The Mistaken Mail Order Bride Read online

  Eric waited for someone to protest, but since no one did, he considered the matter closed. With a shake of his head, he stomped out of the town hall. How did people come up with such superstitious nonsense? Did they sit around the table and talk about what kind of things they could do to scare others? Thank goodness Caroline wasn’t the same way, or else he didn’t know how he’d cope in this town.

  ***

  Eric hadn’t meant for the simple kiss he gave Caroline a couple days later to turn into something more. It was bound to be another long and tiring day as he continued his rounds of asking questions about Lydia’s death. But when he woke up early that morning, he felt the pressing need to hold Caroline. No matter what the day brought, he knew he could handle it because he got to be with her first thing in the morning.

  Caroline had a silent strength about her. She hadn’t let the rumors swirling about her in town dissuade her from treating people with kindness. She simply went about the town as if nothing was happening. He didn’t know if this was a byproduct of how she’d been raised or if it was just her personality, but it made her all the more attractive to him.

  And it was this kind of thinking that compelled him to take her in his arms and give her a kiss. He’d meant for it to be a simple kiss. Just one. But that one kiss soon turned into two. Then three. From there, his hands started roaming her body, and before he knew it, they were entwined in each other’s arms, giving themselves to the demands of their bodies. This time, he wanted to watch her as she made love to him, so he rolled on his back and encouraged her to get on top of him.

  She did, and she took him inside her. He groaned. There was always that initial wave of pleasure that swept over him every time the warmth of her flesh surrounded him. Judging by the look on her face, she experienced it, too. She began moving and let out a moan, further letting him know she really did enjoy this. Yes, she’d told him she got pleasure out of their times together. She’d even initiated lovemaking on occasion, but it was always nice to be reassured.

  The morning sunlight coming through the window gave him a wonderful view of her. Her hair was down, and it covered part of her breasts. He brushed the hair back, so he could enjoy the full view of them, finding the way they bounced as she continued making love to him that much more arousing.

  He lowered his hand, found her sensitive nub, and rubbed it, suspecting it would increase her pleasure. And sure enough, she gasped then moved faster. How he loved the way she responded to him in bed.

  In public, she was always a lady, weighing her words before speaking and careful to be graceful in her actions. But in bed, she didn’t hold back. She was completely uninhibited, and that only served to excite him all the more.

  So he continued rubbing her sensitive nub until she grew still and cried out. Her core clenched around him, and he shifted so he was deeper inside her. Letting out a groan, he closed his eyes and moved his hips under her.

  She, in turn, grasped his shoulders and murmured his name, an encouragement for him to keep going. So he did, and before long, his seed filled her core and his body shuddered as waves of pleasure crashed into him.

  After he relaxed, she got off of him and snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her as he did so, but these kisses weren’t the kind that would lead to more. These were simply the kind that let her know he loved her and couldn’t imagine his life with anyone else. In fact, he didn’t know how he’d managed all of his life without her.

  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he whispered.

  She smiled, her eyes sparkling. “I love being with you, Eric. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Good.”

  He kissed her again. She returned the kiss, and soon, he was deepening it, well aware this kind of kissing did have the potential to lead to something more. But he figured it was still early enough where he had some time to spare. And that being the case, he proceeded to make love to her again.

  ***

  A week later, Eric was no closer to figuring out who had killed Lydia than he was the day he found her body. The doctor confirmed she’d been pushed off a wagon, but beyond that, the doctor couldn’t offer anything useful.

  “There aren’t any signs of abuse,” the doctor had told him. “Whoever she went with, she went willingly. She didn’t fight him.”

  And that put Eric in a more difficult position because this fact alone convinced him Carl was innocent of the murder. Given her intense dislike for her husband, Eric couldn’t imagine she’d willingly go anywhere with him, especially after she made it a point to let him know she wanted him arrested for trying to take her to his bed.

  So that left one pressing question: who would she go with?

  That particular question was weighing on his mind as Eric went to the jailhouse. Not surprising, there was a group of ten people waiting for him. It seemed that ever since her body was discovered, he had to contend with someone who wanted to know the progress on the investigation.

  “Just how long is it going to take for you to find the person who killed Lydia Richie?” Hank asked without even bothering to say hello.

  “I’m going to take as long as I need to,” Eric replied.

  “It’s been almost two weeks, and you’ve asked everyone in town where they were the night she was murdered,” Mike said.

  “Mike’s right,” Jerry added. “It’s been long enough. Find the person who did it and get it over with already.”

  The other people murmured their agreement, so Eric held his hands up to silence them. “Look, I’m not going to rush this. It’s important we get the right person.”

  “It’s obvious who did it,” Liz called out from the back. “Carl Richie hated her. We all heard him tell her on numerous occasions he wished she’d just go away.”

  The people nodded and started conversing amongst themselves about the times they’d seen the couple fight.

  “I saw him post a mail-order bride ad yesterday,” Ida said, successfully quieting the group. Eric turned his gaze to her, and she must have sensed a challenge in his eyes for she added, “You can’t get me on this one, Sheriff. It’s the truth. Why, you can ask Daniel. He sent it off to the catalogue company that posts those ads.”

  “It’s true,” Daniel replied. “I handled the ad myself.”

  “Well, there you go,” Hank said, turning back to Eric. “That was his plan all along. With Lydia out of the way, he’d be free to marry someone who might give him that child he needs to keep that property his father left him.”

  “It makes sense,” another man called out. “He hasn’t had a single child with Lydia. It’s obvious she couldn’t conceive. Now he’s looking for a wife who can.”

  This created a much bigger stir among the people than the comment Liz had made about Carl and Lydia fighting all the time.

  Eric had to yell at them to get them to quiet down. “Listen up,” he said. “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and there’s not enough proof to convict Carl.”

  “Well, someone did it,” Mike argued. “You said so yourself that she didn’t commit suicide.”

  “Yes, but we have to be careful we don’t go after the wrong person,” Eric said, hoping they were paying close attention to his warning. “I’ve seen an innocent man get shot for something he didn’t do.”

  “Who else could it be?” Maude asked.

  “I don’t know, but I will find out,” Eric replied. “It’s not going to happen right away. You need to be patient. In the meantime, if anyone steps foot on Carl’s land to give him any trouble, you’ll be dealing with me. Understand?”

  After a long, tense moment, the people murmured their agreement and slowly dispersed. Eric released his breath. He had a nagging suspicion one of the people in the group was the murderer he was looking for. He, or she, was probably checking on his progress, to see how close he was in narrowing down the guilty party. But, of course, pinpointing the rightful party was the challenge.

  He made a ment
al note of everyone in the group then went in to the jailhouse to write their names on a list.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A couple days later, Caroline decided to play jackstraws with Caleb, thinking it’d be nice to take a break from teaching him how to write the letter M.

  “Did you and your mother often play games?” she asked as she picked up a jackstraw without disturbing the others on the pile.

  “Not much,” he replied. “But she liked them.” He removed one of the jackstraws from the pile and smiled.

  She chuckled. “That was a hard stick to pick up without disturbing the rest of the pile. I’m surprised you didn’t take the one from the top.”

  He shrugged, but she detected the spark of amusement in his eye. “It’s fun to do it the hard way.”

  “You like a challenge?”

  He nodded.

  “There’s a sense of accomplishment in doing something the hard way,” she replied. “I think it makes winning that much more rewarding.”

  After a moment, he looked up at her and said, “Mama would have liked you.”

  Pleased by the compliment, Caroline smiled. “I would have liked her, too. She did a wonderful job in raising you. She would be proud of you.”

  “I know she loved me.” His gaze went back to the jackstraws, and a tear slid down his cheek.

  She retrieved the handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the tear away. “It’s good you’re old enough to remember her.” She paused then asked, “Would you like to record your memories of her?”

  His gaze went back to her. “How do we do that?”

  “We could write down what you remember about her. It’ll be something tangible you can hold onto.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Tangible?”

  “It means something you can touch. Something real. Like a book. We could get paper and write down everything you can remember.”

  “Things like what?”

  “Things like how she looked, what games you played with her, the stories she told you… Things like that. It’ll be something of hers you’ll have forever.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Then let’s go to the general store and see if we can get some.”

  She stood up and checked on the money in her drawstring purse. Eric had given her a few coins in case she needed to get anything from the store, and she figured she had enough left for some paper and a pencil or pen, should the items be at the general store.

  She’d used the only paper she’d brought with her to write the missives to Bee and Charles. She hadn’t bothered to check the general store for more yet. It might be that she’d have to order them by mail. For Caleb’s sake, she hoped they had it here so they could get started on recording his memories right away.

  She slipped the strings of the purse around her wrist and went to the door to retrieve her hat. Turning to look at Caleb, she was surprised to see he was still sitting by the jackstraws.

  “Would you rather wait?” she asked him.

  “No, I want to go,” he said.

  She wanted to ask him why he hesitated, but he walked over to her and put on his boots.

  He straightened up. “I’m ready.”

  With a smile, she patted his shoulder. “Even if we can’t get the paper today, we’ll order it. In the meantime, you can tell me anything you want to about her. That might help you remember more things we can write down.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For not making me forget her.” He looked down for a moment then turned his gaze back up to her. “The other people…the ones I lived with who didn’t care for me… They wanted me to forget her. They didn’t like hearing about her.”

  “Then it’s a good thing you’re here instead.”

  She opened the door and led him outside.

  When they got to the store, Daniel came up to them. “How may I help you, Mrs. Johnson?”

  “Do you have any paper?” she asked.

  He offered a nod. “This way.”

  Squeezing Caleb’s hand in excitement, she followed Daniel and purchased some paper and two pencils. Then, realizing she had enough money left over, she bought Caleb a couple pieces of candy.

  “I don’t know a single child who doesn’t like candy,” Daniel said, giving her a friendly smile.

  Caroline returned his smile and handed the candy to Caleb. It was nice to know not everyone in town thought ill of her after all the things Ida had said about her.

  She thanked Daniel and gathered the paper and pencils in one arm. Then she took Caleb’s hand and exited the store.

  They’d only taken a couple of steps when an unfamiliar gentleman approached them. “Pardon me, ma’am.”

  She stopped. “Yes?”

  “I’m looking for someone who lives here. Do you know where I can find Caroline Benton?”

  “That was my name before I married the sheriff,” she replied. “What can I help you with?”

  “I’m Charles Dunwick.” He pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and showed her the missive she’d written to him. “I apologize for coming up to you this way. I know you said you were doing alright in the letter, but I wanted to make sure it was true. You know, just in case someone made you write that.”

  “Oh, that’s very kind of you,” she replied, surprised he would go through all this trouble on her behalf. “What I put in the missive is true. Everything is fine.”

  Caleb squeezed her hand.

  Surprised, she glanced down at him and saw him shake his head, a silent warning for her to stop talking to Charles. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned her gaze back to Charles.

  What did Caleb see that she didn’t? Charles seemed pleasant enough. He was smiling, his posture was relaxed, and he was well dressed for a gentleman out in this area of the country. She looked at Caleb again, just to make sure there was something about Charles that bothered him. And sure enough, Caleb enforced his earlier warning by urging her back into the store.

  “I was wondering if we could talk,” Charles said. “I’d like to know more about how things are for you. We could take a walk. I came all the way here to make sure everything was alright. It’d be a shame if I didn’t at least find out more about your new life and this boy.” He nodded toward Caleb. “I’d also like to thank your husband for being good to you.”

  “Oh, um…”

  Caroline clutched the paper and pencils to her chest as she struggled to find a polite way of saying no. She couldn’t come out and tell him something was wrong with him. That might make things worse.

  “Actually,” she began, “this isn’t a good time. I promised my husband I’d see him.” She knew better than to head right on home. Then he’d know where she lived. “He’s right over there at that jailhouse.” She gestured to it. “As I said, he’s the sheriff.”

  “If now’s not a good time, then what about later?” Charles asked. “I’ll be in town for at least one night since it was a long trip to get here.”

  She shifted from one foot to another and scanned who else was in the area. A couple of ladies were across the street, and two gentlemen came out of the barbershop. And, of course, Daniel was in the general store behind her. At least there were people nearby. This gave her an added layer of protection. She didn’t think he’d try to force her to go off with him when others were around.

  “I have to pee,” Caleb blurted out. “Right now.”

  Thankful for the boy’s quick thinking, she offered a smile at Charles. “I’m sorry, but I must go. I don’t want him to have an accident. Just know that I’m fine.”

  Then she led Caleb over to the jailhouse as fast as her boots would allow. Charles called out after her, but she pretended she didn’t hear him. If Caleb thought there was something wrong with him, then she didn’t dare risk finding out what that something was. She wouldn’t knowingly allow the enemy an advantage like she had with the Union soldiers. No, this time she was going to be cautious, even if it meant being
rude.

  By the time she opened the door to the jailhouse, she was out of breath. She shut the door behind her and Caleb then peeked out the window. Charles was still standing by the general store, just staring in her direction. That, she had to admit, was creepy. She shivered and slipped away from the window in case he saw her.

  “I told you I’m not going to arrest Carl,” Eric called out from the back. “I don’t care how guilty you think he is.”

  “It’s me and Caleb,” Caroline called out. She set the paper and pencils on Eric’s desk then glanced at Caleb. “Are you alright?”

  The boy nodded. “You did the right thing.”

  She was about to ask him why he didn’t trust Charles, but she already knew the answer. He didn’t know. He got a feeling about people. He was sensitive to subtle cues people like her missed.

  Eric came out from the back and put his coffee cup down on his desk. “It’s nice to see you two.” He went over to Caroline and gave her a kiss. Then he gave Caleb a playful pat on the back. “What brings you two in today?”

  “Remember the gentleman I was supposed to marry?”

  Eric turned back to her. “Sure. Charles or something.”

  “Yes, Charles Dunwick. He’s here.”

  “He’s here?”

  “Right out there.” She pointed to the window. “He came up to me and Caleb as we were leaving the general store and asked if I knew Caroline Benton. I told him I was the person he was looking for, and he introduced himself. He has the missive I wrote, so I believe it’s him.”

  “Is he here because he wants to marry you?”

  Noting the jealous edge in Eric’s voice, she smiled. “No. He said he wants to make sure I’m alright, but Caleb,” she glanced at the boy, “warned me not to talk to him. So I came here.”

  Eric’s gaze went to Caleb. “You think he’s here to hurt her?”

  “I don’t know why he’s here,” Caleb said. “I just don’t like him.”

  “I see.” Eric walked over to the window. “What’s he wearing?”