Mail Order Bride: Captured Hearts: a Clean Western Historical Romance (Mail Order Brides of Gold Creek Book 6) (4 page)

Mollie looked up at the old wooden house, which she imagined must have been quite luxurious in its day. It was imposing, reaching three stories and with verandahs that wound their way around its every edge. After a few tense moments of silence, in which she wondered if they had really come to the right place, she could hear all manner of chaos breaking out, hollering and gun shots echoing within its wooden walls.

It struck fear deep into her heart and she looked down at Huyana, expecting to see her afraid and ready to comfort her. The little girl stood stoic, her beauty fierce, staring at the house. She put her hands on her hips and stood firm upon the ground, watching the house with piercing eyes, as if she could see what transpired inside as it happened.

Mollie saw movement around the side of the house on the top story verandah, so she walked to where she could get a better view and saw what she assumed must be a bandit, tussling with one of the Arikara warriors. She hated to see people fight and it set her heart beating so fast that she wondered if it would fail her.

She turned back to Huyana, hoping to gain some strength from her fearless power, but to her shock, the little girl was gone. She spun around, frantic.

“Huyana?” she called out, but received no reply.

She then split the bushes and saw Huyana running as fast as she could toward the grand old house and up the steps.

“Huyana! No!” she cried out, then scrambled through the bushes to follow her.

She dashed up the steps after her and into the empty hallway. Huyana was already halfway up the stairs, her small bare feet pounding on them with so much strength that it sounded like a fully grown warrior. Mollie sped up the staircase much faster than Huyana could, so was able to swoop in and grab her. Huyana fought and struggled for a moment, but when she caught chance eye contact with Mollie she stopped and allowed herself to be carried down the stairs.

When they were halfway back down, a man came out of a side room and stood at the bottom of the staircase, brandishing a gun and pointing it right at Mollie’s head. She screamed and ran back up the stairs, Huyana jumping out of her arms and going up the stairs on all fours, as swiftly as a cat.

“Get her!” the man shouted behind them, sounding scarily close.

Just a few feet ahead of him, Mollie was glad for the sharp angle of the corridor that would hide them from his view. She guided Huyana into the corridor then onto a side room, where they hid behind the door. She had to hold her breath to keep from panting so loudly that it would attract attention. She put her finger on her lips to show Huyana that she needed to be quiet.

“Come out,” the man said.

They could hear his footsteps on the creaking boards outside and Mollie feared that perhaps these would be their last moments. Within her terror she also felt a pang of guilt – now Antinanco’s daughter, the man who had risked everything to help her, would die and it was all her fault for not watching her. She clutched Huyana and wished that she could go back in time to a few moments ago, so she could have prevented her from making that fateful break.

The moment she had dreaded finally arrived as the man stood at the threshold and fired blindly into the room.

“I know you’re in there!” he said, as the bullet tore its way through the wooden wall.

All of a sudden there was another gun shot and the sound of a tussle as two men roared and a large thump followed. Mollie uncovered her eyes and looked through the crack in the door. She could see that a cowboy had pinned the bandit to the ground and they struggled together, dealing heavy blows to each other and gripping and rolling across the floor.

“Run!” the cowboy hollered.

She didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed Huyana by the hand and pulled her along as they fled down the stairs, though Huyana struggled against her, desperate to fight. Halfway down the stairs, Mollie turned to see that the cowboy was Ira! She instantly recognized him from his picture in Matrimonial News.

“Ira!” she said.

He looked up momentarily.

“Mollie,” he whispered.

The bandit took advantage of Ira’s shock and dealt him a hearty blow to the head. Huyana took advantage of Mollie’s hesitation and ran back up the stairs. Before anyone knew what had happened Huyana delivered an almighty stomp to the bandit’s head. He screamed out in pain and was disorientated enough for Ira to gain control of the tussle, roll him over and tie him to the banister. He knocked him over the head for good measure, then got to his feet.

The three of them, Ira, Mollie and Huyana, stared at each other for a moment.

“I’m gonna blow it!” they heard someone shout as a thunder of footsteps sounded on the second staircase.

“Come on!” said Ira, grabbing Mollie and Huyana and leading them down the first staircase. “Let’s go!”

By the time they were halfway down the stairs, a huge crowd of people had emerged on the landing they had been standing on, the Arikara and bandits pummeling each other, though the former were clearly the stronger.

“I’m gonna blow it!” one of the bandits hollered again.

“No!” said another bandit. “Are you crazy?”

“Dynamite!” said one of the Arikara.

There was an immediate stampede to the stairs and Ira hauled Huyana over his shoulder and held Mollie’s hand as they raced down the staircase and out of the front door. They ran as far as the bushes, panting and terrified, and watched the Arinkara pour out of the door after them.

When they saw that the bandits had reached the front door too, they ducked through the bushes. The last thing they saw was two bandits arguing on the threshold, then there was a colossal explosion and the entire building burst into flames.

While the rest of the Arikara celebrated in cheering and joyful song, Huyana immediately ran to Antinanco and he swept her up into his arms. They clutched each other and she buried her head into his strong shoulder.

Mollie watched them, so glad that they were reunited. Her heart overflowed with gratitude toward these beautiful people and her first instinct was to go and thank them, but they were clearly so wrapped up in each other that she had not the heart to interrupt them.

And there he was.
Ira.
The man who she had never met before but was somehow the exclusive owner of her heart. They regarded each other for a long, intense moment. He breathed out deeply.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” she replied, suddenly self-conscious and looking down at her feet.

He reached under her chin gently and brought it up to look at him.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said. “Maybe for my whole life.”

“I’m here,” she said.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

With that, he leaned in and kissed her. It was just the lightest brush of his lips against hers at first, but within moments they melted into one another, their souls intertwining as they lost themselves in a deep, passionate kiss. It felt as if the world disappeared around them as they were carried away to the new wondrous realms their union created, soaring high above Gold Creek and its wide plains, above the vast blue sky and the clouds, above everything that either of them had ever known existed.

***

The next time they kissed was the day that Mollie had so long anticipated. She pulled away from Ira with a big smile and he ran his finger down one of her dark braids that Huyana’s mother had done for her. To honor his bravery in saving Huyana (though he always claimed that actually Huyana had saved him), Ira had been given a magnificent feathered headdress made for him by Antinanco and his warriors. He wore it with pride atop of his regular shirt and trousers, and gazed at Mollie with blissful admiration.

The Chief of the Arikara stood tall before them, Antinanco standing just behind his left shoulder.

The Chief spoke in his language and held out his hands toward them.

Antinanco draped Mollie’s shoulders with a blue blanket, then Ira’s. He then translated what the Chief said.

“We give thanks to the Great Spirit for bringing us all together to fight the forces that destroy our world and our people. We stand together as allies and the tribe of Arikara offers you our support in this most holy of marriages.”

Mollie’s heart melted as Ira smiled at her. There was no doubt in her heart that she was doing the right thing.

“Huyana,” Antinanco said.

Huyana approached Ira, carrying a small bag. She offered it to him and he took a gold ring from inside it.

“Mollie,” he said. “Will you bestow upon me the honor of being your husband?”

“Of course!” she said.

Antinanco laughed and translated for the crowd, who laughed along. Mollie and Ira laughed with them.

“I love you, Ira,” she said.

Ira looked into her eyes with a sincerity so deep that it touched her very soul.

“And I love you, Mollie,” he replied.

He slipped the gold ring onto her wedding finger and she thought that she had never seen anything so beautiful.

The Chief spoke again and Antinanco translated.

“You are now man and wife. We ask the Great Spirit to guide you in your union and ensure that it lasts even beyond death.”

Antinanco removed the blue blankets from their shoulders and gestured that they stand side by side. The Chief picked up large white blanket and draped it over both their shoulders. He then placed one hand on Ira’s head and the other on Mollie’s and spoke.

“Blessings to you,” Antinanco translated.

The Arikara people began to cheer and rejoice as Ira and Mollie made their ceremonial procession through the camp. Huyana ran alongside them and handed Mollie a flower. Mollie clutched it to her chest and smiled, her heart filled with gratitude.

Abe and Curtis helped her up onto the white horse that had been arranged for them, while Ira climbed up in front of her. She held onto him around the waist with one arm and waved goodbye to the Arikara with the others.

“Thank you, thank you!” she said.

Both she and Ira gave a small bow to the Chief and to Antinanco, then Ira turned the horse and they set off through the forest and back to Gold Creek as man and wife.

They spent the first half of their journey in blissful silence, taking in the scenery which took on quite a new, spiritual character in light of their experiences. Mollie felt as if she were in heaven itself. Soon they came to a spot with a view of the mountains so achingly beautiful that Ira drew the horse to a halt and they simply held each other and took in the majesty of it.

“What is your dream?” he asked.

“To see my mother get better,” she replied immediately.

He turned to her and squeezed her hand.

“I will do everything in my power to make that happen,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said.

Her heart was moved to have a man who cared so deeply for her.

“What is your dream?” she asked.

“To become a teacher first,” he replied. “Then to open a school for the poor.”

“Oh yes,” she said, remembering his letters. “What a noble occupation.”

“But it will never happen here,” he said sadly.

Mollie looked over Gold Creek, fully aware that the majority of the population was made up of single men. There were very few children.

“We don’t have to stay here,” she said. “We could go to Virginia. You’d be able to find work as a teacher there.”

“You really think so?”

“Definitely,” she said, then added with a sad smile, “and there are plenty of poor children.”

“It’s happening, Ma, it’s really happening!” Mollie said. “Go get Ira, please, go get him!”

“I’ll go,” said Silas, throwing on his jacket and sprinting out the door.

“Stay calm, darling,” Nell said, “and remember your breathing.”

“Yes, Ma,” Mollie said. “I’ll try.”

Another squeezing contraction came, rendering her barely able to breathe through the pain.

“It hurts, Ma,” she groaned.

“I know, baby, I know,” her mother said. “Now breathe in.”

Mollie did as she was told, taking little sips of air and then a deep breath.

“If you don’t fight against it you can ride on the wave of the contraction,” her mother said. “That way it won’t hurt so much.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” Mollie snapped, feeling as if her body was about to break.

She looked over at her mother, and at where her tumor had been, and felt guilty for speaking to her in such a harsh way. After all, it had only been a few months before that they had been at the hospital, anxiously waiting to find out if Nell had survived the surgery.

“Oh, Ma, I’m sorry,” she said. “I just wish Ira was here too.”

“He’ll be here as quickly as he can,” her mother said soothingly. “He might just have to get someone else to take over his class.”

“Yes,” said Mollie, gritting her teeth through the last moment of the contraction. “I know. I need him here with me.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be here,” said her mother. “He wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now would you like a cup of tea?”

“Yes please,” Mollie said.

She exhaled with relief as the contraction was over.

“Why does this have to hurt so much?”

“Good question,” her mother said. “But I think a better question might be why do we keep having babies when we know it hurts so much?”

“I can assure you this will be my first and last,” said Mollie.

Her mother chuckled as she put the teapot on the stove.

“You say that now,” she said.

“Yes, I do,” Mollie said emphatically. “And I mean it!”

“I’m just going upstairs to get some sheets for us to arrange down here,” her mother said.

“All right,” Mollie said.

Mollie put her hands on her belly and imagined the child she was about to meet for the very first time. It warmed her heart to picture a child in her mind’s eye, a perfect mix of Ira and herself, their love bonding them into one person in human form. There couldn’t be a more flawless expression of their love than that. She hoped and prayed, as she had for every day of her pregnancy, that she would be able to give the child the love and care it deserved and needed to thrive.

She imagined a little girl throwing crunching leaves in bundles in fall, watching them scatter around her as she laughed joyfully, then a little boy racing around the house playing cowboys and Indians. Though of course, both she and Ira would make sure it was cowboys and Indians together, versus the bandits, for that had been their story. She thought of the Chief and Antinanco and little Huyana, who seemed like little more than distant memories by then, and her heart felt warm and comforted. She vowed that she would never forget their help for as long as she lived, and that she would teach her children about how the Arikara brought their Mama and Papa together.

Ira rushed through the door, his eyes frantic.

“Are you all right, my darling?” he asked, clutching her hand.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m better now.”

Although another contraction was coming and she knew that unbearable pain was to come, it was firm in her mind that it was only part of a process.

“I love you,” he said.

“And I love you,” she said to him.

Her mother came down the stairs and they arranged the sheets around the living room. Mollie began to sip her steaming cup of tea but she was only half way through it when the contractions sped up to be so close together that there was barely a break between them.

“I think the baby’s coming!” she said.

The rest of the labor was a blur as the unbelievable pain overwhelmed her. All she could concentrate on was trying to breathe as her mother instructed, though she wanted to scream out in agony. She dug her nails into Ira’s left hand so much that he squealed.

“You think that hurts?!” Mollie said.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ira said, giving her his right hand.

Before she knew what was happening she was pushing and everything in the world faded away until she didn’t know where the pain ended and she began. And then it was all over.

“It’s a girl!” her mother cried out.

Mollie was overwhelmed with joy and Ira kissed her, his own eyes brimming with joyful tears. Nell placed the tiny baby girl on Mollie’s chest. Mollie had never experienced such an all-consuming wonder and love and gratitude as she did then, looking down at their perfect little girl.

“She’s so beautiful,” Ira breathed. “Our baby. Our own baby.”

Tears of joy flooded down Mollies face as she spoke.

“Yes, yes she is.”

Her mother leaned over and stroked the tiny girl’s cheek with her finger.

“So… what’s her name?” she asked.

Mollie looked up at Ira and smiled.

“Huyana,” they both said together.

Thank you for reading
Captured Hearts
. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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