by West, Everly
And yet, his very formidable Jennie would not put up with him much longer. That was obvious. How could he be the type of father who raised strong boys if he was afraid to give his love to anyone?
As much as he hated Myra dying, the time had come for him to move on and love again. Jennie was who he wanted. Who his heart had chosen.
Tonight he needed to apologize for all his craziness and tell her how he loved her with every fiber of his being. That he would hire a damn nanny, because he needed a wife, a lover, someone to stay beside him right up until he took his last breath.
He urged his horse on, wanting to reach his home and spend the evening with Jennie, the woman he loved. A sense of relief overcame him, and from now on, their life would be different. He would make certain she grasped every day how much he cherished her uniqueness and if she wanted to go gambling, he would take her.
When he drove up to the house, he handed his mare off to the stable boy, who didn't meet his glance. Urgency gripped him as he hurried in the door. A woman he didn't recognize stood in front of the twins, scolding them.
"Good evening, who are you?"
"I'm Miss James, your wife hired me to watch the boys," she said. "She said you would need me."
"Where is Jennie?"
Paul started crying. "She's gone."
Their overnight bags were at their side.
"The little rascals were trying to sneak out and follow her."
"Where did she go?"
The woman frowned. "You don't know?"
"No, she didn't tell me she was leaving," he said, and he remembered how she said goodbye. The woman he loved had enough of him and was giving up on their marriage.
Stunned, he sank down into his chair and his sons came running to him. "Jennie told us bye and said she would not be back. Gave us each a hug and said to behave. We want to go live with her. She's our momma."
The woman stood over to the side watching them.
"Papa, we're going to move in with her," Paul said. "Jennie's a great momma."
"Where did she go, Paul?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find her."
His chest ached at the thought of his sons searching for his wife. "No, you boys stay here. I'll go find her and bring her home.”
The entire time George didn't say a word. Until suddenly he doubled up his fist and hit him. "She left because of you. Why would she come back?"
The anguish in his son’s eyes felt like his own. "You're right, George. I've not been a loving husband. But I'm going to promise her I'll do better. I'm going to tell her I love her and that I want her here by my side."
"Take her some flowers," George said. "Women like roses."
"I'll buy her an entire garden if she'll come home and let me try again."
"Yes," Paul said. "Maybe some candy too."
When had his boys become so smart? When had Jennie won the hearts of his boys?
With a glance at the woman standing off to the side, he said, "Miss James is going to stay with you while I look for her. Is that all right?"
"Bring her home, Papa," Paul said. "We love her too."
* * *
When Jennie first left town, she was headed to visit her sister at Riverbend near Doggett. But when the stage pulled into Centennial, she saw the gambling and dance hall and hotel. Three unfilled items were still on her list, so she got off the rolling carriage and went to the dance hall, hoping to do the waltz at least.
Only, here, women danced on a platform while the men cheered. Not something she enjoyed, and the cowboys all stared at her like a prostitute searching for a client.
Oh, no.
So she went into the gambling hall. When the owner, realized she could play, he offered her a job as a dealer. Part of her would rather take a chance, but for now, this seemed like the place in the road where she could decide what she wanted in her life.
For three days, she had been dealing cards. Working until midnight and putting a little cash aside before she continued to her sister’s.
"Mrs. Wardell," a man said, sitting at her table. "I brought you a cigar."
One of her regulars knew she longed to taste a cigar.
"Thank you, Joe," she said. "Now tell me how I smoke this thing."
"I'm warning you," he said. "The tobacco might make you a little nauseous."
She already felt sick. Heart sick. She missed her boys. She even missed Milton, though the man drove her crazy.
"I'll be fine," she said. "I'll take little puffs."
The cowboy lit the cigar and handed the fat rolled cheroot to her. Putting it up to her lips, she took a little puff and coughed. "Oh my. How do you men smoke these things?"
"It takes some getting used too. Soon you'll understand why. The smoke gives you a sense of contentment."
What did that feel like? It had been so long, she longed for peace and happiness.
"Now that's a feeling I haven't experienced in quite some time."
Taking another puff, she wished for a sip of whiskey, just to prove she was still a wild woman capable of doing outlandish things. With a sigh, she began to shuffle the cards. "First cut of the evening, gentlemen. Who is going first?"
The man on the other side of Joe cut the deck, and she glanced around the table. "Ante up."
Just as she started to deal, a new man sat down. "Deal me in."
That voice caused her heart to skip a beat as she stared at her husband. Picking up the cigar, she took a deep drag and let out a smoke ring that went right to his nose.
"Damn it, Jennie, for the last two days, I've searched for you."
"Why," she said, dealing the cards, doing her best not to react to him. "Your housekeeper and nanny quit. We're done."
He stood and dropped to one knee. "I've made a lot of mistakes in our short marriage. But I'm here to ask for your forgiveness."
He opened a box where a wedding ring encrusted with diamonds glistened. At their ceremony, he didn't give her a ring. Nothing to show she was taken. Only a license to prove they were married.
"Will you please come home and be my wife, my lover. Part of the reason I got so mad about the boys was because you made me aware of things I tried to ignore. You made me realize if I lost my sons, I'd be devastated. You made me realize I love you and I swore I would never do that again.”
He sighed. "After losing Myra, I vowed to never again give my heart to a woman. Never again would I have babies. With you, I want a whole houseful of children. After all these years of keeping my emotions and feelings safely secured away, you made me experience life once again. And that was too big a risk, until I lost you."
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she stared at her husband kneeling in front of these rugged gamblers. The men gazed at the two like they were watching a stage show.
"I love you, Jennie. And I want you to stay with me until I take my last breath. This time our marriage will be real."
Before she went back, she needed answers and reassurance this time would truly be different.
Throwing the cards down, she went around the table and took his hand, raising him. "Am I going to sleep in your bed."
"Absolutely," he said, wrapping his arms around her.
"We'll have children together?"
"What if we made the sitting room off our bedroom into a nursery?" he said.
"You'll take me dancing?"
"Anytime you want to go," he said.
"Gambling," she asked.
"Name the date and time," he whispered. "We'll name our first child after your mother."
"Over my dead body," she declared.
The surrounding men chuckled.
"Kiss her," one of the men yelled.
"Come home with me, Jennie," he asked.
"Who’s keeping the boys?"
"Your mother," he said.
"Good," she whispered. "Let's have that wedding night-honeymoon we never had."
"I love you," he said, holding her tightly. "Please don't ever leave me again."
"About time you made me feel like your wife." She told him. "Now let's go."
Lifting her hands, she turned to her card players. "Sorry, gentlemen, I quit. I'm going home with my husband."
The gamblers cheered as she waved goodbye, holding onto the man she loved, knowing this time, the wild child had a marriage that would work.
* * *
One Year Later
Milton stared down at the baby. The newborn gazed up at him as his wife lay resting after giving birth to him less than thirty minutes ago. "Welcome to the world, son. Your two older brothers are waiting to meet you. They are wonderful boys, but they can be little terrors. You better get strong fast if you plan on keeping up with them."
Jennie looked at her husband and smiled. "The boy's mother was the wild child. He'll do just fine. In fact, his brothers may soon meet their match."
"I'm thankful we had a boy. A daughter with your beauty and your reputation as a wild child would put me in an early grave."
She laughed and took her husband's hand. "Honey, we're not done yet. You wanted a house full of children and this is only number three. We still could have a girl."
"That's what frightens me the most."
"Think of it, three big brothers watching over her."
"No, she would be right there in the midst of them probably leading them all into trouble."
Jennie laughed. "Milton, thank you."
He glanced over at her surprised. "For what?"
"For being the man I dreamed of. It took us a while to find happiness, but since that night in Centennial, you've been a great husband and father."
Squeezing his wife's hand, he grinned. "All it took was a headstrong woman to show me the error of my ways. I'm grateful you took a second chance on us. Our life together is wonderful and you make me incredibly happy. And now we have a son."
He placed the baby in his mother's arms and together they stared at the child they created. "I love you, Milton."
"I love you even more. I'm ready for more babies with you."
She laughed. "Not yet, love. Give me some time to recuperate."
Milton knew that marrying Jennie had been the best day of his life. And he needed a stubborn wife. Jennie Wardell, wild child, would certainly show him the errors of his ways and keep him on the right track. Thank goodness he'd taken a chance and married her for all the wrong reasons, so that she could teach him the right ones.
* * *
Thank you for reading The Unconventional Bride. Jennie was a fun character to pair with stuck up Milton and I loved how she shook up his sensibilities.
Next up is The Wanted Bride. Here is a sample of the Shadow’s story.
Wyoming Territory, June 1888
Hannah Anderson rode hell-bent for leather. More scared than she’d ever been in her life. She glanced over her shoulder at the band of men hot on her trail. Kicking her heels into her horse’s flanks, she prayed Raven had enough left in her to get them to safety. If they could get around the next bend and slip through the hidden crevice in the bluff unseen, maybe they’d make it through this debacle.
Maybe the posse would ride pass.
The moonless night crowded around her, both a blessing and a hindrance. She knew every nook and cranny of this canyon, knew every rut and inconsistency in the canyon floor. She didn’t like running Raven full out in the darkness, but she had no choice. If she could get out of the posse’s sight for only a few seconds, she’d be home free.
Reaching the concealed entrance to the cave in the side of the mountain, Hannah clutched the reins, zigzagging through the fissure in the rock as fast as possible. Suddenly, the walls widened into a cavern. She pulled on the reins—hard. Raven danced to a skidding stop, barely missing a collision with the back of the cave. Before Raven came to a complete stop, Hannah leaped to the ground, wrapped her arms around her horse’s neck and whispered, “You’re all right, girl. We’re going to stay here for a bit. You rest. We may make it out of this mess, yet.”
Hannah rubbed her palm over Raven’s quavering neck and shoulder. “As soon as that mean ole posse goes away, we’ll sneak out and head home.”
As though on cue, the thundering of horse hooves pounded by and then gradually diminished as the posse raced farther away. Fifteen minutes later, Hannah lead Raven through the twisted corridor from the cave into the wide expanse of open land.
An hour after that, Hannah stepped into her small, one-room cabin completely exhausted. She’d brushed and curried Raven, feed her a double ration of oats and made sure her water trough was filled to the brim with fresh, clear water.
She quickly shucked her “Shadow” garments, folded them carefully then hid them in the false bottom of her over-large eating table. The last thing she needed was the posse showing up on her doorstep with her still garbed in black pants, black shirt and the padded undergarment that hid her curves. Explaining the black horse that suspiciously looked like the Shadow’s horse would have been hard enough.
Hopefully, that day would never come. But then, it might.
Tonight’s fiasco hadn’t been the first time she’d almost been caught. In the last four months, she’d eluded near-capture three times. But this one had been the closest.
She knew what she had to do. Although, she didn’t know if she had the heart to do it.
Tomorrow morning, she’d pack up what she could carry and walk away from the only life she’d ever known. But first, she’d release Raven into the wild. Just the thought of it, broke her heart.
Hannah Anderson, formerly known as the Shadow, cried herself to sleep.
To Continue Reading Click Here!
An Outlaw Scared Straight
When Hannah Anderson, aka the Shadow, eludes capture by the skin of her teeth, she vows to end her thieving ways and live an honest, law-abiding life. Until the Laramie Orphanage on the verge of closing, draws her back into the outlaw world.
A Sheriff’s Black or White View of the Law
Not much happens in Laramie without Sheriff Nathan Wiley knowing about it—especially the arrival of Hannah Anderson. Intrigued by her beauty, her sense of humor and her mysterious past, Nathan resolves to unravel her secrets and win her heart.
When a black-clad bandit targets one of Laramie’s biggest mining companies, the Sheriff is determined to throw the book at him—until he learns the true identity of the Shadow.
Will Lady Justice be blinded by love?
To Read This Exciting Story Click Here!
Arielle Dufosse’ is no damsel in distress that needs saving like the heroines in her romance novels, but when a summer visit to her cousin’s home in Laramie, Wyoming has her literally falling head over heels for a handsome cowboy and his young daughter, she realizes he might be the one that needs saving.
Caleb Montgomery thought he had everything he could ever want until the train bringing his family arrived in Laramie. His daughter was handed to him by a stranger along with a note from his wife that said she wished him luck. But he didn’t need luck. He needed a wife—one who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
Will Arielle be able to help this single father with his precious little girl without losing her heart to them both, or will Caleb discover her secrets and send her packing?
Want to Know Her Secrets?
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Sweet Western Historicals
By Everly West
Angel Creek Christmas Brides
Anna
The Ladies Club of Laramie
The Rebellious Bride
The Obstinate Bride
The Wagered Bride
The Reluctant Bride
The Eager Bride
The Bashful Bride
The Adventurous Bride
The Unconventional Bride
The Wanted Bride
The Deceptive Bride
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About the Author
Everly Ann West grew up in a rodeo family in we
st Texas. The youngest child in a family of six kids, she developed a love of history at an early age. She started writing seriously while her kids were napping, and now that they're in school, she has time to write all the stories she's wanted to tell for years. She is supported by her own cowboy and the love of her life, who provides the inspiration for her heroes, as well as chocolate when needed.
The End