A Bride For Obadiah Page 8

  No.

  She wanted to ask James how. Except it didn’t matter. Her secret was out in the open. Her life now turned upside down and once again, she’d be on her own again.

  “I bet you want to know how I found out?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “Simon come tell him all about his wife.”

  Esther snapped her head up. The blade cut into her neck again. Her heart shattered into so many pieces no one would ever be able to pick them up again. She blinked a few times. Amazingly, the loan shark walked to her. His hand went to her throat, pushing the blade away. She narrowed her eyes. He’d found her. She’d make sure he got nowhere near Ruth. Take the beating for them both, let him hurt her and use her. The thought made her stomach roll.

  “I told you that I’d find you. Time to pay.”

  “Never.”

  ***

  If James hurt his wife again, they’d never find him. He’d be at the bottom of the lake swimming with the wildlife there, or maybe he’d feed the man to the bears stocking up for the winter. The blood trickling down her neck had him seeing red in more ways than one. Pacing helped to get his head clear and not act too fast. He had to make sure she was safe in all this. The man hadn’t noticed the scared glance she threw his way.

  Deep inside his gut rolled. Her safety meant more than anything in this world. He’d give his last breath for her to live. The thought of living without her tore him in half, hurting more than the scar he got from fighting a grizzly bear. The other man, he thought James called him Simon, brushed his hand on her cheek. Death crossed her face. She hated this man and he didn’t need to ask her - he was able to tell.

  When he mentioned the place she use to live in, everything went black in his vision. A marked past…his was nothing like this but still for a woman it was the worst kind of thing ever. One that followed her around. Her body pressed against some other man’s. No!He shoved the thought away not able to handle even the thought now. Is this why she didn’t have with a second thought about his past after she tore into him for being an outlaw?

  Jedidiah couldn’t handle this information. He’d tell him to divorce her and start over. She couldn’t change. None of them were able to. He didn’t need this complication in his life. Throwing his hands up. He had to get out this of his head and get her out of this situation and then they’d deal with her past.

  “Get your hands off my wife.”

  Simon turned to face him. A cigar hanging from his mouth, grey and white hair slicked back. The black suit he wore had ashes sprinkled across it. The cigar moving as he started to talk. “See, she owes me. One way or another, I’ll get what’s mine. Her body or money.”

  “I’ll never be with you.”

  Esther struggled in James’s grasp. She kicked him in the shins, charging for the other man when he lost his grip. A hard kick to the other man. Pride flooded Obadiah as he saw her fight her captors. Simon struck a hand out and grabbed her by the throat. She clawed at his hands.

  Obadiah's hands shook. He’d kill them both. He ran to her side and punched the man in the face as James stood watching. Coward. He let go of Esther as he turned his attention to Obadiah. They circled one another. He tried to find the best way to disarm and disable Simon. Obadiah sent up a silent prayer for help. He ducked low when Simon punched in his direction.

  “Go. Now.” He yelled at Esther. She was bent over trying to catch her breath. She shook her head at him.

  Stubborn woman. He needed her away from danger. Back at the camp where the others could keep an eye on her while he dealt with these two. If this went wrong, he didn’t want her to see him die defending her. He didn’t have time to argue with her. They’d talk about this later. Obadiah punched the other man in the nose.

  Crunch. Blood splattered. He jumped out of the way hoping to not get any blood on him.

  Esther screamed.

  James ran at him with the knife pointing at him. Obadiah rolled on the ground out of the way, knocking James off his feet. The man who caused so much pain in his life lay on the ground. He stood over him, landing a blow to his face. “That’s for killing my Ma.”

  “Now it’s your turn.”

  That seemed to wake James up and he leapt to his feet. He jumped, the knife in front of him, blade pointing at Obadiah. James charged at him. Obadiah grabbed for the knife, twisting it around to face away from himself. They fell to the ground, wrestling for control of the weapon. He knew the moment it stabbed the man in the chest. Hard resistance and then it slipped in smoothly. He shoved James off him as Esther again screamed.

  Turning in her direction, he saw that Simon was coming at her. This man didn’t learn. He wouldn’t have her. Ever. She threw rocks at him, standing her ground, yelling at him. He’d never heard her utter a curse before. She fought with such force. At times he had thought she was innocent and then there times like this when he saw her strength and it made him love her even more.

  Obadiah grabbed him in a chokehold, slamming him to the ground. Still, she didn’t run for help. This was personal to her. With thunder on her face, she didn’t back down. Lenna came into sight with Ethan. Sure they arrive after he’d already been fighting off two men at one time. He chuckled to himself. Not much left to do now. Except maybe his wife would go back with Lenna. He might not like the woman, but his wife did.

  “Lenna, get her back to camp.”

  She wrapped her arm around Esther trying to lead her away, but his wife dug her heels in. “I can’t leave him with this man. He’ll…….” Her voice broke for the first time.

  “He’ll be fine. He’s got him and Ethan will help him restrain him. Come on.”

  “No.”

  Obadiah growled.

  “Don’t growl at me!” Esther yelled at him. Heaven help him with this woman.

  “Then go with her.” He lowered his voice, softening it for her sake. “Please.”

  Esther stomped her foot, throwing her hands up in the air. She shot him a look as she wanted to slap him for asking her to go. Didn’t she see he needed to know she was safe? He’d deal with the threat and then come to talk to her. She no longer had to handle these hard ordeals on her own. He wished he could get this through to her.

  “Fine.”

  “You have your hands full,” Ethan said, laughing.

  “You have no idea.”

  She let Lenna lead her back to the camp. Ethan came back, taking Simon by the arm. They worked to secure him. The man cussed at them and they ignored him,leaning him against the tree. They had to handle James’s dead body. Hours later, quite late into the night, Obadiah came back into camp, and allowed the foreman to handle Simon. Getting him to the sheriff and for once letting the law handle a mess sounded like a good idea to him. His wife needed him.

  She sat next to the fire, Lenna close by keeping an eye on her. The others were already off to sleep for the night. Esther had her knees pulled close to her chest, sitting and staring at the fire. For once he was thankful for the other woman. She’d taken care of his wife and had not tried to be the hero.

  “Thank you, Lenna.”

  She nodded and walked off to her tent. No words. A different side of her and the others in the tribe might like this change. He turned his attention to Esther, as she looked up at him. Shame in her eyes. He never wanted her to feel this way around him. Everyone has a past and to him, it didn’t matter. He knew her. The real her.

  “The things he said…they’re not true, except I did owe him money, as did Ruth.”

  She told him everything. He didn’t interrupt her, letting her share her heart with him. The difference in her tonight shone through and he thanked God for her openness. For a moment he almost listened as a man and not with his heart. She’d been given to the home as a baby, growing up there. They had not allowed this very often. “I believe you.”

  She sighed in relief. Her face relaxing as she leaned into his arm. “I’m so glad. I was afraid neither of us would get out alive.”

  “I k
now. Esther, I love you.”

  He kissed her hard on the lips. He kissed her with every ounce of love he had for her. In a way, it was as if he had never kissed her before.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning…

  Esther followed Obadiah, as Lenna and Bev walked close together through the last part of the woods, coming closer to the opening. The months spent in the wild and mapping out the area had caused them all to grow closer together. She hoped they’d all keep in touch. It would be easier to talk to Lenna when they got together with others in the tribe. She hugged the ladies saying they’d see each other soon.

  Her husband grabbed for her hand, squeezing tight when she placed hers in his. A little further and she’d see her friend Ruth and meet her brother-in-law, along with the sweet baby. She didn’t get a chance to see the baby before they had left months ago. Nerves bunched in her gut with each step they took. At least, she no longer wanted to slap her husband.

  The gentle way he held her told her everything she needed to know. The secrets she’d meant to take with her when she died had not scared him off. Secrets only Ruth knew about her and their experiences. She had thought she would feel bad about sharing the information, but she just felt closer to him. As if she could tell him anything and he wouldn’t run away. She didn’t know if he’d go back to his outlaw ways or not. If he did, she’d love him through it, until he got on track again.

  She wanted to say there’s no God, but surviving the bear attack and the two evil men told her there had to be Someone watching over them. For the first time, she prayed to God, to help her be the wife her husband needed.

  “Are you ready to meet my brother?”

  “No.” A giggle slipped from her lips. Truth. The way he talked about him made her anxious. He was serious and a preacher. She didn’t know how to act around a man of God. Sure a priest came to the home from time to time, but that was about all.

  “You’ll do fine.”

  “I have to meet him at some point and besides I’m ready to see how Ruth has been doing. And you never said where we’ll be living.”

  Her husband gave her a sideways glance, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. He didn’t stop and for a few moments, she wanted to ask him if he’d heard her. But the smirk on his lips told her that he had. Moments like this made her want to smack and kiss him at the same time. Crazy. Her stomach lurched forward. She let go of his hand, rushing to the side of the road between two of the buildings.

  So close to her new home. In town already and she had to be sick. Bending over, her stomach emptied. Esther pressed her head against the building, a hand at her stomach, willing herself not to get sick again. The smell coming from the restaurant made her gut roll once more. It reminded her of what it felt like to be in a stagecoach on mountain roads. Her eyelids pressed together tightly. Footsteps came from her right. She didn’t move and hoped no one would ask her if she was alright.

  “Esther, are you, okay?”

  Obadiah.

  She didn’t want him to see her this way. She held up her hand to stop him from coming any closer. “Please, go away.”

  “No.”

  For once she wanted him to listen. Stubborn headed man. He kept coming forward, hand pressed against her back, rubbing small circles. She wanted him to go but his touch felt so good. Sweat ran down her neck. Her stomach stopped its twisting. She leaned against the building and took some slow breaths.

  “Meeting my family makes you this scared?” She heard the laughter in his voice without needing to turn around. Esther smiled.

  Never in her life had she gotten sick like this. A part of her wondered why. Birds chirped around her and a slight breeze helped to cool her face. “I guess so.”

  “I promise, I’ll be right there. Nothing to worry about.”

  He kissed the back of her head. She let him lead her back to the dirt road. She let him guide her as she hoped he always would. Except she didn’t need to hope because she knew he would. Without a doubt. Lead her, hold her when she needed it, and protect her. She didn’t second guess him when he said he loved her last night. This man got past all the walls she had placed around her heart and her world.

  “I know.”

  “Good because here they come.”

  Esther took a deep breath. Time to go. She smiled so big her cheeks hurt when she saw Ruth coming toward them with a tall man, who looked so like Obadiah, she did a double-take. Her husband didn’t react. Of course, he didn’t because he already knew what her reaction might be. Ruth held a baby close to her chest. Motherhood suited her well.

  Ruth smiled back at her.

  Her husband held on to her not letting her run forward as she wanted to because she had been sick just mere moments ago. Excitement vibrated through her as they came closer. Once they were closer, he let go of her hand. She was thankful for his help.

  Ruth hugged her close. She never wanted to let go. Tears sprung in her eyes. Giggles slipping from their lips. The baby reached a hand up, patting Esther’s cheek. She smiled at him, rubbing his chubby cheeks. Adorable. One day.

  “I’ve missed you so.”

  “You have no idea! Look at you, Ruthie. A husband and a baby. Marriage looks good on you.”

  “I can’t complain. You look rough, but happy.”

  “You have no idea.”

  They smiled, laughing at one another. The men were at their sides now. Obadiah cleared his throat. Jedediah hugged him close and she didn’t miss the shocked expression on her husband’s face as he hugged his twin back. From the way he had talked about him, she knew this wasn’t a normal occurrence between them. Good. They needed to be there for one another. She smiled at them, thankful for a warm welcome.

  “This is my wife, Esther.”

  Jedediah tipped his hat at her. “Nice to meet you. This is my wife, Ruth.”

  They spent moments exchanging pleasantries. She didn’t feel as awkward as she had thought she would. Family. That’s what they all were to one another. They had always wished they were sisters and now they really were. Happiness overwhelmed her. After all these years, she finally had a family. It might have taken a while to get here, but she wouldn’t trade any of the journey for anything.

  Ruth looked happier than Esther had ever seen before. She’d always been a joyful person, but now when Esther looked at her in this short time of reunion, the joy seemed to pour from her. Esther hadn’t stopped smiling. The two girls would never feel unloved again. It was one of the worst feelings in the world and no one should ever experience the pain.

  Obadiah explained to his brother and Ruth what had happened to James and Simon. How they had worked together and targeted her because of the loan they took out to help a friend. The one selfish act had turned into a dangerous one, almost costing them their lives.

  Jedediah didn’t say a word. He nodded a few times, his arms folded as he listened. Ruth, clutched the baby closer, with a solemn face and pain so evident on her features. She hated anyone to be in pain or hurt.

  “Where are they now?”

  “James is in the river where he deserves.”

  Jediah ran a hand down his face, muttering a prayer. Unlike Obadiah, he was a quiet man and didn’t seem to get angry as fast. They looked alike and yet were opposite on all levels. When their Ma died, it hurt Obadiah in a way Esther could understand. That feeling of being abandoned. Would he always have this quick temper?

  “God says vengeance is mine. Obadiah, you can’t go around killing people.”

  “I didn’t.”

  You said he’s in a river.”

  Sparks flared in her husband’s eyes. He walked off, not saying a word to any of them. Kicking the dirt as he went. She ran after him, calling apologies over her shoulder. Ruth gave her a sympathetic smile and her brother-in-law headed in his brother’s direction. Like it was nothing unusual for him to deal with his sibling in this fashion.

  Esther placed her hands on her husband’s shoulder trying to stop him. He jerked away until h
e saw it was her. He stopped. She stood in front of him so he had to look at her. When she pressed her palm against his cheek, he leaned into her touch. “Talk to him. Stop running.”

  “Why? He always thinks the worst of me. I did want James to die. It wasn’t a secret.”

  “I know you’ve changed. I see it in your eyes and in the way you act.”

  “I’m an outlaw and always will be.”

  Esther jabbed a finger in his chest. The way he thought of himself wasn’t who he was anymore. She’d do everything she could in order to show him this. To show him what a good man he’d become. The one who protected her. Who had helped her learn the ropes of his job out in the woods. The man who loved her so deeply and the sweet caring man hiding deep inside the hard exterior. “No. That’s the old you.”

  Closing his eyes, he growled low in his chest, and brought his lips to hers. His kiss was gentle and sweet. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Each touch, each look made her feel happy, carefree, and so loved. She almost forgot the other two people still stood nearby.

  “You can’t run forever. God sees everything.”

  “Jedediah, I didn’t kill him for revenge. He had Esther. I had no choice”

  They then explained what had happened and how it all happened so fast. For once, Obadiah stayed calm and explained his side without running away in anger. She loved him even more. Strong. Dependable man. She never wanted this moment to end. Her family. She smiled hugging each of them as they went to their homes. After church on Sunday, they’d have dinner at his brother’s house. Soon.

  ***

  They came to their home. On the edge of the woods, not far from Jedediah and Ruth’s home. The log cabin was small and simple, their first home together. She couldn’t wait to make it a home for them…her family. He lifted her in his arms and carried her over the threshold of the cabin. She let out a giggle.

  He kissed her hard on the lips, shutting the door behind them with his foot. Peace and quiet. No one else around. They’d not had much privacy before and she’d always be grateful for their time together in woods on the expedition as she learned about him. Frightened and not sure of herself, but the time they spent together showed her how strong she really could be.