The Widow's Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “Mrs. Hartness, I’ll be in the hayloft in the barn. If anyone tries to get in the house from this side, I’ll see them and stop them. If they try to get in through the front door, don’t open it, shoot through the door. If you hear shooting, it will be me. Stay in the house. I’m the best shot on this ranch. That’s why Tom left me here. Just remember what I said and everything will be all right.”

  Two hours later…

  Mary heard gunshots from the back of the house. Through the window, she could see three bodies face down, arms flung outward, rifles still in their grasp. “Rosa, get the children out of here,” she said. “Stay with them, please.”

  “”But Senora…” Rosa pleaded.

  “Please, Rosa.”

  “Si Senora,” Rosa said. She picked Matt out of his cradle and led Emily to the back part of the house.

  Mary could see a wounded Case Richards, empty rifle in his hand, struggling with another Indian. He was losing the struggle. Mary went out of the door, holding the pistol in front of her, both hands on the grip. She made a noise, distracting the Indian.

  “Get back in the house,” screamed Case.

  The Kiowa warrior dropped the wounded cowboy and advanced toward Mary, his knife held low, grinning at the easy coup he was about to count. Mary closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. She was nearly deafened by the sound of the revolver. The recoil kicked the barrel of the gun up above her head. The Indian continued toward her as she brought the gun to bear once more. She pulled the trigger again. The Indian took another step and… fell to the ground, mortally wounded.

  Mary heard the sound of horses and looked in the direction of the sound and saw two Kiowas fleeing to the west. She went to Case and saw blood on the right side of his chest. He had raised himself to a sitting position. She saw the bullet had exited beneath his shoulder blade. “Can you walk?” she asked.

  Case grunted and said something that sounded like “Damn fool woman.”

  “Let me give you a hand,” she said.

  With her help, Case was able to get to his feet, and together they made it to the kitchen, where Rosa was standing, gun in hand. They managed to get him to a bed. Rosa took over, directing Mary to get some whiskey from the kitchen, while she tore the shirt off.

  When Mary brought the bottle of whiskey, Rosa poured it into the wound. Rosa had placed the ranch’s medical supply kit on the counter in the kitchen, in the event it was needed. She packed the wound with gauze on both his chest and his back. She applied tape to hold it in place.

  She handed him the bottle of whiskey. He took two long pulls from the bottle and said, “Thankee, Rosa. Mrs. Hartness, you saved my life, but coming outside was a fool thing.” He took another long swallow. In a few minutes, he passed out, whether from the whiskey or the loss of blood, neither Mary nor Rosa could say.

  The sun had set, and the shadows were long. The bodies of the dead Indians were still in the yard. Mary heard sounds outside. From the door, she could see horses belonging to several men. She heard one of the men say, “Let’s get him inside.”

  She opened the door and went out. She gasped in shock. Two men were pulling Tom from his horse. “What happened?” she asked.

  One of the men replied, “We caught up to one group of the Indians and there was a gunfight. Tom caught a bullet. He’s alive. We sent a rider to James’ place to get Doc Williams if he’s still there.”

  “Let’s put him in our bedroom. We’ve got Case in the other,” Mary said. Once he was on the bed, she went to the bedside, and took his hand. His eyes fluttered open.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I guess I forgot to duck,” he said.

  “They’ve gone for the doctor, Tom. We’ve got Case in the other bedroom. Rosa’s taking care of him.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You just be quiet and rest until Jonah gets here.”

  “What happened here?” asked one of the men.

  “Four of them came into the yard. Case was in the hayloft, and managed to shoot three of them. The fourth one had him, but let him go and started toward me. I shot him,” she said matter of factly.

  Suddenly, the enormity of what had transpired that day hit her. She sank into a chair. “Dear God, I killed someone, how much more?” she asked.

  “I’ve got to see about the children” she said, as she wearily got to her feet. She went to her children. She hugged Emily so tightly, Emily said, “Mama, you’re hurting me.”

  “I’m sorry, baby girl, I’m just so glad to see that you’re all right,” Mary said.

  “Mama, is Papa all right?” Emily asked.

  Her Mama said, “He’s been hurt, and they’ve gone for the doctor, but I think he’ll be all right. Tonight, when you say your prayers, you might say a special one for your Papa.”

  “I will,” Emily said.

  Ten minutes later, Dr. Jonah Williams came in, carrying his black bag, his wife Helen close behind. “James is going to be all right,” he announced. He’ll have to take it easy for a while though.

  “Now. What do we have here?” he asked.

  “Doctor, Case Richards is in the other bedroom, shot in the shoulder. It went through and Rosa cleaned it and packed it,” Mary said.

  “Helen, you check the other one, while I take a look at Tom,” Williams said. “Gentlemen, if you’d let me have the room, I’d appreciate it. I’ll keep you informed.” The ranch hands left them.

  Mary walked to the door with them. “Thank you for bringing him home. I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him,” she said. The tears were finally coming as her emotions caught up with her.

  “Ole Tom is going to be all right,” one of them said. “He’s too tough to be knocked out by one Indian bullet, you wait and see.” He patted Mary on the shoulder awkwardly.

  She went back into the room. “Dr., I’m going to be with my children. The last thing you need is a hysterical woman in here. I’m afraid I’m about to lose it,” she said, as the tears cascaded down her cheeks.

  Dr. Williams, put his arms around her, and said, “You do what you need to do. I’ll take care of Tom. I promise you that.”

  Mary left the room and went to join her two children and Rosa. Rosa came to her immediately when she saw the emotional state of Mary. “Senora, sit here on the bed. I’ll bring your son to you. He is ready to be fed. She put a small cloth on Mary’s shoulder and brought Matt to her. Mary opened her dress so Matt could get to the nipple and nurse. She patted the bed beside her and asked Emily if she wanted to sit there.

  Emily immediately climbed on the bed and scooted as close as she could. With Matt on one arm, and the other around Emily, Mary closed her eyes as Matt drank hungrily. As he did so, a calm descended on Mary. As she relaxed, her tears flowed down her cheeks.

  “Mama, why are you crying?” Emily asked. “Are you sick? Is Papa going to die too, Mama?”

  For the first time, Mary realized how much the death of her mother had impacted Emily. She felt her mother had left her and now, perhaps her father would too. She pulled Emily to her and hugged her fiercely. “Your Papa is badly hurt, but Dr. Williams is with him and is going to take care of him. We can pray that God guides his hand. Emily, I want you to know, I will be here to take care of you. Do you understand. I won’t leave you.”

  A knock at the door. Mary covered her breast discreetly and called out, “Come in.”

  Dr. Williams came in. “Mary, may I speak to you privately, please?”

  “Yes of course,” she said. “Emily, you stay with Rosa. I’ll be right back.”

  She went into the hall with the doctor and closed the door. “Did he…? Is he going to…?” She could not voice the questions.

  “No, he didn’t die,” he said in his most gentle voice. “And I don’t think he is going to, but the bullet is still in there and it has to come out. I’m going to knock him out with some ether, and probe for the bullet. When I find it, I’ll use forceps to extract it. He won’t feel any of that, but he’s going to be a very sick boy for
a while.

  “There have been some amazing results following Dr. Lister’s directions on sterilization, so I need to put my instruments in boiling water to sterilize them before I start. I’ll wash up and do that, then I’ll go get the bullet. I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” she said. She returned to the bedroom and her daughter and settled in to wait for the outcome.

  Chapter 20: Here’s The Bullet

  Rosa placed the plate she had prepared in front of Emily. “Would you like milk or water, Miss Emily?”

  Emily giggled as she always did when Rosa called her “Miss Emily”. “Thank you Auntie Rosa, she said as she began to eat.

  Dr. Williams came from the room where he had been treating Tom. “I’d like to talk with Mrs. Hartness, please, Rosa.”

  “She’s putting the baby down,” Rosa said. “I’ll get her.” Dr., the Senor? Is he going to be all right?”

  “Yes, I think he is, but he’s going to need a lot of your good food,” Dr. Williams said.

  “I’ll get the Senora. Dr., coffee is on the stove,” she said and hurried down the hall.

  Mary came rushing into the kitchen. “Is he all right? Please tell me he is going to be all right.”

  “He is going to be fine, as long as we can keep him free of infection. He’ll need plenty of rest, Mary. Here’s a souvenir for you.” He handed her a lump of metal. “It doesn’t look like much, does it?”

  “This is the bullet?” she asked.

  “That’s it. We were fortunate it didn’t fragment. It didn’t hit any major organs, and just fractured a rib, He’s going to be really sore. It’s gonna hurt a lot when he laughs, coughs or sneezes. He is going to need to cough to keep his lungs clear.” He finished his coffee and stood.

  “Now I need to check on Rosa and Helen’s handiwork.” He went into the other bedroom where Case Richards was sleeping under the watchful eye of Helen Williams. After examining the wound, he and his wife came back out. “I’m going to start referring all of my gunshot wounds to you, Rosa. Great job.”

  “Thank you, Senor Doctor” Rosa said, grinning.

  We’ll stay until Tom wakes up, if everything seems okay, I’d like to move him to my place where I can keep an eye on him for a few days to make sure there’s no infection.

  Case said, “Doctor, the ranch hands told me they got all of the Kiowas they were after and that only leaves the two that skedaddled after Miz Hartness, here started shooting at them.”

  “That’s good to hear. We don’t need any more days like this one,” the doctor said.

  “Rosa, I want you to change Case’s dressings every day. Boil them before you use them again and don’t let anyone else touch them. Spray them with this carbolic acid solution before putting them on the wound. It’s important, so don’t skip any steps. It’ll help to avoid any infection, and get him back on his feet as soon as possible. I’ll be out to check on him in a few days.”

  “Si, Doctor, “I will take good care of him,” Rosa said.

  Tom had been in and out of wakefulness for two hours when Dr. Williams told Mary, “I think we can safely move him now, The sutures are holding and I’ll be able to take better care of him there than here.”

  “You’re welcome to stay with us until he recovers, Mary,” the doctor’s wife said.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I think the children need me here more than Tom does. I’ll get in to see him as often as possible, but Emily has been through enough for now,” Mary said.

  After the ranch hands carried Tom to the Williams’s wagon, Mary, her eyes glistening with fresh tears, stood with Rosa and watched the wagon as it disappeared from view. “Rosa, this is just about the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I want to be with him, but I think Emily needs me here.”

  “Senora, you are right. The children need their mother. Senor Tom is with friends. It is as it should be,” Rosa said.

  Two days later, Mary and Case, accompanied by a cowboy riding guard, rode into Grapevine. Mary found Tom propped up in bed, looking a little thin from his ordeal, but his happiness at seeing her was open and obvious. “I’ve missed you, honey,” he said in a gravelly voice.

  “I missed you too, Emily and Rosa send their love. Emily even drew a picture for you. She wants her Papa to come home. I want you home too. That big old bed is empty without you. Rosa sends her love.

  “Case is up and about. Jonah is checking him out, and then he’ll be in to see you,” she said,

  “Did you two come by yourselves?” he asked.

  “No darling. We had a cowboy riding guard. No need for you to worry. Besides, they told me this was the end of the Kiowas in our area..

  “In a way, I feel sorry for them. I don’t know where the rest of them will go,” she said.

  “Honey, they broke away from the reservation in Fort Sill. They’ll be going back there,” Tom said. “They’ll break out again, because from what I hear, the reservation isn’t the best place to live.”

  “I talked to Jonah. He said I can take you home the next time I come in, if you’re good. You better be good or I’ll kill you myself,” she laughed.

  “Yeah, I know you’re bad. I heard about you shooting one who was trying to scalp Case.”

  Mary’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God! Is that what he was trying? Scalp Case? I didn’t believe they really did that. I thought it was just something you read about in Ned Buntline’s books.”

  “It happened all right, not as often as in his books, but it happened,” asserted Tom. “You saved ole Case’s life, not to mention his hair.”

  Two days later…

  “Jonah, once again, I don’t know how to thank you. You saved Tom’s life. I wish there was something I could do, but I’ll always be grateful,” Mary said.

  “Just name your next baby after me, he said with a grin. I’m just glad I was there. Now, I think he’s past the danger of infection, unless he does something to open the wound again, so, nothing strenuous. No heavy lifting. He’s not even to lift his saddle. No galloping for at least a month. I’ll want to see him in a week, Case too.

  After a slow ride home, Tom walked gingerly into the kitchen. “Sit down, Tom, don’t even think about picking Emily up.” Mary knelt in front of Emily. At eye level, she said, “Emily, Papa’s not well yet. He can’t pick you up, much as he’d like to. You can next to him on the davenport. Will you help take care of him till he’s well?”

  “Uh huh,” said Emily.

  After four weeks, Jonah permitted Tom to have mild activity. He still had a lifting restriction. His most strenuous activity was the long walks he took with Emily and Mary.

  Feeling exasperated, one day after Emily had yelled at him for trying to pick Matt up, he said, “It’s like I have three Mamas. I can’t do anything without one of you yelling at me.

  “It’s because we love you, Senor Tomas,” Rosa said.

  “I know, but it’s still frustrating,” he said.

  Chapter 21: A Slow Return To Normal

  It had been six weeks since he had been shot. The walks around the ranch with Mary and Emily helped Tom regain his wind. He was now allowed to ride, although the ban on galloping and lifting was still in effect.

  Watching Mary get ready for bed one evening, he said, “This is what I miss most of all. Not being able to touch you and hold you has been hard for me.”

  Mary pulled the last piece of clothing over her head, and stood naked before him. She looked at him thoughtfully, then to his surprise, she got into bed without putting her gown on. She lay on the bed and patted the spot next to her. He took her into his arms, and kissed her. Then he kissed her deeply, his tongue touching hers, traced its outline, then explored the interior, noticing her breathing had become heavy, He had quickly reached a state of arousal, as he had been doing so frequently lately.

  He kneaded her breasts, rolling the nipples between his thumb and forefinger. When he took the breast in his mouth, she moaned softly. His h
and ventured lower, traced a path around her navel, down and through the wiry growth guarding the entrance to her delights. His hand felt the moisture generated by her body. Instead of pulling back as they had been doing, Mary said, “Lie back darling,” and she pushed him gently back on the bed. “This one’s on me,” she said.

  She straddled him, clasped the symbol of his manhood, and moved it around the folds outside her vault. Elevating herself slightly, she guided it inside and then lowered herself taking the full length into her body. She began moving up and down, slowly, each time uttering a low moan as she took the full measure of his manhood into the depths of her body. As she moved on his shaft, slowly, then faster and faster still, She could feel his member swell as she plunged herself onto it. Slowly, her passion built until it climaxed.