Bride for Colton Read online

  “We’re sorry for your troubles, sir,” Malcolm said, shaking Kirk’s hand in a subtle dismissal. “We’d better get back to work now.”

  “Delight to meet you, Commander. I’ll try to stop in before I leave to see how you’re faring on this bootlegging operation. For now, I bid you both a good day.”

  “See you soon,” Colton called after the man as he closed the door behind himself. Turning to Malcolm, he added, “Nice fellow, don’t you think?”

  Malcolm stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned to Colton. “Sure. Now weren’t you going to tack up those wanted posters?”

  Colton sighed. He’d always hated busywork, and would do just about anything to get out of it. Including eating crow.

  “I think I’d better go track down Mr. Farnsworth and mend fences. Don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with the community, do I?”

  He winked at Malcolm as he shrugged into a thick winter coat and hurried out the door before his superior could say no.

  After their talk the night before, Gemma had fallen asleep in Colton’s arms, determined to become the person she’d always wanted to be. She couldn’t stand the thought of keeping any more secrets from her husband, so the first order of business for the day would be to help Lizzy figure out a way to free herself from the bootlegger’s hold.

  “We have to do something, Lizzy,” she said as her friend passed a dripping breakfast dish for her to dry. “This can’t continue.”

  Lizzy turned to her. “Will you tell him?”

  Gemma had spent most of the night asking herself the same question, but she knew she couldn’t. Not if she wanted to keep her friend out of trouble. Colton had a very rigid and narrow definition of right and wrong — the man he’d arrested for stealing a can of beans was a perfect example — and he would almost surely lock up Lizzy without hesitation.

  His stout convictions were part of what she loved about him, but she also loved her friend. She couldn’t bring herself to ask him to cast aside those convictions, so she’d just have to help Lizzy find a way out.

  “No. He believes in the letter of the law more than anything. I want to tell him, but I’m afraid of what would become of you.”

  Relief washed over Lizzy’s face. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We have to free you of that evil man once and for all.”

  “How? He will hurt my children. He has said so, many times.”

  “Maybe someone in your village could hide you.”

  Lizzy shook her head, an expression of utter dejection etched on her pretty face. Gemma’s heart lurched — she’d felt that way many times growing up.

  “Everyone in my village hates me. Even my best customers. They will not help.”

  “Isn’t there anyone who would take you in?”

  A blush crept up Lizzy’s cheeks unexpectedly. She dipped her head and started scrubbing an already clean dish to hide it. If Gemma didn’t know any better, she might think Lizzy had a gentleman friend. As much as she wanted to dive into that surprising side to her otherwise stoic friend, they had more important things to think about than romance.

  “Maybe we should go talk to Annie,” Gemma said, the idea sparking, then kindling. “If anyone would know what to do, it’s her. And I can tell you, that woman can keep a secret!”

  Wanting to show off her newfound cooking skills, Gemma insisted they make a maple walnut pie for Annie. While it was baking, she packed a nice lunch for Colton. They’d drop it off after speaking with Annie, who Gemma prayed would have an idea how to get Lizzy out of her predicament.

  The morning air was colder than Gemma had ever experienced. Lizzy said it was too cold to snow, which didn’t make sense to Gemma, but she believed it all the same. If there was one thing she’d learned about Lizzy during their time together, it was that the woman was an even worse liar than Gemma.

  Where Gemma relied on distraction and obfuscation to get away with hiding what she didn’t want revealed, Lizzy’s only defense was to blush furiously and look away. Bronwen would have hated Lizzy for it, but this character flaw — who would ever consider not being able to lie well a character flaw? — only made Gemma love her more.

  Annie only took a few seconds to open her door, but those few seconds were painful. At least when she was moving, Gemma had generated a little warmth. Standing still was the worst.

  “Look at you all, you must be freezing!” Annie said, waving all four of them inside.

  Gemma sighed at the warmth inside the cabin and the smell of gingerbread baking. Between Annie and Lizzy, Gemma could now muddle through several dishes without making anyone gag, and she’d be forever grateful to them for it. She made a mental note to tackle gingerbread cookies next.

  “We brought you a pie,” Gemma said, handing it to Annie before taking off all her layers. “Lizzy only had to help with the crust a little.”

  “It looks heavenly! What do you say we sneak a taste with some nice hot tea?”

  John and Mary cheered and jumped up and down at the suggestion. Even though Gemma and Lizzy had the weight of the world on their shoulders, they couldn’t help laughing at the children. Gemma felt ten times lighter, but also even more intent on doing everything she could to make sure they were safe. Once everyone was settled with their pie and tea — cocoa for the kids — Gemma dived right in.

  “Annie, we actually came here for a reason.”

  “Other than to bring me a pie completely out of the blue in the coldest weather we’ve had since we arrived? You don’t say!” Annie winked at Gemma and motioned for her to continue.

  Gemma glanced over at Lizzy and saw how stiff she was sitting. She reached out and grabbed her hand, trying to reassure her that everything would work out. Judging by her sad smile, Gemma didn’t think her friend held out much hope.

  “I need some advice. I have a…friend who has found herself in a predicament that seems impossible to remove herself from.”

  “What is it?”

  Gemma willed herself not to look at Lizzy, though there was little doubt Annie knew who the friend was. “I think it’s best you know as few of the details as possible. Let’s just say that she’s not involved voluntarily.”

  “Should I assume you feel as if you can’t talk to Colton about this?”

  Gemma’s lips pressed into a grim line. If anyone understood how she felt about hiding a part of herself, it would be Annie. Gemma had no idea what her friend was hiding, and she didn’t really care. Their husbands might though.

  “Colton is rather zealous, isn’t he?” Annie mused, staring down into her tea. “And it’s not possible to simply walk away?”

  The fear that flashed in Lizzy’s face was all the answer either needed.

  “Then the only other idea I have is to talk to Malcolm. He takes his job very seriously. I can’t promise your friend won’t face any consequences, but he also uses his own judgment. Take the man Colton arrested yesterday for stealing. Malcolm told me over breakfast that he’d brokered a deal for the thief to work for Mr. Harper in exchange for food.”

  Hope flared in Gemma’s chest. Of course! Malcolm was the commander anyway, so it made sense to go directly to him. Lizzy looked less than hopeful as they left John and Mary with Annie and headed for the station. At least she’d agreed to talk to him.

  As they rounded the corner of the Mountie station, Gemma bumped face first into a large, furry figure coming from the other direction. Her woolen hood fell back, exposing her face to the elements. Her breath puffed out in great plumes of steam.

  “Oh! Pardon me,” she said, scrambling to pull the hood back up.

  “My fault entirely,” said a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. “Should have looked where I was going, Mrs. Leeds.”

  Gemma smiled up at the man, though she couldn’t see his face behind all the fur. He pulled it down far enough for her to realize it was the hustler from the train. She thought she heard Lizzy gasp softly — no doubt at the man’s ridiculously old-fashioned mustac
he.

  “Mr. Kirk,” she said coolly, not at all pleased to see him. “I’d like you to meet my friend…”

  Gemma turned to see Lizzy scurrying away in the direction they’d just come. She darted down the first side street she came to, leaving Gemma speechless and utterly confused. She turned slowly to face the man again, who watched her with shrewd eyes. Like ball bouncing down a flight of stairs, understanding cascaded down on Gemma.

  Lizzy had run the moment Kirk revealed his identity. Clearly she was afraid of the man. She hadn’t appeared to be afraid of the tall, thin bootlegger who had filled the wheelbarrow for her. In fact, she’d seemed perfectly comfortable in his presence. Gemma knew the person Lizzy feared most in the world was the man threatening the safety of her children.

  And that man was Richard Kirk.

  Chapter 8

  Gemma turned to run, but Kirk’s surprisingly strong fingers wrapped around her arm and held her in place.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” he hissed.

  She whirled around and glared at the brute. “I know who you are. If you don’t let go of me right this instant, I’ll scream so loud my husband will hear.”

  “I don’t think you will.”

  Gemma wanted to slap the snide smirk off his fat face. “And why is that?”

  “Because I know who you are too. How’s Bronwen doing, by the way?”

  Chills rippled across her skin, and it wasn’t from the subzero temperatures. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes goggled. She was standing there speechless, staring up at Kirk, when Colton rounded the corner.

  Kirk immediately released her and stepped away, his smirk turning into a jovial grin. “Constable Leeds! What a coincidence. I quite literally bump into your wife, and then you nearly bump into me.”

  Colton appeared puzzled for a split second, his gaze bouncing between Kirk and Gemma, then he returned the man’s smile. “Hello again, Mr. Kirk. Gemma, what brings you here in such cold weather?”

  Gemma blinked up at Colton, unsure what to say. More than anything, she wanted to point at Kirk and tell her husband that he was the man responsible for the bootlegging operation. But the warning look in Kirk’s eyes stopped her. If she uttered a single word to Colton about it, Kirk would reveal her past. And he’d no doubt take Lizzy down with him as well.

  That was if Colton even listened to the truth after discovering his wife’s secret past life. If Kirk somehow managed to charm his way out of this mess, Lizzy — not to mention John and Mary — would be in grave danger.

  “I-I brought you lunch,” she said quietly, handing him the cloth-wrapped bundle.

  Colton’s sweet smile tore her heart in half. When he leaned down and kissed her cheek, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, wanting to savor the moment. It might be the last time her husband ever looked at her that way again.

  “Thank you. I look forward to eating it when I get back from my errand. Would you like me to walk you home first?”

  “Y—“

  “I can escort her home, Constable,” Kirk interrupted. “It sounds like you have business to handle. I swear I’ll see she gets home safely.”

  Colton blinked again, then smiled. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Kirk. I’ll see you at home later, Gemma.”

  Gemma watched helplessly as Colton hurried off in the opposite direction of home, then turned her gaze on Kirk. He graced her with a condescending smile before latching onto her arm again.

  “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

  No matter how hard she tried to wrestle away her arm, she couldn’t free herself. Sighing with resignation, she finally fell in step with him, pointing out where to go. They walked in silence for a bit, then Kirk began talking.

  “I thought you looked familiar on the train. Remember?”

  She did. But she still didn’t remember him.

  “I couldn’t get you out of my mind as I made my rounds for The Bay. It felt like a word that sits on the tip of your tongue, but won’t come. It vexed me, you might say. I knew that I knew you, I just couldn’t recall how. I’d narrowed it down to Ottawa, but that was of almost no use to me.”

  Kirk stopped talking as a man passed them, then resumed when he was out of earshot. “As I made my rounds, I worked up a convoluted plan to discover who you were. I’d befriend your husband and wrangle myself an invite to your home for dinner. There I’d ply you with carefully crafted questions designed to sniff out your identity. If it was something juicy, as I suspected, I would then decide how to best utilize the information. If you were simply a patsy, I’d be on my way, the itch scratched.”

  “How did you figure it out?” There was no sense denying it. Not after he’d mentioned Bronwen.

  Kirk chortled. “Oh, it really is quite astonishing. I dropped in to the station to put my plan into motion. I’d already committed myself to staying on here as long as it took to quench my curiosity. Imagine my surprise when I saw a wanted poster hanging on their wall with your mother’s face on it!”

  Gemma stumbled, but Kirk’s grip kept her upright. “My mother…is on a wanted poster?”

  “You didn’t know?” Kirk’s laugh rang out loud and brash, just like the man himself. “Oh, that’s too delicious!”

  Gemma was devastated. Not surprised, but devastated just the same. As much as she despised her mother’s way of life, Bronwen was still her mother. To hear she’d done something bad enough to warrant a wanted poster broke Gemma’s heart.

  “Naturally, after I saw the poster, I immediately knew who you were. I wonder, does your husband?”

  And her silence, he snorted. “I didn’t think so. A dedicated lawman such as he would send you packing in a heartbeat — if he didn’t send you to jail first. Interesting…”

  Gemma thought back to her days with Bronwen and tried to place Kirk, but she kept coming up blank. She had an excellent memory, especially faces, and his was a face she certainly would have remembered.

  Almost as if he read her mind, Kirk started up again. “You probably don’t remember me, do you? Little wonder. Your mother always had very strict rules for her…benefactors. We were never allowed to so much as talk to you, and she was very careful about waiting until after you were asleep to schedule any appointments.”

  Gemma’s stomach flipped around inside her, threatening to bring up her breakfast. She’d never once suspected her mother had lowered herself to that level.

  “Of course, that was years ago, during a particularly rough period. Matter of fact, it wasn’t long after you went to live with her, now that I think on it. Sadly for me and her other patrons, it didn’t last long. We didn’t cross paths again till, oh…a couple years ago. Spotted you two pulling some kind of con on a merchant, and let me tell you, I was charmed.”

  He smiled down at Gemma and waggled his eyebrows. Her body shuddered in response. He looked wistful for a moment, then sighed heavily.

  “Your mother was just as protective of you at sixteen as she was when you were six,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “I offered quite a pretty penny for you, but she kicked me in the shin and sent me packing. Have to say, I rather respected her for that.”

  Tears burst out of Gemma without warning. All this time, Gemma had thought her mother had used her — and she had, there was no doubt about it — but she’d also sacrificed her body and soul to protect her daughter. The frigid air was nothing compared to the cold, hard truth that her mother had, in her own way, loved Gemma. Great, heaving sobs wracked her body, and Kirk panicked.

  “Shut up,” he hissed, pushing her down a small side street and away from prying eyes. “Shut up now or—“

  “Or what?” she snapped, fiercely wiping her tears away. “You’ll hit me? Colton would know in an instant it was you, and then he might actually believe me over you!”

  Kirk ground his teeth, then peeked out from behind a building to see if they’d caught anyone’s attention. They hadn’t. Spinning around, he jammed a finger in her face.

  “Listen here, missy. I’ve w
orked too hard to have you mess this up for me. Fur trading isn’t what it used to be in the good old days. Used to be a trader such as myself could earn quite a handsome living, but every year there are fewer and fewer animals to trap. This little bootlegging operation — and all the ones I have scattered around my territory — are what keep me in the lifestyle to which I’ve become accustomed. And no common street urchin is going to take that away from me, not if I can help it.”

  Gemma sniffed and glared at him with defiance, but they both knew she wouldn’t risk Lizzy and her children’s safety. Just to drive the point home, Kirk leveled a hard glare at her.

  “If you do, you won’t be the only one to suffer. And you won’t be the first. I’ll make you watch as I do things your sheltered little mind can’t even imagine. Then I’ll get your do-gooder husband. Then I’ll take my vengeance on you.” He paused for a beat, then shoved is face right into hers. “Understand?“

  Gemma nodded miserably. She understood. She understood all too well.

  Colton couldn’t stop thinking about Gemma after leaving her with Mr. Kirk. Not that it was unusual for him to think of her — she consumed his thoughts most days — but this was different. Something in her eyes didn’t look quite right, but she hadn’t given any indication she didn’t want the man to escort her home.

  As he stepped inside Harper’s general store, he put her out of his mind and focused on William Farnsworth, who was stocking shelves at the back of the store.

  “Afternoon to ya, Constable Leeds,” Mr. Harper said from behind the counter.

  Farnsworth shot a glance over his shoulder, then quickly returned to his work, as if he hoped Colton hadn’t noticed him. Taking a deep breath, Colton plucked up the fortitude to approach the man.

  “Mr. Farnsworth?”

  The man’s shoulders drooped, and he turned to face the Mountie who’d arrested him. “Yessir?”

  “I just wanted to say how happy I am things worked out the way they did.”