Rhonda Gibson - The Marshal's Promise

A bride without a groom

Mail-order bride Rebecca Ramsey arrives in the New Mexico territory full of dreams—but they’re shattered when she discovers her intended husband has been killed. If it weren’t for U.S. marshal Seth Billings’s housekeeping job offer, she’d have nowhere to go. Rebecca loves tending to Seth’s home, but the strong and silent lawman is harder to figure out. What secret is he hiding?

Caring for Jesse Cole’s would-be bride is the least Seth can do. If it weren’t for him, the young man would still be alive. Seth had promised to look after Rebecca—and to keep her safe from Jesse’s enemies. Now if only he can keep his heart safe, as well....

Seth felt closer to Rebecca than he’d ever felt to another woman.

But he knew that he wouldn’t put any woman through the dangers and loss of being married to a lawman. It had cost Clare her life, and that was before they’d even wed. Looking into Rebecca’s eyes, Seth knew her love would be true and strong.

“You are turning out to be a good friend, Seth,” Rebecca said.

Her gentle smile created a longing in him to take back her hand and never let it go. He told himself that this was a simple reaction from learning that Rebecca had suffered losses much like him.

He hated the thought that his actions had caused her even more loss. Jesse Cole would have been a good husband to her.

Once Rebecca learned the truth of the circumstances of Jesse’s death, would she still want to be friends with him?

RHONDA GIBSON

lives in New Mexico with her husband, James. She has two children and two beautiful grandchildren. Reading is something she has enjoyed her whole life, and writing stemmed from that love. When she isn’t writing or reading, she enjoys gardening, beading and playing with her dog, Sheba. She speaks at conferences and local writing groups. You can visit her at www.rhondagibson.com, where she enjoys chatting with readers and friends online. Rhonda hopes her writing will entertain, encourage and bring others closer to God.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

but it is the Lord’s plan that prevails.

—Proverbs 19:21

Books are never written alone—friends and family are always supporting the author in various ways. This book is for Kathryn Velarde Baharmi and Janet Lee Barton. Thank you both

for all that you do for me. You are true sisters—maybe not blood, but definitely sisters.

James Gibson—

without you my idea well would surely run dry.

I love you more than words can express.

And above all to my Lord and Savior.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Cottonwood Springs, New Mexico Territory, 1885

“Please don’t cry, Miss Rebecca.”

“I’m not crying,” Rebecca Ramsey said, brushing at the tears that had caught her by surprise. “I— I’ve got something in my eye.”

Grace Miller’s young eyes chided her less-than-honest answer.

“Yes, I am crying. I shouldn’t have fibbed about it. Please forgive me?” At the child’s smile and nod, Rebecca continued, “It’s just that, I never expected Mr. Cole to be dead.” She’d never met the man she’d been engaged to marry in person, so the tears were more for her and what she’d lost than for Jesse Cole.

Rebecca tried to ignore the presence of U.S. Marshal Seth Billings, who stood beside the door. He had been the bearer of the bad news that her intended groom had been killed. Did he know she’d answered a mail-order-bride ad? Probably not.

He held his hat in his hands, waiting for her reaction. His broad shoulders seemed slumped under the tan shirt and brown vest he wore. There was a U.S. Marshal’s star on his chest. Her gaze moved upward to where his sorrowful brown eyes bored into hers.

The rich texture of his voice drifted across the short space between them. “I’ll be happy to pay your train ticket back to…” He stopped and looked at her.

The question in his eyes prompted her to say, “Maryland?”

“Maryland.” He nodded his head.

What did she have to go back to Maryland for? Her stepmother had made it clear she was no longer needed or welcome in her father’s house. The only job available to her, a woman of twenty, was personal maid to the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Ellicott City.

Rebecca didn’t like the job or the daughter. No, Rebecca Ramsey would not be returning to Maryland anytime soon. She squared her shoulders and stood. “Thank you, Marshal, but that won’t be necessary.”

Seth Billings gritted his teeth; the muscles worked in his jaw. “What will you do, then?” His harsh words cut through her tattered emotions.

Fresh tears threatened to spill over. Rebecca cleared her throat. She wouldn’t let it close up on her now. “I will think of something, Marshal. Thank you for coming by and telling me about…” She couldn’t finish the sentence and the words hung in the tense room like the scent of burned bread. Rebecca focused on Grace’s small back as the child went into the kitchen.

“Well,” he said, turning back to the door, “if I can do anything to help you settle here in Cottonwood Springs, you let me know. Ya hear?”

Rebecca nodded, aware that the brown-eyed marshal no longer looked at her and really didn’t expect an answer. The door shut behind him. She blew her nose on the white handkerchief she kept tucked into her sleeve for just such occasions.

Mrs. Miller came into the room, wiping her hands on her apron. The aroma of freshly baked apple pies drifted into the room with her. “Is he gone?”

Nine-year-old Grace followed her mother back into the room. The little girl bit into a green apple and chewed, her gaze never leaving Rebecca’s face.

“Yes, he’s gone.”

The older woman eased into one of the overstuffed chairs. “So, now what are you going to do?”

Rebecca sighed. “I’m not sure.” The Millers had housed her since she’d arrived five days earlier. They’d given her a room and three square meals and allowed her to sit with them during church on Sunday. How was she going to repay them?

Her plans had been to have Jesse take care of those expenses when he returned to town. Now she knew he wasn’t coming. And she had no idea how to repay the debts she’d unknowingly accumulated.

Her temples began to ache. Silently she vowed to stay in New Mexico and not return to a family who didn’t want her around. “I suppose I’ll look for employment.” She rubbed the sides of her head as she paced the floor.

“I don’t think you have to make any rash decisions today, Rebecca. You’ve had a shock. Why don’t you go lie down until supper?” Mrs. Miller smiled at her. Pity laced her eyes and filled her oversize face.