Read Online Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe: A Short Story (The Brides Series 1.5) by Lena Goldfinch - Free Book Online Page B

have? Let the preacher “marry” her off to the next man, possibly someone worse?
    The preacher hurried to grab another paper from his bag, his hands visibly trembling as he made it out. Jem gave his particulars.
    “You need to sign.”
    Jem took the pen, held the paper against his palm and signed. It was all there: his name, as the preacher had hurriedly printed it, and his own signature. He looked at her name and just saw Annie.
    “What’s her last name?” he asked the preacher. “Doesn’t it need to be on here?”
    “She doesn’t have one. Never did, I guess. That’s what her father said.”
    “Don’t call him that again,” Jem said, irritated. “Just put his last name down here for hers, now.”
    He hurriedly wrote the name in: Ruskin .
    Annie Ruskin.
    As soon as the preacher added the name, Jem slipped the paper out of his hands and beckoned to Annie. She brought Mae closer, and Jem took his daughter from her. Mae squirmed immediately.
    “Hush,” he told her. “Wait just a minute.”
    “Hungry.”
    “I know. I’m hungry too.” Except now he wasn’t. This whole business had driven his hunger away.
    “Can you make your mark here?” he asked Annie, handing her the paper. “Annie,” he added, out of respect. “I’m James. James Wheeler. But most folks call me Jem. And this here is Mae. She’s mine. I’m not married now, but I was. Widowed.”
    She looked at him, seemingly frozen in place.
    “If you want,” Jem said quietly, looking at the preacher and the other man, her supposed “husband,” who was still hovering nearby. He was a big man. Used to getting his way. Unprincipled. Rough. Rude. And he was obviously furious.
    She looked at the man and swallowed, obviously not liking her odds. She hesitated a beat more, turning to look Jem over from head to toe, maybe not much liking the looks of him either. But in the end she nodded and took the pen and paper from him and made her little mountains. Her grip appeared painfully tight and the effort to make the mark showed on her face. Funny how she could draw so nice but couldn’t make her letters. Jem tried to recall any condition from his studies that would explain her inability. None came to mind. Not that he knew that much about human conditions, seeing as his interest was animal care. But he was fairly certain she was mute. Maybe it had something to do with the way her mind worked. Some sort of impairment from birth? Or maybe some trauma or accident that took it away?
    “That will do just fine, I think.” Jem rolled the paper in his right hand, holding Mae on his left, her legs wrapped around his waist. He had a good grip on her, but keeping her still was made awkward by the fact that he was holding the leash too, and the puppy was pulling. Jem shoved the roll of paper down the front of his shirt, just to be safe. Wouldn’t do for the man in the duster to grab it and rip it up.
    “That’s all proper and legal?” Jem asked the preacher, wondering. He seemed to remember there being more to it when he married Lorelei, but then they’d been married in a big white church with a steeple, flowers, and everything, in a proper town with a proper town clerk.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Then I don’t ever want to see you again, understood?”
    “Understood.” The preacher hurriedly shoved his wad of money into his satchel and ducked into the church tent. He snapped the tent folds closed, evidently done with the proceedings.
    Jem was pretty sure Annie wasn’t sad to see the last of the young man. Although, she seemed pretty much lifeless at the moment.
    “Can you take the pup?” he asked her, hitching Mae up a little higher on his hip.
    Annie woke up a bit and nodded. She grabbed the leash from him, and hurried after him as he marched to the train.
    Jem paused with his foot on the step. “Do you have any bags?”
    She shook her head.
    “Nothing at all?”
    “No.” It was the only word he’d heard her say, and it came out oddly clipped,