Rose's Mail Order Husband - A Historical Mail Order Bride Story (Montana Brides) by Kate Whitsby Page A

would it be?
    The horse broke out of the canyon across the pasture and charged at full speed along the fence line toward the ranch house. Only when it reached the corner of the fence and skidded to a stop, unable to run any further, did the sisters see that its saddle was empty.
    Rose gasped at the sight of the horse and started at a dead run toward the corner of the fence.
    Violet stared. “But that’s….!”
    “That’s right,” Iris confirmed. “It’s Jake’s horse.”
    Violet and Iris hurried after Rose and came up to the fence after her.
    The animal reared back, its eyes staring and saliva flying away from its foaming mouth. It ran back and forth in terror along the fence. Every time it came near the corner and saw the three women there, it ran off again.
    Iris leaned over the fence and held her hand out to the horse. She called to it, and it settled down and swiveled its ears around. Finally, it snorted and shook its head before sidling up to her. The horse gave her hand a sniff and pretended to turn away in disgust before it abandoned the pretense and came close enough for her to catch hold of its bridle.
    “What can have happened to Jake?” Rose asked.
    “Anything could have happened to him,” Iris answered. “He could have fallen off, or he could be hiding out somewhere. He could have sent the horse back here in the hope that it wouldn’t give him away. Anything could have happened.”
    “What should we do?” Violet asked.
    “There’s nothing to do,” Iris replied. “When the Sheriff comes back, we can tell him the horse came home without Jake, but there’s nothing we can do until then. The only thing to do is put the horse away in the barn.”
    “Will you do that, please?” Violet asked. “I have to go back to the house and talk to Rita about the food. We’ve got stacks of food for the wedding. I hope the men come back in time for supper tonight. Otherwise, it will all go to waste. It’s a good thing the minister is here to help us eat it.”
    “You go ahead,” Iris replied. “I’ll put the horse away. He looks like he needs to cool down anyway. I’ll walk him around the yard until he settles.”
    “I’ll come with you,” Rose told her.

Chapter 14
    Iris stood at the corner of the fence, petting the horse and talking to it, until its breathing slowed and it stood quietly. Then she climbed over into the pasture and led the animal along the fence to the gate. Rose followed her, but the chance appearance of the horse confirmed her worst fears that Jake would never return.
    “He looks like he’s been running hard for a long time,” Iris observed. “Something must have frightened him to make him run like that.”
    “Do you think…?” Rose trailed off.
    Iris shook her head. “I’m sorry, darlin’. There’s just no way to know right now. I know the uncertainty must be killing you, but there’s just nothing more we can do but wait.”
    “I can’t stand not knowing whether he’s safe or not,” Rose told her, “or whether he’s gotten into a gun fight with the Sheriff and is bleeding his guts out in some forgotten corner of the frontier. I’d almost rather the Sheriff captures him and locks him up in jail. It sounds awful, but at least I would know he was safe. That’s all I care about.”
    “I feel the same way about Mick,” Iris replied, “so it must be ten times worse for you. Come on and help me put the horse away. That will help take your mind off things.”
    She led the horse into the barn yard and they circled the enclosure a few times to cool the horse down further.
    “Being near him makes me think about being near Jake,” Rose remarked. “I know he can’t tell me where Jake is or what he’s doing, but he knows. For some reason, being near him calms me down a little bit. I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s the way I feel.”
    “It does make sense,” Iris countered. “I would feel the same way, if this was Mick’s horse. In a way, I feel the same