Read Online My Heart Stood Still (Sisters Of Mercy Flats 2) by Lori Copeland - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lori Copeland
Tags: Fiction, adventure, Romance, Historical, Action, Orphans, Western, Spirituality, Religious, Christian, Inspirational, Faith, jail, trust, wagon, Attack, Civil War Era, Crow Warrior, Three Sisters, Money Swindling, McDougal Sisters, Hauled Away, Different Men, Bandits Trailing, Gold Cache, Seek Peace, Companions
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the shovel and then shoved the blade into the ground, digging a hole beside the river. They completed the work quickly, and then Anne-Marie cleared her throat.
“Lord, we thank You for bringing us safely through the fire. Bless Eulalie, Father, as she rebuilds her home. Send her friends to help her and comfort her in her time of distress. Amen.”
“Amen,” Quincy repeated. “Your words were real heartfelt. That should do it, Sister.” He covered the hole with dirt. “I’ll get the wagon and team.”
Later the three prepared to leave. Eulalie gave Anne-Marie a big hug. Her strength had returned and color was back in her cheeks. “I’ve been on my own longer than you’ve been alive. Don’t you worry about me. You take care of yourself.”
“Now what?” Anne-Marie asked when the wagon pulled away from the shanty.
“You’re the one with the ideas. What do you suggest?” Creed winced when the wagon hit a deep pothole. “Quincy, can you manage to hit deeper ruts? I could use more agony.”
“Sorry—these horses go out of their way to hit holes.”
Heat flooded Anne-Marie’s cheeks. She did not appreciate Creed’s attitude toward her this morning. The wound had left him cranky and difficult. She hadn’t put those potholes in the road. “Are you asking me what I would do?”
“Am I speaking French?”
Well now. She could be just as testy as he could. “I would suggest that we each take a horse and go our separate ways, but we only have two horses—and the gold.” The wind whipped her hair into her face and she brushed it aside. “So I don’t have any ideas.”
“Do you want to separate? Because we can. One horse will pull the buckboard, so you’re welcome to the other.”
He was baiting her but she wasn’t falling for his trick. She hadn’t asked to be involved in that gold shipment, but she had just as much invested in this escapade as these two. If anyone other than Wells Fargo got that gold, she was going to get her share. She was smart enough to know that Creed and Quincy were her best hope for rejoining her sisters in Mercy Flats. Whether she liked Creed Walker or not, she had no reasonable choice but to stay with him for the time being.
She blew out a pent-up breath. “That’s not what I want.”
At the moment, what she wanted was to be home with Abigail and Amelia, drinking hot tea and eating warm muffins in the sisters’ kitchen that always smelled of roasting meat and baking bread. In a few days, the nuns would start to worry about the missing McDougals. The kind women were accustomed to the girls’ short, unexplainedabsences, but Mother Superior often noted that the McDougals were of age to do as they willed. Only the nuns’ goodness still provided meals and a roof over the three sisters’ heads. In return, the girls worked hard to repay the nuns’ compassion.
For the moment, Anne-Marie had little choice but to accept her circumstances, a bitter pill to swallow. “What are we going to do?”
Creed shifted. “With the gold?”
“The gold—and getting me back to Mercy Flats.”
Creed and Quincy made eye contact before Creed turned to confront her. “Why do you suppose two strongboxes from California, full of gold, were sitting in front of the bank with no guard?”
“Quincy asked me the same thing; I didn’t know then, and I don’t know now. Is there some significance to the coincidence?”
Creed mused out loud. “The way I figure it, a gold shipment means guards, several guards. This particular shipment of gold was sitting there vulnerable. Agreed, Quince?”
Quincy nodded. “That’s how it looked to me.”
“But the sheriff—” Anne-Marie interjected.
“—wasn’t concerned about the gold,” Creed said. “He was working on scaffolding.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t know about the gold and that’s why he wasn’t concerned about it.”
Quincy and Creed exchanged looks again. “Maybe,” Creed conceded, “but that’s unlikely. A good
“Lord, we thank You for bringing us safely through the fire. Bless Eulalie, Father, as she rebuilds her home. Send her friends to help her and comfort her in her time of distress. Amen.”
“Amen,” Quincy repeated. “Your words were real heartfelt. That should do it, Sister.” He covered the hole with dirt. “I’ll get the wagon and team.”
Later the three prepared to leave. Eulalie gave Anne-Marie a big hug. Her strength had returned and color was back in her cheeks. “I’ve been on my own longer than you’ve been alive. Don’t you worry about me. You take care of yourself.”
“Now what?” Anne-Marie asked when the wagon pulled away from the shanty.
“You’re the one with the ideas. What do you suggest?” Creed winced when the wagon hit a deep pothole. “Quincy, can you manage to hit deeper ruts? I could use more agony.”
“Sorry—these horses go out of their way to hit holes.”
Heat flooded Anne-Marie’s cheeks. She did not appreciate Creed’s attitude toward her this morning. The wound had left him cranky and difficult. She hadn’t put those potholes in the road. “Are you asking me what I would do?”
“Am I speaking French?”
Well now. She could be just as testy as he could. “I would suggest that we each take a horse and go our separate ways, but we only have two horses—and the gold.” The wind whipped her hair into her face and she brushed it aside. “So I don’t have any ideas.”
“Do you want to separate? Because we can. One horse will pull the buckboard, so you’re welcome to the other.”
He was baiting her but she wasn’t falling for his trick. She hadn’t asked to be involved in that gold shipment, but she had just as much invested in this escapade as these two. If anyone other than Wells Fargo got that gold, she was going to get her share. She was smart enough to know that Creed and Quincy were her best hope for rejoining her sisters in Mercy Flats. Whether she liked Creed Walker or not, she had no reasonable choice but to stay with him for the time being.
She blew out a pent-up breath. “That’s not what I want.”
At the moment, what she wanted was to be home with Abigail and Amelia, drinking hot tea and eating warm muffins in the sisters’ kitchen that always smelled of roasting meat and baking bread. In a few days, the nuns would start to worry about the missing McDougals. The kind women were accustomed to the girls’ short, unexplainedabsences, but Mother Superior often noted that the McDougals were of age to do as they willed. Only the nuns’ goodness still provided meals and a roof over the three sisters’ heads. In return, the girls worked hard to repay the nuns’ compassion.
For the moment, Anne-Marie had little choice but to accept her circumstances, a bitter pill to swallow. “What are we going to do?”
Creed shifted. “With the gold?”
“The gold—and getting me back to Mercy Flats.”
Creed and Quincy made eye contact before Creed turned to confront her. “Why do you suppose two strongboxes from California, full of gold, were sitting in front of the bank with no guard?”
“Quincy asked me the same thing; I didn’t know then, and I don’t know now. Is there some significance to the coincidence?”
Creed mused out loud. “The way I figure it, a gold shipment means guards, several guards. This particular shipment of gold was sitting there vulnerable. Agreed, Quince?”
Quincy nodded. “That’s how it looked to me.”
“But the sheriff—” Anne-Marie interjected.
“—wasn’t concerned about the gold,” Creed said. “He was working on scaffolding.”
“Well, maybe he didn’t know about the gold and that’s why he wasn’t concerned about it.”
Quincy and Creed exchanged looks again. “Maybe,” Creed conceded, “but that’s unlikely. A good
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