Montana Grit

by Ramona Flightner

  He chuckled. “’Tis too late for that, love.”

  “Why did you do it?” Leticia whispered into his ear. “Why have Warren write up such a document?”

  He eased her away and met her gaze. “It was already written up before our first wedding ceremony, Leticia. I need ye to understand that. I wanted Hortence to be considered my daughter then. For there to never be any doubt.”

  She nodded as she fought tears.

  He stroked her cheek, even though no tears fell. “An’ now we have scared that man away, and I’ll continue to hope he willna bother us again. But knowin’ she is mine, legally, will ease any worry.”

  Leticia swallowed a sob. “I thought we had to go in front of a judge.”

  “Aye, we will. But with that form showin’ our intent, from the moment we wed, it dispels any doubt.” He met her joyous gaze. “I love ye. I love our girl. Ye are my family.” He pulled her into his arms as they continued to dance around the floor. He met Warren’s gaze and frowned as Warren made a motion with his head for them to leave. Alistair nodded in understanding and then led Leticia to the side of the room where they slipped out the door, their departure unheralded by the celebrating guests.

  Alistair stood in the hotel room, his back to the door as he stared out the window. He listened as Leticia did her evening ablutions behind the privacy screen. At her grunt of distress, he sighed. “Are ye certain ye want no help from me?”

  He heard her mutter to herself. Finally she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t free myself from this dress.”

  He strode over to her, pushing the screen to one side. She stood with the dress half open down her back, and her long blond hair falling from its pins. “Come,” he grunted. “I should free ye from yer clothes tonight.” His touch provoked shivers as his fingers stroked her back as he liberated her from the confining dress. When she remained in front of him with her head lowered, he deftly unlaced her corset.

  As the corset fell to the floor, she flailed an arm in front of her until she caught the edge of a small table, holding herself up as her breath flooded in. A soft flush covered her skin as he caressed flesh reddened from the confining corset.

  “Must ye wear such a contraption?” he murmured.

  “If I don’t, I’ll be seen as even less respectable than I am.”

  He spun her until she faced him, her thin shift the only linen covering her upper body. “Ye are respectable. Ye will be until the day ye die.” His passionate gaze roved over her. “Ye are my wife, an’ no one will speak to ye without respect.” He frowned as he saw tears threaten. “What is it?”

  “You speak as though you truly believe I am worthy of everyone’s regard.”

  He growled as he tugged her into his arms. “Ye are, my Leticia. My beloved. Ye are.” His callused hands traveled down her back and up again to play in her hair and fully free it from the pins. “I’m to blame for ye thinking ye are no’ worthy. Forgive me. I never stopped loving ye, Leticia. I’ll love ye until I die.” He pushed her back, trapping her head between his large hands and holding her immobile so she had to meet his gaze. “I never courted another. No matter what the rumors were or who said what, I never did.”

  She bit her lip before blurting out, “But you visited the Boudoir. After our first wedding ceremony.”

  He flushed. “Aye, I did. I was angry and mortified and wanted to hurt ye.” He lowered his gaze. “I willna say I’m proud of what I did, but I do regret it.”

  She stiffened in his hold. “I must have your promise that you will not return to the Boudoir again.”

  His gentle smile spread, his eyes glowing with delight. “I should never want to, now that we are married.” He sobered as he saw his answer failed to placate her fears. “I would never dishonor ye in that way. I shouldn’t have acted in such a way afore.”

  “Why did you?” she whispered, relaxing fractionally as the clasp of his fingers eased and he began to caress her.

  He ducked his head. “When that man interrupted our first wedding ceremony and informed the town ye were already married, I felt like a cuckold.” He grimaced as she shivered at the word. “I had an irrational need to prove to myself and others in the town that I was a man.”

  She scoffed as she ran a hand down a strong bicep. “Anyone looking at you knows that.”

  His chagrined gaze met hers. “Never discount how ye can make a man feel. Ye stripped me of my pride that day, Leticia.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly as her voice wavered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hush,” he murmured, tugging her to him. After a minute, he whispered in her ear, “Where is your nightgown?”

  “Slung over the hook in the closet.” She grabbed his arm as he moved away. “Are you certain I need one tonight?” She flushed to her toes as he stilled, his intense gaze roving over her scantily clad body.

  “No, ye’re overdressed as it is.” His smile widened as she reddened further and boldly met his gaze.

  She took a deep breath and gripped the corset cover. She tugged it up and over her head, leaving her naked from the waist up. “If you want me …”

  He had her in his arms before she could finish the statement. His mouth collided with hers in a hungry, passionate kiss as he spun her around, knocking over the privacy curtain. He gave little thought to it as he tugged her to the bed, stripping her of her drawers before coaxing her to lay down. He watched as she shivered, awaiting him as he freed himself from his wedding day finery. When he joined her on the bed, he tugged her into his arms and sighed with pleasure as she curled into him. “Ye’ve the softest skin I’ve ever felt.” He paused as he held himself over her. “Are ye sure?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. She leaned up and kissed him. “Please don’t be disappointed in me,” she blurted out as his head stilled over her shoulder on the verge of raining a trail of kisses over her.

  “Why should I be disappointed?” He lowered his mouth, smiling as he felt her shiver in response. “I’ve the woman I love in my bed.”

  “I’m not as experienced as you think,” she said.

  He leaned over her and kissed the furrow between her brows. “I want ye, Leticia, as ye are. We’ll learn together what we like.”

  Alistair lay on the bed with Leticia curled next to him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. She had feigned sleep since they had made love, and a restlessness pervaded him as each moment passed. His hand idly stroked her back as he relived the past hour. Their demanding caresses and kisses. Their passionate coming together. With a groan, he eased away from her and rose from the bed.

  He walked to the window, staring blindly out it, his naked body concealed in the long shadows. A horse whinnied as raucous laughter emerged from a nearby saloon. A thick layer of smoke covered the burgeoning city, preventing him from staring at the stars. A long sigh from the bed had him turning, and he frowned as he met Leticia’s sober gaze. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  She pulled the sheets up, covering her breasts as she sat against the headboard. “Why?”

  He shook his head and clenched his fists. “It’s obvious I did no’ please ye.” His voice emerged as though tortured, and his eyes flashed with agony. He clamped his jaw shut and glared at her startled laugh.

  “You think you didn’t please me?” she whispered. “Why would you ever come to that conclusion?” She kept one hand on the sheet at her breast and held the other out to him for him to join her on the bed. After a moment she relaxed as he moved toward her, sitting beside her and taking her hand.

  “When a woman cries in my arms after I love her and then feigns sleep, I ken she’s disappointed in me.” He flushed at his harsh, rash words.

  She moved, forgetting the sheet as she knelt beside him. She clasped his cheeks between her palms, stroking her fingers over his whiskers. “I cried because …” She flushed and ducked her head. “Because I never realized I could feel this way. I thought …” She broke off, her gaze falling to the sheet now around her waist.

/>   “Ye thought,” he murmured, his fingers stroking her jaw, exerting a subtle pressure to raise her head so their gazes met again.

  “I thought … I thought only a man found pleasure,” she stammered. “I never knew, I never realized I could feel so much.” Her eyes filled with tears. “It was overwhelming.”

  He swooped forward and kissed her. “I only ever want ye to feel joy and pleasure, Leticia.” His thumb swiped away the tear that clung to her eyelash. “Was it too much? Did I hurt ye?”

  “No, God, no,” she murmured, hitching herself forward until she crawled onto his lap. “I feared you’d be repulsed by my exuberance.” She flushed as she met his gaze. “By my desire to make love again.”

  He chuckled as his hold on her tightened. “Never. ’Tis like a fantasy come true. Havin’ ye in my arms, with ye desirous of my touch.” He kissed her neck, smiling as she shivered from his kisses and the scrape of his whiskers over her sensitive flesh. “We can discover so much more, my love.”

  She arched back, her arms around his neck as his eyes warmed to the color of molten chocolate. “I don’t want you to think of anyone else when I am in your arms.”

  He chuckled and ran a hand over her head. “I couldna. Ye fill my head, my heart, and my soul, so there’s no room for anyone else.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Ever.”

  At her sigh of pleasure, he eased her backward, his momentary misgivings replaced with the joy of holding his willing wife in his arms.

  Alistair sat next to Leticia on the train, while Warren was a few rows behind them. Alistair’s finger continued to trace the band on her ring finger, and he smiled openly when he met her amused gaze. “I canna hide the fact I like that ye wear my ring.”

  She flushed. “I can’t either. It doesn’t seem real yet.”

  He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, “I would have thought last night would have made it real.” He chuckled as she blushed a brighter red. “What worries ye, love?”

  “I know the townsfolk won’t have forgiven me. They’re so angry at the deception.”

  Alistair nodded. “Aye, but there’s nothing to be done now except move forward. They are angry, and they must be reminded of all the reasons they liked ye afore they had reason to suspect ye of any malice. Before that moment in the church, none would have spoken out against ye. None.”

  “Well, except for Mrs. Jameson,” Leticia said with a wry smile.

  “That termagant doesna count as she speaks out against everyone. What matters is what the rest of the town believes.” He raised her hand and kissed it. “Ye’ll prove to the town that who ye have been the past years in Bear Grass Springs is who ye truly are.” He waited a moment. “What else bothers ye?”

  “Will Hortence forgive me?” Leticia ducked her head. “I worry she’ll never trust me again.”

  Alistair made a crooning sound to soothe his wife. “Ye left her with people who love and cherish her. Ye cared for her the best way ye could and prevented her from being sent away to an orphanage. When she understands that, she’ll forgive ye.”

  “I don’t want her to ever know that he threatened to send her away,” Leticia breathed. “I don’t want to give her nightmares about that.”

  He nodded. “Of course.” He squeezed her hand. “All she cares about is that ye come home. That the lie I told her has turned into the truth.” When she looked at him in confusion, he said, “I told her that ye had to go away for a few days but would be home soon.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she lost her battle with tears. “Thank you for loving her as your own.”

  “She is my daughter,” he growled. He held her a moment as he looked out the window at the golden fields. “I must ask a promise from ye.” He took a deep breath. “Never lie to me again.”

  She met his serious gaze and nodded. “I won’t. I promise.” She sighed. “I know you are upset I lied about his treatment of me. I saw how you tried and failed to hide your shock when Warren mentioned the bruises on my arm.”

  He let out a shaky breath. “I canna stand the thought of anyone hurtin’ ye.” He hugged her, tightening his hold incrementally.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “The bruises were nothing compared to the way he shattered my spirit.”

  “He didna shatter all of it, love. Ye had the strength to leave. If ye were truly shattered, ye would have stayed with him, an’ I never would have met ye.” He felt her shiver in his arms.

  “What is the partnership you mentioned days ago?” She traced patterns on his palm.

  “Cailean and I will maintain majority ownership of the livery, but one-third will be owned by John Renfrew.” He met Leticia’s gaze. “His father’s dyin’, an’ we couldna pass up the opportunity for experienced help and a large cash infusion in the business.” He squeezed her hand. “It means we willna be in arrears with Warren, that we can repay Annabelle, and that all the money owed for Sorcha’s and Ewan’s travel will be paid.”

  “Isn’t it a risk taking on an unknown partner?” She fought a frown and failed.

  “Aye, but we already ken John. Also Warren wrote up the contract, and he’s honest and honorable.” Alistair stared at the bright blue sky’s cloudless perfection through the window. “There is risk in livin’, Lettie. This seems a risk worth taking.”

  “Why?” she whispered.

  “John’s as good, or better, with horses than I am. His presence at the livery will allow me to have more time with ye and Hortence.” He met her gaze. “With any bairns we might have.”

  He smiled as she flushed. “I dinna like that we had to rush reviewin’ the contracts, but we wanted everythin’ signed afore I left for Helena, takin’ the lawyer with me. Thus, the afternoon ye left town, the partnership was finalized.” He sighed. “I fear Old Jack might have already died by the time we return.”

  She gripped Alistair’s hand. “We will be good to his son.”

  He smiled and, after a few moments of silence, focused on her again. “There is a part of yer story I dinna understand. Why did ye no’ go with yer aged aunt?”

  Leticia shuddered and bowed her head. “She didn’t want me.”

  Alistair shifted in his seat so he could better see her. After cupping her face and stroking her cheek with his thumbs, he murmured, “What?”

  “She had just begun a relationship with a gentleman of some standing and feared that the arrival of her disgraced, dissolute great-niece would interrupt her chances with such a man. She was the one who suggested I find a protector.”

  Alistair frowned. “But ye’re her family.”

  Her bitter smile turned down the corners on her lips. “Not everyone has a family like yours, Alistair. When a woman is all alone and is determined to survive, determined to find a way for herself in this world, she will often sacrifice all those around her. Including her family.” She shrugged. “I was seen as expendable.”

  “Why do ye still write her?” He continued to caress her cheek in an effort to give her some comfort.

  “I needed the illusion of family. I wanted Hortence to believe someone else in this world would care for her if I weren’t here.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Before I met you and the MacKinnons and was accepted.”

  “Did she ever apologize?” Alistair asked.

  Leticia laughed, a bitter bark that caused Alistair to shiver. “Heavens, no. Great-Aunt Maude believed I was delusional to turn my nose up at such a man as the widower in Saint Louis. She thought I had too many scruples and that I shouldn’t allow my concern that I might still be married to prevent me from marrying another.” Leticia shuddered as she fought tears. “It took me a long time to realize that she was little more than a well-paid courtesan.”

  “Aye, an’ one clingin’ to her looks couldna have one as beautiful as ye around to distract her gentlemen friends,” Alistair said. “Ye have to know that was her real concern.”

  Leticia nodded. “I do now. At the time I was hurt and confused and terrified.”

&nbs
p; “An’ how is the old bat now?” Alistair growled.

  “Living in luxury as her last man left her a sizeable income even though he never married her. She is not that healthy, and I’m certain I’ll never see her again.” She sighed. “For some reason, that saddens me.”

  Alistair grunted as he settled into his seat with Leticia cradled in one arm. “There is little I would deny ye. But havin’ her visit would be more than I could handle.” He let out a breath. “I couldna be kind to a woman who failed to show you the support ye needed for so many years.”

  Leticia chuckled. “Montana is the last place she’d travel. She enjoys her modern luxuries, and Montana won’t have those in her lifetime.”

  “Thank God for small mercies,” he muttered, kissing the top of Leticia’s head as he felt the tension drain from her as she laughed in his arms.

  Chapter 16

  Alistair held her hand as they stood at the back door to Cailean’s house. The train had arrived an hour ago, and Leticia had spent the time pacing in the livery. John had seen them and retreated into the tack room without a word to give them privacy. Now Alistair had coaxed her to nearly enter the door. “They’re yer family. I thought ye’d want to see Hortence.” Alistair squeezed her hand as he dragged her forward.

  “I don’t want to face Sorcha. Or Ewan,” she whispered. “But I can’t wait to hold Hortence in my arms again.”

  He cupped her face, his gentle strokes easing some of her tension. “Ewan badgered me to speak with ye. To find out the truth. Then Sorcha discovered Mrs. Jameson’s deception. Sorcha encouraged me to travel to Helena to save ye. Annabelle gave ye refuge, then money to pay for our travels. Cailean attempted to warn that worthless ba … man away.” Alistair broke off before swearing in front of her. “My family loves ye, Leticia. Let them rejoice with us.” At her subtle nod, he gripped her hand, leading her across the small porch.

  As the door opened, the raucous dinner conversation halted, all eyes turned toward the intruders. After a moment’s shocked silence, Cailean leaped up, grasping Alistair in a hug. He let him go as he saw Leticia. “Leticia, what a wonderful surprise,” he said, pulling her close.