On the other hand, if the girls decided to stay on at the ranch, it could change things entirely. Damn!
Pulling his watch from his vest pocket, he turned it over in his hand, admiring the beauty of it before he released the catch. He stared at the small photo of the woman on the inside cover before he checked the time.
In a few days, after they’d had time to decide what they were going to do, he would pay a friendly little visit to the Flynn women and find out exactly what their plans were. Only then could he decide his next course of action.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The next few days were interesting, to say the least. The fall roundup was underway, and the ranch hands were busy from morning ‘til night. For the first time in years, Marty didn’t ride out with the hands. She had a wedding to plan, and although, in deference to her father’s death, it would be a small affair, there was still much to be done.
Marty and Nettie and Dani worked together to clean the house from top to bottom, dusting, waxing, polishing the silver, and painting the porch, and when they weren’t at the main house, they were sewing new curtains for the cabin at Salt Springs. Marty had been delighted when Dani told her that she and Sanza would be living at the ranch for half the year. Nettie, too, had been overjoyed at the news.
Ridge and Sanza spent their days out on the range with the men. The cowhands were a little leery of having an Indian riding with them. The first two days, they spent most of their time looking over their shoulders, as if they expected him to attack them at any minute. Sanza bore their curious looks and distrust with stoic indifference.
On Saturday, the women went into town. Their first stop was at the dressmakers’. Marty had never bothered much about dresses and such, preferring pants to skirts, but this was different. This was her wedding dress. She looked through numerous patterns before choosing a gown. While not the latest Paris fashion, it was quite lovely. Made of cream-colored satin, it had a round neck and short, puffy sleeves edged with tulle and lace. The skirt was gathered at the back with a modest bustle. The short train was edged with rows of ruffles.
Dani chose a gown of dusty-rose silk with a square neckline and short sleeves. The skirt was shirred at the hips and tucked along the bottom. Nettie chose a two-piece dress in a muted shade of gray.
After leaving the modiste, they made a quick stop at the general store for supplies and then headed for home.
It had been a pleasant day, Marty thought as she pulled into the ranch yard, until she saw Victor Claunch’s horse tied at the hitching post.
“What’s he doing here?” Dani asked.
Marty parked the wagon alongside the house, and then she looked at her mother, remembering the conversation she’d had with Victor Claunch not so long ago. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
“You do?” Dani said.
“He’s come courting.”
Dani frowned. “Courting? Who could he be courting here?” she asked, and then clapped her hand over her mouth.
“Yes,” Nettie said, alighting from the wagon. “I’m afraid it’s me.”
“You!” Dani exclaimed. She looked at Marty. “Did you know about this?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Dani looked at her mother again. “Is it true?”
“I’m afraid so,” Nettie said. “He came calling regularly while you two were away.”
Marty and Dani exchanged looks, then turned to face their mother again.
“You’re not thinking of marrying him, are you?” Marty asked. In spite of what Victor had said, it had never occurred to her that her mother might actually consider marrying Victor Claunch.
“I take it you’re against it,” Nettie said dryly.
“How can you even consider it?” Dani asked.
“You can’t marry him,” Marty said. “I’m sure he killed Pa, and if he didn’t, then he was behind it.”
Nettie looked startled. “Why would you think that?”
“He’s been trying to buy us out for the last five years,” Marty explained.
“That doesn’t make him a murderer.” Nettie shook her head. “No, I don’t believe it. Victor was your father’s friend.”
“He did it,” Marty said stubbornly. “I might never be able to prove it, but I know he did it. And he only wants to marry you to get the ranch! For goodness’ sake, he asked me to marry him when he thought Pa left the ranch to me.”
“Shh,” Dani said, “here he comes.”
Marty looked past her sister to see Claunch walking toward them. “Looks like he’s been out snooping around,” she muttered. “I wonder how long he’s been here.”
“Afternoon, ladies,” Victor said.
Dani nodded. Grabbing a package from the back of the wagon, she muttered something and hurried into the house.
“Hello, Victor,” Nettie said. She glanced at Marty, then back at Victor. “It’s good to see you.”
He looked prosperous, as always, Marty thought, from the crown of his gray Stetson to the soles of his boots. He wore gray trousers, a white shirt, and a black leather vest.
“You too. Here,” he said, reaching into the back of the wagon, “let me help you with that.”
Marty managed a thank-you between clenched teeth as he took a large box from her hand.
“So, Victor,” Nettie said, “what brings you out here this afternoon?”
Victor glanced at Marty, then at Nettie. “Why, I came to see the three prettiest women this side of the Missouri,” he said gallantly.
Marty scowled.
Nettie blushed. “Let’s go inside, shall we?”
“You two go ahead,” Marty said. “I’ll be along later.”
She watched the two of them disappear into the house, then turned and retraced Victor’s footprints, wondering what he had been looking at before they arrived. The man had enough nerve for a dozen men, she thought sourly. He’d been inside the barn and walked around the well. His footprints led to the back of the house, then disappeared in the gravel. What mischief was he up to now? she wondered.
Knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer, she took a deep breath then went into the house. Victor and Nettie were in the parlor. There was a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of cookies on the table between them.
Nettie looked up and smiled. “Come,” she said, “join us.”
“I need to get cleaned up.”
“Victor has something he wants to say to you.”
Marty sat down on the sofa, certain that, whatever he had to say, she didn’t want to hear it.
Victor cleared his throat. “As I told you earlier, I’ve been courting your mother for some weeks now.” He smiled at Nettie and took her hand in his. “I’ve always had tender feelings for your mother, and now that she’s free…well, I just asked her to marry me.”
Marty couldn’t help herself. She gasped, not in surprise, but horror.
“I don’t blame you for being surprised,” Nettie said quickly.
“She hasn’t answered me yet,” Victor said. “I think she wants your approval.”
Marty sprang to her feet. “Well, she doesn’t have it. Not now. Not ever!”
“Martha Jean!” Nettie exclaimed. “Where are your manners?”
Marty was too upset to reply. With a shake of her head, she turned and ran out of the room.
Nettie stared after her, then looked apologetically at Victor. “I’m sorry. She’s been under a lot of pressure lately, what with her father’s death and Dani being kidnapped.”
“Yes, of course,” Victor said. “But none of that has anything to do with us. So name the day, my dear.”
“I’m afraid I can’t say yes now, not when Marty objects so strongly.”
A muscle twitched in Victor’s jaw, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “You’re going to let her feelings come between us?”
“I’m afraid so, at least for the time being. Try to understand, won’t you? I’m sure she’ll come around in time.”
�
�Yes, of course,” he said. “In time.”
Sunday morning, Marty put on her church dress and went downstairs to fix breakfast, only to find Ridge looking out the window, a cup of coffee in his hand.
He turned as she entered the room. “You’re up early.”
“It’s Sunday,” she said.
He lifted one brow.
“Church,” she said.
“Ah.” She wore a pale yellow dress. The neck was square and edged with rows of tiny ruffles. The sleeves were short and the skirt was full, pulled up on one side to reveal rows of ruffled lace. “You’ll be the prettiest girl there.”
“Thank you. Would you like to come with us?”
He shook his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been inside a white man’s church.
“Will you come with us?”
“Do you think I’d be welcome?”
“It’s a church, Longtree. Everyone is welcome.” Walking up to him, she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Please come.”
“How can I resist?”
After breakfast, Ridge, Marty, and Nettie stopped by to pick up Dani, and then they were on their way.
“I guess Sanza wasn’t up to coming to church, eh?” Ridge asked.
“No,” Dani said, settling her skirts around her. “But he didn’t mind my going. Do you suppose our God and the Apache god is the same?”
“Of course it is,” Nettie said. “There’s only one God.”
Marty looked at Ridge. “Is that what you think?”
“I don’t know. Can’t say as I ever gave it a lot of thought.”
A short time later, he parked the buggy in front of the church. Alighting, he handed Marty out of the conveyance, then helped Nettie and Dani out of the backseat.
Marty frowned at him as he reached for her hand.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Do you think you could leave your gun in the buggy?”
“No.”
She didn’t argue. Taking his arm, they walked up the stairs and entered the vestibule. Marty looked over at him and smiled.
“Relax,” she whispered.
He grunted softly as he let Marty lead him to a pew about midway down the aisle. He was studying the stained-glass window over the altar when he felt Marty tense beside him. A glance to his left showed Victor Claunch sliding into the pew beside Nettie. Moments later, the organist began to play.
Ridge was dozing when Marty pinched him. He frowned at her, then, following her gaze, he saw what had upset her. Victor was holding Nettie’s hand.
When the service ended, the church members gathered together. Gradually, the men moved off to talk about crops and cattle, politics and the weather, leaving the older women to gossip while the younger ones talked about babies and birthing and female complaints. Dani and Marty stood with the younger group. Nettie and Victor stood apart from everyone else.
Ridge glanced at Marty. She was glaring at Victor, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
When she broke away from the other women, obviously intending to confront her mother and Claunch, Ridge intercepted her before she could cause a scene.
“Not now,” he said quietly.
“Let me go!”
“Behave yourself. You don’t want to cause a scene, do you?”
“I don’t care!”
“Is that right?”
She stared up at him. Too late, she noticed the mischievous expression on his face. Before she could protest, he drew her into his arms and kissed her, long and hard.
She blinked at him when he finally released her. From the corner of her eye, she could see people staring at them. She felt herself blush from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
“Are you ready to go home now?” Ridge asked innocently.
“What? Oh, yes.”
Back straight, she marched toward the buggy. She didn’t look back.
Stifling the urge to grin, Ridge followed her.
“What was that all about?” Dani asked, coming up behind him.
“Just trying to keep your sister from making a scene.”
“Really?” Dani exclaimed. “I’d hate to see what you’d do if you were trying to cause one!”
The next few weeks passed in a flurry of activity. Nettie began planning the menu for the gathering after the wedding. Marty redecorated her bedroom in shades of blue and beige, bought new pillows and new sheets. She emptied several drawers in the highboy and made room for Ridge’s belongings in the armoire. She went into town again and bought a new nightgown that was so revealing she blushed every time she thought of wearing it for Ridge. She also bought new undergarments to wear with her wedding dress, as well as a new pair of shoes.
The day before the wedding, all the men except Sanza went into town for haircuts. Before they left, Marty took Ridge aside and asked him to leave his hair long.
“Anything for you, darlin’,” he had replied with a lopsided grin.
They met that night under the stars, as had become their habit. Ridge opened his arms and she made herself at home, her cheek snuggled against his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist.
She slipped one hand under his shirt. “One more day,” she murmured.
He laughed softly. “Think you can wait?”
“Yes, but no longer than that.”
“It’s been a long three weeks,” he muttered. It was getting harder and harder to let her go at night, to settle for a few kisses and a quick caress, to lie in bed at night and picture her lying in her own bed just down the hall. More than once, he’d gotten up and paced the floor, fighting the urge to go to her room and slide under the covers beside her. In spite of his honorable words to the contrary, he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
“We’ve never talked about what we were going to do after we get married,” Marty remarked.
“I plan to carry you to the nearest bed just as fast as I can,” Ridge replied, his voice husky with longing.
“I don’t mean that,” Marty said, grinning. “I mean, I just assumed we’d stay on at the ranch, even though we never talked about it.”
“Honey, we can live wherever you want.”
“We can?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t tell me you’re independently wealthy.”
“Not quite, but I’ve got a few dollars put away, so if you get the urge to move on, you just let me know.”
“And you won’t mind sharing a house with Nettie?”
“Not as long as she sleeps in her own room.”
“Oh, you!” she exclaimed, punching him on the arm. “Do you ever think of anything else?”
“Not when you’re around.”
They spent the next few minutes kissing and cuddling, spinning daydreams of their future.
“There’s one other thing we haven’t discussed,” Marty said when they came up for air.
“What’s that?”
“Children.”
“What’s to discuss? They’ll come or they won’t.”
She laughed at that.
“Do you want a big family?” Even as he asked the question, he was imagining a little girl with reddish-brown hair and freckles.
“Yes, do you?”
He cupped her buttocks and drew her up against him. “Making them is half the fun. And now,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose, “I think you’d best go to bed.”
She didn’t argue. After all, a girl needed her beauty sleep, especially when she was getting married in the morning.
Chapter Thirty-Four
It was her wedding day. Marty woke early after a restless night. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment, her stomach all aflutter at what the day—and the night—would bring.
Tonight she would be Ridge Longtree’s wife. The thought sent a thrill racing down her spine. Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around her waist and giggled like a schoolgirl.
Mrs. Ridge Longtree. She laughed out loud, giddy with excitement.
Three hours later, Marty sat on a stool in the middle of her bedroom while her mother arranged her hair.
“Martha, for goodness’ sake, stop fidgeting!”
“I can’t help it. I’ve never been a bride before. Weren’t you nervous the day you married my father?”
“Oh, Lord, yes,” Nettie replied, smiling.
“You had a big wedding, didn’t you?”
“Yes. My folks insisted on it. I think they invited the whole city. Most of the day was just a blur, there were so many people there. I didn’t even know most of them.” Nettie paused. “I never told you anything about what to expect on your wedding night.”
“Mama!”
Nettie shrugged. “And I don’t know what to tell you now. If you love him…”
“Oh, I do!”
Nettie gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Then just let nature take its course.”
She put the last hairpin in place, then stood back, her hands on her hips. “Perfect!” she declared.
Rising, Marty looked at herself in the mirror. A stranger looked back. Her mother had gathered her hair up and back, so that it fell down her back in thick waves. A few tendrils framed her face.
There was a knock on the door, and then Dani entered the room. “Marty! You look gorgeous. Wait until Ridge sees you!”
“Do I really look all right?”
“You look better than all right.” Dani laughed. “No one will recognize you.”
Marty made a face at her sister, and then began to change her clothes. Her new undergarments felt cool against her heated skin. And then her mother helped her into her dress, and when Marty looked in the mirror again, she saw a bride with rosy cheeks and eyes that were sparkling with excitement.
“Why, I’m beautiful,” she murmured.
“Yes, you are,” Dani said, grinning. “It must be love.”
“It is, indeed,” Marty agreed, and they all laughed.
“All right,” Nettie said, “let’s go.”
Sanza drove the women in the buggy. Marty was by turns talkative and silent, nervous and eager. But she had no doubts about marrying Ridge Longtree. None at all.
Under Apache Skies Page 24
