by Ally Nelson
“Yes, Momma, but why?”
“Because that no-good dirty dog was lying. He is actually a gun-slinging, trouble-making cowboy, and you are forbidden to so much as say his name.”
I just gasped, for the second time in two days I was rendered speechless. Malcolm was a cowboy? Why would he lie about that, and why did Daddy have such a terrible reaction when he found out the truth?
Chapter Five
Another few days passed after Momma spoke to me in the kitchen about Malcolm. I didn’t want to have Momma and Daddy fighting anymore, and I certainly didn’t wish to be yelled at by any of them. Which is why I can’t explain my actions when a letter arrived for me. I was spending the day with my friend Claire, trying my darnedest not to think about Malcolm Stenson—and failing miserably, I might add—when our friend Sonya approached us with an ashamed look on her face.
“Sonya, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, Iris, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I might have written to one of the men that you received letters from.”
“Might have? “I was starting to glare at her now. She had snuck the names of the men we decided were mine and had written them.
“I did, actually. I am so sorry, but I just figured that you wouldn’t write all of them, so I wrote to one.”
“And? Why are you telling me this, Sonya? I’m no longer allowed to write any letters. My daddy forbids it.”
“I received a letter, for you.”
“A letter for me?”
Sonya nodded, handing me a folded little piece of paper. She held her head down, unable to look me in the eye any more than she had to.
“It’s from Malcolm. He had said his letters would never reach you, so he hoped I would pass this along.”
“You’ve been writing Malcolm.”
Sonya sighed and nodded, trying to hide her face even more so after her confession.
“Well, then, I don’t need to read this. My daddy says he is a liar and wanted by the law, and now I find he’s been keeping more than one woman. I want nothing to do with Malcolm Stenson anymore.”
I went to rip the letter into pieces, but Sonya stopped me, jumping up on the porch where I was standing, pulling the letter out of my hand and looking at me as if I were about to rip the Bible.
“Stop. You can’t rip this up. Not if you want to hear from him again.”
“I don’t, I have no time for bad men like Malcolm Stenson.”
“He isn’t a bad man, and in all his letters to me, he talked about you.”
“He talked about me?”
“He only wrote to me as a friend. I swear it, Iris.”
“Fine, give me the letter back.”
“Promise to read it?”
“I promise.”
Sonya handed me back the letter and walked away. She apparently hadn’t wanted to spend any more time with me or Claire. I sat back down in the rocker next to Claire, staring at the piece of paper in my hand.
“Are you actually going to read it?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Do you think I should?”
“I would, but I’m not good with curiosity.”
“Neither am I.”
Claire and I smiled at each other, me still fiddling with the paper within my hands. I decided to open it up and read what Mr. Stenson had written. If anything, I had expected it to give me some closure, for him to explain himself and apologize. He did apologize, but it wasn’t closure at all. It was filled with even more promise than his previous letters.
Sweet Sonya,
I know we have been writing for a while, and I’m sorry that I have not written much to you lately, but I find myself heartbroken more than expected. Please see that this letter finds its way into the hands of Iris, without her family knowing. I will be forever grateful and will be writing you a proper letter soon. Thank you, dear friend.
My sweetest Iris,
I know that you may hate me right now. I can only imagine the things your father has said about me since his return from the surprise visit. I will admit that some things I wrote to you were not completely true. I only breed horses in my spare time, when I’m not busy being a gun for hire or running from the law. I meant what I said about wanting to marry you. In the very few letters that we have written to each other, I find myself aching to know you more, to learn the real you and not just the proper lady your parents tried to raise you to be. Please, if you have any feelings left for me inside your heart, you will meet me at the bank on August 17th just before it closes.
- Malcolm
“August 17th, that’s tomorrow,” I said.
“Well, are you going to go?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know. I was forbidden to see him.”
“What if you just happen to be there, visiting my father with me?”
“Claire, you are absolutely scandalous.”
“I see the way you’re smiling. You love the idea.”
“Of course I do. Let’s do it.”
“Tomorrow, we meet Mr. Stenson. What do we do until then?”
“Giggle and blush, and fuss with our hair.”
We both laughed and continued to whisper about the secret meeting that would take place tomorrow. We talked about dresses, hairdos, and ways to keep my family from going to the bank or finding out the real reason I was going there.
Chapter Six
It was another restless night for me, but this time it was because of excitement, the butterflies back in my belly and flapping more than ever before. I was imagining all these scenarios where Malcolm would come into the bank, propose to me in front of everyone, apologize to the law men, and be redeemed. There were so many ways he could do things, so many things he could do when we met, I was overwhelmed and shaking, the excitement and fear mixing together to make my nerves unbearable. I spent the morning of the meeting pacing back and forth in my room, trying to fake a smile and calmness every time Momma came in to check on me.
When she finally stopped believing me, I had to lie to her. I had never lied to my Momma before, and I have never done it since, but I told her that Sonya and I had a big fight and I was worried our friendship was over. It wasn’t a total lie. Sonya and I had had a fight, but I still felt awful for telling my mother that. I hoped one day she would forgive me for making something up. Love was worth coming up with a small fib, wasn’t it?
Love, that was a weird sensation for me. I wasn’t sure if I had actually fallen in love with Malcolm, but the feelings were strong enough for me to lie and disobey my parents. When it was getting close to the time I was meant to meet Claire at the bank, I finally got dressed. I removed my nightshirt and replaced it with a soft, white dress, ruffles in the back and no frills in the front looking at myself in the mirror and straightening it out until I looked perfect. I made my way downstairs, yelling to my momma that I was off to meet Claire, and thank my luck, Momma didn’t come to see me off. I slowly walked out of our house and down the street, crossing the dirt path over to the bank to meet Claire out front.
“Are you nervous?”
“I feel like I have bees and butterflies fighting in my stomach.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure.”
Claire and I linked our arms together and walked into the bank, my other hand over my stomach to keep the butterflies and bees inside where they belonged. We were greeted by a warm smile from her father. He took my hand in his and placed a soft kiss along my knuckles.
“Good afternoon, girls,” he said. “Such a pleasant surprise.”
“Well,” Claire said, “I thought it might make your day better if you were accompanied by two ladies on your way home, Daddy.”
“My sweet Claire, always looking out for her old man.”
“Always, Daddy.”
“And how are you doing this fine afternoon, Iris? Keeping out of trouble, I trust.”
“Yes, sir, no more trouble for me, luckily.”
<
br /> “That’s good. I spoke with your daddy a little while back. I knew those letters would get some of you girls in trouble.”
“No more letters for me. I gave them up when my daddy returned home.”
“That’s a good girl, just like my Claire. She never wrote no silly letters.”
I looked at Claire. I knew for a fact that she had written to several men. She shook her head at me and looked at her father with fear. I just nodded and smiled at her daddy, not wanting to get the only friend I trusted in trouble. She was here to help me keep my own secrets, and I wasn’t about to share hers.
“Yes, of course, well, we aren’t all blessed with being as pretty as Claire.”
“All you ladies are pretty in your own way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, time to finish my work before we all head home.”
Claire and I both nodded, re-linking arms and stepping to the side, backing ourselves up against a wall, watching the entrance instead of where her father disappeared to.
“Do you think he’s actually going to show?” Claire said.
“I hope so,” I replied. “Malcolm owes me at least an apology in person.”
“I believe he has more than that in store for you, Iris.”
We both giggled, leaning our heads in close so we didn’t disturb any of the other patrons in the bank. Keeping quiet whispers to ourselves about Malcolm and how scandalous it was for us to be there waiting for him. The rumors that I would become a soiled dove, or worse, if I were to ever actually meet this man. All the ideas floating around my head of what could happen were beginning to make me blush, especially when Claire would join in and add her comments of the bad cowboy and how I was his damsel to do with as he pleased.
When we looked up from our small bubble of scandal and giggles, we both noticed a strange man walking into the bank. He was covered from head to toe in clothing, a hat on top, spurred boots on his feet, a shirt and vest covering his well-muscled chest, tight slacks and a gun holster around his waist. What was most noticeable, though, was the piece of cloth covering his face. The only part of him showing was his deep brown eyes. His head was moving around, looking at everyone in the bank as if he were surveying everyone, then his eyes landed on Claire and me. I swallowed a lump in my throat as our eyes connected. I could have gotten lost in them. Claire was the one to bring me back to the present, squeezing my arm tightly as his eyes moved to stare her down.
When he took a few steps towards us, Claire tightened her grip around my arm, leaning into my ear and whispering, “Iris, I’m scared.”
There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes before he turned towards the tellers, showing off that he had two more guns shoved into the back of his pants. I watched him reach for his holster, pulling out his gun and aiming it towards the ceiling. He pulled the trigger and shot into the rough. Raising his voice as loud as he could, he shouted at everyone in the bank, “This is a robbery!”
Chapter Seven
Everyone in the bank screamed and cowered into the floor. The robber tossed a satchel towards one of the tellers and commanded her to fill it. One of the other patrons in the bank stood up and looked the robber in the eyes, but when he tried to take him down, the robber threw his fist out and collided it directly with the man’s jaw, knocking him down onto the ground.
“Nobody plays hero today. Give me the money and nobody gets hurt.”
Another man tried to stand up to the robber, throwing his fist out to try and knock the robber out, but he dodged the fist and kicked the man in his legs, throwing another punch to knock him clear unconscious. Claire and I huddled against the wall, scared that we may end up dead if we moved.
“No heroes. I won’t say it again.”
The teller was shaking as she filled the satchel full of money, handing it back to the robber and hiding behind the counter, protecting herself from his gun. The robber nodded his head towards the counter, throwing the satchel over his shoulder and heading for the door. Another man tried to stop him, grabbing at the satchel to save the money. The robber once again threw his fists, this time knocking the man in the head with the handle of his gun, turning and walking towards Claire and me.
“Up, up, pretty lady.”
He grabbed my arm and yanked me away from Claire, pulling me into his arms, hiding his chest with my back as he pointed the gun directly at my head.
“I said no heroes. Now, the next hero to try and stop me will cause this gun to put a bullet in this pretty little head.”
I struggled against his arms, but he was too strong. I don’t think he even noticed my movement as he walked us both out of the bank and over to the horses. He threw me up on the back of a horse with no saddle and climbed on in front of me. He pulled on the reins and sped off from the bank. I was too scared to try and jump off of the horse. Instead, I hugged myself to the robber’s back and pleaded for my safety.
“Please, let me go. I won’t tell them which way you went. Please, let me go back to my family.”
It was no use, the man just ignored me as he continued riding off out of town. All I could do as we rode off into the middle of nowhere was wonder what Malcolm was going to think when I didn’t show up—unless someone told him that I was kidnapped. I wondered if he would try and save me, and of course, the answer in my head was yes. He wanted to make up for the fact that he had lied to me. He had to come for me, unless he decided to be with Sonya instead. Her father didn’t care about cowboys; he wouldn’t forbid her from being with him. Being with Sonya would be easier for him.
I started to cry against the robber’s back, sniffling and rubbing my tears against his vest. He changed course and headed towards a large rock formation, stopping the horse from riding past it, and jumped off the horse, pulling me down with him. He backed me up against the hard rock, lifting his hand to caress it against my tear-stained cheek, rubbing away the salty liquid.
“Are these for the family I stole you from?”
I just shook my head. I didn’t want to explain my broken heart to a complete stranger.
“Please don’t cry. I hate to see a woman crying.”
I tried to stop crying, taking a deep breath to calm myself, but it was no use. I only ended up crying more. The solution the robber had was to press his cloth-covered lips against mine, pressing them hard enough to let me feel the pressure of his kiss against my mouth. I had never been kissed like that before. I was a good girl and only let lips touch my knuckles before this moment, but I was so hurt and lost that I let myself go completely into the robber’s kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, still crying as my mouth swiveled to move against his. When I was panting and out of breath, he pulled away from me, pulling the cloth away from his face, letting me see his perfect features and stare more clearly into those deep, leather-brown eyes.
“There is no reason to cry, flower. I’ll return you home if that is what you want.”
“Flower?”
I was staring at him, obviously confused by the sweet endearment he called me. I wasn’t sure if he knew my name or not, but it was a strange coincidence, one that frightened me a little, especially now that he had kissed me like that.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I said. “Please, for my father’s sake, leave me virtuous.”
That was when the robber started to laugh. He was holding his gut and almost falling onto the ground before straightening himself out and moving his hand back up to caress my cheek again. His thumb ran down to slide across my lips as he smiled.
“Iris, I would never hurt you, nor do anything you didn’t want me to.”
“How do you know my . . .”
Realization had hit me just as my question was coming to the end. Malcolm wasn’t going to be coming to rescue me from the robber, because he was the robber. Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face, glaring at him, but making no move to run away. I was going to get revenge, and an apology before I let that man out of my sight.
Chapter Eight
“
I suppose I deserve that.” Malcolm rubbed his cheek but still smiled at me.
“Why did you kidnap me? Why not just introduce yourself like a gentleman?”
“Because I’m not a gentleman, Iris. I’m a cowboy, wanted by the law. I figured kidnapping was the best cover for you.”
“What do you mean, best cover?”
“If you decide you don’t want this life with me, you can return home, escaping the robber, instead of coming home from running off with a cowboy.”
I’m sure my mouth formed a large oh as more realization hit me. He kidnapped me to save my honor in case I didn’t want him or his life. I could only smile, throwing my arms around him and crushing my lips against his. It was in that very moment that I realized I was in love with that man. I didn’t care that he was a cowboy or that my family despised him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
I let out a moan when I felt him push his tongue past my lips and into my mouth. It was an unexpected sensation that made my head float up to the clouds. His hands grabbed a hold of my hips and pushed me back up against the hard stone, pressing his chest hard against mine as he explored my mouth, one flick of his tongue at a time. I knew that a woman should not be alone with a man before marriage, especially in an intimate setting, but I couldn’t stop myself. The more the taste of his mouth invaded mine, the more control I lost over myself. I lifted one leg up and wrapped it around his hip, my thigh grinding against his gun and holster. Malcolm pulled away from me, breathing heavy and licking his lips.
“You sure you want this? Want me?”
“More than I have ever wanted anything.”
“This is not how I imagined having you the first time.”
“Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s you having me.”
I smiled at him, reaching up to caress his stubble-covered face with my fingertips. All of this was against everything I was taught as a child, and my heart was racing with desire. Malcolm could sense that I was ready and waiting; he stripped off his gun holster and tossed it aside, pulling his belt out of his pants and tossing that away too. His pants started to fall down, settling on his thighs. I looked down to see a semi-erect cock, the first genitalia I had ever seen, including my own. I began to blush, reaching out to touch it with my fingertips. The skin felt so soft. I traveled down the entire length of him. Malcolm shivered and gripped my wrist, moving my hand off of his body.
