Free Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe: A Short Story (The Brides Series 1.5) by Lena Goldfinch Page A

her. That was a laugh. More like a slave. Cooking, cleaning, mending. She doubted he ever meant to marry her. He’d had the opportunity before they left Tennessee, but he’d pushed it off, telling Mr. Mead that he “wanted to get married with his family in attendance.” Whatever the reason for him delaying, she could only be grateful she wasn’t tied to him for life.
    She eyed Jem thoughtfully. Half his face was covered in a beard and mustache, and the other half was shadowed by his big, wide-brimmed hat. He had on a leather jacket and dark brown trousers. In fact, he was pretty much dark brown, dark brown, dark brown, except for his blue shirt and the little patches of flesh where his skin was showing. She’d count herself lucky if she could ever catch another glimpse of his eyes. What she’d seen of them earlier, she thought they were gray, like a stormy sky. Like his daughter’s. He’d called her Mae several times. An adorable little wee one.
    The puppy snuffled at Annie’s fingers, and she stroked his downy-soft fur.
    She was glad Jem had stepped in and done something to help the poor creature—she just hadn’t expected him to do quite so much.
    Like tearing up that marriage certificate Daniel had made her sign.
    Like marrying up with her instead, evidently so no one else would have her.
    What kind of man did that?
    In appearance, he seemed a not-very-nice sort of man. Not the kind of man you’d want to sneak up on unexpected. He was lean and rugged every which way: broad-shouldered, tall, muscular... You wouldn’t want to startle this man in the dark, for instance. He was dangerous that way. The other man—the one with the mean eyes—had seen that too. It was the only reason he’d backed down. The money hadn’t mattered. He’d just been plain old scared of Jem. And that was a fact.
    She rather liked that. She’d married a dangerous man. A dangerous man who’d stood up for a puppy and a filthy girl in a filthy dress.
    He’d come running over to check on his little girl too, which meant he must have a softer side. It was the one reason she’d made any sort of effort to get through to him about the dog.
    And, thankfully, she had gotten through.
    The sweet little pup was licking Mae’s fingers and had pushed its furry little body in closer to Annie’s side. It was a nice feeling being snuggled into.
    The whistle blew, and Annie snuck a glance around for nearly the hundredth time to be sure the mean-eyed man hadn’t boarded the train. There was no sign of him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in one of the other cars, she supposed. He had come off the train when it stopped, been one of the first ones Daniel had approached. So that meant he was headed south like the other folks on board. Anyway, why would he want to stay in a tiny old town like the one they were about to pull out of? Why would anyone? It didn’t even have a name as far as she could tell.
    Across from her, Mae squirmed. She’d been trying for a good while to be quiet. Annie could tell that from the way the little girl gripped her knees tightly and kept pulling her lips in and out of her mouth.
    The train pulled away from the depot with a jerk and then a steady roll.
    “Daddy,” Mae finally said, watching the depot roll past the window with a crestfallen expression.
    “Umm?” he mumbled, his face still hidden under his hat. Maybe he had his eyes shut—it seemed like it to Annie. Maybe he’d been sitting there this whole time, searching his mind for answers.
    “Daddy, so hungry.”
    He turned his head toward her. “I’ll ask the porter when he comes round. Maybe they’ve got some more apples. Or soda crackers and cheese.”
    Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over.
    “Don’t you dare cry,” he said gruffly, but not in any truly mean way. It was actually sort of a tender thing, the way he said it.
    Mae sniffled.
    He rested his hand over her head for a moment and gave it a playful waggle.
    So, the man wasn’t entirely