Noelle Marchand - The Runaway Bride

“If you wait here, I can get the buggy and drive you home.”

Her heart stilled at the sound of Sean’s voice. She gritted her teeth. “No, thank you. I’ll walk.”

“Now, Lorelei—” His deep voice drawled.

Her blue eyes lifted to meet his suspiciously. “Why are you here?”

“Lawson asked me to see you home.”

Frowning, she rooted around for the other shoe. “I don’t need anyone to see me home.”

He lifted an imperious brow, and she barely kept from rolling her eyes. She knew what that meant. Sean was Lawson’s best friend. If Lawson asked him to see her home, then Sean would see her home out of respect for his friend’s wishes even if he couldn’t stand her. No doubt he saw it as his duty, and if that was the case Sheriff Sean O’Brien would never back down.

“Fine,” she bit out. “We’ll walk.” She handed him her boots a little too forcefully, then lifted her skirts out of the dust as she crossed Main Street. It lacked its usual bustle since most of the town was still at the church waiting for word about her wedding. Still, there were plenty of folks around to gape at her, so she darted into the alleyway behind the post office to hide from their curious eyes. She ignored her companion as she led him through the alleyways to the residential area of town. Finally, Lorelei stopped on the stairs of her family’s porch and faced Sean to murmur, “Thank you for walking me home.”

He frowned and crossed his arms as he surveyed her. “I think you’re making a mistake.”

He always did. A vague cloud of disappointment settled over her at his disapproval, but she’d come to expect it. For so long she’d waited for her feelings for him to change. They had. They’d gone from a desperate unrequited yearning to a hollow ache. She wasn’t sure that counted as progress. She hid her feelings with an impudent tilt of her head. “And I’m supposed to care what you think because…?”

His eyes flashed with annoyance at her decidedly rude tone. She didn’t wait for his response. Instead, she stepped into the house and closed the door firmly behind her. Leaning against it, she lifted her shaking hands to cover her face as the impact of what she’d done finally began to settle in. She didn’t regret her decision to call off the wedding. She just could not believe she’d let it go this far. At least she’d done the right thing in the end.

Of course, the town wouldn’t soon forget the day a bride hauled up her skirts and dashed out of the church rather than finish the ceremony. Facing her parents when they arrived home would be hard. Facing Lawson in town in the days to come would be harder. And facing any more of Sean O’Brien’s disapproval would be hardest of all. She shook her head. Somehow she had to get away from the memories, the murmurs and the men.

“Well, why shouldn’t I?” she whispered to the empty house. She was already packed and ready to leave for the honeymoon to her great-aunt’s house in California. The train ticket was in her reticule. There was no reason not to go. She’d change out of her finery, and if her parents weren’t home by the time she was done, she’d just write them a note. Either way, she was leaving—now.

She could only hope that distance would do what time had failed to accomplish by ridding her of whatever feelings she had left for Sean O’Brien once and for all.

* * *

The late-afternoon sun burst through the nearby window to gleam off the metal star on Sean’s dark green shirt. He heaved a sigh, then tapped his pencil on the paperwork in front of him to expend his frustration and anger. His mind kept replaying the scene that had taken place at the church that morning. How dare Lorelei walk out on his best friend like that? The couple had been together for almost two years, despite his original prediction that the relationship wouldn’t last more than six months. He’d started to think Lorelei might not be as impulsive, unpredictable and flighty as he’d imagined. She’d proven him wrong—again.

He’d spent the past several hours sorting out the mess Lorelei had made of the wedding so Lawson wouldn’t have to. Lawson had been abandoned by his parents as a child and forced to drift from town to town in order to survive. Sean’s family had taken him in when he’d shown up in Peppin at age fourteen. Several months later, Doc and Mrs. Lettie had adopted him, but Lawson had stayed close to Sean and his family. They were practically brothers as far as Sean was concerned. His friend of ten years didn’t deserve the treatment Lorelei had just dealt him.

Lorelei Wilkins had been a thorn in Sean’s side since grade school days when she’d informed the whole school that they would get married one day. He’d been annoyed then, but by the time he’d turned nineteen the idea hadn’t seemed so awful. Lorelei had become the belle of Peppin. She could have had any guy in town, but she’d made him think he was the one she wanted. Nothing had been said between them, but he’d started to plan for her. He’d left his family’s farm and accepted the position of sheriff to save up enough money to provide for her. He’d even carved a pitiful wooden promise ring.

He’d waited for the perfect moment to express his intentions. Then, just when the time seemed right, she suddenly chose his best friend. She’d become Lawson’s girl practically overnight, and Sean had finally gotten a glimpse of her true character—impulsive, unsteady and completely unreliable. He hadn’t said a word to anyone about her betrayal. Instead, he’d pretended she hadn’t just landed a punch to his heart that would leave him reeling for years.

He realized his pencil was tapping in cadence with the ticking of the nearby clock and threw it aside. He’d be better off pacing the streets than sitting at his desk. He was just pushing his chair aside when the door flew open. Richard Wilkins, the president of the town’s only bank and Lorelei Wilkins’s father, stepped inside with Lawson right behind him.

Sean’s eyebrows lifted at the grim looks on the men’s faces. He settled back into his chair, then motioned them to the seats across from him. He gaze bounced between their worried eyes questioningly. “What’s wrong?”

Richard settled into his chair with a dejected slump. “Something has happened to Lorelei.”

Sean frowned. “Is she hurt?”

“No.” Lawson shook his head. “She’s gone.”

Sean’s stomach dropped to his boots with a surprising amount of dread. He stared at the men. “You mean she’s dead?”

Richard abruptly straightened in his seat. “Of course not, boy! She just up and disappeared while we were all shutting down the wedding and packing up the reception.”

Sean sighed. That was exactly the kind of stunt Lorelei would pull in a situation like this. Nevertheless, he readied his notebook and grabbed a pencil. “She couldn’t have gone far. How long has she been missing?”

Lawson shot a glance at Richard. “Well, she isn’t missing exactly.”

The pencil hovering over the notebook hesitated as he glanced up at the men across from him in confusion. “Then y’all know where she is?”

“No,” Lawson said just as Richard said, “Yes.”

Sean lowered his pencil in tempered exasperation. “Well, which is it?”

“My daughter has run away.”

“You mean she truly ran away, as in she’s left town?” At Richard’s nod, Sean frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure because she left this.” Her father handed him a folded piece of paper.

He studied the written note carefully. “She says she wants a new life for herself and is going to live with her great-aunt in California.”

“Keep going.”

“She begs you to let her go and—” he glanced up sharply to meet Lawson’s gaze before continuing quietly “—and not to send Lawson.”