Taken Bride (The Secret Bride 3)

“We need to get her inside,” I say, knowing she’s been outside in the elements for too long, and aside from broken bones, we’ll have to deal with hypothermia.

The mountain man reaches beneath Violet, swoops her into his arms, and begins trudging through the snow as if her body doesn’t weigh a thing.

I reach down and assist Ember up. Her body is frozen, and I worry about her as well. I wrap my arm around her and say, “We need to get you warmed up too.”

“Thank you,” Ember says as we head back to the house. “You saved her life. You saved her, and you saved me. I couldn’t have lived with myself if—” Her voice cracks, and a sob escapes her chattering lips.

I pull her closer to me and speed up our pace as the snow falls around us a little harder now. “She’s safe now. All will be fine.”

“Because of you,” she chatters. “Everything will be fine only because of you.”

18

Christopher

“I didn’t catch your name,” I say to the man as we all stand around the fire, trying to warm our soaking-wet bodies.

The man looks at me but doesn’t say anything. His long beard is wet, his clothing as well, but he seems steadfast and strong. I don’t see a shiver in his body. His only concern and focus is Violet, who he’s placed on blankets laid out by the fire by Holly in a mad dash when we entered the chapel.

“Do you live around here?” I press. I feel the need to get to know this man. Not because I don’t trust him, but because there’s a deep curiosity to find out who he truly is.

Ember is studying the man intensely as well. “You’ve been watching us, haven’t you?” she asks. “It was you who I called out to, wasn’t it?”

Ember’s right; it’s been him in the woods all along. “I saw you too, right? It was you who I saw and was yelling at.”

He doesn’t say anything but nods. It was never Richard or Scarecrow. It was this man… watching.

“You watch us and have been. That’s how you knew Violet went over the cliff?” Ember adds. “You were watching the whole time.”

“The mountain is no place for women to be left alone,” he says as he runs his fingers over Violet’s other leg and arms. “I think the only broken bone is your leg,” he tells her. “I’ll splint it if you’ll let me.”

Violet nods as she reaches out for his hand. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me… again.” She then looks up at Holly and begins to sob. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I did that.”

Holly kneels beside her and takes her hand in hers. “Shhh… you don’t need to worry about that now.”

Violet looks at Ember. “I’m sorry, Ember. I know I can never take back what I did. Why I did it… I’m sorry.”

Ember takes her other free hand. “Promise me you’ll never do this again. We love you, Violet. Nothing is ever so awful that you have to…. Promise me.”

Violet nods but continues to cry.

I stoke the fire as Mountain Man begins to work on splinting Violet’s leg, noticing the storm isn’t letting up as I had hoped. I really thought I’d be hiking down the mountain soon, but now with Violet’s condition, this plan is definitely going to have to be modified.

Ember returns her attention to the mountain man, then looks at Holly and Violet and clearly sees what I do. This man isn’t exactly a stranger to the sisters. “Do you know this man?” she asks Holly.

Holly glances at him and nods. “We do.”

“He saved me from a mountain lion,” Violet says. “And he’s been watching over us ever since.”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was him out there watching us?”

“He likes his privacy,” Holly says, shifting her weight and avoiding eye contact with Ember.

“Scarecrow would kill us if he knew we’ve spoken to another man,” Violet says. “So, we kept him secret.” Her eyes look up at him lovingly. “But he’s always looking out for us. If it weren’t for him, we would have starved when Scarecrow and Richard left to find you. They didn’t leave us with any food or means to hunt for any.” She hisses in pain as the mountain man secures the splint tighter.

Ember smiles and shakes her head. “Was it you giving the rabbit and mushrooms to Violet a couple of days ago?” She shakes her head. “I was wondering how Violet could be so lucky to find all that.”

“Do you have a name?” I ask again, liking the man but uncomfortable not knowing his name.

“Isaac.” He sits Violet up and asks, “Do you mind if I run my hands up your spine and on your ribs? I want to make sure you didn’t do any harm to them.”