The Unconventional Bride: The Ladies Club of Laramie

by West, Everly

  With a sigh, his erection died. "Oh, Savanah, I'm sorry. I can't do this. I can't cheat on my wife. The woman is driving me crazy with need and I want so badly to protect and never hurt her."

  The sound of sobs surprised him. The prostitute was a tough woman; no man could make her cry.

  "Savanah?"

  "No, you big dope, Jennie," she said, crying.

  Reaching over he lit the lamp and turned the light up, shocked that his gorgeous wife lay in bed, in a gown that left him gasping.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked, stunned and a little frightened. What did this mean? How did she learn about him and Savanah?

  She turned and faced him, leaning on her elbow, the material gaping showing off the cleavage of her breasts. No woman could ever compare to his Jennie; he would be crazy to think about cheating on her.

  Jennie was so gorgeous, and he was done trying not to sleep with her any longer. It was an impossible feat, and he wasn't strong enough.

  "The other night, I saw on your calendar Mrs. Savanah Jones and I asked your secretary about her. Sanford didn't want to tell me, but I threatened him with the twins if he didn't."

  Milton smiled and knew his secretary would acquiescence to keep from having to babysit his rambunctious boys.

  "This afternoon, I talked to Savanah, and she helped me set this up. You didn't know I was in this bed?"

  With a sigh, Milton lay down on the bed beside his wife. "No, the only person I spoke to was the maid, and she brought me straight to you."

  Could he keep his reasons for not sleeping with her? Why would he even try? The woman had been beyond patient with him and the time had come to put this all behind him.

  With a shock, he realized as much as he loved his first wife and didn't want her to die, she would have been so disappointed if they didn't have the boys. Women had babies every day, and not all of them died.

  "Why would you cheat on me, Milton? Why won't you have sex with me? Am I too disgusting?"

  This was his fault. Jennie didn't think she was beautiful enough for him, when actually it was the exact opposite of his thinking.

  "No, you are so gorgeous. I'm so scared of losing you, like I lost Myra. I'm afraid and want to protect you."

  The words seemed to pour out of his mouth, and he was tired of fighting this attraction. For his wife to go to this kind of measure, she would not tolerate his avoidance any longer. And he didn't want to lose her.

  "Jennie, things are going to be different between us. Since the wedding, I tried to stay away from you, I can't. I've not been honest, but I want to make it up to you."

  Her hand reached out and touched his face as her sapphire eyes stared at him. "How is our marriage going to be different? Before we go any further, I need to know what is going to change."

  Leave it to his woman to want specifics. "For one, we're going to consummate our union just as soon as we get home. Second, we're going to make this into a real marriage. Third, I'm going to hold you like I'm so afraid of losing you."

  A smile crossed her face. "Why do we need to wait until we get home?"

  "What about the boys?"

  "They're spending the night at my mother's. We've got all night, my sweet Milton."

  "You want our first time together to be in a brothel?" He asked, grinning, thinking why had he not treated his wife with love and respect from the moment he married her? Why had he been such a jackass?

  "How many women can say their first time with their husband was in a whorehouse?" she said, pulling him toward her. "Let's make our first time special."

  Relief flooded him at the way she forgave him and wanted to make love to him.

  "One last comment, Mr. Wardell. If I ever find you in a brothel again, your tallywhacker will cease to function when I'm through with you. Don't do this again."

  A chuckle rumbled from his chest. "Now, that's my Jennie," he said, rolling her onto her back. "It's time for me to check off another event on your list. Let me show you all about making love."

  Chapter Eight

  Later, lying in Milton's arms, Jennie no longer feared her marriage ending. In fact, for the first time, a sense of belonging overcame her. Maybe not in the whorehouse, but rather in her husband's embrace. But why had he waited so long? She needed answers.

  "Milton, why did it take you so long to do this? You said you're afraid of losing me. How?"

  For the first time, the man she dated and married held her and loved her, showing the beauty between a man and woman.

  With his arms wrapped around her, she lay naked on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

  "When I married Myra, I was so in love with her. We had been married three months when she realized she was pregnant, and we were so excited. Right up to the day the twins were born.

  After, thirty hours of labor, George arrived. The doctor was shocked when he saw there was not one, but two babies. Paul took another twenty minutes and by that time, she began to hemorrhage blood."

  In the darkness, she could discern the fright in his voice, and she understood, Milton feared losing another wife in childbirth. He didn't want to risk having more children, and she couldn't live with the possibility of never having a baby of her own.

  He paused and took a deep breath. "The doctor did everything to stop the bleeding and nothing worked. While I held her in my arms, she told me to love and raise our sons, and then she closed her eyes and left me forever.

  “The woman I loved died, leaving me with two crying babies I didn't know how to care for. Right then, I swore no more. That even if I remarried, there would never be any more children. So I could never sleep with my wife and get her pregnant."

  Jennie tensed in his arms, knowing he didn't want to expand their family. "Women have babies every day and not all die of childbirth. Yes, having twins, must have been a difficult birth, but the odds of that happening a second time are slim."

  As much as she enjoyed being a wild child, she still wanted babies of her own. As much as she loved his sons, she wanted to add more children to their family. Walking across the street was a risk, and you learned to accept that any day you might die.

  Milton kissed her on top of her head. "Yes, but don't you see how afraid I am of you being with child. If something happened to you, I'd be the cause of your death. Tonight was an exception. I'm going to do everything possible to keep you from getting pregnant."

  Why couldn't he accept she would not die. And why didn't he tell her his feelings before they married. His reasoning left her angry.

  "But I want children with you, Milton. Why didn't you tell me any of this before we married? Because, you knew your reluctance would cause me not to marry you."

  "Yes, and I was being totally selfish. You're so good with my boys, and they need you as much as I do."

  Admitting his wrong doing was great, but that still didn't take into account her feelings regarding their family. In fact, he just made her into his married nanny.

  "Oh, that makes me feel so much better, but what about my wants and dreams as well," she said with sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You waited until we had been married for over a month before we had sex and you didn't tell me why? That hurts me so much, Milton.

  “Only now are you telling me you don't want any more children. Well, I want a couple of babies. Not necessarily a huge family, but at least two to three. This should have been discussed before we rushed into marriage."

  She felt him tense and knew he didn't like her response. Well, too bad, he was the one who insisted they marry right away instead of waiting several months.

  "No, I couldn't," he said, whispering.

  "So, you believe I should give up my dreams and desires when I married you?"

  Lying beside one another in bed, she could almost hear the wheels in his mind turning as he tried to come up with a reasonable response that didn't make him out to be complete idiot.

  Trailing her fingernail down his chest, to his manhood, she wrapped her hands around him and begin
to squeeze him the way the prostitutes showed her.

  "We may be married, but I'm not going to give up what I want. And if you think we're not going to do what we just did again, very soon, you're wrong. When or if I get pregnant, our baby will be welcomed into this world. If not, tell me to stop and you'll never see me again."

  With a groan, Milton flipped her onto her back. "How can I deny you anything when you've got me in your grip."

  * * *

  Much later, they finally emerged from the room and when they descended the stairs, Savanah was waiting for them at the bottom.

  "Milton, I see you found your wife," she said.

  How did he respond. "Savanah, over the years, you've helped me in so many ways. Thank you for taking my wife in and showing me how wrong I've been."

  She smiled. "You're welcome. I'm sure this means you won't be needing my service any longer."

  Jennie laughed. "Honey, I'll let you answer that."

  In no uncertain terms, he knew what to expect from Jennie if she found him anywhere near the brothel again.

  "No," he said. "Jennie threatened me with bodily harm."

  "As she should," Savanah said as she glanced at Jennie. "Remember if you need any marital advice, I'm here. Or if you ever need a job."

  Milton jerked and glared at his wife. Yes, she was a wild woman, but she wouldn't dare consider going to work for a brothel. His wife would never work in such an establishment.

  "Thank you, Savanah, but I think my husband is well on the way to being able to be a good man to me."

  Jennie turned and smiled at Milton in a way that told him don't exclude me from your life again. And looking back, he realized he had been in the wrong not to discuss his misgivings before they married. Now, he didn't know what to do.

  Risk losing Jennie or somehow withdraw to the safe area where they would never have children.

  "Goodbye," they called as they walked out the door.

  "What did she mean, if you need a job?"

  A grin spread across her face as she placed her arm in his. "When you weren't sleeping with me, I assumed you thought I was too ugly. And she reassured me I could make a fine living being one of her girls."

  Fear cascaded through Milton. Tonight they mended so much in their marriage, and yet they still had a ways to go. "Please tell me you told her no."

  "Of course," she said as they strolled arm in arm toward their home.

  "Promise me you are going to be home earlier," she said.

  That would be a fairly easy commitment to keep. Though he still refused to have sex with Jennie often. There was still the problem of her getting pregnant. He had grown weak and succumbed this time, but hopefully they dodged a bullet. Now, he would make certain it would be awhile before they enjoyed each other again.

  In the meantime, he would do everything he could to limit their sexual encounters.

  "It's a promise. If I'm going to be late, I will send you a message, but I should be home earlier now that I'm not trying to avoid my wife any longer."

  While it wasn't a complete lie, it wasn't the complete truth either. Somehow he needed to find a way to stop Jennie from getting pregnant.

  She glanced up at him as they walked beneath the street lights. "I wish you would have told me earlier about Myra. Don't keep secrets like that from me again."

  With a quick squeeze of her hand. "What time do we need to pick the boys up in the morning?"

  "Early, but not real early."

  "Good, we've got time," he said, wanting to experience his wife's arms once more before he tried his best to avoid her again. As much as he desired and wanted her, he really didn't want more little hellions running around the house.

  * * *

  A week later, things were better with Jennie, but Milton struggled. He wanted to move his wife into his bedroom but knew that would be a terrible mistake as he would be in her arms every night. And the consequences as she liked to say to the boys would be her expecting a baby.

  While part of him understood her need for children, the thought of having to raise another small child, or heaven forbid, twins, was something he couldn't do again. And his twins were just now old enough he enjoyed doing things with them. With Jennie's guidance, they behaved like nice young kids.

  George was still a little rambunctious, but Paul hung back now and seemed to make up his own mind before he acted.

  Jennie insisted that one afternoon each week, he spend time with the boys. Today they rode out to the mine together where he planned on showing them how the business operated. Later, he would take them into town for dinner, giving Jennie the evening to herself.

  Though he would rather have been curled around his wife in bed, but that couldn't happen. No.

  As the wagon pulled up in front of the mountain, he saw the miners going in and out hauling the silver and coal.

  "Papa, is this your mine?" George asked.

  "Yes, son, it is."

  "Are we going down inside?"

  "No," he said. Too many dangers to expose his sons within the mine. The dust, the possibility of a cave-in, so many things that young children didn't need to be around. But he also loved that George was inquisitive about the workings, and he didn't want to curb his enthusiasm.

  When the horse came to a stop, he tied off the reins and then jumped down. After he helped the boys out, his foreman walked up to him.

  "Mr. Wardell, I need to speak to you. There's a new vein of silver we've discovered, and I'd like to show you."

  Milton glanced down at his sons. They had been wanting to go down and see where the miners worked. "How's the dust down there?"

  "Where I'm taking you, pretty thick, but they could wait in the main area."

  In the past, he would never have taken the chance, but the boys had done better. Long as they stayed where he instructed them, they would be fine.

  "All right," he said.

  He knelt beside his sons. "I'm going to let you go down into the main room of the mine, but you will do everything I say. If you disobey, you will be punished, do you understand? This is a dangerous place and if you wander off, you'll get lost. So stay right here, waiting patiently."

  "Yes, Papa," they both said.

  The foreman brought each a cap with a leather bill and a small portable acetylene gas lamp on both sides of the hat. As they descended in a cage raised and lowered by a pulley, the darkness had Paul searching for his hand. The child's hand trembled inside his, and he gripped it tightly. This might be a bad idea. A trickle of unease spiraled down his spine, and he realized he should have left them up top.

  When they reached the dirt floor, lights glowed in the eerie darkness and the men had a second pulley for hauling the silver or coal up in a basket. Tunnels ran off the sides of the largest one with wooden beams holding the walls up to keep them from collapsing. Water dripped in places, leaving puddles on the floor.

  "Papa, is that silver?" Paul asked, pointing to a bucket about to ascend. "Yes, son, it is."

  "What else do they mine for down here?" George asked, his eyes watching everything going on around him.

  "Sir, we need to get going," his foreman said.

  Milton didn't feel comfortable going off and leaving his sons, but didn't know what else to do.

  "I'll be back in just a few moments. You stay right here. Do not move from this spot. If you go off in one of these tunnels, we may never find you again. Don't move."

  The men that worked in this area had their hands full dumping loads of silver to be hauled to the top. No way, could he ask them to watch his sons.

  Turning, he walked away, but glanced at the foreman. "Let's hurry. They become easily distracted."

  Thirty minutes later, when Milton returned, the boys were nowhere to be seen.

  For a moment, his knees almost buckled as his heart slammed inside his chest. Cursing beneath his breath, he began to run from one tunnel to another screaming their names.

  Chapter Nine

  Five hours later, his men combe
d the mine, searching for the boys. Many of them had families of their own, and they strung ropes through the tunnels, so they wouldn't get lost.

  "Mr. Wardell, we've gone through the first three tunnels. Is it possible they went up the shaft and are waiting for you outside?"

  He thought about George’s obsession with seeing how the business worked and didn't think they would leave without him. Paul would probably run after his brother telling him to stop. In some of the tunnels, deep pools of water filled the caverns, and he prayed they hadn't fallen in one of those and drowned.

  "No, George was too interested in learning about how a mine operates. Is there any machinery anywhere working that might have fascinated them?"

  "I'll check," the man said.

  At seven hours, he sent one of the men to tell Jennie, knowing she would be worried sick. In less than an hour, he returned and said his wife waited on top. In some ways, this was all her fault.

  All the pressure she put on him to spend more time with the twins. To take them to the mine and let them see the business he ran. The way she encouraged their curiosity.

  When this was over, not only would he set her straight, but the two boys would not be able to sit for a week. If they came out alive.

  They had a rudimentary map and as the search teams returned, Milton marked off which tunnels had been searched. The miners looked haggard after working all day and now spending all these hours searching. He knew he should let the workers go home to their families and rest.

  And yet, his heart was breaking. How could he lose his sons?

  His foreman came up and wiped his face. "The lanterns are all starting to dim. Time to refill them. The men are exhausted."

  "You're right," Milton said, his chest aching as he glanced at his watch. "At midnight, we'll call it a night and hope they are still alive in the morning."