The Blushing Bride

by Judith Stacy

  “Ethan and I can buy what you need,” Jason told her, searching his pockets and coming up with paper and a nub of a pencil. “Write it down. We’ll get it.”

  “Ma,” Todd whined. “I don’t want to go. Can’t I stay here? I’ll be all right.”

  Meg turned to her son. “No, Todd, I can’t leave you here by yourself all day. I won’t be back until late.”

  “Mr. Kruger,” Amanda said, “what I need you can’t possibly pick out.”

  “Sure I can,” he said, and thrust the paper and pencil at her.

  Meg turned to Amanda and glanced down at Todd. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

  Amanda’s disappointment showed. “But we were both looking forward to it.”

  “Yes, but Todd. He—”

  “I’ll stay here and watch out for him,” Ethan said.

  “You will?” Todd exclaimed.

  “You will?” Meg asked.

  “Like hell you will,” Jason said. “Now look, Ethan and I have got important business to attend to today.”

  “I thought we were just buying supplies,” Ethan said.

  “Yeah, well, they’re important supplies,” Jason insisted.

  Amanda gazed up at him. “Is there a reason you can’t buy these supplies with Meg and me along for the ride?”

  “Well…” Jason looked from Amanda’s expectant face, to Meg’s, to Ethan’s.

  “Sure he can buy supplies with you two along,” Ethan said, looking at Jason as if he’d lost his mind. “You two women climb on up in the wagon. Go buy something pretty, and have a good time. Todd and I will be all right.”

  “Yeah!” Todd bounced on his toes.

  Meg looked at her son, then at Ethan. “All right. If you’re sure.”

  “You need some time off from being a mama,” Ethan said.

  She smiled. “Thank you, Ethan. That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.”

  “You deserve nice things to happen to you,” he said.

  “All right then, let’s go,” Amanda said.

  Ethan assisted Meg, then Amanda up onto the wagon seat amid a flurry of skirts and petticoats. He looked back toward the horizon, then turned to Jason.

  “I think you’re right. It might rain today. Better not stay too long,” Ethan said.

  Jason gritted his teeth. “Don’t worry. I intend to do what needs doing, then get the hell out of there.”

  He vaulted into the wagon. His weight caused the seat to dip as he sat down. Amanda fell against him. She pushed away quickly, dragging her right breast across his arm.

  His lips clamped together, holding in the groan that pushed up from his belly. Jason sighed heavily. It was going to be a long damn day.

  Jason pulled the team to a halt on the edge of Beaumont outside the livery stable, set the brake, tied off the reins and jumped to the ground. He’d never been so glad the trip down the mountain was over.

  Amanda had sat on the seat beside him, bumping and swaying with the rhythm of the wagon, their thighs brushing every once in a while. Flashes of white petticoat. Womanly smells.

  Jason wiped his brow. It was damn near more than he could stand.

  “Morning,” the blacksmith called as he came through the double doors of the stable.

  “Morning,” Jason said to the burly, bearded man. “Take care of my team, will you? I’ll be in town most of the day.”

  “Sure thing,” he answered.

  Jason flipped him a coin and headed toward town.

  The blacksmith turned his attention to Amanda and Meg still on the wagon seat. “Morning, ladies. Let me give you a hand down from there.”

  Jason spun around as the blacksmith reached up to assist Amanda from the seat. He pushed in front of the man, got a face full of her bustle, then caught her waist and eased her onto the ground.

  Amanda turned in his arms, surprised. She dipped her lashes. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  His palms stung, resting on her hips. Even though he couldn’t feel anything but the fabric of her dress, he knew what was under there.

  Meg cleared her throat and Jason helped her to the ground with much less fanfare. He stepped back as the women headed toward town.

  They were both pretty women, Jason observed, watching them walk ahead of him. The two prettiest likely to be seen on the streets of this town today. He couldn’t fault Ethan for having designs on Meg. She was smart, a good mother to Todd and she knew how to take care of herself.

  Jason’s brow drew together. That’s what made Amanda and Meg appear so different, he decided, watching as they neared town. Amanda didn’t look as if she belonged here on the rough and rugged streets of Beaumont. Her dress was a little fancier. She carried herself a bit differently. In short, Amanda looked like the proper city woman that she was.

  And that made her easy prey on the streets of Beaumont. The notion startled Jason. He hadn’t wanted to be saddled with the two of them today. He had other plans. But concern for their safety caused him to hurry after them.

  “Hold up,” he called, and stepped up onto the boardwalk behind them.

  The women, who’d had their heads together talking, stopped and turned to him.

  “Yes?” Amanda asked, gazing up at him with those big blue eyes of hers.

  For a minute, Jason forgot what he wanted to tell them. It was hard to remember things when she gazed at him that way.

  “Uh, look,” he said, “when you buy something today tell the shopkeeper to hold on to it. We’ll pick everything up on the way out of town so you don’t have to carry heavy packages around all day.”

  “Fine,” Amanda said, and turned to leave.

  “And watch your money,” Jason said.

  She glanced back. “We will.”

  “You two should stay together,” he said.

  “We’d planned to.”

  “Don’t be too friendly,” Jason cautioned.

  “We won’t,” Amanda said.

  “You don’t want anybody getting the wrong idea,” Jason explained.

  Amanda huffed and turned to face him. “I thought you were anxious to take care of your business here.”

  “Oh. Well, yeah, I am.” Jason backed away a step. “I just want you to be careful.”

  “I promise.” Amanda drew a little X on her chest with her fingertip.

  Jason glanced at her bosom—the one part of her he’d tried desperately to avoid—and his gut knotted. He spun away.

  “Mr. Kruger?”

  Amanda’s voice called him back.

  “I’d like to thank you properly for allowing my brides on your mountain,” Amanda said. “Would you care to eat together today?”

  “Sure,” he said, without even thinking.

  Amanda smiled. “Good. We’ll meet you at the restaurant beside the hotel at noon.”

  “I’ll be there,” Jason promised.

  With a pleasant little nod, Amanda headed off down the street again talking to Meg.

  Jason just stood there watching them. Two women—one from the city—alone on the streets of Beaumont. It didn’t sit right with him.

  For a minute he considered following them again, staying close to keep an eye on them. Anything could happen.

  He shook off the notion. Following the two of them around all day was the very last thing he needed to do. And it was definitely not the reason he’d come to Beaumont. The urgency behind his real reason for coming to town was increasing with each passing hour. It was high time he did something about it.

  Jason spun around toward the parlor house, which was situated just past the saloons on the other end of town. He’d come here to spend the entire day rolling around in bed and that’s exactly what he intended to do.

  Jason stopped short, nearly colliding with an elderly lady exiting the general store. How could he spend the day in bed when he’d promised to have lunch with Amanda?

  A string of curses tumbled from his lips. Why had he said he’d meet her? She’d offered and he’d jumped at the chance wi
thout even thinking.

  Jason heaved a sigh. Well, he was stuck now. He couldn’t not show up to eat. How would he explain where he’d been? Not that it was any of her business—and he was under no obligation to explain himself to her—but still, he’d have to tell her something if he didn’t appear at the restaurant.

  Jason blew out a heavy breath, thinking. He really did need to pick up supplies in Beaumont today. He’d do that first, he decided, then meet Amanda and Meg to eat, and afterward spend his afternoon tangled up in the covers with a willing woman.

  His plan made, Jason set off down the street.

  The list of things he needed was a long one. The cook needed flour, sugar, salt and about two dozen other things. Jason left that portion of the list with the owner of the general store and crossed the street. He didn’t find what he was looking for in that shop. Two stores later he did.

  Construction on the brides’ dormitory would get underway immediately, so materials had to be purchased. Everything not built with wood had to be bought. Jason had everything taken care of with a few more stops along Beaumont’s main street.

  As he went in and out of each store, Jason kept an eye out for Amanda and Meg. He hadn’t seen them. Beaumont wasn’t that big a town, and after a couple of hours it concerned him that he hadn’t seen the women once. He hadn’t even glimpsed them down the street somewhere, coming or going from one of the stores.

  At first, he’d consoled himself that the two of them were holed up in one of those ladies’ dress shops looking at fabric and patterns, or whatever it was that went on in those places. Now, he was beginning to worry.

  Jason left the dry goods store and had started to consider looking for Amanda and Meg when he saw them in the distance, stepping out of a millinery shop on the other side of Main Street. For a second he wasn’t sure it was them because the shop was so far away and there were a lot of people in town today blurring his line of vision. But he couldn’t miss Amanda and that blue dress she wore.

  He watched them for a minute and was about satisfied that the two women were all right, when he saw three men step in front of Amanda and Meg, blocking their path.

  Jason’s blood ran cold as the women moved around them, but the men blocked them again. They were miners, from the look of their dusty clothes, battered hats and beards. Likely as not they’d been up in the hills for weeks without a woman in sight.

  Jason headed down the boardwalk.

  He’d been afraid something like this would happen. His heart started to pump faster. Jason touched his thigh. He hadn’t brought his pistol with him. There was a rifle in the back of the freight wagon, but it wasn’t doing him a hell of a lot of good right now.

  As he watched, Meg ducked her head and skirted around the men again. Amanda stood her ground. Meg touched her arm, trying to pull her away. Amanda didn’t move. She looked square into the face of the man towering over her, jerked her chin, and started giving him a piece of her mind.

  Jason cursed. He started to run.

  Damn fool woman. She didn’t know how to act in a place like this. She didn’t know how to take care of herself. She didn’t belong here. He’d thought it—and said it—more than once.

  Dodging the stagecoach and a buggy, Jason dashed across the street and leapt onto the boardwalk. Desperately, he threaded his way through the crowd of people, never taking his eyes off Amanda. He had to get to her. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. She couldn’t take care of herself. Maybe in San Francisco she could. But not here. Not among these kinds of people.

  Just then the man leaned down, bringing his face closer to Amanda’s. Jason saw her spine stiffen, indignance bloom on her face. He saw her bring her satchel up with both hands and straight-arm the man’s chest with it, throwing her weight behind it.

  He stumbled backward, turned his heel on the edge of the boardwalk, and splashed into the water trough.

  Jason skidded to a stop a few feet away. Everyone froze. The miner flailed in the trough, then struggled to his feet, soaked and dripping.

  Amanda must have sensed Jason nearby because she turned to him, clutching her satchel against her stomach. Her cheeks glowed pink. Her eyes were wide, her breasts heaving. Her mouth puckered in a tiny O.

  Jason’s knees nearly buckled. God help him, he wanted to kiss her. Right there on the street, with everyone watching, and that mountain of a miner who’d likely pound the tar out of him if Jason turned his back on him. But Jason couldn’t help himself. He wanted to take her in his arms and smother her against him. He wanted to be inside her. He wanted to own her.

  A round of laughter erupted from the two miners standing beside the trough as they pointed at their friend dragging himself from the water. Jason hurried to Amanda and stepped in front of her.

  “You swing a mean satchel, little lady,” one of the miners called between howls of laughter.

  “Yeah,” the other one said, holding his belly. “Give a warning before you come to town next time. We’ll know not to mess with you.”

  They caught their wet friend by the elbows and headed off down the street, all of them laughing.

  “Amanda!” Meg gasped. “I can’t believe you did that!”

  She touched her hand to her throat. “I can’t believe I did it either.”

  Jason spun around. All the desire he’d had a few seconds ago to kiss her, hold her, bury himself inside her turned to anger.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded.

  Amanda drew herself up a little straighter. “I was thinking that those three men had absolutely no manners at all, and had no business talking to us that way.”

  The fight went out of him. Only Miss Amanda Pierce of San Francisco would be outraged by the lack of proper decorum on the streets of Beaumont.

  He shook his head wearily, and again, he wanted to kiss her.

  “You’re lucky you weren’t the one thrown in the water trough,” Jason said. “Or worse.”

  Her eyes grew wider still, realizing what she’d done, and she gasped, her quick intake of breath causing her breasts to heave.

  Amanda looked up at him, slightly alarmed. “Goodness, you’re probably right.”

  “Damn right I am,” Jason told her, annoyed with her—and himself for looking at her breasts again. “You see what I’m talking about? You’ve got to learn how to take care of yourself in a place like this.”

  Amanda angled her face up at him and straightened her shoulders. “Excuse me, Mr. Kruger, but I think my actions here have demonstrated that I know exactly how to take care of myself.”

  A protest pushed its way to Jason’s lips but didn’t get any farther. Really, what could he say? Amanda had, in fact, handled the situation, though he didn’t like it one bit.

  Amanda waved her hand dismissing the entire incident. “Why don’t we eat now?”

  “Let’s finish our shopping first,” Meg said. “We only have a few more stops.”

  “We’ll meet you at the restaurant,” Amanda said to Jason and started down the street.

  “Hold on,” Jason said, going after them. “I don’t want the two of you on the streets alone. That fella might dry off and decide getting dunked in the horse trough by a woman wasn’t so funny after all.”

  Amanda shrugged away his concern. “We’ll be fine.”

  “No, now wait—”

  She huffed impatiently. “Mr. Kruger, we are not on your mountain now. We can do as we please.”

  “Maybe Jason is right,” Meg said. “Just tell us where you’ll be. If we have a problem, we’ll come find you.”

  He pointed at the shop just down the street. “I’ll be there, then I’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

  “We’ll be there,” Amanda called, as she headed away from him down the boardwalk.

  “Look,” Jason called, “just be careful, will you?”

  Meg turned back quickly. “Maybe you should warn Beaumont to be careful of Amanda!”

  The two women burst into laughter, holding on
to each other as they walked away.

  Jason watched Amanda, his body still humming, his mouth dry. He wanted her. He wanted that woman like he’d never wanted another thing in his life.

  How the hell was he ever going to find a whore to satisfy him now?

  Chapter Fifteen

  When Amanda approached the Red Apple restaurant beside the hotel she found Jason already there, as he’d promised. She smiled, a little surprised at how easily her lips curled up at seeing him.

  It surprised her more that he smiled back.

  She stopped in front of him. “Hungry?”

  He regarded her from under the brim of his black hat. “I’m starving.”

  She thought he must be very hungry indeed because he had a desperate look on his face she’d never seen before.

  Jason cupped her elbow and guided her inside.

  The Red Apple had tables arranged neatly in its big dining room, all covered with clean checkered cloths. Other diners had already crowded inside, but Jason spotted a table in front of the window. He held her elbow all the way, then pulled out her chair and made sure she was seated comfortably before dropping into the chair across from her.

  “Where’s Meg?” he asked, realizing for the first time that Amanda was alone.

  “She had something else to take care of,” Amanda said, arranging her skirt. “She’ll be along in a bit.”

  “She’s not pushing anybody into a water trough somewhere, is she?” Jason asked, and laid his hat on the chair beside him.

  Amanda saw that he was grinning and she did the same. “Meg is at the church talking to the minister,” she said.

  “What’s that all about?”

  Amanda sighed. “I think we both know.”

  “You were right about her and Ethan. I talked to him about it.” Jason shook his head. “But I don’t know that anything can ever come of it.”

  “Maybe the Lord will provide guidance today,” Amanda suggested.

  Jason grunted. “I think you’ve got an angel on your shoulder.”

  “Are you talking about that incident on the street again?”

  He grinned. “Better get used to it. The whole mountain will be talking about it for days.”