Once Upon a Mail Order Bride - Linda Broday Page 0,30
flickered along the walls like a hundred fireflies.
Unlike New Zion, no one had forced them to attend. Odd that it was standing room only.
Ridge, looking every bit a man of authority, strode to the pulpit. “Thank you all for coming. A situation has developed that you should all be made aware of, and we have some decisions to make.” He told them about the bounty hunters and the exchange of gunfire. “One got away. I don’t know how bad off he is, but my gut says he’ll be back.”
Loud murmurs rose among the crowd. One man jumped to his feet and shook a fist. “If he comes back here, he’ll find more of the same! We want to be left in peace to make a living and raise our families.”
“That’s what we all want,” Ridge agreed. “But this land is changing, and lawmen are becoming more and more plentiful. It’s a dangerous time for men like us. We’ve talked before about opening the back entrance to town, and now we need to hear your thoughts on the matter. More and more people are coming to settle, good people who want to make a difference here. We can’t grow if we stay closed off.”
“We might not have a town to grow if the law has its way!” shouted a man several rows up.
These people were scared of losing everything they had. Addie’s heart went out to them. Their determination and strength to keep their life here impressed her. An unkempt woman with short, wild hair crept into the church, scanning the crowd, looking for a seat. Addie scooted over to make room, and the newcomer sat beside her.
Clay walked to Ridge and whispered something.
The assembly had gotten loud. Ridge tried to speak over the noise and finally had to bang on the pulpit with his fist for attention. “Clay’s just reminded me that we’ll soon have a bank, and the banker’s set to arrive next month. The gentleman could pull out if he finds the town closed. This might play a part in your decision, so think about that.”
The woman next to Addie muttered under her breath, “You’ll regret opening up the back entrance, mark my words.”
Jack came forward, his badge winking under the lights. “I’d like to say something.” He turned to face them. “Folks, we’ve been real lucky so far. Those with the most to lose should have the loudest voice, not me and others who’ve obtained pardons for our crimes. But I bought in to Clay’s crazy idea to build a town here because I sought a better life than being on the run. We’ve fought tooth and toenail for that dream, fought for all of you. Sooner or later, it’ll be time to lay down our guns. That time might be now.”
“What are you talking about?” The speaker was the big fiddle player, Dallas Hawk. Gray streaked his dark beard, and red mottled his puffy cheeks.
“I’m saying that it might not be good to act like we’re hiding something. Bounty hunters and lawmen will start breathing down our necks more than ever. If we open up the town and go about our business, show them we’re law-abiding, they might stop sniffing around and leave us alone.”
Except that Ridge had a price on his head that would appeal to a lot of desperate men, law-abiding now or not. Addie picked at the edge of her shawl.
A man wearing red suspenders got to his feet and drawled, “Jack, I seem to recall a time when you dyed your hair blond to throw a posse off your scent.”
Everyone chuckled.
“That’s true, Horace, I did,” Jack admitted.
“Trouble is, that bounty hunter has already seen Ridge,” Red Suspenders continued. “He knows to come here, and no hair dye’s going to throw him off the scent this time. I vote we keep the back entrance closed, just the way it is.”
“Damn right,” the woman beside her murmured. “We don’t want bounty hunters here.”
“I’ll turn this meeting back over to Ridge.” Jack sat.
Ridge took Jack’s place. “Okay, folks. I think it’s time to vote. Raise your hand if you want to keep the back entrance to town closed.” Almost every single person raised their hand.
“It’s unanimous. We’ll leave it closed.” Ridge nodded to Clay. “Now, one more order of business. Do we post a guard at the entrance to town as we’ve had to do in the past?” Again, almost every hand went up. Addie smiled. She liked how democratic these people were. It was