Mail Order Bride - Westward Justice: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 6) Read online

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  ****

  LINDA BRIDEY

  Mail Order Bride: Westward Justice

  Montana Mail Order Brides: Book 6

  Dedication

  To YOU, The reader.

  Thank you for your support.

  Thank you for your emails.

  Thank you for your reviews.

  Thank you for reading and joining me on this road.

  Chapter One

  Hi Sammi,

  How are you? I hope you’re doing well. Things here are fine. Lacey is almost seven months along and she’s doing great. Joe is driving her crazy, though, because he treats her like fine china and doesn’t want her doing hardly anything. It’s actually pretty funny to watch. Joe says that I’m supposed to tell you “howdy” for him. You made quite the impression on him. I’m not surprised about that. You’re a very interesting person, as he puts it.

  Luke and I love our new house. In a way, I do miss living over at the ranch, but it’s wonderful to have so much more room. We have a nursery all set up, too. If I don’t get pregnant soon, I’m going to get Marcus to make me some of that Lakota baby-making potion of his. In the meantime, we sure don’t mind trying for a baby.

  Now onto my other reason for writing this letter; there’s going to be another ad in the Walhalla paper for a mail-order-bride. Marcus won’t tell me who the gentleman is and no one else knows. I guess the fella wants a little privacy. Just be on the lookout for it. I know you’re independent, but I also know you want a family despite what you say to the contrary. You’re also practical so going about getting married this way would cut out a lot of time and fuss. So don’t be proud. Answer that ad!

  All my love,

  Jamie

  P.S. I miss you!

  Sammi Jameson put down the letter from one of her closest friends and sighed. She knew Jamie wasn’t going to quit bugging her until she answered whatever ad Jamie was talking about. It might be in today’s paper depending on when it had been placed. Figuring she might as well start checking for it, Sammi went to Reagan’s Retail to buy a paper. Amos Reagan was her other best friend Lacey’s father. Lacey had run away to Dawson, Montana, to escape Amos’ brutality.

  Jamie had moved to Dawson first as a mail-order-bride and married Luke Samuels, a ranch hand who worked for his cousins. Lacey had also been a mail-order-bride and married Joe Dwyer, Luke’s best friend. The matches had worked out well for her friends, but Sammi felt that although lightning might strike twice, it sure as heck wouldn’t strike three times.

  Still, Sammi thought it might be fun just to check out the ad. She went into the store and a feeling of loathing filled her. Sammi hated Amos and would have liked to have shot him. It was no less than he deserved for all of his violence against Lacey. Every time Sammi saw the man her trigger finger curled around an imaginary gun trigger and she imagined shooting him right between his ugly eyes.

  At those times, Sammi didn’t dare touch the gun in her holster because she knew that if Amos gave her the least provocation, she might not be able to resist her impulse to kill him. She purchased her paper as quickly as she could and left the store. She stopped at Erikson’s Eatery for some supper and sat at the counter like she always did.

  She gave her order to Roxie the waitress and opened the paper. There was hardly ever anything in it that interested her, so she turned immediately to the classifieds.

  “Son of a gun. How does she do that?” Sammi said as she saw the ad and started to read it.

  Ladies! The long arm of the law wants to put you on its most wanted list! Deputy Mitchell Taylor is in need of a wife. This six-foot-two, 180 lb. rugged male is looking for a physically fit woman who can handle the demands of being the wife of an officer of the law. He is kind and courageous. This dashing twenty-nine-year-old fellow with sandy blond hair and brown eyes is quite a catch. He’s not going to be single long so send those letters and be the first to arrest his attention!

  Sammi smiled. This Marcus sure knows how to write snappy ads, she thought. She had to admit that the deputy did sound interesting. Sammi knew she could deal with his job. Hell, she could do his job. Her smile widened as she imagined being a deputy. Why not? She was strong, knew the law and could outshoot almost any man. The only thing holding her back was because she was of the female gender.

  As she ate her dinner, Sammi’s mind kept turning back to the ad and an idea began to form. Once she arrived home, she began composing a letter to the good deputy.

  Dear Deputy Taylor,

  Your ad really interested me because I’ve been looking for a man such as yourself. Someone who does the kind of work you do has to have a lot of integrity and courage. The men around here don’t have much of either. You must also care a lot about your community to want to protect and serve the people of Dawson.

  Let me tell you about myself. I’m a blue-eyed blonde and stand at five-feet ten-inches tall. I weight around 130 lbs. give or take. I’m very strong for a woman but I’ve been told that I have a very nice shape. I understand the demands of your job so I wouldn’t get angry if you had to leave home at any time of day or night to deal with an emergency.

  I feel it’s only fair that I be honest with you. I’m a crack shot with a wide variety of guns and I like shooting. I have quite a collection of guns and knives. I do not like to wear dresses and only do so when necessary. I wear pants that I’ve had altered to fit a woman’s shape. I prefer western shirts, too.

  I can take care of myself in dangerous situations and pack quite a punch. Just ask Joe Dwyer about that. He and I are friends. I can do a lot of chores that most women can’t. I do the outside work at a local farm. I clean the stalls, feed the stock, repair fences, and chop wood and so on. I do just fine with housework, too.

  As you can see, I’m a straight shooter and don’t have time for mind games. I’d really like to meet you. I think we would hit it off. I look forward to hearing from you.

  Sincerely,

  Sammi Jameson

  Deputy Taylor sat at his desk in the Dawson Sherriff’s office reading Sammi’s letter. He smiled at the image her description of herself brought to mind. It was an interesting letter and this woman sounded even more interesting. Mitch wondered how she knew Dwyer. He wrestled with the decision of whether to talk to Joe or not about this Sammi character.

  He hadn’t wanted anyone in Dawson to know he was looking for a mail-order-bride so he’d asked Marcus Samuels to not put the ad in the Dawson Gazette. Mitch knew most of the single women in the area and while they were nice, they just weren’t quite what he was looking for. Marcus had sworn that he would tell no one about the ad until it came out, either.

  Mitch blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. He looked down at Beulah his bloodhound. “What do you think? Should I talk to Joe or not?”

  Beulah’s only response was the twitch of her eyebrows as she looked up at her master.

  “Some help you are,” Mitch told her with a smile. “I vote for talking to Joe. He’ll keep his mouth shut if I ask him to.”

  Mitch stood up, snagged his hat off the rack and put it on. Beulah was on her feet in an instant and her tail wagged a mile a minute. “Not right now, girl. I’ll be back soon,” Mitch told her.

  Beulah sat down and made her saggy face even more droopy as she put her head down and looked at Mitch with
her big brown eyes.

  Mitch sighed and said, “Ok. C’mon.”

  Beulah was out the door as soon as Mitch opened it. She circled his horse, Rico, a big gray gelding. Rico didn’t object to her behavior. Mitch untied Rico and mounted up. As he rode through town, people called out greetings to him and he stopped to talk here and there. The deputy was popular because of his good sense of humor and his ability to handle whatever situation came up.

  As he rode out of town, Beulah scared up a rabbit and ran off into the underbrush. Mitch just smiled and let her go. She would follow his trail and catch up to him later. He kicked Rico into a canter and enjoyed the air as they travelled.

  Joe Dwyer surveyed the early August sky as he came out of his house. Clouds were gathering and it looked like a storm was on the way.

  “Shoot. That’s gonna cut into my training time today,” he said.

  As he was walking towards the barn, he saw a horse and rider coming up his road. The pair drew closer and Joe recognized Deputy Taylor.

  Uh oh, he thought. “Howdy, Deputy. What brings you?” Joe said as he held out a hand to Mitch.

  Mitch shook it and smiled. “Relax, Joe. I’m here on personal business.”

  “All right,” Joe said and gave Rico’s neck a few manly pats. “Hey, Rico. How are you?” he said to the horse.

  Rico was the product of an accidental breeding that had taken place between one of Joe’s Thoroughbred mares and a Lakota stallion. The stallion was apparently known for his ability to jump fences. When Joe had gone out to the barn very early one morning, he saw the stallion in the pasture with Lulu. Joe had tried to intercede, but it was too late and along had come Rico almost a year later.

  Dwyer horses were very sought after in the area and statewide and Mitch had jumped at the chance to own one, even if it was a horse born of a mistake. He didn’t care about Rico’s Lakota pony heritage. Rico resembled his dam, but had a slightly wilder nature.

  Mitch dismounted and asked, “Do you remember every one of your horses?”

  “Yep. Every single one,” Joe answered. “So what’s on your mind?”

  “A woman,” Mitch said.

  “What woman?” Joe asked.

  “Before I tell you, I need to know that our conversation is gonna stay confidential,” Mitch said.

  Joe wondered at the uncomfortable look on Mitch’s rugged features. “Sure. I won’t tell a soul.”

  “Ok. Do you know a Sammi Jameson?” Mitch asked.

  Joe’s eyebrows rose. “Sammi? You mean from Walhalla?”

  Mitch nodded. “That’s right.”

  Joe didn’t answer right away. He began running scenarios through his head of how Mitch could possibly know Sammi. Jamie. “Yeah, I know Sammi. How do you know her?”

  Mitch shifted uncomfortably and then said, “She answered an ad I put in the paper. You know, the same kind of ad you did.”

  Joe laughed loudly. “Ha! I knew it! I’ll bet Marcus put it in the Walhalla paper just like he did Lacey’s. Oh boy!”

  Mitch frowned. He hadn’t been expecting that kind of reaction. “Ok, so what’s she like?”

  Joe said, “About yea tall.” He held his hand up to the same level of his chin. “Built like a woman oughta be and tough as nails. Blonde hair and blue eyes that can look right though you. She clocked me one time and about knocked me out. She doesn’t wear dresses, but I’ll tell you what, pants suit her very well. I don’t mind telling you that if I hadn’t been married to Lacey and head over heels for her, I would have gone after Sammi. Just don’t’ make her mad because as Jamie tells it, she’s shot two fellas who got too fresh with her. And brave, too. She’s no one to mess with.”

  Mitch had listened to Joe carefully and was smiling by the time Joe was done. “I’d have liked to have seen her slug you.”

  “It hurt like heck. She hits as hard as any guy,” Joe said with a laugh. “And she’s not afraid to have a little fun. Know what I mean?”

  Mitch laughed. “Yeah, I get it. So do you think I should meet her?”

  Joe sobered. “Depends on what you’re lookin’ for, Mitch. I don’t know if she’s interested in kids or not, but if you want a quiet little housewife, she’s not your woman. If you want someone who’s independent and can handle what you do, then I would say you should meet her.” Joe genuinely liked Sammi and he didn’t want to see her get hurt.

  “I hear what you’re tellin’ me, Joe,” Mitch said.

  “So what are you gonna do?” Joe asked.

  Mitch mounted up and said, “I’m gonna write her back and see what happens. Thanks for the info and please don’t mention it to anyone.”

  “You got it, Mitch. See ya,” Joe said and watched Mitch ride off.

  Chapter Two

  Dear Sammi,

  Your letter was different than any others I’ve gotten so far. Most of the women that are writing don’t seem to fit into what I’m looking for. I hope you don’t mind, but I did ask Joe about you and he seems very fond of you. His description of you was pretty much how you described yourself, too.

  Since you were so direct with me, I’ll give you the same courtesy. I may not be ready to have kids quite yet, but I would like to have them in the future. What are your thoughts on that? It’s nice to hear from someone who seems to get what my life is like and that a lot of times my job comes before my personal life.

  I need someone independent like you, but I also want someone I can spend time with and have fun with. I think I’d like to see you shoot. It doesn’t bother me that you wear pants and such. Joe also told me that they suit you very well.

  I’ve been a deputy in Dawson for about five years now. I used to be a deputy near Helena but moved here when I saw they were looking to hire a deputy. I did not get along with my boss there because he was lazy and didn’t seem to want to do much investigation. That’s not my style. I don’t just want to sit behind a desk all day. Being out and about is the best way to do my job and Sherriff Allen is the same way.

  I make it my business to know everyone around here and notice if someone strange comes to town. I’m not afraid of a fight but I’d rather avoid one if I can. I’m supposed to keep the peace not create havoc.

  I have a house that I’m fixing up in my spare time. It’s one of the larger houses in town, but it needs a lot of work. I got it cheap because it’s pretty run down. I like fixing things, though, so I don’t mind a bit. I realize that it may not be a dream home, but it could be someday. I’m not rich, but my salary is decent. Since you’re an independent type of woman, I don’t have a problem with you working somewhere.

  Farm work isn’t easy, so you must be strong and I like that in a woman. I also like that you seem to know what you want and aren’t wishy-washy like some women. I don’t have time for guessing games, so we’re agreed on that. Well, I’ll close for now.

  Take care,

  Mitch

  Sammi laughed as she finished the letter. Joe had come through for her and given her a recommendation. When she saw him, she would give him a great big kiss. As that thought crossed her mind, she realized that she wanted very badly to go to Dawson and meet this deputy. She lay down on her bed for a moment while she thought about how she was going to respond. Should she keep writing or just tell him she wanted to come to Dawson? Maybe that would scare him off, although he didn’t seem the type to scare easy. Sammi sat up as another idea came to her. She grabbed her tablet and pencil and started writing.

  Dear Mitch,

  I really enjoyed your letter and I’m glad that Joe was able to give you some more information about me. He’s a lot of fun. I helped him get Lacey’s mare Polly when he came to Walhalla to buy her from Lacey’s creep of a father. I hate him and I’d like to shoot him.

  Anyway, I’ve been meaning to come to Dawson to visit Lacey and Jamie anyway, so maybe we could just meet then and see where things lead? That way there wouldn’t be any pressure and if we don’t like each other, you’d still be able to find someone else.

&nb
sp; As far as kids go, I don’t want five, but I’d like to have a couple, so there’s something else we agree on. Well, let me know what you think about that plan. I’d like to get out there before bad weather hits, so don’t wait too long to get back to me.

  Watch your back out there,

  Sammi

  Mitch rode down the street as he thought about Sammi’s last letter. Joe spoke highly of her and she seemed like a woman who would be a good fit for a man like him. He liked her idea of seeing what she was like when she came here for a visit. It was practical and certainly less stressful than meeting strictly for the purpose of getting married. Plus, she would have entertainment when he was working, which would make him feel better.

  He made up his mind just as Pricilla Samuels flagged him down. Mitch groaned. The woman was famous for complaining about petty things and it wasted his time. He put on a polite smile and stopped to see what she wanted.

  It was after six until he got home that night. He’d stopped to eat at the Grady House and had brought a piece of cherry pie home with him. Lighting a lantern, Mitch sat it on a table in the front parlor that was constructed out of a door and some wooden workhorses. It really wasn’t a table at all. He was working on sanding down the door and repainting it.

  Then he hung his hat on a peg by the door and undid his vest. He hung it beside his hat and shined his badge with a shirt sleeve. Mitch always kept his hat and vest by the door so he could grab them quickly if need be.

  Beulah whined and Mitch said, “You’ve already had your supper and you’re not getting any of that pie. Mitch took off his shirt and hung it on the back of a chair. Off came his boots and he flexed his feet. Mitch sank down into the one comfy chair in the parlor and sighed. It had been a long day and he was ready for a little relaxation. He put his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.

  Sammi’s letter came to mind and he decided that he would write her back that night so the letter would go out tomorrow. He got up and went into his study where he had an actual desk and chair. He sat down and set about penning a letter.