“Stay with me. Hold me.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, just until I fall asleep, please,” she begged, trying to get herself under control.
“Okay.” Keeping hold of her with one hand, he edged them closer to the fire, leaned down, picked up a chunk of wood and threw it on the embers. Likewise, a second and a third piece. “That should keep us going until morning.”
He smoothed out the rumpled bedroll, lowered her on to it and joined her. “Just until you go to sleep, darlin’, all right?”
She cuddled close to him, immediately feeling the heat of his body, his hard strength, which gave her the confidence to close her eyes. “Thank you, Finn. I know I’m making things hard for you, but….”
“You’re not wrong there, lady.” His heart thudded against her breast, strong, somehow reassuring. Her last thought was, if only she could fall asleep in his arms every night.
Chapter Nine
Finn woke up to a dull early morning and lay for a moment, savoring Mary’s nearness. In the cold light of day, what he had been thinking might be possible, was impossible and he was crazy to be contemplating it. Mary needed someone better than him.
With a regretful sigh, he eased himself away from her and stood, making sure to pull the blanket over her. The fire was a bed of glowing embers, just enough for their coffee and beans.
He stretched his arms above his head and turned his head from side to side to remove the crick in his neck. He hated feeling so dirty and disheveled, but it would be even worse for a woman.
Even in its semi-burned condition, the wagon had been neatly packed by someone fastidious; so it stood to reason she would be even more concerned about personal cleanliness than him. He could not even offer her water to wash her hands and face in.
He glanced over at her and she looked so lovely it near broke his heart. What they had shared last night, little though it was, would have to last him a lifetime. He would give Maverick a couple of handfuls of oats from his fast diminishing stock. It was the best he could do. Closer to Calico Corner, there would be plenty of green grass for him.
He picked up his saddlebags and took them outside. Maverick nickered a welcome. “Well, pardner, this is the last part of our trip. A nice stable at the livery tonight, if you behave yourself, then it’s off after Clampett. Sheriff Tyson will know whether he’s been caught or not.”
He was looking forward to a nice, soft bed himself at Ethel’s, not to mention her fine home cooking. What he really dreaded was leaving Mary behind.
“Finn.”
“I’m here, darlin’, just saddling Maverick and giving him a few oats.”
“You left me.” She stumbled up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her face against his back.
Finn liked having her close but knew he shouldn’t. “I had to get things ready for us to leave once we finished eating.” It was all he could think to say to get them back on a more casual footing.
Mary returned inside and rolled up his bedroll in readiness for their departure.
***
Six hours after leaving the shack, they rode down the main street of Calico Corner. Mary was slumped against Finn, who stared straight ahead without speaking. He returned the nods of a couple of people and ignored everyone else. Mary was shocked when a woman glanced accusingly at them, then rudely turned her back.
They passed by the Calico Corner saloon, where a drunken cowboy slouched against the wall near the batwing doors. “Got yourself a woman, Bounty Hunter.”
Finn’s body stiffened as the man stumbled toward them.
“Did you have to bash her up to get her to co-operate?”
“Shut up,” Finn snarled. “Or I’ll shut your mouth with a bullet.”
“Ignore him,” Mary urged, trying not to cringe at a few of the disparaging looks cast their way.
“I’ll take you to Ethel’s first, then call in on the sheriff and find out if there’s any news on Clampett. I want that vicious varmint.”
“For the money.”
“Yes, and to see he pays for what he did to your father.”
“Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord,” Mary quoted the words at him.
“No, Mary, in this case it’s mine.”
Finn turned Maverick down a side street leading to another street where a few houses and a couple of stores were situated.
“That’s Ethel’s place.” He pointed to a neat, cream-colored house with pale green window shutters. A couple of large trees sheltered the porch.
Mary thought it looked too pretty to be in a western town. She glanced further down the street and spotted the steeple of a white church. It would not be Lutheran, but God’s house was God’s house, no matter what the denomination, as her father always used to say.
Finn swung from the saddle and lifted her down with the easy grace she so admired. She clutched at his chest to stop her stiff legs from buckling under her.
“Stamp your feet a few times to get the circulation going. I’ll take you in to Ethel.”
“You won’t sneak off on me?”
“No, I want to see Sam, the sheriff, then get Maverick to the livery stable. He deserves a nice, warm stall and a good rub down, not to mention a feed.” He patted the horse’s sweating neck before tying him to a hitching rail in the front yard.
“You promise to come back?”
“Yes. I want to spend the night in a nice, comfortable bed. We’ve both earned a little pampering and Ethel is just the woman to give it to us.”
He removed his saddlebags, untied his bedroll and the blanket-covered quilt, and stepped past her to open the gate. They had barely reached the front door when it swung open and a small, birdlike woman with grey hair and twinkling blue eyes greeted them.
“Well, Finn Muir, what brings you here?”
“Your cooking, Ethel, what else?”
She laughed. “And your friend. My dear, you look exhausted.”
“This is Mary Schultz, the Lutheran….”
“Pastor’s daughter. I remember someone telling me you had passed through. What happened? Oh, you poor dear. Call me Ethel and do come in. So thoughtless of me prattling away when you look so exhausted.”
“Thank you, Ethel.” Briefly Finn explained what had happened to her.
“How shocking, a creature like that doesn’t deserve to live. He bashed you as well, by the looks of your face.”
Once they entered a nicely furnished sitting room with a large fireplace and fancy over-mantel, Mary felt even more filthy and disheveled.
“Is my room still available?”
“Of course, it is, Finn. I would never let that out to anyone else. It will be too small for both….”
“Mary needs a room, too.”
“Finnigan Muir, you are going to do the right thing by Mary, aren’t you? Do sit down, my dear, you look ready to collapse.”
“Thank you, I feel too dirty to sit on your pretty chairs, maybe in the kitchen….”
“Sit down, I insist. Now, Finn.”
“Well, I, um.”
“I want him to marry me, but he refuses. Nothing happened between us, but I’ve developed feelings for him, but he doesn’t like me.”
“I do like you, more than like if I was truthful, but marriage to me? You saw what happened when we rode into town. You deserve better than me. I’ve got nothing to offer you.”
“You’ve got your heart,” Ethel said. “And that’s enough to start with. I’ve got the kettle on the boil. Coffee, Mary?”
“Tea, please, if you’ve got it.” She instantly liked this friendly lady.
“I drink tea myself, dear, we’ll share a pot. I can’t get Finn to give up his coffee.” She bustled off.
“What a kind lady. I like her.”
“Ethel and Sam are good people who will look out for you.”
“I know.” It’s you I want, but you don’t want me. It was as simple as that. She had asked him to marry her. Well, begged was more like it.<
br />
He stood staring down at her, gnawing his lower lip, as if deciding what to do. “I haven’t got much to offer you, Mary,” he finally said. “Except my heart like Ethel said. Will you be my wife?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She jumped up and flung herself in his arms and the pain in her face as it bumped against his chest was obliterated by happiness.
“You didn’t let me finish.” He grinned. “That was easier than I thought.”
Ethel returned with a wooden food trolley containing cups, saucers, a tea pot and a coffee pot in white china with pink rosebuds sprinkled on it and a plate of cookies.
“I’ve put extra water on to boil, Mary. I’m sure you must be dying for a bath.”
“Oh, yes, please. I have never felt so dirty and bedraggled in my whole life.”
“I did it,” Finn suddenly said.
“Did what?” Ethel poured out the tea.
“I asked Mary to marry me.”
“Congratulations. Marriage is a wonderful institution that neither of you will regret.”
“When?” Ethel’s eyes gleamed.
“I don’t know. It depends on what Sam has to tell me.”
“You will marry this girl before you hightail it out of town, or my name is not Ethel Victoria Tyson.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I need to speak to Sam and find out about….”
“He wants to go after that horrid Clampton man.”
“He killed your father in cold-blood, Mary, not to mention two prison guards.”
“You haven’t heard.” Ethel handed Finn his coffee. “He killed a rancher, his wife and two children a couple of days ago.”
“What!” Finn’s mouth tightened.
“For a couple of horses.”
Mary’s hands shook so much that some of her tea slopped into the saucer. “The man is a fiend.”
“He has to be stopped,” Finn said with a determined jut to his jaw, “And I probably know him better than any man alive.”
“And the five-hundred-dollar reward?” Mary shot the words out.
“It’s a thousand dollars now,” Ethel said. “That man can’t be allowed to go around killing people. Apparently, he violated the woman before he killed her.”
Mary shuddered. That could have been her.
After drinking his coffee and eating a cookie, Finn stood. “Thanks Ethel, I enjoyed that. I need to see Sam. I’ll take my clean clothes with me, then I’ll go straight to the barber and have a bath and a shave. I shouldn’t be too long, darlin’.” He kissed Mary on the lips and strode off.
“Finish your tea, my dear, then I’ll help you take a bath. I can check your injuries, too. I used to be a nurse. My father was a doctor in England. From what I can see, Finn has done a good job on you. If I think you need to see Doc Peters, I can get him to come over.”
“Thank you, Ethel, you’ve been so kind to me. Finn said you and your husband were good people and he didn’t exaggerate.”
“I took an instant liking to you, Mary, the same when we first met Finn. He’s a good man who is loyal, conscientious and smart, considering his upbringing. He will be a loving, caring husband, even though you might have to smooth his rough edges a little.” She laughed. “A clever wife can always do that without her man ever knowing it.”
“I knew he was a good man and felt a….well, a connection I suppose, the first time I….”
“Saw him?” Ethel laughed.
“No, I didn’t see him, my eyes were swollen shut. His voice, or maybe it was his touch, I don’t know,” she mused. “It was nearly two days before I could see him.”
“You like what you saw?”
“Yes, underneath the dust and beard I did.”
“Come along, my dear, we’ll get you into the bath.”
Mary stood, having a bath would be lovely, even if she had no clean clothes to change into.
“We have a special bathing room and I’ve got cold water piped in from outside, so I only have to carry in the hot water.”
“Oh, that would be so good. For a short time, Father was the pastor at a place once that had indoor plumbing. It was such a luxury.”
She followed Ethel into a room that had once been part of the back porch by the looks of it. Her gaze became fixed on the large hip bath. A waist high dresser with several drawers took up almost the whole of one wall.
“I keep my towels and soap in there. Now, to get you in the bath.” Ethel leaned over and turned on the tap.
Mary watched the water pour out. How much easier than carting water in a bucket.
“I’ll get the hot water now.”
“I could carry it for you.”
“No, you have a sore arm. I suggest you keep it out of the water, and Mary, I hope you don’t mind, but as we’re not much different in size, I think you should borrow some clothes from me. Yours are more than a little soiled.”
“A little soiled, they’re filthy.” A tear trickled out of the corner of her eyes. “With my father gone, I’ve only got Finn now.”
“Sam will like you as much as I do, never fear my dear. You have come to a good place.”
After the water was at the temperature Ethel thought appropriate, she helped Mary undress and get into the bath. The moment the warm water touched her skin she let out a sigh. “Oh, this is just what I needed.”
Ethel gently washed her burned arm and the bruising around her face. “My goodness, you did make a mess of yourself. Finn did a good job. I don’t think there’s any need for you to see the doctor.”
Mary shuddered in remembrance.
“Lucky it was Finn who found you and not that evil creature. God was looking out for you that day.”
“I know, and he sent me a guardian angel.”
After Ethel washed her hair, she left, saying over one shoulder, “You soak there for a little while longer, it will relax you. I’ve got an errand to run. You’ll be safe here.”
“Thank you. I will never be able to repay you for your kindness.” Mary closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her, easing the stiffness of her limbs and cleansing her spirit.
Chapter Ten
By the time Ethel bustled back inside, the water was getting cool. The woman’s face was wreathed in smiles.
“You look pleased with yourself.”
“I’ve been organizing a wedding.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Preacher Stuart is coming here at five o’clock to perform the ceremony.”
“But….”
“No buts. Men need to be pushed into getting these things done sometimes, especially a man like Finn who has been alone for so long, and I’m just the woman to do it.” She laughed.
Ethel Tyson was like a mini tornado the way she swept things along. She held up a huge white towel, and feeling hot with embarrassment because of her naked state, Mary climbed out of the bath. It was rather nice having someone fussing over her for a change, and Ethel was obviously a woman who never took no for an answer.
The undergarments she provided were a reasonable fit, as was the blue, fine wool dress, with deeper blue velvet trim around the sleeves and neckline.
“Now, dear, sit by the fire and rest. I know a man who is going to get quite a surprise when he sees you. We’ll have a cup of tea while we wait. Finn is calling into the barber for a bath and a shave, now that he’s seen Sam and the horse is all bedded down.”
“How do you know all this?” Ethel’s quick-fire actions were inclined to make Mary’s head spin, but she felt so much better. What a difference a bath and clean clothes had made. A lot of her aches and pains had subsided, also. Would Finn be pleased at the difference in her appearance?
Ethel returned with two cups of tea and couple of slices of cake. Ginger, or perhaps cinnamon, by the smell of them.
“Now, Mary, we need to talk before the men return.”
“We do?” Heat rushed into her face. Was Ethel going to tell her what to expect from a husband on her wedding night?
She felt as if her whole body was flushed with embarrassment.
“You do realize Finn has to go after this Clampett fiend.”
“I….”
“Don’t make it hard for him to leave, Mary. He knows the countryside better than any man around here. If anyone can catch Clampett, it’s Finn. The man has to be stopped before anyone else gets hurt.”
Mary wrung her hands. “Why Finn?”
“Because he’s the best man for the job. God has seen fit, with a little help from me,” she squeezed Mary’s hand. “For you to have a honeymoon night together. It’s more than what a lot of women get.”
“I know. I shouldn’t be so selfish, but I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
“You make the night the best of Finn’s life. It will help sustain him and make him even more careful than what he normally is. You and I can pray for his return in time for Christmas dinner. All the trimmings. A real, traditional English Christmas meal. I know Christmas Eve is important to the Lutheran church. They always have a lovely service at the church, with a beautiful nativity play put on by the children. Maybe you could make apple strudel for supper afterward.”
“That sounds good. There are quite a few German delicacies I could make. Father was born here in America of German parentage.”
“You know, Mary. With a little luck it might even snow. Now, I’ve got a beef roast that needs to be put on for supper. We can have it with roast vegetables and greens. I’ll make an apple sponge pudding.”
“Do you cook a lot of English dishes?”
“Yes, both my parents were English and brought all their customs with them. I was born here, but as you know, we do seem to cook what our mothers did.”
“Yes, my mother came out from Germany as a child, so I know what you’re saying. I think it’s good to mix the cultures, taking a little from each one and molding them into something special.”
“Exactly, dear. Sam is a descendant of a man who fought with George Washington, so he is a true American.”
“Really?”
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