Read Online Emmy (Gold Rush Brides Book 2) by Cassie Hayes - Free Book Online

would get lost and freeze or starve to death.  
    She could get lucky and stumble across a local Nisenan Indian camp — they were a kind and peaceful lot — but what if some rough trappers or prospectors found her first? That would be a fate worse than freezing to death. What kind of sheriff — scratch that, what kind of man would he be to let that happen?
    No, as much as it grieved him to admit it, Emmy had him over a barrel. He wouldn’t have her death on his hands, as much as he disliked her. He had to allow her to join their party — but he didn’t have to make it easy on her.
    “Fine,” he grumbled. “You can tag along but you fall behind and you’re on your own. You want food, you go find it yourself. Not a single man here is gonna give up their bedroll, so I hope your brought more with you than that silly wedding dress. It gets mighty cold out here at night.”
    He gave each deputy a stern look to drive his point home. No helping the city girl. If she wanted to come with them, she was going to have to pull her own weight.
    Then he settled down in front of the fire and yanked a rabbit from the spit. Anger had killed his hunger but he’d be darned if that silly woman was going to eat any of his food.
    ~ * ~ * ~
    Emmy’s mouth watered as Mason slurped greedily at his dinner. She’d barely nibbled anything that morning at breakfast because she was too worked up about her impending nuptials, and everything had happened so fast after that she hadn’t even thought about food. But now she was painfully aware that her stomach was empty.  
    The deputies were avoiding looking at her as they took their spots around the campfire and guiltily picked at their food. Her stomach protested loudly, which brought a chuckle from the arrogant sheriff. How rude!
    She huffed her displeasure and tromped back through the woods to find her horse. Luckily, she hadn’t yet tied him up when the young deputy grabbed her, and the beautiful beast had followed them most of the way to the posse’s camp.  
    As she’d stood in the middle of Broad Street, watching the sheriff ride away, she’d found herself staring into the distance. When her eyes had focused, they landed on a sign that read ‘HORSES 4 LET’. That was the moment she decided to once again take her fate into her own hands.
    She’d felt a fool running into the stable in her wedding dress, but she didn’t want to let the posse get too far ahead of her by returning to the church to change. Besides her other dresses were no more comfortable than the one she was wearing. On top of that, it took the stablehand off-guard seeing a bride rush into his establishment, which gave her the upper hand in negotiations.  
    Putting on the most pitiful face she could muster, she hurried up to the young man, breathless. “Oh, sir, thank goodness I found you!”
    “Wha— what can I do ya for, miss…uh, missus?” He was flustered and confused. All the better for her to work her magic.
    “Oh, I’ve just had the most terrible news! My beloved has fallen ill on the morning of our wedding. I must go to his side at once but I’m afraid my horse came up lame on the way into town. I would be ever so grateful if you would grant me the use of one of your fine steeds.”
    “Well, surely. I got three to pick from, right over yonder,” he said, pointing to three old mares that had seen better days. She could probably walk faster than those horses could canter.
    “They’re lovely creatures, to be sure,” she gushed at him, batting her impossibly long lashes. “But I’m in a bit of a hurry. Which is your fastest? I’ll pay extra.”
    He brightened at the suggestion. “Oh, well, why didn’t ya say so? Blaze is my personal horse, and he’s lightning fast. But he’ll cost ya. Ten dollars a day.”  
    He winced at his own price, but she smiled happily, even though it was an outrageous sum.
    “Wonderful! I’ll be gone overnight, will that be a problem?”
    The young man shook his head