A Bride's Dilemma

by Blythe Carver

  The sheriff seemed to be interested as he listened, nodding his head. “I see. And your brothers? Where are they right now? Out there?”

  “Yeah.” Melissa nodded as the sheriff pointed to the corral. “You’ve actually come on a day when they are both working with the horses and aren’t out in the field or dealing with the cattle. The ranch hands usually do that anyway. We just got a couple new dogs. There’s a lot going on here today.”

  Sheriff Knox nodded again, looking satisfied. “I reckon you don’t feel like coming down and retrieving your… beau.”

  Melissa felt a little sick to her stomach and pulled her eyebrows together. “I’d rather not. But I’m going to anyway. It’s my duty. I’m still betrothed to him.” She was completely aware that the way she said that made it sound like that betrothal wasn’t going to last much longer. She couldn’t help it considering all that had happened in the last month, along with the fact that the new sheriff was an incredibly good-looking man, and that fact made it hard for her to think as clearly as she usually did.

  “By the way, Jonah was put in the cell for fighting in the street. Disturbing the peace. He and two other men.”

  Melissa grumbled under her breath. “Did he ask for me?” she inquired in a louder voice.

  “He did. He told me I needed to come get you, that you would take care of him.”

  “I don’t know why he’d—” Melissa cut herself off abruptly. She was about to embarrass herself and say negative things about the man she was supposed to marry just because she was lovestruck by a handsome face. Instead of continuing, she went to the edge of the deck and leaned out on the railing.

  “Rich. Rich!” She cupped her hands around her mouth and called louder. “Rich. Come here. I need you.”

  She was stunned that her voice carried to the corral and that Rich heard her. He was trotting around the length of the corral on a horse he was breaking in and turned his head to look at her. He nodded in acknowledgment and said something to Nate, who was at the gate of the corral and had probably heard Melissa, as well.

  She turned back to the sheriff.

  “I’ll have my brother drive me to town in the buggy. I appreciate you coming all the way out here to get me. You didn’t have to do that. Especially not for the likes of…” She stopped again and sighed. “I shouldn’t talk like that. It’s very rude and disrespectful of me. Please accept my apology.”

  The sheriff didn’t look amused, which was surprising to Melissa.

  “You should never apologize for being a good person and doing for those who don’t deserve it,” he said in a low voice that warmed Melissa whether she liked it or not. He sounded so firm and confident. She felt a tingle slide over her. “He is the one who ended up in that jail. Frankly, if you weren’t upset about it, I would think you were a very weak woman.”

  Melissa shook her head. “I’m not a weak woman. But I am compassionate. Here’s Rich. We’ll follow you, shall we?”

  11

  Knox watched with amusement as Melissa Winchester crossed the front room to the cells in the back. He’d gotten there early and told Baxter what was happening. Baxter had given him a small warning, but it was done in a humorous way.

  “Wait until you see this,” Baxter had said with a small grin. “Melissa is a force to be reckoned with.”

  The first thing Knox had thought when he met Melissa at the ranch was that she was too small in stature for a gigantic man like Jonah Bell. What was she even thinking? They wouldn’t be able to share a bed without the risk of Bell rolling over on her while sleeping.

  He’d made sure to purge that image from his mind as quickly as it came.

  So when Melissa stormed in like a hurricane and swept across the room, every other man in the place stood back and let her pass.

  She was furious, and it was obvious, even to him, after having only met her an hour before. The only thing that struck Knox as strange was the way she reacted when she got back to the cells. She’d been heading straight for the one that held Jonah, but at one point, she turned her head and must have looked at the men in the other cell. Knox was behind her and didn’t know exactly what she was looking at, but she halted in place for a moment.

  It was only a split-second reaction before she continued to stomp to the cell where Jonah was sitting inside, looking sheepish.

  “What have you done now?” Melissa hissed, keeping her voice low, though Knox could hear her. He thought she was doing a remarkable job being composed when it was obvious she wanted to punch Jonah right through the bars. “Why can’t you stop embarrassing yourself this way?”

  Knox stayed back where the desks were in the front of the building, interceding when Rich came through the front door. They shook hands again.

  “Thanks for bringing her,” Knox said in a smooth voice. “I know we just left your ranch, but I didn’t really get much of a chance to talk to you there.”

  “You’re welcome to come to the ranch anytime you need anything, Sheriff,” Rich said, his voice equally as charming. “My brother and I try to help out whenever we can. Not just you lawmen but the entire town, you know. We feel a little responsible for everyone.”

  Knox blinked up at the taller man. “Why would you feel like that?”

  Rich raised his eyebrows and shrugged. “We have the most money. We are the most successful. I and my brother and sister think we should give back to the town that we love.”

  “So you have a lot of hands in the business around Shady Forks, then.” Knox wondered if that was a good thing or not. When Baxter talked about the Winchester siblings, he never had a bad thing to say. But sometimes the wealthy were able to manipulate people into thinking whatever they were doing was good when it was actually covering up for something bad.

  Knox had seen it happen plenty in Sutton. The elite wealthy people were obviously separated from the lower class that made a lot less money. From what he’d seen, Shady Forks was like that in a way but just on a smaller scale.

  He wondered if the deceit was at the same level or if it was scaled down, too.

  Either way, Knox found it hard to trust wealthy men who seemed to have it all together. No matter how attractive Melissa might be, there was a reason she was betrothed to a man who liked to bend the rules of law. Maybe she and her brothers liked to do the same. Oftentimes when the rich bent the rules, they were able to get away with it. Knox had met several politicians that were like that, which was why he held them in such low regard. He’d been pleased to find out Mayor Schneider seemed to be a trustworthy and honest man.

  So what would he make of the Winchester siblings? Why would they, being of such a high-class upbringing, allow Melissa to be involved with someone like Jonah Bell?

  He decided it was too soon to tell. Besides, so far, Rich and Melissa, the only Winchesters he’d met, seemed very friendly. It didn’t seem right to judge them so harshly by the company they kept. Besides, it looked like Melissa was none too happy with the jailbird. And her anger didn’t seem like new, surprised anger. It seemed more like a scab had been torn off an old wound.

  He looked up at Rich. “You smoke?”

  “A pipe, yeah,” Rich replied, nodding. He tapped his vest with his fingers.

  “Let’s go outside and let her have time to talk to her man.”

  Knox was amused by the disgusted look Rich cast back toward the cells. He went out first and turned to lean against the pole at the end of the deck, so his back was to the dirt road.

  “She’s gonna lay into him even with them boys around,” Rich said, stepping out behind Knox and closing the door with one hand. “She doesn’t care what they think of her.”

  “I’m sure when she’s not furious like that, she’s a real lady.” Knox wasn’t at all certain of that. He was testing to see what Rich’s response would be.

  The man’s facial expression didn’t change much as he set about packing and lighting his pipe. He shook out the match as he nodded and sucked a few times to get it lit.

 
“She is. Smart, capable, real good with other people and children. She’s gonna be a good wife for somebody someday. Not sure that’s gonna be Jonah, though. It’s only a little disappointing. Can’t say he was ever really a friend. Not to anyone in the family, me or Nate. Nate is closer to his age. That’s my brother, you know.”

  Knox nodded. “Yeah. The one I haven’t met.”

  Rich responded with a nod of his own. “Yep. It’s a good thing he didn’t come. He’s gettin’ real sick of how Jonah has been acting lately. Real sick of it.”

  Knox couldn’t help the overwhelming curiosity that came over him. “How’s he been acting?” he asked.

  Rich was quiet for a moment, his eyes cast down the street, a thoughtful look on his face. “Distant. He doesn’t come around nearly as much as he used to. Melissa was just talking to us about this, and we told her to give it one more try.” He snorted as if disgusted with himself for proposing the idea. “That was a mistake. He was unkind to her this morning, and then you show up as soon as she gets home. He must have gone right out and gotten in that fight as soon as she left him.”

  “So he’s not aggressive with her?”

  Rich turned his eyes to look at Knox. “No. You can’t think my brother and I would let him get away with hurting our sister. He’s not usually a fighter. But he can. I’ve seen him. If he’s confronted, he’s gonna fight.”

  “When was the last time you saw him get in a fight?”

  Rich appeared to be thinking about it. It took long enough for Knox to think he was going to say it had been quite a while. But when Rich answered, he felt a touch of shock, and the answer replayed in his mind as he continued his conversation with Rich.

  “Oh, it’s been a couple times a week lately. Not enough for anyone to call you boys in. Still, no one in our family welcomes violence. And it seems like that’s what he’s been bringing lately.”

  To Knox, that meant Jonah would need to have an eye kept on him. If he was breaking the law, Knox wanted to know immediately.

  And if the Winchester brothers and sister had anything to do with those crimes, Knox didn’t want to be biased by feelings of friendship. Or, in Melissa’s case, attraction. He would be neutral if there was ever a reason to suspect any of them for a crime that had been committed. He wouldn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of finding the truth.

  12

  Melissa had indeed stomped to the back of the building where the cells lined the left and right sides, the second level cells exposed to the first level but empty at the time.

  Her eyes had been directly on Jonah from the moment she caught sight of him. Her intention was to go back there and give him a tongue-lashing his mother would be proud of.

  Some of the wind went out of her sails when she saw who was sitting in the cell on the other side. It was the same man who had threatened her, who had acted menacingly to Jonah. For a moment, her mind went blank with shock. It was only for a split second, then she averted her angry eyes back to Jonah.

  “I can’t believe you made them come and get me, Jonah,” she hissed, bending at the waist and glaring at him through the bars. He was seated on a bench in the middle of the cell, his head hanging, looking defeated. It was a strange sight to see such a large man looking like a beaten puppy. “What is going on with you? You aren’t acting like yourself. You need to get out of this… this storm you’re in. You are only hurting yourself. And you’re going to start hurting me. Is that what you want?”

  Jonah lifted his eyes to her. She wasn’t surprised to see they were dry as a bone. If he felt bad, he should at least have misty eyes. She expected nothing less from him.

  But he didn’t. He didn’t really look like he cared much at all. His nose was red, and his eyes were swollen, but the swelling had come from getting punched, not from being upset.

  He was about to respond when his eyes flipped to Buddy, who had stretched his legs out and was sitting up on the cot with his back against the outer wall. He had an amused look on his face. Melissa wished Jonah hadn’t looked at him. His whole demeanor changed when he glanced at his friend.

  “I don’t have to answer to you, Melissa,” he said angrily, standing up abruptly and turning his enormous body away from her. She felt like a brick wall had suddenly been erected in front of her.

  She took a step back and looked up, realizing how incredibly large her beau was. She pictured in her mind how much damage he could do if he was violent with her. The thought made her shiver.

  Melissa lowered her eyes to Buddy, who was now staring back at her. His expression didn’t change at all. He stared at her with a blank look that he maintained even when he raised his eyebrows. He was obviously telling her there was nothing he could do about Jonah.

  Melissa bit her lower lip.

  “I’m going to get you out of here, Jonah,” Melissa growled in a low voice, “but you are not to come to my house. You are not welcome at the ranch anymore. Do you hear me?”

  Jonah glared at her, stepping over to the bars and grabbing one in each hand. Melissa pictured him ripping the bars right out of the stone they were set in. “What are you talking about? We are going to be married.”

  “I’m not going to deal with this from you for the rest of my life,” Melissa snapped, her anger overriding any other emotions. “I know you are going to be the worst kind of person, the kind my mother warned me against. My brothers won’t allow it either.”

  “You do what you want,” Jonah said in a panicky voice. “That’s what you’ve always told me. You do whatever you want, and your brothers don’t tell you what to do.”

  “They don’t. But they will protect me, and it’s my obligation to not put myself in situations where they will have to. So I’m making this decision. I’m making it. I don’t want to be with you anymore, Jonah. It’s over. We aren’t going to be married.”

  “You can’t do that,” Jonah raged, his hands gripping the bars so tightly his knuckles had turned white while the rest of his fingers and his face were red as beets. “You can’t do that. You have to marry me. It’s the only way.”

  Melissa didn’t even want to know what he meant by that. Her intuition told her he thought it was the only way he would be able to gamble and pay off the debts when he lost.

  Not with Winchester money, he wouldn’t.

  “I don’t want anything more to do with you,” she insisted, spinning around on her heel. She went to Deputy Baxter’s desk, where he was steadily looking down at a ledger as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever read. She cleared her throat, and he looked up at her. Melissa could tell he was trying not to laugh.

  “Melissa,” Jonah shrieked. “You can’t do this. You can’t. I swear I won’t let you do this.”

  Melissa turned when the sheriff and Rich came back in, their faces curious to know what all the noise was about. She moved her eyes back to Deputy Baxter.

  “Rich will pay whatever fines and penalties he needs to be released.”

  Baxter nodded, and she turned her eyes to her brother.

  “Give them whatever they need, Rich. But this will be the last money Jonah is going to see from our family. The very last.”

  Rich nodded and reached inside his front vest pocket to retrieve his checkbook. He moved past her and leaned on Baxter’s desk, scooping a pen from a cup near him.

  Melissa hurried out the door, ignoring the constant sound of Jonah’s angry call. He was so demanding. Her heart was pounding in her chest. When she heard the sheriff say her name, she halted, almost toppling forward and losing her balance.

  The sheriff was next to her in an instant, wrapping his hand around her wrist and anchoring her in place.

  “Whoa. You all right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Melissa shook her head. She could feel her face was flushed. “It’s all right. I… he upsets me. So much.”

  “You didn’t know he was like this before you said you’d marry him?”

  Melissa wasn’t sure whether the sheriff was t
rying to rebuke her or not, but she was a little hurt by the question. She frowned. “No, of course, I didn’t. What kind of woman do you take me for? Why would I want to be involved in a man who can’t stay on the right side of the law?”

  She couldn’t tell what the new sheriff was thinking by the look on his face. He seemed a little too nonchalant. Or maybe it was suspicion she saw. Either way, she felt he was disrespecting her, and she’d had enough of that from Jonah.

  She turned to go down the few steps to the path that led to the lot to the left where the buggy was. She hoped Rich didn’t take too long. All she wanted to do at that point was go home and relax in a hammock with a glass of tea. Or maybe she’d enjoy the tangy taste of some lemonade if Cook had any ready for her.

  She didn’t want to think about the sheriff, the jail, or Jonah anymore for the rest of the day. Once Jonah was out, she fully expected him to show up on their doorstep even though she expressly told him not to.

  She thought instead about the man who had threatened her. He was in the other cell. He had been fighting Jonah. The incident had only further convinced her that Jonah was heading down a bad path, and she didn’t want to follow. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to. She wasn’t going to.

  “You okay, Miss?” the sheriff called from the small front porch of the jailhouse. She turned to give him a look over her shoulder that she hoped was appreciative.

  “I am sorry, Sheriff. This has really worn me out. I want to go home. Thank you for coming all the way out there to get me.”

  “You are welcome, Miss. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

  Melissa wondered what the sheriff meant by that as she waited for Rich to come out.

  13

  Knox rode up to the cottage with only minutes left before darkness would overtake the Wyoming sky, and he wouldn’t be able to see anything. The moon did seem to be big and shining bright white light down on the earth, though, so he wasn’t too worried.