Sarah Snares a Soldier Read online

  Sarah Snares a Soldier

  A Historical Western Romance

  Brides with Grit Series: Book 5

  Copyright © 2015 by Linda K. Hubalek

  Published by Butterfield Books Inc. at Smashwords

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to the vender and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting this hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Except for the history of Ellsworth, Kansas that has been mentioned in the book, the names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A clean, sweet historical romance set in 1873.

  DESCRIPTION

  Rancher’s daughter Sarah Wilerson has been engaged to Ethan Paulson, a Clear Creek hotel manager, for two years. Although Ethan is a nice man, Sarah has postponed the wedding twice, unsure whether she can live and work in the family’s hotel—alongside an overbearing mother–in–law.

  West Point–trained Captain Marcus Brenner was stationed at Fort Wallace in western Kansas, and wounded in a skirmish with the Cheyenne Indians. He has been discharged from the army and recuperating at his uncle’s ranch in Ellsworth County, Kansas. There he meets Sarah, who helps him recover from his wounds and nightmares. Marcus falls in love with Sarah, but refuses to consider marrying her because of her engagement to another man. And, due to his battle injuries, he may not be able to give Sarah the houseful of children for which she yearns for either.

  Unable to bring herself to go through with her wedding on the third date set, Sarah leaves her groom at the altar and rides after Marcus, determined to convince him to marry her.

  Fate throws a challenge in their path when they suddenly become guardians of six young children. Can Sarah convince Marcus to become the father the children need, and the husband she wants?

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  Dedication

  To women, past and present—thank you for supporting our American soldiers.

  Prologue

  Summer 1873, Community Church, Clear Creek, Kansas

  “And…?” Rania Wilerson whispered to Cora as her new–sister–in–law slid into the pew beside her. Cora Elison had wed Rania’s brother, Dagmar Hamner the previous week after Sunday’s church service. Today they were now attending the wedding of Sarah, little sister to Jacob, Rania’s husband.

  Rania and Cora looked to Cate before continuing their conversation. As the mother of the bride, Cate Wilerson sat in the second row on the left side of the church, smiling, glancing to the right, then nodding to the Paulsons, the parents of the groom, where they sat in the second pew on the other side of the church.

  Their son Ethan, a handsome man with his fair blond looks, stood in front of the church altar, confident his bride, Sarah Wilerson, would be walking down the aisle toward him and Pastor Reagan in a few moments. Everyone knew Ethan had been relieved after months of postponements, when his fiancée finally set today as their wedding day.

  Clara Johnston had her hands poised above the piano keyboard, ready to start the wedding march as soon as she saw Adam, the bride’s oldest brother, ready to escort Sarah down the aisle.

  Sarah’s third brother, Noah, and his wife Hilda already stood in front, as they were the witnesses to this marriage. Neither one was smiling.

  Cora leaned close to Rania, “I handed her my reticule, told her there was $100 in it in case she changed her mind. And Nutcracker, Hilda’s racing horse, was tied out front—and it didn’t matter whether she left him at the Ellsworth train station—or rode him in whatever direction she decided to go.”

  Rania’s smile grew wider as she patted Cora’s hand. “Thank you so much for doing this, Cora. Did she say what she was going to do?”

  “No, I told her not to tell me…she should just listen to what her heart says is the right thing for her to do,” Cora whispered back. “But she knows her brothers, sisters–in–law and friends will all be ‘shocked’ and won’t know a thing if she disappears today…”

  Chapter 1

  “What did Cora want?” her brother Adam asked out of the corner of his mouth. They were standing in the back of the church, ready to walk down the aisle. Sarah closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to stop the panic rising in her chest. Sweat ran down her back, pooling at the waist of her form–fitting dark–green dress.

  “She…gave me some advice, Adam.”

  “And her reticule?”

  “It…has some special mementos in it for the day,” she fibbed. Should she tell her brother what she’s thinking?

  Adam took her right hand and tucked it in the crook of his left elbow and then gave it a reassuring pat. “Ethan and Pastor are ready.” He took a step forward but she couldn’t move her feet to walk beside him.

  “Sarah…?”

  “I need another minute…before I walk down the aisle,” she whispered hoarsely. The sanctuary shrunk as her vision tunneled. Don’t pass out! Breathe!

  Could she do it, become the loving wife of Ethan Paulson? More to the point, could she live in a hotel owned by his parents? Could she live with the fact she was told they could only have one child? Why was Ethan going along with all his parents’ plans? He was a good, sweet man, but she was afraid his parents would always dictate their marriage.

  “If this doesn’t feel right, please say so now. When you’re married, he will be your husband for life.”

  “I know…Adam?” Sarah looked up at her oldest brother, realizing it was hard to see him through her tears.

  “Come on. Let’s go outside for a minute,” Adam said as he turned around to go through the entry of the church and open the front door for her.

  Sarah gratefully walked outside and pulled air into her lungs, trying to stamp out her panic. She used her right thumb to wipe the tears from her eyes, and saw Hilda’s horse tied to the hitching post, as Cora said it would be. What should I do?

  “Talk to me, Sarah. This should be one of the happiest days of your life, but you’re crying, and it’s not because you’re excited to be marrying the man of your dreams.”

  “Ethan’s a wonderful man. I’m just nervous.”

  Adam let out a long breath, and looked as though he was trying to think of the right words to say to her. “You’ve postponed the wedding twice already, Sarah. Maybe you shouldn’t go through with the ceremony today—or ever.”

  “But what will people say if I back out instead of walking down the aisle? The whole congregation is waiting.” Sarah felt tears dribbling down her cheeks while self–doubt crept into her heart. Ethan’s parents were basically nice people overall, and she and Ethan would never have to worry about money or having a roof over their heads. Maybe their relationship would improve once they were married.

  “They’ll think you made the right choice if your heart isn’t in your marriage vows.”

  “But the Paulsons…”

  “I believe they think of you as a perfect hostess for their hotel, who they wouldn’t have to pay if you were married to their son.”

  Sarah inhaled her hand bouquet of pink roses, hoping the scent would calm her nerves. The flowers were picked from her sister–in–law’s bushes growing beside the front door of Hilda’s
and Noah’s sod house. But instead, the scent made her think of the roses her sisters–in–law and friend carried this summer in their own weddings. They were happy brides, all four of them, excited to wed the man of their dreams. Why couldn’t she be happy too?

  Sarah wiped her sweaty left hand on her dress. She and her mother had made this dark green dress months ago, even altered it once to add a white lace collar. And why had they picked green? It wasn’t her favorite color. Because Mrs. Paulson strongly suggested it. It did go well with her dark brown hair, but Sarah thought the color clashed with her bright blue eyes.

  “Just because Marcus won’t marry you, isn’t the reason to tie yourself to Ethan. That’s not fair to Ethan if your heart is with another man.”

  “How do you know that?!”

  “Good grief, Sarah, we all have eyes and ears. You’ve been smitten with Marcus since the day you met the man, and vice versa on his part, too. I’d bet even Ethan knows that.”

  “Ethan’s never said anything to me about it!”

  “Well, when you charged out of the Bar E ranch house last week at Cora’s picnic—where we could clearly see Marcus still inside the door—Ethan, and all of us, knew you two had been together and had words.

  “And Ethan was the most surprised when you announced the two of you would be married in a week.”

  “Yes, we talked about that, but I assured him I was finally ready.”

  “Because Marcus turned you down,” Adam shook his head, making Sarah believe he was disappointed in her indecision. “Did you know he’s leaving today to return to Fort Wallace?” Adam quietly revealed while watching her face.

  “No! He can’t go back to the cavalry! He hasn’t completely healed—physically or …”

  “What do you mean? Except for occasionally rubbing his thigh, he walks without a cane now and rides well.”

  Sarah just shook her head. She wasn’t going to reveal Marcus’ secret she’d sworn to keep.

  “Back to your wedding…” Adam motioned to the church door. “What’s your decision? Are you going to marry Ethan or not? And our family will support you with whatever you choose to do, either decision. But this is for the rest of your life, Sis. Do what’s best for you.”

  Sarah looked at the church door, then out to the open prairie beyond the church which stood at the edge of town. She sighed once, before reaching out to hug her big brother. “Thanks for the advice, Adam. Go inside while I get one more breath of fresh air.” Sarah straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and gave a nod and smile to Adam.

  “Are you sure?” he asked as she grasped the roses with both hands.

  “Very sure.” Sarah gave him a determined nod, because it finally became clear what she should do.

  Chapter 2

  Marcus Brenner couldn’t bear to see Sarah Wilerson and Ethan Paulson marry today, so he told his uncle, Isaac Connely, goodbye before his uncle left for church service this morning. Marcus couldn’t stay because he’d see Sarah and Ethan in town or at family functions. Isaac, still a bachelor, and Sarah’s widowed mother, Cate, were an unofficial couple, always inviting each other to family gatherings and such. There was no way he could stay here—and it was unfair to Ethan, too. Sarah could learn to love Ethan and their life at the hotel if Marcus left.

  Marcus’ knapsack was packed, bedroll behind the saddle, his rifle in its scabbard, and his hat was firmly set on his head of short brown hair. All he had to do was mount his white gelding, Chief, and leave. For some reason he felt compelled to return to Fort Wallace, even though he’d been honorably discharged.

  He never dreamed when he studied engineering at West Point, he’d end up on the wild plains of Kansas. Instead of building bridges back East, he had patrolled the Smoky Hill Trail, which crossed through central Kansas into Colorado. The soldiers at Fort Wallace were ordered to protect the westward migration of settlers who were encroaching on the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians’ hunting grounds.

  Marcus was too young to fight in the Civil War, but he was caught in the results of the war, the building of the railroad across the United States and the homesteaders taking over the Indians’ land. The government’s plan of moving the Indians into certain sections of land was implemented by getting rid of their food source, the buffalo. The Indians fought for their land and food, because without it, they would starve.

  What he saw done in the Indian attacks on the white settlers, and what the soldiers did to the Indians in retaliation still gave him nightmares. And it was women and children who always suffered the most from these clashes of men fighting men.

  In early spring, Marcus was with a troop ordered to protect a group of settlers on their way west. Word had traveled back to the fort notifying them there had been trouble near the border, so they were escorting the group of twenty wagons through the dangerous section of the plains.

  Without warning, Indians swooped at full speed to attack the wagon train in the early morning, right after the wagons had stretched out on their trek west. Bullets and flaming arrows rained on the settlers and soldiers, killing indiscriminately and setting wagons on fire. Grief and emotions hit him hard as he saw families disintegrated in seconds. Then he was injured and left to die.

  The Indians left as fast as they arrived, leaving people and animals dead or suffering and everyone in shock from the sudden disaster suffered by the wagon train.

  When the attack ended that fateful day, the remaining soldiers gathered the wounded, both soldiers and travelers from the wagons, and took them back to Fort Wallace. Many travelers were buried on the site of the attack, or may have been carried off by the Cheyenne.

  Army life was all Marcus had known since he grew up in a military family, so he’d try to find employment in a civilian job at the fort. Marcus didn’t care what it was, nor where he’d lay his bedroll at night. He only needed money to provide food for him and his horse.

  Rather than traveling back to his parents’ home in Maryland when he was injured, Marcus asked to recover at his uncle’s ranch near Ellsworth, Kansas. Uncle Isaac, his mother’s brother, welcomed him, giving him a place to heal his injured body and try to quiet his tortured soul.

  Marcus was attracted to Sarah the first time he saw her at a church picnic after he’d arrived at his uncle’s ranch, and had been sorely disappointed to find out she was engaged to Ethan Paulson.

  He never expected to meet someone like Sarah, a quiet, kindred spirit who had given him a reason to live. Their friendship grew when the Cross C housekeeper left for a while to visit her family and Sarah spent time at Isaac’s house to help in her place. It was easy to open up to Sarah, eventually telling her about military life and how he received his wounds.

  Sarah pushed him to walk, first out to the porch, then on walks around the ranch yard, talking as she guided him a little farther each day. He eventually moved from needing crutches to a cane, as his legs muscles and scarred skin recovered from the damage inflicted on his body. Walks turned into rides when he became able to mount a horse. It felt good to temporarily ditch the cane and sit in the saddle again, even if he had to use a mounting block in the beginning. He’d probably have a slight limp for the rest of his life, but maneuvered without a cane now. Luckily his strong, left leg could swing his body into the saddle without the right leg’s assistance.

  His six–foot frame thinned those first weeks while still at the fort, but once he got to his uncle’s ranch, Sarah cajoled him to eat her tasty meals and desserts. It wasn’t just food at the dining room table, it was lunches on the porch, picnics on the river bank, the jug of lemonade and a basket of cookies they’d bring to the ranch hands sorting cattle in the corrals. Spending time eating together, with or without Isaac, gave Marcus a normal life again, not involved around the military routine. During the time they spent together, Marcus found himself opening up to Sarah about the skirmishes he had been be a part of, and the nightmares they caused.

  Sarah hinted that she wanted to break off her engagement to Ethan, but Marcus
ignored her suggestion because he didn’t believe he could give Sarah her dream of being a mother with a full house of children. Although the doctor assured him it was still possible, Marcus was positive he couldn’t father a child due to the knife slashes to his groin and thigh received in his last fateful fight.

  He hadn’t seen Sarah since a week ago at the Bar E ranch, when they all got together for Cora Elison’s engagement party with her “mystery groom”, as the women had nicknamed the unknown man. Cora’s parents along with her brothers, Carl and Lyle, came from Boston bringing a friend of the family, Jeffrey Fleishman, because Cora was required to marry someone by her twenty–fifth birthday to inherit her share of her grandfather’s will. Until Jeffrey arrived, Cora didn’t know who the man was being brought by her parents to marry her, hence the nickname. But instead of marrying Fleishman, Cora married the Bar E ranch foreman, Dagmar Hamner, and everyone happily celebrated their wedding last Sunday.

  The night of the engagement party, Sarah asked Marcus to meet her in the Bar E house library so they could have a private conversation. But when Sarah confessed her love for him, Marcus would not respond in kind. He told her to marry Ethan as planned, because they’d never have a future together.

  Marcus carefully swung up into the saddle now, as Chief stepped sideways in reaction to his rider’s mood. His right thigh still hurt when stretched, but it was getting easier to tolerate. Time had healed his physical wounds, but he wasn’t sure if the emotional wounds would ever heal.

  Marcus turned in his saddle to gaze at the house and ranch yard once more. The large two–story, wood house had a wrap–around porch where Marcus spent many hours during his recovery. From this peaceful view, you could see the outbuildings, a large wooden barn, corrals and the pasture beyond. Too bad he couldn’t stay to enjoy the view any longer. He’d really miss the peace the ranch gave him.

  The July heat was starting to rise, promising another scorching day. Marcus should have left before dawn’s first light instead of noon, but he couldn’t leave until “the deed was done” at church. By now Sarah was a married woman and it was time for him to find a new life—one which didn’t include the love of his life.