Mail Order Brides Western Historical Romance Collection 3 Book Bundle (The Brides of Wyldewood 2)

by Holly Blake

  Billy was mulling this over in his head one day as he headed into town. He needed supplies and he could easily put together an ad in a few minutes while waiting for a meal at Mercy’s, or he could stop by Brody and Anna’s and she could help him write the letter.

  With new determination Billy set off for Brody and Anna’s. Anna would help him find someone wonderful. He wanted a girl that wasn’t just a pretty face. She needed to have character and a sense of humor. She needed to be smart and independent. Being pretty would help but she also needed to be willing to work hard around the ranch. Was there such a girl out there? Billy wondered. Maybe he was asking too much? He thought hard about what he really wanted in a wife. He didn’t want any regular girl that was all prim and proper and would see him as a bad boy just because he had a wild youth. He wanted a girl who would see past his flaws and even appreciate them.

  Billy was proud of the man he was becoming. He was now a successful rancher and was gaining respect around town. He attended church at least once per month and gave his tithe graciously. The small house he had built was always clean and orderly. Wasn’t he a better man now and deserving of a good woman? He had worked hard to achieve all of these things. The carpentry business that he and Brody owned was a great success in the area and although they had hired several men to work in the shop, Billy was still involved in the business, building specialized pieces in his outbuilding and delivering them to the shop for final assembly. Yes, he decided, it was time for a wife and he deserved someone special, but his kind of special not what other men thought of as good.

  He didn’t care about what her past might hold, all he cared about was that she would love him for who he was, and he would love her for who she was too, flaws and all. Besides, the preacher said that Jesus loves everyone, even the sinner and the tax collector. He was sure that he could find that kind of love too.

  Chapter Two

  Gwen Holbrook looked through the matrimonial papers with great expectations. She had been writing to lonely hearts for months hoping to find the right kind of man for her. She knew that she was being far too fussy than she should be but it was imperative that she find just the right man. Then, once she found him, she would move far from the city and her past would disappear along with her.

  She was orphaned when she was just six years old and from there she had been shuttled between relatives who really didn’t want her. When she was twelve she was sent to live with an uncle in Philadelphia. He had been good enough to her, although she realized very quickly that she had been sent to live with this man who needed a nurse maid to his ten children and haggard wife. While she was thankful that they had taken her in, it was time now for her to build a life for herself. Becoming a mail order bride was just the answer she needed. Eventually her heart had been stolen by the letters of a sweet young man from Wyldewood Wyoming. She hoped that he would be the one and she would finally be able settle down and be happy.

  The train ride had been long and trying. An assortment of ruffians, outlaws and military men occupied the same railroad car as Gwen and arguments among the groups had broken out continuously. Their language and actions scared Gwen so much she almost wished she had remained behind in the city. If this is what the west was to be like, she wasn’t sure it was the life for her. She supposed only time would tell and she wouldn’t allow herself to lose hope. Billy Laramie was waiting for her, and by his letters he didn’t sound like he was one of these kinds of men.

  Chapter Four

  Billy waited on the platform for the train to pull in. He had arranged to meet Gwen Holbrook here. She was a potential for a new wife and the only one he had corresponded with. Gwen had written him that she would come to meet him but would not commit to marrying him right away. She insisted that they must have time to court and get to know one another. Billy found this strange as none of the other mail order brides who had come to town had done this. He spoke to plenty of folks in town to ask what they thought, and they all said the same thing,

  “She must be special. Maybe she comes from money being able to travel around the country and meet her suitors. You better be on your best if you want to marry this one Billy.”

  The last words came from Brody. He still acted as if Billy was the kid who got himself in deep and had to be saved by his big brother. That wasn’t the case as far as Billy was concerned but it didn’t really matter. Brody meant well and Billy was willing to take his occasional gibes as long as Brody wasn’t mean about it.

  As the train pulled into the station and men started getting off the train Billy grew concerned. It was mostly military men but there were also a few that looked like trouble. Billy found it easy to spot those men; after all he used to be one of them. He saw small scuffles start to break out between the rough ones and the military. He hoped they would move on but it was disturbing to him that his Gwen had had to travel with these men.

  He looked around furtively for the woman he was supposed to meet. It looked like the train was almost empty when she finally appeared.

  She was dressed in a pink velvet travelling coat, with a matching pink feather bonnet sitting primly on top of her golden curls. She had deep dimples that bloomed from her cheeks and her sparkling blue eyes were alive with humor and curiosity. Billy was entranced. He saw that several men where helping her with her bags, helping her get down from the train, helping with anything they could. They were a bunch of monkeys performing for this petite young woman who looked completely comfortable with all the attention she was getting.

  Billy approached the throng of would be suitors and offered his bouquet of flowers to the young woman. “Gwen Holbrook?” he asked shyly.

  “Billy Laramie?” She smiled coyly and blushed just a little.

  “I am. May I take your arm?”

  “I would be delighted!” She cooed and the men around her looked disappointed and glared at Billy’s intrusion. “These kind fellows asked to help me with my bags; do you have a buggy we might set them on? Then they can all be on their way with my appreciation.” She smiled at the men and they all brightened. Billy couldn’t help but smile too. He liked this woman already. She knew her way around and Billy liked that.

  “My buggy is around front, if you would care to follow.” He gestured to the men who gave Billy a vile look but obeyed his instruction.

  The men placed Gwen’s bags on the buggy and turned to go with Gwen’s thanks. They had barely turned away when a scuffle broke among some of the men. Some were being pushed to the ground while others yelled foul obscenities at them. Billy didn’t want to get involved but he couldn’t let this continue.

  “Hey! Stop that right now! Can’t you see you are upsetting this fine lady?” He barked at the men who barely took notice of what he was saying. There were fists flying as fast as the insults. Billy got into the middle of it and felt his back meet with another.

  “Well, here we are again Billy boy!” The man smiled, his fists raised ready to fight.

  “Where did you come from?” Billy laughed. He was eye to eye with an old friend from back home, Seth Grayson. Although he too had run with a bad crowd for a while the same as Billy had, he had also tried hard to improve himself. He was a genuinely nice guy and generous to a fault. The two friends were all set to do battle with the rough characters and the military men when a voice boomed over their heads.

  “Attention!” It was Colonel Grant. Billy had met him a few times before. He was a friend of his brother Brody’s from WestPoint. Billy shuddered. Anytime one of Brody’s old friends arrived Brody was soon packing his bags and heading out; leaving his family with nothing but questions and worry. Would this time be any different?

  The men all stopped and looked at Grant. They quickly moved into ranks leaving the ruffians standing with fists raised looking foolish. They soon moved away and Billy and Seth just stood with mouths agape taking in the spectacle.

  “Officers, take your assignments and move your men out.” Grant looked stern and a little angry, but Billy thought he a
lways looked that way. He noticed Billy and came toward him. “Hello there Billy, how is your brother? I heard he married that girl he rescued from Lamont’s gang.”

  “He did Colonel Grant.”

  “Brigadier General now, son.” Grant laughed tugging at his new insignia on his collar. “I would like to see your brother while I’m here, do you know where he is at the moment?”

  Billy cringed. “No, why do you want to see him? Will he be leaving again?”

  “I couldn’t make a man leave his wife and unborn child, son. No, Sir but I have an important matter to discuss with him post haste.”

  “You might find him at the carpentry shop. He sometimes stops in there when he’s not on patrol with the Sheriff.”

  “I see. And is he friendly with Sherriff Wright?”

  “I guess. They are friendly enough, but not real good friends or anything. They work together but I don’t think Sheriff Wright ever quite got over Brody marrying the woman he loved.”

  “Good, good. I will find the carpentry shop and have my discussion with your brother then.” Grant seemed distracted at the mention of Brody’s lack of closeness with Grover. Billy wondered what it was about. Could this have something to do with the rumors about Grover’s dereliction of duty? Billy didn’t see it. He thought Grover was a really good sheriff and the people of Wyldewood really liked and respected the man. Although, ever since all the trouble with the Indians had started, Grover had been taking a lot of heat. The fact that he was half Indian himself certainly didn’t help.

  Billy shook his head as he watched Grant walk away. Trouble was coming. He could feel it in his bones. Seth grabbed Billy’s hand and shook it heartily before heading off. “It’s been good to see you old friend. Take care of yourself now.” Seth laughed and tipped his hat. He was gone in a flash and as Billy watched him walk away, he suddenly remembered why he was here. He had all but forgotten about Gwen waiting in the buggy for him. He was ashamed at his rudeness.

  Chapter Five

  Gwen watched the whole scene from the safety of the buggy. She was mildly amused by the scene until she saw a man join Billy in his fight. She gasped when the man turned around and she saw his face. She blinked rapidly hoping that her eyes were just playing tricks on her. But there he stood, as big as life and with just the same look of mischief in his eyes that she remembered. What was she going to do? He was the one person in the world who could ruin her chance at happiness here in this wonderful new place she hoped to call home. She was going to have to find him and make him promise to keep quiet.

  She liked what she had seen of Wyldewood so far. It was a pretty little town. It was midsummer and the trees were lush, the fields grassy and the flowers were in bloom. She hoped she would like it here. And she hoped her past would stay buried.

  In the week that had passed since her arrival, Gwen had really been enjoying Billy’s company. She had learned a great deal about him in a very short time. He wasn’t like any of the men she had known back east. He was kind and sweet and completely honest. She found him to be wise and humble. He had been wild a few years ago but was doing his best to become an upstanding citizen of Wyldewood. He owned a ranch and had an interest in the carpentry shop that he ran with his brother. He was impressively ambitious for such a young man.

  He was also very handsome. Not Seth Grayson handsome. He didn’t have Seth’s chiseled features or his perfect complexion. Billy was more rugged than that and little rough around the edges but none the less just as handsome. Gwen shook her head to erase thoughts of the man she had never expected to see again. And why was she comparing him to Billy? She had come here to marry Billy and she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that. Billy made Gwen feel safe and that was something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Now all she had to do was find Seth and silence him.

  Gwen walked toward a saloon she had seen many times. There were two in town; this one was the mildest of the pair. When she saw these saloons her stomach turned and she grew apprehensive. It was fear and she knew the feeling well. Anytime she thought of her uncle the same feeling came over her and her skin crawled. It was as if she expected her uncle to come walking out the doors and run her back to the ice shed to punish her for not being as pleasant to his gambling friends as he would have liked.

  Just as Gwen was approaching the doors they swung open and her breath caught in her throat. The man who nearly ran her down was not her uncle though, it was Seth. He looked at her with apologies spilling from his lips and then he stopped. His eyes filled with recognition and his whiskey laden apologies turned to laughter.

  “It’s you!” Seth hollered with joy. “My runaway lover!”

  Gwen tried to gain her composure but it was hard. Seth was very drunk so it was no time to speak sensibly to him. His laughter and loud voice had brought patrons out of the saloon and onto the street to gawk at Gwen. She felt humiliated despite knowing that Seth didn’t mean any harm. As people poured out onto the street the show girls who worked in the saloon followed to see what the commotion was. And then the owner stepped out of the doors and into the sunlight. The look on her face was utter shock. She looked at Gwen and then frantically looked around the street. She went to Gwen and grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her into the darkest and deepest reaches of the saloon.

  “You’re hurting me Mercy, stop it!” Gwen was shocked to see her old friend but Mercy’s mood was vile and Gwen didn’t understand what was wrong with her.

  “Is he here? Did you bring him here?” Mercy growled at Gwen. “How did you find me?” She threw Gwen into a chair and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the door and glared at Gwen.

  “Uncle Adam? Is that who you’re worried about?” Gwen felt the color drain from her face as she said the name she had grown to despise.

  “Yes, Adam! I got away from him once and took the thing he values most, his money. Do you think he’s taken kindly to that?”

  “I know he didn’t take to it kindly! I spent a month being punished for your betrayal. My only reprieve was that he needed me to do your job in your absence. He is furious with you, but I never betrayed you Mercy, I never have and I never will.”

  Mercy visibly relaxed. Her shoulders sagged but she still looked frightened. “How did you find me?”

  “I never set out to find you. I set out to run from life with Uncle Adam just as you had. He had started to insist I go to the saloons with him. He wanted me to entertain his not so gentlemanly friends. When I refused he tried to beat me. I answered an ad for a mail order bride and came here. Believe me; I am as surprised to see you as you are to see me.”

  “Good, good.” Mercy said. She came over to the seat she had thrown Gwen into and sat on the edge. She took Gwen’s hands in her own. “I didn’t give you that much money, how did you manage all that travel?”

  “Well, I took a page out of your book and took extra from the saloon.” Gwen laughed. “Adam will kill me if he ever finds me!” She swallowed the laughter and grew sullen. “He won’t find us will he Mercy?”

  “I did a lot of covering of my tracks when I left.” Mercy looked sullen but then looking into Gwen’s fearful eyes she smiled. “Wyldewood is a good place, and I am so happy to see you!” Mercy grabbed Gwen and gave her a hug so tight she could hardly breathe. A loud voice and the crashing of the saloon doors took the happy moment away from them. Mercy went to her office door and peered out.

  “Brody Laramie has just been made sheriff!” Lamont bellowed to the crowd. “Grover Wright has been stripped of his office. We won’t have to answer to the Indian loving likes of him anymore.”

  “What’s that all about?” Gwen whispered to Mercy. “What happened to Grover anyway? He’s Sheriff, always has been.”

  “Not any more. The military cronies of Laramie’s came into town, stripped Grover of his position on account of his being half Indian, and now they have apparently given the job to Brody Laramie.

  “Brody Laramie? Is he any relation to Billy Laramie?” Gwen aske
d with hesitation.

  “He most certainly is. They’re brothers, and close ones too. Brody is married to Anna now. They’re a real sweet couple. Mercy looked at the startled look on Gwen’s face. “What is it, girl? You look kind of pale.”

  Gwen stuttered. “It’s just that the man I came here to marry is Billy Laramie. I didn’t know he was all tied up with the likes of Lamont and his outlaw gang anymore.”

  Mercy burst into laughter. “So you’re the one that Billy boy is sweet on? You’re the mail order bride he sent for?” Mercy laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach.

  “What is so funny Mercy; I’m as good as any woman!” Gwen nearly burst into tears.

  “It’s not that. You are as good as any woman, better than most. It’s just you hooking up with Billy! I think you two are well suited to each other. But have you told him about your past? Does he know about Seth?”

  “Of course not! What would he think of me if he knew?”

  “Billy isn’t like other men, Gwen. He won’t be expecting you to be some pure as the driven snow innocent girl, he wouldn’t like that. Billy is a bit wild in his heart and he would not expect or want a girl who couldn’t handle his wild side. He’s a good man, don’t get me wrong, but he needs the open spaces and to run with the wolves from time to time.”

  “Run with the wolves? What on earth does that mean?”

  “It means that every once and awhile Billy has to do something that lets him know he’s alive. He has to get out into the wide world and put himself into some kind of danger, whether it’s taming wild horses or fighting with hooligans, he has to do something to make sure his blood is still pumping.”