Mail Order Bride and The Mix-up (A Western Romance Book)(COMPLETED)

Chapter 16

Ira awoke in a room at the far end of the hotel in Angel's Reach, where the majority of the townswomen slept, and stepped into the hall, eager for the new day to begin. He found two women seated there, guns on their hips. They rose when he came out and smiled cordially at him as though they'd merely been sitting there passing the time instead of keeping watch over him.

Ira tried not to take offense. He reminded himself that he was in a town full of women, where only two men had been allowed to remain on a permanent basis. If not for Cadence, Gertrude, and Austin speaking up for him, he did not think he'd have been allowed to stay the night at all.

Belle, he remembered, had stood idly by as the town questioned him. There were fifty or so women in all, and each of them had had their turn with him. It had taken an hour for them to finish their interrogation of him, and by then the sun was fully down and fatigue had set in.

The final decision on whether or not he could stay had come down to a vote. Austin and Barrett, the only other man in the town, each had a vote as well. It had fallen in his favor, but only by five or six votes.

He tried to remember the names of his guards, who had both voted to cast him out, and drew a blank. For a town so small, he could not help feeling entirely trapped by the women around him.

"Good morning," his guars said merrily, tapping their guns as if to remind him they were there, waiting to be used should the need arise. "We're to take you to breakfast."

He smiled politely at them, figuring that good manners would get him further than bad ones. "Lead the way," he told them. One led him out of the hotel, the other followed behind him.

Breakfast was served in the saloon, which he saw was no saloon at all, at least not anymore. It seemed to act as a sort of meeting hall for the women. He saw no whiskey in the place, nor any sign that there ever had been except for a long bar covered now with plates, silverware, and the smells of fresh bread and other assorted foods.

He looked for Belle and did not immediately see her. His heart sank in disappointment when he thought she would not be joining them, but then her face appeared amidst a group of six or seven women who'd assembled themselves at the bar preparing to serve. A line formed at one end, and Ira's guards prodded him towards it.

When it came his turn, he held his plate out to Belle. "Good morning," he said, and Belle placed bread, eggs, and some sort of miniature pie upon it. She said not one word to him as she did so and barely glanced at him.

"I hope you slept well," he said, holding up the line now. His guards told him to move on, but he held back another moment, desperate to gain her eye.

"I had a terrible nightmare that you were eaten by a rabid frog," he told her.

Belle finally looked at him. "Who ever heard of getting eaten by a frog?" she said.

"It was quite a large frog," he told her. "At least six feet tall."

She shook her head and went back to work. "Even your dreams are ridiculous," she said, but despite the irritation in her voice, there was a smirk on her face as though she were fighting back laughter.

Once the line had thinned, those women who'd done the serving served themselves and took seats at the various saloon tables. Ira rose from his seat to go and join her, but one of his guards took his arm and sat him back down. He noticed Belle watching them though. He smiled at her, and she immediately turned away.

Ira began to wonder if he was wasting his time here. Cadence and Austin were seated in the corner of the saloon with the only other married couple in the place. They were clearly talking about him, and he began to get agitated. Must everyone in this town act as though he were a madman?

Gertrude came over and took the seat opposite him. He was relieved to see a face he recognized, especially one who did not seem immediately distrustful of him. Her eyes showed kindness, and he drank it up.

"How is it?" Gertrude asked, and he looked blankly at her. "The food," she said.

"Oh. It's fine." He looked down at his plate. "Where did you get eggs? I haven't seen any livestock."

"We acquired a few chickens about a month ago and keep them in a barn at the end of town, near our horse stable."

He shook his head. "I thought Angel's Reach was supposed to be a ghost town."

"Used to be a ghost town," she corrected him. "It's been some months now since we've opened it back up." She looked around and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Don't give up on Belle," she whispered.

He looked at her. "Excuse me?"

She indicated Belle with her eyes. "She loves you, she's just stubborn. And she's been hurt before."

Ira looked back at Belle and caught her in the act of already looking at him. She blushed and looked quickly away. "I love her," he said, not trying to be quiet about it. He had nothing to hide anymore. Several of the women looked at him, including his guards. "I proposed to her, you know."

Gertrude nodded. "She told me."

His guards gasped, and the chatter began to quiet down as all eyes fell on him. Belle kept looking at him then looking away. He decided that he'd come this far, and he would not waste the opportunity.

He stood up and headed over to Belle, who had set her fork down and was watching him. His guards were so transfixed by what was going on they didn't think to go after him. They wanted to see how the scene played out.

"Ira, go away," Belle said, looking around as if for help, but Ira wasn't taking no for an answer this time.

He went around to Belle and took hold of her hand. She struggled against him, but he pulled her up and kissed her. Her lips were soft and warm and salty from the food. She pressed the palms of her hands against his chest and, slowly, he felt her give herself over to him.

"Belle," he whispered, pulling away. "I love—"

Something hard hit the base of his skull. He felt an instant of pain, and the world suddenly went black.

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