In His Arms: Blemished Brides Book 3

by Peggy L Henderson

  Levi studied the farmer’s eyes. They were laced with fear. This man was a pig farmer, not someone who was used to pointing a weapon at another person. With speed born of years in the mountains, Levi’s arm shot up. He grabbed for the barrel, and yanked it out of the man’s hands, tossing it onto the ground. In the same instant, he pulled his knife from his belt, stepped up quickly and wrapped his hand around the man’s arm, twisting it behind his back. He held his knife to the farmer’s throat.

  “Where can I find the man who paid you to adopt Rose Jennings?” Levi growled into the farmer’s ear.

  “I don’t know what . . . you’re talking about,” the man rasped. His hands came up to clamp onto Levi’s arm, which was securely wrapped around the man’s throat. Levi tightened his grip.

  “If you don’t want your throat slit, Mr. Perkins, you’re going to tell me who hired you to adopt that little girl.” Levi’s voice dropped to a menacing growl.

  The man’s legs flailed and slid in the gravel, and he lost his footing. Levi adjusted his hold to keep the farmer upright.

  “Don’t hurt him,” the woman screeched from the porch. “Please. Let my husband go. We’ll tell you what we know.”

  Levi shot her a hasty look, but kept his hold on Perkins.

  “Start talking.” He stared at the woman.

  Mrs. Perkins rushed down the porch, a pleading look directed at him, then at her husband. “A man approached us weeks before the orphans came through town. He offered us a hundred dollars if we would go and adopt a girl named Rose Jennings. He didn’t tell us why, but he said he’d take her off our hands once we’d brought her home.”

  “What was his name?”

  The woman shook her head. “He wouldn’t tell us. He paid us half the money in advance. When he came to collect the girl, we had to tell him she’d run away. He became angry, and almost crazy. I thought he was gonna have a fit right here in the yard, twitching and swaying on his horse. He left without another word, but the next day, someone who worked for him came and told us to put up the fifty dollars he’d paid us as a reward for her return. He said that when she was found, he’d come and collect her, and pay us the other fifty. If she wasn’t found, we wouldn’t get anything.”

  Levi eased his hold on the struggling farmer. The man gasped and sputtered for air, and grabbed at his throat. Leaning over, he coughed.

  “Don’t even think of reaching for your rifle,” Levi warned.

  The man’s wife hurried to his side. She shot her husband a fearful look, then directed her anxious gaze back on Levi.

  “We needed the money,” she sobbed. “A hundred dollars, even fifty, is a fortune. We’ve got several young’uns of our own to feed. That man . . . he wasn’t right in his mind. His hired gun told us he’d make sure we’d lose our own kids if we told the sheriff or anyone else about our deal.”

  Levi studied the couple. They were poor farmers, and had been given an opportunity by Harlan Randall to change their lives with his offer. Grace had told him the name of the man who’d made her life a living hell when he pressed her for information the day after she’d agreed to marry him.

  More than a week had passed since that evening. It had taken him this long to learn the couple’s name that had been hired to adopt Rose. The search for her had been called off, but she wouldn’t be able to show her face without every money-hungry bounty hunter after her, if that reward offer wasn’t retracted.

  His lips twitched in a slight smile. Today was his wedding day. Grace didn’t know that he’d tracked down the couple, but when Trace Hawley had brought him the news late yesterday that he’d found out their names, Levi hadn’t wasted any time, and had left at the crack of dawn this morning to talk to them.

  Grace had already refused to go to town to be married at the church because she was afraid for Rose’s safety. Laura Kincaid had finally suggested that the wedding could take place at their farm, and the preacher would be there in the afternoon.

  If he was going to have a normal life with Grace, he had to put an end to her fears. Levi hadn’t told her of his plans to talk to the Perkins when he’d left Cade’s farm this morning. Laura Kincaid and her friend, Sally Mallory, would no doubt keep Grace plenty busy with wedding plans and female talk.

  Sally, along with her sister-in-law, Katherine Hawley, had stopped by the Kincaid farm nearly every day since Grace had told them she was getting married. Levi had barely had a chance to spend any time alone with her. The women chattered nonstop about dresses and food, and things he had no interest in. Cade had told him that it would be wise to stay out of it, and let the women do the planning. Levi had been more than happy to oblige. He’d kept company with the men in the evenings, making his own plans for after he and Grace were wed.

  The day after Levi and Grace had announced their plans to marry, Trace Hawley had taken him to a small cabin that stood in a secluded area of his vast Red Cliff Ranch.

  “It’s where I brought Katie, right after I married her,” Trace had told him. “I had bought this small plot of land that joined her ranch, thinking to start my own place. When she inherited the Red Cliff Ranch, we chose to move there, so this cabin isn’t occupied. It needs a little work, but you’re welcome to it for as long as you want. That way, you don’t have to take your new bride up into the high country right away.” Trace had winked with a sly grin on his face.

  Levi had spent the better part of the week patching some holes in the walls of the cabin, and reinforcing several loose floorboards so there would be no danger of Grace tripping. He’d built a chest of drawers that he planned to give her as a wedding present, and improved the simple furniture inside the home with Grace’s handicap in mind, fixing the wobbly chair and table legs. The idea had come to him to attach some horizontal poles along the walls and counter to act as handrails so Grace wouldn’t have to use her crutch for support all the time.

  Last night, when he’d had a chance to see her, he’d told her he had some business to take care of the morning of their wedding day, and would be back in the afternoon. Grace had accepted his answer without question, and Levi’s heart warmed with the knowledge that she trusted him.

  His first order of business had been to put an end to the manhunt for Rose. Then, he’d deal with Harlan Randall, but that would have to wait until after the wedding. Finding him might take a little longer.

  Levi tightened his grip around his knife, just before he sheathed it at his belt. Randall would pay for what he’d done to Grace and countless other girls. He directed his attention to the pig farmer.

  “Did he say he was coming back?”

  Mr. Perkins shook his head. “He never said. We thought you was one of his hired men. We haven’t seen him in weeks.”

  “I need you to come into Elk Lodge, and tell the sheriff that you’re no longer interested in adopting Rose Jennings, and there won’t be any reward money for her.”

  The man’s eyes widened. “But what if that fella that wants the girl comes for us?”

  “I’ll take care of him, when I find him,” Levi said in a low tone. “If he shows up at your farm before I do, you’ll tell him you were told the girl is dead, and the sheriff took down the offer for the reward.”

  The couple exchanged a nervous glance.

  “You can come peaceably, or I’ll drag you into town behind my horse,” Levi said forcefully. He’d never threatened anyone like this in his life, and a rush of guilt enveloped him, but this was necessary for Grace and Rose’s safety.

  “All right.” Perkins nodded. “I’ll do what you ask, but the next man who rides onto my property and threatens my family is gonna get a bullet, no questions asked.”

  Levi smiled, and nodded at the man. “That’s all I’m doing, too, Mr. Perkins. Trying to protect my family.”

  * * * * *

  The sun cast a golden hue on the surrounding hills and mountains when Levi pulled his horse to a stop in front of Cade’s house. Several buggies were parked in the yard. His heart sped up without warning.
This wedding was supposed to be a quiet affair. Besides the Mallory’s buggy, and presumably the one driven by Trace Hawley, there was one other vehicle. It had to belong to the preacher.

  Levi dismounted his horse, and led the gelding to the barn. He glanced toward the setting sun. He was a tad late getting back from town. Laughter and voices drifted from inside the house, along with delicious smells of food. He unsaddled his horse, and put the gelding up in one of the empty stalls. After watering and rubbing the animal down with some straw, he added a helping of grain to the feed trough, then left the barn.

  “We thought you might have gotten cold feet.” Cade, along with Trace, met him half-way between the barn and house, wide grins on their faces. “The ladies are ready to send a lynch mob after you.”

  Levi frowned. “Business in town took a little longer than I thought.”

  “Did you talk to those farmers?” Trace asked.

  Levi walked to the water pump, and primed the handle. He filled a bucket, and washed his hands, splashing water onto his face.

  “Yeah, and there’s no more bounty on Rose.”

  “Well, that’s good news,” Cade offered.

  “Now I just need to find this Randall, and deal with him.”

  “Better wait until after the wedding,” Trace suggested with a grin. “Or my wife and sister, and Cade’s wife, are going to put a bounty on your head, for neglecting your bride on her wedding day.”

  Levi glanced from one man to the other, then shot a hasty look toward the house. “Does it really have to be such a big to-do?”

  Cade laughed. “It’s just us, the Mallorys, and Reverend Edwards. You’re going to have to get used to the idea that folks want to be around you, Levi.”

  Levi scoffed, then nodded.

  “Well, looks like the groom finally showed up,” a man called from the house. Ethan Mallory, Sally’s husband, turned back to the open front door for a moment, then came down the porch steps toward them.

  “Best get changed into your wedding clothes, Levi. The ladies are getting antsy.”

  Andy and Jonah came rushing out of the house, running toward him at full speed. Levi’s eyes widened. He’d never seen Andy so clean, and his hair brushed flat against his head. His lips twitched when the boy scratched under the collar of his white shirt.

  “You’re finally here,” the boy called. “Mrs. Kincaid said as soon as the wedding is over, I can get out of these stiff clothes. Can you please hurry up and get married now, Levi?”

  The men around him all laughed. Jonah nodded his agreement to what Andy had said. Levi glanced at the people standing in front of him. He shook his head. His stomach turned and twisted into tight knots.

  “I hadn’t thought that I’d need any fancy clothes to say my vows to Grace.” He glanced at his tattered shirt and the buckskin britches he wore. “This is all I got to wear.” The sudden urge to see Grace flooded through him like a spring river. He had to talk to her, and apologize for messing up this day.

  Laura Kincaid came out of the house at that moment, her baby in her arms. She smiled broadly, and walked straight toward him.

  “Everyone’s waiting on you, Levi,” she said. There was no anger or accusation in her tone. Her eyes traveled from his britches to his worn shirt. She smiled. “And Grace wanted me to tell you that she doesn’t want you to wear anything but the clothes you always wear.”

  Levi’s brows rose. “She said that?” She’d always chastised him for his old and ragged clothes.

  Laura laughed. “Yes, she did.” She glanced toward Cade, then to Ethan. “Although Sally sure had a few words to say about that, but in the end, she conceded that it was Grace’s wedding, and if she didn’t object to your clothes, no one else would, either.”

  “Guess that’s a relief, that your wife approves.” Trace punched his brother-in-law on the arm, and grinned.

  The men led the way back to the house. Cade took his daughter from his wife’s arm before they reached the front door. Levi’s heart pounded in his chest with every step. He was getting married, something that had seemed incomprehensible before. Rose met him at the door, a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Her dark hair was curled into ringlets that framed her face, and tied with a ribbon at her back. She wore a new pink dress. She reached for his arm, a wide smile on her face, and ushered him into the room where the preacher stood.

  Levi shook the reverend’s hand while his friends gathered around. When talking ceased, they parted a path toward the back of the room. Levi swallowed past the lump in his throat.

  Grace came down the hall. All noise in the room ceased around Levi, and his eyes locked on the woman heading his way. She wasn’t using her crutch. Rose supported her as she limped toward him.

  Levi’s mouth went dry. She was a vision more lovely than anything he’d ever seen. She was dressed in white, her hair swept up behind her head. Dark curls cascaded down her back, adorned with some white flowers, the same kind she carried in her hands.

  Her eyes were locked on his when she reached him, a soft smile on her face. The reverend said something, but the words were lost to him while he had eyes only for the woman in front of him. He reached for her, offering his arm to support her weight. Rose released her sister, her face beaming in a bright and smug grin.

  “Are you ready to do this?” Levi mouthed. Grace’s smile widened, her eyes filled with warmth and love.

  “Yes,” she whispered, and tucked her hand through the crook of his arm. Levi supported her, and together they faced the reverend.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Grace glanced from Sally Mallory to the other women who surrounded her. Her new friend chatted excitedly about something to do with a horse her brother was going to take to some big race in Kentucky the following spring. Laura and Katherine listened patiently, while Sally balanced her squirming toddler son in her arms.

  Grace sipped at the lemonade in her cup. Her eyes scanned the room, and she only half-listened to the conversation. It felt good to be among people who’d become like family, but the person she really wanted to be with wasn’t here. Standing off to the side of the main room, Trace was talking to his brother-in-law, Ethan. Cade shook the reverend’s hand, who congratulated him on the birth of his daughter, and mentioned something about a baptism.

  Rose stood in the kitchen, happily cradling Laura’s baby in her arms, singing to her. Jonah and Andy helped themselves to heaping pieces of the wedding cake someone had left sitting in the middle of the table. Judging by the white frosting on their faces, this wasn’t their first serving. Grace shook her head slightly, a smile on her face. Andy was definitely feeling right at home here.

  Her eyes drifted to the front door of the house. Levi had excused himself several minutes ago, and he should be back by now. Grace swallowed the last of her lemonade.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said absently, and headed for the door.

  She set her cup on the kitchen table before she left the house. Leaning heavily on her crutch, she scanned the yard. The setting sun bathed the valley in a deep orange and golden glow. The corners of her lips rose in a soft smile when her eyes caught the familiar figure of the man who was now her husband standing by one of the corrals. His back was turned to her, and he looked to be staring off toward the mountains. A rush of warmth spread through her, dispelling the dull throb in her leg from a long day of standing.

  Grace hobbled down the porch and headed in his direction. He turned when she was half-way across the yard. That tender look in his eyes, the one she’d seen from the first time they’d met, silenced her fleeting thought that Levi was having regrets about marrying her. When she’d spoken her vows to love and honor him, she’d also vowed to herself that she would trust this man completely, and stop making unfounded assumptions.

  “I thought I’d find you out here,” she said, her smile widening.

  Levi reached for her, and pulled her into his embrace. The crutch wasn’t necessary when he held her in his arms. Voices and laughter drifted from ins
ide the house, but right here, with Levi, was where she really wanted to be.

  “I needed a few minutes alone. I ain’t used to being around all these people.” Levi glanced down at her with an apologetic smile.

  Grace leaned up to him, and kissed his cheek. “I know,” she whispered.

  Levi was well-liked by everyone, and he appeared at ease when talking to Cade, Trace, and Ethan, but there would always be a part of him that preferred moments of solitude. Not that she would want him any different.

  She’d fallen in love with the quiet man who preferred the isolation of the mountains, who’d been willing to give her not only his name and protection, but also take in her sister and a little boy in desperate need of a father figure. It was a huge leap for him, just as it was a big milestone for her to finally put her trust in someone. It was time to move forward with her life, not only for her sake, but for her sister’s well-being, too. Today, her wedding day, had been the first step in that direction, and no doubt it had been a huge step for Levi, as well.

  “Are you ready to go?” A slow grin passed over Levi’s lips.

  Grace’s forehead scrunched. She tilted her head to study his face.

  “Go?” she whispered. “Where are we going?”

  His smile widened. Grace stared up at him. He looked at ease, and content. His hold around her tightened, and Grace shifted closer. Her body relaxed in his arms. A man’s touch had never given her a feeling of contentment, until now.

  “While you’ve been occupied with your lady friends all week, I’ve been busy with a little wedding surprise.” His glance lifted to the setting sun. “If we leave now, we might get there before it’s completely dark.”

  Grace’s heart sped up. It hadn’t occurred to her that she would be going anywhere with Levi, except back to his cabin, along with Rose and Andy. It was too late to leave for the mountains today. Was he implying that they would spend the night together, alone, somewhere else? She mentally shook her head, and pushed her momentary apprehension aside.