A Mail Order Bride for the Sheriff: Mary Ann & Warren (Love by Mail 4)
Page 6
A tall bandit, the one who sat with Mary Ann on the horse, jumped down and aimed a gun at the other group. Mary Ann was left alone.
Warren looked around. What could he do? Throw some rocks? Charge now? They needed something to distract the bandits. But he was drawing a blank. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
Something moved above him. He looked up at the branches of the nearby tree. Birds. Lots of birds. Thank you Lord. Warren grinned.
Chapter 10
Mary Ann held the reins close to her chest. Her hands were still tied, but she had convinced her captors to let her sit up right. The guard had left her alone, but the others were still on horseback, and that other group might not hesitate to shoot her if she decided to run...
If her captors were bad the other bandits looked and sounded even worse. The two groups faced off a scant few inches apart, their guns pointed at each other.
“How ‘bout this,” the other leader said, “we cut you a part of the treasure, but you give us your pretty lass over there?”
She bit her lip, eyes darting everywhere. If that were to be her fate, she was going to find a way out of there or die trying.
“Not happening,” the scarred man said.
“Then we’re just gonna have to blow you all to smithereens!”
Mary Ann bowed her head to pray. Suddenly, the air was filled with screeching as dozens of birds shot into the sky. The spooked horses bucked and thumped the ground. Mary Ann grabbed the rains and as she turned her head she caught a glimmer in the corner of her eye. Something shiny up at the top of the hill behind a crop of boulders to her right.
That glimmer. Her chest swelled with emotion and adrenaline. It was a sign! Now or never, she thought as she pulled hard on the reins, turned her horse and broke into a gallop across the dusty valley floor. Away from the mine, towards the woods whence they came from earlier.
“Hey!” the gold-toothed one yelled after her.
Mary Ann glanced back over her shoulder, just in time to see a shot strike the man in the shoulder and throw him from his horse. A loud noise erupted from the woods and Warren and his men charged at the bandits who were now in some degree of disarray.
Meanwhile, thanks to the distraction she reached the shelter of the woods unscathed. From behind the cover of trees she watched the skirmish. Warren was breathtakingly fearless. He rode right into the middle of the melee on Thunderbolt, jumping off to tackle two bandits to the ground. He quickly cuffed them both and shot down two others on horseback, striking one in the arm and the other in the shoulder, causing both to drop their weapons.
Beads of sweat rolled down Mary Ann’s face as she grappled with the rope that bound her wrists together.
“Good boy.” Once free she patted the horse that served her so well.
The fight was over almost as soon as it began. The bandits might have outnumbered her rescuers, but with the element of surprise, by the time the outlaws realized what was happening, it was too late. The wrath of the posse rivalled that of a stampeding herd of buffaloes. Some of the bandits turned tail and ran for the hills, but many were captured. Mary Ann dropped the rope and turned her horse back towards the mine.
Warren looked up from the man he had just tied. His scowling face broke into a wide-eyed smile when he saw her.
“Warren!” she exclaimed, relishing his name on her lips. She was hardly off the horse when he enveloped her in a big hug.
“I’m sorry,” Warren whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve found you sooner.”
“I’m all right. I knew you’d look for me!” Mary Ann melted into his arms.
He squeezed her tight. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes more till Henry Briggs cleared his throat and reminding her and Warren that they still had a group of bandits on their hands.
Epilogue
“… and even Henry Briggs was impressed!” Warren said, chuckling. He squeezed Mary Ann’s hand. “Not a lot of people could’ve kept a cool head in that situation. But you left clues, you rode a horse to safety…”
Mary Ann knew her face was red now, even redder than the setting sun that drenched Angel Creek in a reddish yellow light. They walked up towards the ranch, nodding hello to the men and women working in the fields.
“Thanks, but you were right, you know. I should’ve made more friends.” She curled a strand of hair around one finger. “Instead, because I rarely went out, no one knew I was missing till it was nearly too late.”
“That won’t happen again,” Warren said, bringing her hands to his lips. “I promise.”
A few children ran for the nearby barn, waving at them as they went by.
“You’re famous now,” Warren teased.
“I think it’s you they were waving at.” Mary Ann laughed. “After all, you’re the brave and handsome sheriff who saved the town from bandits.”
“Only because of his smart and pretty wife.”
Mary Ann blushed, then said, “Well, we’re here.”
Warren looked up and they walked towards a tall, older gentleman leaning against the fence.
“Glad you could make it,” he said.
“G’morning, Mr. Bates,” Mary Ann greeted. “Are the horses ready?”
“Question is, are your students?” he asked playfully.
He led them to the paddock where five horses were trotting around. “Beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Not as beautiful as the teacher,” Warren teased, winking at Mary Ann.
She chuckled.
Mr. Bates scratched his chin. “No doubt about that, but don’t you think it’ll be dangerous?”
“Trust me,” Warren said, thumping the older man on the back, “no one can handle a wild mustang like my Mary Ann.”
Mr. Gates looked Warren up and down, and snorted. “I believe you.”
He turned to fetch a brown stallion.
“Mr. Gates,” Mary Ann said, stroking the horse, “I really can’t thank you enough for lending us your horses for the riding lessons.”
“No problem.” Mr. Gates grinned at the couple. “My son’s life has always revolved around this ranch and the horses. He doesn’t go out much, so getting the ladies to come here, was actually in my best interest.”
He winked and they all chuckled.
“I always hoped one day he’d meet a woman who could distract him from his passion. And looking at your wife here Sheriff, it gives me hope that might just happen.”
Sounds like he’d make a lovely match for someone back home, Mary Ann thought, remembering her younger sister.
“Anyway, when will you start?” Mr. Gates asked.
“Maybe next Saturday, but…” Mary Ann turned to her husband. “I’d like to give my husband one free riding lesson today, if you don’t mind, Mr. Gates.”
The older man laughed. “Knock yourselves out.”
Warren raised a brow at Mary Ann, who handed him the reins of a sandy-colored horse. She got up on the brown stallion and said, “Well, Sheriff? Are you ready to lose?”
He grinned at her and swung his legs over his horse. “Are you?”
Mary Ann kicked the horse’s flanks, and Warren followed a fraction after.
“I’m gonna win!” Warren warned her with a smile.
“Oh really?”
“Yeah! And when I do, you’re gonna give me something.”
“What’s that?” Mary Ann asked over the whoosh of the wind.
“A kiss.”
She bit her lip, mouth curling upwards at the edges. Maybe losing the race wouldn’t be so bad…
Thank You!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed following Mary Ann’s story. I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to leave a review for the book (on Amazon, GoodReads, or even your own blog and social media). God bless You for helping spread these positive love stories!
And if you’d like to read more about Angel Creek and other Mai
l Order Brides please check out the other books in the series. :)
Contact
Email: cward.author@gmail.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChristinaWard
Twitter: @AuthorCWard
Book Updates: http://eepurl.com/bwaPnf
Further Reading
Enjoyed this book? :) You should also try the stories below.
Love for Christmas
Christmas Angel (Prequel) – http://amzn.to/1Qc7agK
Julia's meant for greater things, at least according to her mother, but what good is her precious voice, if she has no say who her heart can sing for.
Widows of Virginia Series
Maude’s Trials – http://amzn.to/1JjMIZ0
Meet Maude, a widow desperate to provide for her children. But the last thing this mail order bride expected when she arrived West, was for her future husband to already be engaged to another.
Love by Mail series
Love by Mail Boxset Bundle – http://amzn.to/1OtBKSO
Get all five Angel Creek stories in one handy bundle (you get a saving over buying the individual stories one by one too!). Included are books 1-5: Undertaker, Miner, Fur Trader, Sheriff & Thanksgiving
~ or get the individual stories ~
A Mail Order Bride for the Undertaker – http://amzn.to/1R2b0t7
Meet Mercy, an orphan desperate to help those who had raised her and maybe, just maybe, find true love while she supports those in need. But is Cole, a strangely jolly undertaker in a town full of unwelcoming strangers, really what the Lord had in store for her?
A Mail Order Bride for the Miner – http://amzn.to/1R2b4ch
Meet Mercy, an orphan desperate to help those who had raised her and maybe, just maybe, find true love while she supports those in need. But is Cole, a strangely jolly undertaker in a town full of unwelcoming strangers, really what the Lord had in store for her?
A Mail Order Bride for the Fur Trader – http://amzn.to/1R2b5wO
Meet Joy, a fashion lover intent on finding her prince charming. But when forced to marry a man she despises, even the life of a mail order bride seems a better fate. But will her prayers be answered when she meets a hardy fur trader in the West?
A Mail Order Bride for Thanksgiving – http://amzn.to/1R2bdfH
Meet Betty, the best cook in town. But while her mother taught her the way to a man's heart leads through his stomach, the suitors don't seem to line up for this curvy gal. To avoid being judged by her looks she becomes a mail order bride, but when she meets John, her Christian, part-Lakota husband-to-be, she might need to overcome her own prejudice first.