“You make me sick. It wasn’t enough you took everything from my sister, including her life—you had to come here and destroy someone else’s?” Malcolm roared.
“Now, Malcolm, if you’d done what a good brother is supposed to do and saved your sister from someone like me… Well then she’d likely still be alive and none of us would be standing out here in the cold listening to my life story.”
Annie could only watch in terror as she realized the man had just pushed Malcolm too far. He rushed at Albert at the same time a shot rang out. She screamed as her husband fell to the ground, and she dropped Lily’s hand to run over to him. Hawkeye was in motion too, and Albert pointed his gun at him, just as a loud growling came from right behind him.
Albert quickly turned, giving Hawkeye the chance to throw him to the ground. The men wrestled for the gun while Annie dropped to her knees in the snow beside Malcolm. Tears fell from her eyes freely as she tried to move his clothing to see where he’d been hit. His eyes were closed, and she cried out when she saw the redness of the snow under his shoulder.
“No, Malcolm, no. Please be okay.” She put her hands on his chest, and leaned in to place her cheek next to his. “You can’t do this to me. I just found you and I can’t lose you. Please, Malcolm.” The pain in her heart made it difficult to speak.
She could hear the men still fighting beside her and anger like she’d never experienced raced through her veins. Slowly, she stood up, motioning for Lily to just stay put where she was standing. Picking up the gun Malcolm had dropped, she aimed it at the men on the ground.
She knew she couldn’t hit Albert without risking hitting Hawkeye, so instead, she pointed it in the air and fired. She’d never shot a gun before and as it recoiled back, it hit her in the shoulder. But it was enough to get their attention, and when Albert looked toward her, it was enough time for Hawkeye to hit him hard enough to knock him out.
He jumped off him and picked the gun up that had fallen in the scuffle, before running to Lily. He picked her up, checking her over from top to bottom to make sure she was all right. Annie turned, and sat back on the ground beside Malcolm. She placed her hand on his chest, thankful to feel his heart still beating. Closing her eyes, she let the tears fall as she prayed for him to be all right.
Suddenly, a warm hand covered hers, and her eyes flew open. She threw herself on top of him, crying with relief.
“Ow, Annie. Be careful.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” She quickly pulled back, moving away from the wounded shoulder.
But he wouldn’t let go of her hand, and he gently pulled her back in. “Annie, I really ought to be mad at you right now for everything you’ve put me through. But all I can think about is how desperately I need to hold you and know you’re all right.” His voice sounded hoarse and she knew he was in pain.
“I’m all right, Malcolm. And you have every right to be angry with me, just not right now. Now, we just need to get you home and get someone to look at your shoulder.”
She tried to stand up, ready to get Hawkeye to help her with him, but he continued holding her to his chest. “First I need to tell you something. After you went missing, and then I found out your father could possibly be here looking for you, I’ve never experienced fear like I did then. I can’t even explain it. All I know is, I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it, and the thought of anything happening to you killed me.”
Her chin quivered as she smiled down into his blue eyes. She nodded, knowing she couldn’t trust herself to speak right now.
“I love you, Annie. And even though you might sometimes make me crazy, I don’t ever want to find out what life would be like without you.”
A soft cry escaped, and she quickly brought her hand up to cover her mouth to control her emotions. But he reached up and pulled it down, shaking his head. “And I don’t ever want to see you covering any part of your beautiful face. Ever.”
She flung herself across his chest, kissing him over and over on his cheek. “I love you too, Malcolm. And I know I didn’t tell you everything about my father, but I was so afraid that you’d send me away…”
He pushed her back and reached a hand up to gently caress her cheek. “Annie, there’s nothing in the world that would ever make me want to send you away.”
His fingers made their way around her neck and slowly pulled her down to him. When his lips touched hers, she knew without a doubt, this man loved her for who she was, without caring about who her father was or any scars she bore.
He’d told her he loved her.
And she believed him.
Epilogue
“I’m serious, Malcolm. You aren’t supposed to be doing anything strenuous for a few days, so sit back down and let me get the wood.”
She pushed past him and grabbed her coat from the hook before he could argue. He was left standing by the table looking like he was biting his tongue to keep from saying anything to her.
She didn’t care. The other Mounties had taken care of his wound when they’d all arrived back at the village. Thankfully, the bullet had just skimmed his shoulder, but they’d all told him to take things easy for a while.
Ida had been so happy to see Lily, and the little girl promised her mother she’d never run off again. She didn’t care what those mean boys said to her.
Albert had been tied up and dragged back to Reindeer Rock with them, where he was then transported to Cochrane. A Mountie from Ottawa came up on the train to take him back down to stand trial. With the amount of crimes he was being charged with, Malcolm said he was sure he’d never see daylight again.
Malcolm had received a nice reward for finally catching Albert Jacobs, a criminal who’d been staying a step ahead of the law for many years. But he’d quickly handed it over to Hawkeye and Ida, telling them to use it for Ida’s surgery.
She now had enough to go to Ottawa as soon as they could to have it done.
Miss Hazel had sent another message saying her father had been caught not far from where he’d escaped. She hoped she would never have to worry about him being free again either.
As she leaned down to pick up some pieces of wood against the cabin, she couldn’t stop thinking about Lily and how much their lives were alike. She knew they’d always have a bond because of what made them different, but also because of the men who’d fathered them.
She peeked down at Finnegan’s bowl and smiled when she saw it was empty. She hoped he’d enjoyed the ham and eggs she’d put in there for his breakfast earlier. As long as she was around, that fox would never again feel hunger. It made her glad to know he was warmly cuddled up in his den with her old blanket at night, along with the few other little items she’d placed out for him.
Malcolm had groaned in frustration when she’d insisted on placing the frilly pantaloons that had never even come close to fitting her, outside for Finnegan to take back to his den for warmth. She’d said there was no point in them sitting around with no purpose, and had reminded him that if not for Finnegan, none of them might have survived out there.
She’d reminded him of that every time she carried a bowl of food outside, or warm milk.
When she started to walk back inside, her chest swelled with happiness as she saw the familiar figure sitting under a tree in the distance. She knew the fox had been keeping a close eye on all the other wives too for some reason. They’d all formed a liking for the animal who seemed to think perhaps they were part of his pack.
As she went back inside, she shook the snow off her jacket and stomped her boots before carrying the wood over to the box by the stove. Malcolm was still standing in the same spot, looking seriously annoyed.
“It’s not right for the woman to be going out to carry in the wood for our fire. That’s the last time, Annie. Next time, I’m getting the wood and I don’t want to hear another argument about it.”
She smiled sweetly at him, then turned to hang up her coat. “You can huff all you want, Malcolm. But you know as well as I do that
I’m going to get the wood regardless of what you say. So you may as well just sit down and let me take care of you.”
A knock sounded at the door, and he came over to open it while she finished taking off her boots. She ignored the grumbling she could hear under his breath as he went past her.
When she looked up, she was surprised to see Mr. Larsen standing in the open doorway. “I’d say the little fella’s all ready to go now, Malcolm.”
She brought her eyebrows together in confusion as the older man handed Malcolm a wiggling bundle of fur.
“Much appreciated, Mr. Larsen. We’ll take good care of him.”
As the man turned to leave, Malcolm closed the door and nonchalantly walked back past her holding the small animal that was up licking his cheek.
“What is that?” She walked over and stood in front of him, while he looked down at her grinning.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I should tell you, since you seem so intent on bossing me around today.”
She put her hand on her hip and tipped her head. “I’m not being bossy. I’m just following the orders from the other Mounties.”
He rolled his eyes dramatically. “You seem to have forgotten that I’m the commander. I’m the one who gets to give the orders.”
“Oh, Malcolm, you know full well you’ve never been like that. I know you have too much respect for the other men you work with to act like you don’t have to listen to them. So stop your whining and tell me who this puppy is and why you have him.”
His mouth dropped open, then he just shook his head as though he was giving up on the conversation. He looked down and rubbed the puppy under the chin. “This little guy has a paw that didn’t form correctly when he was born, so he can’t be a sled dog. But Mr. Larsen didn’t want to just get rid of him. I’d gone to him and asked if he happened to have a puppy for you, so he asked if I’d like this one. He needed a few more days with his mom, though, before he could come.”
She stood in shock, listening to Malcolm as he spoke. He hadn’t even realized she was barely listening to his words anymore.
“You got me a puppy?” she whispered the words as he looked up and smiled before handing the wiggling body to her. She pressed him up to her cheek and closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth of his fur against her skin. “Why?”
He shrugged and tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal. “You said your father would never let you have a puppy, and I didn’t think that was right. Every little girl should have a puppy if she wants one. Plus, I thought maybe this way it might keep you from bringing a wild animal into the house to live with us.”
He looked like a little boy who’d just given a girl a flower, standing in front of her with his hair hanging almost in his eyes and grinning widely.
She held the puppy out and looked him over. The paw at the front was bent slightly, but she thought he was perfect. “What should we call you?”
She studied him for a while. “It needs to be something that goes well with Finnegan. I’m sure you two will become great friends.”
“Annie…”
She ignored the scowl he had on his face now. “Everyone will say that he’s a wild animal, so you need to stay away from him, but you’ll soon learn it’s not completely true. How about Felix? Felix and Finnegan. That sounds perfect!”
When she couldn’t hold the squirming animal anymore, she set him down gently on the floor, laughing as he ran and explored every corner of the cabin with his little tail wagging with every step.
Looking back up at Malcolm, she went over and put her arms up around his neck. He pulled her in close and smiled down at her. “I was wondering when you were going to get around to thanking me.”
A lump suddenly formed in her throat as she tried to express what was in her heart, and she gazed into the eyes of the man she loved. “Malcolm, there aren’t any words that could ever thank you enough.”
“Well, I could think of other ways…”
She patted him softly on the healthy shoulder. “I mean it. And not just for the puppy. Thank you for everything.”
Now he pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
The fact that he even had to ask made her love him even more.
“For loving me, faults and all.”
His face grew serious, and he shook his head. “You don’t have any faults, Annie. You’re perfect, and exactly who I never even knew I needed in my life.” He smiled again. “The only fault you have is that you sometimes can’t see how beautiful you are, inside and out.”
“Thanks to you, I’m starting to believe it.”
As he brought his head toward hers, she could feel herself getting lost in those blue eyes.
“And I’m going to spend the rest of our lives making sure you never stop believing it.”
She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve the love of this Mountie, but she knew without a doubt, she was never letting him go.
I hope that you enjoyed RNWMP: Bride for Malcolm!
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Kay P. Dawson is a mom of two girls, who always dreamed of being a writer. After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2011, she decided it was time to follow her dream.
Years of reading historical romance, combined with her love for all history related to the old west and pioneer times, she knew that writing in the western historical genre was her calling.
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RNWMP_Bride for Malcolm Page 9
