Free The Convenient Mail Order Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin Page A

place, and I’ve vowed
to protect everyone in this town.”
    “Yes, well, protecting me could mean they
come to your place ready to chase you on out of here or set fire to
your house to teach you a lesson.”
    “Let them try it. I’m not scared of
them.”
    “My uncle said that, too, until he got
shot.”
    “Enoch and Benny might know people, but I
do, too.” Eric rubbed the back of his neck. “Things aren’t as bad
as you think they are, Abe. Not anymore. Anyway, I came to tell you
I took care of it. Enoch and Benny are in jail.”
    “You arrested them?” Abe asked, not
believing his ears.
    “Of course, I did. It was the right thing to
do.”
    Abe didn’t know how to respond to that. The
last thing he’d expected was for anyone to actually do anything
about Enoch and Benny. Nothing had been done when his mother and
uncle had suffered from the hands of the townsfolk. But then, that
was before Eric came to live here.
    “Thank you,” Abe finally said.
    “You’re welcome,” Eric replied. “How is
Phoebe taking it?”
    “Not well. She hasn’t said anything since we
got back.”
    “I’ll talk to her. Maybe knowing they’re in
jail will help set her mind at ease.”
    “Wait,” Abe said as Eric turned to go to the
house. “I want you to do something for me. If someone comes after
me for the fact that Enoch and Benny are in jail, will you keep
Phoebe and her mother safe?”
    “It’s not going to come to that, Abe.”
    “How can you guarantee that?”
    “Because I’m in charge around here, and I
don’t tolerate injustice, that’s how. I understand what my
predecessor was like. He looked the other way whenever it didn’t
benefit him to stand for what’s right. But I care about everyone. I
want this place to be safe.”
    “They might not come after me. They might go
after you if you keep defending a half-breed.”
    “I’m not defending a half-breed. I’m
defending a human being. What happened to your mother and uncle
wasn’t fair, but I wasn’t here to stop it. I’m here now.”
    “You better be careful,” Abe said. As much
as he admired and respected Eric, he was afraid the man was going
to get himself killed.
    “I will be. No one really cares for Benny or
Enoch. Benny’s been cheating people out of a fair deal, and Enoch’s
a drunkard. They might be white, but believe me, people see what
they’re like, and no one is going to be sorry to see them get
what’s coming to them. I’ve never been able to catch them doing
anything I could arrest them for, but I got them today. I’m keeping
my eyes out on a couple others who haven’t done this town a bit of
good. People are afraid to do anything about the lawlessness around
here. That’s why it’s been allowed to go on for so long. But I’m
here now, and I’m going to give the good people of this town a
reason to fight back. To do that, I need help. You need to come to
me if anyone does anything to hurt Phoebe again.”
    Abe nodded. “Alright. I’ll do that.”
    “Good.” Eric gestured to the cabin. “Mind if
I talk to her?”
    “Go ahead.”
    As Eric headed for the house, Abe watched
him, surprised Eric placed value on people, especially people like
him. He couldn’t recall ever hearing any white person talking that
way. And he did more than talk about justice. He actually put his
words into action.
    The door opened, and Phoebe’s mother invited
Eric in. The door shut, leaving Abe to wonder how Phoebe would
respond now that Eric had done something about the situation. Abe
hadn’t been able to solve things to her satisfaction. Maybe she’d
be happy with Eric’s results.
    Either way, it didn’t matter. Abe would be
putting her on the next stagecoach, and she’d be heading back to
Ohio soon enough. Retrieving his pitchfork, he returned to the
animals.
     
    ***
     
    “Phoebe, remember that nice young man who
brought us here?” Phoebe’s mother called out from the other side of
the bedroom door.
    Phoebe rolled over in the bed