Bid for a Bride

by Nordin, Ruth Ann

  The man held up his hand. “I know who you mean. Yes, Lucy’s here. In fact, she’s good friends with my wife, Addy.”

  Phillip’s body relaxed. “Thank goodness! So is she staying with you and your wife?”

  “No. The judge that was here that day granted her an annulment so she could marry Brian Evans. You needn’t worry. Brian’s a good one. He treats her right and all that. The two also had a little girl earlier this month.”

  Phillip mentally did the math and was further relieved to learn that Mark wasn’t the father of her child. Poor Lucy would have been devastated had that been the case. “She’s happy then?” he pressed, wanting to be reassured.

  “I’d say so.”

  “Do you have stationary so I can write to my parents and let them know she’s alright?”

  “Sure.” The man pointed to the shelf along the window. “Take it as a gift. Any relative of Lucy’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Thank you.” Phillip rushed over to the window and picked up a sheet of paper and envelope. “The post office here is still open, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He took the pen out of his pocket and began writing the letter on a nearby table, imagining how relieved his parents would be when they learned what had happened to Lucy.

  A woman entered the store, and the man looked up from his register. “Is something bothering you, Addy?”

  Addy sighed and approached the counter. “I’m not sure, Frank. I have a terrible feeling that I haven’t been able to shake ever since Eliza and Lucy came to town.” She glanced in Phillip’s direction.

  “Lucy’s my sister,” Phillip said, walking over to her. “If there’s something going on, I need to know about it.”

  She studied his face and nodded. “There’s no denying the family resemblance.” With a shrug, she continued, “Alright. It was Charlotte.”

  “That’s Lucy’s daughter,” Frank told Phillip.

  “Yes, I remember her wanting a girl she could name Charlotte,” Phillip replied. “What’s wrong with Charlotte?”

  “Nothing. Charlotte’s fine,” she said. “But she didn’t respond well whenever Lucy held her. She wouldn’t stop crying.” She turned to Frank. “Don’t you think that’s odd?”

  “I don’t know,” Frank replied. “Maybe Charlotte wasn’t feeling well.”

  “It was more than that, Frank. When Eliza and I held her, she was just fine. A sick baby would fuss no matter who’s holding her.”

  Phillip’s gut tightened as he recalled how sure Meredith had been that she could get Mark to reveal where he’d dropped Lucy off. What if she found a way to make that happen? “Addy, was there anything else different? Was there anything that seemed unusual about Lucy?”

  She bit her lower lip and glanced at the ceiling. “Actually, when I offered her some nuts, she didn’t want them. I thought Lucy loved those.”

  “She does,” Phillip said. “But Meredith’s allergic to them.”

  “Who’s Meredith?” Frank asked.

  “Lucy’s twin sister.”

  “Twin sister? As in identical?”

  “Exactly. No one can tell them apart.” Except for the baby. Phillip looked at the unfinished letter in his hand. Maybe it could wait. “Where does Lucy live?”

  “A few miles out that way,” Frank said, nodding in the direction he indicated. “You go past a couple fields and the first house you come to is John and Eliza’s place. Then Brian and Lucy are to the left. Those are the only two houses out there. You can’t miss them.”

  Tucking his letter into his coat pocket, he asked, “Can I get a horse?”

  “Sure. I got one.” Frank ran around the counter.

  “Do you think that woman was Lucy’s sister?” Addy asked.

  “I don’t know, but there’s no harm in finding out,” Phillip said, thinking it was best to err on the side of caution. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Lucy didn’t feel like eating nuts that day and maybe Charlotte wasn’t feeling well, but did he dare risk doing nothing?

  “Man the store for me, Addy?” Frank asked.

  “Alright,” she replied, her face showing her apprehension.

  Phillip hurried after Frank as he left the store.

  ***

  Meredith glanced over her shoulder as Eliza drove the buggy off of Lucy’s land. Brian was alone over there now. What if he found Lucy in that log? Her hard work would come to nothing! She took a deep breath and yelled over Charlotte who was crying in her arms, “I need to go back for a minute!”

  “But…” Eliza looked over at her. “But…the supper.”

  “I’ll be just a minute. I forgot something.” Knowing she couldn’t take care of business with the insufferable brat in her arms, she shoved the baby toward Eliza who instinctively stopped the horse and took Charlotte in her arms. Good! Eliza could deal with the crying thing! Meredith scrambled out of the buggy. If Brian found Lucy, she was doomed! As long as Lucy was alive, she stood the chance of being exposed. “I’ll be right back. Wait here if you want. Or go on without me. I can walk with Brian.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly.” Eliza’s laugh seemed forced while she bounced Charlotte in one arm and held on the reins with her free hand. “Come back in and we’ll go back to your home.”

  “I just have to go around those trees. It’s a quick stop. I’ll be back.” Despite Eliza’s protests, Meredith ran back toward the house.

  ***

  Lucy felt the last of the binding around her wrists give way. Almost there. Her hands moved, and even though her wrists were raw, she was greatly encouraged by her progress.

  A twig snapped, and she froze. Gulping, she turned her head and looked up the slope. A rabbit hopped along the snowy land. She waited, not fully convinced she was still alone. But even as she scanned her surroundings, she didn’t see another person.

  She had to get out of here! Sooner or later, Meredith would return, and when she did, she wouldn’t stop. Lucy knew her time was short. When she renewed her attempt at freeing her hands, she heard someone call her name. Pausing again, she tried to decipher if it was a woman or a man.

  “Lucy?”

  Brian! She tried to call to him but her cry came out muffled. Remembering the gag in her mouth, she lifted her legs and pounded them on the ground.

  “Lucy?”

  This time he was closer, so she did it again before she wiggled her wrists. Finally, her hands were free. Ignoring the pain shooting from her wrists and up her arms, she pushed herself up so she was sitting. She untied the clothing around her mouth.

  “Brian.” Her voice was weak so she cleared her throat. “Brian!” She cried with relief when she saw him carefully making his way along the slope, testing the ground with his walking stick. “Watch out. It’s slippery!”

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes. I’m untying my ankles.” His foot slid on a patch of snow, so she called out, “Be careful! There’s a lot of snow right in front of you. Move over to the right.”

  He obeyed, testing the ground in front of him with his stick.

  She proceeded to untie her ankles and winced from how sore they were. She rubbed them until she thought she could stand. As she tested the strength of her ankles, something moved out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she gasped when she saw Meredith creeping up behind Brian with her bat.

  Before Lucy could warn him, he turned and slid his walking stick in front of Meredith’s feet. The bat flew out of Meredith’s hands as she tripped on his stick. Losing her balance in the patch of snow, she screamed as she went tumbling all the way down the slope until she ended up face down in the creek.

  “What happened?” Brian called out, feeling the ground with his stick. “Is she near you?”

  Lucy stared at Meredith who didn’t move. It took her a good five seconds before she could answer him. “I-I think she’s dead.” Now she was shivering again, but this time it wasn’t from being cold. “She fell and ended up in the creek. Stay there! It’s too slippery th
rough here, and you can’t see where the patches of snow are.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. I’m cold but fine.”

  Taking a deep breath, she gingerly stepped forward, wincing as pain shot up her legs. Her entire body ached as she made her way over to the creek where her sister remained still, her face in the water. Lucy closed her eyes and pressed her hand over her stomach. Thankfully, she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Otherwise, she just might vomit. She’d never seen a dead person before and didn’t exactly relish the opportunity now, but she needed to know that Meredith was really dead. It was the only way the nightmares would stop.

  A horse neighed, making her pause and look up at her brother who slid off of Frank’s steed.

  “Who is it?” Brian asked.

  “My brother,” Lucy said. “Phillip, will you check Meredith? I think she’s dead.”

  Phillip approached her. “Lucy?”

  She nodded, tears stinging her eyes. “The rope swing at the tree. We etched our initials into that tree when we were children.” It was their secret, something only they knew, something that would prove she wasn’t Meredith.

  He hugged her. “Oh, Lucy. I feared the worst.”

  She held onto him and cried into his shoulder.

  “What happened?” Eliza called out.

  She looked up the slope and saw John and Eliza. Eliza held Charlotte while John helped Brian down. Lucy wiped her eyes while Phillip took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Once she slipped her arms into the sleeves, she reached for Brian and put her arm around his waist, taking comfort in his strength as he pulled her close.

  “Is she dead?” Lucy asked Phillip, needing someone to say it even though Meredith hadn’t moved.

  She watched as her brother made his way over to Meredith’s body and knelt by it to check her pulse. When he stood up and nodded, she cried, not sure if she was more relieved or saddened that things had to end the way they did. Maybe if Meredith had talked to her, they could have resolved things before it had to get to this point, but Meredith wouldn’t talk to her and now whatever drove Meredith to do what she did would always remain a mystery.

  John signed to her and motioned to the house.

  “Let’s go inside,” she said, agreeing with him.

  The four walked up the slope slowly, and though it hurt to do it, she was so relieved to be safe, she hardly noticed it.

  When they reached the top, her brother turned to them. “I’m going back to town and finding someone who’ll take Meredith’s body back home. I also need to send off a letter.” He looked at Lucy. “They found Adam. His real name is Mark Wilson, and he’s been arrested. You’re not the first woman he did this too.”

  Lucy sighed. “Was I the last?”

  “Yes. They caught him at home with his wife and children. Someone recognized him from the drawings the marshal did.”

  She nodded, uncertain of what else to say. At least, he wouldn’t do it to someone else. She took comfort in knowing that.

  John signed, so Lucy told Phillip, “John says he’ll go to town with you. He knows who to get out here. He’s mute though, so he can’t talk.”

  Phillip held his hand up. “I worked with a deaf client. I know sign language.”

  “Then I don’t know everything there is to know about you,” she replied.

  He glanced at Charlotte and Brian. “There’s a lot we have to catch up on, but we’ll do it later. I got good and bad news to send Ma and Pa.”

  While Phillip and John strode to the horse, she turned toward the house with Brian and Eliza, glad to be safe once and for all.

  Epilogue

  It took a good month before Lucy returned to full health. Her time outside made her ill, but with plenty of rest and some medicine from the doctor, she was able to recover. Her brother returned to Minnesota to arrange for Meredith’s burial and to comfort their parents.

  By the time June arrived, Lucy and Brian settled back into their normal routine. One summer day while she held three month old Charlotte as they walked along their land, Brian placed his hand on her back.

  “Is something on your mind?” she asked, glancing his way and noting the peaceful expression on his face.

  “In a way.”

  Her lips curled up into a grin. “Are you going to tell me what it is or do I have to guess?”

  “I’ll tell you.” When his stick hit a small hole in the ground, he stepped over it before he continued. “For the first time today, I was able to think of my real father without getting angry. It only lasted for a couple of minutes, but it was the first time I was able to do that.”

  She stopped and turned to him. “That’s great, Brian.”

  “It’s a start.”

  “And a good one.” She wrapped one arm around his waist and kissed him. “All we can do is take it one day at a time.”

  He held her and stroked Charlotte’s blond curls which framed her face. Charlotte looked up at him and cooed. Lucy smiled and kissed him again. This time he returned her kiss, letting his lips linger on hers.

  A couple of horses neighed so they broke apart. Lucy looked at the dirt road which led to John and Eliza’s place and saw Frank and Addy bringing two people with them in their wagon. Her heart leapt when she realized who the people were.

  “Brian, my parents are here!” She called out to Frank and waved her hand.

  Frank rose his hand to acknowledge her and moved the wagon in her direction.

  “They’re coming our way.” She took Brian’s hand and led him along the grassy land.

  “I thought they weren’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow,” he said, giving her hand a slight squeeze.

  “That’s what they said in their letter.”

  When Frank was within a couple yards of them, he pulled the reins back. “I got some folk here you might want to see.”

  Lucy laughed and led Brian up to the wagon. “Afternoon, Ma! Afternoon, Pa!”

  Her parents climbed out of the wagon and hugged her.

  Lucy couldn’t stop laughing as she hugged them back. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”

  “That’s what we thought too,” her mother added, wiping the tears from her eyes, “but the stage coach driver was a day early and offered to drive us out here. We’re so glad to see you, honey. We heard about what Mark Wilson did and were afraid we’d never see you again.”

  “You had us worried sick,” her father agreed.

  “Then we found out about Meredith.” Her mother pressed her handkerchief to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Her father rubbed her mother’s back. “It’s been an ordeal, to say the least. We thought your sister wanted to visit your aunt Rachel. We had no idea she planned to come out here.”

  After a long pause, Lucy turned to Brian. “Ma, Pa, this is my husband, Brian. I wrote to you about him.”

  Her father tapped Brian’s hand so he could shake it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, son. Thank you for taking care of our little girl.”

  Brian nodded. “She’s been a good wife.”

  “This is Charlotte,” Lucy said, bouncing her daughter in her arm. “She’s Brian’s. I had her on March 3rd.”

  Despite her tears, Lucy’s mother smiled. “She’s a darling.”

  Lucy placed the child in her mother’s arms, her heart warmed at the sight she never thought she’d see. “I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to write to you, to let you know I was fine, but…” She hesitated and glanced at Brian.

  “Your brother explained it to us,” her father said, directing her attention back to him. “We should have paid more attention to Meredith. Maybe if we had, this wouldn’t have happened. But…” He took a deep breath. “Well, all we can do is move forward. We’ve said our prayers and nothing else can be done.”

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lucy nodded.

  The wind ruffled Charlotte’s hair, making her giggle.

  Her mother looked at Charlotte and c
huckled. “There’s nothing like a baby to bring joy to one’s heart.”

  “No truer words were ever spoke,” her father replied and touched Charlotte’s nose.

  Charlotte giggled again and reached for his finger.

  He brought his finger to her nose again and this time she caught it. “I think we’ll get along just fine, little one.”

  Addy sighed from where she sat next to Frank. “Isn’t this wonderful, Frank?”

  Frank grinned, looked toward John and Eliza’s house, and cleared his throat. “Over here, John and Eliza!”

  Lucy peered around the horses to see Brian’s parents heading in their direction. “You’ll like Brian’s parents. They’re good people. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

  Lucy took Brian’s hand and waved for her parents, Frank, and Addy to follow her to meet John and Eliza, overjoyed that she could now spend time with her parents. She couldn’t wait to show them how well her life turned out in spite of how she arrived to this small South Dakota town. And it was all because of Brian and his great love for her. She figured no other woman could be so blessed. Giving his hand another squeeze to express her love for him, she couldn’t help but be thankful for the many years to come.

  Coming Soon

  Bride of Second Chances

  Jeremy Graham made a promise to Rebecca, his wife, that he would never love another woman. A year after her death, her parents die. Since Jane has no one to provide for her, Jeremy feels a sense of duty to help Rebecca’s younger sister so he marries Jane to offer her a home. But Jane, who has always been shy and content to hide in the shadows, begins to stir up old feelings—feelings for which Jeremy isn’t prepared for. Will a marriage that began out of obligation and necessity give a lonely widower a second chance?

  Jeremy is Eliza’s real son, and in this book, he’ll discover he’s adopted so he and Jane will search for Eliza.