“Chase is a mighty fine dog,” Mitch began. “You’ve done a real good job of taking care of him.”
“He’s a very good boy.” Micah gave the dog a hug.
“What do you say we share him? He can play with you all day, but I’d like him to sleep here. I need a watchdog especially when Melody is here. You have Loki over at your house to stand guard.”
“Do you mean it, Uncle Mitch?” The boy’s eyes were shining twin stars. “Chase can be my dog too?”
“I do. He’ll be our dog. Let’s shake on it.” The boy’s hand disappeared into his own.
“It’s not that I don’t love Loki,” Micah’s solemn gaze rested on his big red dog. “But he belongs to Pa. Even though he loves all of us, he loves Pa best of all.”
“It’s true. Your pa had him since he was a pup. Chase has always known you. Heck, you named him,” Mitch laughed. “If you want to take him out to play, you go on ahead.”
“Come on, Chase,” Micah shouted. The boy and dog were out the door before Mitch could draw another breath.
Ellie opened the door to Melody’s room. “You can come in now,” she said.
Melody lay propped up with pillows behind her back. Her hair had been brushed into a golden river, and she wore a clean nightdress.
“You look right as rain,” Mitch said.
“Ellie helped me clean up. I feel so much better, but I hate this sling,” she murmured. She plucked at the offending cloth tied around her neck that cradled her arm.
“Doc said to leave it for a few days,” he reminded her.
“I know,” she sighed before her eyes drifted shut.
Mitch pulled a chair close to the bed and stared at his wife. When that bullet hit her, he’d known. Known with the shock of a thunderbolt he loved her. Known he needed her in his life. Known she offered completion.
He was sitting there still when Melody awoke the following morning. Ellie dropped by now and again to help during the day. Micah and Chase visited, too, but Mitch didn’t leave the cabin except to see to his personal needs.
When he was in that chair the following morning, Melody set matters right. “Mitch, I thank you for your care, but you are driving me crazy. Ellie will come soon, and she’ll help me dress. I’m going to help them today. I can read to the children, rock the babies, help Micah collect eggs.” She swung her legs to the floor and considered his stubborn face. “Go to work.” She pointed at the door. “Go. I’ll see you for supper.”
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“Go, please.” She smiled at him, but her finger still pointed, straight and strong, at the door.
Three days later, Melody sat on the porch when Mitch returned from working the farm. She’d removed the sling and held a baby on her lap with two strong hands.
Mitch dismounted in one smooth motion and hurried to her side. “Don’t you need your sling?” His voice carried worry like thunderclouds carry rain.
“No, I don’t,” she replied. “Doc said the sling was to prevent pulling on the stitches. I’m healing nicely. The only thing pulling now are the stitches themselves. I’m looking forward to having them removed.” She searched his face. “You have to trust me, Mitch. I need a looser rein.”
She waited for an angry explosion that didn’t come.
“I know,” he replied. “Can you find someone to watch the baby and meet me at our cabin? I need to wash up.”
“All right.” Melody rose from the chair with ease. “Come on, little darlin’,” she crooned, “let’s find your mama.”
Once at the cabin, she paced. Turned out it took twenty steps or eighteen long strides to go from one end of the main room to the other. She rubbed sweaty palms down the side of her skirt. She loved Mitch. She did. She gave the empty room an emphatic nod, but he was mighty strict. Melody clenched her bottom at the memory of her last spanking. Mercy.
Was he aiming on spanking her today? Had she broken one of his rules? She didn’t think so. But wait. Riding off to town alone had been foolish. Thomas had asked her not to go. She’d put herself in danger and ended up at the shack with the mayor and Madame T, and they both knew the result of that. She rubbed at her injury. She crossed her arms around her body and gave it a hug. Her brother’s killer was in jail awaiting the judge. Justice would be served. Clay could rest easy. It had been worth a bullet to the shoulder.
The door swung open and Mitch entered. His fingers had left furrows in damp hair, and his collar was wet. He was so handsome it hurt her heart. She ached to plant a kiss where his shirt opened and revealed a column of tanned skin.
Melody felt a softening at her core and resisted throwing her arms around his neck to pull him close, but the thought of the spanking she thought was coming had her backing up with her hands shielding her bottom.
“Do you aim to spank me, Mitch?” Her voice quivered.
He regarded her with his clear gaze. “Do you deserve a spanking, Sweetheart?” he asked.
Well, that was new. He’d always been the decider and the deliverer. Her opinion hadn’t mattered.
“I know it was foolish to leave the Bar W alone,” she confessed. “But I was angry and confused. Clay’s killer was still on the loose. My cattle were being rustled and worse.”
“Come sit with me. I’d like to talk.” Mitch held out his hand.
“Only talk?”
Mitch nodded. Melody took his hand, and he pulled her into a tight embrace before dropping into a chair and arranging her on his lap.
“Sweetheart, I’d like to start over with new rules,” Mitch began.
“New rules?” Her eyes opened wide and wary. She struggled to stand, but Mitch held her firm.
“Please, hear me out.”
She settled into his arms and waited. If she didn’t know anything else, she knew she’d lose in a tussle.
“I’ve talked to Lars about marriage and about spanking,” Mitch stated.
“Lars knows you spank me?” Melody felt her temper rise. Her face heated to pink.
“Well, of course. He spanks Ellie. I suspect Sven spanks Caroline, but easy going as that man is, it’s probably rare. I’d say most men spank their wives.” He rubbed circles on her back. “Don’t get angry. Hear me out. Please,” he added.
“All right,” Melody agreed.
“We married too fast and for the wrong reason. Don’t get me wrong, I’d do it again.” His laugh was rueful. “But we didn’t love one another. I had mighty set notions on how things should go. I gave you a list of rules to follow, but there was no give and take. I was a bully, Melody. I’m sorry.”
Her startled eyes met his sad ones.
“Lars said we should agree on the rules and the consequences. It’s not about what I think, but what we think.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Well, my first rule was no swearing. Swearing in front of the children cannot be allowed. Do you agree?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Do you want to swear around me?” he asked.
“No,” she replied. “It’s a bad habit. I usually did it to get Pa’s attention.”
“You have my attention, Sweetheart. Always. So, do I spank you for swearing in front of the children or swearing at all?” he enquired. “I got to tell you a secret, but don’t tell Ellie. Lars said sometimes she swears on purpose to get a spanking.”
Melody’s eyebrows shot straight up to her hairline.
“It’s true. He says the making-up after a spanking is mighty fine.” He dropped a slow wink. “I have to admit I look forward to finding out.”
Melody blushed brighter pink, but this time it wasn’t anger. She pressed her bottom into his lap.
Mitch growled.
“Any swearing at all,” Melody agreed.
“All right. That’s settled.” He swallowed hard. “Now, I said I’d help you with your temper, but I never asked if you wanted help. I do think you’d be happier if you kept your dander under control. What do you think?” he asked.
“I suppose that’s so
,” she admitted. “It’s another habit, I guess, and a bad one.”
“Habits are hard as the dickens to break. We need a plan. Would this work? When you start to spin off into a tantrum, first I’ll say your name like this,.” he lowered his voice and stretched her name out long, “Meeelllody. That would be a warning. Now I know you don’t like the words settle down. What if the second warning was ‘that’s enough’. If you are still stamping your feet and slinging insults, I’ll tap you lightly on the bottom. Just to remind you of consequences. I suppose if three warnings don’t work, I’ll need to bare your bottom.” He shrugged.
“You’re right. If three warnings don’t work, I deserve a spanking.” She adjusted her position on his lap until she could see his face. “That day you spanked me at the Bar W. I knew I’d behave poorly. But I understood why I’d flown off the handle, and I wanted to explain how I felt. You wouldn’t listen. I didn’t feel spanked that day. I felt beaten.”
Mitch squeezed his eyes tightly shut. They were suspiciously bright when he opened them. “I know. I’m sorry. If you’ll forgive me, it will never happen again.”
“Is that all?” Melody asked.
“Just one more. If you put yourself in danger, you’ll be spanked. We were mighty lucky at that old shanty. You were shot in the shoulder, but you could have been killed. You went, intentionally and against advice, looking for trouble. You are too dear to me. I love you too much, Melody. Don’t do it. Don’t put yourself in danger,” he begged. “I want to be clear about this. It’s important.” He patted her back in a light rhythm. “There’s a difference between putting yourself in danger and danger finding you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you are riding your horse and it steps in a hole and throws you, that’s danger finding you. I would never spank you for that. Life is full of bluffs to fall over and snakes in the grass. But if you ride hell bent for leather without thought for your safety or the horse’s, that’s looking for trouble,” he explained. “I’ll spank you every time. Every time,” he spoke slow and serious.
She relaxed and nestled in. “I understand.”
Mitch lifted her in his arms and settled her into the chair before dropping to one knee. “Melody, will you marry me? Marry me for real, till death do us part, real? I love you. I’ll be a good husband, patient and kind, I swear.”
Melody cupped his whisker-rough cheek in her hand. “I will. I will marry you, Mitch.”
He put one hand behind her head and held firm. Slanting his mouth over hers, he kissed her good and kissed her proper.
Those whiskers prickled and poked, but she didn’t care. Not one whit. He parted her legs with a shoulder and pulled her to the edge of the chair. Their bodies pressed and strained against a barrier of clothing.
He scooped her up and set her in his lap again. She felt his hardness under her bottom and gave a little wiggle.
“Stop that.” His voice thick with desire. “I have an idea.”
“What is it?” Melody swiveled until she could see his face.
“Did you know Sven used to be a preacher?” Mitch asked.
“No, I didn’t.”
“It was before they moved here. In Texas,” Mitch replied. “Here’s what I’ve been thinking on. I’d like to have a real wedding. One we enter for the right reasons – love, commitment, trust.” He left a lingering kiss on her forehead. “I’d like Sven to marry us here at Journey’s End with our friends and family.”
Love and delight surged into her chest in equal measure. “Oh, Mitch, yes. I am so happy it hurts.” She rubbed at the bosom of her dress.
“I have a few other ideas I’ve been tossing around, but if you don’t like any, you speak right up. Hear?”
“I hear,” she replied.
“I been thinking on Candy. She’s barely more than a child. I’d like to get her away from the Gilded Garter.” He bounced her up and down on his thighs until she sat snuggled close.
“You’re right. She needs our help, and Clay would want us to get her out of there and away from that life. He meant to do it. He loved her, and she would have been my sister.” She leaned against his chest and listened to the comforting thump of his heart. “I’ll write my uncle and tell him Clay’s fiancée would like a fresh start. He’s a good man. He’d help her. Candy would have a real chance at starting over some place where no one knows her.”
“She might like that,” he agreed. “I’d like to get her out now. Madame T’s leaving town, but it won’t take long for someone else to move in and take over that business. Makes my skin crawl thinking of her stuck there,” Mitch grumbled.
“We’ll go tomorrow,” Melody declared. “Can we head out to the Bar W afterwards? I want to invite Thomas and Belinda to our wedding. Belinda is the closest I had to a mother, and I was such a brat. Angry and hurt and taking it out on her. I’m ashamed.”
Mitch gave her a comforting squeeze. “She understood, Sweetheart.” He cleared his throat. “I’d like us to live here at Journey’s End.” Mitch’s voice was level and calm, but Melody felt emotions rumbling through his chest like thunder before the lightning strike.
“I want that, too. I love Lars and Ellie and Micah and oh, everyone.” Melody snuggled into Mitch’s body. “Thomas and Belinda can run the Bar W. I’ll ask them to move into the house and hire a foreman. I think they’d like that, and they deserve it for putting up with me all those painful years.” Shame flamed her cheeks to pink. She’d been a hellion, a terror and a trial. No doubt about it.
“Thank you, Sweetheart. I hoped we’d stay here.” He exhaled his relief in a whoosh of air and followed it with a hearty squeeze. “We’ll get Candy and settle things at your ranch. Then home. Four days. It’s Sunday. We’ll get married Friday. I can’t wait any longer than that to make you mine. I know we’re legally married now, but I want to be married in spirit before I take you to bed. I know women want time for plans and dresses and such, but, please, Melody, say Friday will be our wedding day.”
Melody laid a finger lightly against his lips. “Friday will be perfect.”
She relaxed into the warmth of his embrace. Voices drifted through the late afternoon air. A child squealed. A mother laughed. The pump issued its usual squeak as the handle came down and water rushed into a bucket. Chase barked, and Micah shouted.
“Micah’s been bragging about Chase being half his dog. He calls him his day-dog. He’s so proud,” Melody rubbed her hand up and down Mitch’s muscular arm.
“It only seemed fair,” Mitch replied, “and a boy needs a dog.”
“You’re a fine man, Mitchell McBride,” she declared. “Friday can’t come soon enough to suit me.”
Friday dawned with a welcomed trace of brisk air. By mid-morning the sparkling dew glittering on every blade of grass like precious jewels had dried and left behind a sea of glowing green.
It was her wedding day. Her real one. How had she ever thought to marry a man for convenience? The idea now seemed foreign and, well, a little bit ugly. She let her mind drift back to that day in the café when she had proposed the idea to Mitch. Desperation. That’s what she’d felt. Trapped as surely as a rabbit in a snare.
Mitch had agreed to her plan. Had it been pity? Compassion? Kindness? Had he known she was meant for him even then? They’d talk it over, the two of them, when she was really and truly Mrs. McBride.
She stretched her body out long and curled her back off the mattress. Tomorrow morning, she wouldn’t have the luxury of the entire bed. Mitch would occupy the other half. She ached for that sharing something fierce. She squeezed her thighs together to ease the pulsing, but there was no help for it.
A knock on the cabin door brought her to her feet. Throwing a shawl around her shoulders she hustled to answer.
“Good morning, Ellie,” Melody greeted her guest.
“Good morning.” Ellie held out a tray with scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, coffee and apples cut into neat slices. “For you and Candy,” she said. “You remember
you can’t leave this cabin until we come get you for the wedding,” Ellie reminded her.
“I remember,” Melody assured her.
Candy emerged from the second bedroom. Mitch had slept in the barn. But tonight, tonight, a tingle ran up one side of her body and down the other, tonight Candy would sleep in one of the other cabins and Mitch would sleep here. With her. She needed to think of something else, but when a body is hungry, food is on your mind first, second and last. And she was hungry for Mitch. Famished for him.
“The boys will carry buckets of water over, and we’ll heat you a bath,” Ellie said. She set the dishes on the table and waited for Melody and Candy to sit. “There’s been some discussion over at the house,” she began. “Do you want someone to walk you down the aisle? Your father and your brother being gone.” Ellie cleared her throat before she could continue. “Sven’s the preacher, so he can’t do it. Lars would be happy to escort you. Micah volunteered. You know how that boy yearns to be grown-up. I never saw a boy so set on getting boyhood behind him,” she chuckled.
“What does Mitch say?” she asked.
“Mitch says it’s up to you. He says you can give your own self away as long as you end up in his bed tonight.” Ellie blushed to the roots of her red hair.
“I’ll take Micah,” Melody declared. “Seems right with him having Chase for his day-dog and all.”
“He’ll be delighted,” Ellie smiled. “Enjoy your bath. I’ll see you at the wedding. Micah will come for you at two o’clock.”
“I’ll come help as soon as I eat,” Candy said.
“Stay and keep Melody company. Help her dress and what all. You are her almost-sister,” Ellie chuckled. “Day-dog, Almost-sister. I swear, we’ll have to start our own dictionary.”
“Please stay, Candy.” Melody laid a hand on Candy’s arm. “I’d like you to. It makes me feel close to Clay.”
Candy nodded. Neither of them dared to speak of the man they’d both loved lest the first tears of the day would fall.
The water arrived and heated on the stove. Melody sank into the rose scented water with a sigh. She’d retrieved all of her possessions from the Bar W, and that included a plethora of perfumes and oils and lotions. Instead of his time, her pa had showered her with things. He’d meant well. She blinked back a tear.
Melody (Journey's End Book 2) Page 13