Chapter Twenty: Noah

More than ever, I was on edge. Burns had reached the point where he wanted me dead. Or, at least, he wouldn't object if I were to die.

Worse, he had shown his hand when there was no other witness. I knew my friends would believe me when I told them what had happened, but no one else would. Why would they? They wouldn't believe me if I said it was a good day if the sun was shining overhead.

I kept the light low the evening after I was nearly shot. I didn't want to take a chance that Burns, or his brother, would sneak back and try again. It would be a move that I wouldn't put past them now. What wouldn't they risk to get revenge on me?

But what was I to do? How was I supposed to live if I needed to look over my shoulder all the time? Should I abandon my farm to stay with Earnest or the Harpers? What good would that do?

Who had begun the rumor about me taking advantage of Annie Burns? Both Mr. and Mrs. Burns had been furious. If I had to guess, I would say that they truly believe I had done it. Had Annie invented this story? Why would she do that?

She couldn't possibly have feelings for me, could she? Was this all the result of a teenage girl deciding to take matters into her own hands?

Every sound woke me from sleep. Once I managed to fall asleep, that is. And in the morning, I was not able to relax. For the first time in years, I was keenly aware of how alone I truly was. If anything happened to me, who would know?

Since Earnest was closest, I decided to head over there first. He'd known the Burns' longer than I had. Perhaps he might have a clearer idea about Annie, and maybe even some advice on what I should do.

"What now?" were the first words out of my friend's mouth when I rode up to his porch.

"Good morning to you, too."

"I thought I saw someone ride past last evening," he said, his expression serious. "Looked like it might be Burns' black mare."

"Was he alone?" I asked as I dismounted.

Earnest frowned. "As far as I could tell, he was," he said. "Why?"

"If you had seen him with someone, like that brother of his that rode into town not too long ago, it would have been proof," I said with a sigh. "Burns came out to my place last night, hopping mad. He was looking for trouble."

"Why was he mad?"

"When I was in town, I ran into Annie Burns," I told him honestly. "She heard I'm to be married, and didn't take too kindly to it."

Heaving a sigh, Earnest shook his head. "Why'd you even speak to the girl, Noah? You know how riled up her parents have been. There was no need to poke the beehive and stir them up."

"I didn't poke the beehive." Well, not directly. I hadn't told Earnest about my letter to the lawyer because I knew he would object. "What would you have had me do?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "There don't seem to be any right answer here."

Didn't I know it! If I did make a decision, it went horribly wrong. If I didn't do anything, it went wrong. What was the right thing to do? How was an ordinary man supposed to find his way out of a tangle like this?

"And I didn't speak to Annie Burns," I told him, just so we could clear that point up. "I was telling Mrs. Royal about how Elizabeth is coming. Annie overheard and became upset."

Earnest shook his head again. "Well, after all this fuss, the girl might have expected you'd be forced to marry her."

Could she really have expected that? Why would she want to be married to someone who didn't want to marry her? What kind of a marriage would that be for either side?

"Well, I don't know what she told Burns, but he was furious. I told him that if he hadn't come to talk reasonably, then he should just leave. The next thing I knew, someone was shooting at me. It was a mere chance that kept me in one piece."

Even just thinking about how close it had been sent a chill down my back.

"Shooting at you? What?"

"Someone, I can only guess it must have been Burns' brother, tried to shoot me." Earnest still didn't look as though he believed me. "Look, you can come out and see the bullet holes in my fence if you want. I'm not making this up."

"No, that's not necessary," he blurted. "I'm just astonished that it has come to this."

I sat down on one of the porch steps. "I know." My hand went through my hair. "None of this makes any sense. Burns showed no sign that he had invented the tale of me trifling with his daughter. So now I'm wondering if Annie made the story up herself."

"Why? I know Burns was set on you marrying her, but what girl would go to these lengths to ensure it happen?"

"Well, nothing else has made sense about this whole thing, so why should this?"

"Even if she made up this story, that don't help you at all," Earnest pointed out. "There is no way her parents are going to believe you over their own daughter. Heck, no one in town is going to believe you."

A fact that I knew all too well. "Well, maybe someone can convince her to tell the truth."

"That person ain't going to be you."

"I know that," I told him sharply. I took a deep breath to calm down. It wasn't his fault any of this was happening. "Maybe Mrs. Royal could talk to her and get the truth. No one would disbelieve Mrs. Royal."

"Now, just wait a minute!" Earnest protested. "There's no call to drag Mrs. Royal any further into this mess. She's already getting comments for even speaking to you. You're not going to cause more trouble for her."

Astonished, I stared at him. "What?" Mrs. Royal had said nothing about this when I was with her. "Who has been giving her trouble?"

"Does it matter? Just being your friend is making her life difficult."

How could anyone be so low? Mrs. Royal was nothing but a kind, gracious woman. She didn't deserve to have anyone question her decisions. "I'm sorry to hear that. What about you?"

Earnest frowned. "What about me?"

"Are you being hounded or criticized for being my friend?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Shouldn't I know what is happening to my friends because of me?" I'd be real upset if I heard that the other townspeople were harassing Mrs. Royal just because they thought she was a defenseless woman.

Well, maybe not exactly defenseless. I'd yet to meet a woman who couldn't hold her own in an argument.

"I can't say that anyone has mentioned it to me at all."

Somehow, I couldn't believe him. ​In a town that had been vocal about their disapproval of me, why would they leave out the one person who had been my friend? Or had they said things but Earnest just didn't pay any attention to it?

"Why don't you just go back home and wait for your lady to come," Earnest said, standing up. "Don't go stirring up any more trouble. Let it die down."

"You know Burns isn't going to do that," I responded, also getting to my feet. "He wants me dead now for not falling in with whatever his plan was. Do you want me to just sit around and wait for him to succeed the next time he tries?"

"What are you going to do?"

That was the question, wasn't it?

~*~

After my conversation with Earnest, I went into town. I had a letter to send, although I knew it would arrive at the same time as the one I'd written to the lawyer. This one was to go directly to the marshal.

With any luck, a lawman would take what was happening seriously.

Collins looked no more pleased with this letter as he had been about the letter the day before. His face paled when I told him someone had shot at me. "Now, Noah, you must—"

"Be mistaken? There's only so many times that excuse can be used," I interrupted. "I'm writing to the marshal myself. He can come and look into the matter."

It occurred to me as I left the general store that Collins might be tempted to hold my letter back. Maybe even both letters. The thought made me look over my shoulder. Through the open door, I could see the man holding my letter.

No. Surely Collins took the responsibility of handling the mail seriously. Weren't there rules about that?

Shaking my head, I forced myself to keep walking. If there was no response from the lawyer or marshal in a month, I'd go myself to Cheyenne. Elizabeth would be here by then. It might make a nice trip before the winter snows kept us on my land.

Determined to be on hand to meet Elizabeth, I came back into town the following day. The stage came once a week, usually on a Wednesday. There was no set time for when it would arrive, though, so I tried to get into town as early as possible in the day.

And then I just had to wait.

I'm afraid I made a nuisance of myself in Mrs. Royal's cafe. She didn't seem to mind, especially when I told her who I was waiting for.

No one seemed to comment on how often I was in town. I couldn't be sure when Elizabeth would arrive and I wanted to make sure I was there to meet her. Even if she sent a letter with her itinerary for the journey, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't arrive before the letter reached me.

So I waited all day, two Tuesdays in a row, for the right stage to arrive.

"Today is the day," I said to Mrs. Royal as she refilled my coffee cup on the fourth Tuesday. "She'll be here."

The woman just smiled. "I hope it is," she responded. "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

She left me to my coffee. Half an hour later, the stage came into town. I abandoned my coffee and went to the front of the cafe. As I watched, a bag of mail was tossed down first, and the driver hopped down first.

I held my breath, waiting to see if any passengers got out. The driver opened the door and held his hand out. A gloved hand took his and then Miss Elizabeth Garrison stepped down.

Her photograph hadn't done her justice, and I was even more convinced that the men in Indiana were idiots. How could anyone overlook a woman like her? She looked up and down the street.

"What are you waiting for?" Mrs. Royal asked with a slight laugh. She gave me a slight push. "Go say hello already. She's come all this way and you're going to make her wait?"

Breathing out, I started forward. The woman stepped out of the way of a man climbing out of the stage. She was looking around the street. "Miss Garrison? Elizabeth?" I called out.

Her gaze met mine. "Noah?" she asked. "Are you Noah?"

Right. I might know what she looked like, but she wouldn't know me. I snatched my hat off my head. "Yes, I am," I said, smiling to put her at ease. "Welcome to Wyoming. How was your journey?"

She held her gloved hand out, and I automatically took it. "Long, but very interesting," she responded. "I'm pleased to finally meet you."

Her eyes moved as though she were examining my face. What did she see? I had no pretensions about being a handsome man, but I hoped she liked what she saw. Her expression gave nothing away.

"Lucky man," I thought I heard the driver say as he tossed a bag down.

"Oh, thank you," Elizabeth said, turning to face the man. In doing so, she pulled her hand out of mine. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.

Clearing my throat, I reached to pick up her bag. It couldn't be all that she brought. "Do you have anything else?"

"A trunk," she answered. "I wasn't sure how much to bring with me. I have a second trunk that I left with Moll—my friend back home. She will send it if..."

I understood her as her voice trailed away. "If you stay," I finished for her. "Of course. That makes sense."

For the first time, a smile lit up her face. And that was the moment I knew my heart was in her hands. Elizabeth leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I think everyone is staring at us."

With a start, I glanced around. I saw Collins duck away from the door. There were a handful of people on the street, and they all turned away when they realized I'd seen them. For being so adamant that I was a reprehensible man, none of them seemed eager to save Elizabeth from me.

"Well, we don't get many visitors here," I said honestly. "And, with everything that has been said about me..."

My voice trailed away as I tried to think of what to say. Elizabeth nodded, her expression softening. "I'm sorry. I should have realized. I didn't mean to..." Her voice trailed off as she struggled to decide what to say.

Silence fell between us. What should I say next? "Would you like something to eat?" I blurted out. "It will be a bit of a drive out to the Harpers. That's where you'll be staying until...well, until we make a decision. If you don't mind, that is. There's no hotel in town, as I think you can see."

I was rambling. I'd never been an eloquent man, but this was ridiculous!

"I'm not hungry, but some coffee would be welcome," she said. "And if your neighbors are happy to have me, I am grateful they make room for a stranger."

"I do have one friend in town who is eager to meet you," I told her, holding my arm out. I remembered that much from my mother's lessons so long ago. "She lost her husband earlier this year, and runs the cafe to keep a roof over her children's heads."

"I remember you telling me in one of your letters." Elizabeth put her hand on my arm. "I'm delighted to meet a friend of yours...Noah."

The hesitancy before she said my name. How long would it take us to become comfortable with each other?

Mrs. Royal was standing just outside the door to the cafe. She had a broad smile on her face. "You must be Miss Garrison," she said before I could make the introduction. "I'm Sarah Royal."

"Pleased to meet you," Elizabeth said with an answering smile. "I hear you're one of Noah's only friends in town."

"There seems to be a small group of us these days," Mrs. Royal responded, her smile fading. Then she brightened. "Have you come for some coffee and pie before you head out?"

"That sounds lovely," Elizabeth said graciously. She shot a glance at me before she added, "I do love pie."

There. One thing that we had in common. It was a start. Wasn't it?

~*~

Dear Sis,

How are you and the kids? Did William recover from his fall? Tell him he should stay out of trees no matter how pretty the girl he is watching is! A gentleman shouldn't spy on a lady.

Elizabeth has finally arrived. She is a remarkable woman. I think you would like her, even if she is from Indiana. She's... I don't even know if I have the words to describe her. Quite simply, she's wonderful.

So your little brother is going to be married. Well, if we both agree that we suit each other. I can't speak for her, but she suits me just fine. Bet you never thought the day would come when you'd hear I was getting married.

Now, I know you're going to be riled up that I've married a woman from the Union, but I just want to remind you that you don't have to like it. Who I marry is my choice. So fuss all you want but know it isn't going to change anything. You'll be better off using that energy for something else. Let Ma know, will you?