A Bride for Deke

half. I don’t have Honey with me. I left her at the livery with instructions to take care of her, and I plan to send Deke a telegram before the train leaves to tell him where Honey is. Please, I don’t want to go to prison or be hanged. Would they hang me for taking my own horse?” Fearful tears streamed down Amalie’s cheeks.
Marshal Fullman lifted his hands as if he were surrendering and said, “Missus Sperling, I’m not here to arrest you, and I don’t know anything about a horse. Deke is a friend of mine. He’s sent telegrams to all the surrounding towns, asking for help locating you. You fit the description perfectly. I knew it must be you when I saw you approaching the train station. He doesn’t want you arrested—he wants you to come home.”
“I can’t.”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Amalie nodded. “Not with Deke. He’s a wonderful man, but I can’t take a chance that he might be killed.”
Marshal Fullman raised his eyebrows and asked, “Killed? Who is going to kill Deke?”
Amalie wiped her eyes and told the marshal the story of why she had left St. Louis and what Laura had said at the church social.
“So, you see, I have to go into hiding somewhere. If I’m not at the ranch, Rex won’t have any reason to kill or injure Deke.”
“Did you tell any of this to Deke?” Marshal Fullman asked.
“He knows why I left St. Louis, and he told me not to worry. He doubted that Rex Horrison would worry about one girl, but after Laura said there was a bounty on my whereabouts, I knew the man’s pride must be injured or something. Why else would he send men after me?”
Marshal Fullman rubbed his chin for a full minute before he spoke. “All right. I’m going to help you and Deke the best way I can, but you must come with me. I can’t protect you if you get on that train. First, I’m going to send a telegram to Deke to let him know you’re safe and then one to the marshal in St. Louis to have him inquire about Horrison.”
“Will that do any good?” Amalie asked.
Marshal Fullman nodded slowly. “I believe so. Horrison has a reputation in several states, but we’ve never been able to pin anything on him. He’s a slippery polecat, but I doubt if Caldwell, your former employer, knows how to hide his tracks as well as Horrison, and that’ll be Horrison’s downfall. I’m sure they’ve done this before or are trying to do it again now. We’ll get them both.”
“I hope so. They are despicable men,” Amalie said, drying the rest of her tears.
“Come along, Missus Sperling,” the marshal said as he picked up her carpetbag. “We’ll go send those telegrams, get you a meal, and then find a room at the hotel. I’m sure you’re in need of a nice rest after your trip.”
“Thank you, that would be nice,” Amalie said. She would go with the marshal at least until she was sure Deke would be safe.
Their first stop was the telegraph office, where the marshal sent a telegram to Deke. Next, he sent a carefully worded telegram to the St. Louis marshals.
As soon as it was sent, the friendly, red-haired operator said, “Wait—I have a reply to your first telegram coming in.”
Marshal Fullman read the response and chuckled. “Deke must have been waiting at the telegraph office. This says he’s on his way, and he asks me not to let you get on a train, regardless of what I have to do, short of locking you in a cell.”
Amalie smiled. “I’m causing so much trouble for you and Deke.”
“No, you’re not,” Marshal Fullman assured her. “Deke wouldn’t come all this way that quickly if he didn’t care, and I would like nothing more than to see Rex Horrison finally pay for something. Slavery is illegal. One man can’t sell a contract to another for nefarious reasons. Both Caldwell and Horrison broke the law when they entered into that contract, even if it was only verbal. You and Nate are witnesses to Caldwell’s plan, and Horrison implicated himself when he put that bounty on you.”
“All right,” Amalie conceded. “I believe you. I’ll wait for Deke and do whatever I can to help you with your investigation. It frightens me to think that some other young girl could be auctioned off like cattle.”

Chapter Twelve
Amalie had enjoyed a hot bath and soft bed the previous night. She slept in late, and the marshal had come to see her in the morning. The marshal said that he wasn’t sure if Deke was riding or taking the stage, but he’d surmised that since the stage was faster, Deke would probably be on the afternoon stage.
It was close to suppertime when Amalie walked into the hotel’s dining room. It wasn’t overly crowded, and she was pleased with the lack of people. Deke hadn’t arrived yet, though the front desk clerk said the stage had arrived an hour ago. She guessed he had either decided to ride or would be on tomorrow’s stage. She pondered what she might say to him and worried about what he’d say to her.
Her dinner of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans looked delicious.
Just as she lifted a forkful of potatoes to her lips, Deke’s voice cut across the dining room. “There you are. Thank the Lord, I’ve found you. You had me worried, and Nate’s blaming himself for your disappearance.”
Every eye in the dining room was on Deke, shifting to her when Deke rushed to her table, pulled her to her feet, and gathered her in his arms.
“Don’t ever do that again, Amalie, please. Whatever problem you have, we can work out, but we must work it out together. I’ve