Sherri Shackelford - His Substitute Mail-Order Bride

His chest constricted. He hadn’t known that his fiancée was in love with another man until she’d broken off the engagement. She’d begged him to accept the blame, and Russ had gone along with the ruse. Her father, Mr. Darby, had a reputation as a harsh man, and Russ had been swayed by Charlotte’s pleading.

He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “How is your sister? Well, I hope.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her in years. Not since she, um, not since she married.”

Not since she’d thrown him over and eloped. “Surely you write letters.”

“No.”

Russ raised an eyebrow. The clipped answer effectively slammed the door on any further questions. He searched his memory but couldn’t recall any animosity between the sisters. Then again, he’d been distracted. Though he’d worked as a lawyer in the army, his title had been more honorary than official. He’d had to apply for his law license upon his discharge. He’d been finishing up the studies he’d abandoned upon his conscription while working long hours as an apprentice at a law firm.

He didn’t remember the Darby family with any warmth. The episode with Charlotte had been publicly humiliating. Her father’s tirade had been blistering. Though Russ had taken the blame for breaking off the engagement, Charlotte’s speedy elopement had spoken volumes. Only the most gullible of the gossips had been fooled. His fiancée had been in love with someone else the whole time he’d been courting her. Russ was only human, after all, and the betrayal had smarted.

Anna had been one of the few pleasant memories he recalled from that time. She’d had a ready smile and a sharp humor, even at her young age. While Charlotte had been demure and shy, Anna was an energetic hoyden with a taste for adventure.

She’d also been given to pranks. “Do you recall the time you climbed the oak tree in the backyard and dropped acorns on us?”

“Yes.” A ghost of a smile danced around the edges of her mouth. “Charlotte was livid. It wasn’t the first time I’d ruined a romantic moment between her and one of her suitors.” Two dots of color appeared on Anna’s cheeks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s all right.” Russ shrugged. “Everything worked out for the best. Both Charlotte and I arrived where we needed to be. We just took the long way around.”

He hadn’t known Charlotte any more than he’d known Susannah. Given his current circumstances, Charlotte’s elopement had been a blessing in disguise. If he’d stayed in Philadelphia, he’d still be toiling in the basement of a crowded law firm as an underling. Out west, he’d thrived in his practice. As the years passed, he recognized that his pride had pained him more than his heart, but back then, he’d been too young to tell the difference.

Anna met his sidelong gaze. “Then you’re content living in Cowboy Creek?”

“I am.” Russ cleared his throat. “What are your plans? You’ve come all this way, after all.”

She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “If you want to read Susannah’s letter, I can drive the mule.”

The change of subject piqued his curiosity. Each time he asked a personal question, she turned the tables on him.

“Reading the letter won’t change anything,” Russ said. “Your explanation seemed clear enough.”

Two months before, Will had convinced him to send for a mail-order bride. The mayor had decided to run for the Senate and had convinced Russ to campaign for the local office in his place. Voters preferred the stability of a married man over a bachelor, and Russ was ready to settle down and start a family. After corresponding with Susannah Lowe, he’d finally sent for her. Their letters had been cordial. They’d both agreed to a marriage of mutual convenience. Russ had needed a wife to legitimize his political career, and Susannah had been looking for a husband.

For the second time, his fiancée had left him for another man. At least with Susannah, they’d never actually met in person. Charlotte’s betrayal had been more difficult to bear. Especially since he suspected that Charlotte had only been encouraging him to make another man jealous. A colleague had hinted at the rumors, but Russ had ignored the warning. His frustration at Charlotte’s behavior had been directed as much at Charlotte as at himself. He’d seen what he wanted to see. A fault that ran in his family.

Nine years before, a drought had struck his hometown of Big Bend, Missouri, and the ranchers had fallen upon hard times. A ruthless entrepreneur, Zane Ogden, had appeared with a charming smile and a friendly offer of assistance. With a seemingly endless supply of money, he made loans to various ranchers. The initial deals had seemed too good to be true. They were. The fine print required ruinous interest payments and stiff penalties, including the loss of the ranches put up as collateral.

Russ’s father, Gilbert, had been the unofficial leader of the local ranching community, and he’d warned people to stay away from Ogden. When several friends became entangled in Ogden’s web, his father had agreed to speak with the man and see if anything could be done. Those were the facts that Russ knew for certain. The subsequent events were filled with conjecture and guesswork, a mystery that had torn a rift between his two brothers, Seth and Adam.

As far as anyone knew, their father had gone to Ogden’s home late one evening and had never returned. To everyone’s shock, despite his advice to others, their father had taken out a loan. When he couldn’t repay the balance, he’d fled from his debts and his responsibilities. Russ had initially been skeptical, but Zane had produced paperwork containing a signature from their father, with the sheriff as the witness, showing that he’d taken out a substantial loan. Russ figured his father must have lied to his friends about borrowing the money because he was ashamed. Unable to pay back the loan, he’d abandoned his family.

Initially, Russ had struggled with the truth. The man he knew as his father was forthright and honorable. He’d never abandon his family. Over the years, Russ’s opinion had shifted. There were people in this world who could sell sand in the desert. There were people who could steal the pension from a widowed grandmother without blinking. There were people who made their living off the misfortunes of others. His father, like so many others before and after, had merely fallen prey to a charming swindler.

By working around the clock to squeeze out every cent of profit, his older brother, Seth, was able to pay off the loan in full, saving the family ranch from foreclosure.

Seth was convinced their father had never signed the paperwork and was killed, though the body had never been found. Russ believed their father had signed the paperwork and abandoned the family. The difference of opinion had driven a wedge between the brothers.

His father’s shame had compelled Russ in his law career to assist those being swindled or left out in the cold due to flaws in bureaucracy. He’d made a name for himself fighting for veterans’ rights after the Civil War, which put him in correspondence with various former soldiers, including the leaders of Cowboy Creek.

Eventually, Will Canfield invited him to come out and open a law practice in their booming town. Russ had accepted, and when he saw the endless opportunities in the area, he’d encouraged his mother and Seth to sell the ranch and buy land in Kansas. Though Russ had his own house and business in town, at least they’d all be closer. Last autumn, they’d taken him up on the offer.

He’d put the incident with Charlotte in the past, or so he’d thought. Apparently, the past had just caught up to him. Anna’s unexpected arrival along with Susannah’s defection had stirred up all the old feelings. He was as much embarrassed for the man he’d been as for what had happened. There was too much of his father in him. He’d run from Charlotte’s betrayal rather than face the humiliation.