Page 37 of A Bride for Brodie

CHAPTER9

Lottie opened her eyes and found herself still tied to a bed, but she was definitely not in room four anymore. It was so dark she couldn’t see a window and didn’t have any idea how long she’d been out. The last thing she remembered was Joey placing a damp cloth over her mouth and nose and smelling something sweet. Then everything went hazy.

She tried to remove her bonds, but they were too tight.

She listened closely and heard no music or noise, so she wasn’t still at the saloon, but where had they brought her? Some abandoned cabin? Flannery’s home? She didn’t think Flannery lived at the saloon, but regardless of where he lived, his bedroom would have windows, wouldn’t it?

How would Brodie find her now?

Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away, refusing to dissolve into depression and pity.

Lottie kept working against her bonds. Pulling and twisting. Pulling and twisting.

She felt them move ever so slightly, but they moved.

The pain in her wrists got worse, and she felt her blood run down her fingers, but she refused to give up. She had to escape or she might die and so might Brodie. Slowly, the ropes eased their pressure until finally, she slipped out one hand, and the rope released its hold on her other wrist.

She sat up and untied her ankles, then she rubbed feeling back into her lower legs, which had fallen asleep. As she did, pins and needles ran up and down their lengths. She threw her head back and moaned. Not too loudly, because she didn’t know who was in the building with her, or even if there was another room. Perhaps this was a one-room cabin or storage building somewhere.

Now that she was no longer working her wrists free, the pain became excruciating. She wanted to scream with the pain, but that would do her no good and if she was being guarded, it would alert the guard that she was awake.

If she got out and escaped, where would she go?

Lottie finally got off the bed and, using it as a center point, she walked around the room, feeling her way along the walls. The room was tiny, and the bed took up most of it. So it wasn’t a cabin.

If it was a storage shed, it would more likely be in town or near town.

She found a doorknob and turned it. Locked. She pulled on the knob and twisted it as hard as she could. Nothing.

Continuing around the room, she came to a chair and, by the feel, a window which had been covered with butcher paper.

She ripped off the paper and moonlight poured in. Looking out, she saw what may have been lights in the distance. She’d be careful in case those lights were far enough away. It could be some cowboys camping or worse…outlaws.

Taking the chair, she slammed it against the opening and broke all the glass out. If there was a guard, she would know now. She listened. Nothing. Then she climbed out and landed about six feet below the window on a layer of pine needles. She was lucky they didn’t take her shoes, but then again, they never expected her to get out of the ropes.

The moonlight was brighter than she remembered, and the moon was huge. It seemed to have grown to twice its normal size. She circled the structure and saw it was small, too small to be a cabin, but why would a storage building have a window…and a bed? She didn’t know or really care, other than she was thankful.

Her wrists hurt, and she felt blood drip from her fingers. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the pain.

Forget it, Lottie. Start walking. You have to get to Brodie.

She turned and headed toward town, sticking to the trees and, if she heard anyone, stopping still behind one, so it was less likely she’d be seen.

Lottie learned the town was farther away than she thought, or it just took her longer because it was dark. When she found the road, she had to stay in the trees to keep from being discovered. Finally, she was outside of the town limits and saw buildings she recognized, including the back of The Copper Lady Saloon. The one place she was not going. She hurried across the street and worked her way behind the buildings until she found the sheriff’s office. Dusty was there and so was Ross’s horse, Blackie.

She tried the back door and found it unlocked, so she went inside and hurried past the jail cells to the office. Empty. She walked to the window and saw Brodie, Ross and Sheriff Knoll go into The Copper Lady Saloon. She wouldn’t be there and Flannery would get away with everything.

Lottie ran out the door and down the boardwalk to the saloon. She burst through the doors just as Brodie released Flannery and started for the stairs.

“Stop!”

Everyone turned her way. She ran forward. “Brodie! Stop!”

Jake’s mouth formed a flat line and his eyes narrowed.

When she reached Brodie, his arms came around her. “Lottie? Where have you been?”

She wrapped her arms around him. “There is so much to tell you. Flannery had Joey tie me to a bed and when I woke up, I wasn’t in the saloon anymore. I was in a dark storage shed a long way from town. I just worked myself loose. I paid Flannery his two-thousand dollars.”