Page 28 of The Rancher's Wedding

As for her and Michael, Calvin barely knew her at all and likely didn’t know much of Michael, either.

“Mr. Friar,” she said, standing up, “it’s been a pleasure.”

“Likewise, Mrs. Holden. Please, do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t do what I did. Don’t wait your whole life to realize what it is you have.”

She knew exactly what she had: an escape from a lifetime of misery with Ethan. And that was enough.

“I promise you, sir, that I will not.”

“And don’t run away or hide from the things that scare you.”

It was as if he could read her mind. Maybe he was just speaking from experience, but it resonated with Estelle, nonetheless. She knew there was something terrifying her that she’d chosen to ignore—a lie she couldn’t bring herself to tell her husband, who thought he knew her, but didn’t truly know her at all.

***

Estelle walked slowly to her room when she arrived back at the ranch, dropping the loaf of bread off in the kitchen along the way. Sure enough, the letter was still sitting there, unopened, with the vague address “Estelle Williams, proximate to Michael Holden, Grafton Town, Utah” on the front.

She grabbed a letter opener, the same one she’d been using for the letters from Megan, and cautiously opened the envelope, removing the letter.

For something that had been bothering her for so long, it was remarkably short. Just a few quick lines, direct and to the point.

Estelle,

I am very disappointed in you. I heard you were seen at the train station and asked around until I found, from the Western Union, that you had received money from one Michael Holden, to whom I have recently learned that you have been married. Your true husband is Ethan Fitzgerald. I demand that you have your marriage annulled at once and you return to Philadelphia.

Do not make Ethan and me come get you ourselves.

Your father,

Richard Williams

She could almost hear his stern tone in his penmanship, with each word etched into the paper, leaving blots throughout the document. With the time that it had taken Estelle to read the letter, it was likely her father and Ethan were already on their way. She knew she had to tell Michael, but she didn’t know how, nor did she know when the right time would be.

***

That evening, Estelle went looking for Michael, ready to tell him everything. She eventually found him in the stables, brushing one of the horses. In fact, it was one she remembered from the other day, the one that Michael said not to get too close to because he was difficult to befriend: Orion.

“That’s a good boy,” Michael encouraged.

Orion didn’t seem particularly mean. He was leaning his head against Michael’s back as Michael brushed him, completely relaxed.

Estelle cleared her throat and Michael turned toward her.

“Oh, hi,” he said.

She walked closer to him.

“Careful,” Michael warned. “He may not look it, but he’s got a red streak in him.”

Estelle stared at the horse, walking toward it. “He’s behind the stable, should I be worried?”

“He can bite,” Michael said.

Estelle had mentally prepared for this moment and, following Calvin’s advice, refused to let fear dictate her actions.