Elof's Mission (Grooms with Honor Book 9) Read online

  Now she saw why Angus wasn’t moving. He was tied up with enough rope he looked like a sausage ready for a bear’s breakfast.

  “Looks like someone used a fifty-foot lariat to tie you up with.” Daisy surveyed the rope tightly wound around Angus’ stiff body. Why had someone taken time to do this?

  “When I find the end, I’ll hang on it and then push you down the hill to unroll you.”

  “Daisy...”

  She knelt down, running her hands down his legs to find the end of the rope. They grew up together, so she wasn’t embarrassed—much—by searching his body. She found the end and started working on the knot.

  “The last I knew you were standing in the aisle as I opened the washroom door. What happened after that?”

  “Somebody pushed me into the washroom, and I fell against you, and you hit something hard enough to knock you out cold. As I was trying to get to the window, the train crashed into a man-made barricade and apparently that knocked me unconscious, too.”

  “Why do you say someone made the barricade?”

  “It was intentionally set up to stop the train. Some of your fellow passengers were robbers.” He jerked his head toward the bodies up the hill. “I’m guessing that’s part of the train crew lying up there with bullet holes in their bodies.”

  “Why didn’t they kill you, too?”

  “My guess is they didn’t want to add killing a railroad detective to their list of sins or thought I was almost dead.”

  “But they threw away a perfectly good rope!”

  “Gee, thanks, Daisy. Please keep working on that knot while you argue.”

  “My fingers are sore, and this rope is tight.”

  “I’m sorry, but my right leg is cramping something fierce.”

  “Oh dear, I hope it isn’t broken.”

  Angus was gritting his teeth, either in pain or from trying to keep from saying anything else.

  “There! I got it!” Daisy lifted his legs high enough to unwrap the rope, stopping when they were free. “Now I’m going to pull you upright so I can unwrap the rest of you.”

  “Ow, Ow...Oh Romans that hurts the back of my leg!”

  Daisy shook her head. After all this time away from home, Angus still swore like his father, going through the books of the Bible when he didn’t want to say the words he was really thinking.

  “Hang on, I’m almost done,” Daisy tried to hurry without hurting his arms. The rope started clear up around his neck, but maybe the stiffness of the hemp kept his neck from snapping as he was thrown off the train.

  “Now what?” Daisy hated to ask, but she was anxious to hear his answer.

  “I catch my breath while you roll up that rope. We may be needing it before we find our way out of here.”

  Daisy hoped Angus was all right because she didn’t relish finding her own way to a nearby town for help.

  She eased back down to the ground and looked around the area. “At least it’s not raining or snowing…yet.”

  “So far, this September has been warm in the mountains, but that can quickly change.”

  Angus rubbed the back of his leg, while still watching her.

  “Were you traveling with someone on this train?”

  “No. I was just on an outing to see the mountains.”

  “Last I knew you were in Chicago.”

  “I’ve been in Denver since February.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Working.”

  “Why didn’t I know this? I pass through Denver at least twice, almost every week!”

  Daisy sighed. His parents gave her an address where to write, but she didn’t want Angus to meet her out of obligation.

  “Why didn’t my folks write to tell me you were here? Did you tell them not to say anything?”

  Being a railroad detective had only sharpened Angus’ always inquisitive mind.

  “You’re always on the job, traveling some tracks between here and there so how was I to know where you were?”

  Angus struggled to stand, and Daisy stood up beside him, ready to catch him if he fell. But he’d grown in height and weight since she’d last seen him, so she really couldn’t help if he tumbled back to the ground. He arched and twisted his back and rolled his shoulders trying to get the kinks out of his body.

  “Anything broken, sprained?” Daisy asked, worried since he hadn’t taken a step yet.

  “Don’t think so. I’ll live to roll down a hill another day.”

  Angus reached for Daisy’s hand. “Come on, let’s check the others, then head up the hill to find out where we’re at.”

  Daisy took his hand and gave it a squeeze. How many times had they held hands in their youth? She never thought they’d hold hands again as adults, but she had always wished for it.

  “Lead the way, Angus. I’m right beside you.” Angus paused searching her face as if looking for a deeper meaning. Even after eight years apart, did he feel the connection between them, too?

  Continue reading Angus’ Trust now by going to Amazon.

  ~*~*~*~

  Dear Reader:

  I hope you enjoyed reading Elof’s Mission. Please help other readers discover my books by either recommending them to family and friends, by word of mouth or writing a review. I’d appreciate it.

  If you see any errors or typos, please email [email protected] about them. Even though this book was professionally edited, things can slip through which I want to correct for the next reader.

  For more information on this series, you can go to www.LindaHubalek.com, or go online to your favorite retailer, or ask your local library to order them for you.

  Please sign up for my newsletter at www.LindaHubalek.com to receive a free short story, and to hear about the release of future books, contests and more. And I love to connect with my readers, so please contact me through one of these social media sites.

  Author website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

  Many thanks from the Kansas prairie!

  Linda K. Hubalek

  Historical Romance Books by Linda K. Hubalek

  Grooms with Honor Series

  Angus’ Trust (Angus and Daisy)

  Fergus’ Honor (Fergus and Iris)

  Gabe’s Pledge (Gabe and Iva Mae)

  Mack’s Care (Mack and Pansy)

  Cullen’s Love (Cullen and Rose)

  Seth’s Promise (Seth and Lily)

  Adolph’s Choice (Adolph and Poppy)

  Nolan’s Vow (Nolan and Holly)

  Elof’s Mission (Elof and Linnea)

  Jasper’s Wish (Jasper and Julip)

  Tully’s Faith (Tully and Violet)

  Brides with Grit Series

  Rania Ropes a Rancher (Rania and Jacob)

  Millie Marries a Marshal (Millie and Adam)

  Hilda Hogties a Horseman (Hilda and Noah)

  Cora Captures a Cowboy (Cora and Dagmar)

  Sarah Snares a Soldier (Sarah and Marcus)

  Cate Corrals a Cattleman (Cate and Isaac)

  Darcie Desires a Drover (Darcie and Reuben)

  Tina Tracks a Trail Boss (Tina and Leif)

  Lorna Loves a Lawyer (Lorna and Lyle)

  Helen Heals a Hotelier (Helen and Ethan)

  Faye Favors a Foreman (Faye and Rusty)

  ~*~*~*~

  Contemporary Romance Books by Linda K. Hubalek

  The Clear Creek Legacy Series features descendants of the Brides with Grit and Grooms with Honor families (available and future titles)

  The Saddler’s Legacy (featuring the Shepard families)

  The Rancher’s Birthright (featuring the Reagan families)

  The Marshal’s Gift (featuring the Wilerson families)

  The Cowboy’s Heritage (featuring the Hamner families)

  The Soldier’s Bequest (featuring the Brenner families)

  Historical Fiction Books by Linda K. Hubalek

  Trail of Thread Series

  Trail of Thread

  Thimble of Soil

  Stitch of C
ourage

  Butter in the Well Series

  Butter in the Well

  Prairie Bloomin’

  Egg Gravy

  Looking Back

  Planting Dreams Series

  Planting Dreams

  Cultivating Hope

  Harvesting Faith

  Kansas Quilter Series

  Tying the Knot

  ~*~*~*~

  About the Author

  Linda Hubalek grew up on the Kansas prairie, always wanting to be a farmer like her parents and ancestors. After earning a college degree in Agriculture, marriage took Linda away from Kansas as her husband worked on engineering jobs in several states.

  Meanwhile, Linda wrote historical fiction books about pioneer women who homesteaded in Kansas between 1854 to the early 1900s, especially her own immigrant ancestors.

  Linda Hubalek and her husband eventually moved back home to Kansas, where they raised American buffalo (bison) for a dozen years.

  Linda currently writes sweet historical western romance and an occasional contemporary western romance.