Wildcat Bride

by Lauri Robinson

  He let it go before she tore it. “I guess I did.”

  “Why didn’t you wire and tell us you were on your way home? Tell us Eva was on her way? Is Kid home, too?”

  “Yes, Kid’s home, too.” Bug spun his legs off the bed. “We got in after midnight last night. But Eva got home the day before yesterday. You haven’t seen her yet?”

  “No, I haven’t seen her yet. Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

  “I can’t answer that, Ma. You’ll have to ask her.”

  “I guess I will.” A loud humph sounded as she marched out of the room.

  He grabbed his clothes and hopped to the door while sticking his legs into his britches. “You’re not going over there until after I do.”

  “What? You can’t tell me what to do.” Her green eyes snapped as she glared at him.

  “Yes, Ma, I can. This is between Eva and me.”

  He pulled another note from his pocket, identical to the one she held. “I had no idea about this until I got off the train last night. Eva must have planned it herself.”

  Ma studied her paper. A grin formed on her face.

  “I knew she had it in her.”

  “What?”

  Ma spun around. “Nothing. You hungry?”

  “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “And then I gotta take a bath before I head over to Eva’s.”

  “I’ll fix you some breakfast while you tell me about those kids and that other woman.”

  Bug sucked in air. Shit! He’d forgotten all about the kids and Jenny. Had Eva already seen them?

  “Ma, I don’t have time for breakfast.”

  “Oh, yes, you do,” she insisted. “If Eva’s posted those all over town, she’s already met the kids and that other woman. You taking the time to explain it all to me won’t make a difference to her, but it might just save your hide. You still aren’t too old for a hickory stick.”

  “Who’s getting a hickory stick?” Snake asked, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.

  “No one, yet,” Ma said.

  “Bug! When did you get home?” Snake crossed the room to whack him on the back. “How’s Eva?”

  Ma shoved the paper at Snake before Bug had a chance to say anything. “Well, I’ll be damned,”

  Snake said. “It’s about time, little brother.”

  “What’s about time?” Summer asked as she walked over to give Bug a hug. “Besides you finally coming home,” she added as she kissed his cheek.

  Bug gave Summer an extra long hug. Not just because he’d missed her, but also because he was happy she was awake. Her cooking was wonderful, Ma’s—not so much.

  “Look at this,” Snake said, handing Summer the note. “Oh, Bug, this is wonderful! Why didn’t you wire us so we could have started planning things?” she asked.

  Bug shrugged. “Because I didn’t know.”

  “What?” Snake and Summer asked in unison.

  It was an hour later before he had it all explained and his stomach was full of Summer’s fine cooking. Whistling, he carried cleaned clothes to the big tub behind the shed. It was sure to be a good day. Probably the best day of his life.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Palms sweating, Eva watched the buggy roll into the yard. She ran her hands over the pleats of her skirt. It was her favorite dress. Made of pale-orange lightweight cotton and edged with delicate ivory lace. Ma had made it for her last year, and Eva saved it for special occasions. Like today, when she wanted to look her very best. She’d even taken the time to wrap rags in her hair before bed to create the tiny curls dangling from her temples.

  Eyes glued on the buggy that had now stopped in her front yard, Eva took a fortifying breath. Jenny Staples was just as beautiful, if not more, than Eva remembered. A hand fell on her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be right here the whole time.”

  She spun around and gave Jack a steady stare.

  “No, you won’t be.”

  “Oh, yes I will.”

  “I told you, this is something I have to do myself.”

  “I know,” he said. “I won’t be in the room, but I’ll be listening to every word.”

  “No, you won’t. You go see how the men are doing on the oil well.”

  “Eva—”

  “I mean it Jack.”

  “Fine.” Despite his disgusted sigh, he gave her a wink. “But I want to hear everything that happens when I return.”

  She couldn’t stop the giggle that rippled up her chest. “Go!”

  He tipped his hat and walked into the kitchen moments before a knock sounded on the front door.

  Eva waited until she heard the back door close and then took a deep breath and turned the knob on the front door.

  “Miss Staples,” she greeted.

  The woman eyed her up and down. “Miss Robertson,” Jenny Staples said, and then with her nose in the air, she marched into the house.

  Eva closed the door, whispering soft enough so the other woman didn’t hear, “Won’t you come in.”

  She waved a hand toward the front parlor. The room was full of fresh cut flowers that Joanna had placed in decorative vases. Once again, Eva found herself thanking the dear Lord for sending the Porters when he had.

  Joanna appeared just then, wheeling a cart. She smiled discreetly at Eva before she rolled the cart filled with tea and mini cakes into the parlor. Once she had everything arranged perfectly, she turned to Eva, “If there’s anything else you need, ma’am, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Porter,” Eva said, meaning it with all her heart. She then turned to her guest.

  “Miss Staples, please, make yourself comfortable.”

  There wasn’t an ounce of friendliness in Jenny Staples’s light blue eyes. The young woman had a perfect complexion, like that of a porcelain doll sitting in a store window, complete with rosy-pink cheeks. For a moment, Eva thought how it would be to paint Jenny. It would be difficult, because there wasn’t anything that could be used to make the woman unique, other than her beauty. Eva tossed her perspective aside.

  “Please, Miss Staples.” She once again pointed to the chair behind Jenny.

  Keeping her lips tight and her spine straight, the woman lowered herself onto the cushioned seat.

  Eva poured two cups of tea and handed one to Jenny before she sat in her chair.

  Jenny set the cup down, not caring how the cup clattered against the saucer. “Where’s Brett? I demand to see him this instant.”

  Eva took another deep breath, refusing to be riled by the woman’s rudeness. “Bug isn’t here right now.”

  “Where is he?” Jenny commanded curtly.

  “Miss Staples. I invited you here so we could speak. I—”

  “I don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk to Brett.”

  The boorish behavior had Eva’s spine tightening. “Miss Staples, if Bug wanted you to know where he is, he would have contacted you.”

  “Oh, and did you know where he was every minute of the last three years?”

  Eva couldn’t stop the gasp before it slipped out.

  “I thought not,” Jenny huffed. “Furthermore,”

  the woman started as she dug in the small pouch hanging off her wrist which matched her mint-green striped dress. “What’s the meaning of this?” Jenny tossed one of the posters Eva had had printed in town yesterday. She’d paid two boys to hang the announcement of her and Bug’s wedding all over town.

  Eva lifted the paper before the edge sank to the bottom of her tea cup and set it aside, smoothing the wrinkles from it. “Bug and I will be married on Saturday. You’re welcome to attend if you’re still in town.”

  “Attend!” Jenny leaped to her feet. “Still in town?” She leaned over the small table, putting her face as close to Eva’s as possible. “If there’s a wedding on Saturday, it will be mine and Brett’s.”

  Eva folded her hands in her lap, willing her reaction to appear calm.
She’d like to grab the woman by her blond curls, but that wouldn’t be appropriate. “Miss Staples, throwing a fit isn’t going to do you any good. Please sit down.”

  “Do you have any idea who I am? Do you know who my father is?” The girl all but screeched.

  Eva stood. Her height, though only an inch or two more than the girl’s, gave her a sense of authority. “Yes, I know who your father is. I also know he’s on his way here. Most likely on the morning train.”

  Jenny’s eyes grew round.

  “It appears there’s a judge in New York who’d like to speak to you about a magically appearing money pouch.”

  Jenny slumped, slowly lowering onto the chair behind her. Empathy for the girl blossomed in Eva’s chest. It was very apparent how unexpected the news was.

  Eva sat down. “Miss Staples, believe me, I know how irresistible Bug is. I’ve been in love with him for years. But the truth is, he’s been in love with me for just as long. Neither of us will allow someone to come between us.”

  “You seem awfully confident.” Jenny stiffened in her chair. “Especially since Brett never mentioned you to me. Not before your art show.”

  “I am confident. That’s what love gives you. And Bug didn’t need to mention me to you because your relationship with him was of no consequence.” Eva leaned back, recalling the insight Jack gave her back in New York. “You see, Jenny, when a man first falls in love, it’s all he can think of, all he can talk about.

  To the point others get tired of listening. But later, when that love has settled deep inside him, he protects it like the treasure it is. Oh, it’s still all he thinks about, but it’s so precious, he keeps it to himself, unwilling to share.”

  Jenny’s face scrunched with a confused frown.

  “You’re telling me Bug kept you a secret because he loved you so much?” She started to laugh. “Oh, that’s about the best one I’ve heard.”

  Calmly, or at least appearing to be calm, Eva waited for the girl’s outburst to end. She had harder ammunition, and now looked like a good time to use it. “I know all about the girl you hired to frame Bug.

  And so does Judge Holden in New York. Did you really think having Bug arrested would make him love you?” She stood and moved to the window. “A man doesn’t want a woman who will just stand beside him. They want one who will stand up for them.”

  “I’ve been the one with him the last three years,”

  Jenny said defiantly.

  Eva spun around. “Only because your father asked him to be your escort.”

  Jenny huffed. Eva continued before the girl could speak, “I’m the one he came home to Miss Staples. I’ll always be the one he’ll come home to.”

  Taking slow and steady steps, she didn’t stop until she was directly in front of Jenny. “And I’ll be here with open arms. Let me be perfectly clear. You are no threat to me. Never have been and never will be.”

  ****

  Bug slipped his arms into his clean shirt as he walked around the shed. The sound of traffic had been occurring since he’d climbed in the tub. Not that he’d taken an overly long bath this morning. He was in too much of a hurry to get to Eva’s.

  Two buggies and a wagon sat in the front yard, and from the swirl of dust hanging over the road, another one was on its way down the driveway. He was curious, but not interested enough to waylay his plans. It was already past nine. Even if Eva slept through the rooster’s call, she surely was up by now.

  He finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it into his britches as he made a beeline for the barn and the horse he’d collected from the livery last night. His steps were as light as his heart, fluttering with excitement. For a moment, he recalled the day he’d left home. It had been a hard decision. He’d known he had to go learn more about the oil business, but at the same time he’d wanted to ask Eva to marry him, and start their lives together.

  A few months before he’d left the entire family had all been in Dodge, helping Hog build the Majestic. He and Eva had been friends, good friends for years, but it had been at the grand opening party in Dodge that Bug had realized he was in love with Eva. She’d been so fetching that night, he almost hadn’t recognized her—and keeping his hands off her since that night had gotten excruciating.

  He’d talked to Willamina about it, him leaving, and she’d said it was best. That when he returned, he and Eva would know for certain if they were in love or not. Of course, at the time, he’d only planned on being gone six months, not three years. As long as he was being honest with himself, he admitted the reason he hadn’t returned wasn’t Chester Staples and his job offer. It had become an oddity of sorts, one of those things that the longer you’re away, the harder it is to go back. As much as he wanted to see Eva, and his family, the fear things had changed caused an undeniable fear within him. It had been crazy, he knew that now, but back East the thought of coming home to Eva being with someone else had been what made him get up and delay his return yet another day.

  The day he’d left, he’d stopped at the soddy. He and Eva had walked through the back field. Things had changed between them. It had happened the night of Hog’s big party in Dodge. Bug no longer looked at Eva as his best friend—the person he could tell his dreams to and talk about his fears with.

  She’d become something more—a woman. The one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and that alone had been enough to scare him.

  Then he kissed her. Not a little peck to say good-bye, but a real, deep down kiss. She’d come to life in his arms and the want to lay her down had grown until his loins had been screaming with need. The ache had stayed with him all the way to New York.

  And back. He’d been branded from that moment on.

  Not once since had a woman created even the tiniest flicker in him.

  He wasn’t experienced in the mating between a man and woman, but he knew that wasn’t a concern.

  Both he and Eva would know what to do when the time came.

  Bug grinned and glanced at the morning sun filling his outside world with the same light he held inside. The years of waiting were almost over. He grasped the half-moon shaped handle on the barn door, but a shout made him turn around.

  “Bug Quinter! What’s the meaning of this?”

  Of all the people he could ignore, Jessie wasn’t one of them. His fingers slipped off the handle as he waited for Kid to stop the wagon beside the barn.

  “Morning, Bug.”

  The grin on his brother’s face made him smile just as bright. “Morning, Kid.” He then glanced to his brother’s wife. “Morning, Jessie.”

  She waved the handbill. “What’s the meaning of this? Why didn’t you let us know so we could start planning?”

  “I already asked him that.”

  Bug recognized Summer’s voice and turned around. A crowd of people followed behind she and Snake—Ma and September and August, his other brothers, their wives and kids, and Buffalo Killer and Chief Red Elk, and Chester Staples. Bug blinked. Chester Staples? What was he doing here?

  “Did you know about this?” Jessie asked Lila who moved away from the crowd to give Bug a hug.

  “Nope,” Lila said. After kissing his cheek, she added, “Not until we got the telegram from Eva.”

  “She sent you a telegram?” Jessie asked at the same time he did.

  “She sent us one, too,” Randi supplied. “It arrived yesterday.”

  “Ours, too,” Lila said.

  “Mine, too.” Buffalo Killer held a slip of paper in the air. Bug shook his head at the thought of a message carrier taking a telegram all the way out to the tribe’s camp. More so, Buffalo Killer and his father, as well as Skeeter’s family must have caught the midnight freight train to be here already.

  The girls all started talking at once, and Bug pressed his back against the barn door. Their cackling was worse than a hen house. Thank goodness Eva wasn’t like them. She was calm and rational, and sweet and kind. Not that his sisters-in-law
weren’t as well. But his brother’s wives could be a bit unpredictable. There wasn’t a one of them who’d think twice about pulling out a gun, including Ma—and they all knew how to use them. He’d seen it himself. Eva wasn’t like that. She was thoughtful and contemplated her actions before making decisions. Always had. His life wouldn’t be this chaotic. Nope, Eva would consult him, and together they’d mull over and plan things.

  He sighed at the knowledge, watching the commotion. A chill waved down his spine. Actually, Eva had caused this pandemonium. The women were up in arms because she hadn’t notified them, and they were blaming him for it. Hell, he hadn’t known. How could he have told them something he didn’t know?

  When Eva had entered the library back in Wichita and said he needed to leave and let her rest, he’d been shocked, but after talking with Dr. Robb, and then after seeing the posters about their wedding, he assumed it was because she wanted to surprise him with the wedding. But that wasn’t like her. Neither was it like her to not consult the rest of his family. Especially Jessie—and Ma.

  He whirled around and pulled open the door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Ma shouted above the rest.

  Bug ignored her yell and grabbed a saddle from the tack corner. Where’d she think he was going? He was going where he should have hours ago, instead of sticking around here trying to placate everyone else—going to Eva’s.

  He hooked the saddle with one hand, flipped it over his shoulder, and walked to the back paddock.

  The horse was saddled, and he was tightening the cinch when someone spoke, causing his fingers to stall.

  “Brett, I would like a moment to speak with you before you leave,” Chester Staples stopped beside the horse.

  Bug tied off the cinch, and turned, waiting for the man to continue.

  Chester shifted his feet. Bug frowned. The man gave the impression of insecurity. That was a characteristic Bug had never witness in Chester.

  “I-I apologize for any trouble Jenny has caused.”

  Chester glanced around. “And I hope we can come to an agreement about it all.”