ELEVEN
Maverick purposely took a slower route home, only because he wanted to spend more private time with his soon-to-be wife. Gramps let him borrow the one-seat buggy and horse so that they could cuddle together on the ride home. Maverick and Hannah talked, and he discovered more about her than before. But what was more thrilling than that was being able to hold her and kiss her whenever he wanted. He doubted he’d ever get tired of doing that.
The housekeeper had miraculously found more clothes for Hannah and Maverick. He had to admit, it was nice to be able to wear clean clothes than to put back on the worn and ripped clothes they had been wearing when they were kidnapped.
Instead of going directly to his house, they rode to Bryan’s. He was probably worried by now, and Maverick couldn’t put off telling his brother. It was time the truth came out.
“We’re here,” Maverick said as he pulled up to Bryan’s log cabin and stopped. “Are you ready?” He squeezed Hannah’s hands softly.
“As ready as I’m ever going to be.”
Maverick hopped out of the buggy and started walking around to help her down just as the front door of the cabin swung open. Bryan ran out, heading toward Maverick, looking angrier than an irritated hornet. The man’s hands were fisted as if he was ready to pummel someone’s face. Maverick needed to make sure to calm him down before he received any more bruises.
“Mav, you son-of-a—”
“Hold your tongue around the lady,” Maverick snapped at his brother. “And before you go flying off the handle, you might want to hear what happened and why I’m bringing her back.”
Bryan stopped inches in front of Maverick. His older brother’s nostrils flared as the man’s chest heaved quickly.
“Your explanation better be good, and it had better help me to understand why my cook saw you taking Miss Ross away from the house right after I left to go to the sawmill for an emergency that wasn’t even an emergency.”
Inwardly, Maverick groaned. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that, but at the time, he couldn’t think of any other way to get his brother away from the house. “I hope my excuses will ease your mind. Now, will you allow me to help Hannah out of the buggy?”
Growling, Bryan pushed past Maverick and over to help Hannah out himself. Her gaze was cautious as it jumped between Bryan and Maverick. He was sure the situation was awkward for her, and he wished he could settle her nerves. The ways he’d done it before was by kissing her, but right now, that probably wasn’t the best thing to do.
Bryan made sure she hooked her hand around his arm as they led the way into his log cabin. Maverick followed, clenching his teeth the whole time. Hannah was his woman, and he did not like sharing. He kept reminding himself that she would legally be his very soon.
They walked to the couches and sat. Bryan made sure he sat by Hannah, which irritated Maverick even more. Since he couldn’t be right beside her, he took the single chair closest to her and sat.
“Fine.” Bryan sighed. “We are here now. You can proceed with your lame explanations.”
“Hannah was kidnapped,” Maverick began.
“Yes, I know. You took her from my house.”
Maverick swished his hand through the air. “No, I wasn’t exactly kidnapping her when your cook saw me take her. However, once we reached my place—”
“Your place?” Bryan jumped to his feet as his voice grew louder. His glare could kill a small animal, Maverick was certain.
Inhaling deeply and breathing it out slowly, he tried to collect his thoughts. He wanted to calm his brother down, and yet, if roles were reversed, Maverick would be livid. Maybe he just needed to skip the details and jump right into the meat of the explanation. “Bryan, I’m in love with Hannah, and she is in love with me. We are going to get married in a few days.”
Bryan’s wide eyes blinked as confusion filled his face. “How did that happen?”
Maverick pushed his fingers through his hair. “If you’ll let me explain without interrupting me, then you’ll understand.”
Bryan threw Hannah a look of betrayal before focusing back on Maverick. “I can’t wait to hear this.”
As Maverick told his brother about why he wanted to keep Hannah from marrying Bryan, the older brother walked to his liquor tray and poured himself a shot of whiskey, tossing it down quickly before pouring another shot.
Maverick explained how Stormy gathered some men to help him try and get money from the Easton brothers, using Hannah as bait. Maverick wasn’t going to let Bryan know that Stormy and Hannah had known each other previously, and Maverick did all he could to tell the story without mentioning anything about her pregnancy.
Gradually, Bryan seemed to calm down. Either that, or it was the whiskey weakening his mind.
Maverick ended by telling his brother about Stormy’s arrest – and then getting shot and killed. Bryan didn’t hold any sympathy in his expression. The whole family knew what kind of person Stormy was, and so, it wasn’t a sad moment to hear of his passing.
After Maverick was finished, he moved beside Hannah and placed his hand on her shoulder. She reached up and grasped his hand, giving him a light squeeze.
“Bryan,” she began, looking at his brother, “I’m very sorry about how everything happened. I didn’t expect to fall in love when I agreed to be a mail-order bride, but...” She glanced up at Maverick and smiled. “I was swept off my feet.”
Slowly, Bryan moved back to them, but sat in a different chair, still with his whiskey drink in his hand. A gush of air escaped his mouth. “So, now tell me more about Coralie.”
“I’d heard,” Maverick began, “that she and her family have lost everything, and that they don’t live very far from here.” He left Hannah to walk over to his brother. He looked down at the man’s sad face. “Joel and I feel that you need to make amends with her. You were both in love at one time.”
Bryan shook his head. “I don’t care what my brothers think. Neither of you are me, and you don’t know how it feels to be looked down upon by a wealthy family. You don’t know how it feels not to be considered good enough to marry a girl I’d given my heart to.” He brought up the glass and finished drinking the remaining whiskey. “No, I won’t go after her. Too much time has passed.” He shrugged. “Besides, she could have easily tried to find me, and she hasn’t. That tells me she doesn’t love me anymore, and she definitely doesn’t care.”
“You’ll never know unless you go see her,” Maverick said calmly.
“I’m sorry, Maverick. Your intentions were thoughtful, but it’s not going to happen.” He glanced at Hannah. “I’m happy that you found a man to love. I hope you two are very happy.”
Bryan stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a sawmill to run since I haven’t been there for three days as I was trying to look for my bride.” He walked to the door and stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Maverick. “I hope you’ll invite me to the wedding.”
Maverick smiled widely. “Of course, I will.”
Bryan nodded and left the house.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Maverick turned to Hannah and held out his arms. She left the couch and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Their mouths met, and their kiss was one of reprieve. Finally, they could now wed without any barriers between them. And Maverick couldn’t wait to make Hannah his wife in all aspects of the word.
* * * *
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Hannah’s face hurt from all the smiling she’d been doing lately, and as she gave Maverick their first kiss as a married couple, happiness filled her soul.
Many people came for the wedding, even Bryan, thankfully, but she was shocked to see her mother come, too. Wayne Lindon, her mother’s employer and his new wife – who was also a mail-order bride, Callie, came with their children. Hannah was pleased to see Wayne smiling so much. Of course, now she understood why. Love does that to a person.
Hannah still wondered if she’d meet some judgmental people in S
tumptown, only because she was supposed to be Bryan’s bride. Thankfully, nobody treated her like the hussy Dillon had once accused her of being.
After visiting with all the well-wisher guests, Maverick took her hand and led her away from the group. She didn’t mind. She wanted to be alone with him, if even for a few moments.
“Mrs. Easton,” he said with a big smile, “my amazing wife who makes my life complete... I love you more every time I look into your eyes.”
She sighed and leaned against him, gazing up into his eyes. “And I melt every time you say such sweet words to me, Mr. Easton, keeper of my heart.”
He caressed her cheek. “We’ll be so happy together.”
“Yes, I believe we will.”
“And I’ve had an idea that you might like.”
“What’s that?”
“The other day, I was thinking of a way to bring more women to Stumptown. After all, I’m married to the prettiest woman around, and I don’t want other men gawking at my wife.”
She laughed. “You are such a charmer.” She touched the dimple in his chin. “But what is your idea?”
“What if we bring in more mail-order brides to match with these lonely loggers?” He wagged his eyebrows. “This will not only keep them happy after work hours, but they won’t be hung-over from their nightly drinking sprees, which in return, will help them work harder and be more productive.”
Hannah nodded, slipping her arms around her husband’s waist. “I love that idea. In fact, if you want, we can be match-makers. You know the men and what they like, and I’ll find them a good mail-order match.”
His grin softened as his focus dropped to her mouth. “Is it any wonder I fell in love with you? You’re so brilliant, and you have the kindest heart.”
Sighing, she moved closer and pressed her mouth against his, lightly brushing their lips together. “We are made for each other. Don’t ever forget that.”
THE END
**READERS – In this story, you met Bryan and Joel Easton. They will both have stories in my new series, “Runaway Mail-Order Bride.” Here is a link to book one – Denton’s Bride. Book 2 will be Bryan’s Bride, and book 3 will be Joel’s Bride. I hope you follow this 5-book series starting in November 2020. (FYI – you’ll learn more about Denton’s (book 1) in my story, Mail-Order Adelaine.
https://www.amazon.com/Dentons-Bride-Runaway-Mail-Order-Book-ebook/dp/B08CQ4TJ6X
https://www.amazon.com/Adelaine-Widows-Brides-Secret-Babies-ebook/dp/B085DF9QS4
Other published stories by Marie Higgins
https://www.authormariehiggins.com/books
SPECIAL OFFER – If you join my newsletter, you will get FREE books to start your reading collection. https://www.authormariehiggins.com/newsletter
Author’s Bio
Marie Higgins is an award-winning, best-selling author of clean romance novels that melt your heart and have you falling in love over and over again. Since 2010, she’s published over 90 heartwarming, on-the-edge-of-your-seat romances. She’s broadened her readership by writing mystery/suspense, humor, time-travel, paranormal, along with her love for historical romances. Her readers have dubbed her “Queen of Tease” because of all her twists and unexpected endings.
Website – https://www.authormariehiggins.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/marie.higgins.7543
Twitter – https://twitter.com/mariehigginsXOX
Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marie-higgins
Hannah's Hardship Page 9
