A Courageous Bride to Bring Him Hope: A Historical Western Romance Book

by Cassidy Hanton

  Clementine’s heart soared. “I feel the same way, Alexander. Before you, my life was bare and now, there’s hope.”

  “Oh, Clementine,” he mumbled before pulling her into his embrace. She went willingly.

  Alexander kissed her again and much to her delight, this time, he did not immediately stop.

  Alexander felt like he was on the top of the world, kissing Clementine on that hilltop. Being with her felt right, so right he knew he would do anything for her and for the love they shared. The notion she felt the same way gave him energy and confidence she could handle everything. His past, his sins, his pains. All the good, the bad, and everything in between.

  When all the lumber he prepared for the fire burned down he decided, if somewhat reluctantly, it was time to return her home. Even though that was the last thing he wanted, he was sensible enough not to want her to catch a cold. He entertained himself with notions it was better to end an evening when it was at its peak than to prolong it, out of selfish reasons and risk ruining everything. That helped to a degree.

  Each day it was getting harder and harder for him to say goodbye to her, even if it was for a little while. “We should probably get back,” Alexander heard himself say.

  Clementine nodded. She never looked lovelier than at that moment. He messed her hair a bit while kissing her, it was as soft he fantasized it would be, and her lips were full, plump and a shade darker than usual. He had to work really hard to suppress the urge to kiss her again.

  “Yes,” she replied curtly, still a bit breathless. Alexander took pride in that.

  On their way back they spotted a large caravan nearing town. “Dear me,” Clementine exclaimed in wonder. “It looks as though the whole town is trying to relocate itself.”

  Alexander had to agree. “That’s the circus,” he told her, and her interest instantly perked up.

  “Truly?”

  “Yes. The St. Clair’s Circus, if I’m not mistaken. I encountered them once or twice while traveling.”

  They were one of the biggest circuses in the country. Alexander was a bit surprised to see them this far west, they usually perform in much bigger towns, and for bigger crowds than Courtfield could provide.

  “Interesting.”

  Seeing them gave Alexander an idea. “Do you think this is something Pauline would be interested in seeing?” he inquired.

  Clementine looked at him incredulously. “Are you playing with me now? Of course. She would love it. I would love it.”

  Alexander smiled. That was what he thought. “Good. We will go tomorrow then, or when the first show is available,” he corrected himself. Sometimes the circus needed a couple of days to settle down before opening their gates to visitors.

  All too soon they returned to Courtfield and he walked her to the door. He was certain he could spot the girl who was watching Pauline spying on them through the window, yet he could not resist kissing Clementine one last time. He tried to keep it short though.

  “I had a lovely time, Alexander,” Clementine said once they parted.

  “Good, I am glad. I had a lovely time with you as well.”

  She reached for the door and he knew that was his cue to leave. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Yes.”

  “And dream of me,” he could not fathom what compelled him to say that. He was certain his brain thought of it as charming. In reality, he instantly regretted it. Miraculously, Clementine chuckled.

  “I always do,” she replied getting inside, leaving him in utter shock. She outwitted him again. That little minx always had to have the last word, and he adored her for it. He adored everything about her and that was related to her, he corrected himself.

  Whistling, as though he did not have a care in the world Alexander went to the corral to return the horses. Unfortunately, once there he bumped into some gentleman.

  “Excuse me,” he apologized immediately. He was pondering about Clementine and her parting words, thinking he could not wait for tomorrow to see her again and ask for the details of these dreams of hers, so he wasn’t as observant of his surroundings as he should have been.

  “You again,” the other man snapped. “You really should watch where you are going, you don’t want to stumble upon a wrong person,” he warned.

  Alexander was quite surprised by this outburst since this was the first time he’d seen this man in his life. It was on the tip of Alexander’s tongue to ask if he was by any chance that wrong person. The man appeared too angry for his good. For his health, Alexander corrected.

  He was clearly looking for trouble and if he persisted Alexander would be more than happy to oblige. Still, he tried to defuse the situation being in high spirit after his date with Clementine. Because of that, he did not want to end his evening with bloodshed.

  “I do not wish to quarrel with you. It’s rather late and I came here to put my horses to rest, nothing else.”

  “But you found one regardless,” the man replied, getting into his face. “Seeing you have no sense of space. Perhaps a knock on the head would cure you of that ailment,” he threatened.

  Alexander was not impressed. “I do not care for empty threats, so in the same regard, following that same logic, someone should smack you across the mouth so you wouldn’t go about threatening people,” Alexander growled back, irritated this fool was trying to pick a fight with him.

  It did not matter the other man was taller and more muscular than him. Alexander was confident of his winning chances. It was just that he did not wish to stain his new shirt. He kept it nice and clean for his outings with Clementine and did not need some fool’s blood all over it.

  “Is that a fact?” the stranger replied, changing his stance ever so slightly, clearly preparing himself to attack. Alexander adjusted his, as well.

  “Is there a problem gentlemen?” another voice asked.

  Alexander turned his head only to spot the sheriff, approaching them. He held his hand on the handle of his gun, so his meaning was crystal clear. This needed to end, and now.

  “Not at all, Sheriff,” the other man replied before Alexander got a chance to speak, taking a step backward. “Just learning about new citizens of our fair town.”

  Alexander felt like rolling his eyes.

  “I bet,” the sheriff grumbled eyeing Alexander with distrust but then he recognized him and nodded in acknowledgment. Alexander did the same.

  “I wish you gentlemen, goodnight,” the sheriff said walking away, clearly confident enough Alexander could take care of himself.

  “Lee Brewer is the name,” the brute introduced himself. “If you ever want to finish this like proper man,” he jibed. “Just look me up.”

  “With pleasure,” Alexander replied, not letting the other man intimidate him in any way.

  While Alexander worked as the sheriff, he met a lot of men like Mr. Brewer. They were all the same brutes, yet cowards in their hearts. And Alexander successfully got rid of every single one of them. This man would not have any different fate if he proved to be a problem for Alexander.

  “By the way, my name is Alexander Carson, you are more than welcome to look me up. I must warn you, you won’t like it if our paths ever cross again.”

  Mr. Brewer’s eyebrows rose, hearing the name. Alexander smiled without humor because it was a warning, not a jest what he had in mind. “So I guess you’ve heard of me.”

  For the first time, he spotted reluctance in Mr. Brewer’s stance. Alexander did have a certain reputation, and he would lie saying it did not help him in times like these.

  “Good to know, you are not a complete idiot,” he continued in the same fashion. “See you around, Mr. Brewer.”

  Alexander paid the stableman, who made himself scarce during this little interaction, for his horses. Alexander left the coral and that thug behind, once again cheerfully thinking about Clementine and planning their next outing.

  Life was good.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Look, Auntie, a clown,” Paul
ine said in delight.

  “I can see. Do you want to go greet him?”

  Pauline looked at her wide-eyed, as though Clementine just suggested she should pet a lion. “May I?”

  “Of course.”

  As promised, Alexander took them to see the circus act. It was a close tie who was more excited to come here this evening, Clementine or her niece.

  This time around, Clementine warned Alexander not to tell Pauline anything about their plans in advance, and luckily, he listened. That saved them a lot of headaches.

  Pauline was never overbearing, yet her enthusiasm for some things could make her single-minded, so it was better this way. Needless to say, Pauline was beyond herself when she did learn about their special evening treat.

  Clementine was glad that thanks to Alexander, her niece had so much joy in her life as of late. He truly appeared in their lives at the right time as though some guardian angel himself sent him to them. Because, in all gratefulness, to him, that little girl bore the separation from her mother at least a little bit easier.

  After the clown offered her a flower and she hid behind Clementine’s skirt, the three of them started roaming about.

  Clementine was not joking when she said the other night the caravan looked big enough to populate the entire city. Blissfully the outskirts of Courtfield could support such a crowd and the St. Clair’s circus settled quite nicely.

  “Where do you want to go first? What do you want to see?” Alexander asked Pauline.

  The small girl pondered about that turning this way and that. Eventually, she pointed to the Funhouse Mirrors poster so that was where they went. The small tent was full of mirrors that distorted images, their appearances, in some way.

  In the first mirror, Pauline looked much bigger than the two of them which she liked very much, at the second she was ever shorter. They all laughed as they stood in front of each mirror where their heads were much larger than their bodies, or their eyes completely disappeared, or their feet changed shape.

  It truly was a fun house, and Clementine and the rest of her companions enjoyed it immensely.

  Afterward, Alexander took them to the shooting booth and won a prize for both of them. Despite grumbling how the game was rigged, Alexander managed to take the best prizes. Clementine couldn’t help but tease him he only said that because he was fishing for compliments.

  At one point, Alexander picked Pauline up and placed her on his shoulders since she complained her legs hurt from all the walking about. The circus was just that big with many attractions to see alongside the main one.

  The two of them approached a small ring where the self-proclaimed The Strongest Man in the world wrestled regular folk for a chance to win a substantial amount of money.

  Maybe I should sign up, Clementine joked, falling a bit behind. She was feeling a bit peckish and wanted to see if there was something interesting for her to eat. She already knew Pauline and Alexander’s favorites, so she looked for those as well. Clementine assumed the prices were probably going to be a bit steep since they always were in places like these, however, she felt as though she needed to reciprocate Alexander for all his kindness, even in this small regard, buying him something he liked to eat.

  Looking about without going too far since she did not want to lose her companions out of her sight, Clementine spotted something other than the delicious food. Or more accurately put someone. Mr. Brewer was there as well, and seeing him made Clementine recoil. He did not strike her as a man who would enjoy a night at a circus.

  Truth be told he did not strike her as a man who enjoyed in much about anything, apart from collecting money. She started to move out of his way, to avoid him seeing her. She was having such a lovely time with Pauline and Alexander, she did not want their time together marred in any way. When a man approaching Mr. Brewer made her pause. To her utter surprise, the man was none other than Herbert Keller and they greeted one another and started a conversation.

  Splendid, she thought without actual humor. Two of her least favorite persons in the world knew one another. On the other hand, she really should not be that surprised they were friends. They shared a lot of the same qualities.

  Because that was just her luck Herbert spotted her. His gaze went beyond her as though searching if she was alone and then made a gesture like he wanted to approach her. He clearly missed seeing Alexander with Pauline. To make things even worse he told something to Mr. Brewer and the other man turned as well, following Herbert’s nods. His chilly gaze sent shivers down Clementine’s spine. She was not that easily frightened yet that man got under her skin like no other. Clementine had little time to gather the money, and a part of her, especially when he was looking at her like this, like a predator to its prey, she thought she was not going to make it.

  In the next instance, she reminded herself she would not give him the satisfaction of defeating her. So, raising her chin and not wanting to risk a chance of either one of them approaching her, Clementine turned around and walked back to where Alexander was, still enjoying a match with Pauline, who was none the wiser of what could have happened to her. She completely lost her appetite seeing those two men, and together. Clementine vowed she would double her efforts and save up all her money in order to pay Mr. Brewer.

  Blissfully, she soon forgot about them and once again started to enjoy herself. The three of them saw all kinds of wonders that this circus had to offer, and Clementine really began to look forward to their main performance that was being held in the largest tent. It was the biggest tent Clementine set her eyes upon. It was bigger than Courtfield’s church, and that was the tallest building in town.

  When the time finally came, they bought their tickets and settled inside the red tent. Alexander advised they should pick one of the rows in the middle to sit down and Clementine agreed. She wanted them close enough so they could see and hear everything that was going on in the center of the tent where all the acrobatics, small scenes with clowns would be staged. And far enough to not be in any kind of danger. Clementine heard the circus had many acts with wild beasts and she did not want Pauline that close to them even if they were caged and presumably trained.

  When the show master appeared on the stage everybody stopped talking in anticipation of what he might say or do.

  Clementine sat on the edge of her seat at some parts of the performance. It was thrilling, funny and highly amusing. These men and women whose jobs were to entertain people with their unique skills were true artists. She clapped until her hands ached, she shouted in shock, awe, and fear during the act. At times she could not believe what she was witnessing, and the rest of the crowd pretty much behaved in the same fashion.

  “Auntie, I am hungry,” Pauline complained during the show.

  “I will get you something,” Alexander offered instantly. He started to rise from his seat, yet Clementine stopped him. He already did more than enough, it was her turn. “No. I will go, and you stay here with Pauline.”

  “You will miss the best part,” Pauline said in a sad tone.

  Clementine smiled. “And you will tell me everything that happened, afterward.”

  Pauline nodded, clearly pleased she had such an important task on her hands. It was clear Alexander wanted to argue so she did not give him a chance, simply rose up from her seat and with a great deal of excuse me’s and pardon me’s manage to leave their row and walk through the exit.

  This time she took her time and truly looked for the booths with snacks, treats and all kinds of edible delights. The crowd was pretty much gone since most of the people were enjoying the performance inside. Even though she was saddened to miss a part of it, Clementine was glad she got a chance to stretch her legs a bit. She was not used to sitting down for so long and being idle.

  Shortly after she came across what she was looking for, and paying for the food she started her journey back. On her way back to the tent, she, unfortunately, ran into none other than Mr. Brewer. Luckily Herbert was not with him. Although, that
was a pretty minuscule amount of good fortune. She tried to move past him yet he did not let her.

  “Fancy seeing you here, Mrs. Jones,” he greeted her snidely.

  “It is Talley,” she corrected him using the same tone. She stopped using Steve’s last name when she became a widower and buried him; Clementine reckoned she buried that person that was married to him that day as well. Mr. Brewer ignored her remark.

  “You must already have my money in store if you could afford some free time and enjoy this night at the circus.”

  Well, she was enjoying herself, sadly, then she ran into her late husband’s loan shark.

  “I am pleased,” his tone and posture suggested anything but.

  “You know very well that I do not have it,” Clementine snapped. The painful truth was that she would need months of hard work, even a year to collect that money. She was already having a hard time, there was no reason to taunt her further.