Mountain Man's Bride

by Lauren Wood

  “We should return it.” He slammed the board shut and reached over to flip the cart back on its wheels.

  “But I thought you said they could never know we had Puppet.” Annie didn’t understand.

  “They can’t. We need to get this back to them in secret. We need a plan.” James scratched the back of his head trying to muster up any ideas.

  Overhead the moon was showing his face. The sun had dipped below the horizon until morning. Soon it would be completely dark.

  “We will think of something in the morning. I am going to start a fire. There are blankets in the cart, we can sleep on those. Go tie up Puppet and remove his saddle.” Annie rocked on her feet, staring at James. “What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t exactly know how to take a saddle off… I have never done it before. My Daddy always took care of that sort of thing.” She nibbled on her lip nervously.

  “Fine, you go start the fire, I will tend to Puppet.” James started to walk toward the horse. Annie continued to stare at him blankly. “Let me guess,” he stopped in his tracks with his back to Annie, “you don’t know how to start a fire either?”

  Annie shook her head.

  Without complaint, James grabbed her hand and walked her toward Puppet. “I am going to show you how to do this so watch me carefully.” James carried on every task that needed to be completed. When he finished Annie clapped her hands with excitement. “That was fantastic.” She beamed. “Where did you learn all of that?”

  With the fire crackling, Annie and James huddled close to keep warm. James looked over at Annie, the light from the flame casting shadows across her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled in the night and he truly could see her beauty. When she wasn’t mumbling about, he could see an intelligent, stunning woman. Someone who he could imagine watching grow old and gray. He stared as she tucked her long wavy hair loosely behind her ear. Completely mesmerised yet confused about how this woman made him feel.

  Annie looked up and caught his gaze. She either didn’t notice or didn’t bring it up because she remained silent.

  “My name is James Wiltshire and I grew up in Wiltshire my entire life.” He began, tracing patterns in the sand around him.

  Annie looked up at him, puzzled.

  “Back at the tavern, you asked me to tell you my story.” He stood up and walked around the fire to sit at Annie’s side. He opened his blanket to her and she tucked herself under his arm.

  The night was quiet with nothing but the moon and the stars looking down at them.

  “When I was just a boy, both of my parents were taken away from me. We never had any money and I suppose my father struck a bad deal with an outlaw gang. They certainly made him pay. As you can probably guess, it was the Fader Hallows. They came into my house while we slept and set it to flames. I barely made it out. The last I saw of my parents was two men with their hands cupped over their mouths dragging them through the fire.” James stopped to catch his breath.

  “My Lord, I am so sorry.” Annie sympathised.

  “It was a long time ago Annie, it’s alright.” He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder. “After that I was placed in an orphanage until I turned sixteen. The entire time I was there, I traded and worked to save up as much money as I possibly could. I bought Wilty’s Tavern when I was just sixteen. Of course it wasn’t called Wilty’s back then, I think they called it the Honey Mill. But anyway, long and short of it is that that was how I started to build my name. Since then I have purchased the majority of property and businesses in Wiltshire. The townsfolk eventually petitioned to have the town’s name changed. I can’t say that I was completely in agreement. I consider myself a fairly modest man.” James scratched the back of his head. “I have never told anyone this story before.”

  Annie reached for his hands and smiled up at him encouragingly.

  “It has taken a lot of sweat over the past ten years to get where I am now.” He paused and looked down at her. He was becoming truly in awe of her. “I am especially happy with where it has led me.” He gently placed a kiss on top of Annie’s head. She looked up at him with her big doe eyes and smiled.

  “I hope I didn’t mess it all up for you.” Annie whispered.

  “It’s alright, we will figure something out. I don’t exactly know what we will figure out yet but I will come up with a plan.” He assured her. “But it is getting very late, we should get some rest so that we can decide what to do with Puppet on fresh rested minds tomorrow. The next town is only a few hours by horseback. We will go there and come up with a plan. Night Annie.”

  Annie’s mind soared, there was no way she could possibly rest. James lay beside her, quiet. He was certainly asleep by now. Slowly Annie slipped out from under the blankets and tip toed her way toward Puppet. Going over James’ instructions from earlier, Annie lifted the saddle up to Puppet’s back and began to buckle him in. She was so proud of herself when she finally finished and climbed up onto his back. James still hadn’t budged. “I’m going to fix this.” She whispered and then rode off into the night.

  James blinked away the bright morning sun. The desert was already scorching. Beads of sweat were forming along his brow. James wondered how he had slept so long and rolled to his side to wake Annie. She wasn’t there. Instead he turned to see a double barrel shotgun pointed directly between his eyes. On the other end of it, Baby Nicky stood with a cunning grin slapped on his face. James slowly got to his feet with his hands raised slightly.

  “Where’s Annie?” He asked in the steadiest voice he could manage.

  Baby Nicky nodded to his left. James turned to see Annie bound in ropes with Big Ray behind her. A pistol rested on her temple. “I warned you.” Big Ray bellowed. “You spoon fed me lies and for that you will have to pay.”

  “I’m sorry. We should have just given you Puppet. We didn’t mean any harm.”

  “What the hell is Puppet?” Baby Nicky gaffed.

  Ignoring him, Big Ray brought Annie closer. James could see tears welling in her eyes. Without words, he could tell she was trying to apologize.

  “You both seem like reasonable men.” James tried to negotiate. “This has all been a misunderstanding. Please, just take the horse and we will pretend none of this ever happened.”

  The laugh that bubbled out of Big Ray shook the desert floor. “No, you see James, it isn’t that simple. Now that you have seen what belongs to me, you may feel obliged to squeal such information to the authorities. I’m not a gambling man.” Ray pressed the pistol to James’ cheek. “This isn’t a risk I am willing to take. If you’re wiped off the map then no one would know what is hiding under those boards.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” James tried to cover himself. Maybe if they thought he hadn’t seen the weapons and gold they might turn the other way. Sparing his and Annie’s lives.

  “Don’t play stupid, boy!” Big Ray spat. “The girl told me everything.” He grabbed Annie by the neck and pushed her into the ground. James remained quiet, surprised. “She rode into town on that horse and marched right up to me. Figured that would be the end of it.” Big Ray circled Annie who was now lying in the dirt. “Now I may not be a gambling man, boy but I am a business man.” He lowered his pistol and holstered it, sure to flash the stallion embroidery.

  “I can’t say I would be willing to do any business with you.” James snapped.

  “Don’t be stupid like your father now. I’m offering you a chance at having your life back and you won’t even hear me out.”

  James could feel the anger burning in his cheeks. Big Ricky remembered his father. He clenched his fists by his side and bit back the words he so badly wanted to say. “I’d rather die than make a business deal with an outlaw.”

  Big Ray leaned in closer so that James could hear him at a dull whisper. “Your town will be up in flames by morning.” He straightened himself and tugged at the waist of his chaps. “The Fader Hallows always take what they want. Let’s go Baby Nicky.” The two outl
aws made their way back to Puppet. Just maybe, James and Annie were about to survive this.

  James sprinted toward Annie. She was still lying on the ground. “Are you hurt?” Annie shook her head as he struggled with the ropes to untie her. He pulled the gag out of her mouth and kiss her hard.

  “I’m so sorry James.” She threw her arms around him, hugging him close. “I just thought if I went back that I could protect you. I had no idea.” She sobbed.

  From behind Annie, James saw Big Ray stop dead in his tracks. “I almost forgot something.” Big Ray came running toward them with his gun raised up in the air. He was running straight at James.

  “NO!” Annie screamed and jumped in-between Big Ray and James. Big Ray clubbed her with the back end of his pistol sending her sprawling onto the ground. He cocked his fist back and punched James square in the face knocking him back a few steps. James put up his fists ready to defend himself but was distracted by Annie lying motionless on the ground.

  Big Ray continued to punch James until he crumpled into a pile on the ground beside Annie. James counted one, two, three, four kicks to his ribcage before finally blacking out.

  “James. James! Oh Lord, please James open your eyes!”

  James could hear Annie’s voice ringing in his ears. When he came to, he could see a huge gash along Annie’s forehead. He tried to sit up. “Annie, you’re hurt.” Ignoring his own wounds.

  She gently placed her palm over her wound, it was still bleeding quite heavily. “I’m quite alright. I think it looks much worse than it feels.” She smiled weakly.

  James tried to sit up again. The pain sharpened through his abdomen with each struggled attempt. Besides bruises James was sure he had several broken ribs. “I think I need a hand to get up.” He reached up and Annie helped pull him to his feet. His eye was swollen shut and he looked down to see blood smeared across his hands. This wasn’t good.

  “They took everything.” Annie spoke in a shaken voice. “The blankets, the water, all of our food and firewood. There is nothing left.”

  James searched their surroundings, they were alone without supplies in the middle of the desert. Judging by the sun, it couldn’t be any later than eight o’clock in the morning. “If we hurry back toward Wiltshire, we might make it before sundown.”

  “James, we have no horse! We will never make it.”

  “Not if we stand around and talk.” He reached out for Annie’s hand and began to pull her along. Each step was laboured. He had a massive limp. Wincing with each small movement Annie pleaded for them to stop.

  “I will go find help. You have to stay here.” Annie cried.

  “We have to stay together.” James trudged on.

  The day was hotter than any day before it. Becoming more and more dehydrated slowed their pace. With only an hour until sundown Annie begged James to stop and rest. “You’ve pained yourself enough. We should stop here for the night and carry on in the morning.”

  “We will freeze to death out here once the sun goes down Annie. We have to keep moving.” He urged.

  “You have to trust me.” Annie placed her hands on James’ shoulders and placed a gently kiss on his cheek. “I will be right back.”

  Knowing better than to argue, James sunk himself into the sand to rest his aching feet. Exhausted, he laid his head down and closed his eyes. The sun fell and night arose while James drifted away. A few hours later he awoke with a start. Where was Annie? Panicked he got to his feet as quickly as he could in search for her.

  “How was your sleep?” Annie’s voice chimed. A fire was thriving in front of them.

  James looked puzzled. “Did you do this?” He pointed down toward the flames.

  Annie beamed up at him. “You have been asleep for three hours. It gave me plenty of time to search for some wood. I messed up a few times but it turned out alright. What can I say? I had a good instructor!”

  In this moment more than ever James felt a deep desire for this woman. Sure, she may not understand that silence is golden but at least she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She was honest and passionate. James loved how outgoing she was, making friends everywhere she went. In this moment he couldn’t find the words to describe how amazing this woman was. Without a filter, James blurted “I’m in love with you.”

  Annie beamed but held back.

  “We have to get back to Wiltshire tonight.” James grabbed for her hand. “The Fader Hallows are going to destroy it and the families living there if we don’t do something about it.”

  This time, Annie know it wasn’t her place to argue. Instead, she scattered the fire to snuff out the flame and followed in stride with James.

  Wiltshire was nearing, the lights were flickering in the distance. The town was quiet, most of the townsfolk were in their beds asleep.

  “What are we going to do when we get there?” Annie whispered.

  “We are going to find the sheriff. He will know what to do.”

  When they reached the sheriff’s doorstep, it had to be at least three o’clock in the morning. James reached up and knocked on the solid oak door. He could hear it echo inside of the sleeping house. Less than a minute later the door creaked open. A man in his pajamas and slippers stood in the doorway with a candle flickering in front of his face. He had long grey hair and a long beard. His expression was gentle and kind.

  “James?” the man asked, exasperated.

  “Sheriff, I am so sorry to wake you at such an unholy hour but I need your help.” James pleaded.

  “James Wiltshire, I thought you were dead!” The sheriff sounded surprised. “Get inside right now before anyone else sees you.” He ushered James and Annie into the house.

  It was warm indoors. Annie peered around, she had never been in such an extravagant house. The sheriff led them to the kitchen and placed a glass of warm milk in front of each of them.

  “James I am so relieved to see you are alive.” The sheriff gleamed. “The Fader Hallow Gang showed up today and announced they had left you for dead in the middle of the desert. But here you are!”

  “It’s true!” Annie squealed. “They beat us up and stole our supplies. We were as good as dead.” Annie slurped back her milk. It warmed her from the inside out.

  “Now we need your help.” James began.

  “James, there isn’t anything I can do. They have already started to obtain the town. They have killed mothers and children! They swear that this town will go up in flames if everyone doesn’t abide to their rules. Several folks have already decided to flee before things get worse. They have threatened to shoot anyone on site who looks to cross them.”

  “Where are the Fader Hallows now?” James demanded to know.

  “They overtook your bar, James! All of the outlaws are staking out at the inn and stealing all of the alcohol. They have claimed Wilty’s as their own. None of us knew what to do and we were extremely outnumbered so we couldn’t fight back.” The sheriff shook his head in disappointment. “In all of my years, we have never backed down from a fight. We have never given up, especially in the presence of any gang. There were just too many this time…” He trailed off.

  James bit his lip and scratched that back of his head. He was thinking of something; Annie knew that look. “Sheriff, I think I have an idea.”

  The sheriff helped James gather a few of the townsfolk and they tip-toed their way down to James’ stable behind Wilty’s Tavern. Annie was told it would be best to stay behind at the sheriff’s place. He had found her fresh linens and sent her to bed.

  “Now listen closely,” James whispered quieter than ever before “behind the stable is a pile of wooden planks. I need each of you to grab your fill and carry it back toward the tavern. We will each be assigned a window or a door. All at the same time we will begin to board them up. It will be loud and it will be sure to wake them up so we must act quickly. When you are finished, run. Go as fast as you can and get home to your children and wives. I will then take care of the rest.”

  As instru
cted, like worker-bees, each of the townsmen gathered an armful of planks and sauntered off to their assigned destinations. On their cue of an owl’s call they all began to hammer the planks to the side of the building covering all of the windows and doors. Unaware of what James would be taking care off, they completed their task.

  Just as they had expected, people inside began to stir. This was James’ cue. He lit a match and held it in the air. “This is for you Mom and Dad.” He flicked it inside of the bar. Immediately, the floorboards caught fire which spread quickly toward the bar. He could see a silhouette walking down the stairs from the inn, Big Ray. James smiled and took off out of sight. He could hear the screams and gunshots from the Fader Hallows as they tried to escape their certain peril.

  Without a word James took off running toward the rest of the townsmen and told them to go home. He knew with the amount of alcohol stored in the building, the small fire would spread very quickly and he didn’t want there to be anyone else caught it its path.

  James arrived back at the sheriff’s house and walked down the hallway to where Annie was sleeping. Silently he lay down beside her. Tomorrow morning was going to come soon. It would reveal if his plan had worked or not. If not, this could be the first and last chance he would ever have to hold Annie.

  Morning arrived just as it had every day prior to today. James squeezed Annie’s hand and they stepped out into the sun. “Well James, I think you saved Wiltshire.” The sheriff placed a firm hand on James’ shoulder. “As of today there is no trace of any Fader Hallow Gang members. I am sorry about your bar though.” He stepped back inside of the house closing the door behind him.

  Puzzled Annie drug James down off the porch. Down the street Annie noticed the charred remains of Wilty’s Tavern. “Oh, James. What happened to your tavern?” She cried.

  This only put a smile on James’ face. “I had no other choice.” He pulled her closer to him.

  “But you loved that place. You didn’t set it on fire did you?”