Unlawfully Wedded Bride

“Can I help you with something?” the man asked.

Nathan eyed the star on the man’s chest and nodded. “I’m looking for the sheriff. Is that you?”

The man gave a single nod. “That’s me.”

He dismounted. Tipping his hat back, he nodded toward the person who had really been drawing all the attention. The young thief sent him scathing glares from where he sat with his hands bound and tied to the saddle horn of Kate’s horse. “I found him trying to steal from the O’Brien place this morning. He took off with my horse when I tried to stop him. He’s just a boy so I’m not sure what’s to be done about it.”

The sheriff’s suspicious gaze went from him to the boy and back again as the man obviously tried to discern who was guilty of what crime. “Is that so? What were you doing out at the O’Brien’s in the first place?”

“With all due respect, sir, I reckon that’s my business.” He wasn’t sure how much Kate had told the town about him, but he wasn’t about to announce his presence to strangers without even a proper first meeting with the woman.

The sheriff’s eyes narrowed for a moment. Nathan held the man’s gaze, looking him straight in the eye without shifting or backing down. Finally, the sheriff nodded. “Let’s get him down from there and we’ll sort all this out.”

Nathan cut the boy free, then waited for him to slide off the horse. The boy looked as if he might try to bolt but the sheriff put a hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the jail. Though his stomach tightened in dread, Nathan had no choice but to follow. The sheriff directed the boy to a chair in front of the desk, then sat across from him.

Nathan’s gaze nonchalantly surveyed the walls of the office until he found the “wanted” posters. He was relieved when only the grizzled faces of strangers stared back at him. Movement to his right caught his eye. He nodded at the young-looking deputy who rose from that side of the room to watch the proceedings curiously.

“This man says you tried to steal from the O’Brien place. What do you have to say about that?” the sheriff asked.

The boy glared at them defiantly. “I gave it all back. Let me go!”

The sheriff sighed. “You know I can’t do that. Are your parents around here?”

“No.”

“Who’s taking care of you?”

“I am.”

The sheriff grunted. “Deputy Stone, take him in the back for now.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Nathan asked after the boy was led away.

“I don’t rightly know. He isn’t from around here and it doesn’t look like he has any family.” The sheriff eyed him carefully. “You aren’t from around here, either, are you?”

Nathan tensed but played it off with a shrug and an easy smile. “You can tell that easy?”

“You sure don’t look familiar. In a town this small, that’s clue enough.” The sheriff narrowed his gaze. “I guess I won’t get a chance to know you much if you’re just passing through.”

“I guess not,” he said, hearing the sheriff’s message clearly. He’d just been told to get his business done and move on. Apparently, Peppin didn’t tolerate strangers coming through and causing trouble. Nathan wasn’t looking to cause trouble and he certainly wasn’t planning to leave Peppin anytime soon. He had too much to stick around for, like that red-headed woman he’d promised to return to. When he stepped outside, Delilah’s whinny was just the distraction he needed after visiting the jail. He stepped close to the large black mare to tenderly stroke her nose.

“You knew I’d come for you, didn’t you, girl?”

She blew out a puff of air onto his hand. Then with a final wary glance toward the town jail, he stepped into the saddle and turned the mare toward the O’Brien place.

Kate leaned on the kitchen table with her elbow while she placed her chin in her palm. As she turned the next page of the family Bible, she realized she’d barely skimmed the past few verses. Dissatisfied, she closed the large book and sank despondently into the chair. She had already finished the laundry. Most of their clothes were flapping in the wind outside while she waited inside for the stranger to return. If he returned.

She was beginning to wonder if the whole thing had just been a big ruse between the pair of strangers. They were probably both thieves. Now not only had she lost a number of her family’s few valuable possessions but she’d also lost Pa’s horse. She groaned. What had made her think she could trust that man?

The sound of horse hooves in the barnyard drew her gaze toward the kitchen doorway. Rising from her chair, she hurried to the living room window to peer out. The stranger rode into the barnyard on his large black horse with her bay trailing after it. Relief poured from her lips in a heavy sigh.

Her relief did not change the resolve that filled her being. She was going to get some answers from this man. Her determination did not fade as she opened the door and marched toward the barn. It did not falter when she caught up to him or while she watched him loop the horses’ reins around his hands to walk them into the barn. It was only when his friendly gaze met hers that it wavered.

“I found him, but he can’t be more than fourteen,” he said as they stepped into the relative coolness of the barn. “The sheriff isn’t sure what to do with him. He isn’t from around here and doesn’t claim to have any family.”

Take your time, she reminded herself as he guided the horses to their stalls. She waited as he removed the saddle from her horse to place it back where it belonged. He repeated the process with the reins and bridle, then glanced up questioningly. She opened her mouth to speak but he was already asking, “Where’s the brush?”

She blinked. “It’s on the shelf near the bridles. I’ll get it.”

She moved toward the hooks, then glanced up at the shelf trying to see over its edge. Her father had been much taller than her and, as a result, everything was nearly out of her reach. It took a moment for her to spot it. “There it is.”

“I see it,” Nathan said at the same time.

Her hand reached it a moment before his did. She stilled as his hand covered hers. She pulled the brush down half expecting him to release it, half hoping he wouldn’t. He didn’t. She turned toward him and slowly glanced up past his blue checkered shirt to his face. His gaze solemnly slipped over her features. She swallowed. “There’s something I have to ask you.”

His gaze met hers.

She lifted her chin. “Who are you and why are you here?”

He frowned and released her hand. “What do you mean, who am I?”

“While we’re at it, how do you know my name?”

“Why shouldn’t I know your name? I am Nathan Rutledge and you are Kate—”

“O’Brien,” she finished. “Yes, I know that.”

“Rutledge,” he reminded.

“What?”

“Rutledge.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because your name used to be—” He paused and looked at her for a second. “You mean to tell me that you, Kathleen ‘O’Brien,’ have never even heard my name before today?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

He began to speak, then shook his head and strode over to where his saddlebag rested near Delilah’s stall. “I suppose you’d better have a look at this.”

She took the piece of paper he extended to her. She glanced up as she unfolded it. “What is this?”

“It’s our marriage certificate,” he replied quietly.

“What?” Her gaze held his before she stared down at the certificate. “You don’t mean—”

“I mean,” he interrupted with quiet authority, “that you, Kate O’Brien Rutledge, are my wife.”

Chapter Two

“I don’t understand how you could marry me without my consent,” Kate said as she handed him a glass of water, then settled onto the dark green settee in the living room a few minutes later.

He sat at the other end of the settee, then turned toward her. “What are you talking about? You signed the affidavit.”

“I signed it but I never intended to send it,” she admitted.

A confused frown marred his face. “I don’t understand.”

She bit her lip. “Mr. Rutledge, I’m afraid my family owes you an apology.”

“An apology?”

She pulled in a deep breath. “Let me explain how this started.”

She watched a myriad of emotions flit across his face as she carefully explained what her siblings had done. Shock, confusion and disappointment battled for dominance before a bemused, disbelieving smile settled upon his lips. Once she finished, his gaze strayed to the saddle bag he’d set on the low walnut table in front of them. “So your little brother and sister are the ones who wrote the letters.”

“I’m afraid so.”

He watched her carefully. “Were they also the ones who sent the affidavit?”

“They must have because I certainly didn’t.”

He nodded, then looked as though he didn’t know what else to say. An uncomfortable silence filled the living room. What was she supposed to do now? She shrugged. “You’re welcome to stay and help me sort this out when they get home.”

“Thank you.”

Silence again. She glanced around the room for something to do and her gaze landed on his saddle bag. Meeting his gaze, she asked, “Is there any chance I could see one of those letters?”

“Of course,” he said, then pulled out several letters from the saddlebag and handed them to her.

She looked at the curved letters written in a formal script. “This isn’t Ellie’s handwriting.”

“Then whose is it?”

“It looks like Ms. Lettie’s. She must have helped them.” The young widow would do whatever she could to support Kate and her family. Still, if not for seeing her familiar handwriting, Kate would never have suspected the woman of doing anything this drastic.

She continued to read the contents of a letter and frowned. “This is something I told Ellie about Ma’s wedding dress. It was destroyed in a fire when I was eight. Nothing was left but—”

“A small strip of the Irish lace that trimmed the hem of the dress,” he continued. “Your mother brought it with you on your journey here from Illinois and just a week before she died she sewed it into your own wedding dress. You keep it in your small wooden hope chest.”

“Yes, that’s right,” she said quietly. “That was all—”

“In the letter?” he asked. “Yes, it was all there.”

Her eyes narrowed as she softly queried, “What else was written in there?”

“Oh, just the generalities.”

“Such as?”

He grinned. “Such as your name, birth date and other general information.”

Her lips curved into a slightly amused smile. “How helpful.”

“I thought so.”

“Right,” she breathed, looking at the letter in her hand, realizing this man whom she knew nothing about could probably recite her entire life story. “You know so much about me yet I know nothing about you.”

“You could ask,” he said with an inviting lift of his brow.

Curiosity begged to accept his invitation but wouldn’t it be best to let the man remain a mystery? The more she knew, the harder it would be to forget this ever happened. She planned to do that as sure as she planned to send him away. Until then, there was only one thing she really wanted to know. “Why would you even agree to something like this in the first place?”

Nathan should have known that would be the first question she asked. “I explained the best I could in the letters but I guess you didn’t read those, did you?”

She shook her head.

He was quiet for a long moment as he searched for the right words. Finally, he asked, “Have you ever felt like God took your plans for the future, crumpled them up in his hands and scattered the pieces?

“That’s what happened to me,” he said gravely. “Then I saw the advertisement. I scoffed at it at first, don’t get me wrong. Still, try as I might, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I finally just broke down and wrote to you. I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but you responded and the more I learned about you the more I felt God leading me to continue.”

Her blue eyes filled with doubt and skepticism. “Then why didn’t you just try to meet me first? All of this could have been avoided.”

He shrugged. “The letters insisted on a proxy marriage. They said you wanted to cause as little disruption to the farm and your family as possible. I’m not saying it didn’t seem a little odd but at that point I believed God wanted me to do it. I wasn’t about to go against that.”

She smiled sympathetically then lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “We all make mistakes. I’ve certainly made my share. Thankfully, this shouldn’t be too hard to fix.”

“I never said I was mistaken.”

Her eyes lit with surprise. “Oh.” Her gaze faltered for a moment then shot toward the large window. “I think I hear the barn door.”

As she went to the window, he carefully refolded the letter she’d read, then slid it back into his saddle bag with the rest of them. He was in trouble if Kate’s last statement was a hint of what was to come.

He’d questioned his sanity for taking on a proxy bride but that advertisement had sparked more hope in him than he’d had in a long time. He hadn’t fooled himself into thinking their marriage was a love match. That would surely have been impossible. He had hoped that within a relatively short time that would change. Now, if he wasn’t careful, it would all slip through his fingers.

Suddenly Kate turned with a frown marring her delicate features. “They’re here.”

Kate forced herself to sit calmly on the settee as she waited for her siblings to come inside. She couldn’t stop herself from peeking at the man sitting next to her. He nearly caught her sideways glance so she pulled her eyes away to let them land on the front door.

“Kate, calm down. We’ll figure this out.” His deep voice startled her but she covered her reaction to it.

“I know. It’s just—”

Childish voices approached. The wooden door creaked open and Ellie appeared. Kate watched as the girl’s gaze skimmed deliberately over her before moving on to the stranger. “Oh, Mr. Rutledge, I see you’ve made it. That’s wonderful!”

Sean entered the room but paused at the doorway to cautiously take in the scene before him. Ellie glanced at her brother, seemingly for support, then smiled brightly. “What’s for supper?”

Kate glanced at Nathan hoping to convey a message and he seemed to receive it for they both sat in silence. The silence drew all eyes to her. Once she had her siblings’ attention she quietly commanded, “Sean, Ellie, sit down.”

They moved to their seats, placing their lunch pails and slates on the side table. Neither would meet her gaze. Sean stared at the floor while Ellie looked off into a corner.

“Explain this,” she commanded with a sweeping gesture toward Nathan.

Sean finally met her gaze. “It all started out as a misunderstanding. I thought you changed your mind when I saw the filled-out form. I asked if you wanted me to take care of it. You said yes. I mailed it the next morning before school. I didn’t realize you just wanted me to stack those papers until much later.”

She groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You told us never to mention it again,” Ellie reminded, giving Kate a pointed look.

“I also told you not to send him any more letters.”

“We didn’t,” Sean interjected. “We just sent that paper. He sent something telling us when he was coming. That was all.”

She glanced up to find Ellie surveying her carefully. Her sister shot a glance at Nathan. “Did she try the ring?”

He lifted his eyebrows as an amused smile teased his mouth. “Somehow we haven’t quite gotten to that part.”

“That’s too bad. Do you still think it will fit?”

He discreetly glanced at her ring finger. “It probably would.”

Ellie nodded. “Can I see it?”

“May I,” Kate automatically corrected, then frowned. “Ellie, don’t you think there are more important things to discuss?”

“I was wondering.” Ellie glanced between them. “Did you fall in love at first sight like Jacob and Rachel did in the Bible?”

Kate’s mouth fell open. “Ellie, that’s enough! This is serious. You’ve tampered not only with two people’s lives but also with one man’s emotions. He came all the way from who knows where—”

“Noches, Texas,” he supplied.

“He shows up and defends me and our house, all the while thinking I’m his wife. A wife created by a ten-and a twelve-year-old.”

Sean lifted his hand to speak. “Remember we just told him about you. We didn’t make you up.”

“And we didn’t do it on purpose,” Ellie interjected, then blushed. “Well, not this time.”

Ignoring those statements, Kate continued firmly, “I want you to apologize to Mr. Rutledge for lying and interfering in his life before doing the same to me.”

They looked properly ashamed, and humbly apologized before they went outside for their evening chores. Kate rose to heat up the food for supper. The clamor of the pans hitting the stove seemed jarring in the silence. Clearing her throat, Kate apologized, “Mr. Rutledge, I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s Nathan,” he said, his voice sounding closer than she anticipated.

She turned to look up into his dark brown eyes and persisted. “Mr. Rut—”

He smiled knowingly, then shook his head. “Nathan.”

Frowning, she yielded. “Nathan, I guess the only way to get out of this would be to get an annulment.”

He leaned back against the table. “Should we want to get out of it?”

“Of course we should.” Her eyes widened. “Why? Don’t you?”

His gaze slid thoughtfully over her face. “I don’t know.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “How can you not know? It’s the only sensible thing to do.”

“Sensible to me is this. You need a husband, I need a wife, and we’re already married. Why not stay that way?”

She laughed. “You can’t mean that.”

His jaw tightened. “Just why can’t I?”

“Because …” She wavered and he seemed to sense it. Why couldn’t she stay married to him? It was too dangerous. He was too dangerous. She wasn’t ready. She’d never even met him before today. It simply wasn’t plausible. Yet she looked into his eyes and reason began to melt, along with her resistance.

“We can make this work,” Nathan insisted. “I’m already fond of you and I have nowhere else to go.”

She slowly shook her head. “I won’t do this. It isn’t fair to expect me to honor a commitment I never made.”

He stepped closer. “You were willing to honor that commitment when you signed the affidavit.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

She bit her lip then admitted, “I needed a loan from the bank. The banker said he would only give it to me if I was married.”

His gaze filled with a concern that strengthened into compassion. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I never intended to send the affidavit because I decided to look for some other way—any other way. I pleaded with Mr. Wilkins to let me postpone the payments until after harvest. He agreed, with the understanding that if I don’t make a payment after the harvest, the farm will immediately go into foreclosure. I planted more wheat than usual so I’m sure the harvest will be enough to keep the farm safe.”

“In other words, you don’t need me anymore and you’ll risk everything you own to keep it that way.” He paused, looking at her searchingly. “Why put yourself through that when it would be so much easier to go through with your original plan?”

She stiffened. “You’re right. I don’t need you. I have a plan and it’s going to work. It may be hard, but I’m going to make it the same way I have for two years. That means without you or any other man getting in the way.”

“So that’s it? I sold my property back in Noches because you said you wanted the children to grow up here. All of that was for nothing?”

“I’m sorry, but I hope you realize that I never said any such thing.”

“No, I guess you didn’t.” He took his Stetson from the table. Holding it in his hands, he nodded. “Sorry for the trouble, Ms. O’Brien. You’ll get your annulment. I’ll make sure of it.”

Nathan slid the bridle onto Delilah’s head, then glanced at the two children who watched him in disappointment.

“You’re leaving,” Sean said, more as a statement than a question.

“I’m afraid so.”

The boy looked down. “You aren’t coming back.”

“I doubt it.”

Ellie climbed onto the short wall that sectioned off Delilah’s stall to stare at him with imploring green eyes. “Why don’t you win her back?”

“You can’t win something back you never had, Ellie.”

She crossed her arms. “You didn’t even try.”

He had tried but Kate wasn’t willing to do the same. If Ellie thought he was the problem, then so be it. He’d caused enough strife in his own family to know better than to start it in someone else’s. Besides, Kate was probably right. He’d thought God was leading him to a new life, but this seemed to be just as much of a mistake as everything else he’d done lately—everything he was trying so desperately to forget.

He did his best not to let Ellie’s glower bother him as he finished saddling his mare. He led Delilah from her stall. The children followed him in silence until Sean asked, “What are you going to do now?”

He glanced back and was surprised to see deep concern in the boy’s eyes. Ellie seemed to have lost most of her defiance, because while her chin still tilted upward, her eyes looked suspiciously moist. He realized that even though he was nothing more than a stranger to Kate, her siblings probably felt they knew him well. In truth, they probably knew him better than anyone else in his life right now.

Impulsively he knelt to put himself on their level. “Hey, I hope you two aren’t worrying about me. I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

Ellie’s chin quivered. “We want you to stay.”

“I know you do.” He guessed he didn’t have to tell them that things didn’t always turn out the way you wanted. He figured they’d been through enough in their short lives to know that better than most. “I’m sorry I can’t do that, but you two have each other and Kate. You’ll be all right. Just remember to mind your sister. No more of this kind of stuff, you hear?”

They both nodded.

He stood and didn’t bother to knock the dust from his britches before he swung onto Delilah. He glanced down to offer the pair parting smiles. “Goodbye, now.”

A few minutes later he turned Delilah so that he could get one last look at the O’Brien’s farm. The children had gone inside, so all he could see was the house and its fields. He swallowed against the unexpected emotion in his throat. He’d failed just like he always did when it came to chasing down his dream.

Hadn’t his Pa told him this would happen? He tried to push away the memory of his father’s parting words. He heard them anyway. “You’re going to fail. You’re going to come crawling back. Stay at the ranch and take your place like your brother. This is where you’re supposed to be.”

Turning Delilah back toward the main road, he urged her into a canter. It looked like his Pa had been right about him all along. It had just taken him five years to figure it out.

Kate swayed in her seat as the wagon jolted over a bump on the road to town the next morning. They were nearly to Peppin before anyone dared to bring up the subject foremost on their minds.

“I think you should ask him to come back,” Ellie said, over the groaning wagon wheels.

“I’m sure I know what you think, Ellie.” Kate’s grip tightened on the reigns. “I’ve already made my decision.”

“I liked him,” Sean said.

“So did I,” Ellie chimed in with a slight lift of her chin. “Didn’t you like him, Kate?”

“I’m sure he’s a nice man.” She was sure because she’d seen the way he’d knelt in the dirty barnyard to talk to her siblings before he left. The sight had touched her more than she cared to admit.

“And handsome?”

Kate glanced at her sister in interest. “Since when do you care about handsome?”