The Most Unsuitable Wife

by Caroline Clemmons

  "I wanted to make this house into a real home."

  "Well, you sure made it a home for yourself.” He picked up a ruffled pillow and tossed it across the room. "Did you ever think I might hate ruffles and gee gaws? Did it occur to you that maybe I liked the way the place was?"

  "Fine.” She gathered the coverlet and the other pillows into a pile. "I'll get rid of everything I changed in here. By the time you come in tomorrow, it will be like you left it when you went away. And that includes me. I'll move to your mother's old room. You can have your barren room back to yourself again, just the way you wanted it all along.”

  He advanced on her, anger flaring his nostrils and sparking from his eyes. He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "No, I'll move. You needn't bother!”

  "Oh, yes. I'll bother. You want to live like a monk, you have my blessing.” She grabbed her dress and petticoat as she swept through to the adjoining bedroom once used by Drake's mother. She kicked the door closed behind her with a final and very satisfying bang.

  * * *

  In the tiny Ainsworth cabin in Pipers Hollow, Burris stuttered, "Now, boss, don't be getting' so riled. It warn't our fault Jug fell off'n the train. We wasn't even there. We found out about him fer you, though, didn't we?"

  The sharp retort from the third man in the cramped room came before Willard could add to his brother's explanation.

  "That Parker bitch is to blame for his death.” He whirled and pointed a finger at the brothers. "And you two fools! It's your fault you botched a simple train holdup."

  "It wasn't so simple.” Willard braced himself and faced his employer. "We both got hurt—real bad. Like to got caught or even killed. We wuz laid up with no one to help us 'til we could make our way back home.” He glanced to his brother who leaned heavily on a homemade crutch. "Burris still has trouble walkin'. I thought he wuz gonna die from the infection."

  "Some loss that would've been.” The man banged his hand on the table and leaned toward Willard. "You two've ruined everything so far. You have one more chance. I want Pearl and those two brats taken care of—even if you have to burn down the whole damned town. And I mean I want them out of the picture entirely.”

  He threw money on the table and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you understand?"

  "Reckon we do.” Willard picked up the stack of cash and slipped it in his pocket. He'd count it later.

  Sure he understood what the man meant, but he didn't like it. How had he gotten into this anyway? He only wanted to make some money and see a little of the world. Didn't seem no harm in that. Now he was supposed to kill three people he'd no cause to hate, and two of them were women. It didn't sit well with him, but he was too scared of this man to object.

  When the other man had left, Burris listened at the door before he limped over to his brother. "What we gonna do?" he whined. "We ain't gonna kill 'em, are we?"

  Willard rubbed his hand across his face. He wished he could just rub this whole business away. "I don't know. Maybe we could rob Pearl and take off for N'Orlins like we wanted to in the first place."

  "Bet he'd find us. Then he'd kill us 'stead of them.” Burris nodded at the door and fear of the man who had just left showed in his face.

  Willard feared their so-called friend as much as Burris, but he didn't want to admit it to his brother. "Get some sleep. We got to leave fer Texas first thing in the mornin'."

  "I sure wish we could just keep going, real far away. He gives me the creepies, that cold look in his eyes and all. It's like he don't got no soul, like he's just hollow inside.” Burris burrowed into the ragged blankets of his cot before he asked, "Reckon why he hates Pearl so much?"

  "I cain't figure it. She never hurt nobody. Even took care of Momma when we couldn't pay her nothin'. Helped make Momma's last days go easier.” Willard wondered what Momma would think of her boys now. It hurt him to know they had let her down again.

  Burris lay on his cot and scratched his belly. "Did you know Jug was s'posed to kill Pearl?"

  "No. Reckon them two did lots of things we didn't know about. They wuz allus plannin' somethin'. S'pose it's just as well we didn't know 'bout all that other stuff."

  "Seems like we oughta be able to get out of this here mess. Think of somethin', Willard."

  "He'd kill us fer sure if we tried to cross him.” Willard lay down and shut his eyes, hoping the whole situation would disappear. "What are we gonna do? We ain't never killed nobody. We sure cain't kill no women."

  "'Sides, I allus kinda liked Pearl."

  * * *

  Drake leaned on the corral, one foot balanced on the bottom rail. With frequent comments to Storm, he watched the boy put the new bay mare through her paces. Storm had matured in the months since they'd left Tennessee. The confidence he showed with horses now spilled over into his relationships with humans.

  Drake willed his mind to focus on training the mares brought from Tennessee. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shut out thoughts of his marriage. When he left for the drive, everything looked rosy. Everything went his way then. A couple of months later, he felt lost in chaos. How had things gone so wrong in so short a time?

  Had he lost his one chance at a happy marriage? His and Pearl's relationship looked more and more like that of his own parents. For a while, there at first, he had thought Pearl and he might make a go of it. Sure she was mad about staying in town, but he would have brought her to the ranch eventually.

  Guilt surged in him. When would he have brought her here?

  In introspection, his desire to foist his new family onto Grandpa seemed petty and childish. The question of safety could have been addressed at the ranch. Perhaps then Pearl wouldn't have come up with the crazy idea for this restaurant.

  Damn, but he hated that place. All those men ogling his wife and her waiting on them like a servant. Drake never would have thought to agree wholeheartedly with his aunt about anything, but he hated the restaurant as much as Lily did. Maybe more. He pulled out his pocket watch. Almost eleven.

  "Think I'll go into town," he called to Storm. "Want to go with me?"

  "No. I'll stay here.” Storm patted the neck of the smart-stepping mare. "She's making progress and I don't want to lose her mood.”

  Drake stopped off to tell Maria he'd eat in town. Miguel and his grandson Javier watched for strangers and Storm would stay close to the house all day.

  He mulled his problem on the ride into Kincaid Springs. With no decision in mind, he stopped off at the law office of his cousin and grandfather. Lex sat at his desk surrounded by law books and stacks of papers.

  "Grandpa in court?" he asked Lex.

  Lex nodded. "The Henderson trial's draggin on. Defense dredges up witnesses, prosecution discredits them.” His cousin gave him a sharp look. "You look a might put out yourself."

  "Do I?” Drake wondered how to answer. "Guess I'm not used to Pearl's businesses yet. People come to the house for her healing late into the night, then she's up and gone into town early for that blasted lunch trade."

  "Good thing she vetoed the idea of serving food in the evening as well as noon."

  Drake froze. "What do you mean?"

  "Ah, she didn't tell you. People approached her to serve meals all evening. She told them she wanted to eat dinner with her own family, sit beside her husband each evening."

  "Hell, she's so tired now she can hardly sit at the table by evening.”

  Pleasure she'd turned down the extended business hours and her reasons mixed with annoyance she hadn't bothered to tell him about it. But then, she was so busy they hardly talked any more. They didn't do a lot of things as much any more.

  "Yeah. Belle said Pearl's lost weight and looks tired all the time."

  "You still seeing Belle?” Drake tried to keep the censure from his voice, but he thought Lex asked for major trouble there.

  Lex's gaze held a steel challenge when it met his. "More than that. Tonight I'm proposing to her.”

  Things were worse than Drake figured. His cous
in had such high goals, a stringent moral code. Drake couldn't reconcile those with Lex's choice to marry a common prostitute.

  "What about running for office? I thought you wanted to be governor some day. Somebody finds out about Belle's past and you're political career is finished."

  "I still plan to run for office. But without Belle, it all means nothing to me."

  "What if someone recognizes her? It only takes one man to ruin her new life—and yours."

  "What are the chances of someone from that backwoods place coming through here, seeing Belle as she is now, and recognizing her? From clues I've picked up, I think she only worked a few weeks before she went to stay with Pearl."

  Drake fixed his gaze on his cousin and leaned on the desk's front edge. "She ever tell you the truth about her past?"

  Lex shook his head. "No. She skips a short time of her life when she's talking. Goes from her folks' farm to Pearl's, but gets real nervous. Guess I should tell her I know all about her."

  "No. Wait for her to tell you. Probably she never will."

  "Yes, she will. I know she cares for me, hope she even loves me. I intend to find out tonight."

  "I think she's taking advantage of everyone in our family, Pearl included. Didn't take her long to abandon Pearl for Lily."

  "Pearl insisted she stay with Lily, continue giving her piano lessons at Grandpa's. Lily likes having her around. Gives her someone to go shopping and socializing with."

  Drake snorted. "And order around.” His aunt loved being the center of attention and Belle gave her a constant audience.

  "Lily will have to find a new companion. I want Belle for myself if she'll have me."

  "You told your parents?” He could only imagine his proper Aunt Rosilee's reaction to having a prostitute for a daughter-in-law.

  "Yes.” Lex met his gaze. "All of it."

  Incredulous, Drake asked, "You told them about her being a soiled dove?"

  "I did. Don't want them finding out from someone else someday."

  "And Aunt Rosilee and Uncle Samuel approve of you marrying this woman?"

  Lex stood to meet Drake's gaze. "Didn't ask them. Just told them how it is. They seem to accept my decision."

  "You're making a big mistake if you ask me."

  "I didn't ask you, any more than you asked me when you proposed to Pearl. I told you my plans."

  "Yeah, well maybe I should have let you talk me out of mine."

  Lex shook his head. "You misunderstood my objections. I didn't want to talk you out of marrying Pearl. She's the perfect woman for you. I wanted you to realize you tampered with lives other than your own."

  "Yes, now I see that.” Drake slumped into a chair in front of his cousin's desk. "Damn! How could I have been so cocky?"

  "We all have our moments.” Lex sat back in his desk chair. "I take it things are a bit, um, strained at the ranch?"

  "More than a bit. Pearl hardly talks to me.” He took a deep breath and confessed, "She's moved into Mother's old room."

  "How'd you let that happen?”

  "Hell, I don't know. We were arguing about that darn lunch place and her money and all the changes she made at the ranch. Before I knew it, we both got riled."

  Lex shook his head in disbelief. "Sounds like you got some fence mending to do."

  "She's gone all day, has people coming in all evening and sometimes during the night. I never have a chance to see her alone."

  "Give her time to work it out. She's still finding her way in all this."

  He might have known Lex would recommend being calm and thinking things over—his cousin's favorite course of action.

  Drake flexed his hands before he shoved one through his hair. "I'm giving her time, but sooner or later she has to cut out something.”

  Lex smiled. "Don't worry, cuz. It won't be you she cuts out. In case you haven't noticed, the lady is crazy about you."

  The statement came as a shock to him. No, he hadn't noticed, especially lately. She seemed to tolerate him only as the means to an end. With a bitter taste in his mouth, he realized that had been his attitude toward her when they married. Now she was giving him back some of his own.

  Life sure played some devilish tricks on a person.

  * * *

  Drake watched Pearl carry clean linens down the hall. Her braid swished back and forth across her hips as it had the first day he'd seen her in Tennessee. As then, she wore no shoes, but her new lavender print dress fit in all the right places.

  He followed her into the master bedroom and closed the door with a quiet click behind him. She whirled and her eyes widened in surprise.

  "Saturday is one of the few days you can rest a little. Don't we pay Maria's granddaughters to do that sort of thing?"

  "They went into town with their parents. I thought I'd get this side of the house ready. Sarah is taking care of the bedrooms on the other side."

  He looked at the stark room and wished he could take back the words he'd spoken so recklessly. She had removed all the changes she'd made the day after their argument. It had come as a shock to him when he came in the next night. She'd been right when she called it a monk's room. Once he'd seen the difference with the additions she'd made, it now looked cold and empty by comparison. After he'd made such a fuss, how could he tell her he liked it better her way without seeming a fool?

  He took the stack of linens from her and laid them on the bed. "Pearl, I've missed you. Missed having you beside me at night, missed talking to you before we drifted off to sleep."

  A blush spread across her face but she didn't give. "You mean you've missed, um, missed our coming together."

  He trailed his fingers along her jaw. "Yes, I've missed that. But I've missed the closeness we had. I liked having you near."

  He saw her expression change, soften, but still she didn't yield. "Did you?"

  "I've been thinking over what you said. You know, about being partners and all?”

  "And?" She met his gaze with questioning eyes.

  He slid his arms around her waist, drawing her near. "I guess I never thought about marriage that way. I can see that's the way Grandpa and Grandma were, though. They had the kind of marriage I always wanted."

  "Not your parents?” At last she laid her hand on his chest.

  The thought of his parents' marriage and how much his had come to resemble theirs sobered him. "No, never theirs. Mother was Amanda Drake, of the Boston Drakes, and never let anyone forget it. She hated Texas and everything in it, especially the ranch. Dad always gave in to her, but he resented it."

  "How sad for them... and for you.” She brushed her hand across his jaw in a sympathetic gesture.

  He thought that summed it up pretty well. "Yes, sad. They wasted years with petty bickering. I don't want us to be like that. Can't we start over?"

  She cocked her head at him, her jewel-tone eyes aglow. "What do you suggest?"

  "Let's start with this," he said as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  She tasted so good, like the cinnamon on the bread at breakfast and her tea and... just her. At first she remained immobile against his touch. When she returned his kiss, his hands roamed across her body, snugging her into his arousal. Her arms came around him, kneading places on his back that yearned for her touch.

  His fingers found the buttons of her dress then pushed the fabric aside to allow access to her beautiful breasts. How he had missed touching her, her touching him.

  She stilled his hands with hers. "Drake, have you forgotten you wanted everything about me out of this room?"

  "That wasn't my idea.” His lips trailed down her throat to a rosy orb. He heard her gasp of pleasure when he nipped her peaked nipple.

  When he swept her into his arms and lowered her to his bed, she pulled him with her. His hands grasped at her clothing, pushing and pulling it aside. Blood boiled in his veins, his heart pounded so hard he almost missed the loud knock.

  Maria's excited cry came through the closed door. "Señora Pearl, Señora Pear
l. The Gonzales baby is very ill. The family is waiting for you now."

  Drake lay across Pearl and their gaze locked. With what appeared a mixture of regret and relief, she straightened his shirt and slid out from him.

  Her hands righted her clothing. "I'm coming, Maria," she called, and tucked errant strands of hair back into her braid. "I have to go. Maybe we could talk later about us being partners and our marriage and all."

  "All right, we'll talk later. I can see a sick baby needs help now.”

  After one long backward glance, she left the room.

  Drake let himself fall across his bed. Would he ever get his own wife alone in his bed?

  * * *

  Pearl and Sarah cleaned up the small room she used as a treatment room. "You go on and I'll finish here. Do something fun until dinner," she said to Sarah before she turned to Maria's granddaughter. "Thank you again, Carlotta, for interpreting. I'm able to understand more every day, but I don't think I'll ever get your language clear in my mind."

  "Ah, but your speaking is much better now, Señora Pearl. Soon you will not need me."

  Sarah and Carlotta left together and Pearl sagged into a chair. Her exhaustion left her ready to weep. As she lay her head on crossed arms resting on the table, Maria came into the room.

  "Señora Pearl, you must rest more. You will endanger the bebé if you do not."

  Startled, Pearl raised her head. "You know?"

  "I have many children and grandchildren. I know the signs well.”

  "Please don't tell anyone. I haven't told Drake yet."

  "He will be pleased. A man needs children to carry on his work, to help build his land, to keep him company in his old age."

  "I-I wasn't sure how he would feel. I know he wants children, but does he want them so soon?"

  Maria patted Pearl's shoulder. "You will make him very happy."

  Pearl remained where she sat after the housekeeper left the room. Would Drake be happy? He hadn't seemed happy at all with her of late. What was she to do about this restaurant and her healing. She couldn't keep up with both much longer. Those early days in town and having nothing to do with her time seemed a world away.

  The sound of buggy wheels outside made her body cry out for rest. Not another patient now, please. But the voice she heard greet Maria startled her. She rose and rushed to the entryway.