by Cassie Hayes
“What happened? Why now? Why didn’t you say any of this back in Nevada City?”
Mason examined the toes of his boots and scratched the back of his neck, trying to find the words. “I— I didn’t think you wanted someone like me. You seemed so happy at the idea of living in San Francisco, and we didn’t get along all that well in the beginning. I thought you felt sorry for me, is all. Never occurred to me that you might feel the same.”
He paused, trying to find the words, and she waited. “I fell in love with you on the trail, Emmy, but once we were home, it was too hard being with you, thinking you weren’t keen on me, so I stayed away. I was gonna send that reward money with Jake but I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye. Letting you go was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
Love swelled inside her, filling her to bursting. “You could have asked, you know.”
“Now ya tell me,” he laughed, winking at her. “But honestly, I had another worry. The wife of a lawman ain’t the easiest life. I figured it was best if I forged ahead on my own.”
“Better for who?” she whispered.
“You, of course. Look at the trouble you got into cuz of me. Look at what happened cuz I couldn’t protect Marie. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened to you, too.” His voice cracked at the end, and she rushed back into his arms.
“Oh, Mason, don’t you see?” she murmured into his chest. “None of that was your fault. It was dumb luck that Roy stopped Marie’s and my coaches. It had nothing to do with you personally. And, if you’ll recall, I was the one who insisted on tagging along with your posse. You have to forgive yourself, Mason.”
“That’s what Fred told me today at the station. Told me what an ‘idjit’ I was being and how you deserved better than me if I didn’t see how fond you were of me and a few other less savory things. I realized he was right — you, too — and couldn’t let another day pass without telling you how much I love you.”
They held each other for a long moment, then something occurred to her. Pulling back, she asked, “Did you say ‘wife of a lawman’?”
Mason smiled and dropped to one dusty knee, whipping his hat off and holding it over his chest. Her heart nearly stopped and she could barely draw a breath. Was this really happening?
“Emmy Gibson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
It took several moments for her to catch her breath enough to answer.
“Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you Mason Wilder! I love you so much!” She threw her arms around him, nodding and sobbing into his broad shoulder.
His hands clutched at her and it was his turn to bury his face in her neck. Not once for the rest of her life did she tell a soul about the solitary sob he let out in that moment. That was hers alone to savor forever.
THE END
(almost…)
EPILOGUE
“Delilah Dalton! Aren’t you a sight for these sore ol’ eyes?!”
Millie St. James was like a second mother to Dell. Not long after she was deserted on San Francisco’s mangy wharf, penniless and with nowhere to go, by her good-for-nothing husband-to-be, Dell Price had been blessed to meet two of the city’s most wonderful, loving and generous souls — Sam Arbuckle, a boarding house owner who gave her a place to stay in exchange for housework, and Millie, the local postmistress. They took her under their wings and encouraged her to launch her matchmaking newspaper, The Nuptial News.
They’d also helped fan the first fragile flames of love between her and Jack Dalton. Now happily married, she and Jack ran the paper together, helping lonely men out west find women eager for marriage and adventure, and vice versa.
“How’s that strapping husband of yours and why haven’t I seen him in so long?”
Dell laughed at Millie’s gruff tone, knowing it was all for show. Millie harbored a not-so-secret crush on Jack and he could do no wrong in her eyes.
“Things have picked up at the paper, Millie. We’re getting more ads and responses than ever. I never in my wildest dreams thought we’d be so successful!”
“Don’t I know it, seeing’s how I’m the one who processes all those sacks of mail for you each week. Still,” Millie said, pouting a little, “it wouldn’t hurt for him to drop in every now n’ again. Old gals like me need all the attention they can get from handsome young men.”
“Mmm hmmm… Speaking of attention from handsome men, when’s the last time Sam came for a visit.”
“Oh, pish!” Millie waved away Dell’s pointed comment. The whole town knew that Sam was sweet on Millie, and they’d be so perfect together, but she kept pushing him away. That didn’t stop Dell from trying to make her see the light, and one day Millie would come around, she just had to.
Ignoring Dell’s comment, Millie rummaged around the piles of mail behind the counter and pulled out letter. “You got a personal note today, Dell. I sent one o’ the boys out to deliver your regular sacks of ads ’n such. I ever tell ya that the boys draw straws for who has to deliver to ya each week?”
Dell rolled her eyes at Millie’s age-worn complaint about the quantity of mail they receive each week. “You know as well as I do that Jack and Aidan tip those boys very handsomely, so they’re probably drawing straws to see who gets to deliver our mail!”
Millie pretended to be shocked. “As an employee of the United States Postal Service, I am horrified that my employees accept such gratuities.” Then she grinned. “But as their boss, I think it’s just grand. How is that partner of yours? He hasn’t lost that charming Irish accent yet, has he?”
“Oh no, it’s as thick as ever and he works as hard as ever. I tell you, I’m a little worried about him, Millie. If he’s not working, he’s wasting his life at the saloons. Jack’s tried to talk some sense into him, to show him how satisfying married life can be, but he’s convinced no good woman would want a man who was ‘lame’. I hate when he says that, because he gets around fine. So what if he has a bit of a limp?”
Millie shook her head. “Tsk tsk, tis a shame, that is. If I was twenty years younger…Well, we’ll have to do something to remedy that.”
Dell stepped off to the side to read her letter while Millie helped locate a package for a particularly ripe prospector who’d travelled three days to retrieve his mail from home. She’d grown so accustomed to the malodorous state of California’s gold miners that she barely noticed it anymore.
“Oh! Millie, I must go read this to Jack. It’s an update from one of our brides.”
“You take good care of y’self, Dell, and make sure you bring that husband of yours next time.”
“I swear it,” Dell said as she hurried out the door. “And next time you see Sam, give him a big hug for me!”
She laughed all the way down Clay Street at the shocked gasp Millie gave. When would that headstrong woman see the light and allow Sam to court her properly? Aidan wasn’t the only one that needed some prodding.
When she walked in through the door of their office, Jack and Aidan popped their heads up from behind their new printing machine. It was all the rage back east, and had cost a small fortune to ship out, but it would make their life so much easier — once they figured out how to run it. She wasn’t worried though. Aidan was a mechanical genius. He would tame ‘Da Beast’, as he called it.
“My love! What are you doing here?” Jack grinned and came out to sweep her up in his arms, twirling her in a circle. It was their ritual, and though she’d been shy about it at first, she’d grown to look forward to it in the months since their wedding.
“I’m so sorry to bother you when you’re working on The Beast, but we received a letter from Emmy Gibson. Do you remember her?”
“Emmy…Emmy…Of course! Pretty little blonde number who didn’t know a hammer from a mop? Went up to Nevada City, if memory serves.”
“Indeed she did, and good riddance” Aidan mumbled as he tinkered with The Beast. “Y’know what me ol’ duffer said, dontchya? Better good manners den good looks.”
<
br /> “Oh, Aidan, don’t be so sour,” Dell chided. “Besides, it seems she’s done a bit of growing up in the few weeks since she left. She’s getting married next month!”
Jack and Aidan exchanged glances. “Um, my darling, isn’t that why she came here in the first place? To marry that chap up there?”
Dell laughed. “Oh, not him! He was…I’ll read you the letter over dinner. The long and short of it is that she went on quite an adventure and found true love along the way. He even bought her a horse as a wedding present. Blaze, she calls it, and she seems quite taken with the animal. Now does that sound like the Emmy we knew?”
The men looked as surprised as she felt. Finally Aidan shook his head and shuffled back to The Beast. “Well, tis a long road dat has no turnin’.”
Jack enfolded her in his strong arms, which always made her feel so loved and protected. “That’s jolly good news, darlin’. I know you like hearing from your ladies, and I couldn’t be happier for her — and her lucky fella.”
“That’s not all,” Dell whispered into his chest. “They’re going to start a family right away. Isn’t that wonderful, Jack?”
“Sure is, my love. I wish ‘em better luck than we’re having at it. Seems like we been trying and trying — and I’m not complainin’ none, mind ya!”
She was happy she could hide her embarrassment in his chest.
“But maybe their luck’ll rub off on us, whaddya think?” He pulled back to gaze at her with all the love the world could ever hold. Tears welled in her eyes as she smiled up at him.
“It already has, Jack.”
She loved the little wrinkle his brow got when he was confused and fervently hoped their baby would inherit the trait. Taking his hand in hers, she guided it around to her belly and held it there.
“It already has.”
THE END
(really)
THANK YOU
for buying and reading this book! I hope you’ll check out the rest of my books.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Today a quaint tourist spot, Nevada City was once one of the most important towns in California. It was ideally located about fifty miles from Sacramento and one hundred fifty miles from San Francisco, right on the doorstep of the gold fields. Thousands of men passed through the town every year seeking a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Nevada City during the early days of the Gold Rush was a rough town, full of mindless violence and vigilante justice. Even local law enforcement had a difficult time controlling angry mobs intent on bringing a man before ‘Judge Lynch’.
One of the few ‘liberties’ I took with history involved the timeline for the elections of the Nevada and Placer County sheriffs. Those elections didn’t actually take place for a few months after the counties were created — and, of course, Mason Wilder and Tom Watson were not the men elected!
I would like to thank the staff at the Searls Library and Doris Foley Historical Library in Nevada City for taking the time to show me any and all materials that could help me in writing this book. Special thanks to the ladies at Doris Foley for suggesting I contact the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. There I discovered the very first issue of The Matrimonial News, published in San Francisco on December 20, 1873, from which I ‘borrowed’ Roy’s ad almost verbatim.
This book wouldn’t be nearly as tidy without the watchful eyes of my lovely beta readers, who caught far too many embarrassing mistakes. So a big thanks to Rebecca Hartner, Bobbie Sue Brown, Rita Edwards, Linda Clayton, Sonnie Duchesne, Sara Ohmit, Laura Satterlee, Cathryn Pearson, Anna Gibson and Ronda Denny. All of these ladies are members of Pioneer Hearts, the best group on Facebook for fans of historical western romances. Join us!
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If you enjoy historical western romances, join us in the Pioneer Hearts Facebook group, a place where historical western romance authors and readers discuss their favorite stories, recipes and photos. CLICK HERE to join!
Did you miss Gold Rush Brides: The Beginning?
Who needs a man? Certainly not Miss Delilah Price!
Abandoned by the man who ordered her as a mail-order bride, Delilah struggles to get by in Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Not willing to return to her father's restrictive home — or face the arduous six-month voyage back to Boston — she hatches a plan to start her own business. She'll never have to trust her future to a man again.
Jack Dalton struck it rich in the Sierra Nevada and is having a mighty fine time spending his gold at dance halls and saloons in town. He can't for the life of him figure out why so many of his drinking buddies are signing up for ads in the matchmaking paper snooty 'Miss Priss' is starting up. The last thing he wants to do is to settle down.
When an unscrupulous charlatan threatens to shatter Delilah's dream, Jack takes pity and steps in to lend a helping hand. Then he gets suckered into partnering with the very woman he desperately wants to avoid. Long hours working together force them to face their deepest fears and admit they're drawn toward one another. Can they let go of their pasts and find hope for their future or will they let their fears tear them apart?
BUY NOW
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Don’t miss the Dalton Brides series, three connected western historical romances brought to you by Cassie Hayes, Kirsten Osbourne and Kit Morgan!
The Rancher’s Mail-Order Bride
by Kirsten Osbourne
Through no fault of her own, Gwen Blue found herself embroiled in a scandal that would set Beckham, Massachusetts on its ear, and get her locked in her room for two months. When she found herself betrothed to a man she found loathsome, she wanted nothing more than to disappear. When her sisters liberated her from her room and proposed a journey to Texas to visit an old school friend, she didn't have to be asked twice.
Walton Dalton always had a plan for his life. He'd spent years learning everything he needed to know about ranching, and he had a large parcel of land adjacent to his two brothers' land. Between the three of them, they were going to build a Texas ranching empire. For his empire, he needed a bride.
Without his brothers’ knowledge, Walt sends off for three mail order brides from a matchmaker in Beckham. He knows from the moment he sees ‘Gorgeous Gwen’ that she's meant to be his. Will she agree to the marriage? If she does, will she be able to get over her self-centered attitude and be a good wife?
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The Cowboy’s Mail-Order Bride
by Kit Morgan
Libby Blue lived in the shadow of her sister’s accomplishments. Bonnie, the oldest, excelled at all things domestic and was the smartest of the three. Gwen, the middle sister, excelled at … well, Gwen was beautiful, so she didn’t have to excel at much else to get what she wanted. Libby tried as hard as she could to live up to both, but always seemed to fall short. But when Gwen is caught up in a major scandal, their father decides to marry Libby and her sisters off to the most un-eligible bachelors in Beckham to save the family’s reputation. Bonnie quickly devises a plan to escape their father’s wrath and sets it in motion. Libby might yet have a chance to prove herself! As a Mail-Order Bride!
Walton Dalton had a dream to build an empire. Or in this case, a ranch where he and his two brothers could work hard and love hard. Determined to see his dream come true, he sends for his brothers and they soon join him in Texas to claim the land and begin building. That took care of the ‘work’ part. But Walton fails to tell his brothers that he already sent for mail-order brides in order to take care of the ‘loving’ part. Will Nate Dalton become Libby’s road to happiness? Or a slow path to misery because she still can’t measure up?
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The Drifter’s Mail-Order Bride
by Cassie Hayes
He was a drifter, through and through. Could he give up his wanderlust for a mail-order b
ride he didn’t know was coming?
Having grown up in the shadow of two beautiful sisters, ‘Scrawny Bonnie’ Blue knows she doesn’t stand a chance at landing a good man in Beckham, Massachusetts. The only way she’ll find a husband is by leaving her family behind to become a mail order bride. But when all three Blue sisters are swept up in a scandal, she has no choice to but to take ‘Gorgeous Gwen’ and ‘Lovely Libby’ with her…kicking and screaming, if she must.
Bart Dalton would be happy riding the range forever, but his brothers need his help to start a ranch in north Texas. He figures he’ll last a year or so before his feet get itchy again, which his brothers understand. As triplets, they can almost read each others’ minds. Except when his oldest brother orders three brides for them all. It would have been nice to have a little warning about that!
When Bart is late to meet the train carrying the Blue sisters, his brothers get first dibs, leaving Bonnie standing alone and dejected once again. It only gets worse when her ‘intended’ finally shows up and balks at the idea of marrying her. The only thing Bonnie has going for her are her wits, and she puts them to good use by proposing a business arrangement that Bart can’t refuse.
Will Bart go back to his drifter ways, or is the elusive thing he’s been searching for all his life sleeping in the next room?
BUY NOW ON AMAZON
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cassie Hayes grew up pretending she was Laura Ingalls (before that pesky Almonzo arrived on the scene) in the middle of Oregon farm country. She lives with her husband and cat on the Pacific Ocean and loves to hear from her readers. Connect with her at:
