth. Emma kicked, soon she felt limp, and then she knew no more.

  ~~~**~~~

  Logan and Alan were accompanied by the sheriff in case he was needed. They thundered down the lane to the house. Logan slid off his horse and raced into the house. Alan and Billings followed.

  Logan ran into the sitting room and picked Emma’s sewing up from the floor. “Emma!” he called.

  Alan and Billings went into the other rooms, calling her name.

  Irma came out from the kitchen.

  “Irma, have you seen Mrs. Sinclair?” Logan asked.

  “She was in the sitting room sewing when I saw her last,” Irma said.

  “What’s this?” Billings asked. He picked a white cloth up near the front door, and Logan ran to grab it.

  He smelled it. “Oh, no! He knocked her out. Smell.” He handed the cloth to Billings who smelled it and grimaced.

  Alan grabbed the cloth and smelled it. “Chloroform. He must have dropped it on his way out.”

  “Let’s see if we can catch them,” Logan said.

  They walked out into the yard and looked at the hoof prints. “There’s more than one horse,” Billings said, “and they went that way.” He pointed south.

  The three men mounted and headed south. Logan wondered who the other riders were.

  Logan gripped the reins so tightly, his fingers grew numb. He knew Dallas’s intentions weren’t good. He would ravish Emma and then…his heart pounded heavily in his chest. They had to find her.

  Fortunately, the tracks were easy to follow. Logan guessed there were three horses, but only one’s hoof prints stuck deeply in the earth. The roads were wet from that morning's rain. It told Logan that two of the horses had no riders, which meant that Dallas had also stolen two horses.

  They rode for several miles before the tracks left the road and went into the woods. The forest floor was mostly strewn with pine needles, and they lost almost all of the tracks, but they followed the broken tree limbs and whatever prints they saw.

  Luckily, Logan knew the area since he’d played in the woods and surrounding area as a young boy. He wondered where Dallas was taking his wife, as the area was nothing but fields and forests.

  ~~~**~~~

  The bumpy ride finally roused Emma. She’d been thrown over the front of a horse and was facing the ground as they sped along. Emma peeked upward, saw Dallas, and it all came back to her. Where was he taking her? She heard hoof beats behind them and thought that someone might be coming for her, but then she glimpsed the two unsaddled horses that Dallas was pulling behind them—he’d also stolen two of their horses.

  Emma felt the horse slowing until it came to a halt.

  “So, you’re awake,” Dallas said. “Good. We’re almost to our destination.” He dug his heels into the horse’s side and they started galloping again.

  Emma felt vomit pool in her mouth. She thought it might be the mix of the substance Dallas had used to knock her out and the rough ride. Since there was nothing she could do, she closed her eyes and endured the ride.

  When Dallas slowed and stopped again, she looked up to see a dilapidated red barn. Dallas slid from the saddle and pulled her down to the ground. “Welcome home,” he said.

  “Home?” Emma was still lethargic from whatever he’d used to knock her out. She swayed on the ground, and Dallas had to hold her up.

  “It will be for now. In you go.” He pushed her through the barn door. Someone had left bales of straw inside the dark and musty barn, and Dallas invited her to sit on one before he tied her hands behind her, bound her feet, and wrapped the rope around her and the bale.

  “Why are you doing this
?” Emma asked. She hadn’t the energy to fight him. Even if she did, she knew he’d win in the end anyway, and she decided to save her energy.

  “Did you really think I'd settle for a thousand dollars? It'll surprise your husband to see that I helped myself to his horse sale money. I expected to have to search the house for it, but it was in a box in his study. You would think he’d have put it in a safe. I also helped myself to a few horses.”

  “You have your payment, then. Let me go.”

  “I thought about leaving you at the house, but I still have a vendetta to settle with you.”

  “You touched me inappropriately, so I kicked you to protect myself. It wasn’t personal.”

  Dallas laughed. “And now I’ll enjoy my war trophy.”

  “No, you won’t!” a voice from the doorway said.

  Dallas groaned. “What are you doing here?”

  Trixie stood in front of Dallas and poked him in the chest as she spoke. “You asked me to go to Topeka with you after you finished your personal business, and I agreed. That makes us a couple, and you will not touch that woman.”

  “And I told you to stay in town and I’d come for you.”

  “I had a feeling there was a reason you'd left me behind.” Trixie looked at Emma. “She isn’t your type, Dallas.”

  “She’ll do just fine.”

  “Is she the reason you asked me if I knew of an abandoned building in the area? So you could compromise this woman behind my back?”

  Dallas sighed and rolled his eyes.

  “I wish I hadn’t told you about the Anderson's barn.” Trixie pointed to Emma. “You have a choice to make, Dallas Claybaugh.” Trixie pointed to Emma. “Me or her?”

  Dallas surprised Emma when he put his arm around Trixie and kissed the top of her head. “You know how I feel about you, but this woman kicked me in the groin, and I aim to pay her back. I don’t plan on making love to her like I do you. I want to do it rough and nasty to teach her a lesson.”

  Trixie shook her head. “No! I quit my job and have my things packed. Let’s go to Topeka now.”