Mail Order Brides of Wichita Falls Boxed Set (Historical Western Romance)

by Cyndi Raye

  Yet he had taken from her at a time when she was most desperate. She had to stand strong, wasn’t that what Addy would do? Perhaps it was time to take Marshall aside and reveal the truth to him, no matter the cost. He was a nice, caring man who wanted to make his life wholesome and worthwhile, to build a ranch and family. She couldn’t stay here pretending to be someone else. That wouldn’t be right. It wasn’t fair to him. If a man fell in love with her, she wanted it to be true love between two people. Not loving someone he thought she was. Would he let her go on her own when he found out that she wasn’t Catherine Jackson?

  Ruby took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, she picked up a basket for some apples. With her mind made up, she decided to stay until he returned and tell him the truth. Billy was secure here and Marshall would never turn him away, no matter that he stole from her. He had also found a soft spot in his heart for the boy, she knew this with all her heart and soul. She probably embellished to the boy how awful it was to steal. Perhaps it was why he didn’t give them back all along, even after he was accepted here. That meant Ruby was just as responsible for letting this get long out of hand.

  Perhaps it was time Ruby Adams made things right again.

  <><>

  Nothing ever seems to go as planned. That should be Ruby’s motto, she thought with a sigh. Exactly one day before Marshall was due to return from the fourteen day cattle drive, Aunt Adeline came bursting on to the ranch property, frantic and yelling for the horses to slow down. It was the first time Ruby saw her aunt so excited.

  She pulled the horses to a halt, unwound the reins from her arms, pulled up her skirts and jumped off the wagon like a woman on a mission. Ruby admired her zest and ran up to her. “What’s wrong, Addie, is everything okay?”

  “No, Ruby, it isn’t. Where’s Maximilian?” She let her skirts fall to the ground, turned and headed towards the barn when Addie pointed that way.

  “Aunt Addie, what’s wrong?” Ruby fell along side of her, her long legs trying hard to keep keep up with her aunt.

  “It’s all gone horribly wrong,” she muttered, waving when Max came out of the barn.

  When he noticed Addie, he began to high-step it towards her. “Miss Addie, what is it?”

  “Byron Ward, that’s what. He’s here, in Wichita Falls.”

  Max spit, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. “Excuse me, ma’am. This isn’t good news. What did he say?”

  “He has a meeting with some other big-time ranchers first thing in the morning, then he’s going to the land office at noon to purchase all the land from here to hell evidently.”

  “Sonofabitch!” Max swore under his breath. He tipped his hat. “Excuse me again, ma’am. Mrs. Montgomery.”

  Ruby watched the exchange. “What is going on? Please, will someone tell me?”

  For a moment, her aunt had looked so vulnerable, leaning towards Max. Like he would protect her. Then she watched as her aunt squared her shoulders. “Max, go after him.You and Billy ride like the dickens, he must be close enough he can get to town by noon tomorrow. I can stay right here with Ruby. I’ll have a fresh horse ready and saddled. Go.”

  Max turned and motioned Billy to follow. Ruby watched in silence as the two saddled up and took off for God knows where.

  “Lord, be with them. If this is your will, let the outcome be one we can all bear. Amen.” Addie turned towards the house. “I sure could use a cup of tea.”

  Ruby followed her aunt to the kitchen, where she worked for some time in silence making tea as Addie wore a hole in the floor walking back and forth in the kitchen, her mind in deep thought. Ruby didn’t want to disturb her mood, which seemed pretty dark at the moment.

  She sat the two cups of tea down on the table. “Aunt Addie, come have some tea.” The woman sat in the same seat Marshall always occupied. Ruby missed him.

  Addie stirred the liquid after adding a bit of sugar from the small covered jug on the table. “It’s starting to look like a woman’s kitchen in here.”

  Ruby blushed. “I want to make curtains and a few other changes some day,” she told her aunt, then stopped when realizing there would be no someday. Not if she left here.

  Addie didn’t miss a beat. “Ruby, when are you going to face facts. You don’t want to leave here, do you?”

  Her aunt was right. She had been struggling with her feelings all night. It had kept her up until early hours of the morning. Ruby finally got up from her bed to sit outside in the dark, on the porch where Marshall and her spent their last evening together, watching the stars fade from the night. “I don’t want to leave.” Those simple words made her cry. Deep, racking sobs that came out in such a fury Ruby didn’t know what to do. She hung her head, letting the tears fall until Addie scooped her in her arms and held her until the tears fell away.

  “It’s all going to be alright, sweet Ruby. Now stop the tears. Independent women are not allowed to cry like this. It’s time we talked.”

  “I’m sorry. I know I sound weak and all but,” Ruby couldn’t finish before more tears fell.

  Addie gave her one last hug before sitting back down. “Now you listen to me, Ruby. I don’t want you to be like me. I want you to be like you. A woman can still be independent and love a man with all her heart. It isn’t like you think. What happened to your mama was unfortunate but you can’t let your whole life be daunted by that one incident. Your uncle is an idiot and cruel to boot. You will always, always have me to fall back on if things don’t work out here. You and Marshall are already married. Why don’t you try to fall madly and deeply in love with him. It’s a good thing you have going on right here. Don’t run from what God has planned for you.”

  “I cheated, lied and I don’t know if he will want me when I tell him the truth.”

  “How did you lie, Ruby? Tell me everything.”

  She did. Ruby told her how she met the woman at the train station and pretended to be Catherine Jackson, intending on paying the ticket back after she found the boy. “That’s when I thought I would come clean and you know the rest. How Billy coerced me in to pretending I was someone else so he wouldn’t get in to trouble. I followed along just like a puppy does.”

  Addie smiled. “I never did believe in coincidences my dear. I think perhaps there is a higher hand in all of this. Why don’t we wait to see how it pans out.”

  “I’m going to tell him the truth the moment he returns.”

  “I wondered why you said your name was Catherine Ruby Jackson. Now, I know. Are you sure it is something you want to share with him? You are Ruby Montgomery, like it or not.”

  “I’m Catherine Ruby Montgomery. Not the same person, I’m afraid. Sad to say but we aren’t truly married after all. He needs to know the truth. I’ll take it from there. At least I’ll have these land certificates if he throws me to the wolves.” Another tear fell. Ruby brushed it away. She felt deep in her pockets and pulled the land certificates out. Opening them up, she spread the two on the table. “This is what I thought I wanted all along, Aunt Addie. Now, it feels empty thinking about living by myself on a piece of land without anyone to share it with. What happened to me?”

  “I’d say Marshall Montgomery and a little boy name Billy happened.” Her soft words spoke to Ruby’s heart.

  “You’re right. Aunt Addie?”

  Her aunt answered with a smile and the slight lift of her brow. “Yes, dear?”

  “Can you drive me back to Wichita Falls? There’s something more important than me that I have to do.”

  “Of course, dear.”

  “You were right. What I was seeking was right here all along.”

  <><>

  “We’ll head out at first light. Water the horses and make sure they are rested, ready to travel at heavy speeds,” Marshall told two of his hands. They were on their way back from Dallas, the money he needed to buy the property tucked away in his saddlebags. When Billy and Max rode up hell bent for leather to tell them Byron Ward was in town, Marshall swore up one side of
heaven and down the other side of hell.

  He was so close. The land he yearned for was right at his fingertips. Marshall cursed the rail road man for showing up now. He sat by the fire they made, realizing the night came upon them too fast to ride the spent horses any further. They’d have to start out at the crack of dawn to get to Wichita Falls before noon.

  Max grumbled. “That man has been a sore spot in your side ever since you left the rail road, Marshall. You can’t let him buy that land out from under you.”

  Marshall shook his head. “He won’t. I have the money now to purchase it. Knowing Ward, he’ll be late anyway. Thinks he can come and go as he wishes.” Marshall spoke the truth but still worried Ward would pull a fast one on him. Byron Ward may have wanted everyone to think he was meeting at the land office at noon, but the early morning meeting may be the actual time. Deceiving people was how he got ahead in the world.

  Although, the land office didn’t open until it felt like opening. Dawson, the owner, had a hard time with spirits and the fine ladies of the night. Ward wouldn’t know where to find him. Marshall did.

  “I have a confession to make,” Billy said, his quiet voice surprising Marshall.

  “Fess up, then.”

  “I stole something important.” Billy hung his head.

  Marshall knew there was something all along about the boy. He was glad his sister’s child was going to be honest now. “What’s that?” he said, his intent gaze on Billy’s head.

  The boy finally looked up to meet his eyes. Marshall thought he would grow up to be a fine cowboy. “When my mom and dad died, I didn’t want to live with my grandmother. She yelled at me, telling me I should have died,too. I hated going home, hearing her tell me that every single day. I didn’t want to go home after school, so I would hide in the ally behind the house. There were other kids there that showed me how to get things without money. It was stealing, I know now. I got in to trouble and my grandparents they said I had to come live with you.”

  Marshall put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Son, no one should tell you those cruel words. I suppose they were having a hard time dealing with your mama’s death. You have to forgive them so you can move on.”

  The boy nodded. “I don’t want to go back to them, ever, Uncle Marshall. I’m sorry what I did to Ruby, I am.”

  Marshall began to worry. “What did you do?”

  The little boy, who tried to be so grown up, wrung his hands together. He began to shake. “I’m afraid to tell you,” he whispered.

  “Why, Billy? Who scared you so?”

  “Ruby did.”

  Marshall turned his head to look at Max but the older man shrugged. He scooted closer to the boy. “Billy, listen to me. No matter what you tell me, I will never, ever let you go back to your mean grandparents, I swear. You’re my son now.”

  The boy’s wide eyes stared up at him with all the trust in the world.

  “Promise, right hand up to God?” he whispered, his voice filled with hope and a tad of trust.

  “Right hand up to God,” Marshall repeated.

  The boy slumped in relief. “Good. I won’t get hunged now?”

  “You mean hanged? For what?”

  “When we were on the train, Ruby told me that men got hung for stealing horses. What I did was worse.”

  That may have explained why there was so much tension between the two when he first met them. “Oh? What was it you did?”

  “I stole her reticule when she was trying to board the train. It had her train ticket on and some important papers that I hid away.”

  Marshall didn’t have to explain that stealing was bad. He had a hunch the boy already learned his lesson. When Billy went on to explain how some lady handed Ruby a train ticket, he began to realize she was indeed hiding something.

  “The lady at the train station, she was the real Catherine Jackson. I know, I saw her hand Ruby the letters. That lady was kissing a man, too. Right in front of everyone.”

  His letters? The ones he wrote to Catherine? Who was turning out not to be Ruby. A slow burn began deep in his gut.

  “You mean to tell me Ruby isn’t in fact one Catherine Jackson, that she was faking to be her so she could get a train ticket here?”

  The boy nodded. “I didn’t try to make her lie, too. It just happened. I was afraid you would send me back so I told her I would give her papers back to her when we got off the train. Then I made her come with us to your ranch. I didn’t mean it, Uncle Marshall. I’m sorry. I just don’t want Ruby to go any more.”

  “Why would she go, Billy?” Marshall was starting to put it all in perspective.

  “She’s gonna buy a house with land and give them papers to someone important. But I don’t want her to go. Not any more.”

  “It’s okay, Billy. We have a big job ahead of us. At first light, we’re going to ride out of here to buy my own land. Think you can keep up?”

  “I sure can!” Billy pulled a blanket off the saddle and rolled up in it near the warm fire. He was out in no time.

  Marshall stared in to the fire long afterwards. “Seems my wife is not my wife,” he told Max, who sat beside him, humming an old tune and carving a piece of wood with his knife.

  “Seems so,” Max mumbled. “Doubt that would make a difference to me. Beings you love her and all, I say it wouldn’t matter.”

  “It does matter, Max. She lied to me.”

  “I think there’s more to it than you realize. The boy took her belongings. Sounds like this was out of everyone’s hands anyway.”

  Marshall grunted. “It doesn’t matter. She lied, pretended to be my mail order bride. Why didn’t she tell the truth when she got off that train?”

  Max grinned. “Mayhap she liked what she saw.”

  “Shut-up, Max.” Marshall was in no mood to kid around. He knew a stranger was coming in on that train but how could he let her raise a boy if she done nothing but lied since she got here. They had plenty of times to be honest. She seemed more worried about some papers Billy had than anything else.

  In the morning, before he went to buy his land, he would tell her to pack her things and leave. He didn’t need no lying woman by his side.

  Chapter 9

  The sound of horse’s hooves pounded over the prairie. Ruby and Addie ran outside as the men came barreling in like a herd of cattle. “Get me a fresh horse,” Marshall told Max, who went in to the barn first.

  Ruby was about to tell him what she did when Marshall slid off his horse, anger all over his face. The corners of his mouth that she had wanted to kiss so badly turned down. The smile slid from her face.

  The boy had already told him the truth. She could see it on his face. His eyes blazed with fury.

  Ruby took a step back mortified. Marshall had been so kind. Now, he appeared so angry she wanted to shrivel up and hide in a hole somewhere. “I can explain,” she said, her voice a bare whisper.

  “No need.” He was so close. She worried her bottom lip, pushed her hands deep in her apron as he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her in front of God and everyone. It wasn’t a nice kiss at first, but one filled with anger and hurt. As quickly as it started, he began to kiss her softly, nibbling the bottom of her lip, stirring her insides like no one had ever done before. She raised her hands to his face, holding his cheeks in the palms of her hands as he pulled her closer and kissed her as if it were the last time he’d ever do it again. He forgave her. Didn’t he? The more intense the kiss became, she knew.

  It all became clear in that moment.

  This was goodbye.

  He pushed himself away. Stared in to her eyes for what seemed like forever. “Don’t plan on being here when I return.”

  That was all he said before turning his back and walking away.

  “I have to tell you something important,” Ruby stammered, trying to find the right words.

  Marshall put his booted foot in the stirrup and pulled himself to the saddle. “Save your lies for someone else,” he told her b
efore giving the horse a quick nudge. Before she could say another word, Marshall Montgomery was long gone.

  Ruby wouldn’t collapse like a log on the prairie. No, she was a strong, independent woman. Even if a tear rolled from her cheek. “I lost him.”

  A warm arm covered her shoulders. “Take it from me, Ruby. Don’t ever say it’s over.”

  “He looked at me with so much contempt I doubt I could ever make it up to Marshall.” She choked on her words, covering her face with her hands. She didn’t want Max and Billy to see her break down.

  “Let’s go inside,” Addie ordered, taking her by the shoulders, helping her across the yard to the house.

  “I’ll get my things and say goodbye to Billy. I have to be gone before he comes back.”

  “I doubt he meant it, Ruby.”

  “He did, I know this to be true. At least one good thing has come of all this.” Ruby smiled as she dabbed at a lone tear on her cheek.

  “You gave it all up for him, Ruby. He’ll come around. Don’t leave. It would be a major mistake.”

  Ruby began to pack a few items in to her carpet bag she brought with her. It didn’t take long to place what belonged to her inside. She unfolded the new land deed and placed it on the kitchen table, setting the sugar bowl on top.

  “You can stay with me, Ruby.”

  “I have no where else to go now.”

  “I think you’re wrong. Come to town with me. Spend a few nights here and then maybe when he’s calmed down, he’ll begin to see reason.”

  Ruby packed her lone piece of luggage into the back of Addie’s wagon. She turned to Billy, who was frowning. “I didn’t want you to go. Don’t go, Ruby. I love you.”