No One's Bride (Escape to the West Book 1)

by Nerys Leigh

  Marshal Cade pulled two chairs away from the wall and set them in front of one of the desks. “Have a seat, Miss Watts.”

  Amy sat on the edge of one of the chairs, twisting her hands together in her lap.

  “George?” The marshal said, nodding towards the second chair.

  “I’ll stand,” George said, taking a place behind Amy and placing his hands onto her shoulders. He turned and fixed Courtney with a warning glare.

  Courtney loitered by the door, obviously afraid to come any closer. At least Amy could take a small amount of satisfaction from that.

  “There’s no necessity for you to be here, Mr Courtney,” Marshal Cade said.

  “This is a public building,” Courtney replied, “so I’m entitled to stay.”

  The marshal huffed an irritated sigh. “Suit yourself.” He turned his attention to Amy. “Miss Watts, the warrant for your arrest states you are being charged with the theft of seventy-five dollars from your employer, Mr Franklin Courtney of New York City. I am required to detain you until the circuit judge arrives, when he may set bail if the trial is going to last longer than a day.”

  Amy swallowed against her dry mouth. “When is the judge arriving?”

  “Monday is when he’s due.”

  Three days. She could survive three days in jail. She’d done it before, in far worse places than this.

  “I have to make sure you have no weapons on you,” Marshal Cade said, “which would normally involve me patting you down, but in your case I’m happy to take your word for it. Do you have any weapons? Knives, guns or the like?”

  She shook her head.

  Courtney snorted. “What kind of backwoods operation...”

  “Mr Courtney,” the marshal snapped, “I am a hair’s breadth from throwing you out of here. Don’t push me.” He stood and opened a door behind him. Beyond, Amy could see bars. “The federal marshal came yesterday to take the prisoner, so you have the whole place to yourself. If you have anything you’d like brought from your home, I can send someone for it. Meals are good, at least.”

  He held out a hand towards her. Amy rose from the chair and allowed him to usher her through the door. In the room beyond were three barred cells, each containing two low, uncomfortable looking cots. Marshal Cade unlocked the door of the closest and stepped aside to let her past.

  She walked to the door and stopped, her heart pounding. If she went in there she’d be trapped. She looked back at George behind her and he immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, girl,” he said quietly. “We’ll sort this whole thing out, you have my word on that.”

  Nodding against his chest, she forced herself to let go, trying to produce a smile but not quite succeeding. Turning away, she walked into the cell.

  With a clanging finality that made her stomach jolt, the marshal closed and locked the door behind her.

  Chapter 25

  For the second time in three days, Adam sprinted along the road to find Amy.

  Behind him Deputy Filbert followed at a slower pace, but Adam couldn’t wait. Reaching the small crowd of gawkers surrounding the entrance to the marshal’s office, he pushed his way through and burst into the building. He collided with a rotund older man wearing a thin moustache and expensive looking clothes, standing just inside the door.

  The man stumbled, grabbed the edge of a desk, and whirled around to glare down his nose at Adam. No small feat with Adam at least six inches taller.

  “How dare you! Are there no manners in this God-forsaken backwater of a town?”

  In that instant, Adam knew who this man was. Courtney, the man who had terrorised Amy for years. Anger flared so strong that Adam took a step towards him, his fist clenching. It took every ounce of willpower he had to stop himself from throwing himself at the man and pummelling him into the floor.

  Very deliberately, he turned away and walked to the door leading to the cells.

  Marshal Cade was standing next to George in front of the closest, where Amy stood on the other side of the bars, looking more forlorn than Adam had ever seen her.

  He went to the cell and gripped the bars, wishing he could yank them apart and pull her out. “Are you all right?”

  Amy placed her hands over his and nodded, gazing up at him through a film of moisture. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have one thing to be sorry about.” He looked back at Marshal Cade. “Let me in there.”

  Cade sighed. “You know I can’t do that, Mr Emerson.”

  Adam told himself the marshal was just doing his job and forced himself to be civil. “You locked her up, you can lock me up too.”

  “So you’re the poor sap who paid for her to run away,” Courtney sneered from the doorway. “I’ll bet it was a disappointment when you found out she’s frigid.”

  Adam closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying not to give in to his anger.

  Then he had an idea.

  “Quite frankly,” Courtney went on, “I’d leave her to you if she hadn’t stolen from me.”

  Adam ignored his taunts and looked down at Amy through the bars. “Do you trust me?”

  She nodded immediately. “Yes.”

  He smiled, squeezed her fingers, and walked back out into the main room.

  Courtney opened his mouth to speak. Before he could, Adam drew his arm back and slammed his fist into his face. Courtney spun round and would have fallen if he hadn’t hit the wall. He clamped one hand over his nose and whimpered.

  In the cell room, George let out a bark of laughter.

  Marshal Cade rushed into the room. “Mr Emerson, what on earth do you think you’re doing?”

  “Arrest him!” Courtney sputtered, pointing a bloody hand at Adam. “You saw it, he assaulted me! I demand you arrest him!”

  Cade ran one hand over his hair. “Darn it, Emerson, what...?”

  “Do it, Marshal,” Adam said calmly. “Arrest me. Throw me in a cell.”

  Marshal Cade stared at him as realisation dawned. He shook his head slowly, half a smile curling his mouth. “All right then.”

  He took the keys to the cells from his pocket and walked over to Amy’s cell.

  “Wait, hold on,” Courtney said.

  “You wanted me to arrest him,” Cade said, pushing the key into the lock and turning it. “I’m arresting him.”

  “But... but... you can’t put him in with her. What about the other cells?”

  The marshal held open the door for Adam to enter. “I’m expecting a run on cells tonight. Gotta keep those ones clear.”

  Amy rushed into Adam’s arms, clutching onto him in a way that made his heart leap.

  “Now, Mr Courtney,” Cade said, “I suggest you go back to the hotel. Judge will be round Monday. We’ll work this whole thing out then.”

  Courtney sputtered for a few seconds then turned and stomped to the door.

  “Oh, and by the way,” the marshal called as he left, “doc’s down the road to your left. You might want to get that nose seen to. It’s not looking so good.”

  “I think I’ll make sure he gets back to the hotel,” George said, heading for the door.

  “George...” Cade began.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt him,” he said as he walked out. “I’m just going to scare him a little.”

  “Are you OK?” Adam said, stroking one hand over Amy’s silky hair.

  She raised her face to look up at him and nodded. Inappropriate as it was under the circumstances, he wanted to kiss her so badly it made his head spin.

  Thankfully, Marshal Cade interrupted his train of thought before he could embarrass himself.

  “Maybe you should tell me what’s going on here.”

  Amy sighed and lowered to one of the cots in the cell. Adam took a place next to her, resting his hands on his thighs. He’d much rather have rested them around Amy again.

  She gasped. “You’re hurt!”

  He looked
down at his right hand which was beginning to develop a bruise across the knuckles. Hugging Amy had effectively dampened the pain, but now he realised it was hurting.

  “For a man with all that padding, he has a hard face.”

  “You need me to get the doc down here?” Cade said.

  Adam flexed his fingers a few times. “No, I don’t think it’s broken. I’ll be fine.”

  “You didn’t have to punch him,” Amy said, taking his hand gently.

  “I know, but with what he was saying making me so angry, it seemed like a very good way to kill two birds with one stone. I don’t think I’m very good at turning the other cheek when it’s yours.”

  He brushed the pad of his left thumb against the side of her face and she smiled.

  Cade cleared his throat. “I’m still here.”

  Amy let go of his hand and looked at her lap, her cheeks colouring. Adam wanted to hug her again.

  “So?” the marshal said. “What’s the story with this Courtney?”

  Amy let out a long breath. “I worked for him back in New York, right from out of the orphanage at fourteen. He told me my wages were being kept for when I turned twenty-one, but it was a lie. When I confronted him, he told me the wages only covered my bed and board. And he said...” She faltered, her eyes on the floor. Adam wrapped his good hand around hers. “He said the only way I would leave with anything was if I went to his bed. When I refused, he tried to force himself on me. That’s when I knew I had to get away.” She raised her eyes to Cade. “I swear I only took what was owed me, and not even a fraction of that.”

  The marshal puffed out a breath, shaking his head. “That no good, slimy son of a...” He stopped, winced, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. You didn’t report him to the law?”

  “It would have been my word against his and he has lots of important friends. I was just a maid. No one would have believed me.”

  He planted his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling as if searching for answers there. “So that’s how he got the arrest warrant signed by the district judge. Probably had one of his bigwig friends telegraph him. The son of a b... sorry. I think I’ll go and have a talk with him. Fred will be in the office, so just give a holler if you need anything. Dinner will be round later.” He sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to keep you in here, but with that darn warrant, pardon my language, my hands are tied.”

  “I get it, Marshal,” Adam said, trying very hard to get it. “Just do everything you can to get Amy out of this.”

  “That I will.” He smiled at Amy, nodded to Adam, and walked out, leaving them alone.

  Next to Adam, Amy’s gaze was focused on her hands twisted in her lap. The way she’d run into his arms when he walked into the cell had taken his breath away and he wanted to hold her again, but he wasn’t certain if he should. He moved his arm towards her then stopped. What if she didn’t want him to touch her? The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable. She was, after all, trapped in here with him. Should he ask first?

  “Amy, may I...”

  She sniffed. A tear dropped onto her hands.

  His heart breaking, he lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders. She immediately turned to him, her hands clutching at his shirt and face burying in his shoulder. He wrapped both arms around her trembling body.

  He felt like such a failure. All he wanted to do was protect her from everything bad in the world and he couldn’t even do that. How was he supposed to save her from people like Courtney when the sum total of his power was deciding when people got their mail?

  My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.

  The Bible verse simply popped into his mind, to his astonishment. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised that God would answer him, and yet he still was. He offered up silent thanks for the reminder that it was God’s power that mattered, not his own. He also apologised for being surprised.

  “God is with us,” he whispered into Amy’s hair. “He won’t let you down. And for what it’s worth, neither will I.”

  She wiped at her eyes. “Why do you care so much? Everything you’ve done for me, losing your job, and now you’re in jail because of me.”

  “We talked about this yesterday, remember?”

  “I know, but you haven’t just done this because God told you to help me. I think you care about me. Don’t you?”

  He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “Yes, I do.”

  “Why?”

  It was the perfect chance to tell her he loved her. Well, maybe jail wasn’t the best place, but she’d given him the opportunity. All he had to do was say the words. I love you. I’ve loved you almost since the day I met you. Stay and become my wife and I will spend the rest of my life doing everything in my power to make you happy.

  “Because...” Tell her! “Because...” Just say it! “Because we’re friends, and friends care about each other.” Coward.

  She seemed to consider his words, then lay her head back against him and whispered, “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  He tightened his arms around her and felt her relax against him. He hoped she couldn’t hear his heart thudding in his chest.

  He couldn’t tell her, not now, not in a jail cell with the threat of a trial hanging over her head and the man who’d made her life unbearable in the hotel just down the street. They’d get through this first, then he’d tell her.

  Definitely then.

  Chapter 26

  Word travelled fast in Green Hill Creek and within an hour Amy and Adam were receiving visitors.

  George had already brought them some items from home that they’d need; books, paper and pencils, clothing, towels, soap.

  Amy almost giggled at the hint of colour on his cheeks and the awkward way he’d said, “It’s all in there,” and then cleared his throat when he handed Amy the bag of clothing, including undergarments, she’d asked him to fetch for her.

  Adam rigged up a sheet across the corner of the cell to give her privacy to wash and change and it felt good to get out of the clothes she’d been working in all day. By the time Pastor and Mrs Jones arrived Amy felt almost normal, other than being locked up in a jail cell. Without Adam with her, she knew she would have been terrified.

  “We have the whole church praying for you,” Pastor Jones said. “The Lord is with you, I know that for a fact.”

  Mrs Jones nodded vehemently.

  The support was unexpected and a complete surprise to Amy. “But you don’t even know if I’m guilty.”

  “We know you’re a good person,” Mrs Jones said. “Whatever happened, we’re not here to judge, just to show God’s love in a difficult world.”

  During her life Amy had met a number of pastors back in the big city. Some of them had been good, some of them hadn’t, and she knew well there were people who claimed to speak for God and yet didn’t. Jaded as she’d become over the years, however, it was still painful when someone who should have been a refuge turned out to be as selfish and cruel as everyone else. The Jones’ unwavering support and concern was like a balm to her soul.

  At around six Amy heard voices coming from the main office. One of them was Marshal Cade. The other sounded very familiar. “Is that Mrs Goodwin?”

  Adam looked up from his book. “Sounds like it.”

  A minute later the door to the cells opened and the marshal walked in carrying a wooden tray covered in a cloth. The smell preceded him.

  Amy and Adam looked at each other and grinned, saying together, “Mrs Goodwin.”

  “I see you have also had the immense pleasure of Mrs Goodwin’s cooking,” Marshal Cade said as he balanced the tray on one hand and unlocked their cell with the other.

  Adam stood and took the tray from him. “I didn’t know Mrs G provided meals for the jail.”

  The marshal leaned against the open doorway, hooking his thumbs into his pockets. “I don’t have the budget for the hotel and there is no way in hel... heck I�
�m giving any business to the saloon. So it was either hire her or I’d have to do it. Although come to think of it, my cooking might be more of a deterrent to criminal behaviour than the threat of being locked up. But Mrs Goodwin also brings me and Fred a meal, so my motives aren’t real pure.” He smiled. “Enjoy your food.”

  As the marshal left, Adam held out his hands for Amy’s and closed his eyes. “Lord, You know how Amy and I are feeling and You know it isn’t easy being here and not knowing what’s going to happen, but I know that You’re here with us. Help me to let go of my fears and trust You, and thank You for letting me be in here with Amy and for bringing her into my life. And thank You for Mrs Goodwin and her wonderful cooking. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

  Amy whispered a shaky, “Amen.” When she opened her eyes, Adam was watching her.

  He let go of her hand and brushed a tear from her cheek. “Please don’t cry.”

  “How can you be grateful for me when I’ve landed you in jail? If it wasn’t for me none of this would be happening and you’d be in your own home.”

  “I’d much rather be in jail with you than at home on my own.” A smile lit his face. “Besides, Mrs G’s cooking is well worth being locked up for.”

  She laughed softly and wiped at her eyes. “Better not tell anyone or Marshal Cade will have people clamouring to get in here.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Two hours after the delicious supper, the marshal walked into the cell room.

  “I’m off for the night,” he said, unlocking the door and handing Adam the kerosene lamp that had been lit earlier against the falling light. “I’m really not supposed to give this to you, but I figure I can trust the two of you to not try to burn the place down. Deputy Fielding’s on duty tonight so just give a yell if you need anything.”

  Adam didn’t know Eric Fielding well. He’d come to town a little after Marshal Cade, having served under him during the war, and had married a local girl. But Adam knew that if Lee Cade trusted the man, he could too.