Free to Serve Read online

  Free to Serve

  Book 4

  A Texas Wildflower Novelette

  By Susette Williams

  Freedom Brides

  A controversial new program. A new hope for six women in need. When others wilt, they will thrive. These are the Texas Wildflowers.

  Texas Wildflowers novelette series~

  FREE TO LOVE –Book 1

  FREE TO HEAL –Book 2

  FREE TO PROTECT –Book 3

  FREE TO SERVE –Book 4

  FREE TO ROAM –Book 5

  FREE TO FORGIVE –Book 6

  Published by Family Friendly Fiction

  Copyright © 2015 by Susette Williams

  Cover Design © Susette Williams

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  PROLOGUE

  The latest arrival made six men. They each sat in the desolate pews—having been escorted by a deputy or sheriff.

  The sheriff reached the front and leaned his back against the pulpit, his arms crossed in rigid form. His eyes landed on each man in the room, resting on them individually for a few seconds.

  “I am Sheriff Daniels. Welcome to Mucksbe, your new home, should you choose to make it.” Again, the sheriff took several moments to make eye contact with each man.

  A dark-haired man in the front shifted to the edge of his seat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Yeah, what do you mean new home,” A scraggly blond haired man asked.

  Unfazed by the skepticism, Sheriff Daniels kept his severe pose. “Men, each of you have been handpicked to participate in the new Freedom Brides program.”

  “Brides?” One of the men choked.

  “Yes, Freedom Brides.” Sheriff Daniels grinned—it was an arrogant, mocking smile. “As a joint effort among several local communities, we’ve devised a social outreach program to combat multiple problems facing our towns.”

  “Get to the gist.” The audacious man was the one who’d been the last to arrive.

  Sheriff Daniels narrowed his gaze. “Any more outbursts and your offer to participate will be immediately rescinded.”

  The man clenched his jaw, but remained quiet.

  “Each of you was chosen as a flagship participants because your crimes, while still demanding punishment, are minor infractions. I, and the other sheriffs involved, believe you each have something to offer that will better our community.”

  Silence reigned among the six men, every one of them at rapt attention.

  A hand raised. The sheriff nodded permission to speak. “What does this program entail?”

  “If you choose, you will marry a woman in need in exchange for your freedom.”

  The sheriff removed a handful of folded papers from his inner vest pocket. He straightened them out and handed each man a sheet. “They are all written here. Should you choose to participate, you must sign this paper, agreeing to abide by all rules. Otherwise, you’ll be returned to the jail cell you came from, same as if you break any of them.”

  Each man took the paper handed to him and read the handwritten rules.

  1) Remain within a fifteen mile radius of the courthouse for the first three months of program involvement.

  2) Refrain from any alcohol or tobacco use.

  3) Refrain from entering any den of iniquity.

  4) Remain faithful to their spouse and not bring any harm upon them.

  5) Actively participate in assisting with spouse’s needs/requests.

  6) Participate in one day of community service per month for the first six months.

  No matter their individual concerns, when the time came to sign his name, all six men dipped the pen into the ink and signed their name—they were committed.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Gabriella Emerson stared at the letter in her trembling hands. She’d read it a dozen times, yet the words on the page still jumbled through her mind. How could Sadie just leave, and worse yet, how could she leave her eight-year-old daughter, Lilly, behind?

  It had been over seven months since Sadie had penned the letter and disappeared without anyone noticing. No matter how many times Gabriella read it, she couldn’t find any clues as to where Sadie may have gone. Sadie had only pleaded, asking her to care for Lilly.

  She couldn’t wait any longer for Sadie to come back. Her breath caught in her throat thinking about the situation. For all she knew, Sadie could be dead. Taking a deep breath to cleanse her mind, Gabriella knew it was time to do as Lilly had asked, and truly care for her daughter. Especially since it looked like she would be Lilly’s new ma indefinitely.

  At eight, Lilly was getting too old for exposure to the type of lifestyle Sadie and Gabriella had lived. After last night, it was no longer safe to have her around the saloon. Gabriella still couldn’t rid herself of the memory of one of the patrons smoothing back Lilly’s straight, brown hair behind her ear, talking about what a pretty girl she was growing up to be and how one day… She covered her mouth and gasped as bile lined her throat.

  No.

  As long as Gabriella was alive, Lilly would never work in a saloon—ever. She was taking her young charge out of there immediately. When the stagecoach departed today, they would be on it, bound for Mucksbe, Texas. One way or another, she’d convince Sheriff Daniels that he needed to allow her to participate in the Freedom Bride program. If not—she didn’t want to think about the alternative. He had to let her into the program and that was all there was to it. There was no going back.

  After closing the two small valises, Gabriella took one in each hand, looked around the small room she had shared with Lilly for months above the saloon, and headed downstairs to retrieve her from the school house.

  Before Gabriella made it halfway down the stairs, her boss, Calvin Thomsly, caught sight of her, his eyebrow arching quizzically. By the time she reached the last step, he already had a booted foot propped on the step and was leaning on the banister.

  Calvin was a looker. With his slender build, shoulder length brown, wavy hair and defined jaw line, he drew quite the attention from the ladies, even though he was in his mid-forties by Gabriella’s estimation. She’d often thought he’d taken a shining to Sadie, but she’d apparently been mistaken. He didn’t appear to know where she had gone either. Gabriella stopped at the second to last step.

  He glanced down at her hands and back up, his gaze piercing her deep within as he pinned her with his steely, brown eyes. “And where do you think you might be going, little missy?”

  “It’s time for me and Lilly to be on our way.” What could she say, other than the truth? Gabriella swallowed. She’d hoped to avoid this confrontation, but there wasn’t a good way to slip out of the saloon unnoticed, at least not with their few, meager belongings.

  “Don’t you think you ought to stay around and wait for Sadie to return?” Calvin reached up and twisted one of her curls around his finger. He gently tugged and watched the hair stretch before it bounced back into a curl. “She won’t know where to find you if you leave.”

  “I have to leave—for Lilly.”

  That caught his attention. He frowned. “What do you mean, for Lilly? Is something wrong that I don’t know about?”

  Gabriella looked at the front window of the saloon, longing to be on the other side of the glass. She tried to focus on something, anything she could lock her gaze with.

  Calvin gripped her jaw and turned her to face him. “What’s going on?”

  Reluctantly, she relayed the events that had taken place the night before, including how the patron implied he’d be more than happy to help Lilly step into womanhood. A tear trickled down Gabriella’s cheek.

  “I can’t stay here with her. She deserves better, not the type of life that Sadie and I ended up with.” She hadn’t even realized when Calvin had removed his hand from her face.

  “Where will you go?” His jaw clenched. “And what will you do to get by?”

  “You know there are more men than there are women, men who want a wife.” She told him about the program, and how she hoped to find someone to marry who would help provide for both of them.

  “Sounds like a plan, except, what happens when he starts to realize you can’t have children?” Calvin’s words cut like a knife, even though he hadn’t spoken them to cause her pain.

  “I figure, a man needs a son to work the farm and hope to persuade him that by adopting, he would have a son now instead of having to wait years before he had a son old enough to help.” Gabriella’s lower lip quivered slightly. She’d laid in bed, unabl
e to sleep, thinking about what she had to offer a man in marriage. The same thoughts had run through her mind for years, but marriage was something that had never seriously entered her head. Now that she was forced to think about it, the only positive things she had to offer were her cooking and cleaning abilities, and she knew how to please a man. Given these men had to marry to stay out of prison, surely they didn’t expect prim and proper wives—the normal go-to-church-Sunday-morning types.

  “Here, let me give you something.” Calvin sauntered over to the bar.

  Unsure what he had for her, she followed him, setting both of her valises down beside her. Her eyes widened when Calvin extended a handful of bills he’d taken from the till. She didn’t know what to say. Instinctively, she reached out to take the money he offered. “Thank you.”

  “Make sure to get yourself a nice dress or two, and don’t wear too much makeup,” Calvin said. “You want to look like the type of woman a man wants to wake up next to the rest of his life.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sawyer Stephenson lay on his lumpy cot in the prison cell, his arm bent over his face to block out his surroundings while he relaxed and prayed. Since he’d been transferred to Mucksbe, he’d had time to think about his current situation and how he ended up here.

  It wasn’t bad that he wanted to help the needy, but stealing, even if it was from the rich, was still a sin and against the law. He’d been so over-zealous in his desire to help, that he’d ended up incapacitated and was no longer a help to anyone.

  Being in prison had shown him that his life was not his own. There was little more he could do than take time to think and pray. His first prayers had been used to unleash his anger toward God for allowing the needy to go hungry. Then the time to reflect made him come face-to-face with the reality that he’d ended up in prison as a result of his own doing, and not waiting or listening for an answer from God. He was a preacher—a man of God. How did he allow himself to end up in jail? The disciples had spent time in prison, yet he was nothing like a true follower, because he had allowed himself to sin in his attempt to do right. As such, he deserved to pay for his wrongdoing. Lord, please give me a second chance to make things right. I’ll serve you in a manner which glorifies you. Amen.

  “Time to get up, Preacher.”

  He didn’t have to look to know who spoke—Sheriff Daniels. They’d already had lunch and it was too early for dinner, so what did he want? Sawyer moved his arm to position it behind his head and looked at the sheriff. “Since it isn’t time to eat, let me guess, you found me a wife?”

  Sheriff Daniels shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”

  A smile crept across Sawyer’s face. He had to admit, he was curious. He swung his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up, then rose to his feet and walked over to the door of the cell and held out his arms, wrists close together. “Gonna cuff me?” Sawyer chuckled as a thought came to him. “You know, I’ve never thought getting a life sentence before in terms of marriage. You might even get more men committing crimes just to get themselves a wife.”

  The sheriff clasped the cuffs tight, making Sawyer flinch. He stared at Sawyer. “That ain’t even funny.”

  “Depends on the perspective, I reckon.” Sawyer let his arms drop as he walked out of his cell when Sheriff Daniels opened the door. It’d been a cage for a couple weeks now, with no reprieve. He could understand how men who’d been in prison a while had a tendency to want to run. It would either settle a man down, or make him prone to running free.

  Until a moment ago, Sawyer hadn’t really thought about how the Freedom Bride program had the ability to give a man another chance, or encourage a lonely, desolate man to use the program as a means of obtaining a wife. People were funny like that, you never knew what motivated them—something he often thought about in the ministry. The age-old question that would probably never be answered was why people were willing to throw their lives away, at the cost of their family, or even their very soul, in order to indulge in sin.

  It was a shame that any woman could be so desperate that she’d marry a man in prison in order to get by. Conviction fell on him when he remembered that he was one of those men. Judge not, that ye be not judged. God had given him a second chance, and God had also extended His forgiveness to others—something Sawyer was ashamed to have to remind himself because he was no better than those he would condemn.

  He followed the sheriff into the outer office and took a seat across the desk from him. “So, mind explaining maybe to me?”

  The other man sat back in his chair, his hands folded, elbows resting on the arms of the wooden chair. Sawyer knew when he was being sized up, and this was one of those times.

  Sheriff Daniels let out a long exhale before speaking. “You’re in the business of giving someone second chances, and one of the candidates for the program desperately needs one.”

  If it weren’t for the serious expression on the sheriff’s face, Sawyer would have laughed, given his earlier prayer asking God for a second chance. God didn’t waste any time replying, even if it was in the form of a test—one he hoped to pass this time. He silently ushered up a prayer, promising not to fail again.

  Before he had time to think about it, “How can I help?” came rambling from his mouth.

  “You may want to hear the details and think about it before you agree to anything.” Sheriff Daniels sat up. His chair creaked as he leaned his forearms on the desk. “There’s a girl whose Ma up and left, but hasn’t returned. The woman who took her in wants to provide a better life for herself and the girl.”

  “Well, that sounds noble.” He didn’t understand why the sheriff would think he’d have reservations. Unless, the woman was hideous looking or old. “But I’ve got the feeling there’s something about the woman, like her appearance, that I’m not gonna like.”

  The way the sheriff hemmed and hawed around didn’t bode well for Sawyer. Perhaps the man was warning him before he met the woman so he wouldn’t act repulsed when he saw her. While beauty was in the eye of the beholder, he’d be the one having to hold her.

  “To be honest…” The sheriff took his hat off long enough to run his fingers through his hair. “She’s a very beautiful woman, but…”

  “But what?” Sawyer was starting to get agitated with the man’s delays. He wished he’d just say whatever it was that he was obviously afraid to say.

  “Gabriella Emerson was a saloon girl.” After the sheriff realized he wasn’t going to get more than a raised eyebrow and chuckle from Sawyer, he went on to relay the events that led up to the sudden change in lifestyle for the woman. “If you think you can’t be strong enough to set a good example for Lilly and Gabriella, then I’ll see if one of the other men would want to marry her.”

  “My main concern is, what if the girl’s ma shows up?” Sawyer said. “Is Miss Emerson going to be able to maintain a chaste lifestyle?”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Gabriella didn’t know what to expect as she sat on the front pew of the white church. The last time she sat in church was for a funeral, and that had been a decade ago, when her parents died. Impulsively, she wrung her hands in her lap. She smiled at Lilly sitting next to her, then reached over and took her hand. Lilly looked pretty in the new blue dress she’d bought for her. Thankfully Calvin had been generous and given her money to buy a few things. “Are you excited to start our new adventure?”

  Lilly leaned against Gabriella’s arm. Her nod was so faint, her head barely moved. “Do you think he’ll have a puppy?”

  Such an innocent question, but it warmed Gabriella’s heart. Her own parents’ deaths had thrown her into the lifestyle she lived in, but for Lilly’s sake, she’d use whatever means necessary to keep her from following down the same path she’d taken—even if her choices had been out of necessity, a means of surviving. Now, she’d willingly make sacrifices to save a young child.

  She squeezed Lilly’s hand. “I don’t know, sweetheart, but maybe we can see about one later, after we get settled in our new life.”