Unwilling Bride

by Joannie Kay

  will like me?" she asked in concern.

  "I’m sure of it," he told her, and then helped her clear the table and do the dishes. It was still too early to go to bed,

  and Will found he couldn’t bear the thought of lying beside

  her and not touching her. It would be better to stay up late

  and write a letter to his parents. It would give Bridget time

  to fall sound asleep.

  Bridget tried to hide her disappointment when Will sat at

  his desk instead of taking her hand and leading her into the

  bedroom. She told herself to be patient, and picked up her

  embroidery. She sat quietly and stitched until her eyes

  started feeling heavy.

  "Go on to bed, Bridget, before you fall asleep sitting there,"

  Will suggested when he saw her head nod.

  Finally! "Yes, Will," she agreed, and went into the

  bedroom to prepare herself. She changed into a pretty gown

  she’d been saving, and then brushed her long red hair until

  it shone, and then climbed into bed to wait for Will. After

  an hour, she gave up waiting, and cried herself to sleep,

  only to wake up angry when she saw Will had come to bed

  and was sleeping soundly!

  How dare he!!!! she fumed, and then jumped out of bed to

  stand glaring down at him. Without stopping to think of his

  reaction, she put her hands under the mattress, and with a

  strength she didn’t know she possessed, she gave the

  mattress a flip, neatly throwing Will off the bed to land on

  the floor with a loud thump!

  "What the hell?" Will sputtered angrily, then turned to find Bridget standing on the other side of the bed, her hands on

  her hips, and her green eyes flashing dangerously.

  "You don’t want a wife, Will Bishop! You want a damned

  housekeeper!!!" she accused, and in the next instant, she

  picked up the pitcher of water off the washstand and threw

  the contents all over him. "I’m not staying in this house

  another second, and if you don’t like it, too damned bad!"

  she screamed, giving vent to the rage she felt. She grabbed

  her pants from the drawer of the dresser, only to have them

  ripped out of her hands and tossed across the room.

  "Let me go!" she fought against Will’s grasp on her wrist, but he easily dragged her over to the rocking chair in the

  corner, and in the next second she found herself draped

  over his left knee. In the next instant, his hand landed on

  her bottom. "Owww!"

  "You little brat!" Will scolded, and then abruptly realized what he was doing. He immediately put her on her feet.

  "I’m sorry, Bridget. I swore I wasn’t going to do that ever

  again. I didn’t mean to scare you, honey," he apologized.

  "I am not scared of you, Will Bishop!" Bridget kicked him hard to prove her point.

  "Damn it, Bridget!" Will rubbed his leg while struggling with his temper. "Don’t tell me that! You went running to

  your Pa today because I was too damned hard on you two

  weeks ago!" he said in a chilling voice. "But if ever I saw a woman who needed a spanking, it’s you, Mrs. Bishop! And

  I’m damned tempted right now, so stop pushing."

  "I didn’t go running to Papa because you spanked me, Will

  Bishop! How could you say something so stupid?" she

  ranted, then took a handful of his hair and gave it a good

  jerk!

  Will reached up and removed her hand from his hair, then

  stood to tower over her, holding her close to his body. "You

  go too far, little girl."

  "I don’t care!" she hissed. "I’m tired of being little more than a housekeeper! If you don’t want a wife, then send me

  home and I’ll get this farce of a marriage annulled!" She

  brought the heel of her right foot down on his bare toes,

  and then smirked when he let go of her to grab his foot and

  howl in pain. "I am not scared of you, either!!! I’m damned

  mad! I’m tired of trying and trying to please you. Hellsfire,

  you didn’t even care that I wore pants over to Papa’s

  today!!! You were just worried that you might have to eat

  your own cooking, or wash your own clothes!!! You can

  hire a woman to do those things, Will Bishop! But I will

  not be ignored any longer! Either you want a wife or you

  don’t! Make up your mind, damn it!" She picked up the

  empty water pitcher and heaved it at him.

  Will ducked, and heard the pitcher shatter as it hit the wall

  behind him. "All of this is because I didn’t make love to

  you, woman?" he demanded angrily.

  "Well, it’s sure as hell not because I’m scared of you,

  Mister Bishop!" she railed at him.

  "I was waiting on you to say something," he said quietly.

  "I did say something. I told you I was ready…" she argued.

  "Yes… and then I punished you severely… I thought you’d

  changed your mind," he admitted.

  "I thought you punished me because you cared about me,

  Will?" she questioned.

  "I do care about you, Bridget." He stepped toward her and his large hands wrapped around her upper arms as he held

  her. "I’m in love with you," he admitted, "and I want you to be my wife. I’ve wanted that for quite a while now."

  "Then what have we been waiting for?" she asked

  invitingly.

  "Are you sure, Bridget?" he asked softly.

  "I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life," she

  responded.

  "And you weren’t upset because I spanked you?" he

  persisted.

  "No, I deserved it," she shocked him by admitting.

  "And you wore the pants deliberately to get a rise out of me

  today?" he asked knowingly.

  "Yes!" she giggled, and then her eyes widened as she got a good look at his expression. "Will… No…..!" she shook

  her head, but in seconds he’d taken a seat on the rocking

  chair and pushed her gown up to reveal her bottom.

  "Nooooo!" she begged.

  "Pants!" he smacked her sharply. "Deliberately…" another smack. "Dumping me out of bed!" SPANK! "Dousing me

  with water!" SPANK!!

  "Owwwww! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!!" she pleaded. His

  hand was hard, and her bottom was already on fire!

  "Kicking me!" SPANK! "Pulling hair!" SPANK!!

  "Throwing the pitcher!" SPANK! "Tantrums!" SPANK!!

  SPANK!!! "Swearing!" SPANK!!! SPANK!!! SPANK!!!

  "Are you ready to behave now?" he asked hoarsely.

  "Yes, oh yes, Will! Please!! I am sorry!" she proclaimed without hesitation. In the next instant she found herself

  flipped over and cuddled in his arms as he kissed her

  tenderly. Will was pleased with her response to his kisses.

  He sensed she was holding nothing back, and truly wanted

  him to continue making love to her. Will carried her over to

  their bed, and after tugging the mattress back into place, he

  gently laid her down.

  Bridget felt no shame as Will touched her most intimate

  places, and seductively turned her passions into a need that

  demanded complete surrender. When he finally entered her,

  she was more than ready, and even the brief pain of losing

  her virginity was soon kissed away as he brought them to

  sweet ecstasy.

  Will enjoyed Bridget’s blushes as she made breakfast for

  the two of the
m, and he couldn’t resist whispering a few

  naughty suggestions in her ear before he slipped out the

  kitchen door to tend the stock. His lovely redhead was a

  passionate woman, and he couldn’t be more pleased!!

  Bridget hummed as she baked cookies, while wondering if

  Will really did intend to make love to her again when he

  came in for the noon meal. She was so engrossed in her

  pleasant daydreams that she was unaware she wasn’t alone

  until the bag was dropped over her head and body,

  effectively pinning her arms. She kicked and struggled as

  her attacker attempted to pick her up, and in the next instant

  a pain exploded in her jaw, and the world went black…

  Chapter Seven

  The throbbing in her jaw was painful, and Bridget tried to reach

  up to touch herself, but found she couldn’t move her hands. Her

  green eyes flew open as her memory came flooding back in a

  painful rush. She’d been baking cookies for Will, and someone

  threw a bag over her head, and she couldn’t breathe… or see

  who her attacker was… and suddenly, the pain in her jaw… and

  blackness. Her hands were tied above her head, and she was

  helpless and at the mercy of whoever took her… She struggled

  to free herself, but the ropes bit into her wrists.

  "You aren’t going anywhere, my pet, so you can just stop tugging at those ropes," a familiar sounding voice called to her from somewhere out of her vision. "It’s payback time!"

  "Who the hell are you?" Bridget demanded angrily, and then snorted derisively when the man stepped to the side of the cot.

  "You! Okay, you’ve had your fun. Untie me now."

  "I don’t think you understand, my pet. You aren’t in charge

  here… I am."

  "You are nothing but a pathetic, whining pile of horse dung!" she informed him, her contempt for him evident in her glittering green eyes and sarcastic tone of voice. "Let me go or I’ll take a

  horsewhip to you!" she promised.

  "You owe me, my pet, and I’m going to collect, starting right now." He leaned down to kiss her and Bridget spit in his face.

  "You bitch!" he wiped the spittle away with the sleeve of his shirt, then drew back his fist and struck her again. He stood looking at

  the unconscious woman for a couple minutes, then said, "I want you awake and screaming when I have you, bitch… And I will

  have you, over and over. You owe me…"

  *****

  Will saw the black smoke rolling out of the open kitchen window

  as he rode into the yard. He jumped off King’s back and ran into

  the house. "Bridget!?" he called out, hurrying over to open the oven door and remove the charred smoldering cookies. He

  rushed the pan out the back door and threw it into the yard, then

  returned to look for his wife. "Bridget, where are you?" he demanded, looking all over for her, and not finding a trace. He

  checked the cellar, and she wasn’t there either, and a cursory

  inspection of the other buildings came up empty. Sampson was

  still in his stal , so he knew she hadn’t gone anywhere. He went

  back inside the house, and finally spotted a letter lying on the

  table beside the half empty bowl of cookie dough. He opened the

  envelope and removed a single piece of paper and read:

  "Get $10,000 from Bridget’s old man and you come alone to

  deliver it in the hollowed out tree at Parson’s Creek by tomorrow

  noon, or she dies."

  Will crumpled the note and threw it on the table. He quickly

  debated going to Flynn O’Riley, and immediately discounted the

  idea. Whoever took Bridget was counting on him to be afraid,

  and to follow orders. Will wasn’t about to leave his tiny wife to

  their mercy while he ran to her father for help. His decision

  made, Will mounted and started looking for tracks.

  *****

  This time when Bridget regained consciousness, she didn’t open

  her eyes. She needed time to think. It was clear the man was

  demented and intended to rape her, and she was just as

  determined it wasn’t going to happen. She was going to have to

  use her brain, and control her temper, no matter how much he

  baited her. She belonged to Will, and she wasn’t going to let

  anyone take what belonged to her husband.

  "I know you’re awake, my pet. I’ve been watching you the whole time you’ve been unconscious. I’m not as stupid as you all like to think I am."

  "I never thought you were stupid, Dude," she denied, trying to make her voice sound sympathetic.

  "You don’t even know my real name, do you? Never bothered to

  call me anything but Dude… You and your whole family, looking

  down your noses at me like I’m dirt on the damned floor."

  "That’s not true," Bridget argued gently, while racking her brain to remember his name. For the life of her, she could NOT

  remember…! William, Walter… no… Wally… Waldo! Yes!!!

  "Your name is Waldo," she said through swollen lips.

  "Do you know how much I hate being called ‘Dude’?" he whined in a singsong voice. "It wasn’t nice of you and your family to stick that name on me, Bridget. And it wasn’t nice of you to leave me

  standing in front of all those people in the church, either. I

  wanted to marry you! But you ran away… and made me a

  laughing stock." He paced the floor of the tiny cabin, then whirled to face her, "You standing there so beautiful, and pretty, and me so proud to have you for my wife… planning to be so good to

  you, but did you even give me a chance, my pet? No. You ran off

  and left me standing there alone to face all those laughing

  people!"

  "I’m sorry, Waldo. I didn’t do it to embarrass you. I just didn’t want to marry anyone, and Papa was making me. I didn’t mean it

  personally," she told him, tugging on the ropes again and finding they were still snug.

  "You married Will Bishop though!" he accused. "Your old man gave you a choice between him and me, and I saw the look on

  your face when you picked him. You wanted him… and everyone

  knows it!" He paced some more, and then said, "Do you know what I’m going to do, my pet? I’m going to kill him! He deserves

  to die for taking what was mine!"

  "No!" she exclaimed in horror.

  "And I’m going to have you first, so I can tell him, and it will be the last thing on his mind when he dies…" he approached the

  bed. "Don’t spit at me again, Bridget. I’ll cut you if you do."

  She saw the knife in his hands, and the maniacal gleam in his

  eyes, and prayed for help. "Waldo, none of this is Will’s fault. It’s Papa’s," she said in a reasoning tone of voice.

  "He’s the one who made everyone think badly of you."

  "And now he will pay for it," Waldo boasted. "He is going to pay me to get you back… and no one is ever going to want his

  precious little girl again." He twirled the knife in his hand.

  "Waldo, you don’t really want to hurt me, do you? If Papa gives you money, we can go away together… back east… I’m sure

  people respect you there, and we could start a business of some

  sort!" she suggested.

  "Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe you want to go away with me, Bridget? You passed me over for Will Bishop. I know

  better. I’m through talking."

  He started toward her again and Bridget tensed her body and

  said, "If you touch me, Will is going to kill you. And if he doesn’t, Papa will."
<
br />   Waldo laughed humorlessly, then grabbed her shirtwaist and

  ripped all the buttons off. At that moment the cabin door crashed

  open, and Will stepped inside. Waldo raised the knife, ready to

  plunge it into Bridget, and in the next instant Will drew and fired.

  The knife clattered from Waldo’s lifeless fingers, and his body

  crumpled to a heap on top of Bridget.

  Will unceremoniously pulled the body off his sobbing wife, and

  dumped it on the floor so he could get to Bridget. "It’s okay, honey. You’re safe now," he said quietly, pulling his own knife and using it to cut the ropes binding her to the cot. He gathered

  her close and let her cry. "You’re safe, honey."

  "He was insane, Will. He was planning to kill you!"

  "Did he hurt you, honey?" Will asked quietly, feeling a sense of déjà vu from the time she was captured by the Comanche.

  "My face hurts. He punched me twice," she answered

  indignantly, then added, "He was going to rape me… and cut

  me," she shivered. "This is the second time you’ve saved me, Will."

  "We need to get you out of here and have the Doctor look at you, honey. We’re closer to your Pa’s place, so we’ll go there and

  send for the Sheriff."

  "I don’t want Papa to see me like this, Will," she argued, but Will simply picked her up and headed outside. She was surprised to

  realize that the sun was going down. Will lifted her up on the

  saddle, and then mounted behind her. He wasn’t surprised when

  she lost consciousness again, and he worried all the way to the

  O’Riley Ranch.

  "My God, what’s happened to her, boy?" Flynn demanded when he opened the door to find Will standing there holding an

  unconscious Bridget in his arms.

  "We need Doc and the Sheriff, Sir. Can you send someone?" he asked as he started up the steps to Bridget’s old room. He gently

  laid her on the bed, and started undressing her, looking for other injuries. He’d barely covered her nude body with a sheet and

  blanket when Flynn stormed in the room. Consuela was right

  behind him, and Will asked her to please get some water.

  "Who done this to my girl, Will?" Flynn demanded in a seething rage.

  "The Dude," Will answered shortly. "He took her right out of the kitchen while she was baking cookies… Left a ransom note for

  you… I trailed him, and got there just in time to keep him from