The Secret Admirer Romance Collection

by Barratt, Amanda; Beatty, Lorraine; Bull, Molly Noble

  Rather than say what she was thinking—that this truly was not how she envisioned her escape to turn out—she settled for a shake of her head. Then he turned his attention to her.

  “I will have a truthful answer, Miss Barrett. Have you been harmed by any of these idiots?”

  She glanced back at the wagon full of Wyatts and then back at Deke. “Other than the indignity of being stuffed into a feed sack and held hostage in a parlor, I have not been harmed.”

  “We do apologize for that feed sack,” Eli said. “We panicked just a little, what with the folks from the train thinking we were trying to rob them and all.”

  “Apology accepted,” Pearl said with a smile. “And though this isn’t the current topic, please allow me to offer my condolences for the passing of your father.”

  His expression softened. “Thank you.”

  “I wished to attend the services, but…” She let the words fall between them, unwilling to offer a reminder of the feud that separated the two families.

  “Back to the topic at hand. You said you were trying to escape the train. Why would you want to do that?”

  She gave the question a moment’s thought and decided against revealing too much of the reason she’d been on that train. “I was not consulted regarding the travel plans.”

  Silence fell between them. That response had certainly made her sound like a petulant child. Perhaps she should have given him a more detailed answer, but she just couldn’t discuss her father’s wedding plans with a man she had spent years wishing to wed.

  “Then I know what I need to do.” Deke climbed up beside her and took up the reins. They rode in silence until he passed the turn for the Barrett home.

  “Hey, Deke,” Eli said. “Where you going?”

  “Town,” was his curt answer.

  “Not sure why you’d do that,” Eli said as the other Wyatt brothers in the back of the wagon nodded their agreement.

  “Deke,” she said gently to the man whose shoulder touched hers. “If you drive this wagon through town, there’s no telling who will see us.” She touched his sleeve. “My reputation will be ruined.”

  Deke spared her a sideways look. “I will not let that happen.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  So he would help her after all. Pearl’s smile lasted all the way to town but disappeared when the wagon pulled up on a side street near the sheriff’s office. “Stay right here,” Deke told her as he climbed down and indicated for his brothers to follow him.

  “Why, Deke?” Eli asked as his brothers nodded and asked similar questions. “I thought we were seeing to Miss Pearl.”

  “We are,” Deke said as he opened the door and gestured for them to all step inside. “But first you fools need to have a conversation with the sheriff about that incident with the train.”

  The door slammed shut, leaving her alone on the wagon. At least Deke had thought not to park out front where anyone walking down the main street would see her. Pearl smiled. He was taking care of her, even in this small thing.

  She held on to that thought as she heard a familiar voice. “I don’t care what the sheriff says,” Pearl’s father shouted. “I will see justice.”

  “Justice will be done, dear,” her mother said in that soothing voice she often took with him. “Just listen to what he says. That is all I ask.”

  Scooting to the edge of the seat, Pearl gently climbed down. She tiptoed over to peer around the corner just in time to see her mother’s skirt disappearing into the sheriff’s office.

  Pearl leaned back against the brick wall and calmed her pulse. Whatever was happening inside that office, it couldn’t be good. Not with Papa so riled up.

  Of course, he was worried about her. Yes, that was it. He hadn’t seen her since she left the train during its unscheduled stop. As soon as Deke explained what happened, Papa would be…

  Pearl sighed. He would be furious. At her, of course. Especially after their disagreement regarding Deke on the train.

  She glanced over at the unattended wagon and briefly considered making good on the attempt that had failed earlier in the day. But where would she go? Certainly not home and most certainly not to Polecat Creek Ranch without Deke.

  So she climbed back up in the wagon. And she waited.

  And waited.

  Finally, the sheriff came ambling around the corner. “Miss Barrett,” he called, “I’d be much obliged if you’d come inside with me.”

  She followed the sheriff then stalled at the door. Mama and Papa rose, and though her father remained in place, her mother rushed to embrace her. Deke and his brothers were nowhere in sight.

  “We were so worried when you disappeared,” Mama said against her ear. “So very worried.”

  “I’m sorry,” she managed. “I didn’t think of how you might feel when I—”

  “Wife,” her father said, “do gather your wits. We’ve got more important things to discuss than your worries regarding our delinquent daughter. Come back over here and try to remember you are a Barrett.”

  “Yes, of course.” Mama let her go with one last long look and then returned to Papa’s side.

  “All right,” the sheriff said as he leaned against the corner of his desk. “We’ve got a situation here, and I’m the one who’s going to decide how it all turns out.” He turned his attention to Pearl. “I’ve spoken to your father, and he says you were with him on the train and then disappeared when it was stopped by the Wyatt boys. Would you agree to that version of the story?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I agree.”

  “All right, then. I’ll move on to the next part of the situation, namely, how we resolve all the laws that have been broken.” He glanced over at Papa. “Your father and I are in disagreement. See, I don’t believe you had any part in stopping that train, but he believes otherwise, owing to a conversation the two of you had right before it stopped on the tracks. So I will need the truth out of you.”

  “The truth?” she echoed as she tried not to shrink away under her father’s angry gaze. “The truth is that I prayed for something to stop that train. That much I admit to. However, I had no idea how God was going to answer that prayer.”

  “And you’ll swear an oath to that effect?” the sheriff asked.

  “Yes,” she said slowly, “I will.”

  “Good enough for me,” the sheriff said. “What say you, Barrett?”

  Her father’s expression remained unchanged, though he offered a curt nod. “Yes, I do suppose I can agree that while she most certainly did not want to accompany her mother and me to Denver, she is not so impetuous that she would plan a train robbery to achieve this.”

  “Or a false kidnapping,” the sheriff added.

  At the word kidnapping, Mama let out a soft wail and dabbed her eyes. Papa patted her shoulder but otherwise barely blinked.

  “I would never arrange a kidnapping,” she assured Mama. “You have my word that when I boarded the train to Denver, my only plan was to pray that the Lord would intervene.” She offered a weak smile. “And He did.”

  “And yet your reputation now has been ruined.” Mama sank to her knees and dissolved into a fit of tears.

  Papa lifted her to her feet and then helped her to the nearest chair. “See what you’ve done to your mother,” he said to Pearl. “And though I have much to say on what you’ve done to my credibility with my esteemed business partner, we shall reserve that discussion for a less public venue.”

  “Credibility or bank credit, Papa?” Pearl snapped as her temper rose. “For I would assume your credit would rise with my arrival in Denver. He was paying you substantially, wasn’t he?”

  “You ungrateful child,” her father said. “I only arranged a situation that would be the best for you.”

  “And for you,” Pearl said. “I am very glad my heavenly Father arranged a better one.”

  Now she’d done it. The Barrett family secrets were never to be aired in public, and here she’d said things in front of the sher
iff that hadn’t needed to be spoken. “I’m sorry, Papa,” she said, her voice contrite. “I should not have spoken so harshly.”

  Her father frowned and turned away. Mama grasped his hand, tears shimmering in her eyes.

  “Let’s get back to the goings-on of this morning. Is that what you’re saying happened?” the sheriff said as he stood. “You said a prayer and the Wyatt boys showed up to rob the train?”

  “I don’t believe the Wyatts robbed the train. Stopped the train would be the accurate description,” she said. “But, yes, the rest of your statement is accurate.”

  The sheriff crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to be considering her statement. Finally, he rose.

  “All right, Barrett,” he said to Papa. “I’ve heard enough. For all that those Wyatt boys have been prone to stupid decisions, especially the twins, I’ve never had any occasion to call them criminals. You’ve known them all as long as I have. Can you offer any evidence to the contrary?”

  Papa looked as if he wished he could. Finally, he shook his head. “I cannot.”

  “Given the fact nothing was taken from the train, I cannot charge these boys with train robbery,” he said. “Stupidity, yes, but not train robbery.”

  “But, Sheriff,” Papa protested. “We agreed there would be compensation for my daughter’s reputation. She was forcibly removed from a train and hauled away. It won’t be long before the whole town knows this.”

  Pearl’s heart sank. Where was Deke?

  “Just hold on, Mr. Barrett. I’m coming to that part,” the sheriff said as he turned to Pearl. “Way I see it, those boys kidnapped you and brought you back to Polecat Creek Ranch where you were kept against your will for a length of time with no female chaperone in attendance. Can you deny any of this?”

  “I cannot,” she said. “But nothing untoward happened. Once they removed me from the feed sack, that is, they were perfect gentlemen.”

  At the mention of a feed sack, Mama resumed wailing. This time Papa left her to her noise as he crossed the room to come face-to-face with the sheriff.

  “If you’ve got a plan to repair this situation, I will hear it now. My wife is beyond distraught, and my daughter and her reputation have suffered greatly at the hands of the Wyatt brothers. What justice do you offer for this?”

  “Miss Barrett,” the sheriff said, seeming to ignore Papa, “I want you to understand that I have taken both your father’s wishes and my need to keep the peace into consideration as I make my decision on what’s going to happen here.”

  He glanced back at her father. “Because I’m the law here, I’ve got final say in the situation. However, I’d be much obliged if you’d agree now not to go against whatever I decide.”

  “I’m not sure I can do that, Sheriff,” he said. “I’m a man of commerce, and as such, I do not agree to a deal until after I have heard it.”

  “Then this’ll be a new experience, Barrett, because if you disagree with what I’m going to propose, then the alternative is that your daughter was acting with these Wyatt boys and not a victim. Do you want the whole lot of them, Miss Barrett included, to be charged with something? I guarantee that’ll get around town fast.”

  Papa lifted his chin in defiance. It was a look Pearl knew well. Mama said she copied it when the need arose, but Pearl didn’t think so.

  “I thought you said you didn’t have anything to charge those boys with.”

  “Changed my mind,” the lawman said. “I think criminal mischief ‘ll do to start. I’m sure the railroad company’ll have some complaint about the delay, so I’ll be factoring that in. Probably a fraud charge for falsifying a kidnapping. And I’m mightily aggrieved I had to investigate a false claim, so I’ll tack something on for that, too. Might just come up with a few other charges once I set my mind to it.”

  “All right,” her father said. “I’ll agree to whatever you decide, with one qualification. I want my daughter’s reputation unscathed. Do you understand?”

  “Quite well,” he said. “You know I’ve got a girl of my own, and while she’s not of marriageable age yet, she will be someday. A reputation’s a thing that must be protected until such time as a woman is wed.”

  “Well, at least we agree on that,” Papa said. “So what’s this plan of yours?”

  The sheriff grinned. “Miss Barrett, you’re going to get hitched.”

  Mama’s crying and Papa’s protests drowned out most of the sheriff’s explanation, but Pearl managed to understand that there would be a jailhouse wedding with her as bride. She struggled to figure out just to whom she might be wed.

  Surely the sheriff hadn’t found some way to contact Mr. Simpson in Denver. That would be just awful.

  The sheriff nodded toward the back hallway. “Now if you’ll just pick out a Wyatt boy, I’ll go fetch him out of the jail and let him know today’s his lucky day.”

  “Oh, no, not a Wyatt,” Mama said. “John, don’t let her marry a Wyatt.”

  “Mama?” Pearl pressed past the sheriff to kneel beside her mother. “You know I’ve loved Deke Wyatt since I was a girl. I’ve prayed for this day, and now here it is.”

  Her mother looked her in the eyes and swiped a tear. “Your wedding was supposed to be a grand affair with all of society in attendance. Look where you are. It’s just not right.”

  Pearl wiped away her mother’s tears with the back of her hand and then mustered a smile. “It may not be what you wanted for me, but it is what I want.” She turned to look at the sheriff as the odd thought occurred: what a surprising letter to Frank this would be!

  “I’ll marry Deke if he’ll have me,” she told the sheriff, suppressing a smile for the benefit of her mother.

  “Oh, he’ll have you,” the sheriff said. “Just let me go fetch him. Might take a minute or two to explain things, but he’ll have you.”

  “I won’t have her,” Deke said loud enough to be heard by the conniving woman and her family. “I don’t care if you have to lock me away for the rest of my life, I will not be trapped into marrying anyone, especially not the Barrett girl.”

  “That’s fine, then,” the sheriff told him. “Looks like you and your brothers’ll do a little time here in the jailhouse. Then the railroad company’ll come and get you and take you up to where they’re based. I forget. Is it Philadelphia? Boston, maybe? In any account, you’ll likely stand charges there of delay of commerce and fraud, just to get started.”

  “Fraud?” Deke shook his head. “That’s a serious charge, and you have no proof of it.”

  “Don’t need proof, son. There’s a whole bunch of people on that train who saw the Wyatt boys out there this morning. Now, while you all probably won’t do more than five to ten years on the federal charges, that’s enough time away to cause your law practice to suffer and the Polecat Creek Ranch to go to ruin.” He shrugged. “But if that’s how you feel.”

  Eli tapped the sheriff on the shoulder. “I’ll marry up with her. She’s right pretty.”

  “I’ll marry her,” Ben said. “She’s feisty. I like a feisty woman.”

  The rest of the boys offered their opinions on why they should be the one to take the Barrett woman as a bride. Finally, the sheriff held up his hands to silence them.

  “I’m sorry, boys, but the deal is Deke marries her or you’ll be making yourself at home here until it’s time to head off to the federal prison.” He turned to Deke. “It’s a shame about those young brothers of yours. They won’t last long in the penitentiary. Anyway, what’ll it be, son?”

  “This is ludicrous,” Deke said. “There are no statutes to back up the charges you’re making, and no evidence to warrant a federal trial.” Before the sheriff could lecture him on evidence and such, Deke shook his head. “However, I’d like to make a deal of my own. Let me go to jail and let these idiots go free. I may not be able to argue my way out of local charges, but I’d be happy to take my chances with a federal prosecutor.”

  “Nope. We’ve got a young lady out there whose rep
utation could be seriously damaged if word gets out she was kidnapped by five men and held against her will without a female companion to chaperone. Now, if the word gets out that she eloped, well, that’s a whole other thing, now, ain’t it?”

  “Eloped?” Deke thought through several scenarios and then came to the only possible conclusion. The sheriff was right.

  “You sure she only wants me?” Deke said. “As you noticed, any one of my brothers would be glad to marry up with her.”

  “I’m sure.” He paused. “So I’ll just let you be for a few minutes so you can make your decision. Just so we’re clear, it’s either marry Miss Barrett or the whole lot of you goes behind bars for a long time.”

  Deke felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Eli standing there. “I won’t tell you what to do. The boys and me’ll stand behind you no matter what you decide. However, I do not see anything wrong with marrying up with that Miss Barrett. She just might be what the good Lord thinks you need.”

  He let out a long breath and then nodded. There really was no other choice. Either he married Pearl Barrett or he risked ruining his brothers’ lives and losing the ranch that his father worked so hard to build.

  “All right, Sheriff,” he called. “I will marry her, but I want the official record to reflect that I am marrying her under duress.”

  “Oh, shoot, son. There ain’t going to be no official record of this. The only thing the busybodies in this town are going to know is that a young man who had been away from our fair city for a while pined away for his childhood sweetheart to the extent that he had his brothers stop a train to fetch her for him to wed. Now ain’t that romantic?”

  “It sure is, Sheriff,” Eli said. “Can I be his best man? I mean, what with me being part of the elopement and all. I’d even be happy to claim I organized the elopement, if that will help.”

  As the other brothers began to argue over which of them would stand beside Deke as he was led to the slaughter, he leaned against the iron bars and wondered how he would explain this to his mother. And worse, to his grandfather.

  The explanation that he was trading one prison for another was not far from the mark. The only difference was, in the prison to which he was going, he was the only man there.