Bushedwhacked Bride (41 page)
Ma brightened. “Why, sure. Come on in, folks.”
Happy pandemonium erupted as the girls and their par
ents swarmed toward the house.
***
While Cole saddled their horses, Jessica quickly changed
into her riding clothes. Rushing out of her room, she
grabbed her journal and pencil from the dresser, stuffing
both in the pocket of her overalls. She had a feeling she might see quite an eyeful shortly.
Moments later, as she and Cole galloped away from
the farm hell-bent-for-leather, she hurled a glare at
him.
“Jessie, please, don’t say it,” he implored.
“I
am
going to say it! I’m so mad at you for letting
those boys go rob the stage, I could just spit nails.”
Humbly, he replied, “I know, darlin’, and I don’t blame
you. I acted like a dang fool, and I’m sorry. Looks like
I’ve got some sweet-talking to do.”
Hotly she replied, “A
lot
of sweet-talking to do, mister.
And, by damn, if you ever again even hint that you may
return to your outlaw ways, I’ll punch out your running
lights.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Lord, I just hope we can reach the boys in time.”
“The stage will be slow, you can count on that. My bet
is the boys will be waiting to overtake it at Haunted
Gorge.”
“Then let’s ride!”
They rode hard for the gorge. They had just reached
the crest overlooking the hollow when they saw the fa
miliar stagecoach move into view beneath them. As they
halted their horses at the summit, Jessica squinted at the
scene below and shuddered. “My God, Cole, this is so
eerie, just like the day we met! I’m getting the weirdest
feeling—”
Cole gazed at her in puzzlement. “Me, too, sugar. But
where do you ‘spect the boys are?”
Even as he asked the question, Jessica spotted four masked riders galloping out of the woods on either side of the road. As the four pursued the coach with pistols
blazing, she was again swept by
déjà vu.
“There they are!
My Lord, Cole, this
is
just like the day you five kid
napped me.”
He nodded. “Come on, Jessie. Let’s stop the rascals be
fore real harm is done.”
They galloped down into the valley, chasing the boys and yelling to get their attention, but they were too far away to be heard. They watched the boys overtake the stage, watched it grind to a halt in a cloud of dust.
They still weren’t within shouting distance, so Cole
fired two warning shots into the air. Ahead of them, the four
riders reigned in and turned their mounts; in that moment
the entire tableau of the robbery appeared frozen in time.
At last they reached the boys, halting their own horses.
Jessica noted that the passengers were still inside the
stage, and the driver was cowering on top.
“Stop!” Cole yelled. “You boys have got to stop.”
“Damn it, Cole, what are you doing here?” Billy demanded. “You’re spoiling all our fun.”
“You boys are about to spoil your futures,” Jessica
declared.
“Aw, don’t give us that again,” scoffed Gabe.
“No, it’s true,” insisted Cole. “All your sweethearts are
waiting for you back at the house.”
“What?” cried Wes.
“Their fathers had a change of heart,” Jessica explained. “They’ll let the girls marry you, if you boys
promise to give up your lives of crime.”
The boys glanced at each other in amazement.
“And if you boys know what’s good for you, you’ll
hightail it straight home and eat some humble pie,”
added Cole.
“Cole, are you joshing us?” Billy asked suspiciously.
“Nope, it’s the God’s truth,” Jessica answered.
All at once, Gabe let out a yell of victory. “Then what
are we waiting for, boys?”
“Yeah, what are we waiting for?” Billy echoed. He
tipped his hat at the driver. “Sorry, pops. Men, let’s ride!”
The boys hooted their triumph, wheeled their horses, and went galloping off for home.
“Come on, Jessie, we need to ride, too,” said Cole.
“Shouldn’t we check on the passengers first?” she
asked.
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Jessica dismounted, strode over to the coach, and
opened the door. As she did so a new wave of unreality
staggered her. She did a double take, followed by a triple take, staring flabbergasted at the stage occupants even as
they regarded her with equal consternation.
For she was looking not at the expected nineteenth-
century citizens, but at her own three colleagues from the
present—Walter Lummety, Stan Wilkins, and Harold Billingsly! All were still wearing the same costumes she remembered from before.
No, this must be an illusion,
Jessica thought. It must
be, or surely she had lost her mind. She closed her eyes, certain the bizarre mirage would vanish. But when she
opened them, the scene before her had not shifted one bit.
Walter Lummety, appearing as astounded as Jessica,
was the first to find his voice. “Professor Garrett, what on
earth has happened to you, and why are you dressed in
that ridiculous getup?”
“Professor Lummety,” Jessica gasped back. “Is it really
you”—her gaze shifted to the other two—”and Stan and Professor Billingsly?”
“Of course it is really us,” Walter answered irately.
“And I repeat, where have you been? We were all driving
along when we hit a huge bump. Then you disappeared!
Then we lost our way and . . . Well, I don’t know what happened to us after that. Do you know, Harold?”
Billingsly shook his head. “I’ve no idea—but we do
seem to have been traveling around in circles forever.”
Even as Walter and Harold continued to debate the
matter, Jessica straightened and turned in awe to Cole. “I
can’t believe this is happening. Cole, I want you to meet my colleagues from the year 1999.”
He recoiled. “You’re joshing me.”
“Nope.” She jerked a thumb toward the inside of the
stage. “Have a look for yourself.”
Cole leaned over and glowered suspiciously at the
men. Taking note of Walter, he went wide-eyed, then
turned back to Jessica. “But I thought Sheriff Lummety
was under guard back in town.”
“He is,” she assured him.
“Then how in hell can he be in two places at once?”
“He can’t,” she replied. “This is Professor
Walter
Lum
mety, Sheriff Lummety’s descendant . . . from the future.”
Glancing sharply at Lummety, Cole shook his head.
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“Damn it, Cole, I’m not! Look at him
carefully.”
Cole did so, peering at Walter and frowning. “Well, I’ll
be hanged. This man looks like the sheriff, but he’s
younger and not as stout.” He straightened and regarded Jessica in awe. “Does this mean all that hokum you told
me is true? Are you really from the future?”
“Yes, it’s true. And I am.”
He gestured at the men, then slowly shook his head. “If
it’s true, then did you wish this to happen?”
Jessica gasped, remembered the last time she and Cole
had been here, and the wish she’d made. “You know, per
haps I did.”
His face tight with hurt and disappointment, Cole
asked, “Then is this your one chance to return to your
own world?”
“You know, it might be,” she said in awe.
“You would leave me, woman?”
Seeing the vulnerability on Cole’s face, Jessica quickly
made her decision, shaking her head and gazing at him
with love. “No, Cole. At one time, I did want to go back, but not any longer. My world is here—with you.” She
slipped into his arms.
“Oh, Jessie.” Cole clutched her close and kissed her.
In the meantime, the men began to clamor for an ex
planation. “Professor Garrett, I must insist you tell us
what on earth is going on here!” declared Lummety.
“Where are we and who were those masked men? And
who is this stranger pawing you?”
As Cole released her, Jessica flashed Water a smile,
then pulled her journal from her pocket and extended it toward him. “Walter, please take this.”
“What is it?”
She pressed the volume into his hands. “Everything
that has happened to me is explained inside. Please give
this journal to my parents, tell them I love them and I’m
fine. Now I think all of you had best continue on your
way. I’m staying here.”
“W-what?” sputtered Walter. “We’ve finally found
you, and now you propose leaving again?”
“Miss Garrett, this makes no sense whatsoever,”
protested Billingsly.
Jessica held up a hand. “Please, guys, just read the
journal. Then you’ll understand.”
Ignoring the men’s protests, Jessica closed the stage
coach door. She glanced up at the driver, only to laugh as
she spotted Woody Lynch for the first time in months.
“Hello, Mr. Lynch.”
He tipped his hat. “Ma’am. Ain’t you comin’ back
with us?”
“Nope. But don’t worry, I’ll be remembering you
through a certain gentleman I know here who looks a lot
like you.”
He squinted in confusion. “Who might that be?”
“Never mind,” laughed Jessica. “I think it’s time for
you to head on back to the Broken Buck.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Godspeed.”
Buck snapped the reins, and the stage rattled off.
Cole pulled Jessica close again. “Well, I’ll be damned,
sugar. If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes—”
“You never would have believed it,” she finished for him.
“Reckon we’ll ever see those fellows again?”
“No, I think that chapter in my life just came to a
close,” she happily replied.
“Good.” Cole kissed her ardently, and held her close
for a long moment. Then he glanced off to the east and whistled. “Damn, sugar, that blamed stagecoach has already disappeared. How in Sam Hill—”
“I’ll explain later. For now we have things to do.”
He broke into a grin. “Yeah, you’re right. We need to
rustle our hocks and get back to the house. There’s a
preacher waiting there to perform a quadruple wedding.”
She hugged him tight. “Make that quintuple.”
Cole’s face lit with joy. “Oh, sugar. Now you’re talking.”
***
At home, at sunset, five beaming couples stood on the porch of the Reklaw farmhouse before Reverend Bliss, who stood facing them on the steps as he read from the
order of service. Out in the yard, Ma and the girls’ parents
looked on and wiped tears.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join these
five men and these five women in holy matrimony,” Bliss
intoned solemnly.
Jessica felt a tear of joy as she gazed at four ecstatic fe
male faces, and at five male faces lit with pride and joy.
As Bliss began pronouncing the vows, her gaze lingered
lovingly on Cole, her heart bursting with happiness as he winked back tenderly. They’d come through so much to
gether, and now victory was theirs. Everything that had happened to her had happened for a purpose. Even meet
ing her colleagues from the present for a final time had
helped bring her full circle. She’d been granted the grand
adventure of experiencing life in a new century, the gift
of a bright and happy future there. And the greatest miracle of all was that she knew where she belonged now—
in this time, with her beloved Cole.
If you enjoyed BUSHWHACKED BRIDE by Eugenia Riley, please click
HERE
to read the sequel, BUSHWHACKED GROOM, Book #2 in the “Bushwhacked in Time” series, also available from Nook!
And catch these other exciting romances available from Eugenia Riley in Nook:
Full-Length Time Travel Romance Novels:
Time Travel Romance Novellas
:
Historical Paranormal Romance Novels:
Contemporary Romantic Caper Novels:
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