by Reece Butler
Molly backed up a step. Her eyes were wide, her chin trembling.
“I’m a girl, too, Jessie Elliott. You know my brother, Simon Elliott. He said he used to pull your braid and give you and your brother peppermint sticks when he saw you at the Tanner’s Ford Mercantile. Henry’s not my father, he’s the partner of my fiancé. We’re going to take you home.”
Molly gasped. She backed up a step and shook her head. “They’ll hurt me lots and lots if I try to escape. One girl tried it last week. She screamed for hours.” She bit her trembling lip and swallowed. “There’s this man who likes to hurt girls. Sarah said one paid a lot of money to do whatever he wanted. He beat her to death.”
“Then we’d better get you out of here fast.”
Jessie undid her top shirt and pulled it off. She sat on the floor to take off her boots and then shucked the second pair of pants she wore over her own. Because the clothes were a bit big, they’d cover Molly. Since Jessie’s feet were small, Molly would have to go barefoot, but lots of boys did in summer.
“I’ll turn my back while you put on these clothes. In a few minutes there’s going to be a big fight downstairs. There’ll be lots of smashing and yelling and all. That’s when the others will come in through the roof. They’ll take us out that way.”
She held out the clothes to Molly. She made sure to stay back, following Rosa’s orders. Downstairs a deep bellow rang out. Something large made of glass was smashed.
“That’s my big brother, Trace,” said Jessie proudly.
“I know the Elliotts,” whispered Molly. She reached out her hand. Jessie handed her the shirt and pants.
“Well, you’ve got them and the MacDougals and more all here to rescue you.”
Molly pulled the pants on under her dress. She stuffed the dress into the pants and put the shirt on over.
“We can’t go without Sarah,” she cried. “She’s next door, locked up.” Molly stared face on at Jessie for the first time. “I won’t leave her behind!”
“Fine by me,” said Jessie. As soon as Molly buttoned her pants, Jessie opened the door a crack.
“All good?”
“Yes,” she replied, “but we have to take Sarah as well. She’s next door.”
Jessie squeaked when a man smashed through the door at the end of the hall. Ross appeared, then Nevin. Luke Frost followed, grinning like a wild man. The scar crossing his face, white against his red face, made him look even fiercer. Gabe came behind, moving slower as he was so much bigger. He looked ready and eager to kill something.
Molly knocked on the wall. “Sarah? It’s okay. We’re being rescued!” She stood behind Jessie and pointed to the huge lock on the door next to hers. “She’s in there.”
Gabe pushed the others aside. He stood right next to the door and rested his hand on the knob.
“Miss Sarah?”
Jessie hadn’t met the man, or heard his voice before. He was even bigger than Sin. His voice sounded almost like a foghorn, deep and strong.
“Ma’am, I’m Gabriel Downey. I’ll be knocking this door down so you move to the corner near Miss Molly’s room. Understand?”
He didn’t wait more than a few seconds before lifting his leg and slamming his boot into the door right by the lock. It smashed open. He counted to three and then walked through.
* * * *
Sarah Unsworth wrapped a quilt around her thin dress. She crouched in the corner of the room, following the orders of the deep voice. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the heat. She jumped and screamed when the door splintered. A huge man, far bigger than the one who threatened to hurt her, ducked his head and stepped through.
His shaggy, dark brown hair touched his shoulders. With his faded clothing and dark tan he looked like a bear wearing a hat. He whipped it off, holding it in both hands in front of him like a preacher. His thick lips parted, and white teeth smiled down at her, a shy smile that reached his eyes. He held out his hand, more like a paw with fingers instead of claws.
Molly pushed past him and into the room. She wore pants and a shirt.
“Come on, Sarah. I know these people. They won’t hurt us.”
Sarah pulled herself to her feet. She crossed her arms to hide her breasts, almost visible through the thin shirt that was all they allowed her. The big man didn’t move, nor did his smile falter. He kept his eyes on hers, unlike all the others. His hand was about the size of her head. Downstairs something else crashed. A few women screamed, but they followed it with laughter. She knew how to tell fun from fearful screams by now.
She reached out her hand and took a step. The man nodded encouragingly but didn’t rush her. Another step.
“May I carry you, Miss Sarah? I’m afraid we have to take you out through the roof. It might be a bit frightening, but I’ll protect you with my life. I swear it on the graves of my mother and sisters. We’ve got a blanket to wrap you in so you won’t get chilled.”
She looked into his dark eyes. They both knew the real reason for the blanket. Another man moved to his side. This one had a huge scar across his face. To others he might look frightening, but she’d learned that handsome men were the most dangerous. They promised you love and marriage, and then sold you to a whorehouse. They laughed as they counted the gold and then rode away.
“I’m Luke Frost, and I’d be honored to protect you as well, ma’am. But we have to leave now. Can you trust Gabe to carry you?”
He tossed a light blanket at her. She caught it and wrapped it over her shoulders and around her body. It wasn’t much, but it provided more dignity than she’d had in weeks.
She stepped close to Gabriel. He smelled clean, of horses and leather and yellow soap. No perfume or hair oil like that horrid man. She nodded. He gently put his hands under her shoulders and thighs and lifted her like a doll. He followed a tall, dark-skinned man carrying Molly, dressed as a boy. Molly turned her head and smiled at Sarah. The first real smile she’d seen Molly give. Sarah grasped Gabriel’s vest, closed her eyes, and snuggled against his chest. She didn’t feel totally safe, but for the first time in weeks, she wasn’t terrified.
She was carefully handed from one man to the other like a sack of potatoes until they reached the ground at the dark end of the building. The fight inside continued as she was carried to a wagon. The bottom boards were lifted up. Inside was a blanket.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’ll have to hide in here for a few miles,” said the hawk-faced, dark-skinned man.
“Thank you, Mr. MacDougal,” said Molly.
Molly took her hand, and they lay down on the blanket. Boards were placed over them, and then the wagon rolled down the street. She heard a thump only a few inches above her nose.
“This is Jessie. I’m lying down so I can talk to you. We’re heading west, out of town. We have to stop to pick up cases of wine and brandy. They have to go where I’m lying, so that no one thinks to look underneath for you. Please, hold on tight, and we’ll take you home.”
Sarah had always hated being confined. After the last few weeks of terror it felt like she was in a moving tomb. To keep from screaming in fear she concentrated on why the Indian-looking man had a Scottish name. After a while the wagon stopped and heavy thuds made her wince. She felt as if any moment the boxes would smash through the wood and crush her. It was too noisy to talk, but as soon as the wagon started rolling again, she spoke. Anything was better than lying there, unable to move, not knowing what would happen.
“I owe you my life,” she said to Molly. “Anything I can do for you, I will.” She squeezed Molly’s hand. The young girl squeezed back.
“I can’t believe this is happening. I’m going to wake up and hear screams again. And then he’s going to come for me.” Molly’s voice wavered.
“No, Molly. I think the people who took us out of that place will make sure you are taken care of. They said they’re taking you home.”
“I don’t have a home anymore. The man who said he saved me told me my family was kille
d.”
“When was that?” Sarah wanted to keep the girl talking instead of thinking of where they were, or had been.
“In the spring. It was the first really warm day. We were sitting down to dinner when all these men rushed in. Someone held a cloth to my face. It stank, but I had to breathe. When I woke up, I was in the room I stayed in until they brought me…where I met you.”
“Did you stay there the whole time?”
“Yes,” whispered Molly. “He said he’d take care of me. He said he rescued me, and he’d be my father, but I couldn’t see what he looked like because it was secret. He wouldn’t let me go outside, but he never touched me until my sixteenth birthday.” She cried quietly. “Why would he be so nice to me, and then hurt me and sell me—”
“Shh, don’t talk about it, Molly. Think about a better tomorrow, and tomorrow after that.” She squeezed again. Molly returned it then lay quietly.
Sarah held back her own tears. Molly had a town that cared about her. Sarah had no one and nothing. She’d come West on the Bride Train from Virginia to find a good man but found a beast instead. She had no virtue left. Too many men had touched her, had hurt her. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she was just finishing her second monthlies. No man had paid for her the two nights previous. That meant no baby would come from her degradation.
She’d never have children or a home now. All her dreams were gone. But she had her life, and that was more than the girl who tried to escape. She didn’t even know her name, just the sound of her screams.
If she ever found the man who had promised her the dignity of marriage and debased her in a way she’d never known possible, she would do anything to bring him down. Her fingers curved into claws at the thought.
As soon as she was up to it, she would leave Molly and her friends. The child was barely sixteen and only a few men had taken her. She could be cleansed. She would not want Sarah, a reminder of her pain, debasement, and humiliation, nearby.
* * * *
Jessie laughed when a light rain started soon after they left BannackCity. It would cover their tracks and keep lazy city men indoors instead of looking for them. Henry stopped the wagon as soon as they were far enough away. Luke, Gabe, Ross, and Nevin, riding behind them, unloaded the crates and released Molly and Sarah. They created a nest between the cases with the tarpaulin as a roof for the three young women to rest in.
Shortly after they started again, a posse of horses rushed up. Sarah and Molly cried out, but Jessie told them she knew the voices.
“That was the best fight I’ve seen in a coon’s age,” chortled Frank Chambers as he rode up. “You should have seen your Ace and Trace go at it!”
“I told you that beaver hat of yours would be destroyed,” said Henry dryly to Ace.
“It does have a certain je ne sais pas,” replied Ace through bruised lips.
“That French for ‘I got the shit kicked out of me’?” Ranger’s right eye was almost swollen shut, and his nose looked more crooked than usual.
“You should know.” Sin laughed, pointing at Ranger.
Since he rode his magnificent black stallion and didn’t face the lamps hanging from the wagon, Jessie couldn’t tell what, if any, damage Sin had suffered.
“Speak for yourself,” rasped Trace. A thin line of blood trailed from a cut on his cheek.
“Damn, I haven’t had that much fun in years!” Ranger laughed, his horse dancing around the wagon. “Remember when we took on the MacDougals before Ma and Pa died? Pa laughed after he whupped our asses.” He laughed as well then remembered what else happened. He coughed and settled down fast. “Shit, sorry about that Ross, Nev. Forgot it didn’t go as good for you.”
Jessie remembered hearing how The MacDougal took a whip to Ross and Nevin. Even though they weren’t old enough to shave, they were punished for not winning. Neither side won, but it didn’t matter to Finan Senior. He believed his Clan had to be strong or they’d perish. Anyone, man, boy or woman, who couldn’t meet his standards, would either die trying or be banished.
“He’ll never touch us or ours again,” said Ross quietly. He made his horse rear, making sure he was far enough from the wagon for their safety. “Next time we’ll get together with Jessie’s men and take on all six of you Elliotts. Then we’ll see how you do!”
Ross gave a war whoop and raced ahead. Trace, Sin, and Ace followed, still exchanging jeers and catcalls.
Hours later the wagon finally rolled to a stop behind Miss Lily’s Parlor. When the tarp was rolled back, Molly burst into exhausted tears. Sarah looked close to doing the same. Jessie followed as Doc and Rosa ushered Molly and Sarah into the kitchen.
“First thing, a hot bath,” said Rosa. “Amelia MacDougal brought new clothes for you, never been worn by anyone. I’ve got two baths set up in my bedroom. The windows in there are small and high up, but that’s to keep people out, not you in. The bolt is on the inside of the door. I’m sure the girls will thank you later, Jessie, but they need time alone now. Share this with everyone.”
Rose put a basket in Jessie’s hands and hustled her out the door. Immediately after, she heard Rosa shoot the bolt home.
Jessie watched Frank Chambers, John Tanner, George Byers, and Dieter Arnott help unload the cases into the storeroom. Jessie opened the basket to find Rosa had made cinnamon buns. Each man stuffed one in his mouth and left silently. Ace hauled her up in front of him and set off for home. Sin and Henry followed.
Though she cursed and hollered at her brothers, they were family. Something neither Molly nor Sarah had anymore. She fell asleep against a warm chest. Someone carried her into bed and removed her boots. After covering her with a quilt, he kissed her forehead and settled his back next to hers.
“Ace?”
“Shh, you did a good job tonight, Jessie, but you need your rest. Sleep well, love.”
She relaxed, secure in the knowledge that she was safe.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“...to love, honor, and obey, in—”
“I will not promise to obey!”
A few knowing snickers erupted from the Elliott side of the gathering. Snorts of withheld laughter from the MacDougals, standing in for Ace’s family, followed.
The more Jessie fought, the more Ace wanted her. Their last night together, when they’d rescued Molly Sinclair and Sarah Unsworth, they’d just slept. The next morning, Ranger burst in on them before Ace was able to start anything. That was too many aching nights ago.
He was delighted when Trace said they had to marry immediately as Fin planned to steal Jessie and haul her off to Texas. That meant Ace would have her in his bed all the sooner. But it turned Jessie around again, making her sputter indignantly. He planned to take that mistaken anger and turn it into passion as soon as the blasted ceremony was over. Ace told the MacDougals he was honored they wanted to host the wedding. In fact, he was glad the ceremony was close to the Double Diamond because then he had a shorter trip home than from the Rocking E.
“Yes, you will obey me,” declared Ace. He used his nine inch advantage to look down at her.
Jessie turned her snarling face to him. “No, I won’t!”
“You either marry me, and that includes obeying my orders, or Finan. He’s storming up the valley right now.”
She gulped then pressed her lips together so hard they turned hard and white. Her free hand formed a fist.
“If you crush those flowers, Bridie will think you don’t like them,” Ace said softly.
Though his voice was soft, the emphasis was hard and determined. He hadn’t wanted to marry this woman, so far from what he desired in a wife, but marry her he would. Unlike Henry’s brother, also forced into a marriage due to being compromised, he would rule the home. Not with a fist, but by making her know what he wanted, and how she would benefit from it. Now that he understood her better, he enjoyed twisting her tail to increase her passion. He put on the expression he’d seen too often from his older brother. Indolent, bored and very, v
ery superior.
“You can deny it all you like, but you’ll agree to marry me, and that means obeying my orders.”
She gasped. Her chest rose and fell quickly, the V of her pale green gown enticing him as she fought for words. The dress pushed her breasts high, showing a hint of cleavage. He wanted to slide his cock back and forth between them.
“I hate you,” she whispered. Her narrowed eyes and pursed mouth matched her words. The pastor blanched, but Ace knew it was the reverse side of the passion she showed in bed. One thing Jessie had in spades was passion.
“But you love my kisses.” He drew out the words, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “That will have to do for now, Jessiemine.”
“The name is pronounced Jess-a-min!” She poked him in the chest with her index finger. “And I don’t want your kisses.”
“Oh, you want them, Jessiemine.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I’m going to kiss your hard nipples and your belly. Another few inches and I’ll kiss those swollen lips, already wet with wanting me. I’ll nibble that little button and you’ll explode with pleasure. And then I’ll do it again. And again.”
She ran her tongue around her lips and swallowed. His cock jumped at those lips, thinking of her mouth around him. She frowned, and then turned to her matron of honor.
“Even after a few years, is the sex worth being married, Beth?”
“Why do you think I put up with three of your brothers?” Beth replied in a dry tone. “Sometimes they make me furious, but”—she sighed and patted her rounding belly—“the joys are worth it.”
Jessie stared at Beth’s belly. She worried her bottom lip.
“Do you want that, Jessie?” asked Beth. “A home of your own and children to love?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“We’re not ready for that part yet, my dear,” said the pastor, “but I’ll remember you said the words.” He looked at the open Bible on his hand. “Where was I? Oh yes.” He cleared his throat. “To love, honor, and obey, in sickness and in health, from this day forward. So help you God.”
