Chapter Three
Nate glowered at the woman crouched on the sidewalk.
Her hair was awry and her eyes wide in shock.
Despite the cold, her cheeks were flushed, though the fire in her eyes seemed to be fading away.
She began to shrink away, clearly embarrassed by what happened.
But Nate was in too bad a mood to care about that.
He scrambled to his feet.
“The streets aren’t the place to unpack your belongings, miss,” he snapped, snatching up his Stetson and shaking the snow off it. “Do you not have any shame?”
Her shock appeared to disappear very quickly. Even as the blush in her cheeks darkened, she stood up and glared at him.
“How dare you? Do you think I did this on purpose? I didn’t anticipate my suitcase breaking open in the street!”
“But you could’ve anticipated it.”
She scoffed at that. “How do you anticipate something like that? I’m not a clairvoyant!”
Nate tried to hold on to his temper, but he was momentarily thrown off by the woman before him.
She was petite and thin, slightly built and delicate, but there was a fierce determination in her demeanor.
Her dark hair curled around her face, and her chocolate-brown eyes were wide and expressive.
There was something fascinating about her, and Nate had to stop himself from staring.
He was not about to be distracted because of a pretty face.
Then he noticed that she was shaking, and her teeth were chattering. The coat she wore wasn’t thick, and the gloves were threadbare. It was a miracle that they were still being held together.
“Let’s get you inside,” he said, taking her arm. “You’re getting frozen.”
“I’m fine,” she said through the chattering. “I… I need to…”
“You need to get warm. You’re not properly dressed. Come on.”
Despite her protest, he urged her back into the stagecoach station. Clarence came through the back door as Nate made the woman sit down. His eyes widened at the sight.
“What…?”
“Can you make this young lady something warm, Clarence?” Nate crouched before her and tugged off her gloves. “The snow’s gotten worse, and she is frozen.”
“But she was only just at the restaurant! She can’t have gotten so cold that fast.”
“With what she’s wearing, I’m surprised that she hasn’t turned into an icicle.” Nate began to rub the woman’s cold hands in between his. “See if you can find something else that’s better for her to wear. And get her something warm to drink!”
“What about…?” she began, and Nate remembered the scattered clothes.
“I’ll get those. You just stay here.”
He didn’t want to be dealing with this when he had various complaints about more people causing trouble near the saloon, but he had to do his job and look after the townspeople, including strangers.
Scurrying out into the street, Nate looked over everything on the sidewalk. The suitcase was split down the middle, and various garments were all over the place. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were already turning to ice in the cold.
Not noticing what he was grabbing, he scooped up everything in sight, carrying everything inside.
Clarence had tossed a couple more bits of wood onto the fire, and the heat was creeping across the room.
Nate dropped everything in the middle of the room, rubbed his hands, then held them out toward the heat.
The woman hadn’t moved from her position, her arms wrapped around her middle as she stared at the floor.
Nate wondered what was going through her head right now. Did she look scared?
He felt a stab of sympathy for her. He’d been born and raised in Mercy Creek all his life, had never felt the need to leave. To come somewhere unknown had to be scary.
When his fingers felt warm again, he looked down at the clothes strewn across the floor. They were going to need another suitcase.
“Were you planning on meeting someone?” he asked as he crouched by the pile.
“Someone was going to meet me,” she said quietly. “Just about now.”
“Any reason you’re here in Mercy Creek?” Nate picked up what looked to be a worn recipe book. “It’s not normally the time of year…”
He jumped when the book was snatched out of his hand, and the woman sat back, clutching it to her chest with a white-knuckle grip, her shoulders hunched. Nate was confused: what had upset her about that book?
“I’m here to get married,” she mumbled, her gaze averted.
Nate blinked.
“Well now, that might be the best reason I’ve ever heard to be here in town.”
“My… I… I was asked here to get married.” Her cheeks were brighter red than before. “My… my adopted mother, if you could call her that, thought it would be a good idea…”
But Nate didn’t hear much more after that. He’d seen the name on the tag tied around the suitcase handle. It was a little smudged with snow, making the ink run, but he could just about read it.
“Here we are,” Clarence said, entering the room with a large coat that looked like it fit a bear. “I’ve found a coat that should keep her warm. And there are some gloves in the pocket… Nate?”
Nate barely reacted. He leaned over and wiped away most of the melting snow.
Rachel Bell.
That was the woman who Isabelle had written to. This was the woman expecting to be his wife.
How was this possible? It couldn’t be right. He’d told Isabelle to cancel the arrangement. Surely, if she knew he wouldn’t see her again until she did, his sister would do as he was told. But Rachel Bell was here…
The woman Isabelle had picked out for him from her own advertisement was here in Mercy Creek. And he’d just tripped over her.