Trail of Aces (Hot on the Trail Book 8)

by Merry Farmer

  It wasn’t until Rev. Kilpatrick said, “Do you, Charles Henry Garrett take this woman, Olivia Marie Walters, to be your lawfully wedded wife?” that he knew he was in trouble.

  Well, he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to back down. Not when Olivia kissed him the way she had. “I do.” He darted a sideways grin at his bride, waiting for her to buckle.

  “And do you, Olivia Marie Walters, take Charles Henry Garrett to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and obey ’til death do you part?”

  He braced himself…waiting…waiting.

  “I do.”

  Rev. Kilpatrick smiled. “Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.”

  Charlie’s heart dropped to his feet, his smile falling with it. Olivia wasn’t bluffing. She wasn’t joking either. She turned to him, eyes downcast, expression stoic, and lifted her chin for him to kiss her again. This time he only managed a tiny peck.

  Good Lord. He’d been beat. He was now a married man.

  Two days later, Charlie was still a married man, but he was a married man with a problem.

  “Would you like some dried apples with your bacon and eggs?” Olivia asked him, as shy as she’d ever been, as she handed him his breakfast.

  “Yes please,” Charlie answered her, then said, “Thank you, ma’am,” when she handed him the bacon and eggs.

  She returned to the wagon, hopping inside to fetch the dried apples.

  The last two days had been odd, to say the least. He’d gone from thinking they were playing a game, to standing in front of the reverend, to moving on and walking across the prairie all day. Olivia had fetched her things from the Hamiltons’ wagon that night, and then the two of them had danced around each other like green fools as they figured out where they were going to sleep.

  In the end, he’d gallantly given up the bed of his wagon for her, proclaiming that he wouldn’t dare to impose upon her virtue until they had gotten to know each other better. In truth, he didn’t intend to consummate their union at all. It would be easier for Olivia to obtain an annulment when they reached Oregon that way.

  That didn’t mean that he wasn’t assaulted by visions of what it would be like to make her his in truth every time he caught her studying him when she thought he wasn’t looking. Or in moments such as now, when her backside was moving in a delicious rhythm as she searched through the bundles and barrels in his wagon, looking for apples. He was a wicked man who had experienced some wicked things with women in the past, and even clothed, Olivia’s rounded backside gave him ideas.

  “Do you know where the apples have gone?” She straightened and called over her shoulder.

  Charlie cleared his throat and adjusted his stance to give disobedient parts of him more space to calm down. “They should be in there.”

  “Hmm.” Olivia bent over once more.

  Charlie echoed her hum with one entirely less pure and forced himself to look away. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face, though. What kind of villain was he to tie such a sweet and comely woman to the likes of him with the bonds of matrimony?

  “Just you wait, Charlie my boy.” The words from another life, another world, floated back over him. “One of these days, you’ll find yourself face to face with a woman like my Margery—a woman who you can’t say no to. You’ll give up everything just to see her smile.”

  Charlie’s grin dropped. A twist of regret squeezed through him, ruining his appetite. He’d never heard words like that until Josiah Hurst spoke them to him. No one had ever spoken so kindly to him, treated him like a son, almost. And he’d repaid the man with deceit and dishonor.

  No, it was because of Josiah Hurst that he had any honor at all. He’d promised never to forget that.

  “I promise,” he repeated those words aloud.

  “I found the apples,” Olivia said, hopping down from the wagon, short of breath. “I don’t know why they were so far back in the wagon. I must have moved them when I was trying to get comfortable last night.”

  She chattered on, not meeting his eyes, until she reached his chair. Then her gaze met his. Every time. Every damn time the woman looked at him, his heart spun in his chest. Judging by the spark in her eyes, something happened with her too. How deliciously inconvenient.

  “There’s another small box in your wagon as well,” she went on. “Small and heavy and locked. I accidentally dropped it when I tried to move it, and something clinked. I…I hope I didn’t break anything.”

  Panic wound its way up through Charlie’s throat. He kept it at bay with a tight smile. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  It was the opposite of nothing.

  She stood there a moment longer, a slight frown creasing her brow as she watched him. At last she held out the sack. “Here you go.”

  He took the dried apples from her with a smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Garrett. I’ll save these for dessert. Although I wouldn’t say no to a little of your sugar to go with them.”

  The soft shyness Olivia had approached him with firmed up to a hard frown. “I need to get to school for at least a few minutes before we start walking.”

  She turned and stomped off. Charlie grinned as he watched the sway of her hips walking away. His new wife certainly did get riled up when he made any suggestion of sweetness to her. They hadn’t so much as kissed since the wedding. It was almost as if she was angry with him for not trying something with her.

  The moment she turned the corner and disappeared, Charlie’s smile vanished. He set his breakfast and dessert aside and stood to stride over to the wagon. With one agile leap, he hopped into the wagon bed, then crawled to the back.

  It was difficult to see in the dimness of the covered wagon, but even without light, he would have known his treasure chest anywhere. Olivia had dropped it, but it was resting peacefully atop a barrel of pickles now. He retrieved it, then scooted out to the back of the wagon and the sunlight. Using the key he kept in his vest pocket, he unlocked it and opened the lid.

  Diamonds and rubies glittered back at him in the sunlight. Sapphires and emeralds and gold. Underneath them rested several neat stacks of bills. Charlie reached into the box, running his fingers across necklaces and rings and earbobs, all tangled together and shoved into the tight space of the box. He wished he’d had a chance to meet the woman who had worn those jewels. From all he’d been told, Margery had been the perfect wife. He wondered what the woman would have thought of Olivia.

  “Morning, Charlie. How’s married life treating you?”

  Pete’s greeting was so unexpected that Charlie choked on nothing as he slammed the lid of his treasure chest shut. He was sloppy, though. The corner of one diamond necklace caught on the edge of the box. He had to open the lid again and shove everything in before snapping it shut once more and pushing it behind him. In the meantime, Pete had plenty of time to see everything.

  “Morning, Pete.” Charlie put on his best smile as he hopped out of the wagon and deflected Pete’s attention from the treasure chest by marching straight to him. “Married life is just fine.” He took Pete’s hand and shook it for added distraction.

  Pete wasn’t fooled. He glanced from the back of the wagon to Charlie, unamused. “Glad to hear it,” he began, then shifted his weight, crossing his arms. “You know I was a mite hesitant to let you come along on my wagon train, don’t you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Charlie nodded. The worst thing he could do now was anything that would make him look more suspicious than he already looked.

  “I had trouble with gamblers and card games in last year’s train,” Pete went on.

  “Yes, and I hope I’ve been careful not to cause too many problems with my activities.” He smiled. Smiles were always reassuring.

  Pete peeked past him to the back of the wagon. “I don’t ask folks about how they earned their keep before joining my train,” he went on. “I’m not about to start now. But I don’t want any trouble.”

  Charlie got the message, loud and clear. Carrying a b
ox of jewels through the prairie wasn’t ordinary, and if there was any chance he’d come by his loot dishonestly, Pete wouldn’t look too kindly on it. The trouble was, Charlie still hadn’t figured out if his loot was honest or not.

  Pete drew in a breath and let his arms drop to his waist. “Josephine tells me that you won Miss Olivia in a card game.”

  Clearly he didn’t approve of that either.

  Charlie laughed in an attempt to brush it off. “Miss Olivia and I had been getting friendlier and friendlier before that. I was just teasing when I wagered her hand in marriage. I fully expected her to turn me down and slap my face for my troubles.”

  “Yeah, well, Josephine seems to think she should have slapped you.” His expression softened, and he sighed. “Roy Hamilton tells me there was some fuss with another man back home who she didn’t want to marry, though, and I can see how rushing to get hitched to someone else might solve that problem.”

  Another man? It was news to Charlie. He fought to keep from scowling. “I’m not complaining, whatever her reasons.” He smiled, quickly weighing what else to reveal. He decided to tell Pete everything. “To be honest, I’m planning to offer Olivia an annulment once we get to Oregon. So no need to worry that I’m taking advantage or imposing myself on anyone.”

  Pete smiled and seemed satisfied. “Good.” He slapped Charlie on the back. “Because like I said, I don’t take too kindly to trouble in my train.”

  Charlie nodded. “Point taken.”

  It was. But it was also to be expected. He hadn’t joined Pete Evans’s wagon trail by accident. A lot of thought had gone into the decision to travel west slowly, to blend in with a group of ordinary people, and to lay low for a while. With any luck, by the time he saw the Pacific, all of the things that had prompted him to make the journey would be gone and forgotten. He was ready to make a new life. He’d made a promise.

  As Pete tipped his hat and walked on, Charlie turned to peer down the line of the wagons in the direction Olivia had gone. Without trying, he’d made another promise too. Accident though it was, he promised to protect and cherish Olivia, and he would. And that included protecting her from himself.

  Chapter Four

  Olivia dragged a long bench into place with the others, jaw clenched, cheeks hot. She could blame the heat of the summer sun baking the prairie for her restlessness, say that the pressures of trying to mold young minds while traversing half the length of the continent was the reason for the irritation that itched down her back like dried grass in her dress. All of those things would have been lies.

  “Should I put the slates out on the benches today or do you want to have the children read from the primers?” Lucy asked, a slate in one hand and a book in the other.

  The question sailed right over Olivia. How dare Charlie ask her if she would give him some sugar with his dessert? What kind of a man made such a crass comment to his wife…his wife of only two days…a wife who he barely knew?

  “Olivia?”

  How could he make those kinds of comments when he hadn’t kissed her once since the wedding, let alone engaged in any other sort of activity that a husband and wife would engage in?

  Not that she wanted that kind of attention from him.

  The very thought of it sent electric prickles across her skin. It was one thing to uphold her honor by accepting the consequences of a foolish bet, but it was another entirely to feel such a stirring at the idea of being married. It was not like she wanted to be married to Charlie, not like she found him exciting and attractive and so different from the miserable life she’d left behind that—

  “Well, I see that married life is making a muddle of your brain.”

  It wasn’t Lucy’s comment so much as the knowing giggle that followed that snapped Olivia out of her uncomfortable thoughts. She turned to her friend with a look of shock that was far more feigned than she wanted it to be. “Lucy Haskell, what do you know about married life making a muddle of your brain?”

  With a blush that was a becoming contrast to her pale skin and dark hair, Lucy hugged both the slate and the book to her chest and sighed. “Nothing. Only, I can imagine how it must feel when Gideon and I spend time together.”

  Olivia planted one hand on her hip and fixed her friend with the kind of scolding look she saved for particularly naughty children. “You and Dr. Faraday have been spending quite a bit of time in each other’s company lately. Why, the other day at the river, when the two of you drifted away from everyone else…”

  She let the comment hang, let Lucy fill in whatever details she might. When Lucy responded with a happy sigh instead of hanging her head in disgrace, a tug of longing pulled at Olivia’s gut. Gideon Faraday had had his shirt off when he and Lucy were swimming in the river, whereas she hadn’t so much as seen a peep of flesh below Charlie’s collarbone. What would he look like without his shirt? What would it be like to float in the river with him, bare chest close, her own clothes plastered to her skin.

  It would feel like a heap of trouble, she answered herself, turning back to the task at hand. “We don’t have long this morning, so let’s just have the children read from the primers.” Her voice was far more wistful than she planned it to be. She hid it by straightening the benches again.

  “All right,” Lucy said. When she didn’t move, Olivia paused and straightened. “It’s only that Gideon is so wonderful in so many ways. So strong, so smart, so handsome. And your Charlie too,” she added, mischief in her words. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  “How does he look at me?”

  “Like you’re a slice of apple pie and he wants to eat you up.”

  Sparks of desire shot through Olivia. Like sugar with his dessert. Her heart thundered so hard she could feel it in her stomach…and lower. She was a woman of honor, a woman with a purpose. She couldn’t allow herself to feel those sorts of tinglings for a man she hardly knew. Even if he was her husband.

  Lucky for her, she was spared further embarrassment as the children began to arrive for their morning lesson. Lucy handed out the primers as Olivia greeted each child with a hug or a handshake, depending on the child’s age.

  She was in the middle of answering a question from Muriel Chance about the previous day’s lesson when she spotted Charlie striding up through the aisle of benches on his long, lean legs. Instantly, her attention drifted far away from what Muriel asked and straight to her dashing, devilish husband. Her heart rate doubled.

  “Excuse me,” she interrupted Muriel with an apologetic smile. She planted her hands on her hips and scowled at Charlie. “What are you doing here?”

  Charlie met her frown with a bright smile, spreading his arms. “This is a school, is it not? I’ve come to learn.” He took a seat on one of the boys’ benches.

  Olivia pressed her lips together. She darted a quick look to her students. For their sake, she had to remain calm on the outside. The children’s lives were changing so much already, the last thing they needed was for their teacher—one of the steady people they could rely on—to lose her head.

  “Mr. Garrett, school is not required after completing the prescribed primary school curriculum. I assume that you have graduated from primary school already?” She prayed that he would grasp the intent of her message to him to go away and stop distracting her students. Indeed, they were all giggling and watching Charlie, waiting to see what he would do next.

  Charlie shrugged. “I can’t rightly remember, it was so long ago. I would rather be safe than sorry, so I’m here to learn,” he repeated. His grin was charming enough to make the oxen pulling the wagons moon over him.

  Olivia took in a slow, deep breath. If she challenged him, she would only be feeding his hunger for attention.

  “All right. Children, since we have only a short amount of time this morning before the wagon train moves on, we will be reading from our primers.”

  “What a grand idea, Sweet Pea,” Charlie commented, taking up the primer on the seat beside him.

  A
few of the girls across the aisle from him giggled and blushed, glancing between Charlie and Olivia. The boys around Charlie snorted and laughed as if Charlie had meant the comment to be sarcastic.

  Olivia clenched her jaw, forcing herself to ignore her rogue of a husband. She crossed to fetch a primer from Lucy. Lucy gave her a look of sympathy, but her eyes sparkled with humor at the situation. Olivia ground her teeth harder and took her primer back to the front of the benches.

  “Please turn to page twenty-five.” She flipped through the pages herself, darting a warning glance to Charlie. “We will read the story of Rapunzel together.”

  “An excellent choice,” Charlie said as he opened his primer. “It’s always a pleasure to read about a beautiful young woman with long hair like spun gold.”

  He winked at her, and before Olivia could stop herself, she touched the knot of blond hair at the back of her neck. As soon as she realized her action, her face heated. She cleared her throat and gripped her primer with both hands. She would not let Charlie take over her class. “Muriel, would you please read the first page?”

  “Yes, Miss Walters,” Muriel giggled.

  Charlie leaned into the aisle to tell her, “It’s Mrs. Garrett now.”

  Muriel burst into a laughing smile, as did several of the other girls. Olivia let out an impatient breath.

  “Please begin, Muriel.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Garrett. Once upon a time, there lived a man and his wife, who was with child.”

  “Well, the first part is true,” Charlie interrupted. “And I’m sure the children will come in time.”

  A few of the older boys, including Luke Chance, guffawed. Libby Chance and some of the older girls blushed as if they didn’t know whether to be amused or scandalized. Olivia was certain she turned bright red.