A Woman Worth Marrying-End

When she got the horses moving, she looked back and saw that he had stumbled out and was staggering after her. Annabelle let out a high scream of fear and whipped the horses to go faster. When they started running faster, she felt her heart pound against her chest. The road was slippery and it was dark. She couldn’t see where she was going and she screamed when the wheel hit a rock and the carriage tipped over. She landed on her back and felt the rocks probe into her skin. She felt dizzy as she got up and started running when she felt hands grab her hair.

            “Come here, you ungrateful whore!” he yelled.       

            She screamed as he pulled her toward him. She flung her hands around and it smacked him in the face, but it did nothing to stop him. He grabbed onto her arms and his fingers dug into her skin. She pushed him and when he stumbled backward, he took her with him. They both fell to the ground and she landed on top of him. She felt around her for anything to use and her hands landed on a rock. Grabbing it, she brought it up above her head when he grabbed her hands and turned her over. He pinned her down and smacked her across the face. She gasped as he took the rock from her hand and threw it away.

            “Now, I’m going to make you pay for getting my new suit dirty,” he said.

           

            Boone stared at the sharp knife that was now red from the fire as Jedidiah brought it to his cheek. Jedidiah made sure he could feel the heat against his cheek. He watched as Boone’s eyes darted back and forth, sweat pouring down his face. Boone was tied to a chair, sweating like a pig, and Jedidiah would make him sweat some more unless he got some answers.

            “Tell me where my wife is or I swear, you’ll be walking with a scar for the rest of your life,” he threatened.

            “I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where she is.”

            Jedidiah placed the knife on his cheek and Boone screamed as the heat burned his skin. When he took it off, his flesh was nice and pink. It wasn’t burned yet, but he had a long way to go. “We could do this all night long, Boone. Now tell me.”

            “I don’t know!”

            Jedidiah removed the knife from his cheek and pointed it between his legs. “Should I give you one more reason to be less of a man?”

            Boone screamed and tears rolled down his face. “Damn it! I told you I didn’t know!”

            “You’re lying! You’re Ty’s right hand man! He’d want someone to know if he were to be killed. Now you tell me or I swear I’ll remove that organ from you.”

            Boone started crying as he looked up at Jedidiah. “It’s James Wenton. He’s the buyer. If she’s anywhere, she’ll be at his place.”

            The lights were on in the house as Jedidiah crawled slowly up James Wenton’s mansion. Bruce, Sam, and Hunter were in the back in case he were to bolt out back. There was an upturned carriage not far down the street and he bet anything his wife tried to escape. His heart was pounding as he crawled to the house and listened to the door. It was silent and he tried the knob. It was locked. He swore and walked around to the back where he found his men waiting in the bushes. He signaled them to get ready as he walked to the back door. He tried the knob and this one opened. He walked in to find the house empty for a few lights on. He saw that there was a broken vase near the entrance of the house. And then he heard her voice. It was coming from up the stairs and she was screaming his name. He bolted up the stairs and kicked the door open. James was straddling her and all he saw was red. He pointed his gun and shot him point blank. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell over as she scrambled to her feet, slamming her body against his. She was sobbing as he held her against his chest.

            “Shh, baby, I’m here,” he said.

            He held her as she cried until she was spent. Then when he pulled away and stared at her face, he realized for the first time, he’d been in love with her the moment they first collided. It just took a bit to kick in. He helped her stand up and he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

            “Let’s get out of here.”

           

            Annabelle sat in the swing in the back and watched as the sun went down and she wrapped her arms around herself. It had been a long week and she’d finally been able to sleep without nightmares. She swallowed down the fear and told herself everything would be all right. Ty was gone and so were his threats. She’d return to find the sheriff dethroned and hung for the public to see. Then after some tender care from Mia, she’d slowly eased back into herself. At night, Jedidiah kept the nightmares away by holding her against him and listening as she told him her fears. But his kisses took the pain away and slowly she began to heal. The first time she was able to tell him she loved him was when he made love to her and she cried it out as he made her sing. Then he burst into tears and told her how scared he was when he couldn’t find her. She smiled, thinking back to the memory.

            She heard a noise and turned around to find Jedidiah walking out to join her. He sat down beside her and wrapped one arm around her, pulling her close. He planted a kiss on her head and dipped his toe to get the swing into motion.   

            “I love you,” he said.

            Smiling, she said, “I love you, too.”

            “You sure about that? You won’t miss your old life?”        

            She looked up at him. “Jedidiah, I didn’t start living until I met you.”

            He smiled and tilted her chin up to kiss her. When he pulled away, his eyes were smoky and in a very husky tone, he asked, “Shall we go light up the bed?”