Bride by Arrangement

by Karen Kirst

  Everything in him commanded him to move. To stand up and intercept her. To stop her from doing this mad thing because he couldn’t survive if any harm befell her.

  Daniel must’ve read his mind, because he clamped a hand on Noah’s shoulder to hold him in place.

  Her boots scuffed across the porch’s planks. She rapped lightly on the door. Four short bursts. Silence. Two more. As they couldn’t know what sort of code the two had between them, they’d made one up and informed D.B. in the fake missive.

  Noah squinted, hoping to see more of Grace’s features, to measure her state of mind. The shadows prevented him from doing so. As he had countless times on the battlefield and in the years since, he turned to his heavenly Father for help. Dear God, I know I’ve been harsh with her. I’m still angrier than I’ve ever been at anyone, but please...please keep her safe.

  Repeating the prayer in his mind, he saw the door open halfway, the editor’s body outlined by the faint light inside the office. He quickly shut it as he moved to join her.

  “What are you doing here?” D.B. was irate. That much was obvious by the fury in his tone. “You’re supposed to be on your way to Illinois! If they find you here, it’s all over.”

  Daniel’s fingers gripped Noah’s shoulder tighter. Their hunches had been right. D.B. had lied.

  Grace coughed. “I couldn’t leave until I knew we’d succeeded in destroying Cowboy Creek.”

  She was trying to disguise her voice. Would D.B. buy it? And if he didn’t, what would be his next move?

  D.B. ran a hand over his hair and gripped his neck, a gesture of frustration. “Are you sick?”

  Noah hated that he couldn’t make out their expressions. It put him at a disadvantage.

  “My throat’s sore from too many hours over a campfire,” she snapped, planting her hands on her hips and tapping her boot, just as the real Prudence would have.

  Good girl, Grace. Keep it up.

  “They found your brooch, linking you to the missing deeds. What were you thinking, sister? Now you’ve put that irritating lawman’s suspicion on me.”

  So Prudence Haywood was D.B.’s sister after all? The puzzle pieces started to fit together. Isaac Burrows, brother to Prudence and D.B., had started Cowboy Creek’s rival town. When the Union Pacific chose Cowboy Creek, it had meant the end for Harper.

  Coughing again, she said, “I left the camp to take care of private business. On my way back, I heard the riders approaching. I had no alternative but to hide until they’d gone.”

  Noah’s admiration for Grace’s skills was steeped in anger. She really was an excellent actress.

  “I thought poisoning those cattle would achieve our goals, but of course Gardner had to bring in that veterinarian. The burned lumber hardly set them back at all on construction. Those three think they’re so smart.” His bitterness was undeniable. “They won’t win. We won’t let them. Not when our brother died at their hands.”

  Grace’s gasp echoed through the night. “Noah’s not at fault. You can’t blame him!”

  D.B. went rigid. Noah sprung to his feet. In defending him, she’d forgotten to disguise her voice. And now she might pay with her very life.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Moving faster than anyone could have predicted, the older man’s hand shot out and ripped the hat and wig from Grace’s head. She cried out in pain. In an instant, D.B. slammed her face-first against the door, a gun barrel to her temple.

  “I know you’re out there, Burgess!” He gestured wildly with his free hand. “You and whoever you’ve conned into skulking in the shadows can drop your weapons. If you don’t, she’s a dead woman.”

  Noah’s hold on his rifle, aimed at the porch, faltered. D.B. would make good on his threat. He’d already killed Sheriff Davis. If he felt cornered, he might act out of desperation.

  Will emerged slowly from his hiding spot. “You don’t have to involve her, Burrows. She’s not even a resident here. Your issue is with me and my friends. Not her.”

  “Because of you, my brother took his own life. By destroying his home, you ruined him. Left him with nothing but broken dreams. Just like how I’m going to ruin you.” He seethed with hatred. “Drop your weapons now, I said!” His gun hand moved, and Grace whimpered in response.

  Rage clouded Noah’s vision. Burning-hot rage and ice-cold fear.

  “Let her go.” He crept forward. “You’re not angry with her. Take me. Use me as insurance to get yourself out of Cowboy Creek.”

  Grace was crying. “Noah, don’t. I’m sorry. Please—”

  Her words were cut off by a sudden downward motion of D.B.’s hand. She slumped to the floor.

  With a roar, Noah sprinted forward. Daniel protested. Will muttered an oath.

  Dim light startled him. Shadows blended together. Shooting at them without aiming, D.B. dragged Grace inside the building and slammed the door.

  Noah reached it, frantic to get to Grace, his mind focused solely on her rescue.

  “Open this door!” He pounded on the wood. Inside, glass shattered. Crashed. What was he doing to her?

  Moving back, he rammed it with his shoulder. It didn’t budge. He kicked it repeatedly. “Grace!”

  “I’ll go around the front,” Will yelled.

  Daniel and Gideon ran onto the porch.

  “I smell smoke,” Gideon gasped.

  Noah stopped what he was doing. Pressing his face against the seam between the door and frame, he detected the same stench. A heavy curtain obscured the window beside the door. “He’s going to burn down this town.”

  The image of Grace in there, unconscious and alone, made rational thought impossible.

  “Stand back.” Hefting his rifle above his head, he slammed it through the window, scattering shards of glass. Dull pain radiated up his arm.

  “Noah!” Daniel’s voice rang with alarm. “If you go in there alone, you’ll get yourself shot. Or burned worse than before. Let us help get this door open. We’ll go in together.”

  “No time.” Using the butt of his rifle, he punched out as much of the window glass as he could. Then he climbed through.

  The place was in ruins. Papers littered the floor. Chairs overturned. Flames licked the floorboards along the far interior wall, climbing up the walls and eating up the curtains at the front windows. Thick smoke churned near the rafters.

  Covering his nose with one arm, he braced himself for a shot from D.B.

  But there was no sign of him. Through the open front door, he saw Will and the older man scuffling in the street.

  He called for Grace. Prayed for mercy.

  Spotting her boots behind the far side of the hulking desk, he breathed a silent thank-you and dashed to her side. The smoke was thicker here. The heat seared his skin. His scars burned as if flames kissed them, his past pain rearing up to paralyze him.

  Focus. Grace needs you.

  His lungs clamoring for oxygen, he went on his knees and, scooping her limp body against his chest, surged upward and lumbered to the rear entrance. Gideon had managed to get it open. Then, following Noah into the sparse grass, he lit a match.

  Still cradling her in his arms, he studied the wound at her temple. The delicate skin was bruised, but not broken. Every single moment with her—from the first time he’d laid eyes on her to now—marched through his mind. He was wrong. He did know her. Constance. Grace. Whatever her name, he knew her heart, and it was good. He should’ve listened to her instead of letting his wounded pride dictate his reaction.

  Love for this woman rushed into the starved, lonely crevices of his heart and, instead of resisting, he welcomed it. The newfound feelings zipped and zinged inside, bright and magnificent like a rare display of aurora borealis against the Kansas sky, beautiful and surprising like a rain shower on a sunny day, complete
with a rainbow. Grace was everything he hadn’t allowed himself to want in a wife. When she looked at him, she didn’t see the bitter, scarred ex-soldier. She saw him as better...more...a conqueror of past horrors.

  She made him believe good things were possible. She’d restored his ability to hope.

  And in return, he’d repaid her with anger and accusations. He couldn’t be sure she’d trust in his love or even if she’d welcome his feelings.

  “Noah.” Gideon’s voice startled him out of his musings. “You shouldn’t stay here. In case Burrows escapes.”

  “You’re right,” he rasped. “I’ll take her to Doc Fletcher’s house.”

  “I’ll go help the others.”

  Heading away from town, Noah carried her to the doctor’s home since the hour was late. Fletcher answered his impatient summons wearing only pants and a shirt with the top buttons undone.

  “I was on my way to bed, young man.” His gaze fell on Grace’s limp form, and he stood back to give them entrance. “Take her into the parlor. Use the brown sofa. What happened to her?”

  Giving the older man a brief rundown of events, Noah gingerly laid her on the indicated furniture. She moaned. Her eyelids fluttered.

  “Grace?” He squeezed her hand. “Can you hear me?”

  Fletcher brought a lit lamp and placed it on the side table. He bent to examine the wound. “Any other injuries besides this one?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  Her dark tresses had been tamed into a tight bun. Pippa had applied her stage makeup. Grace’s eyebrows were auburn slashes and a bold rose hue clung to her lips.

  Another groan escaped her and, forehead creasing, she opened her eyes. The first thing she focused on was him.

  “Noah.” Her smile was more of a grimace. “You’re all right.”

  Still holding her hand, he caressed her cheek. “The important thing is that you’re all right. How’s your head? Does anything else hurt?”

  “I believe those are questions I should be asking, young man.” The doctor nudged him. “Go to the kitchen and fix us some coffee, will you?”

  He considered arguing. His worry was still a palpable thing. Reluctantly, he released her and got to his feet. “I’ll be close by,” he reassured her.

  Inside the kitchen, he went through the motions of heating water and gathering mugs and milk, reliving in his mind the moment he had spotted her boots peeking past the desk. Limp and unmoving. He could’ve lost her forever.

  Will arrived then, saving him from further depressing thoughts.

  “How’s Grace?”

  Noah joined his friend on the veranda. “Doc’s still doing his examination. I think she’s going to be fine. She woke up shortly after we got here.”

  “Good to hear.” Will’s gaze was sympathetic. “We subdued Burrows. Because of the commotion, several townsfolk came out and helped us put out the fire. Neither the jail nor the boardinghouse sustained damages. I came to fetch your keys. Burrows will be joining Xavier in the jail tonight.”

  Handing over the keys, he growled, “He deserves to be hung.”

  “We’ll let the courts decide that.” Will clapped him on the back. “You’re going to mend things between you and Grace, right? Don’t let pride keep you from being with the woman you love.”

  He didn’t bother denying his feelings. “I’m going to give it my best shot.”

  “You can always try kissing her in the middle of town again.” With a wink, he descended the stairs. Noah went inside, grateful Burrows was in custody and that no one else had gotten hurt. Doc met him at the parlor entrance.

  “She’s going to need rest in the coming days. However, I don’t foresee any problems. Maybe aches and tenderness from the blow to her head.” Shuffling along the hall, he said over his shoulder, “I’ll be in my office with my coffee. Give you young folks some privacy.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  Grace was sitting on the far end of the sofa, her eyes large and a bit wary as she watched him enter. Crushing the need to go to her, he veered toward the fireplace and rested an arm along the mantel. Little scrapes and bruises were only now making themselves known. He’d deal with them later.

  “Should you be sitting up?”

  “I’m a little shaky, that’s all.” She touched the spot where D.B. had struck her. “My head’s sore, but Doctor Fletcher assured me it would ease with time.” Clasping her hands in her lap, she regarded him with unguarded longing.

  An answering longing erupted inside him. He wanted nothing more than to hold her.

  He couldn’t afford to be distracted, though.

  “You were very brave,” he said. “Because of you, Burrows will get the justice he deserves.”

  “Doc explained what happened. You saved my life.”

  “Why did you do it, Grace?”

  “Pippa needed someone to fill in, and I was there.” She visibly swallowed. “And I thought maybe, by doing this for you, I could make up for some of the pain I’ve caused you.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes as she braced for his rejection.

  “You could’ve gotten yourself killed,” he said hoarsely. “And I couldn’t have lived with that.”

  Her lips parted. “What are you saying?”

  “You offered to explain your actions.” Pushing off the mantel, he couldn’t resist joining her on the sofa. With the span of a cushion between them, Noah shifted to face her. “I was too stubborn before. I’m ready to listen now.”

  * * *

  Grace hadn’t expected to be given this opportunity. She wasn’t prepared. Her head throbbed, and the stench of smoke clinging to her and Noah’s clothes was making her nauseous. Her throat was raw and dry, and the tears refused to be stemmed.

  She’d come so close to dying, to orphaning her precious daughters.

  “I don’t know where to start,” she blurted. Right this second, her chief desire was to scoot across the cushion and sink into his embrace, to rest her head against his shoulder and feel his strong arms come around her. She craved his reassurance and, ultimately, his forgiveness.

  His hair was spiky from him running his hands through it. Soot streaked beneath his right eye. “How about you start with why you switched places with your cousin?”

  Grace didn’t like to talk about Frank. She hadn’t shared many details with her own cousin, so it was hard to put the right words together.

  Noah’s fingertips skimmed her knuckles. “I’m being insensitive. You’ve had a shock. We can wait until tomorrow to talk. Or whenever you’re ready.”

  Once again, someone she cared deeply about was showing her grace. It made her love him even more than she did already.

  “I appreciate your understanding, Noah, but I’d like to get this out.”

  He sank back against the cushions and gave a slow nod. “All right.”

  “I assumed Constance’s identity in order to leave Chicago without my brother-in-law finding out.” There was a slight change in his expression, an expectation in his blue eyes that made her think he knew what was coming. She toyed with the ribbon entwined with lace on the costume’s bodice. “Ambrose’s brother, Frank, is the type of man who has a high opinion of himself. Because of his affluent upbringing and position in society, his sense of entitlement knows no bounds. What Frank wants, he pursues. No obstacle is too great.”

  One particularly crushed young bride he’d debauched rose in Grace’s memory, and she shuddered. The girl had believed herself in love with Frank. Even after her public ruin and divorce, she’d come to the Longstreet mansion and begged him to take her back. His cold reception and utter disregard for her feelings had left Grace in shock.

  “In the early months of my marriage, Frank took me aside and admitted he wished he’d met me first. I rebuffed him, of course. I naively though
t that would be the end of it. From that day forward, I became a game to him. A challenge he couldn’t ignore.”

  Noah leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Did your husband know?”

  “Ambrose never mentioned it. I doubt he would’ve acted even if he had.”

  “What did he do to make you desperate enough to flee your home? Why do you continue to fear him despite the hundreds of miles between you?”

  His expression fierce, tension bristling along his body, Noah looked every inch the battle-hardened soldier he was at heart. He was ready to defend her against a faceless enemy.

  “You don’t understand how ruthless he can be. How determined.”

  “Tell me.” His soft voice was at odds with his demeanor. “Help me understand.”

  Sucking in a fortifying breath, she told him about the women whose lives he’d ruined. Most of them had been led down the road to destruction willingly, awed by his power, his harsh male beauty and convincing personality. There’d been rumors, though, that some hadn’t been willing.

  Chafing her arms, she stared at the aqua glass bowl on the coffee table. “I assumed I was safe in my in-laws’ home. That Frank would never cross the line. And while Ambrose was alive, my encounters with him were annoying, yes, but not disturbing. Inappropriate remarks. Insisting on my company when I would rather have been left alone. My mother-in-law didn’t help matters. She adores Frank. She encouraged me to go to museums and parks and parties with him. In her opinion, he was being the doting brother-in-law since my husband was often involved in business matters.”

  Noah made a sound of disgust. Shoving to his feet, he stalked across the room to stare out of a window. “I’m sorry you had to live like that. It couldn’t have been easy to keep your guard up all the time.” Swiveling around to meet her gaze, he said, “A husband is supposed to be a source of support and refuge. Yours failed to protect you from his own brother. I’ll never understand that.”

  “Frank’s behavior got bolder after Ambrose’s death. He waited a month before proposing to me.”

  “Let me guess. He didn’t take your rejection well.”