by Merry Farmer
“All right,” he said at last. “We’d better get started.”
He nodded to the front of the sanctuary, where Olivia Garrett had stepped out of the choir to play the piano in Holly’s absence. It took her a few more bars of the piece she was playing to notice Trey’s signal, but as soon as she did, she launched into the opening hymn. The choir breathed a sigh of relief before straightening up and singing.
“You know,” Howard said, leaning closer. “You wouldn’t have to worry about organizing these sorts of domestic displays if you had a wife to step in and do it for you.”
Trey narrowed his eyes. “So help me, Howard, if this was a ploy to marry me off…”
“No, no!” Howard insisted, having trouble keeping his voice from carrying. “Never. Whatever makes you think that? I would never be so underhanded. Not at all.”
“Mmm hmm.” Trey crossed his arms and stared straight forward.
Although Howard had a point. There were all sorts of domestic duties that he was terrible at. It would be nice to have a decent meal without having to go to the hotel. Or to have his shirts and trousers made and mended without having to call on Russell Smith. His apartment over the jail was all well and good, but Howard had a way of financing the building of whole houses for anyone in the family way, and a whole new section of town was about to rise up on the other side of the tracks, thanks to Rupert Cole and his partner from Everland. And when he got down to it, almost all of his friends were married now. Those women who had come from Hurst Home made no secret of the fact that coming to Haskell as mail-order brides was the best thing that’d ever happened to them, and that there were plenty more of them aching for a new life. Maybe it was his Christian duty to rescue one of those women from—
The church door banged open behind him. Trey and Howard both whipped around to see what the disturbance was. They were treated to the sight of Holly and George, red-faced and panting, rushing into the church.
“Sorry,” Holly whispered, growing even redder. “The wind…”
Trey had never felt so relieved in his life. He wasn’t the only one. Starting with the people in the back pews, the congregation turned and exclaimed with delight at the sight of them. The angel choir faded to silence—well, all except the Bonneville sisters—and burst into smiles. Eventually, Olivia stopped playing as well.
“You’re back!” Howard boomed, not trying to keep quiet now.
“Yes.” George stepped all the way into the church wearing a confident smile. “And I’m happy to report that Robbins was caught by the San Francisco police and will be brought to justice. Everything that was stolen will be returned.”
Most of the congregation gaped in shock and confusion at the statement. A few people—like Russell and Lex Kline—burst into shouts of triumph.
“What’s all this about Rev. Robbins?” Dr. Abernathy asked what half the congregation was probably thinking.
George took a few steps down the aisle, holding Holly’s hand and bringing her with him. He caught his breath a bit, then said, “It turns out that Robbins was a swindler.” Sounds of surprise and dismay greeted his words. “He was not collecting on behalf of any charity, but only for himself.”
“I knew it,” Katie Murphy said from near the front of the church.
“Furthermore, he was wanted in several states and territories for pulling the same sort of robberies that he had attempted here,” George went on. “But he’s been caught and will face trial soon.”
The sounds and murmurs from the congregation switched to relief and gratitude. A few people even called out their thanks and appreciation to George and Holly for all their hard work. Trey stepped forward enough to thump George on the back.
“Glad you won the day,” he said, then leaned closer to murmur, “Now maybe you can take over this pageant thing from me?”
George laughed. “It’d be my pleasure.”
The mood in the church shifted entirely. George and Holly strode up to the front of the church. Holly took her place at the piano and started in on the first hymn once more. George ducked into his office and came back moments later in his pastor’s robe. He moved to the podium, which had been placed at the far side of the chancel, where he would read verses from the Bible as the pageant progressed.
“Well, all’s well that ends well,” Howard said to Trey as they resumed their places at the back of the room. “I bet Mrs. Pickering played a key role in apprehending Robbins.”
Trey raised an eyebrow to tell Howard he was still on to his games.
Howard ignored him and went on with, “I’m just sorry that I put so much trust in Robbins to begin with. Elizabeth warned me not to. She told me I was pandering to the WSGA when I should have been trusting my instincts. But wives are wise like that. A good wife can keep a man on the straight and narrow when his judgment is clouded.”
“Hmm.” That was the only answer Trey was going to give, no matter how hard Howard needled.
“A wife is the most precious gift a man can receive,” Howard went on as the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary in the first scene of the pageant. “And she is a gift that lasts a lifetime. Any man is blessed to have a good woman at his side. Especially one who has been through hardship and has finally found a home with a good man.”
“All right, Howard,” Trey muttered. “I’ll talk to Charlie, Josephine, and Virginia about Hurst Home as soon as I can.”
Howard chuckled and clapped Trey on the shoulder. “Good man.”
Trey relaxed into a smile. Howard was just looking out for him. And in the end, he was probably right. A wife was almost certainly in his not-too distant future.
I hope you have enjoyed Holly: The Christmas Bride! I know you’re probably dying to find out if Trey really does send away for a bride. (Hint: Of course he does!) Bu what kind of woman would be just right for a sheriff with a shady past who doesn’t know how much he needs to fall in love? You’ll be able to find out this coming spring in Talia: The Magical Bride!
But first off in the new year, I hope you’ll join me in a new series, Nerds of Paradise. Ever wonder what the descendants of your good friends in Haskell, Wyoming are up to in the modern world? Well, when Howard Franklin Haskell IV gets the idea into his head to start a private space flight company, he shows that he inherited a lot of his namesake’s bombastic and zany ideas about things. He hires a bunch of engineers, mathematicians, and astrophysicists to come work for him and move to Haskell…and, of course, he also makes sure his employees have plenty of opportunities to mingle with the ranchers, cowboys, and other citizens of modern Haskell. Engineers and cowgirls, math nerds and ranchers, and maybe even some dinosaur hunters await in Nerds of Paradise! It all starts with Opposites Attract on January 30, 2017! (Although I should warn you, Nerds will be a spicy series)
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
About the Author
I hope you have enjoyed Holly: The Christmas Bride. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/RQ-KX And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.
Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cat, Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have topped the Amazon and iBooks charts and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
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Acknowledgments
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my awesome beta-readers, Caroline Lee, Julie Tague, and Jo
lene Stewart, for their suggestions and advice. And a big, big thanks to my editors, Cissie Patterson and Carly Cole, for doing an outstanding job, as always, and for leaving hilarious comments throughout the manuscript. And a second round of thanks to Julie Tague, for being a truly excellent assistant!
And a special thank you to the Pioneer Hearts group! Do you love Western Historical Romance? Wanna come play with us? Become a member at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
