Obstacles by Beth Overton

Author:Beth Overton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christian romance, historical western romance, mail order brides, 1800s america, clean and wholesome
Publisher: Beth Overton

They arrived in Fargo without further disruptions, ditched Otto’s wagon, and quickly sold the horses for a cheap price. With only a fourth of the original gold, it was easier to conceal it and carry it with them. Otto purchased a wheelchair for Mattie, as it would be several days before she could put weight on her sprained ankle. Then, he bought changes of clothes for both of them, and went to a barber to cut his hair short. This done, he found a man willing to take them to St. Paul and after a few minutes of haggling, the man said he’d be ready to take them in half an hour.

“Why didn’t you just take the first price and be done with it?” Mattie asked.

“Because that would have been suspicious,” Otto replied. He grinned, but then his face grew somber. Once we’re in St. Paul, we’ll split the gold and I’ll buy you a ticket to anywhere you want to go.”

“What about you?” Mattie asked.

Otto shrugged. “I’ll see where the wind takes me.”

Mattie hesitated a second, then said, “I need someone to push my chair around. I’d say you owe me some favors still.”

A faint smile returned to Otto’s lips. “Well, now that you mention it, I suppose I do owe you,” he said. He started pushing her down the road at a leisurely pace. “Anything else I can do for you, Mattie?”

“Oh…We’ll see. But, do you know, I was thinking about something,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“How silly the people of Custer are.”

“How so?”

“Well. Everyone took our word for it that I’m your wife and yet…” Mattie held up her hands. “No ring.”

Otto laughed. “And here I’d thought I had planned for everything,” he said.

“You’re a rascal, Otto McCullum, but you’ve got a good heart.”

Otto didn’t say anything, but she knew he was smiling. She reached up and put a hand on his. “Stop here,” she said.

“Why, what’s here?” Otto asked, halting the chair. They stopped before a small side street near the edge of town. Very few other people had come down this way.

“I see a jeweler’s shop down that alley,” Mattie said.

“Oh, we don’t need to sell any of the gold yet. I’ve got plenty of cash in hand, and it could draw suspicion.”

“Have you got enough cash to buy a ring?” Mattie asked.

Otto paused for a long time. Then he laughed and turned the chair down the alley, setting off at a brisk pace toward the jewelers. “I think I do,” he said.

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