A Bride for Deke

them coffee.
Both of them declined.
Deke asked why the sheriff had needed to see them.
Sheriff Walden pulled two telegrams and a letter from his desk. “First, the telegrams sent to rescind the bounty or, at least, explaining that Amalie is your wife, seem to be working. Word has spread, and I highly doubt that anyone will come after her now. Second, the marshals in St. Louis arrested Rex Horrison, but when they went to arrest Caldwell, he disappeared. They’re still looking for him.”
“They arrested Rex Horrison because of what he and Mister Caldwell tried to do to me?” Amalie asked.
“Partly. They need you to be a witness at his trial, but the reason they arrested him was that when they investigated, they found that Horrison and Caldwell had made another deal concerning a young woman named Faith Rafferty.”
Amalie’s intake of breath was audible. She gripped the sides of her skirt in her fists. “Faith and I lived at the orphanage together, and we shared half a room at the hotel. She’s only seventeen. Is she safe? Was she hurt?”
“No, she’s protected,” the sheriff said, holding his hands out in front of him. “Don’t worry. The marshal learned of the auction plan before Miss Rafferty’s contract was sold.”
“Thank God,” Amalie said. “Nick would be saddened if he knew she was hurt. He cared for her but never would have approached her because of his leg. I believe she cared for him, too. What happened to her?”
The sheriff answered, “She’ll also be a witness at the trial. Between the two of you, Rex Horrison and Caldwell—if he can be found—will face years in prison. The hotel closed when Caldwell ran off, and Miss Rafferty’s staying at a boarding house in town until the trial.”
Amalie looked at Deke. “She was a friend of mine growing up, and she was friends with Nate and me for the year she worked at the hotel. She doesn’t have anyone in the world to care for her. I know what that feels like. Can we bring her back here after the trial? She’d feel safe here. I can’t imagine how scared she must be right now.”
“Of course,” Deke answered. “But I think we should tell Nate of the possibility that we might bring her home after the trial. If he has feelings for this young woman but doesn’t want to be around her, I need to be sure he won’t run off again.”
Amalie nodded her head in agreement. “I understand. If she can’t come back here, maybe we can help her find a good job somewhere safer.”
“That, we can do,” Deke promised.
“The trial is the end of next week,” the sheriff said, handing a letter to Deke. “Amalie needs to be there for the trial.”
“We’ll both be there,” Deke answered. He shook the sheriff’s hand. “Thanks for helping.”
When they left the sheriff’s office, Deke said, “I need to go to the gunsmiths for a bit. Do you want to come along?”
“No, I think I’ll go to the café for a cup of tea and think about our upcoming trip. I never expected to go back to St. Louis, and certainly not to testify against someone like Rex Horrison.”
“All right. You relax and enjoy your tea. I’ll come by to get you in a short while.”
~  *  ~
On the ride back to the ranch, Amalie said, “I didn’t see any packages. Couldn’t you find what you needed at the gunsmiths?”
“I didn’t need anything. I went to speak to Joe, the owner. He’s my former father-in-law and Laura’s father. I told him about Laura’s threat and the dangerous game she was playing by contacting Rex Horrison to collect the bounty on your whereabouts. Horrison would have expected her either to produce you or hand you over to one of his men, and she might have been easily taken back along with you.”
Amalie’s face paled, and she bit her lip. “I can’t imagine how horrible that would have been for the both of us. Her love for you has turned into hatred for me.”
“I doubt she ever loved me in the true sense of the word. She saw me as a prize she tried to take first from her sister, then from my chosen lifestyle, and finally, from you. She has to learn she can’t do this type of thing again.”
“Speaking of your chosen lifestyle, you’ve been at the ranch ever since I arrived. Aren’t you going after any bounties? Haven’t you found one that appeals to you?”
Deke shook his head. “I never intended to be a bounty hunter for the rest of my life. It started when I hunted down the man that shot Laura, and then it seemed like an easy way for me to stay away from the ranch and the memories. I missed Sarah and Nate, and their memories haunted me each time I was at the ranch. I couldn’t find Nate, so finding criminals took up my time and eased my thoughts,” Deke confided.
“But now?” Amalie asked.
“Now, Nate is home, and he says he’s staying. I still have memories of Sarah, but you’ve filled the house with new memories and made it our home. I’m giving up bounty hunting and will be ranching full-time. There is more than enough to keep Nate, the hands, and me busy.”
Amalie smiled. “That makes me happy. I think I would worry myself ill if you were out, chasing down men like Rex Horrison or Silas Blackburn.”
“You’d worry? Why? I can take care of myself.”
Amalie blushed. She paused to think of how she might answer. “Umm…if something happened to you, Nate would be devastated, and he’s my friend.”
“I see,” Deke said. “Nate would be devastated.”
Amalie nodded, but she didn’t say anything else. Deke wished she’d tell him what she truly felt because then it would be easier to tell