Riding From Richmond (The Pioneer Brides 0f Rattlesnake Ridge Book 4) Read online

  Riding from Richmond

  The Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge, Book 4

  Nan O’Berry

  © 2019, Nan O’Berry

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Cover Design by RockSolidBookDesign.com

  Proofread by Alice Shepherd

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Sweet Promise Press

  PO Box 72

  Brighton, MI 48116

  To the readers, I wish to thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you.

  Contents

  Publisher’s Note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  What’s Next?

  You May Also Like

  More From Nan O’Berry

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  More from Sweet Promise Press

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  Prologue

  Wanted

  Nineteen-year-old refined lady from Virginia wishes to make the acquaintance of a genteel man of sweet disposition and means, with the ultimate goal of making a home in the western paradise of Rattlesnake Ridge. She is five foot and not afraid of hard work. Prefers a man of good moral faith but will accept any Christian Religion. Will correspond before deciding if the move is beneficial to both. If interested, please write in care of Miss McBride at P.O. Box 503 North Broad Street, Richmond Virginia.

  Chapter 1

  It all began with this…..

  Three cowboys stood in front of the message board hung in the rear of Handley’s General Store. Their earnest faces looking interested as they studied the bits of newspaper hung by nails below a large notice that read, Messages for those wishing Matrimony.

  One tall, lanky cowpoke raised his right hand and pushed the battered Stetson away from his face. “Sure is a lot of ‘em.”

  His remark brought an agreement of grunts from the two friends standing on either side of him.

  “What ‘cha make of it Dill?”

  “Makes me wonder why they can’t find fellers at home?” He remarked scratching his chin in the process.

  “There’s been a war, Dill. Fellers are in short supply. Now, Miz May said to come over here and look. There’s got to be a likely candidate for the boss. I’m tired of spending eight days a week in the saddle.”

  “There ain’t eight days in a week, Lou,” Teddy spoke up. “Even I know that.”

  Lou’s mouth pressed into a thin line.“Of all the times for you to develop brains,” he grumbled.

  “How come the boss can’t find a girl around here?”

  Lou’s eyes narrowed. “You boys looked around lately? How many unavailable women you see pining for the boss to come courtin’?”

  The other two men hung their heads.

  “Yeah, I thought so. Besides, it can’t be hard. It’s just females.” Lou’s focus went back to the board. “Here look at this one.” He pointed to the board.

  Teddy narrowed his eyes and stepped close.“Lady wishes to marry. No children. No pets. Must be a fine upstanding member of society.” He blinked. “I don’t think this is a good choice. Seth likes his dog.”

  “Me either,” Lou agreed.

  “Here’s one,” Dill piped up.

  “Shh, keep your voice down. We don’t need Handley’s wife poking her nose in our business.”

  Dill pointed to the newspaper clipping. “Husband needed. Respectable woman seeks male. Can cook and clean prefers a close proximity to town.” He turned to look at Lou. “Is this proximity a disease?”

  “Naw, means she wants to live near town. The boss lives around ten miles away.”

  “So, that’d be a no.”

  “That’d be a no.” Lou nodded.

  “Look at this,” Teddy remarked. “Nineteen-year-old refined lady from Virginia wishes to make the acquaintance of a genteel man of sweet disposition and means, with the ultimate goal of making a home in the western paradise of Rattlesnake Ridge. She is five foot and not afraid of hard work. Prefers a man of good moral faith but will accept any Christian Religion. Will correspond before deciding if the move is beneficial to both. If interested, please write in care of Miss McBride at P.O. Box 503 North Broad Street, Richmond Virginia.”

  “She wants a lot,” Dill pointed out.

  “I think she just might do.” Lou smiled. “She’s young enough. Wants to work hard. The boss will be plum happy to have her.”

  “What are you three up to?”

  The tart voice made them jump.

  Cautiously, Dill turned his head.

  The round, face of Handley’s wife confronted them.

  “How do, Mrs. H-Handley,” Dill managed to stammer out. “Nice day.”

  “Nice day,” she mimicked. Her eyes narrowed as each of the boys turned. “What are you three up to?”

  Lou pulled the newsprint from the board and slipped it into his pocket. “We thought we’d check out Winthrop’s ads. Teddy here was thinking of getting a wife.”

  “Me?” The sheer terror in the young man’s voice could not be hidden.

  Lou sent an elbow into his ribs. “Oh, yeah.” He gave a grin. “Yes, ma’am. Miz May sent us over here to check the responses, said it would do us good to find a nice wife.” He lifted his hand and jerked it back toward the board.

  The woman’s eyes continued to glare as she lifted her hand and placed a fist on her hip. “A
nd who would ever give you a second glance?”

  Lou clapped his hands over the other cowboy’s ears.

  Teddy blinked.

  “Aw, Mrs. Handley, a boy can dream. You wouldn’t want to rain on young Teddy’s desire to be a family man, now would you?” Lou smiled.

  The woman crossed her arms and took a moment to think.

  “I suppose not.”

  Lou took his hands down and Teddy put a finger to his ears to make sure he could still hear.

  “Come on, let’s get back to work.”

  “Yes, you do that.”

  The three made their way outside and to their mounts.

  “Now what we gonna do?” Dill grumbled.

  “Not to worry.” Lou grinned. Lifting a hand, he patted his shirt pocket. “I got it all taken care of. Now, all we have to persuade Miss McBride to pack up and come west. If we’re lucky, the boss will be besotted before we know it and ready to walk down that petal path. And us…” He slapped Dill on the shoulder. “We’ll have two days a week all to ourselves.”

  “And how do you suppose we do that?” Dill asked.

  “Well, we get us a smooth talker that knows what ladies like.”

  “Whose that gonna be?” Teddy piped up. “The only thing we talk to is cattle.”

  “Max. Max owes us one.” Lou nodded. “Besides, Max has book learning. He’ll know just what to say.”

  The three looked at each other with their smiles growing and mounted their horses to ride away.

  Chapter 2

  Several Months later…

  Spring1874

  Max Barringer knew something was up the moment he arrived in Carson City. It didn’t take a genius to realize that three top hands from the Circle N shouldn’t be in town at the same time. He dumped the fifty pound bag of oats into the back of the buckboard; between the crates of block and tackle that he picked up for Cameron at the lumber mill. He then took a deep breath. His gaze followed the tall figure of Teddy Allen as he ushered his brother, Dill, and the ranch foreman, Lou Mason into the saloon down near the south end of town. Eyes narrowing, his curiosity rose.

  “That’s the last one,” the storekeeper remarked.

  Max turned his head and watched as the clerk from Carson City’s General Store put a check on the pages held tight to his clipboard. Sticking it beneath his arm, the older man lifted his glance he gave a smile. “I think we completed the list in record time.”

  “Thanks, I know my boss will be pleased.” With a nod, Max reached into the pocket of his trousers and brought forth a wad of bills. Stepping back to the clerk, he unfolded the money and counted out the bills.

  “You’ll need some change. Come on back inside.”

  Max followed pausing to step aside as two young girls walked past giggling as they made eye contact with him.

  “Ma’am,” he responded with a tip of his hat.

  The giggling intensified as they disappeared onto the boardwalk that lined the main street of Carson City.

  “Girls.” The clerk shook his head. “I swear they are a disruption. If they didn’t spend so much good money, I might ban them from the store.”

  Max pursed his lips but refused to comment. Thank heavens his sister was still at the gangly age and preferred horseflesh to finding a beau. “Sure is busy.”

  The clerk glanced up as he pulled the change from the strong box. “Yes, a busy Friday. Stage is due in and its payday for some of the mines near here.”

  “Ah.” Max gave a nod. “Yep, pay day was yesterday for those at Winthrop’s back home.”

  “Oh, here from Rattlesnake Ridge are ya?”

  “Yep, came in this morning.”

  “Here to see the sights and sounds of Carson City are you?”

  “Something like that,” Max grumbled.

  “Your change, five dollars and thirty-nine cents.” The clerk pressed the money into his hand.

  Max shifted the change into his pocket and folded the bills in half before securing them in the same pocket.

  “I guess that explains why the men from the Circle N are all in the saloon.”

  The hairs on the back of Max’s neck bristled at hearing this.

  The clerk gave a quick guilty glance across the street. “They been coming in once a month on a regular basis. Sometimes, they come in here get some chewing tobacco. Didn’t come in this time. Been here two days, thought for sure they’d stop in once.”

  Max glanced over at the saloon. His brow knitted together as he lingered over the clerks unsettling words. “Ah, must have business elsewhere,” he agreed. Maybe, he thought to himself, a beer would taste good. “I’ll see you next time. Thanks for your help.”

  “Sure. Sure. Next time,” the clerk murmured as he moved down the counter toward his next customer.

  With a shake of his head, Max turned on his heel and hurried out the door. Drawn to the edge of the boardwalk, he stared across the street. It might be normal for Dill or Teddy to come in to town together, but not to have Lou with them. Rarely, did the three leave the Circle N without one of them at the helm, especially if Seth Nolan was out of town. All of it was just strange, especially if they had been there for two days.“Yep, mighty interesting.”

  He sauntered over to his buckboard and climbed aboard. Unwrapping the leathers from the wooden brake handle, he gave a flick of his wrist and woke the team from their slumber. “Let’s head over and have a drink for the road.” He then rode over to the bar and got down from the buckboard.

  The doors parted as he strode into the saloon. The sign above the bar stated that a Big Bob Talbot owned the establishment. He glanced down the long mahogany bar to the man, who stood on the far end. He was a brute of a man judging from the upper half of him that towered over the bar. Max watched his gaze wander around the room with a hawkeyed stare as drovers, miners, and others drifted in.

  Already, Max noted there were several poker games all ready in progress. “Poor souls will be broke again by tomorrow.”

  Finding a corner of the bar unoccupied, Max leaned against it and caught the bartender’s eye. “Beer.”

  The big man gave a nod of his head as he flipped a clean mug over and filled it.

  Max watched as it sent is sliding down the polished mahogany bar top toward him. He stuck out his hand and the mug came to a stop, the liquid sloshing from side to side.“Thanks.”

  He placed two bits on the wood and turned around to check out the room. In the corner next to the window, he found them, huddled together, thick as thieves. Pushing away, Max walked over.

  Dill heard the sound of his boots and glanced up.

  “Howdy, boys,” Max began. “This seat taken?”

  The three men sat back. Their guarded looks betrayed them. Finally, Lou gave a shake of his head.

  Max pulled out the chair. “Thanks,” he remarked as he poured his body into it.

  No one spoke as he took a sip of his beer. It gave him time to gather his thoughts. Then, he placed it on the table in front of him. The sound of the glass hitting the hearty pine wood had a ripple effect. One by one, each man lifted his chin to meet his glance only to shift their eyes back at the table top. Max leaned back against the chair and felt his brows arch. Guilty everyone of them. But of what?

  “Alright,” he drew out the word. “Who wants to tell me what’s going on?

  * * *

  Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to wear such a light color when traveling by stage. Caledonia McBride lifted the heavy white, cotton handkerchief her father had given her when he placed her on the train back in Richmond and brought it up to wipe the dust from her face. How she wished her father could have taken the journey with her.

  “A lot of good this will do,” she harrumphed as the stage rattled over the rutted ground releasing a new layer of fine ground up soil into the air. She brushed the bodice of her lavender colored traveling suit only to watch another cloud roll through the open windows. With a sigh, she let her hand flutter to her lap and made herself content to wa
tch the country side roll by.

  It had been a grueling two weeks of travel from her native Virginia to the Ohio River then from there she’d boarded a boat and sailed down to St. Joseph, Missouri. Next, it was a train ride to a small station in Dodge. The wheels against the steel tracks was loud, it nearly made it impossible to hold a quiet conversation with her fellow passenger. Still, it was better than the constant motion and dust from the wheels of the overland stage as it followed the old Pony Express route through the vast plains.

  She hadn’t realized the last part of the trip would take another three weeks. The first three days, she’d been shoulder to shoulder with other passengers. As they rolled north, the stage often stopped to pick up the occasional cowboy or miner. Caledonia found them wedged in any open space, at her feet, above with the luggage, and some had chosen to ride in the boot. Somehow, the real cowboys of the west had forgotten to tell the penny dreadful the true smell of the prairie. Her eyes closed as she recalled the odor of caked cow residue on their boots mingled with bodies that had gone days without submersion in water with a good helping of soap.

  A spontaneous chuckle escaped her lips. “At least, the hard part is over.”

  She opened her eyes and leaned toward the window, holding the brim of her hat against the rush of the wind. Her gaze focused on the horizon. “In a few hours, I’ll be in Carson City.”