Finding the Broken Cowboy
Page 14
Realizing he needed a plan, he moved away from the house even if it was the most painful thing he did in his entire life, in search for Jonathan and another armed man.
I will be back for you, Beatrice, he promised. I will save you, my love.
Beatrice refused to cry, even though she was petrified. She tried really hard to force the panic back down so she could think again. The only way she could help her family was to stall a little, buy them a little time so someone could notice something was wrong. Or so she hoped.
Her fate was sealed, that much was clear. Beatrice prayed to the heavens everybody else would survive. "You are a disgusting monster, and I hope you'll rot in hell for what you did to my parents," Beatrice snapped at Thorton who laughed in return.
"I will so enjoy killing you," he said, getting into her face. "But first I will have a little bit of fun since you made me come all this way," he threatened.
"Do your worst," Beatrice replied defiantly. She was done being afraid; she was done being scared.
Suddenly there was a bell tolling, that made everyone pay more attention to what was happening on the outside rather than on the inside, which Beatrice found a bit funny. Not actually funny, simply dripping with irony.
"Fire! Fire!" They could hear men shouting next.
"Fire?" Uncle Tom said in alarm. "Do not move," Thorton warned, inching toward the window, dragging Beatrice alongside him. He peeked through the window and in that moment armed men came into the house.
Beatrice was never that happy in her entire life to see Nathan Walsh's determined face. "Nathan," she exclaimed too late, realizing her mistake.
Thorton turned in alarm, but Nathan was upon him, and pushing Beatrice out of the way, they fought. Nathan managed to smack the gun out of his hands, and they engaged in a fist fight. The crook was a good fighter, but Nathan took no time to subdue him. Nathan breathed hard as he picked Thorton up from the floor and pushed him into Jonathan's waiting arms, who tied him up. Thorton was bloody and barely conscious, yet still alive, which was more than he deserved.
Beatrice rose shakily to her feet, but a fall injured her ankle. The men untied everyone, and Elaine came to Beatrice immediately to give her a hug. It was a chaos of activity inside the Fosters' kitchen. But the threat was obliviated quickly. Aunt Claudia took care of Uncle Tom, and he regained consciousness, which made Beatrice breath more easily seeing he only got mildly injured.
Nathan rushed to Beatrice's side. "Are you all right, Beatrice?" He asked, his voice shaking with unsaid emotions. Elaine moved ever so slightly, giving them privacy.
"I knew you would come," Beatrice replied, in the same manner, and despite all decorum or reason, she embraced him.
"Praise the heavens I arrived in time," he breathed into her hair.
The front door opening again was what broke them apart. Ben came inside, pushing another man in with him. John Leaton fell to the ground. "I found him lurking about," Ben explained.
John Leaton looked at the assembly in front of him, first at Beatrice, standing between Elaine and Nathan, and then at Thorton who was bound in the corner.
"The deed is not done?" He exclaimed, starting to get mad. "No, no, this is not how it was supposed to happen," he ranted to himself.
Beatrice was overcome with all sorts of emotions, realizing everything in an instant. There was some truth in Thorton's words. Leaton was trying to get all the inheritance, he just simply wanted everyone dead first.
"Why?" She managed to choke out, pleading to the broken man in front of her. "Why would you do such a thing? You were supposed to be my father's best friend," Beatrice shouted, losing all composure.
John Leaton simply continued to stare at her, mumbling to his beard, angry his plan did not work. Thorton started laughing and Beatrice turned to look at him. "Isn't it obvious, girlie? We did it for the money."
Epilogue
Beatrice Foster tugged on her pair of white gloves, making sure they stayed tight, and they did. She was gazing upon herself in a mirror. Wearing a light rose wine dress paired with her mother's white gloves she managed to bring with herself from New York to Helena, and a pearl necklace which was a gift from Nathan, she thought she looked just right.
"You look marvelous," Aunt Claudia exclaimed next to her, helping Elaine fix Beatrice's hair, and she smiled in return.
"Thank you, Auntie."
She still could not quite fathom how she got here after everything that happened, yet here she was, preparing for her wedding day.
After that horrible day, when one of her father's best friends tried to kill her— with a little help from an assassin— as he did her parents, the truth was completely revealed.
John Leaton was a compulsive gambler buried in debt. Once he became desperate enough because he owed an immense amount of money to some rather shady men, he devised a plan to take over Benjamin Foster's newspaper. Unfortunately, Benjamin decided to leave everything to his only child, Beatrice, so John wanted to wed her in order to solve his problems. Yet that plan proved to be futile as well.
In his mind, the ultimate act of violence was the only solution, and everything was going according to his plan up until the point Beatrice ran away. He got quite mad searching for her.
Luckily, Beatrice had a guardian angel that saved her once again. This time, the angel was in the form of one quite unique and sometimes infuriating rancher, Nathan Walsh.
Beatrice could not quite pinpoint when she started seeing him in a different light or grew affectionate toward him, yet it happened. He showed her in a lot of small ways he was a kind and most importantly a good man, that would care for her, cherish her forever, which was a blessing since she felt the same way.
The day he asked her to marry him was one of the happiest of her life. Ηe came to the Thunderbolt Ranch, to check up on her after the incident and they rode off together. Eventually, they ended up on that same cliff where he took her after that drunken man attacked her.
It was quite obvious he was nervous for some reason, struggling with words which Beatrice found endearing since it never happened before, yet she waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts.
"There is something on my mind," he started eventually. "And I feel compelled to share it with you."
"Of course, you can tell me everything," Beatrice tried to reassure him as her heart jumped inside her chest.
"I know you will not stay here, now that those men are punished for what they did to your family, since your life is in New York, but the thing is …" He paused nearing her, to take both her hands in his. "I do not want you to leave. I want you to stay with me. Even though I realize how selfish I sound, I want you by my side, to be my wife. Because I love you, Beatrice. I love you and I fear I always will."
His words brought tears into her eyes and she sniffled ever so slightly. "I too have something to share with you," Beatrice started, and if her beginning confounded him, Nathan did not show it. "I spoke with Uncle Tom and he agreed to help me find someone who could run the paper instead of me, since I have no intention of leaving Helena." Beatrice looked Nathan straight in the eyes. "I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to expect this would happen, yet I hoped, perhaps someday…" She squeezed his hands as if to emphasize her words. "I want to stay with you as well."
Nathan's whole face lit up, clearly overcome with emotion. "That means…"
"Yes, I will be your wife," Beatrice interrupted him. He laughed out loud from joy, embracing her and she joined him, finally feeling lightness inside her heart.
Once they parted, they shared their first kiss before returning to the Thunderbolt Ranch to share their joyous news with everybody.
"Shall we?" Uncle Tom inquired, snapping her from her reverie, and Beatrice nodded in return.
"I have a surprise for you," he added casually.
"Indeed?" Beatrice replied, brightly. "I do love surprises."
Uncle Tom smiled, bringing her outside and Beatrice exclaimed from joy, seeing who was waiting for her o
utside.
"Marigold!" She cried out, embracing one of her closest and dearest friends. Beatrice could not believe she was standing in front of her. "How? When?" She struggled to express her excitement.
"I must care for you a great deal since I would not attempt such a journey for anybody else," Marigold announced in her usual manner.
"I am so happy you are here with me," Beatrice replied quite emotionally.
"Of course I am here, Elaine sent word just in time. I couldn't let you wed without me. You missed mine, but I have no intention of returning the favor."
"You are a true friend," Beatrice said honestly.
"Indeed, I am," Marigold replied, and they both laughed, embracing once again.
After greeting her husband, Captain Archer, and sharing a few words with him, Beatrice spotted her soon to be husband and her delicate heart did a little happy dance as always upon seeing him. He was giving her space so she could share a few moments with her friends, and she was grateful for that.
They met halfway and he greeted her with a kiss. "I knew there was a lady hidden behind all that dirt and rag," he jested, referring to what he told her not so long ago at a dinner party. This time, Beatrice laughed. Nathan had a very unique sense of humor and once she got to know him, she discovered how wrong she was about him from the start.
"You look beautiful, my love," he complimented. "Are you ready to become Mrs. Walsh?"
"No, but I am going to do it anyway," she jested back, and he laughed wholeheartedly. Taking her hand, they rode to the town's church where they exchanged their vows.
It was a lovely ceremony which was followed by a celebration at the Old Oak Ranch, which was Beatrice's new home.
Now and forever.
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The End
Also by Cassidy Hanton
Thank you for reading Finding the Broken Cowboy!
I really hope you liked reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it ♥
Some other best-sellers of mine:
Loving a Forbidden Bride
An Unconventional Bride for the Rancher
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Also, if you liked this book, you can also check out my full Amazon Book Catalogue HERE.
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Thank you for being part of my journey!
Cassidy
About the Author
Born overlooking the Jefferson river in Montana, Cassidy Hanton has always been attracted to the nature of the West. As the only girl of six siblings, her mother used to tell her stories that she later on discovered they came from her favorite romance novels.
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With a double major in Philosophy and Creative Writing, Cassidy started writing contemporary romances, only to realize that the American Frontier Era was her favourite. That was back in 2008. Now, she writes overlooking another Montana river and a beautiful ranch that she shares with her husband and three children.
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Cassidy delved into the Western Frontier history and the local native stories only to provide her readers with the intrigue and authenticity of the era. She hopes her stories satisfy their thirst for love and adventure and inspire them to live every day with a smile.