Groom For Hire (Pioneer Series #3)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “You think so?”

  Henrietta shot her an amused look. “Apparently, I’m paying far more attention to what’s going on around here than you are.”

  Well, it was nice that most of the people were accepting her position in the camp. Maybe that was why Joe had finally relented in allowing her to do more to help out. Maybe he had overheard the same things Henrietta had and realized Michelle could do the job as well as any of the men could.

  “Does this mean you won’t be staying in California?” Henrietta asked.

  “I want to be doing this kind of thing with Joe all the time,” Michelle replied. “I know I grew up doing things a woman is expected to do, but I’m having more fun doing this than I ever did doing any of those other things.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  Michelle took a moment to get a good look at her friend. The two had grown close over the past couple of months. She hadn’t thought about it before, but she was going to have to say good-bye to her when it was time to go their separate ways.

  Henrietta smiled. “I know you’ll be much happier living outdoors with him than you would ever be without him, but I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you, too. But we’ll see each other again. I have no doubt Joe and I will make it to California in the future. He doesn’t like staying in one place for long.”

  “I look forward to those visits, Michelle. You’ll always have a room in my home for you and Joe whenever you want it.” The two stood up from the stream and headed back to the others. “Do you think you’ll have time to help me shoot better?”

  “Are you sure you want to do that after everything Alice did?”

  “I don’t care what Alice thinks. Besides, she’s miserable, and all she does is make others around her miserable.”

  Michelle couldn’t argue her point, but even so, she said, “Now that I’m riding a horse during the day, you don’t have me to talk to. You’re stuck with some of those women who took Alice’s side.”

  “Actually, Diana came up to me and said she doesn’t like the way Alice talked to you. She was just too shocked at the time to do anything about it. I don’t think most of the women like Alice.”

  “Really?”

  Henrietta nodded. “Alice is such a loudmouth that she overwhelms everyone around her. Most people just want to get to California in peace. They don’t want to argue with her the whole way.”

  “I suppose if there’s anyone who could hold up an argument the entire way to California, it’d be Alice.”

  “If she wants to pick a fight with me, let her. I’ll just point Danny’s gun in her direction and pretend I can’t remember if I loaded it or not. That’ll send her running off.”

  Michelle hated to admit it, but the image of Henrietta doing such a thing made her chuckle. “Oh, Henrietta, you can always make me laugh, no matter what is going on.”

  “I’m glad. You can’t let people like Alice ruin things for you.”

  “I know.” Then hoping to reassure her friend of the truth of her words, she added, “And I won’t. This evening, we’ll work on your aim with the gun.”

  “Thanks.”

  Henrietta went to her wagon, and Michelle did her part to help anyone who needed assistance to get ready for the day.

  When she was done, she went to Brandon’s horse, her heartbeat picking up as Joe came up to her.

  When he woke her up to take over the lookout, she had worried he might’ve regretted making their marriage official. Before she could ask about it, he kissed her, and from there, they had made love again. So all her worries had quickly dissipated, and in their place was the excitement of knowing she would be spending the rest of her life with him.

  “You ready for another day?” he asked, shooting her a smile that made her weak in the knees.

  “I am.”

  “You’re not too sore to ride the horse, are you?”

  “Why would I be sore?”

  “Well, we have been pretty active,” he replied with a pointed look.

  “I was only sore for a little while after the first time,” she assured him. “I feel fine now.”

  “Well, maybe.”

  “I do.” She patted the horse’s neck. “Let me ride this wonderful animal today.”

  “I’d feel better if you walked, but I know better than to argue with you. You’re only going to do what you want.”

  “I wouldn’t insist on riding it if I wasn’t feeling fine.”

  “Yes, I suppose there is that.”

  She grinned at him. “It’s nice you care. Before you go to your horse, are you going to give me a kiss?”

  He returned her smile then gave her a light kiss. “Have fun riding the horse.”

  “Is that it?” she asked as he started walking away.

  “What was wrong with it?”

  “It was too short.”

  He went back to her and shook his head. “I’m not about to give you a long, passionate kiss right in front of everyone.”

  She glanced at the others who seemed to be too busy with their own families and animals to worry about them. “Why not? No one is looking.”

  “Because a part of me will get too excited, and I’m not about to show anyone how much I want to be with you.”

  It took her a moment to catch his meaning. Intrigued, she asked, “You can’t control when you get an erection?”

  “Not when you’re around.” He gave her behind a playful pat. “Now, get on the horse. We have to head out.”

  Face warm with pleasure, she hopped into the saddle.

  * * *

  When they reached town a day later, Joe noticed a visible sigh of relief come over the group. That wasn’t surprising. In addition to needing rest, most were low on supplies. A couple even needed to trade their animals for ones that weren’t exhausted from the rigorous work they’d been put under.

  After Joe gave his spiel about how long they’d be staying, what they should do while in town, and telling everyone to meet at the same spot when it was time to head out, he went over to Michelle, who was getting down from the horse.

  “I have to take Brandon’s horse,” he told her. “He’ll need it in the future. In the meantime, I’ll find a place for him to stay until he can get back on his feet.”

  “You think he’ll be alright?” Michelle asked as she gave him the reins.

  “He will be if he stops drinking.”

  “I hope he does.”

  “I hope so, too, but it’s up to him what he does.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and smiled at her. “We’ll buy you a horse while we’re here.”

  As he expected, her eyes lit up. “I still get to ride a horse?”

  He couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm. “I can’t have you helping me with the wagon train if you don’t have a horse.” Unable to stop himself from teasing her, he added, “You’d look silly running back and forth throughout the day as you make sure everyone is alright while we’re traveling.”

  “I’m so excited that we get to do this for the rest of our lives.”

  “I can’t promise we’ll always be leading wagon trains.”

  “Oh, I know. I don’t care where we are as long as we’re going from one adventure to another.”

  He had a feeling that simply being with her would be an adventure in itself. He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him. “It’s nice knowing you really feel that way.”

  “I do. I really do.” She kissed his cheek.

  “What kind of kiss is that?” He gave her waist a squeeze. “I’m your husband, not your brother.”

  “I thought you didn’t want a long, passionate kiss. I don’t want you getting too excited.”

  “It doesn’t have to be long and passionate, but I insist it’s on my lips.”

  “Since you put it that way…” She kissed him on the lips. “I’ll do as you say.”

  He snorted. “I can’t believe you’re being so agreeable. Usually,
I’d have to argue with you to get what I want.”

  “You don’t have to argue when you make sense.”

  Of course. He should have known that she would find a way to reason things in such a way. With a playful eye roll, he released her. “I’ll meet you at that hotel when I’m done.”

  After he took care of his and Brandon’s horse, he went to Brandon who was sitting on a barrel by Danny’s wagon. Brandon was hugging himself and rocking back and forth, his brow lined with sweat.

  Danny hurried over to Joe. “Are you sure he’s not sick? He looks worse than he did the day he was vomiting.”

  “His body isn’t used to going without alcohol,” Joe said. “He’ll be fine once he cleans up his act. Help me take him to the doctor.”

  “Doctor?” Danny backed away from them. “But I thought you said he wasn’t sick.”

  “He’s not sick in the way you’re talking about. You can’t catch what he’s got, but he does need someone who can take care of him. The only one I can think of is a doctor.”

  Danny hesitated and glanced at Brandon.

  With a groan, Brandon jumped to his feet and snapped, “You just want to get rid of me.”

  “That’s not true,” Joe told him. “You’re in no shape to go with us the rest of the way to California. We’re leaving you here. Maybe the preacher here will take you in and care for you, but before you go there, you need to see the doctor. The doctor will know how to best get you on the path to stop drinking.”

  “I’m fine,” Brandon insisted. “You don’t need to leave me all the way out here in Nebraska Territory. I can make it to California.”

  “We’re in the Wyoming Territory now,” Joe said. “If you were paying attention to what I was saying to the group five minutes ago, you’d remember that.”

  “You can’t leave me all the way out in the Wyoming Territory! I can keep going. I’m fine.” Brandon rose to his feet and took a step toward Joe, as if to prove his point, but he was shaking so badly that Joe had to catch him so he didn’t fall.

  “You’re in no shape to do anything but get clean,” Joe replied. With a glance at Danny, he said, “Help me with him.”

  Danny hesitated, his face growing pale.

  Henrietta came over to them and nudged her brother in the side. “Do it, Danny, or I’ll stick a fork in your behind and make you.”

  Several people in the group chuckled, and it was then that Joe realized they were being watched. “Alright, the show is over,” Joe told them. “Get your rooms and see to it that your animals are taken care of while we’re here.”

  The group quickly dispersed, and Danny slipped one of Brandon’s arms over his shoulders while Joe took the other side.

  “You’ll be fine, Danny,” Joe assured him when he realized Danny was groaning. “I promise.”

  Though Danny still didn’t look convinced, he stopped dragging his feet and helped Joe take Brandon to the doctor’s office.

  The doctor, thankfully, was there, and even better, he reassured Danny that Brandon was only suffering from the effects of heavy drinking. Danny seemed to finally accept this, and Joe breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe now Danny would be able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

  Joe paid the doctor for his assistance in getting Brandon settled into the town, and then he went to the hotel. Michelle was already in the lobby, but she was writing something at the end of the counter. He bypassed the others from the wagon train who were still checking into a room and went over to her.

  “Don’t tell me you already got us a room,” he teased her.

  She glanced up at him and smiled. “No. I thought I’d wait for you. Is Brandon going to be alright?”

  “I hope so. It’s hard to tell. The doctor said he’s a chronic drinker, and those have a harder time stopping.”

  “That’s a shame. You think he started after his wife left him? I overheard Sherry telling Diana and Ruby that he was in love with her and took the divorce hard.”

  “I have no idea when he started.” For a moment, he recalled Jesse Palmer and how difficult it’d been for him when he’d lost his wife to childbirth. “Not every man seeks comfort in a bottle when tough times come. Some find solace in other things. There was a man who put all of his time and attention into his child.”

  “My father invested himself into his business. Don’t get me wrong. He loved me. I always knew he loved me. He doted on me more than most fathers do. But I think making money gave him a purpose.”

  “Money is important to him, isn’t it?”

  “He says it’s a measure of his success.”

  Setting his elbow on the counter, he leaned toward her. “Aren’t you going to miss the money? You know he fully intended for you to be surrounded by wealth for the rest of your life.”

  “You’re my husband. My real husband,” she emphasized with a grin. “My dowry is yours.”

  He hadn’t even considered that, but just in case she got the wrong idea, he said, “That’s not why I made our marriage official.”

  “I know. You did it because you finally realized I’m good for you.”

  “I didn’t want to rob you of the future you could have had. You know, going from dinner party to balls and to other social engagements wealthy people do.”

  “Those things are alright, but they grow boring after a while.”

  “Do they?”

  “You can’t be who you really want to be.” She paused for a moment. “It’s hard to explain. I realize people like Alice think that people who are rich have everything they could ever want, but there are many things a person can’t buy. My father would give up all his money if it would bring my mother back.” She turned her gaze back to the paper in front of her. “There’s no amount of money that can replace someone you love.”

  He brushed back a few strands of hair that were on her cheek, and her gaze went back to him. She was happier than he remembered her being back in Omaha. He couldn’t explain the difference in her demeanor between now and how it’d been back then, but there was no denying how much happier she was. It wasn’t just the excitement of being outside all the time and helping him with the wagon train. She was with the person she loved: him.

  “I can’t remember a time in my life when I’ve been more complete,” he told her. “You’re perfect for me.”

  “It’s about time you came out and said that,” she replied.

  Recalling the paper she was writing on, he looked down at it and saw that she was writing her father a letter. She hadn’t written more than two sentences, and so far, all she’d told her father was that they had arrived in a quiet town in the eastern portion of the Wyoming Territory.

  “I’m ready to check you into your room,” the hotel owner said as he set his ledger on the counter in front of them.

  She folded the paper and slipped it and the pencil into her pocket. Relieved she wasn’t going to explain the change in their marriage to her father yet, Joe wrote their names in the ledger.

  Chapter 18

  The next morning, Joe woke up in the bed, fully expecting Michelle to be right there beside him, but the spot was empty. Looking up, he saw that she was sitting in a chair, lacing the buttons of her boots.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I can’t sleep anymore. I thought I’d mail off the letters I wrote to my father and my aunt and uncle. I’ll be right back.”

  She stood up, but he bolted out of the bed and rushed over to her, ignoring the rush of cool air that hit his naked body. “What did you write to your father about?”

  “I told him what’s going on. I do that every time we come to a town. I like to write to him so he doesn’t worry about me.”

  “But what did you tell him in the letter?”

  With an amused smile, she slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him. “You’ve been with me this entire time. Don’t you know?”

  “I know exactly what we’ve been doing. What I want to know is how much you told him.”

  “I didn
’t give him details, but I explained we are now husband and wife and won’t be getting an annulment. Then I said I love working with you on the trail and plan to keep doing it.”

  Well, the abridged version of events didn’t sound so bad. He appreciated the fact that she was making it clear to her father that it was her choice to join him on his job, thereby taking the blame off of him. But what if her father thought he had taken advantage of her since she was young and inexperienced to the ways of the world?

  Her eyebrows furrowed as she pulled away from him. “What’s worrying you?” When he didn’t answer, she put a hand on her hip. “I can tell you’re worried, so you might as well talk to me.”

  Maybe she was right. He hadn’t voiced his concern over how her father was going to react to the fact that she and Joe had made their marriage official. He’d thought that by not telling her, he would protect her from not having to worry right along with him. But the longer he kept his fears to himself, the more they seemed to be weighing on his mind.

  “Alright. I’ll tell you.” He took her hand, led her to the bed, and sat beside her. “Your father hired me to get you to California. He wanted you to find a suitable husband.”

  She leaned into him and smiled. “I did find a suitable husband.”

  He returned her smile. “I appreciate that, but I don’t think he intended for me to be that husband. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. That’s what we agreed to in the contract.”

  “So you’re worried you broke the contract?”

  “I’m worried your father didn’t have someone like me in mind when he wrote it. You’re the most important person in his life, and he wants the best for you.”

  “You are the best for me.” She squeezed his hand. “If you want to know the truth, I fell in love with you the first time we met.”

  She had? “I didn’t notice.”

  Laughing, she said, “I should hope not. I didn’t want to give away my feelings. I knew very well that we weren’t supposed to have anything permanent. The reason why I agreed to my father’s idea was because I thought you were going to be an old, boring, gruff man. But you weren’t any of those things. Even if you weren’t dressed in a fancy suit, you were clean, respectable, and good looking. If I had seen you on the street, I never would have thought you spent most of your time outside. I would have assumed you spent it behind a desk.”