The Scarlet Wedding Read online

  Emma’s eyes shot back to William. “You have a sister?” This was news to her. William had never mentioned a sister.

  He nodded and took another deep breath. “She’s a half-sister from my mother’s first marriage. We’re not close as she was seven when our mother married my father and eight when I was born. She resented the time Mother spent with me and felt I stole her mother from her. Our relationship was always rocky, but when Mother died, Mabel never spoke to me again.”

  “William, I’m so sorry.” Emma forced her hands to separate and reached across the table to grab one of William’s hands. “But if you don’t talk anymore, how would Holden know about her?”

  “I'm not sure he does, but Barefoot Glen, where I’m from, isn’t that big. If Holden shows up there looking for me, people might point him Mabel’s direction. We’re not close, but she’s all that’s left of my family. Hardesty thinks we can catch him, and I have to go.”

  Emma’s hand flew to her mouth as her eyes widened. “No, you can’t, William. I already lost Joseph to Holden. I can’t lose you too.”

  “Plus, didn’t the doctors say another injury could damage your throat for good?” Doc Moore spoke up.

  “They did, and I didn’t come to this decision lightly.” William held Doc Moore’s gaze before returning his eyes to Emma. “But I feel like this is God’s will. If Holden could find Hardesty’s brother and Hardesty found me, then it’s only a matter of time before Holden would come here. I can’t let that happen. And there's a chance to stop him now. A good one. The Texas Rangers have headed up north to try to cut him off, and Hardesty has hired as many bounty hunters as he can. If we leave today, we can get there by nightfall.”

  “Then why do they need you? It sounds like they have plenty of men.” Emma sounded desperate, and she hated it, but she couldn’t lose another man she loved. God had graced her with a second chance at a marriage based on love which Emma knew didn’t happen often.

  William sighed and ran his hand across his chin. “He’s after our families. I can’t stay here and let other men deal with that. I have to go. It’s my duty.”

  White hot anger flooded Emma. “Oh, I am so sick of you men and your duty.” Emma pushed back her chair and slapped her hands on the table. “Duty gets you killed. You were supposed to give up this life, to stay here with me. We’re supposed to be getting married. Now I find out you’ve been keeping secrets from me and you have a sister.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my sister. I honestly never thought she’d be in my life again, and I will do my best to come back to you.” William stood and crossed to her. He reached for her hand, but Emma snatched it away.

  “Your best should be staying here with me because you can't assure me you’ll make it back.” With that, Emma fled the room. Her sisters still slept, so she pushed open the front door and ran to the barn where she flung herself down on a bale of hay. Her head dropped onto her arms, and her shoulders heaved as the tears came.

  “Why, God?” she sobbed. “Why does every man I love keep leaving?”

  William turned to follow Emma, but Doc Moore stayed his arm.

  “Let her go. She needs time to process. I understand your position, William,” Doc Moore continued. “It’s hard, but I think you’re doing the right thing. You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to your sister, even if you aren’t close.”

  William sighed and nodded.

  “And thank you for warning us about Holden. I’ll make sure Samuel is extra vigilant until you return and can assure us Holden is taken care of. And I know you’ll come home. Let’s pray for your safety.”

  William closed his eyes and felt Doc Moore’s hand upon his shoulder.

  “Lord, we ask your protection on William. He is an important part of our family, and though we understand he is following your will in taking this job, we ask that you bring him home safely to us. Amen.”

  “Amen,” William echoed. “Thank you, sir. For the prayer and for understanding. I really will do everything in my power to come back to her.”

  “I know you will, son. I know you will.”

  William shook Doc Moore’s hand, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time and left the house. As he mounted his horse, his eyes scanned the area, but there was no sign of Emma. His gaze traveled to the barn. She had to be in there or else he would have spotted her. The view was fairly flat from here.

  He fought the urge to go in and kiss her goodbye. William wanted to take a memory with him, but he chose to respect Doc Moore’s words instead. With a final farewell glance, he turned the horse toward his homestead.

  Jack Hardesty was packing his saddlebags as William arrived. “How did it go?” he asked as William dismounted and tied the reins to the porch.

  “About as I expected. Not as good as I hoped. I’ll have to make it up to Emma when I get back,” he said. If I get back.

  “If good fortune is with us, hopefully we can have this wrapped up in a week and have you back with your betrothed.” Jack cinched his saddle and checked the fit.

  William nodded, but they needed more than good fortune. They needed God on their side. “Let me grab a few things, and I’ll be ready to go.”

  After a quick trip into the house to grab his Bible and a handkerchief Emma had given him a few weeks earlier, the men mounted up and headed north. The ride was quiet, but William appreciated the silence as it gave him time to pray.

  Chapter 3

  “What is going on with you today?” Kate asked as the women worked on their knitting.

  “William left this morning.” Emma tried to control the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

  “What?” Kate’s needles stopped mid click. “Why?”

  “An old outlaw from his past escaped and is seeking revenge on those who put him in prison. William’s worried he’ll go after his sister.”

  “William has a sister?”

  Emma nodded. “I can’t believe he never mentioned her before. How can you forget to mention a sister? I felt so blindsided this morning when he told me.” Emma sniffed and wiped the wetness from the corner of her eye.

  “What reason did he give?”

  “He said they had a rocky relationship and hadn’t spoken in years, but then why does he feel the need to endanger himself to protect her?”

  Kate resumed her knitting, but her furrowed brow showed her concern. “Maybe it’s not so much about her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  A small sigh escaped Kate’s lips and she placed her needles down. “Remember when I told you about my trip here, how my stagecoach was robbed?”

  Emma nodded and laid her knitting down as well.

  “Well, as you know, Bill Easterly, the man I came to marry was one of the bandits. They found another man dead in Easterly’s home when I led Jesse out there. Then Jesse killed Easterly himself when he tried to kidnap me at the dance, but they never found the last man. I am not sure he’ll ever come after Jesse or me, but I worry he will.” She touched her belly. “Especially with this little one on the way. And I know that even though he loves me, Jesse wishes he could bring in the last man responsible for Pauline’s death. So, maybe it’s something like that.”

  Emma pursed her lips as she pondered the words. William said he feared Holden would come after her if he didn't stop him, and would Emma still have respected William if he hadn’t gone to protect his sister? “You’re right. I’ve been so silly. I didn’t even say goodbye to him. When will l stop being so rash and prideful?”

  Kate reached over and laid her hand on Emma’s arm. “It will be okay. We all have areas we struggle in. Just continue giving it to God, and He will work on your heart. As for William, we will pray daily for his safe return.”

  Tears filled Emma’s eyes again, and this time she didn’t bother to stop them. She let them fall in little rivulets down her cheek. One after the other. They were tears for her own pride and tears for the sadness she must have placed on William when she didn’t
say goodbye. But mainly they were tears of fear. Fear that he might not come home, and that if he didn’t, her last words to him would be words of anger. Her mother had always warned to never part in anger as one never knew when it might be the last time they saw someone. After her mother’s death, those words should have been emblazoned on Emma’s soul, but once again, she had let her emotion get the best of her.

  “Look, why don’t we do something special for William?” Kate handed Emma a handkerchief to dry her tears.

  Emma wiped at her cheeks, but she didn’t trust her voice enough to speak, so she simply turned questioning eyes on Kate.

  “Jesse’s been helping William at the homestead, and he said it needs a woman’s touch. Why don’t we do that while he’s gone? We could get some of the other women together including Carrie and we could work on the quilt for the bed.”

  Kate smiled at her friend and sniffed away the remaining tears. “That would be wonderful, Kate.”

  “Good, I’ll spread the word today, and we can start tomorrow. We’ll meet here and we’ll quilt and chat every day until William returns.”

  Though Emma knew they probably wouldn’t meet every day, she appreciated Kate’s optimism. She was very lucky to have found such a good friend.

  It was nightfall when Jack pulled his horse to a stop and turned to William. “Let’s camp here for the night. We have another few hours, but I don’t like riding in the dark.”

  William nodded and dismounted his own horse. He wasn’t a fan of riding in the dark either. Though it was often cooler, it made it much harder to see anyone who might lay in wait to rob passersby. With Holden on the loose, it was even more dangerous. He tied his horse up to a nearby tree and pulled his blanket and some food out of his saddlebags.

  After rolling out his blanket, he helped Jack gather wood for a fire. When the flame blazed brightly, the men sat on their respective blankets. William unwrapped his bread, which had retained most of its softness. As he took a bite of the bread, he glanced over at Jack, who was unwrapping his own food. “I’m sorry about your brother.”

  Jack’s hand stopped just short of his mouth, and his eyes shifted to the right. “Me too. I didn’t even think to warn him when the Dallas jail contacted me about bringing Holden back in. They said he had been talking up going after the men who brought him in, but I never thought he’d go after our families.”

  “Has he gone after others?”

  Jack’s lips pursed, and he looked away. “Robert Lewis. He was the one who shot Moore if you remember. Holden found his family while Lewis was out on a mission. It wasn’t pretty, and Lewis killed himself when he returned.”

  “That’s awful.” William clenched his jaw as he remembered his own feelings when he saw Catherine killed in front of him.

  “It is. And that’s why we have to stop him. I don’t want to lose any more men or their families.”

  William nodded. He didn’t want to lose any more men either. Though he was no longer leading them, he had been the one to recruit them for that mission, and just like Joseph’s death, they weighed on his soul. “What if he’s not in Barefoot Glen?”

  “Then we wait him out. I don’t know if there’s an order to his madness, or if it’s been more about location and proximity, but either way, it’s a good bet Barefoot Glen will be one of his next targets. If it’s just about location, Barefoot Glen is near Roseville which makes it a perfect target. If there’s an order to his attacks, then it makes sense after myself and Lewis, you would be high on the list. Not only did you lead the men who took down Moore, but they splashed your name all over the papers.”

  “Not that I wanted that.” William rolled his eyes. Being in the papers had not been part of the plan.

  A low chuckle escaped Jack’s mouth. “We never do. Makes our job that much harder, but ‘Wild Bill’ Cook was famous, so there was no way they would leave your name out.”

  “I didn’t ask for that either.” William had never taken to the nickname. Someone had given it to him as a Ranger because of his fearless attitude towards riding into danger. In truth, he hadn’t been fearless, he had been challenging death. Death had already stolen Catherine, and William had felt he had nothing more to live for. Then he’d met Emma, and that had all changed.

  “We rarely do.” Jack dusted his hands on his pants after he finished his food. “We should get some rest, but I’d suggest with Holden on the loose that we keep watch. Why don’t you sleep first, and I’ll take first watch?”

  William finished the last of his bread and lay back on his blanket. He pulled his hat over his eyes and tried not to think about riding into Barefoot Glen in the morning. The town held too many conflicting memories for him. On one hand, he had grown up there, but it was also where his parents had died. Then he had met Catherine, but she too had died in the town. So much happiness and so much sadness resided in a such a small town and tomorrow he would have to face it all.

  Chapter 4

  “Why can’t I come?” Jennie whined as the girls got dressed.

  “Because you have school,” Carrie said.

  “Besides, we will be quilting,” Emma added. “I doubt you would have much fun.”

  Jennie pouted and crossed her arms. “I never get to do anything fun. It’s always just school, school, school.”

  Emma smiled as she bit back her laugh. Sometimes Jennie sounded like such an old soul. “Come on, breakfast is waiting for us at the table.”

  Carrie and Jennie followed her to the table where their father, Samuel, and Benjamin already sat. Doc Moore had his Bible open and was reading from the book of Psalms. Samuel appeared to be listening intently, but Benjamin’s eyes kept glancing at the pancakes on the table. His hands were clasped tightly in his lap, probably to keep himself from grabbing the delicious golden circles.

  “Ah, the girls have arrived,” Doc Moore said when he saw them. “Benjamin has been waiting patiently.”

  “Or not so patiently,” Samuel said with a smirk.

  Benjamin stuck out his tongue at his older brother as the girls took their seats around the table.

  “Can we pray for William’s safety?” Emma’s eyes sought her father’s as the family grabbed hands.

  “Of course,” Doc Moore agreed. “We will pray daily for his safety.” Around the table, heads bowed, and Doc Moore led them in prayer. When the last amen was uttered, the food flowed. They passed pancakes from one to the next, followed by the butter and some homemade jam.

  When the food disappeared, Emma and Carrie gathered the dishes and washed them quickly in the sink, placing them out to dry before gathering their quilting supplies. Jennie and Benjamin waited on the couch with their school pails on their laps ready to go.

  “All right, let’s go.” Emma opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Her siblings, all but Samuel who was staying to work the farm, followed her out, and they began their trek to school.

  After dropping the younger two children off, Carrie and Emma continued to Kate’s house. There were already a few other women in attendance including Rebecca and Sarah Miller, whose parents owned the café.

  Emma and Carrie sat in empty chairs near Kate and began unloading their quilting supplies.

  “I’m sorry to hear about William,” Sarah said.

  “Thank you.” Emma pulled out a few of her favorite fabric pieces. “I’m just praying for his safety and hoping after this mission, no other one calls him away. I love him, but I don’t want to marry a bounty hunter who is always away.”

  “Just because he stays here doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen to him,” Rebecca mumbled. Emma understood she was referring to her late best friend, Pauline, who had been killed by outlaws during a bank robbery.

  “That is true, but at least the chances are smaller if he isn’t out chasing the bad guys.”

  A silence fell on the group. Kate cleared her throat and caught Emma’s eyes. “What colors are you hoping to have in the house?”

  Emma sensed her friend was changing
the subject hoping to lighten the somber mood. “Oh, I have thought little about it.” She paused and pictured her perfect house. “I guess light blue and beige.”

  “Ooh, I have a great fabric that matches that.” Rebecca dug in her fabric bag for a minute and pulled out a large cotton square checkered with a light blue pattern.

  “That is lovely,” Emma agreed.

  “And wouldn’t it look great next to this one?” Carrie produced a beige square with little flowers on it.”

  With the topic of death forgotten, the women excitedly displayed their fabric squares and placed them together. Emma smiled as the pattern unfolded. William was sure to love it. If he made it home.

  Jack stirred as the sun filtered through the trees. “Why did you let me sleep so long?” He shot William a narrowed glare as he sat up and stretched.

  William smiled as he packed up his blanket. “Well, first, it’s not that late. Nine or ten judging by the position of the sun. Second, I’ve done this enough times to know I’d rather have a well-rested man watching my back than a tired one.”

  “But we’re racing against time here, William. We don’t have the luxury of sleep.” Jack quickly rolled up his blanket, tied it to the back of his saddle, and mounted his horse.

  With a shake of his head, William followed suit and the men continued towards Barefoot Glen.

  William’s heart tightened as they rode into town. It looked as he remembered, and he fought to keep the memory of Catherine’s murder from resurfacing.

  “Do you know where your sister lives?” Jack asked.

  William shook his head and swallowed his emotion. “Not exactly. I heard she moved outside of town when she married, but I never knew exactly where. We can check in at the sheriff’s office. If my old boss still oversees the town, he might have an idea.”