Unlawfully Wedded Bride

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“Rutledge, I have an idea,” the man said eagerly. “Come with me.”

The sheriff turned and headed toward the jail. Not again, Nathan thought as he followed the sheriff into the stone building. Upon entering it, his gaze was immediately drawn to the jail cells in the back of the room. He swallowed, then quickly glanced away. His eyes landed on the little thief from a few days ago, prompting a wry smile. It was almost as though the child had never moved because he sat in the same off-to-the-side chair. He still wore the same sullen look of disinterest that unsuccessfully hid his obvious curiosity about what was going on around him.

The sheriff sank into the wooden chair behind the desk and motioned Nathan to sit down. “I’ve been bringing the boy here during the day and home with me at night but it unnerves the missus some. I was thinking on what I could do for the boy and it hit me.”

Nathan waited as the sheriff let the tension build.

“You and Kate should take the boy.”

“What?” Nathan exclaimed.

“You and Kate should take the boy. He could work in the fields and sleep in the barn with you. You two would only have to feed him and steer him in the right direction.”

Nathan stared at the sheriff in disbelief. “We can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Nathan glanced at the boy, who tried not to appear to be listening to the conversation. “It just isn’t right. The boy should have a home if he doesn’t already. Surely someone will want to take him in.”

“Yes, but not everyone would be a good influence on the boy. He’s been a thief and a drifter. All I’m asking is that you let him work as payment for the things he tried to steal. It will be a good lesson for him.”

Nathan leaned across the desk to speak in a low tone. “If he’s a thief, wouldn’t he be a bad influence on Sean and Ellie?”

“No, those kids are strong. Their ma raised them right. Look at it this way, the O’Briens will be three good influences. Wouldn’t three good influences cancel out one bad one?”

Nathan sat back in his chair, wincing just a tad when his back made contact with the wood. If the boy and I harvested half of the field, Kate wouldn’t have to pay fifteen percent off that. That would be a fair amount of money saved. The boy needs someone to turn his life around. Who knows why he’s on his own?

Nathan glanced at the boy, who’d dropped all pretenses and was eagerly listening to the conversation about his future. He couldn’t be more than a year or two older than Sean. But by God’s grace, life could have dealt him such a blow.

Nathan looked at the sheriff, who waited tensely for an answer. Two months, Nathan reminded himself. All I can offer is two months, and no more. Nathan’s voice was low, hopefully too low for the boy to hear, as he said, “If Kate and I take him in, it can’t be forever, understand?”

“Of course,” the sheriff complied. “I’m just asking you to show him how to do good, honest work. Give him some sort of skill so he’ll have something to fall back on other than stealing.”

“And you’ll look for a real family for the boy?”

“Yes.”

Nathan blew air past his lips then shook his head before he stood. “I’ll try to convince Kate but if she says no …” He shook his head again.

“I understand,” Sheriff Hawkins said, rising quickly to shake his hand. “Thank you.”

Nathan strode toward the door then turned to look at the boy still watching from his seat. “What’s your name?”

“Lawson,” he responded clearly.

“Lawson what?”

The boy’s hazel eyes watched him carefully. “It’s just Lawson.”

Nathan looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Chapter Five

Kate carefully took inventory of the small pile of goods Mr. Johansen deposited on the counter. Something was missing. She checked her copy of the list. “Were you out of corn meal, Mr. Johansen?”

“No, I gave it—” The tall Norwegian lowered his thick blond eyebrows as he surveyed the counter. A grin bursted across his face. “I lost it. I will find it. When I come back, I will count the eggs you brought for me. I will be back in half a minute. Do not leave.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be right here,” she said then smiled when the man was quickly distracted by another customer. It looked like this was going to take a while. She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hand as she watched Mr. Johansen conclude his business with the other customer and turn toward his storage room.

She wished the smell of those lemon drops behind the counter wasn’t so strong and tempting. Her stomach let out a small rumble, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Suddenly a tanned arm came to rest next to hers on the wooden counter. She tensed as a too-familiar voice called, “Johansen, grab me a few packs of that tobacco while you’re back there.”

Mr. Johansen glanced over and paused. His gaze bounced warily between Kate and the man beside her before he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

Kate straightened and slid farther away from the man, hoping he’d take the hint. He didn’t. “Kate O’Brien, why do you have to go around looking so pretty?”

She kept her gaze trained on her egg basket. “Andrew Stolvins, why don’t you find some nice girl to settle down with and leave me alone?”

“How can I think about another girl when you’re around?” He leaned sideways onto the counter to get a better look at her.

She dodged the hand that reached toward her, then turned to pin him with a cold gaze. “Don’t.”

He stared at her with predatory green eyes. “You’re going to have to start being nice to me again.”

He looked entirely too satisfied with himself. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s amazing what you can find out in a small town if you ask the right questions,” he said nonchalantly. “For instance, I heard your financial problems are so bad that you’re going to lose the farm if this harvest isn’t enough to stop the foreclosure.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I made it my business.” He smiled smugly. “You see, I just bought the wheat combine and thresher from Mr. Fulsome. If you want your wheat harvested, you’ll have to go through me now. I’m raising the rate three percent on each farm. I know you can’t afford that so I’m willing to negotiate. What are you willing to bargain?”

Her fingers clenched the handle of the basket tightly. “I’m not bargaining with you. I’ll pay the same rate as everyone else.”

“How do you plan to pay me? You don’t expect me to accept these, do you?” He chuckled, then snatched one of her precious eggs from the basket. He held one in the air to inspect it. “They look like they’re worth a pretty penny but appearances are deceiving, aren’t they?”

“Put it back.”

He tossed it back and forth between his hands but his gaze never left Kate’s eyes. “What’s it going to be, Kate?”

The egg slipped from his clumsy grasp. Kate gasped and reached out for it but Nathan appeared from behind her to beat her to it. The egg landed safely in his cupped palm. He stepped between them to carefully deposit the egg in the basket, then turned to face Andrew Stolvins. “Is there a problem here?”

Andrew glared up at Nathan. “This doesn’t involve you.”

“If it involves Kate, it involves me.”

Andrew shifted to stare over Nathan’s shoulder at Kate. “Is that how it is now?”

Nathan answered for her. “That’s how it is. From now on, you’ll leave her alone. Is that clear?”

A tense moment passed in silence before Mr. Johansen emerged from the back room. The store owner apologized for taking so long. Andrew grabbed his tobacco and left. Kate let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Johansen looked perplexed but shrugged. “I guess I will add that to his account.”

Kate waited while Mr. Johansen totaled her order, then applied the credit for the eggs. She paid him for the rest and was finally ready to go. Once Nathan had her purchases settled into the back of the wagon he turned to meet her gaze seriously. “Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?”

“I’d rather hear what happened at the courthouse.”

He nodded. “That’s fair enough. You can tell me about that fellow and I’ll tell you about the judge while we eat lunch at the café.”

“I’m not paying for lunch at the café when I have food at home.” She covered her stomach as it growled in protest. It would take at least another half hour to get home and it was already long past one.

Nathan grinned. “It’s my treat. I may not be a cattle baron but I can afford to pay for one meal in the café while I’m here.”

She didn’t like the idea of him paying for her but perhaps this was his farewell lunch. He’d order the food, tell her what he’d learned, they’d sign the paper he must have folded away somewhere and finish the meal. He’d make a quick exit. It would be amiable and painless. They’d go their separate ways, which was exactly what she needed.

At first Nathan did exactly as she’d planned. He ordered. After that he didn’t seem inclined to talk about his meeting right away. Instead, he asked about the man in the store. Kate sent him a quelling look. “First tell me what happened at the courthouse.”

He shook his head. “I’d rather wait until we get our food so we won’t be overheard.”

“Oh,” she breathed, then took a sip of her water. She didn’t need privacy for her explanation. The whole town knew the story he wanted to hear. “That was Andrew Stolvins. He courted me for a while two years ago, after my parents died.”

Nathan’s brows rose with interest. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of man you’d want as a suitor.”

“He was new in town. I was young and vulnerable. Andrew seemed like a nice, stable young man, so when he asked to court me I said yes.” She shrugged. “Like you, I was convinced I was following God’s will. For the first time in the six months since my parents’ deaths, I was hopeful. I thought my life was finally turning around.”

Nathan’s gaze filled with concern. “That isn’t what happened, is it?”

She shook her head. “I found out that Andrew wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or, rather, Sean and Ellie spied on him enough to find out the truth. Andrew didn’t want me. He wanted my inheritance.”

She paused as their food arrived and waited until the waiter left, to continue. “When I found out, I broke off our relationship. It’s lucky for him that I did, since my inheritance was hardly anything more than an expensive mortgage on the farm.”

Nathan pulled the napkin away from his cutlery. “Why is he bothering you if you didn’t have what he was really after?”

“My siblings weren’t shy in telling the town what type of man Andrew really was. It hurt his reputation but it hurt his pride more. He’s gone out of his way to make my life difficult since then.”