Page 9 of Short-Straw Bride

“Around the corner,” Meredith admitted, “but I heard them clearly enough. And I can assure you, this was no idle talk. It was menacing and authoritative. You have to ride out to the Archers’ place and keep this terrible thing from happening. At the very least, warn Mr. Archer that trouble is headed his way.”

Hiram shook his head. “I ain’t riding all the way out there on the say-so of some woman who can’t be sure of what she heard. You always were the kind to get all worked up about one thing or another for no good reason. Besides, I gotta stay here and protect the good citizens of Palestine while the sheriff’s gone. We can talk to Archer when Randall gets back.”

“By then it will be too late!”

Hiram just shrugged. “I’ll make a note in the log book that you came by to make a report. That’s the best I can do.”

Of all the lazy, arrogant, self-aggrandizing men she’d ever had the misfortune to meet, Hiram Ellis sat at the top of the list.

As Meredith marched out of the sheriff’s office, one thing became exceedingly clear. If there was to be any hope of getting a warning to Travis Archer in time, she was going to have to deliver it herself.

3

A half hour later, Meredith penned a note to her cousin.

Cass,

I need your help. Roy Mitchell is not the gentleman he pretends to be. With my own ears, I heard him order the burning of Travis Archer’s barn because the man refused to sell his land. Thankfully, Roy doesn’t know I overheard him. However, he’s planning to call tonight, and I need you to tell him I am feeling poorly and have retired early, since I’ll be on my way to warn Travis.

Tomorrow you can tell Uncle Everett that I decided to visit the old homestead, for that is what I plan to do right after stopping by the Archer place. I will stay out there a few days, cleaning and preparing the house for winter, and return to town by the end of the week.

I’m sorry to put you in an awkward spot, but Roy’s men are headed to the Archer place tonight, so there’s no time to delay. I know you’ll understand.

She signed her name at the bottom, knowing Cassandra would cover for her. There was no one she trusted more. Yet when she returned, nothing would be the same. Rejecting Roy’s proposal meant sabotaging the Hayes family business. Her aunt would resent her more than she already did, and Uncle Everett’s disappointment would be hard to bear. Perhaps it was a good thing she was spending a few days at the old house. She might very well be taking up residence there again soon.

With a sigh, Meredith folded the ivory paper and walked down the hall to her cousin’s room. She tucked the note into the basket that held Cassandra’s hair ribbons, a place where her cousin would be sure to find it but one that would make the note inconspicuous to others. Then she retrieved the small leather valise she’d packed with a spare dress, sleeping gown, and necessary toiletries and slipped out the back to where she’d tied her horse.

The man on duty at the livery where she boarded Ginger had been kind enough to saddle the animal for her, and Meredith had already tucked a few days’ provisions into the saddlebags, so all she had left to do now was mount up and go. Yet as she gazed back at the redbrick building that had been her home since losing her parents, an odd reluctance filled her. It was almost as if she were saying good-bye.

But then the image of a young man with sun-kissed brown hair and compassionate eyes lured her back to her mission. She would find a way to warn Travis Archer and deal with the repercussions later. She owed him that much.

The sun had started to streak the sky orange by the time Meredith reached the turnoff to Travis’s property. Losing light and warmth in the shadows of the trees, she shivered beneath her cloak as she urged Ginger from the main road onto the little-used path that wound through the Archer pines.

Several yards in, a wooden gate rose from the brush to bar her way. Two hand-painted signs nailed to the top slat of the gate glared up at her. The one on the left read Trespassers will be shot on sight. And the second wasn’t much friendlier. To conduct business, fire two shots and wait.

The Archers certainly weren’t long on hospitality, but what really concerned her was the padlock that held the gate secure. With barbed wire stretching out on either side as far as she could see, it would be impossible to get Ginger through. And with no gun, she had no way to summon any of the Archers to her position.

For the first time since she’d left Palestine, urgency gave way to uncertainty. She’d known Travis and his brothers were reclusive, but by the look of things, they were downright hostile when it came to outsiders. They obviously wanted no news or visits from the outside world.

But they had no idea of the menace waiting to strike.

Meredith inhaled a deliberate breath and dismounted. She’d come this far. She might as well see it through. With trembling hands, she secured Ginger’s reins around the gate post and stroked the mare’s neck.

“I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to deliver a message. It won’t take long. You’ll be fine.”

Ginger reached her head down to nibble at some grass, apparently unperturbed at the prospect of being left alone. But as Meredith hiked up her skirt and wedged her left foot onto the bottom slat of the gate, the confidence she’d projected into that little speech evaporated.

She scaled the gate quickly and paused at the top to swing her leg over. Closing her eyes for a moment, she straddled the gate and whispered a quick prayer.

“Please don’t let them shoot me.”

Then before she could talk herself out of it, she scrambled down the far side and started walking.

The last time she’d trespassed on Archer land, she’d ended up with a broken leg and a nasty scar. Last time she’d had an excuse, and there’d been no fences. This time she didn’t have the innocence of childhood to protect her. Was Travis still the kindhearted man she remembered, the one who hid his tender side behind a harsh reputation and a wall of secrecy, or had he hardened into the unyielding, coldhearted man people thought him to be?

Meredith shoved that last thought aside. She refused to believe it. She’d seen his heart that day. Travis might put up a ruthless front, but gentleness was too ingrained in his character to disappear over time.

But just to be safe, she walked with her arms angled away from her sides, palms facing forward, to present herself in as unthreatening a manner as possible. No point in putting her theory to the test if she didn’t have to.