As his father and Owen slipped out of view, he turned to the deputy. “Let’s find my wife.”
***
Rose woke up to the sound of someone calling her name. Ignoring the kink in her neck, she lifted her head and squinted at the shadows of two men who moved toward her. She tried to call out to them, sure that one of them was Kent, but she couldn’t speak over the cloth in her mouth.
“Rose?” came Kent’s familiar voice as he set a carpetbag by his feet.
She nodded, not sure if he could see the gesture in the darkness. She wiggled in the chair so that the legs hit the floor. He knelt in front of her and removed the cloth so she could speak. “I knew you’d come for me!”
“My father didn’t tell me where you were in the ransom note he sent,” he replied. “Your uncle Owen and his deputy,” he pointed to the other man who tipped his hat, “helped me make sure my father told me where you were.”
“The sheriff is taking him to jail as we speak,” the deputy added. “You don’t have to worry about him coming after you again.”
Kent finished releasing her then helped her to her feet. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“No, I’m fine.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew close to him, taking comfort in his embrace. “Now I understand why you don’t like to talk about your past.”
“I’m just glad you’re alright. I don’t think my father would actually hurt anyone, but I didn’t think he’d resort to kidnapping either.” He slipped his arm around her waist and picked up the bag. “Thank you for your help,” he told the deputy.
“I’m just glad everything turned out alright.”
After he left, Kent led her down the deserted street that would take them to town. “I don’t know what to say about my father, really. He craves money. He always has and I suppose he always will. The thing is, he gets greedy and ends up gambling for a quick win. Eventually, he loses and moves somewhere else so he can find someone wealthy to befriend him and tell him what investments to make that’ll pay off. It’s a never-ending cycle. He and I never saw eye to eye on anything, and to be honest, I was glad to get away from him when I went to Ireland.”
“And your mother?”
“She went along with whatever he wanted.” He swallowed then added, “She’s passed on to the next life.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
A moment passed before he continued speaking. “The important thing is that you’re safe and he won’t ever kidnap you again.”
Smiling, she kissed his cheek. “You were so brave. You risked everything to save me. It’s just like that story I read about a woman who was lured into a cave. A horrible villain was hiding there, and he was going to kill her unless someone rescued her in time. The hero went through all these hurdles to find her. He traveled across the sea in the middle of a storm and got stuck on an island where this tribe almost ate him. Then he almost got stuck in quicksand. Then there was a giant lion that was hunting him! That one had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I spent all night reading that book to find out how it ended.”
They neared his office where his coachman waited by their carriage, but he paused and turned to face her. “How did it end?”
Surprised since he hadn’t seemed interested in how any of the stories she’d told him about ended, she asked, “You really want to know?”
“Yes. Did he find her?”
“He did. And he married her and they lived happily ever after. Just like us. Oh, Kent, you’re like a knight in shining armor, coming to rescue the damsel in distress. I never doubted for a moment that you’d come for me, just as that hero came for her.”
Chuckling, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “Rose, promise me that you’ll never stop reading those stories or making me out to seem more heroic than I really am. It’s all part of what makes you charming.”
“You think I’m charming?”
“Very much so.”
She returned his kiss. “I love you.”
If you want to read about Kent Ashton’s past, you can read Falling In Love With Her Husband and “Kent Ashton’s Backstory.”
Falling In Love With Her Husband
Todd Brothers loves Ann Statesman. But she loves Kent Ashton. When Kent gets engaged to someone else, Ann no longer trusts her judgment in picking the right man to marry. So she chooses the man her parents have always admired and respected: Todd.
They elope and go to North Dakota. At their new home, Ann gets to know Todd as more than her friend's older brother. But will her newfound love for her husband be enough when Kent comes for her?
***
Kent Ashton’s Backstory
In Falling In Love With Her Husband, Kent Ashton was the villain… Or at least that is how Ann Statesman and Todd Brothers saw him.
But was he really? Why did he really end his courtship with Ann? Was his scandalous behavior with Rebecca Johnson the reason he became engaged to her? And what compelled him to go after Ann after she married Todd and moved to North Dakota?
Coming December 2013
The Stagecoach Bride
by Ruth Ann Nordin and Stephannie Beman
Lillian Christian believed she left her troubles behind when she escaped Ohio and headed west to be the mail-order bride of Mr. Charles Gray. But her troubles are just beginning. Taken from the stagecoach by a group of outlaws looking for Mr. Gray’s intended, she finds not everything is as it seems and no one is safe.
A simple rancher who just wants to be left alone, Mic, leader of the Nichols’ Boys Gang, is forced into the life of an outlaw and the distasteful act of kidnapping a woman. But he won’t let his honor stand in the way of protecting his family or helping the innocent woman whose life he’s destroyed. He’ll do what he has to in order to fix the mistakes of his past, and hopefully, he’ll be the only one to pay the price.
Coming January 2014
Bride by Arrangement (Anthology)
by Ruth Ann Nordin and Janet Syas Nitsick
This anthology features two novellas. One is from Ruth Ann Nordin and the other is from Janet Syas Nitsick.
The Purchased Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin
Ada Wilcox never thought her brother would answer a mail-order bride ad on her behalf. Worse, he’s sold her–sight unseen–to a complete stranger. As she travels to Nebraska, she doesn’t know whether to be angry with her brother or scared about the uncertain future looming before her.
Pete Kelly never thought he’d marry. Then one day his brother brings him a woman to marry, and the loneliness that plagued him for years in his quiet world is finally at an end. But the gift he was given might be quickly taken away if he doesn’t act in time to keep it.
She Came By Train by Janet Syas Nitsick
She came by train to a desolate land. With mixed feelings, Opal Preston steps onto the platform to meet her employer, Alexander Boyer. She accepts his hand and climbs into his wagon to begin her role as the governess to his two children. As she executes her duties, she wonders how she’ll cope without the finery she left behind.
Soon two men are vying for her affections. Alex can’t imagine his life without her and looks for a way to convince her to stay in Nebraska. But a preacher from Virginia is also smitten with her and offers to take her back home. She came by train, but only her heart can determine if she’ll return the same way.
List of Romances by Ruth Ann Nordin
The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife
Her Counterfeit Husband
A Most Unsuitable Earl
His Reluctant Lady
Nebraska Historical Romance Collection
Her Heart’s Desire
A Bride for Tom
A Husband for Margaret
Eye of the Beholder
The Wrong Husband
Shotgun Groom
To Have and
To Hold
His Redeeming Bride
Isaac’s Decision
Kent Ashton’s Backstory (Prequel to Catching Kent)
Catching Kent
South Dakota Historical Romances
Loving Eliza
Bid for a Bride
Bride of Second Chances
Montana Historical Romances
Mitch’s Win
Native American Romance Series (historical)
Restoring Hope
Brave Beginnings
Bound by Honor, Bound by Love
A Chance In Time (novella) – main characters show up in Restoring Hope and Bound by Honor, Bound by Love)
Virginia Brides Series (historical)
An Unlikely Place for Love
The Cold Wife
An Inconvenient Marriage
Romancing Adrienne
Other Historical Western Romances
Falling In Love With Her Husband
Meant To Be
Contemporary Omaha Romances
With This Ring, I Thee Dread
What Nathan Wants
Contemporary Florida Romances
Substitute Bride
Across the Stars Series
Suddenly a Bride
Runaway Bride
His Abducted Bride