“Thank you for looking for me, but please put your anger away. We had an accident, and we’re getting married in a few days,” Charity said, hoping to calm Joseph.
“I can understand that, but the two of you still have to ride that sleigh back into town with everyone out doing whatever they do each morning. People will talk. With Holly watching Ben and Annie and me going with Pap to look for you, I couldn’t open the café. I can’t remember the last time we didn’t open except for last winter’s blizzard. You’ll be the talk of the town,” Joseph explained.
Charity sat back down on the cot and blew out a breath. “Let them think what they want. The people that know and care about me won’t think of anything except that something unexpected happened. I don’t care about what others think.”
“Charity’s right,” Jason offered. “People know her, and while they might think a man might take advantage, they won’t believe anything ill about Charity. We’ll be married in a few days, and the entire town knows that.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Joseph pulled the door open, and Pap said, “I righted the sleigh. It isn’t damaged, and Miss Charity and Jason shouldn’t have any trouble getting back to town. I’ll ride along on my horse just to make sure.”
Joseph nodded, “I will, too.”
Charity spoke up, “Please allow me a few minutes to see if my clothing is dry enough to wear, so I don’t have to ride back into town wearing Jason’s pants, and we can leave.”
The three men waited outside while Charity changed back into her dry dress. Fortunately, the heated stones Jason placed in her boots dried them, too, and she could wear them without having to deal with wet feet on the ride back to town.
Pulling on her coat, she opened the door to find Joseph and Jason waiting for her and talking as if nothing had occurred.
“I’m happy to see you two are acting like friends. I teased Jason and said you might shoot him.” Charity giggled.
“I might have depending on what I found,” Joseph said. “Here, you can ride my horse with the saddle. I can ride the other horse bareback more comfortably than you can. By the way, if you were unconscious, how did you ride the horse?”
Jason explained, and Joseph bit back a smile. “I can imagine Charity was more upset about being flung over a horse than having to spend the night here,” Joseph added.
“I think you’re right,” Jason answered.
Charity stared at both men. “If you two are through discussing me like I’m not here, perhaps we can get back to town before lunch. I’m hungry.”
Jason bowed. “Your horse awaits, my lady.”
Joseph burst out laughing, and Charity scowled at him. “It wouldn’t hurt you to be a bit more romantic, brother dear. I think Holly might enjoy it.”
Joseph scrunched his eyebrows and stood silently as Jason helped Charity onto the horse. When she was settled, he mounted the remaining horse and followed Jason and Charity back to the sleigh.
Pap was waiting with a broad smile on his face. “I’m mighty happy to see you unhurt, Miss Charity. I was worried when you didn’t return. These sleighs are usually quite stable and safe, but from the tracks, I can see it slid off the road and tipped. Never can tell when something like that can happen.”
Charity thanked Pap and allowed him to help her onto the sleigh. When Pap had the two horses hitched up, Jason climbed onto the sleigh and began driving back to town.
Charity whispered to Jason as they rode along down the road. “Do you suppose people will talk? I don’t think that would be good given your position.”
Jason shrugged. “I agree with what you said back at the line shack. The people who know me won’t think badly, and those that do aren’t worth my time.”
“But you’re the mayor. What if this affects the next election?”
Jason shook his head. “I doubt people will even remember this at the next election. We’ll be happily married and settled in town. You’ll be the mayor’s wife. They wouldn’t dare say anything disparaging about you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Charity replied.
“Please don’t worry about me. There are more pressing issues to deal with than the two of us getting stuck overnight alone.”
“I hope you’re right,” Charity said as she snuggled closer to Jason to try and keep warm. “It’s cold this morning.”
“At least it quit snowing. Now, please stop worrying. You should think about important things like our wedding. Do we have everything planned?”
“I think everything is taken care of. Holly and your mother have been a great help. I couldn’t do it all on my own.”
“Good.” Jason smiled at Charity, relieving some of her concerns.
As they neared the town, Charity scooted away from Jason.
“Hey, come back here. I like you sitting close to me.”
Charity shook her head. “People might talk, especially if they think we were alone all night.”
“We’ll find out in a few minutes,” Jason said and smiled at her.
Charity inwardly groaned as they entered the town and saw quite a few people already out milling around and shopping. Everyone smiled or waved at them, and no one stopped, pointed, or stared.
“See, I told you it would be all right. It looks as if people think we’re out for an early morning sleigh ride.”
“Are you coming to the café for lunch?”
“I always do, and today won’t be any different,” Jason told her.
“We’ll see if people talk or point at us, and then we’ll know,” Charity said and bit her lip in worry.
Jason drove the sleigh to Joseph’s house, and Charity could see
