Page 85 of Short-Straw Bride

As Roy led her toward the hearth, Meredith pushed to her feet. There was no way she was letting Cassie face this horror alone.

“Where do you think you’re going, darlin’?” Wheeler’s gravelly voice grated against her nerves. Then his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her roughly against his side.

“I intend to stand up with my cousin, sir,” she ground out between clenched teeth. “Release me.”

Roy glanced over his shoulder and smirked at her. “Let her come, Wheeler. But keep a firm grip on her. She has a bad habit of starting trouble.”

“I’ll keep her under control,” the man said as his arm tightened around her, nearly cutting off her air.

She stumbled past Aunt Noreen, who seemed to be in a state of shock, numbly letting Uncle Everett loop his bound arms around her and scoot her back against the wall.

The parson gulped down another swig from his flask, then pulled a Bible from his coat pocket and made a great show of flipping pages as he stepped out of the corner to join Roy and Cassie at the hearth.

“Dearly beloved,” the man droned in a ponderous, self-important tone. “We are gathered here—”

The front door crashed open.

Meredith’s head swiveled.

“What is the meaning of this?” the parson sputtered.

“Found these two riding up the path.”

Her ax-wielding “friend” waved to his cohorts, and they shoved two dust-covered men, the obvious recipients of some very rough handling, into the room. One fell to his knee, his arms tied behind his back. The other, though also bound, managed to catch himself and halt his forward momentum before tumbling to the floor.

Meredith’s heart recognized them the instant they came through the doorway. And when the man in front lifted his head and met her gaze beneath the brim of his hat, she instinctively stepped toward him.

“Travis.”

Wheeler jerked her back against him, a wicked chuckle echoing in her ear. Travis’s face hardened in an instant. He surged forward only to be brought up short by a shotgun barrel in the chest.

“Nice of you to finally show up, Archer.” Roy tugged Cassandra behind him and nodded to the logger, who muscled Jim back down to his knees before he could fully regain his feet. “For a while there, I thought you decided to decline my invitation.”

38

The metal gun barrel dug into his chest, but Travis barely felt it. All his energy was focused on Mitchell.

“I’ve come for my wife.” The words rumbled out of him like thunder gathering in the distance, low and ominous.

The guards had confiscated his rife and gun belt, but the hidden revolver itched against his back, begging him to take it in hand. Never before had he actually wanted to shoot a man. But now it was all he could do not to reach for his weapon.

Mitchell’s lips turned down in a mock pout. “I’m devastated. And here I thought you’d come to offer your felicitations.”

Travis glared his disgust at the man.

“I assure you, Mr. Wheeler is taking very good care of our dear Miss Meredith. Aren’t you, Louis?”

“Indeed I am, Mr. Mitchell. Indeed I am.” The man tightened his hold on Meri, his arm deliberately pressing against the underside of her breasts. Meredith clawed at his sleeve until he lifted his right hand and stroked the side of her face with his pistol. “Easy now, kitten.” Meri stilled. “You might not want to jostle me too much. It’d be a shame if someone got hurt.”

Rage steamed through Travis. Wheeler had just etched his name on one of the bullets in Travis’s gun.

Gritting his teeth, he forced his focus away from Wheeler and settled it again on the man behind the shotgun. “I know you designed this meeting, Mitchell. Why don’t we skip all the small talk and get down to business. What do I have to do to ensure Meri leaves this cabin unharmed?”

“Not much.” Mitchell smiled that ingratiating smile of his that made Travis want to slam his fist into his face. “All I need is your signature on a little document I had my attorney draw up.” He gestured to the table that stood on the opposite side of the room near the cookstove. “Should only take a minute. Then you and your bride will be free to go. Unless, of course, you’d like to stay for the wedding.”

“Fine,” Travis growled. “Bring me a pen. And get one of your men to untie my hands.”

“No, Travis,” Meredith gasped. “You can’t.”