Conner's Contrary Bride by Barbara Goss (accelerated reader books .txt) 📗

Moe opened his mouth to speak, but the sheriff silenced him.   He and his posse, stormed in with guns drawn.

Sheriff Babcock looked at them in surprise. “Whoa. Looks like Conner has everything under control.”

“No,” Conner answered, “my wife has everything under control.” He gave Elsie a smile that told her how proud he was of her.

Conner put his arms out, and she flew into them. He held her while the sheriff gave Moe to his posse.

“Where’s the other one?” Babcock asked.

Conner smiled. “You need to ask my wife.”

Elsie moved from Conner’s arms reluctantly, and she led the sheriff to the weeds where she’d left Abe.

Abe groaned when the sheriff picked him up, and it relieved Elsie to know she hadn’t killed him.

Conner had followed them out of the mine, carrying a lantern.

“Hey, Doc,” the sheriff called to him, “you have another patient. Your wife conked him on the head. Follow us to the jailhouse, and you can treat him.”

Conner nodded. “My pleasure.”

“Where’s Bertie?” Elsie asked the sheriff as he mounted his horse.

“I sent her home. She knew we could handle the situation.” He waved and rode off with Abe straddled over the horse’s rump.

To Elsie’s delight, Conner set the lantern down and held out his arms. “Come here, Mrs. Van Gates.”

Elsie went into his arms.

“You surprised me. I never realized how brave a tiny bit of a woman like you could be. You hit Abe over the head with a rock?”

Elsie still trembled a bit at the thought of what she’d done, but she nodded. “God gave me the courage and the brain to know when the time to strike was right. I just felt moved and did it without a thought of danger.”

“God? You believe in Him, now?”

“Absolutely.”

Conner bent down to kiss her lightly on the lips. “That’s what I’ve been waiting for and praying for.”

Elsie was still reeling from his sweet kiss. “What?”

“I couldn’t let myself fall for a non-believer. The Bible tells us that. Had I known you weren’t a believer, I never would have married you. I was clear about that on my questionnaire.”

Elsie felt confused. “I was clear about my disbelief, as well.”

Conner laughed and hugged her again. “I think this may be the beginning of something special, despite those daft questionnaires. I can’t thank you enough for coming to my rescue tonight.”

Elsie smiled up at him. “I didn’t want to miss out on that new house on our beautiful land, is all.”

Conner laughed, and Elsie laughed with him. At that moment, something changed inside of her, she could feel it; she’d just fallen in love with Conner.

Chapter Thirteen

Conner decided on the night his little wife helped free him from the bank robbers, that he’d start courting her. It wasn’t so much that she’d been brave and saved him as much as knowing she was a Christian. That had been one of the things holding him back, more so than the memory of Mary.

They may not have much in common, but she was a brave little spitfire, and it amused him that this sweet, quiet woman could conk a bank robber over the head with a rock and hold another at gunpoint. He was sure that once feelings grew between them, they could iron out their differences. At least, he hoped they could.

When he’d held her trembling body in his arms at the mine, she felt like she’d belonged there. The kiss had been unplanned, but he’d felt moved to do it. Emotions? Perhaps, but it was a sweet kiss that had lingered on his lips for hours afterward.

The morning after the mine adventure, he got up early, went into town, and bought the land they’d discussed. He walked over to the lumberyard, spoke to the owner, and got the name of a reliable builder. Next, he visited the man and paid him a deposit to begin building their house. The builder wanted Conner to bring his wife back with him so they could work on a layout of the house together.

Elsie and Conner sat at a large table in the builder’s office. Jess Howard showed them several blueprints of houses he’d built.

“So,” Jess said, “do you like any of these floor plans?”

Conner let Elsie pick the one she liked first because he figured she’d want the opposite of the one he liked.

She tapped on the floor plan he disliked the most, as he knew she would.

“Why do you like that one, Elsie?”

“It has the back porch I wanted so I could watch the sunset, and the kitchen faces the backyard, so I can keep an eye on any children we might have while I cook or do dishes.”

Conner sighed. “We have Bertie to do the cooking and washing up.”

“What if she leaves us?”

“She won’t.”

Now, Elsie sighed. “Which one do you like?”

Conner pointed to a plan. “This one has a front porch, but I’m sure we can modify it, right Jeff?” When Jeff nodded, Conner continued, “This one has four bedrooms—don’t forget we need a room for Bertie, and this one has a bedroom downstairs which would be perfect for her. The extra bedrooms could be for guests, like if my sister or brother come for a visit.”

Elsie nodded, wondering why he never mentioned children in their future. Did he plan for their marriage to be one where they never slept together?

“The kitchen is at the back of the house like you wanted.”

Elsie stared at the plan of the house Conner favored. “I guess as long as the porch is moved to the back of the house...”

Jeff said, “For a hundred dollars more, you can have a front and back porch.”

Elsie’s eyes lit up. So Conner agreed to pay the