Her Secret Shame (Black Hills Brides Book 3)

by Christine Sterling

  “And he loved me. If it wasn’t for my meddling father, we would be together still. The bank robbery was supposed to be the end of it all. He was going to rob the bank to get enough money for us to run away together, far away from here. But the heist went bad. I was supposed to meet him at a special place, in the outskirts of town. And when Christopher finally showed, my father was at his heels. When he saw me, he was angry. He called me a child, told me I didn’t know what I was doing. That I needed to step away from the man. He told me that he would never allow us to be together. No daughter of his would do something like this. I felt like a doll, a piece of property. And I knew he would never let us be together. I grabbed Christopher’s gun, and I killed him. I wouldn’t allow anyone to stand in our way.”

  Misty saw as Mary dropped to the ground, her hand on her mouth. Samantha’s face had turned to stone and she was holding her breath. “You killed your father? How could you do something like that?”

  “He wasn’t a father to me! He never loved me. I was just a reminder of what he lost. I was unhappy and wanting to leave, but he had to keep up appearances. When I finally found my happiness, he just couldn’t stand it. He didn’t want me to be happy. I couldn’t allow that to happen,” Beatrice said, keeping the gun steady in Misty’s direction. “And we would have been happy, if it wasn’t for John. Christopher told me that I had to go home, as it wasn’t safe anymore for us to leave. With the sheriff gone, they would be looking for him. I should go back to the ranch and wait for him to come back. No matter how long it took, he would come back for me. I waited, for weeks. I knew he was going to come back for me. But then John had to ruin it for me.”

  Misty couldn’t believe Beatrice. “What are you going to do with the cattle?” she asked.

  “That is just a means to an end. I’ll sell them for the money, so I can finally get away from the wretched place. It’s what Heller would have wanted for me, not to end up here wilting away.”

  “I don’t understand why you would act so sickly with your brother.”

  She laughed. “It’s how I can control him, you fool. You aren’t as smart as I would have suspected. I would think from one manipulator to another, we would be able to at least understand each other, Misty.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Beatrice scoffed. “Of course, you do, Misty. You were the one, turning my brother’s head, giving him something to almost live for. As soon as you came into town, all I would hear about was you. But why? Why was some nobody maid consuming my brother’s thoughts? It wasn’t good. You were getting in the way. Which is why I had Clover try to disgrace you. My brother, he’s so self-righteous. I knew the only way to get rid of you was to tarnish your name. And it would take forever, but I got a saving grace,” she turned to look at Mary, still seated on the floor. “I found your weak spot. Your little sister.”

  Samantha gasped next to Misty. Beatrice now pointed the gun at her. “Your sweet sister Mary. Who knew how devoted you would be to her. It made something so difficult so easy.”

  Misty took a step to the side, in front of the gun. “Let them go. You obviously have issues with me, but they should be spared.”

  As the two women stared at each other, the gun between them, Samantha clutched her stomach. She doubled over in pain, screeching at the top of her lungs. As Beatrice looked over towards Samantha, Misty took the opening. She knocked the gun out of Beatrice’s hand before punching her in the face with as much might as she could muster. When Beatrice went down to the ground, seemingly stunned for the moment, she went to Samantha, with Mary behind her.

  “Samantha, are you ok?”

  “No, I’m not. I think I’m having the baby.”

  Misty became wide-eyed, looking around the room. She saw that Beatrice had gotten up again, blood trailing from her lower lip. “You, little tart,” she said as she raised the gun again. Misty’s heart started to beat ten-fold and she braced her body as best as she could over Samantha, closing her eyes and hoping that the end would come soon.

  There was a crash on the ground and another scuffle, until there was no noise at all. She opened her eyes, looking to see Beatrice on the floor, this time with more blood coming from her forehead. She turned and saw Mary was holding a large lamp in her hands, which she dropped. Her hands were shaking as she slumped down to the ground.

  “Mary?” Misty asked, reaching out to her sister.

  “I just couldn’t let her kill you,” she said, as she wrapped her arms around her sister. “I finally got you back, so you can’t leave me again,” she said, as she started to cry into Misty’s chest.

  She patted her sister’s head, trying to console her before Samantha wailed again. “We have to go,” Samantha said. “I need to be with Seth.”

  “I don’t know if it’s wise for us to go,” Misty started to say before Samantha shot her the most angered look. At that moment, Misty thought it would be best to follow what the angry pregnant lady wanted.

  It felt like he had been riding for ages, but they were still far away from the ranch. It was on the outskirts of town and would take at least thirty minutes to get there, on a good day. But it was so dark, it was hard for John to see the road. It wasn’t helping that images of distress were playing in his mind over and over. If something had happened to Misty, he would never forgive himself.

  Seth rode up next to him. “How far are we now, Sheriff?” Seth had been anxious to get to Samantha since they left the hotel. He wanted to get back to his wife, but they weren’t going as fast as he wanted to. John knew how hard this was on him; he wished he could go faster for him.

  Tom had ridden up next to them, looking at his best friend. “Don’t worry, we will get them in time,” he said, trying to console Seth. John just kept looking ahead, because he didn’t want to think about what was going to happen if they didn’t get to them in time.

  He saw movement coming down the hill before them. He slowed his horse down, with the gentlemen following, as he squinted to see what it was. It started to come into focus as a horse pulling a wagon. The horse was erratic, as if the driver didn’t know what he was doing. As he pulled his horse back to a stop, he wondered who would be out this late at night?

  In the dim light, he noticed that the driver was not a man, but a woman, and there was no mistaking that red hair. “Misty!” he shouted, just as the wagon came to a halt in front of them. She was breathing heavily, her hair cascading down her back. Sweat was coating her forehead, as she looked at John with wide eyes. “John?” she asked, as her eyes came into focus on him.

  Seth jumped off his horse, running to the back of the wagon where Samantha was laying. Her head was on Mary’s lap, as she was patting her forehead with a cloth. “Samantha, my love, what is happening?” he asked, grabbing her hand.

  “I think I’m having the baby,” she said through rough breaths before she clutched her stomach again.

  “You shouldn’t have left then,” Seth shouted at her, before he heard his own voice. He lowered it, looking at her softly. “It’s too dangerous for you to move. I would have come to you.”

  “I didn’t know if you knew where we were, and I can’t do this without you,” she said, with tears streaming down her face.

  Seth put his head to her forehead, trying to soothe his distressed wife. “No matter where you are, I will always find you.”

  John moved his horse to stand next to Misty. “How did you get away?”

  “You sister, she…” Misty started to say.

  “I know, Clover told us. Is she still up there?” he asked, looking towards the house on the hill. He could see the faint light.

  “Yes, we were able to get away, but I didn’t really look back when we left. She tried to kill us, John. She was on the floor when we ran. I am so sorry. Samantha was in pain, so we loaded up the wagon and tried to get here. I haven’t actually driven a wagon before,” she said. “It was a rough ride down.”

  “I’m going back up to the house. Tom, can you drive the wag
on back into town? Go to the station and tell George to come up.”

  Tom nodded as Samantha squealed again. “I don’t think she can wait much longer,” Misty said, looking back at Samantha. “What should we do?” she asked.

  “You are to go back with Tom and stay in town.”

  “But you shouldn’t go back up there alone!” Misty said. “I should come with you.”

  “No!” John said, saying it louder than he had wanted. “I want you to be safe, and I can’t keep you safe when it’s just me. I would rather you be somewhere where I know you’ll be taken care of.”

  Misty’s face softened, and she nodded her head. Then she reached over and kissed John. “Be safe then. I expect you to come back for me,” she said.

  Tom whistled as he sat next to Misty. “Well, well, well, Misty and the sheriff? Who would have known?” he said with a wink. He took the reins from Misty, “Good luck, Sheriff,” he said, before he pulled away, taking the wagon and the two other horses Tom had tied to the wagon with them. John looked back at them until it disappeared. Then he turned back to the house, not sure what would be waiting for him when he got there.

  Chapter 17

  Three weeks later

  The baby gurgled in her arms as Misty patted the blond tuft of hair on his head. “He has so much hair for someone so small!” she exclaimed as she squeezed his cheek and looked up his mother, who was smiling the biggest smile she had ever seen her have.

  “It’s because he takes after his father. Tom told me that his parents said Seth came out with a lot of hair on his head too,” she said, as she leaned back on the blanket they were sitting on. They were outside, enjoying the breeze on the Jenkins’ farm. There would only be a few more of these days where it wasn’t too cold for them to be outside. They had been preparing for the winter since the events of little Joseph Jenkins’ arrival.

  Tom drove the wagon all the way into town making a ruckus the whole way. Seth was beside himself, not knowing what to do. The plan was originally just having the baby at the farm where all Samantha’s birthing supplies were, but there was no time to go back to it. Luckily for them, Mrs. Smith had birthed her fair share of babies and little Joseph was brought into this world with as much ease as any normal birth.

  Misty wouldn’t know; she stood outside the room as Samantha was screaming. She didn’t think she would be much assistance to her friend, but Mary stepped up to assist Mrs. Smith. And when the whole ordeal was over, Mary had another outlook on life in general. She told Misty she felt she had found her calling; she wanted to be a midwife.

  Misty reflected on the day that she saw Mary off. She was going to return to Georgia, to follow her dreams. It was hard for Misty to let her go, but she knew that this was something Mary had to do on her own. And even though she didn’t want to be apart, she knew her home was here now, with her new family. But she planned on visiting whenever she herself got resettled.

  “Oh, they brought Betty back,” Samantha said, pointing out to the field as Seth was bringing Betty over, his blue bow shining in the light of the sun.

  “You know Betty is a boy?” Misty asked.

  “Oh, I know. I didn’t know when I named her and there seemed no point in changing it. He will always be a Betty to me,” Samantha explained, looking at her beloved steer. “Plus, it ensures that Seth can never take her to market.”

  Misty laughed and reflected on how the steer with the blue bow broke up the rustling operation.

  After the events at the ranch, John arrested Henry and Mathis, along with clearing the hotel of Clover and her girls. Higgins was beside himself when he came back, and all his workers were gone; he was angrier when he learned of the business that was going on under his roof. He had asked Misty if she wanted to go back to the hotel to work for him.

  He would promote her to Clover’s position, as head of the maids. He was going to need someone there who knew what they were doing so all the new workers could be trained. Misty liked the idea, as it would give her financial freedom that she had never known before. It was heartbreaking when she turned him down.

  When she thought about her old life as a maid and everything that had happened since, she realized she couldn’t go back to that life. She needed to find her own path and make her own dreams come true.

  As she stared at the little one in her lap, she smiled. She realized that night that she could do anything she set her heart to. She wasn’t destined to just live one life and her past didn’t define her. She could create her own destiny and walk her own path.

  “Excuse me ladies,” said a gruff voice above them. Both women looked up, with Misty’s breath catching in her throat.

  No matter how many times she looked at him, John Henderson always made her palms sweat and her heart flutter. Ever since that night, they had only seen each other a handful of times as he spent most of his time travelling to the surrounding towns in search of answers.

  She didn’t know the details of what John had seen when he went up to the house; only that his sister had vanished without a trace. They had been on the lookout for her and he had gone to other towns and so far, no one had seen her at all. The cattle rustling had stopped, so they believe that if she did escape, she went far enough away.

  Misty had dreaded having to tell him that his sister was the one that killed his father, but she knew it was important for her to tell him, before he found out some other way. And when she did tell him, he seemed to take it much better than she thought he would. But when she went to comfort him, he had asked her to give him space. And as much as she didn’t want to leave him, she knew she had to respect his wishes.

  Without a place to go back to, she had asked Samantha if she could stay with them while she figured out what she was going to do. Samantha was more than overjoyed, especially to have the extra hands with little Joseph. Misty knew Samantha was going to make a wonderful mother, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need help, especially in the cooking department. Seth and Tom were glad to have her. Now that Elizabeth was working full-time as a teacher in town at the new school, she wasn’t coming home in time to help with supper, so they were left with whatever Samantha would prepare. Misty had taken to showing Samantha some different dishes. She was confident that when she was going to leave, Samantha would be able to cook more than average soup or the few things she learned when she worked for Old Man Higgins.

  “Hello Sheriff,” Samantha said. “What brings you here?”

  Misty waited with bated breath as he chuckled. “For a few reasons. I had some business to discuss with Tom and Seth.”

  “Oh, and what business is that?” Samantha asked.

  “We’ve recovered most of the stolen cattle. Henry and Mathis finally gave all the locations up. George and I have spent the morning delivering them, so you should have everything that was stolen from you.”

  “That’s wonderful,” she said, clasping her hands together. “Was there anything else?” she added, her head leaning towards Misty. Misty had wished that Samantha was a little subtler in her actions. With the two of them working in the kitchen so closely, Samantha had made it a point to bring it up as many times as she could, so she could get every little detail of their short courtship.

  “I wanted to see the little man here,” he said, as he leaned in to touch Joseph’s head. He was so close, Misty could smell his scent, of mixture of wood and sun. It made her mouth water. “And then, of course, to talk to this little lady here,” he said pointing to Misty.

  As much as Misty had missed John, she could feel the terror in her soul. She hadn’t talked to or seen him since she had told him what Beatrice had shared with her. She was afraid that he didn’t feel the same, not after she delivered such devastating news. She just wanted to believe that they still might have a chance at a real future.

  She wanted to hide behind Joseph, but Samantha wouldn’t give her the chance. Samantha scooped up the sleeping Joseph from Misty’s arms and turned to retreat to the house. “Of course,” she said, holding
the sleeping baby close to her chest.

  “But,” Misty started to protest before Samantha sent her a glare she usually reserved for when Seth was doing something she didn’t approve of. She got up from the blanket and followed John down the hill. She looked back at Samantha, wanting to give her a stern look, but all she saw was a large smile on Samantha’s face.

  John had thought about what he was going to say to Misty the first time he saw her again, but those words had died in his throat. They had walked a few meters away, as he hoped to get out of earshot from Samantha. Not that the woman wouldn’t know what their conversation was going to be about; he had a feeling that once Misty returned, she would interrogate her until she squealed all her dark secrets. He might want to recruit Samantha to be one of his deputies.

  He looked over at Misty, as she was walking solemnly next to him. Her hair was tied back behind her head, but it still flowed down her back. He never thought she could be more beautiful, but somehow, she had accomplished it. He knew he would never tire of looking at her. “It’s a nice day today, isn’t it?” he asked, trying to calm his own nerves.

  “Yes, it’s a lovely day,” she said, with no hint of emotion. He felt like a bundle of nerves, having missed her with every fiber of his being, and she seemed to be unaffected by him. Did she not miss him in his absence? He was counting the days when he would see her again, but he knew it was too soon. He was still mourning the loss of his sister, with the knowledge that she was the one who had done all this destruction, starting with his father. How he didn’t even see it under his own nose. He would never forgive himself, as he should have seen it sooner.

  “I’m sorry, for everything. I should have known how Beatrice was.”

  “Don’t be,” she said, as she went to grab his arm. “We can get so blinded when it’s our family; we can’t see the situation for what it is sometimes. All we want is the see the best of everything.”