It was the prefect plan. Why did she put so much stock in the fact she wanted to love her husband? Weren’t all women the same? Wasn’t their main goal to have a home and children regardless of who they married? Why did Amelia have to be so different from other girls? Though he loved Amelia, nobody could ever know how many times through the years he’d wished she’d been a boy. He certainly wished it now.
He glanced at Elizabeth who looked straight ahead as the buggy bounced along the road. He realized she’d been a good wife. She’d taken her vows seriously and though there had been other suitors, once she agreed to marry him, she’d been faithful and true. She’d never refused him in bed and she still didn’t. Nor had she ever questioned the facts when he made a decision. She didn’t like what he did at times, but she always came to see he was right. It was the way the world was meant to operate. Men were smarter than women and they should make the decisions. A woman needed to keep her man happy in bed, raise the children and take care of the house. That was the extent of the responsibility most of them could handle. If a man loved the woman and she loved him, it was a bonus. If no love existed, there were always ways to satisfy a man’s needs. Of course, Rafe loved Elizabeth in his way and was smart enough not to raise any questions about his faithfulness to her in Settlers Ridge. He’d only indulged in a few dalliances when he went to Cheyenne or some other distant city just for the change and the excitement of it. The good Lord knew there was no way he’d ever take a chance on Elizabeth finding out about these little indiscretions. The way her father’s will was written, it would cost him dearly if she decided to turn on him.
He gritted his teeth. If I can talk her into changing the will her father wrote, Amelia will never have that power over her husband. If she’ll give me a male heir, there will never be a question. The boy will have it in his power to run the ranch any way he sees fit regardless of what any woman says, even if that woman is his mother.
Again he glanced at Elizabeth. She was still a beautiful woman and it pleased him. He gave a slight smile and admitted to himself he loved her more than he wished he did. At least he loved her to the point he knew no other woman could ever take her place. Like her mother, Amelia is a beautiful girl and she needs a man to love and take care of her as I do her mother. Vince swore to me he loved her and would always see she wanted for nothing. I’m convinced she’d eventually love him. Sometimes loves grows with a woman like it did for me. It’s not always a first glance thing. Is it?
“Rafe,” Elizabeth’s voice broke into his thoughts, “what do you plan to do when we find Amelia?”
“I plan to cart her home and lock her in her room until she gets some sense in her head.”
“I don’t think you can do that, dear.”
“The hell I can’t. She’s my daughter and she’ll do…”
“Rafe, she’s a married woman. Don’t you think her husband will have something to say about it?”
“I’ll be damned if I’ll allow my little girl to stay married to a lowlife like Jed Wainwright.”
“I don’t see what you can do if she chooses to stay with him.”
“Don’t be a fool, Elizabeth. I’ll make her see she’s made a mistake and she’ll be happy to come home with us.”
Elizabeth turned to her husband. “You have to promise me something, Rafe.”
“What?”
“I want your word if Amelia agrees to give up this man and come home you won’t push her into a marriage with Vince.”
Rafe frowned. “I can’t do that, Elizabeth. I intend to see this foolish marriage to the bounty hunter is annulled and that she marries the right man. I want the kind of life you’ve had for our daughter. Vince can give her that.”
When Elizabeth didn’t answer he said, “Now, don’t worry, dear. I know what I’m doing.”
“Like you did when you told her she was going to marry Vince?”
“You’re not being fair.” His voice was harsh. “She’ll eventually see I’m doing this for her own good as well as ours.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I told you this before and I’m saying it one more time. If your actions cause me to lose my daughter, I’ll never forgive you.”
“You’re talking nonsense, Elizabeth. You’re not going to lose Amelia.”
She didn’t answer, but turned her head away and wouldn’t look at him.
He shrugged and looked straight ahead.
They made the rest of the trip in silence.
* * * *
Pulling up in front of the hotel, Rafe climbed out. “Take care of the horses, Vince,” he ordered and went around to help his wife down from the carriage. She took his hand and followed him to the door.
They stepped into the lobby. Frank Olsen looked surprised to see them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Donahue, it’s good to see you. Did you come for our supper special?”
“No!” Rafe’s voice dripped acid. “We’re here to pick up our daughter.”
Frank frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Just what I said, Olson. I was told Amelia was staying here.”
“Mrs. Wainwright was here, but…”
“Her name is Miss Donahue to you!” Rafe glared at the man.
Elizabeth watched Frank’s lip drew into a hard line. “As I was saying, she has checked out.”
“What do you mean, checked out?”
“She’s no longer staying in this hotel.”
“Then where the hell is she?” Rafe’s voice boomed and Elizabeth reached up and touched his arm. He shook her hand away.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wainwright didn’t tell me where they were going, Mr. Donahue.”
Rafe started to say something, but Elizabeth butted in. “Mr. Olson, did my daughter leave the hotel with her husband?”
“Yes, ma’am, she did.”
“The son-of-a-bitch, I’ll…”
“Mr. Donahue, will you please lower your voice. You’re disturbing our guests.”
“To hell with your guests.” He turned as Vince Callahan came into the lobby. “He says she’s not here.”
“Where is she?”
“He won’t say.”
“I would tell you, Mr. Donahue, but I don’t know where your daughter is. All I know is, she and her husband checked out and they haven’t been back.”
Rafe started to say something else, but Vince interrupted him. “Why don’t we check out the saloon? If anyone in town knows where Wainwright is, it’s those people.”
Rafe nodded. “Elizabeth, you go have some tea or something. I’ll be back as soon as I find Amelia.”
Elizabeth nodded and watched the two men head down the plank sidewalk. She then turned to Frank. “Mr. Olsen, I’m sorry my husband was so rude, but he’s upset about Amelia’s marriage.”
“It’s fine, Mrs. Donahue, but I assure you, I don’t know where the couple went.”
“I understand.” She gave him a smile. “I only have one question, Mr. Olsen. Was my daughter all right?”
“I think your daughter was more than all right, ma’am. If you could have seen her with her new husband, you’d say she was a very happy lady.”
“Really? How could you tell?”
“Well, ma’am, they came down to breakfast and they were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes like there wasn’t anyone else in the world except them. It was like that the whole time they were here this morning.”
“I’m so glad. The only thing I want is for my daughter to be happy.”
“Well, those two are happy. Any fool would know it if they saw the two of them together. They walked around town, talked to some people then came back here and went to their room for a while. When they came down, they were dressed for riding. Jed said they’d be gone a few days, but they planned to come back. They asked me to hold Mrs. Wainwright’s luggage.”
“I see.” She took a deep breath. “Please do me a favor, Mr. Olsen.”
“I will if I can, Mrs. Donahue.”
“Don’t tell my husban
d you’re holding Amelia’s luggage. I want him to calm down before he decides to confront Mr. Wainwright.”
“I understand.” Frank grinned. “I’m sure he doesn’t think Jed is good enough for his daughter, but he’s wrong. There’s not a finer man in the territory. I hope my Sophie can find a man as good as him when she’s old enough to get married.”
“Really?”
“Yes, ma’am. Jed’s been staying here for several years now and I’ve gotten to know him well.”
“I’ve heard he’s a ruthless man who kills for a living.”
“That’s not so, Mrs. Donahue. Jed only kills the outlaws to save his life or when he has no other option. Most of the time he brings his prisoners in alive.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“When you get to know him, you’ll be proud of him as a son-in-law.”
“Thank you, Mr. Olsen. Now, I think I’ll go into the dining room and have some tea while I wait for Rafe.” She almost chuckled. “I need to fortify myself for his temper when he realizes he’s not going to find Amelia today.”
* * * *
“Are you sure you want to give this up, Mr. Sawyer?” Amelia smiled at the sad old man who sat on the front porch with her.
“I’m sure, child. I sent a wire to my son in Chicago three months ago. I told him if he didn’t want me to sell the ranch, to get in touch. I never heard a word.”
“I think he made a mistake. It’s a nice ranch.”
“It was a good ranch when I had a wife and my children were all here, but it ain’t no good to me now.”
“And none of your other children are interested in the ranch?”
“No. My son, Will, might’ve wanted to be a rancher, but he was killed in the war. My son, Claude, as I said, is a banker in Chicago. My daughter is married to a man who got rich in the gold mines. They live on a spread near San Francisco and want me to come live with them.” He glanced at Amelia. “How about you? Do you think you and your husband will like living on a ranch?”
“I was raised on a ranch. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” She leaned back in the weathered rocking chair and looked out toward the mountains. “This is a pretty view.”
“My wife always liked it. She’d sit out here about every evening and do some darning or knitting or something. As soon as I finished my chores I’d sit with her. When it’d get dark she’d put away her sewing and we’d enjoy sitting here ’til it was time to go to bed.” He sighed.
“You miss her a lot, don’t you, Mr. Sawyer?”
“Oh my, yes. We was together over fifty years.” He shook his head. “It ain’t the same with her gone.”
“I’m sorry you lost her.”
“I hope you and your husband get to share as many happy years as we did. Things will be hard sometimes, but if you love each other like me and my Minnie did, you’ll get through them. Then you’ll have good memories. My memories are what keeps me going.”
Amelia didn’t have the heart to tell the dear old man her marriage was only going to last six months. Neither could she tell him there was no love involved.
The sight of two riders coming in saved her from having to say anything.
“Looks like your husband and his friend are on the way back.” He nodded. “Them two are young and strong. If they decide to buy my ranch, they’ll make a good home for their families.”
Jed reined up his red gelding, Devil, near the front porch and threw the reins around the hitching post. Curt followed with his big gray.
“Well, boys, what did you think?” Mr. Sawyer got up from the straight backed chair he had leaned against the wall.
“Not bad,” Curt answered as they climbed the steps.
Jed went to a chair near Amelia and sat down. “There are several head of cattle on the open range. When did you last do a round-up?”
“I hired a crew and rounded up last year. I decided to sell my place when I didn’t hear from Claude and didn’t see a need to do a roundup this year. I thought whoever bought the ranch could go after the strays if they wanted to.”
“Curt, why don’t you rub down the horses? Mr. Sawyer could keep you company.”
“I’d be glad to.” He followed Curt down the steps.
When they were alone, Jed turned to Amelia. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s more important what you and Curt think.”
“I know, but I also know you understand a lot about ranching. The land looks good and there’re a lot of cows out there. Since it’s still early spring, we could probably get enough gathered to drive to market in the fall.”
She smiled. “It sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”
“It’s not perfect, but I think I’ve decided. I only want to be sure you can live here for six months. What do you think of the house?”
“Mr. Sawyer showed me around and it’s not a bad place. It’s been neglected for a while, but with some hard work and a little loving care I think it can be made into a pleasant home.”
“Want to show me through it?”
She stood. “Sure.”
The last room they looked at was the largest bedroom on the second floor. Jed walked over to the window and looked out. He nodded. “This will be our room,” he announced.
Amelia didn’t tell him she’d had the same thought when she’d seen the room. “I thought you might like this one.”
Jed was still looking out the window. “Looks like a wagon coming up the road.”
She moved beside him and watched until the approaching vehicle pulled into the front yard. A boy about ten jumped out and a man came around and held up his hands to help a woman down. She had a baby in her arms.
Mr. Sawyer’s excited voice could plainly be heard as he rushed into the yard. “Oh, my god. It’s Claude.”
“Hi, Grandpa,” the little boy cried out. “We couldn’t get here ’til Mama had the baby, but now we’ve come all the way from Chicago to live with you.”
Chapter 6
Curt poured a cup of coffee from the pot setting on the campfire rocks. “Well, folks, how does it feel to lose the Sawyer Ranch to two grandsons and their parents?”
On the way back to Settlers Ridge they’d made camp at the same place where Amelia and Jed had camped three days earlier.
“It sure didn’t take Mr. Sawyer long to change his mind about selling, did it?” Amelia smiled up at him. She’d liked Jed’s friend the minute they’d been introduced. He was only an inch or two shorter than Jed and he had dusty blond hair which had recently been cut. Most important, he was kind and thoughtful and despite their opposite personalities he and Jed seemed as close as brothers.
“Guess we can’t fault the man for changing his mind. It’s too bad though. I’d already picked out our bedroom.” Jed moved to sit between his wife and his friend as if he were staking his claim.
Amelia reached out and patted his arm. “Eventually we’ll find a house with a bedroom as nice. The ranch is your dream and I feel honored you’re bringing me along.”
“I want you along.”
“All right, you two, don’t forget you have another party with you on this trip. You’re going to have to postpone the honeymoon until you’re alone.”
“I don’t see why. I could shoot you, you know. Then we’d be alone again.” Jed cut his eyes at his friend, but they were full of mirth.
Amelia blushed and Curt laughed out loud. “I guess you could try, partner. On the other hand, I could shoot you, making your pretty little wife a widow. You know as your best friend, I’d have to comfort her for the loss of her husband.”
Jed reached over, took Amelia’s hand and stood. “Let’s go for a walk before I have to beat up my friend and leave his body here for the wild varmints to devour.”
Curt waved a hand at them. “Go on. Leave this old thirty-two-year-old bachelor sitting here listening to the coyotes and wishing I was married, too.”
“Maybe Amelia can introduce you to a friend of hers when we get back to Settlers
Ridge.”
As Jed pulled Amelia to her feet, she said, “I certainly could. I know lots of available women.”
“I’m sure none of your friends would want a cripple like me.” He tossed the rest of his coffee into the campfire and turned his back to them.
Before she could answer, Jed led her away.
“Curt’s a nice man. Why would he think nobody would want to marry him because of his limp?” she asked as soon as they were out of his earshot.
“He’s sensitive about his leg. The best thing you can do is never mention it.”
“I wouldn’t say anything to…”
“I know, but…well, he can’t believe I got married. I think he’s still trying to get used to the idea. The two of us planned to buy a ranch and run cattle and round up horses to break and sell to the army. We never meant to have wives involved.”
“And I’ve messed up your dream.”
“I chose to marry you, Amelia. You only made the offer. If there was any messing up, I did it.”
They reached the creek which was located below a little hill. Jed helped Amelia down and when they reached the stream she turned to him. “I’ll be gone in six months and you can live your life any way you want.”
He only looked at her for a long minute. Then without warning, he reached out and pulled her against him. His face moved over hers.
Her heart began to pound and she wondered if he was going to kiss her. She then wondered why she wanted him to. They were still strangers and theirs was a business arrangement. Though she’d agreed to share his bed, the marriage was still unconsummated. Her monthly flow began the day they reached Swanson and was still in progress. Yet, at this moment, she wanted him to kiss her more than she wanted anything else in the world.
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