“If the horse stumbles then…” her voice trailed off.
“The cowboy is probably going to be killed,” he finished her sentence.
“Why do they do such work?” she asked.
“It gets in the blood, and it’s all they’ve ever known, besides, it’s all there is for them. No other work there, except in stores, and not much of that. No self-respecting cowboy would work in a store anyway,” he said.
“Are you a cowboy, Rance?”
“I am,” he said.
“I’m going to be worried about you anytime you’re out of my sight,” she said.
“That will be a different. I haven’t had anyone worry about me since Mama passed,” he said.
“Well, you have someone now. I’m a good worrier. I can worry about anything. Sometimes it works out for the best. It got you here,” she said.
“And I’m glad it did. He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly to him. He kissed her with a slow growing intensity.”
“Mm, that was nice,” she said.
“What will I do at the ranch?” Amanda asked.
“Pretty much whatever you want. We have a cook and housekeeper in Consuela. Be a wife to me and a mother to Abby. Maybe have a baby or three.”
“I would like that, but at my age? It might not be possible,” she said.
“I consider myself a young man and you’re younger than I am.
“Seriously, I would like a son of my own. It would be nice to have a daughter that looks just like you, but we already have a daughter. We will have a comfortable life,” he said.
“How would you feel about me teaching?” she asked.
“Is that a loaded question? Do I sense a possible deal breaker here?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I’m a good teacher. I’m well-schooled in teaching. Abby is an intelligent little girl. I can teach her a lot, and little Rance too,” she said, a twinkle in her eye. “I think I have a lot to offer. I’ve been truly blessed to have you and Abby. I would like to give back.”
“I wouldn’t mind you teaching, as long as you can do it within the bounds of safety, understanding the dangers. Frankly, I think our Indian troubles are just about over, but winter can be harsh and travel back and forth could be dangerous.”
“I understand. Another question just popped into my mind,” she said.
“Good Lord, woman. Is there no end to your questions?” he asked with a laugh.
“Probably not. But anyway, since Abby has no relatives you’re aware of, do you think it would be possible for us to adopt her?”
“Good question. We’ll look into that when we get home,” he said.
“Home. That sounds so good to me. Too good. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“There is no other shoe. And if one turns up, we’ll handle it. Together.”
“Yes, we will,” she said. Positive in her belief.
Later…
“Abby, would you like to stay here with me tonight, or go back to the hotel with Rance?”
Abby pointed. “You,” she said.
“I’ve been rejected for a school teacher,” Rance moaned. “”I’ll bring her things over tonight,” he said. “What time do you want to leave for church?” he asked.
“Services start at eleven, so ten-thirty will give us plenty of time. I’ll be ready, and have Abby dressed too. I need to decide what I want to wear to be married in. I should have bought something special.”
“You’ll be beautiful no matter what you wear,” he said.
“Thank you for that,” she said.
“What?” he asked.
“The compliment. Telling me I’m beautiful. I don’t think anyone other than Mama has ever said that.”
“He laid his large hand against her cheek, and said, “Amanda, you are a beautiful woman and I’m proud you’re going to be my wife.” Then he kissed her.
chapter Fifteen
A Wedding
Saturday evening…
“Abbie, I have something for you,” Amanda said. The things she had begun packing for the trip to her new home. She brought the doll that had been her favorite as a little girl out. “This is my most favorite doll from when I was a little girl just like you. Her name is Mary, and I want you to have her for your own. She handed Mary to her. Now your doll has a friend too.”
“My doll’s name is Sarah,” Abby said.
“Sarah is a very pretty name,” Amanda said. “Do you like to hear stories?”
“I don’t know,” Abby said.
“Would you like for me to read a story for you?” she asked.
Abby nodded.
From a shelf, Amanda got her book of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling and began reading it aloud, changing her voice for the different characters. Abby was spellbound. “Did you like it,” Amanda asked.
Abby nodded.
“Would you like for me to read a bedtime story to you every night?”
Abby nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay. That will be our thing. It will be just for you, Sarah and Mary. Now, let’s get you ready for bed.”
She washed Abby’s face, and helped her with her nightgown. She picked her up and sat in the rocking chair by the bed, and sang one of the lullabies her mother had sung. The relaxed stillness told her the little girl had fallen asleep. She laid her on the bed they would share.
She went downstairs. Her mother was in the kitchen. She went to her, and hugged her.
“What was that for?” her mother asked.
“I just read a story to Abby and rocked her to sleep. It reminded me of our routine and you singing to me. It brought back some of my most pleasant memories,” Amanda said.
“You’re going to be a good mother to that little girl. She’s fortunate to have you,” her mother said.
“I had a good example,” Amanda said. I appreciate it more now than I ever did before. Thank you.”
Tears had welled up in her mother’s eyes. “No, thank you. It means a lot to me.”
The next morning…
“Did you have a good sleep?” Amanda asked Abby.
She nodded.
“I did too,” Amanda said. “We’re getting married today. Do you know what that means?”
Abby shook her head.
“Well, it means I’m going to be your Mama, and I’m going back home with you on the train.”
Abby beamed.
At the church…
After the services, the pastor invited the congregation to remain for the wedding. Most remained.
The piano sounded the first distinctive notes of The Wedding March. Rance turned to face the front, as a radiant Amanda walked slowly down the aisle on the arm of her father. At the altar, Albert placed the hand of his only daughter in Rance’s hand.
The pastor said, “We are gathered here in the sight of God and man to unite this couple in Holy Matrimony. Who gives this woman to be the wife of this man?”
Albert said, “Her mother and I do,” and returned to his seat beside his wife, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
The ceremonies proceeded. The couple exchanged vows of love and fidelity, and the pastor pronounced them man and wife. After the traditional kiss, they faced the congregation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Rance Kendall.”
Arm in arm, with Rance carrying Abby, they walked down the aisle and out the door. The congregation joined them with congratulations and questions about their plans.
“We’re going home to Wyoming on Tuesday,” Amanda said happily.
“Would you like to stay in the hotel tonight, or would you rather stay with your parents?” Rance asked her.
“I talked to Abby about it this morning, and she’s going to stay with her new grandmama and grandpa, and we’ll be there early in the morning,” Amanda said. “I have you all to myself tonight.”
Albert, Ellie, would you be our guests for lunch?”
“We would like that,” Ellie said.
“Abby, are you going to be all right at your grandmother’s tonight?” Rance asked.
She nodded.
“Mama and I will be there right after breakfast, okay?”
Another nod.
Amanda and Rance stood on the board sidewalk outside the café watching Abby and her grandparents walk down the street, with each of them holding her hand.
“Isn’t that precious?” Amanda asked.
“It is, and what is more special, is she’s going to have a normal life now for the first time in a long time,” he said. “Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded.
He went to the desk to get the room key. The clerk asked if he could wait for a minute, to speak to the manager. A man came from an office in behind the check-in desk. He came up to them.
“Mr. Kendall, I’m Paul Clemmons the hotel manager. I would like to move you to the best room in the house. I took the liberty of having your things moved. Congratulations on your marriage, and I wish you both all the happiness.”
“Thank you, Mr. Clemmons. We appreciate the thought.” Turning to Amanda, he said, “Shall we?”
“Let’s,” she said.
“In the room, he set her bag on the floor, and turned, took her in his arms, and said, “Mrs. Kendall, you were a lovely bride.”
“Why thank you, Mr. Kendall. May I say you were the most handsome groom I’ve ever seen?”
“You may,” he said.
She laughed. “You were the most handsome groom I’ve ever seen. Now, kiss me properly.”
When his lips touched her, she parted her lips to give him access. He traced the outline with his tongue. When it touched hers, she felt a tingling race throughout her body. When they broke the kiss, she looked at him, her face full of desire, she said, “Do that again.”
He did. He began unbuttoning the front of her dress, his eyes fixed on hers. He slid the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He removed the next layer, allowing it to fall on top of the dress.
She unbuttoned his shirt, and slid her hands beneath his undershirt. She ran her hands over his muscled shoulders and chest, making small sounds from her throat. He removed his two shirts and stood before her bare chested. She looked at him. “Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?” she asked.
“Tell me,” he said.
“It makes me want you to touch me all over, and feel your skin on mine. It makes me want you to make love to me.”
He removed her chemise and pantaloons and pulled her to him. “How’s this,” he asked.
“Wonderful,” she breathed heavily
He picked her up and placed her gently on the bed, then removed his trousers and lay beside her. He looked into those deep green eyes, and said, “You are absolutely beautiful, Amanda. Even more so than I imagined, and believe me, I imagined a lot.” He cupped her breast, and took it into his mouth. She put her hand on his pushing more into his mouth, as his hand trailed down her belly to her entrance.
It entered. She gasped and moved beneath him. He felt her muscles tense as she lost control. When the rush was over, she said, “Make love to me, Rance.”
They each enjoyed the delights of the other several times that afternoon and evening. Then they slept.
Rance awakened first. Propped on an elbow, he watched her sleep. She moved, then stretched luxuriously, and yawned. She opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of him watching her. “That was wonderful,” she said. “I feel like a real woman.”
He toyed with a nipple.
“You had better stop that,” she said.
“Or?” he asked.
“Or you’ll have to make love to me again.”
“I’m not stopping,” he said.
“Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, and pulled him to her.
Afterward, he said, “I guess we had better get up and get started,” he said.
“Do we have to?” she asked.
“We promised our daughter we’d be there early. It will be past early before long. We have to go to your school too.”
“Well, if you insist,” she said, and got out bed and padded away to do her morning ablutions.
He watched her lovely backside as she walked away, showing no signs of modesty.
“Amanda?”
She looked back over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“I like that side too.”
She laughed, a throaty chuckle. This is going to be fun.
As he looked at her, Rance thought, how did I get so lucky?
chapter Sixteen
Going Home
The Taylor home Tuesday…
“Ready to go home, Abby?” asked Rance.
“Is Mama going?”
“Yes, she is,” he replied.
“Okay.”
“I think if I’d said no, she wouldn’t have gone,” Rance said. “She is definitely your little girl,” he told Amanda.
“And a better little girl a mother could not ask for.
Albert and Ellie took them to the railroad depot. Rance turned the luggage and trunk over to the Baggage Clerk.
He picked Abby up and carried her to the platform. “Tell me when you see the train coming, baby.”
“I’m not a baby. I’m a big girl now,” Papa.”
“You’ll always be my baby,” he said.
“There’s the train, Papa, I see it,” she said.
The big engine came huffing into the station, scattering cinders onto everything and everyone. With a puff of steam and a long sigh, it came to a stop. No one got off, and five minutes later, the conductor called, “Allll aboard.”
The mother and daughter exchanged tearful goodbyes, and Amanda hugged her father and kissed him on the cheek. “Bye Papa. Thank you for giving me the courage to do this.”
Albert shook hands with Rance, and said, “You take good care of my girl.”
“I will, Albert. You need not worry. This isn’t goodbye forever; we’ll be seeing you again.”
“We’d better get aboard,” Rance said. He turned to Ellie. “Thank you for giving me your daughter. I will take good care of her. I promise you that.”
“I know you will, son. I know you will. God go with you,” Ellie said.
They hurried to the steps of their car, as they stepped onto the car platform, the conductor picked up his step, waved toward the front of the train and stepped aboard himself. The train began to move and their journey began.
The tickets for the first part of the trip… to New York City, put them in a standard passenger car. They would have a drawing room for the rest of the trip. Amanda was holding Abby on her lap, and pointed to her school as they passed. The rest of Elmira slid past. They were bound for New York City, where they would transfer to the Transcontinental Train.
Abby had her two dolls in her lap and held them close to the window as the train rolled on. “Sarah likes trains,” she said to Amanda.
Amanda said “This is new for Mary. She hasn’t been anywhere.”
“Sarah won’t let her get lost,” Abby said.
As the train sped toward New York City, the enthralled Amanda turned from looking through the window to her new husband. “This is all so exciting. Just think, I’ve never been anywhere before, and I’ll be in New York City in a few hours.”
Rance smiled at her excitement. His only experiences of traveling consisted of trips to Laramie, prior to his journey to get acquainted with Amanda.” I know exactly what you mean,” he said. “Before this trip, I had only been to Laramie, and we’ve already gone further than that this morning.”
When the train pulled into the terminal called Grand Central Station, the sight overwhelmed Amanda. “However will we find our next train? How do we get our luggage to the next train?”
“First, we only have to worry about the bags we brought on ourselves. We won’t see the trunk again until we get to Cheyenne. The Transcontinental Train won’t be hard to find, we’ll just ask the conductor or one of the agents when we get
there.”
“All the same, I’m glad I’m not doing this by myself. I might wind up in Georgia,” she said.
“I’m glad we’re with you then. I wouldn’t want you in Georgia,” he said.
The transition went smoothly and the Transcontinental pulled out of Grand Central for the trip west.
Restaurants and cafés were never a big thing in Elmira. With her limited experience in dining out, the elegance of the dining car on the train impressed Amanda. “I can’t believe this,” she said as she looked around the car. The menu contained several things she had never tried before. When the porter brought her dinner, she inhaled deeply. “Heavenly,” she said. “I have never eaten in such beauty before.”
Later that evening…
As the train sped through the twilight and early evening hours, they left the drawing room to allow the porter to convert it to the sleeping configuration. When they returned, there were two beds. Rance demonstrated the toilet facilities and Amanda got Abby dressed for bed. Then she changed into her nightgown.
“Ready for your bedtime story?” she asked Abby.
“Yes,” Abby said.
“May I listen too? I’ve never had a bedtime story,” Rance said.
“Yes, you may, good grammar by the way. You get an A+ for that.” She got her fairy tale book, and said, “I think you will really like this one, Abby.” As the story of Thumbelina unfolded, Abby was caught up in the story and the animated interpretations by Amanda.
“Did you like it?” she asked. “It’s always been one of my favorites.”
Abby nodded, and Rance said, “I liked it too,” He patted Amanda’s hand. “That was a good story.”
“Now kiss me good night,” he said. “I’m going to get ready for bed too,” he said.
When he returned, Amanda was looking out the window. “Penny,” he said.
“What,” Amanda answered. “Oh, I was just thinking about all of the changes happening, and how happy I am.”
“I’m glad,” he said, and got into bed.
Amanda pulled the shade on the window, got in the bed, and snuggled up to him. She raised her chin expectantly for the kiss she wanted. He kissed her on the forehead, and the cheek. He moved to the sensitive area of her neck, increasing her level of desire. He massaged her lips with his, tracing the outline with the tip of his tongue. Her lips parted. The touch of his tongue to hers was electric, causing shocks to course through her body. She began moving against him.
Amandas's Mail Order Cowboy: The Story of A Mail Order Bride and Her Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides Book 14) Page 6
