Mountain Man's Proposal

by Lauren Wood

  “That’s it?” Colin queried.

  “I know I thought it was low too.” The man said.

  “How many partners do you have?” Colin asked.

  “It was just the couple, her parents; they were the ones who set this up.” The man said.

  “I’ll give you 100 pounds and I’m going to leave you tied up here.” Colin said. “After we take care of her parents, I’ll come back. If you are still here, I’ll let you go on your way. If you are gone, make sure we never see you again. Do you understand me?” Colin said.

  He was furious. Her own parents had set her up to be kidnapped to make money? Colin didn’t know what was worse, him growing up with parents he didn’t remember. Or her growing up with parents who had her kidnapped to make money, how must that feel?

  Colin looked over at her. He saw the shock on her face.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.” Colin muttered to her.

  Sarah shook her head. “Don’t make excuses for them. I’ve known for years they were no good. But this goes beyond everything I could have imagined possible from them.” She admitted.

  He was planning out the best way to go about his plan. Colin didn’t know if she would be up to seeing her parents. Maybe he should take her home first, and then face them by himself.

  “You are not going to see them alone now.” Sarah said interrupting his thoughts.

  “Alright, but please just be careful of the baby.” Colin said, kissing his hand and touching her belly. “You’ll ride in front of me.”

  They got on the horse and Colin started the way to see her parents. The whole time his anger built up, he just wanted to kill them. However, there was part of him that was forming another plan much better than the original one of just slaying them.

  “Go along with me when we get there. We will end their hopes in one quick moment.” Colin said to her as they got closer to her parents.

  She nodded her head in agreement. “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”

  They got there and he helped her off the horse. “Do you feel okay?” He asked her, seeing that her face was a little white.

  “I’m okay, just a little queasy.” She admitted.

  He knocked on the door and saw the shocked look on her father’s face to see them standing there.

  “Oh I know you weren’t expecting us right? Just let us in, because I don’t think you want your neighbors to hear what I have to say to you.” Colin stated firmly.

  Sarah watched as her father turned red and then white, he backed away from the door letting them inside. As they walked in her mother came walking into the front room.

  “Oh you made it, nice to see you.” She quickly caught herself.

  “Save it mother. We know.” Sarah said.

  Colin grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She shut up quickly and let him take over.

  “I want you both to know that I came here with every intention of simply killing you. However, I thought of something much better.” Colin began.

  He saw Sarah look at him a question in her eyes. From the corner of his eye he saw her father try to move for a weapon. Colin quickly drew his claymore out of the sheath. “Stop right there, or I will kill you.”

  Sarah’s father stopped. Colin moved him to the middle of the room. He went and grabbed the weapon and handed it to Sarah.

  “So you know I am not the king’s son. When you kidnapped my wife today and held her for ransom, you kidnapped an orphan’s wife. That’s right I have no money. Nothing, no connection to the king you thought you now had in your family. I’m not even related to him in anyway, he raised me like his son though.” Colin stated. “You’ve used your daughter.” He said pointing his sword at Sarah’s father. “And you abused her for years.” He said moving the sword in front of her mother. “The truth is I should kill you both. But I don’t want your blood on my hands. However, I can’t say the king will feel the same way when I tell him this news. So if I were you, I would leave the area, never contact us again. If I hear you tried, I’ll hunt you down and kill you for sure.” Colin said.

  He looked at Sarah out of the corner of his eye. “Is this okay with you?”

  “Yes that is fine.” Sarah agreed.

  “Now go, get out of here. You get a head start, that’s it. Once we leave I’m going straight to the king.”

  Sarah and Colin watched as the old couple scampered out the door. She could only hope that they would never be seen again.

  “Come on, let’s get home. After we talk to the king, I’m going to hold you all night long. I thought I lost you for good today.” Colin said.

  “I didn’t know if you were alive when he knocked you out.” Sarah hugged Colin tightly.

  “Shh, I’m fine and so are you. Let’s go.” Colin grabbed her and went out the door.

  THE END

  CHARMED BY SEAL

  Chapter 1

  India stands in front of her mirror, looking at this god awful green dress and wondering how she got herself into this. There is nothing that she won’t do for her friends, regardless of the sacrifice that comes from doing such a deed. She’s never been able to say no and that has gotten her into some insane situations.

  “I have to say that that dress is very fetching on you. You’re going to be one of my bridesmaids. I’m just worried that you’re going to take the attention away from me. I don’t need every guy panting after you. They’ll be undressing you with their eyes.”

  “I don’t think that you’re going to have any problem with the guys keeping their attention on you. Everybody is going to be amazingly mesmerized by your presence. That white dress is a stunner. It was lucky that we were able to find it in the madhouse. That sale was one for the record books. It was lucky that we had some kind of plan before going into that 50% off sale.” “I sometimes wonder why I get myself into things that I wouldn’t normally do for my own family. Julia is my best friend from high school. I was guilted into being one of her bridesmaids. This dress will keep me celibate for the duration of the wedding and reception.”

  “I hope so and you know how Bryan has a wandering eye. I’ll tell you a secret and it wasn’t him that I was most interested in. His brother has this charm that makes me want to drop my panties in his presence. This guy has everything going for him. He was recently shipped overseas and I haven’t seen him since the moment that he disembarked. I guess he’s going to be at the wedding. I just hope that I can keep it in my pants, long enough to say my vows.” India had heard Julia talk about the groom’s brother on occasion, but she never believed or took much stock in the rumors.

  She finally was able to take off the dress, feeling a little bit better and know that when she got into her customary black leather jacket that she would feel like herself again.

  “I know that I told you that it’s perfectly fine for you to come stag. I just wonder if you couldn’t wrangle up some kind of date. It will look strange for you to be there alone. Don’t worry; I’m not going to put any pressure on you. You did an amazing job on my bachelorette party. I can’t even tell you how impressed I was by that stripper. He could dance, but it wasn’t his moves that I was most interested in. I’m sure that everybody, including you noticed what he was packing in those tight little black briefs of his.

  “I did see what that stripper was equipped with. He was swinging it around like a baseball bat and then he disappeared with the bride to be into the other room. When they emerged, she was smiling, her hair ruffled and there was no doubt in my mind that something untoward had happened between the two of them. She never did speak of it, but maybe that was her final hurrah before attaching the old ball and chain.

  “I don’t think that we need to talk about that night. Let’s just say that things happened and we’ll leave it at that. I’m just glad that I finally found the man of my dreams and I only wish that everybody could be, as happy as I am. I’ve been looking for you, but your tastes are a little bit different than my other friends. You always seem to find fault with eve
rybody that I set you up with. I’m beginning to think that it’s a lost cause.” Julia had just taken off the dress, feeling like a princess in it, but now getting back to reality.

  Tomorrow was the big day and they were having it on a beach overlooking a cliff and the ocean. It was where they first met and she was going to enjoy that moment of complete wedded bliss.

  “I’ll be sure to be there early to pick you up tomorrow morning. We need to get you to the wedding on time. I’ve arranged for the hairstylist to meet us on the beach. Your favorite band from that pub crawl that you did with Brian is going to be playing your favorite song. It took a lot of convincing to get them to relinquish their hold on their own lyrics. I think we both know that money talks.” India had Raven black hair, stood at only 5’5, 110 pounds with most of that weight on her oversized melons.

  “Just be sure that you wrap those up tomorrow nice and tight. Your natural wonders are not exactly easy to ignore.” This was a contention between the two of them for some time. Julia was not, as blessed and even through augmentation, she was only comfortable with getting another cup size. She had her one feature that drew most men to her like a moth to a flame. Her legs went straight to heaven and there wasn’t a moment that went by that Brian didn’t continually express how lovely her legs were.

  “I’ll make sure that they are well concealed. I would hate to think that I was going to take away from your big day.” India had never been in the position of having a man down on his knees about to propose. She had them in that position, but only for going down on her.

  Julia was talking to the counter attendant. She took every opportunity to tell everybody that she was getting married, flashing that huge ring and lording it over others. India was happy for her, but she was also jealous and that green streak was causing her to feel like she wanted to lash out at someone. She was tempted to go to a bar and just get laid, but she didn’t think that that was the answer to her troubles.

  She climbed into her Jeep Renegade, a black shining piece of metal that she had given herself, as a gift when she became one of the most sought after wedding planners. She felt like Julia was taking advantage of her, but this was not uncommon in their relationship. It wasn’t just Julia and all of her friends seemed to see her, as somebody that they could walk over like a doormat.

  Perhaps they thought because of her Indian descent that she would bend over backwards and not ask for anything in return. What they didn’t know was that her Indian background was only in her dark features and her raven black hair.

  “I really don’t want to go to this thing. It’s bad enough that I have to see her happy, but to stand there and witness it is just going to be like putting the knife in just a little bit deeper. I always thought that I would be the one to find happiness. She was mean, she liked to put people down and for Brian to even consider her to be worthy of marriage is beyond me.” She gunned the engine, feeling the weight of the world fall from her shoulders with the wind blowing through her hair.

  India had never been to her namesake, from which she was named after. She was born right here in Chicago and your parents had adopted her when she was just a baby. She was never much into her own culture, until she was old enough to start to research it on her own. Her primarily white parents did their best to raise her with a set of values, but they also made her feel that she was different.

  As she was driving away, she knew that the escape onto the road was just a momentary reprieve. The circus that was going to occur tomorrow was making her head spin. The bride had, so many requests that it was almost hard to keep up with them. On any given day in the last nine months, there were changes to be made at a drop of a dime. She hardly had any time to herself, except for when she was working on other people’s happy days. She still didn’t understand how she got caught up in this profession, but it seemed to follow her wherever she went.

  India had a sense of style, knew that she could make that perfect day into something that would last forever. After her first one, as a gift to one of her friends, word of mouth got out pretty quickly and she was soon inundated with, so much work that she had no problem quitting her day job at a call center.

  “I’m always around people that are finding that one true love, but I’m left out in the cold looking in. I just don’t think I can take this much longer. I like the money and I like the people, but this is weighing me down like an anchor around my neck. I just want to find a good guy that takes my breath away. I don’t think that’s, so hard or unreasonable.”

  Chapter 2

  The big day had arrived and everybody had smiles on their faces, even though they probably really didn’t want to be here.

  “Get away from me. You’re making it worse. If you don’t stop touching me, then I’m going to hurt you.” India was standing here watching Amber perform her magic on her highness. “You’re not doing it right. I told you exactly what I wanted.” This girl was really getting on India’s nerves and she had no desire to stand there and watch this verbal abuse take place.

  Slipping out, she found herself breathing a sigh of relief. She knew that it was only short lived and that she would be called upon once again to put out a fire that was made by Julia. They were like sisters, but like sisters they had this rivalry that continued to follow them around like a dark cloud.

  “I know that she can be a handful, India. We’ve all been friends with her for long enough to know how she is. This will be the last one that you have to do for any of your friends. We’re all married now and I’m expecting my second one.” Lacy had always seen India, as the black sheep of this little group.

  “Don’t remind me. I’ve seen you marry the man of your dreams, and then find that family that you’ve been looking for. In must be nice, considering that you came from a broken home.” “I don’t want to be a bitch, but if she was going to take off the gloves and make me feel smaller than an ant, then I wasn’t just going to stand here and let her do that to me. I was never one to speak up, but I was getting a little sick and tired of playing second fiddle.”

  “I never meant anything by it, India. There’s no reason to get angry with me.” India was happy that she had finally taken a stand, but it did make her hand shake. Everybody had their breaking point and apparently hers was this wedding. Looking around, India knew that today was the last day. She still had to contend with those that were her clients, but at the very least all of her friends would never ask her of this favor again. That is of course if they were able to keep their marriages alive. She had seen Lucy and she did not look happy and there was no sign of Nicholas.

  She found out through the Grapevine that Nicholas was a bit of a cheater. He liked to find those little Asian girls that were old enough for consent. He had this sickness that grabbed him by the throat and wouldn’t let go. At first, she was forgiving, but after several times of falling off the wagon, she finally called it quits. They were separated and India was about to go over and talk to her, when she spied on a young man with this look in his eyes.

  He was standing there with a flute of champagne in his hands, while fidgeting with the red tie around his neck like a noose. She felt the same way about the green dress and everything in her wanted to rip it off her body and walk around stark raving naked.

  “I don’t have time to socialize and Julia is going to want my undivided attention. It’s just that he seems to be lonely and it doesn’t hurt that he’s fucking easy on the eyes. The boy could take me for a ride and come back for seconds any day of the week.”

  “I know that it’s boring, but you don’t have to make it look like you’re going to the gallows.” The man in question turned his eyes on India. Billy thought that today was going to be one of those days. He didn’t want to be here and felt more comfortable in the jungle with a gun on his shoulder than standing here trying to make idle chitchat with anybody that had decided to walk into his gravity. “I’m guessing that this isn’t your first one.”

  “No, I’ve been through this a couple of times
with my brothers. Coming from a big family, I have to constantly hear about their happiness. I think that’s one of the reasons why I enlisted, just so that I could get away from that feeling of being unwanted. It doesn’t help when your parents are constantly asking you when you are going to get married and have grandchildren.” He purposely brushed his hands along the back of her dress, feeling the ruffles and also getting a nice handful.

  “I don’t think that’s appropriate.” She said the word, but the meaning was not exactly as planned. She shivered to his touch, wondering if he would take it any further than a casual grope.

  “I really don’t care if it’s appropriate or not. If that dress was any longer, I would climb up underneath it and give you something to smile about. You’re the only bright spot in this entire ordeal. That dress might be hideous, but I can see underneath it that there is a real woman crying to get out.” He could see that she was well endowed and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her the entire time that she was standing in front of him.

  “I really don’t think that him ogling me is the right thing to be happening today. I just can’t walk away. I feel exposed and vulnerable and I think I like it. There’ve been a lot of guys that have decided to come onto me, only to feel my hot hand slapping across their face. He’s different and I would give anything to peel away those clothes and get a look at the real man underneath.”

  “I understand that you’re bored, but that’s no reason to treat me like a piece of meat. I think there is something to say for a little bit of respect. You know what they say about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar.” She saw this fire in his eyes, something that was making her feel like he was going to attack her at any second.

  “You’re right, I am bored out of my damn mind and I can’t take it anymore. I need something to alleviate the feeling of doing nothing. I’m just not used to standing around and twiddling my thumbs and sticking my head in the sand. I’m used to action. If you knew anything about me at all, you’d know that I’ve had my fair share of conquests. My brother might be getting married, but I think we both know that he’s really not gonna find his happily ever after. Julia is a nice girl and all, but I don’t think that he can handle her. She’s going to be the bane of his existence. She’ll constantly be leading him around by the nose and making him pay for things that he can’t possibly afford.” Billy grabbed her hand and placed it up against his Johnson, letting her feel what god had given him. It was not all that difficult for him to find out that she was interested. Her words might have said differently, but that hand now massaging his length was definitely sending another signal altogether.