As tears rolled down her cheeks, Coral remembered that long ago day on this very same street when she and Millicent had collided and how the woman had looked upon her and wrinkled her nose, as if she were the one who smelled foul. It seemed that the tables had turned. Coral grinned as another thought popped in her head. “Oh, Bo. It seems daddy was wrong.”
“How’s that, sweetheart?”
“He always said if wishes were horses, beggars would ride, but in this case, wishes were Amelia’s swinging hips and a perfectly placed pile of horse shi-, um, poop.”
Another ripple of laughter swept through the onlookers at the same time Bo’s arm flexed around her shoulders.
After a moment, someone tapped her arm. She turned and looked up, way up, into Mister Gabe’s smiling face.
“I’m happy that you are at last getting your dream, Coral.” He looked to Bo and asked, “May I?” At her husband’s nod, he bent and gave her a warm kiss on the cheek. “You deserve all the good fortune and happiness that is coming your way, dear heart.”
“Thank you, if not for you and Jewel…”
“Move, Gabe, it’s my turn,” the madame said as she pushed in between them. “It’s always with mixed emotions that I say goodbye to one of my gems. There is sadness because I lose a dear friend, yet great joy, as well, when I see her get all that she ever wanted in life.” Smiling through her tears, Jewel pulled her into a motherly embrace. “Be well and be happy, honey, and know if you ever are in need, you can always call on your friends back in Culpepper Cove.”
“I’ll strive to see that isn’t necessary, Jewel,” Bo said from behind her. “And I thank you for all the kindnesses you have shown my Coral.” He then pulled his sniffling wife away. “If we’re to make it to Sacramento before nightfall, we’re going to have to go now, sweetheart.”
Coral nodded and with one more hug for Jewel and a watery smile for Mister Gabe, she let her husband lift her up onto the wagon seat. As he climbed up behind her, she twisted in time to see Nettie come rushing up with a basket.
“You can’t go without something to eat along the way. You’ve got to feed that baby, Miss Coral. You see that she eats well, Mister Bo, or I’m bringing my spoon to San Francisco and taking you both to task.”
Bo grinned. “I will see to it, Nettie, and let me say an extra special thank you for all those lessons.” He patted his stomach. “Coral has turned into such a fine cook, thanks to you, that I’ll need to find a seamstress to give her sewing lessons to let out my britches.”
Coral smacked him lightly on the arm. “You burn off every last morsel pounding iron and sweating in your forge. It’s me who needs seams let out.” Her hands fell to her growing belly, which at almost four months along wasn’t noticeable to anyone except the two of them. They shared a happy smile briefly, before Bo bent and hefted the overflowing basket, and set it behind the seat. Coral leaned down and clasped Nettie’s upstretched hands.
“I’ll never forget you,” she whispered.
“Nor I you, child. I’m convinced you saved my life that day, and I won’t soon be forgetting that.” The older woman wiped at her tears. “Now you two get, before we flood the streets of Culpepper Cove with all our weeping.”
As Bo flicked the reins and called to the team, setting them in motion, Coral turned around in the seat and waved until the large gathering of well-wishing friends standing in front of the saloon had faded from sight.
“I’ll miss them.” Sadly, she sniffled more and leaned into his side as his arm came around her.
“I know, sweetheart, but you’ll soon make new friends. And I expect Amy to be true to her word and be pecking at our door with John and Opal in tow this coming spring.”
“You don’t mind if I name a little girl after her?”
“Not at all. Amelia is a very pretty name.”
“I thought we could call her Amelia Annalise Magnusson.”
“That’s quite an undertaking to learn how to spell. Still, I like it.”
“What if it’s a boy? Shall we name him after you?”
“Bowdyn?” he laughed. “Hardly. I was thinking Gabriel Jebidiah. Those two men always had my back and I would hope our son will be as good a friend and as brave when he grows up.”
“With you for a daddy, how could he not?”
He squeezed her tight and they lapsed into silence, moving steadily forward toward a future filled with love and happiness.
The End
Maddie Taylor
A lifelong reader, Maddie became a romance junkie as a teen with her first romance novel, The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. From then on, she was hooked, and gobbled up everything she could get her hands on, whether contemporary, historical, paranormal or sci-fi. If there was romance to be found between a strong alpha male, and a sassy, adventurous and oftimes defiant yet loving woman Maddie was all over it. As an author, she stays true to those themes writing steamy erotic romance, with a side of kink, and adding elements of intrigue, danger and suspense to her plots.
Maddie started writing as a hobby. Her stories stayed private while she raised a family and worked full time as a registered nurse. It wasn’t until 2012 that she decided to take the plunge and submit her first book for publication: Captain My Captain. She found acceptance at Blushing Books and published an impressive twelve novels the first year.
She’s still juggling writing with her day job and you’ll find her working at her laptop into the wee hours of the night, scribbling plot ideas onto the notebook she always keeps handy, and working out the details of a scene while floating around in her pool with a lemon drop in hand. Don’t be surprised if you see her pulling over on the side of the road to capture an idea for a scene on paper, because as Maddie says, her best ideas always come when there isn’t a pen in a five-mile radius.
An interview with Maddie Taylor
CreativelyConstance.Blogspot
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Don’t miss these exciting titles by Maddie Taylor and Blushing Books!
Club Decadence Series
Faithfully, Prequel
Captain, My Captain, Book 1
You Said Forever, Book 2
Little Light of Mine, Book 3
Unbind My Heart, Book 4
Second Time Lucky, Book 5
What About Love, Book 6
Decadence L.A. Series
Master My Love
Anthologies:
The Sons of Johnny Hastings
With Hearts Aflame: Valentine's Day Box Set
The Naughty List
Single Titles:
Surrender Your Grace
The Gift
Everything Christmas
The Juniper Bride
Claiming Coral
Decadent Nights Series:
Hooked
French Kiss
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Claiming Coral (The Red Petticoat Saloon) Page 21
