I'm so excited about my new series "Runaway Brides". I'm centering all of the books in this series around one Montana town - Stumptown.
Book One - Denton's Bride:
Courtney Mills is not a murderer.
Of course, convincing her fiancé’s family that
she had nothing to do with his death is a different matter. They are bound to
put a noose around her neck, and she can’t defend herself. There is only
one thing to do. Run far away and stay hidden. She needs a plan… Become a
mail-order bride.
Denton Reed catches criminals for a living, and
when a wealthy family hires him to find the number one suspect in their
father’s murder, Denton jumps into action. But, it appears the only way to
catch her is to convince her that he's part of her plan to become a mail-order
bride. There’s no harm in pretending… or is there?
ONE
Montana, 1877
Never in Courtney Mills’
life did she think she would be planning a wedding only to see her intended,
lying on the floor, dead.
Arranged marriages to old
men needed to be outlawed!
Courtney Mills twisted
her handkerchief against her middle as she stared at the lifeless body of
Albert Greenwood – the man ten years older than her father – lying on the floor
of his study. Blood stained the beige rug under his head as his lay face down. Next
to his head was a marbled bust of George Washington. In Albert’s study was his
collection of history, and from the looks of it, George Washington was the very
thing that probably ended Albert’s life.
Her stomach lurched, and
she turned away, lifting her handkerchief to her mouth and inhaling the scented
cloth slowly. Although she detested her parents selling her to Albert
Greenwood to keep the money flowing between the two wealthy families, she
didn’t want the old man dead.
After the initial shock
of walking into the room and seeing him on the floor murdered, Courtney’s body
shook violently. Her mind clouded with confusion and mixed emotions. Part of
her wanted to be relieved that she wasn’t going to get married today, and yet,
from what she could tell, someone had wanted him out of their lives, too. They’ll
blame me!
Her throat constricted as
panic welled within her. Albert’s family – three sons, and two daughters, who
were all older than Courtney – hadn’t wanted their father to marry her. It
didn’t matter that she agreed with them, she had to obey her parents and marry
the older man. His children hated her, no matter how nice she tried to be with
them.
The rhythm of her
heartbeat accelerated, and her head throbbed with indecision. She should alert
one of Albert’s servants about his demise, and yet, she hesitated. Since she
was the first to find him, she’d be their main suspect. She’d read mystery
novels before. She knew how the law worked. She also knew that they would
consider her guilty until she proved herself innocent. At this moment, she
didn’t know how that would ever happen.
On unsteady legs, she
slowly moved toward the door. She must leave. Now!
She opened the door and
stepped into the hallway. The butler was the only person to see her this
morning since he had let her inside the house. Her parents hadn’t arrived yet,
and she must leave before anyone else noticed her presence. The fewer people
who could testify that she was here, the better her chances were of not being
hanged for a crime she hadn’t committed.
Instead of heading out
the front door, she turned the other way and hurried toward one of the side
doors down a back hallway. Voices were heard from somewhere in the house, but
she couldn’t tell who it was or where they were. Dizziness assailed her, and
she bumped her shoulder against the wall. A picture that had been hanging fell
to the floor. The wooden frame broke into several pieces. She couldn’t stop.
Freedom was what she needed.
Her head filled with fog,
and it seemed the door that would lead to her escape was so far ahead as if she
were entering a tunnel. Courtney continued, placing one foot in front of the
other. I can do this… I must do this!
Finally, she reached the
door and turned the knob. Two steps later, she was outside. Inhaling deeply,
she tried to clear her head. She needed to be alert to get away. But where
would she go? Returning home to Butte was out of the question. That would be
the first place the sheriff looked.
Courtney took cautious
steps around the house, staying as close to the red-brick as she possibly
could. As she passed behind tall bushes, the twigs pulled strands of hair out
of the coil her maid had wrapped the bulk of her hair into. Courtney didn’t
care. Her main focus was to leave without being spotted.
The stables, just down
the slope, had some servants moving around inside. She stopped and held her
breath. From her viewpoint, she didn’t know if they noticed her or not. She
couldn’t let them see her at all. Moving slower now, she kept an eye on the
stables, wondering if anyone would come out to see to her needs. She prayed
they didn’t.
As she reached the front
of the house, she realized her buggy was still out front with her luggage tied
to the back, and she expelled a relieved sigh. Everything she owned was in
those three trunks. She could leave Helena and never return.
Tears stung her eyes as
Courtney made the decision. She’d leave her family, her friends, and all those
things she held dear to her heart. Then again, she would have had to do that
after she married Albert, anyway. However, this time, there was no other choice
but to follow the road and let it take her far away from here.
She glanced around the
yard, making sure nobody saw her, and darted toward her buggy. Just before
reaching the vehicle, a terrified scream ripped through the air, coming from
inside the mansion.
Inwardly, Courtney
groaned. One of the servants had found Albert.
She wouldn’t find a
better time than now to make a run for it. The servants would be rushing inside
the house to see where the scream had come from. Courtney couldn’t wait a
moment longer. She dashed toward her buggy and climbed inside. The hem of her
dress caught on the step and ripped. A ruined dress didn’t matter to her at the
moment, and she grabbed the reins and whipped them in the air, urging her horse
forward. Instead of taking the main road, she went off the trail and into the
woods, following other paths. She couldn’t go as fast as she wanted, but she
tried to get out of this area as quickly as she could. People would be looking
for her very soon.
The image of Albert’s
wrinkled, palish-gray face popped into her mind again. Her stomach lurched just
like before. The old codger didn’t deserve to die. Even though the idea of
marriage to him made her physically ill, he still had a good ten or twenty
years left to live.
Several hours passed, and
thankfully, nobody followed her. As she took in her surroundings, she couldn’t
place where she was. Her hands ached from gripping the reins so tightly, but
her heart wrenched in agony. Fear was still the underlying emotion in her gut,
but it also was the very thing that kept her moving.
Up ahead, she noticed a
town. She would have to find something to eat before continuing on her journey.
That would be the only way for her to keep going forward.
As soon as she saw people
moving in the street, she slowed down her horse and straightened her shoulders.
She mustn’t look like she was running away. Instead, she must appear that
driving her buggy was normal and that she was going to visit a friend.
A few people glanced her
way, but thankfully, nobody knew her, nor did they question her motivation. As
she approached the town hall, she noticed a little wagon out front with a
canopy over a table that sat on the side. Written across a thick board were the
words – Mail-order Brides.
Courtney had read ads in
the newspaper about ranchers looking for brides. She felt sorry for the woman
who had to sink to such pitiful circumstances. It was difficult to imagine what
a woman would have to suffer through in order to decide to marry someone they’d
never met before.
The man standing by the
table, dressed as a preacher in his long black robes as he held a Bible, looked
up at her. His gaze swept over her once before he smiled widely.
“Pardon me, miss.” He
moved in front of the horse, stopping her progress. “Do you believe in guardian
angels?”
Irritation grew over her.
This wasn’t the time to talk about Heaven. “Yes, but please, sir, I need you to
move.”
As he stepped closer, he
petted the horse. “Because I believe your guardian angel has led you to me.” He
pointed to his wagon. “You appear to be down on your luck, so let me tell you
how to find your future.”
“I appreciate your
concern, but I’m fine.”
“But you’re not fine.” He
moved closer as his gaze shifted to her messy hair, and then down to the bottom
of her ripped gown that was still hooked on the step. “You look like a woman
who needs help.”
“I don’t,” she snapped.
“Please, just move aside so that I can pass.” She didn’t want to cause a
commotion here in the road, only because if the sheriff came looking for her,
he’d ask the people in this town, and she didn’t want anyone to remember her.
“Miss, please consider
being a mail-order bride. I have a list of men looking for someone to manage
their homes and be mothers to their children. These men need good,
upstanding, women like yourself.”
Although she didn’t want
to give in, this might be the only way to make this man leave her alone. Of
course, signing up didn’t mean she actually had to go through with it. “Fine,
what do I need to do?”
The middle-aged preacher
grinned and motioned toward his tent. “If you could come over here, I’ll show
you what needs to be done.”
He helped guide the horse
closer to his wagon and then assisted her as she climbed down. The preacher
even removed the ripped hem of her dress from the step. Courtney pulled her arm
away from him once she could stand on her own, and she walked to the table with
him. A ledger was unfolded in front of her with many names and locations.
“All of these men are
looking for a bride?” she questioned.
“Indeed, miss. They are
praying for kind women like yourself to help them in their time of need.” He
pointed to one of the lines. “Just write your name next to the man you want,
and then you send him a telegraph to let him know you are interested in being
his bride.” The preacher shrugged. “It’s really that easy.”
She took a pencil and
wrote Courtney before realizing she shouldn’t reveal her true name. She
quickly wrote Parker as her surname, since that was her mother’s maiden
name, and the only one she could think of right away.
“Splendid,” the preacher
said as he wrote on another piece of paper the name and location of the man who
was looking for a bride. “Now, take this and send him a telegraph.”
She took the paper from
him, hating that she had to do this.
“I must say, Mr. Timothy
Graham is a very lucky man.”
Courtney nodded and
turned back to her buggy. As she climbed back up to the seat, the preacher
said, God bless you, and drew a cross in the air.
Her heart clenched. Was
God really blessing her, or was he disappointed in her for not staying and
trying to make Albert Greenwood’s family and servants believe that she was
innocent?
She gripped the reins and
urged the horse away from the wagon. Her weary mind spun with alternative
plans. She was on the run, and yet, wasn’t the best place to hide being married
as a mail-order bride? Surely, the sheriff wouldn’t think to look there.
But no. Courtney wouldn’t
sink to marrying a stranger. It was almost as bad as marrying an older man that
was closer to her grandfather’s age than her father’s. There must be other ways
to be on the run and start a new life.
Making a hasty decision
right now would ruin her life completely. She must take a few days and think
about the consequences first… and pray that the Lord would lead her in the
right direction.
Series link - https://www.authormariehiggins.com/runaway-brides-series
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