The Brides of Evergreen Box Set Read online

  Brides of Evergreen Box Set Books 1-4

  Christian Historical Western Romance

  heather blanton

  Contents

  Hang Your Heart on Christmas

  Preface

  Foreword

  The Legend…

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Bonus Material

  Ask Me to Marry You

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  A Proposal So Magical

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Mail-Order Deception

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  To Love and To Honor

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Also by Heather Blanton

  About the Author

  Hang Your Heart on Christmas

  A marshal tormented by a thirst for vengeance. A school teacher desperate to trade fear for courage. They have nothing in common except a quiet, little town built on betrayal.

  Robert "Dent" Hernandez is a U.S. Marshal bent on bringin’ ’em in, preferably upright in the saddle, but draped across it works, too. Less interested in justice than revenge, he uses the badge as a license to hunt for his father’s killers. When an arrest goes wrong and he’s temporarily remanded to quaint Evergreen, Wyoming to act as interim sheriff, he writhes over the delay to his plans. That is, until he meets the very pretty, but suspiciously jittery schoolteacher. What is she so afraid of? Turns out, a lot of folks in Evergreen are keeping secrets—ones that may shake the foundation of everything Dent believes in.

  An old-fashioned Western, Hang Your Heart on Christmas reads like an episode of Gunsmoke. Packed with drama, a tantalizing mystery, and a heartwarming romance, you'll come back to read this lawman's story, again and again.

  BONUS MATERIAL-- Includes a special vintage Christmas recipe and the true story behind the fictional Dent Hernandez! A clean, cowboy western romance with action and adventure. A great read, to take on vacation with you, any time of the year!

  Heather Blanton

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  Foreword

  DEAR READERS,

  I would like to again say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have had such a wonderful time taking you all on some incredible journeys in my books. Along the way, we’ve become friends. That has been an unexpected blessing. I so truly appreciate your support, your smiles, your comments on my facebook page. I am moved daily by your family photos, your quests to make your dreams come true, the private thoughts you share with me.

  I truly value your time and humbly seek to deliver a tale that you will ponder long after you have closed the book or your Kindle. I pray, too, that this story will allow a glimpse of God’s perfect love.

  It is my sincere hope that this little novella blesses you, prompts you to consider what things are truly important in life, and gives you the courage to lay down the things that suck the life from you. Slow down, give thought to the reason for the season, and fall in love with the One who was born to die for you.

  Merry Christmas,

  Heather

  The Legend…

  The legendary Elfego Baca is the inspiration behind my hero Robert “Dent” Hernandez.

  Elfego’s father Francisco was a lawman, and, on occasion, he allowed his son to ride with him in pursuit of some pretty tough hombres. Francisco taught his son to shoot, to ride, to fight, and to wear the badge like a man of justice, not vengeance. He could not have foreseen how well the lessons would stick.

  In 1884, nineteen-year-old Elfego learned that the rowdy cowhands from John Slaughter’s ranch were running roughshod over the mostly-Spanish community of Lower Frisco, NM. Raping, pillaging, the usual outlaw behavior. Outraged, Elfego somehow wrangled a badge (real, fake, the details are fuzzy) and headed off to clean up the town.

  Not long after his arrival, he was alerted to the ungentlemanly behavior of one Charlie McCarty. Drunk and belligerent, McCarty was howling at the moon, firing his gun indiscriminately, and generally scaring the townsfolk silly. Baca arrested the cowhand straightaway.

  As is always the case in these situations, things quickly spiraled out of control and Elfego Baca found himself hiding in a jacal (ha-cal – a flimsy structure-like a shack) and being shot at by between forty and eighty very annoyed cowboys. Hundreds of thousands of rounds were fired at him during a thirty-three hour siege. Just the door to the one room, cedar-and-mud structure was hit nearly four hundred times!

  Elfego survived unscathed.

  He did, however, kill one cowboy, shoot one horse (which then fell on its rider and killed him), and wound several of his attackers.

  When the siege was
over, our young lawman still wasn’t done. He sent a letter to the cowboys who had tried to kill him. It read, "I have a warrant here for your arrest. Please come in by March 15 and give yourself up. If you don’t, I’ll know you intend to resist arrest, and I will feel justified in shooting you on sight when I come after you."

  Most of the men couldn’t surrender fast enough.

  Elfego’s good fortune and startling bravado was the foundation of his legendary status. He lived a colorful, sometimes controversial, life as a lawman, attorney, politician, and hero. He left behind a statue and some tall tales. I thank him for being the inspiration behind Hang Your Heart on Christmas.

  This story is dedicated to our own brave lawmen and women and first responders. May I encourage you to never give in, never back down, and never lose faith. We’re behind you. Thank you for your courage.

  Beloved, never avenge yourselves,

  but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written

  [in Scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

  But if your enemy is hungry, feed him;

  if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this

  you will heap [a]burning coals on his head.”

  Do not be overcome and conquered by evil,

  but overcome evil with good.

  Romans 12:19-21 Amplified Bible (AMP)

  1

  U.S. Marshal Robert “Dent” Hernandez signed the voucher and slid it back across the desk to the sheriff. “That’ll do it.” Two down...how many more to go?

  Sheriff Ben Hayes leaned back in his chair and regarded Dent with that familiar, pitying expression. “Son, aren’t you tired?”

  Dent held his breath to keep from sighing. Ben, with his barrel-chest and graying hair, was a good man, but he was too eager to share his thirty-years of lawman wisdom. “No, sir.” Dent swiped his hat up off the desk. “Bringin’ ‘em in is my job.”

  “You know that’s not what I’m talkin about. Your pa wouldn’t want you throwing your life away on his account.”

  Dent dropped his hat on his head. “If the men I arrest don’t have a chance to kill somebody else’s pa, that’s not a waste.” He touched the brim in good-bye. “I’m gonna go get some lunch. I’ll head out with the prisoners after.”

  He stepped out on the now-sun-washed main street of Evergreen and flinched at the mud. Six straight days of autumn rains had turned the normally dusty street into a quagmire. Off to his left, four men, covered head to toe in the muck, sweated and cursed the mess as they worked to pry their wagon loose. Mules strained and tugged. The sucking sound from the wheels drowned out the noise from the rest of the mud-weary traffic.

  “Dent,” Ben stepped up beside him, “you don’t take a day off. You don’t rest. You swing through town once in a blue moon, and then you’re gone again. You got roots in this town and they’re dying.”

  “That would be a tragedy.”

  “You could attend a dance every now and then.” Ben wiggled his eyebrows. “Git your arms around a pretty girl. Bid on a sweet apple pie.”

  Dent didn’t care to reply. He continued watching the men mired in the mud. Most excitement this town has seen in a decade.

  “That hate’s gonna eat you up, son. One day you’ll wake up fat, old, and alone–like me–and wonder what it was all for.”

  That last part surprised Dent. “You’re a good lawman, Ben. You don’t think it’s been worth it? Think about who you’ve helped put in jail.”

  Ben sighed and swiped his hand over his face. “You’re missing my point. You can do your job, and have a life, too. I know that now. I didn’t when your pa and I were young.”

  The fire that burned in Dent’s belly didn’t agree. One day he would get the final clue. One day he would arrest the men who had shot his father. He could wait. He could be patient. He could not, however, waste time attending dances and sampling pies. “I thank you for your advice, Ben. You know I respect your opinion.”

  Ben laid a hand on Dent’s shoulder, a breeze stirring his faded brown hair. “Say the word, and you can be my deputy any time.”

  He bit back a derisive snort. Evergreen, a nice, quiet town, was just the place for a middle-aged lawman tired of chasing criminals. Nearing thirty, Dent was not middle-aged or tired. “Well, I thank you for the offer. And I will consider it.”

  “Yeah, sure you will.” Ben squeezed his shoulder and went back inside.

  At the depot, Dent tugged at the shackles on his prisoners, hands then feet, then stepped back to stand beside Ben. The two lawmen appraised the offenders. “Happy” Jack Briscomb—short, stocky, face bruised from tripping over Dent’s fist—scowled like he was anything but happy. His comrade, Needles Jones, a slender, dark-haired fella with one wayward eye, glared at them as he defiantly clanked the shackles at his wrists.

  Ben tagged Dent in the ribs. “Watch him,” he motioned to Needles. “He’s got a bad temper … Why he’s in trouble in the first place.”

  “Will do.” Dent walked around behind the men and gave them a nudge. “All right, boys, here comes the train.” The two shuffled over to the edge of the platform. The deafening chug-chug-chug drowned out any further conversation as they waited for the crawling iron horse to enter the station. Amidst the hiss and steam and an ear-splitting whistle, the Cheyenne to Lander slowed and halted.

  The conductor jumped down and set the step in place for the passengers. One by one, dusty cowboys, slick salesmen in cheap suits, and harried mothers battling defiant toddlers, emerged from the train. Some embraced their loved ones. Others disappeared into the swirl of bodies. Dent’s gaze darted all around, looking for trouble, intent on preventing his charges from getting any stupid ideas. Trouble could always come anytime, anywhere, from fellas like these. He doubted whether the folks of Evergreen could take the shock.

  When a lull in the debarking hit, he shook Hayes’s hand. “I’ll try to stay longer my next time through.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.”

  Dent pushed his prisoners forward, but had to wait again as a green cotton dress flitted down the steps. “Pardon us, ma’am,” he said, pulling Happy and Needles back by their collars.

  He couldn’t help but notice the dress was filled nicely with a pretty, young gal, wearing silver-rimmed glasses. Thick, wavy, auburn hair, held partially in a barrette, hung at her shoulders, wispy curls framed a sweet, but intelligent, face.

  Her eyes, a sparkling, mesmerizing blue, passed over the men then suddenly widened with stark terror. In a blur of motion, Needles reached back and clawed for Dent’s gun. Dent felt the revolver slipping from his holster, and grabbed for it. His grip was awkward at best, obstructed by his prisoner’s chains and handcuffs.

  Needles jerked the gun free, spun, and fired. The young lady and the women nearby screamed, men gasped. Folks scrambled for cover. Somehow, the shot missed Dent, and Needles, reacting as fast as a riled snake, draped his shackled arms over the terrified woman. Dent moved to lunge. The outlaw clutched the woman tighter and stepped back with her, shaking his head. He raised the revolver and cocked the hammer.

  Dent clenched his jaw and stilled.

  The young lady paled to the pallor of chalk dust, and appeared to quit breathing.

  “You ain’t hanging me, lawdog.” Needles splayed one hand over the girl’s midsection. His filthy fingers caressed her ribs. “Now git me a horse or I’m gonna drop her.”

  A deep, black, slithering hate rose up in Dent as he evaluated the outlaw. A greasy creature, he was just the sort who would shoot a woman. He was here now because he’d snapped and shot a blacksmith in Topeka. Unpredictable with that temper of his.

  “Hey, hey, hey.” Happy threw his shackled hands in the air and took two steps away from the fracas. “I don’t want no part of this, Marshal. I ain’t in on it.” He swiveled to Needles. “You don’t know what you’ve done. You don’t know who he is.”

  Grinning, Needles pushed the barrel of th
e gun into the cleft between the woman’s breasts, eliciting a whimper from her. “Ask me if I care. Git me a horse, Marshal. I’ll leave the lady and ride out. No harm done.”

  The woman’s eyes spoke volumes. Save me, please, she implored silently. He noted absently that her peril should affect him. But all he cared about was how the next few seconds were going to play out.