Taming Eliza Jane (Gardiner, Texas Book 1)

by Shannon Stacey

  “That’s wonderful! And look how well you and the others keep up this big house. You can cook and clean and anything else you need to do. Being a prostitute is just one of the things you do. It’s not who you are.”

  “Well, I hear tell you’re leaving because you won’t marry Doc on account of you being a women’s libber. How is that different from me not marrying Dan on account of being a whore?”

  Eliza Jane drew her hands back, shocked. “That’s… It’s an entirely different situation.”

  How on earth had Sadie heard about Will’s ultimatum? She supposed he might have told Adam, but Sadie wasn’t likely to have heard it from him considering the way he avoided the Coop as a rule.

  Then she realized what a ridiculous train of thought that was. In Gardiner, everybody knew everybody’s business.

  “It ain’t no different,” Sadie insisted.

  “It is,” Eliza Jane said, perhaps a little more abruptly than she’d intended. “Prostitution was your job. The liberation of woman is my life philosophy. It colors everything I think and do and say. It’s a part of who I am.”

  “Fancy words just confuse me, Mrs. Carter. You think women should be treated decent. I sleep with men for money. I think it’s pretty plain which of us makes for a better wife.”

  “Slept, Sadie. You slept with men for money in the past.” She didn’t want to talk about Will and marriage. “You can start a whole new life—be a wife and mother, and help Dan run the hotel.”

  “Fiona said I do have a strong background in hospitality,” Sadie said, and they both laughed, though not for long.

  “It don’t matter now, anyway,” Sadie continued. “I told him we’d wait ‘til Miss Rebecca comes and then we’ll see. If after waiting and listening to the townsfolk jaw about it, he still wants to marry me, I probably will.”

  “I hope you do. When a man is willing to defy the entire town by marrying a prostitute carrying a child who might not be his, that speaks to a pretty powerful love. Don’t dismiss that too readily.”

  “I reckon a man wanting to marry a woman who can’t cook, gets drunk in saloons and makes an entire townful of men so mad they could spit speaks to a mighty powerful love, too.”

  Heat prickled around Eliza Jane’s collar. “We’re not talking about me.”

  “Well, we wasn’t, but now we are.” Sadie leaned back in her chair and folded her hands over her softly-rounded belly.

  “I’d never make a good doctor’s wife.”

  “I reckon everybody knows that, especially the doc. But it’s just like you said about Dan falling in love with a whore and not a perfect wife. Doc Martinson fell in love with a women’s libber, and not a perfect wife.”

  Eliza Jane was horrified to find her vision blurring from tears. “I’m afraid, Sadie.”

  “I’ve known Doc for years, Mrs. Carter, and he wouldn’t ever hurt a woman.”

  “Not afraid of him. I’m afraid of…having it all turn bad. I know he loves me, and I love him. And we had our own independence while still having each other and it was working. What if becoming man and wife ruins that? I was a wife once, and it made me desperately unhappy.”

  “The way I see it,” Sadie said, “is that the man made you unhappy, not the marriage. You ain’t never been Doc’s wife, but being his woman sure has made you happy, hasn’t it?”

  Eliza Jane smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You’re a wise woman, Sadie.”

  “No, I just ain’t real smart, so I don’t overthink things the way you do.”

  How could a woman not overthink something like marriage? Willingly handing over the kind of authority to a man was something women didn’t think about enough, in her opinion.

  “Will loves you,” Sadie said softly. “He could have his pick of any woman in Gardiner—or in any other town—and he chose you.”

  “I’m leaving today, and some day when Will has a nice wife and a pack of children, he’ll thank me for it.”

  Sadie stood and shook her head. “Hell, maybe I am smarter than you. But I don’t want us arguin’ on your last day. Us chickens made you a goodbye present. Wait here.”

  She went down the hall and came back a moment later carrying the ugliest—and yet most beautiful—scarf Eliza Jane had ever seen.

  “We all knitted on it,” Sadie said, handing it to her.

  She could see that. Fiona’s tight, determined stitches. Sadie’s rows, which varied in length as she randomly dropped or added stitches. Betty knit so loosely her rows had an almost lace-like quality, and Holly seemed to purl accidently quite often. And it was bright red.

  Eliza Jane pressed it to her face, inhaling the lingering perfumed scents of these fallen women as if she could keep them with her forever.

  “We figured you might end up someplace cold, and we wanted to keep you warm.”

  Eliza Jane’s raw eyes burned and she threw her arms around Sadie. “It’s the most precious gift I’ve ever received. I’m going to miss you ladies so much. I…I have to go.”

  After one final squeeze, she looped the scarf around her neck, grabbed the picnic basket and left the whorehouse for the last time.

  The rain had dwindled down, and Dan had set her trunk and valise out in front of the post office to await the stagecoach. It was almost time, so Eliza Jane sat on the trunk to wait. She’d said the goodbyes she could say.

  She hadn’t seen Will since he’d delivered his ultimatum in the sheriff’s office, and she had nearly convinced herself it was for the best. But she couldn’t stop thinking about him as the time drew near to leave.

  He’d been right about not trying to change her. He hadn’t interfered with her meetings, or with her working at the livery stable. He hadn’t paved her way in Gardiner, but let her find her own way. He not only loved her, but he had respected her, as well.

  And as she remembered how Sadie had thrown her own words back at her, Eliza Jane wondered if she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

  A memory rose unbidden in her mind of the first time Will made love to her. Tell me what it feels like, darlin’.

  It feels so…right.

  Everything about Will Martinson felt right. It was she herself who was wrong.

  Will could see the post office from his window, and even though he’d told himself he wouldn’t, he found himself drawn to it as the time for the stage drew near.

  She looked so so sad—so alone—sitting on her trunk, and he wanted to go to her like he’d never wanted anything else in his life. But it wouldn’t do any good. She had made her choice, and he wouldn’t plead with her in the middle of the street no matter how much he wanted to.

  He’d stayed away from her since their last discussion in Adam’s office. Not only because he wanted her decision to be made of her own free will, but because he was weak.

  He may have thrown down the gauntlet, so to speak, but he was afraid if she pushed the subject, he’d let things go on just to keep from losing her. When he was close to her, he had more than a little trouble thinking straight.

  But when he was away from her, that was when the frustration set in. He was tired of scheming up reasons to be alone with her. Giving her a smile and a nod when he passed her on the street wasn’t enough for him. He wanted all of her, for better or worse. And so he’d stayed away from her.

  The rain picked up just as he heard the pounding of hooves and rattling of harness that signaled the stagecoach, and he pressed his hand to the glass as she stood and picked up her valise.

  Don’t go, darlin’.

  The stage rolled to a stop, blocking his view, but still Will stood and watched. He could see it rock as the passengers disembarked for a short break. The minutes ticked by endlessly, and then the stagecoach shifted again as the passengers climbed back aboard.

  Only this time the woman he loved would be among them, and when the driver cracked his whip and the horses started to move, he wanted to run out into the street and hold onto it, dragging his heels in the dirt to slow it down.
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  But he just watched, silent and heartbroken as the stage gathered momentum and moved on down the street. He tried to look into the window—just one last glimpse of her—but the curtain was down. When the stagecoach was totally out of sight, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the glass until he thought maybe he’d kept the tears at bay.

  When he opened them again and looked back at the post office, he saw her. She was still sitting on the trunk, a red scarf around her neck. Tears streamed down her face with the rain, and she was watching him.

  He’d known this woman too long to feel safe being hopeful, but he couldn’t help it. He damn near ripped the door off its hinges getting out of his office, and she was on her feet, too.

  Mud in the street sucked at his boots as he crossed the street, and she met him halfway. She was rain-soaked, crying and smelled like wet wool and cheap perfume, but when she threw herself into his arms, he didn’t care.

  He held her hard and long, and he wasn’t ever going to let her go. He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Hellfire, woman. Are you trying to make me crazy?”

  She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. “I love you, Will.”

  He used his thumbs to brush her wet hair from her face, then tipped her chin up. “I told you if you stay, you have to marry me.”

  “And I stayed.”

  “Are you sure, because I can’t go through this again.”

  “I am. Are you sure you won’t wake up some morning and not want me anymore?”

  “Oh, darlin’, is that what’s been going on in that head of yours?” He cupped her face in his hands. “How can you be sure you won’t wake up some morning and not want me?”

  “I’ll never stop wanting you, Will.”

  “I’ll always want you, too, Eliza Jane. I’m never going to let you go.”

  He kissed her thoroughly, standing there in the rain in the middle of the muddy street, and he didn’t stop until he heard Adam clearing his throat.

  “You people are disturbing the peace.” Sure enough, a crowd was gathering. “And I ain’t taking the Bible whacking for this, Doc. You wanna kiss your woman in the mud, you can dodge the brimstone your own self.”

  “We’re getting married!” Eliza Jane shouted to the entire town and a cheer rose up around them.

  Before his woman could be set upon by a flock of shrieking chickens, Will leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Maybe they’ll even write songs about the day the women’s libber vowed to love, honor and obey her man in front of God and Gardiner, Texas.”

  Epilogue

  “Push, Eliza Jane!”

  She groaned and pushed, putting her whole body into before she had to stop and pant some more. “This is all your fault, Will Martinson, so why don’t you push for a while?”

  “Now, darlin’, you know I have to stay at this end and pull.”

  Eliza Jane had no intention of forgiving Will for this anytime soon, and she’d been telling him just that for the past two hours. Sweat had plastered loose strands of hair to her face, and the ache in her body was growing too persistent to ignore. She was hot and tired, and didn’t want to do this anymore.

  “I quit,” she declared with a note of finality.

  “Darlin’, you can’t quit. Just a few more pushes and it’ll come out.”

  “You put it in there. You pull it out.”

  Will stood up straight and put his hands on his hips. “It was your idea to come with me, so it’s your fault I took the buggy.”

  Eliza Jane waved her hand at the mud caused by a sudden and fierce thunderstorm. The mud had the buggy stuck fast right up to the axles. “It wasn’t my idea to drive though that.”

  “If you had stayed home, I’d have been riding. I was just checking on the boy’s fever.”

  “We agreed going with you was a good way to meet more people and get them to like me, and the women almost always have questions for me they were too shy to ask you.”

  “Just push a little more.”

  “No.”

  Will took off his hat and slapped it against his thigh. “Woman, you are no end of trouble. Hellfire, just two weeks ago you promised God you’d obey me.”

  Eliza Jane smiled, even though the mud was now seeping over the tops of her boots. “No, I promised God I’d love and honor you. I had my fingers crossed for the obey part.”

  “Well, that explains the lightening.” Will put his hat back on and returned to considering the buggy. “We’ll never get it out in time to meet the stagecoach, and according to the telegram from Rebecca, she’s going to be on it today.”

  “Maybe I should have stayed in town,” she admitted reluctantly. “Adam’s going to do a poor job of telling that girl her aunt left her a whorehouse.”

  “We’ll have to ride the horse back to town and come back for the buggy with some mules later. It won’t be comfortable without the saddle, but I don’t aim to sleep in that buggy tonight.”

  A few minutes later they were heading for town, Eliza Jane seated in front of Will. He was right about it not being overly comfortable, so she leaned back against him, trying to shift herself a bit.

  “You keep squirming like that, darlin’, and you’re going to get me all riled up. Again.” Eliza Jane laughed and deliberately squirmed a little to the left. “Keep it up and, without the padding of a saddle, I’ll wind up crippled forever.”

  “That’s a shame. If we could go a little faster, we might have time to share a bath before the stagecoach arrives.”

  He nuzzled the back of her neck. “With that fruity bath oil that makes your skin all slick and soft?”

  Good Lord, she loved being this man’s wife. “I do have some of that left.”

  Will groaned and she felt his thigh flex as he gave the horse a little kick. “I reckon we could ride a little faster.”

  Eliza Jane laughed again as her husband wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her still. “Giddy up, Doc.”

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shannon Stacey is the author of over two dozen romance novels and novellas, including her popular Kowalski series. She has been nominated for an RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award twice, and was named to a Publishers Weekly Top 10: Romance list in 2013. Shannon lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two sons.

  To learn more about Shannon, please visit her website at http://shannonstacey.com and to have information about her new releases delivered to your inbox, please subscribe to her newsletter using the link at her website or click here. She also loves talking to readers by way of her Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage and Twitter: http://twitter.com/shannonstacey.

  Also by Shannon Stacey

  To see the complete list of titles by Shannon Stacey, visit the Books tab on her website, shannonstacey.com, or click here.

  The Boston Fire Series

  A contemporary romance series about tough, dedicated (and sexy) firefighters!

  Heat Exchange – Book 1

  Controlled Burn – Book 2

  Fully Ignited – Book 3

  The Boys of Fall Series

  A contemporary romance series about going home again.

  Under The Lights – Book 1

  Defending Hearts – Book 2

  Homecoming – Book 3

  The Kowalski Series

  A contemporary romance series full of family, fun and falling in love.

  Exclusively Yours – Book 1

  Undeniably Yours – Book 2

  Yours To Keep – Book 3

  All He Ever Needed – Book 4

  All He Ever Desired – Book 5

  All He Ever Dreamed – Book 6

  Alone With You – Novella 6.5

  Love A Little Sideways – Book 7

  Taken With You – Book 8

  Falling For Max – Book 9

  The Devlin Group Series

  This action-adventure romance series follows the men and women of the Devlin Group, a
privately owned rogue agency unhindered by red tape and jurisdiction.

  72 Hours – Book 1

  On The Edge – Book 2

  No Surrender – Book 3

  No Place To Hide – Book 4

  Christmas Novellas

  Holiday Sparks

  Mistletoe & Margaritas

  Snowbound With the CEO

  Her Holiday Man

  In the Spirit

  Historical Westerns

  Taming Eliza Jane – Book 1

  Becoming Miss Becky – Book 2

  Also Available

  A Fighting Chance

  Heart of the Storm

  Slow Summer Kisses

  Kiss Me Deadly

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  Read on for the first chapter of Becoming Miss Becky, available now.

  “The Chicken Coop? Aunt Adele willed me a poultry house?”

  Sheriff Adam Caldwell looked down at the woman who’d recently disembarked from the stagecoach and scratched the back of his neck. “Well, not exactly, ma’am.”

  She looked back at him with eyes the color of strong chicory coffee. “What exactly is it, then?”

  He blew out a breath, considering how best to tell her. Not being much of a conversationalist, he usually left things like this—things not involving shooting folks—to his deputy, Will Martinson. Unfortunately, Will was also the town doctor and he’d been called away for a fever, leaving Adam to meet the stage and Miss Adele’s niece.

  Rebecca Hamilton was a mousy little thing, the top of her head barely reaching his armpit. She wore a plain dress in an ugly gray color, and had light blonde hair pulled back into a knot so tight he was surprised it didn’t pull her eyes closed. She was dainty, but possessed of plain features and very pale skin. Her eyes, though, those could drown a man.

  “Sheriff Caldwell, I don’t mean to sound rude or ungrateful for your time, but I am utterly exhausted. As you may imagine, the trip from Springfield, Massachusetts to Gardiner, Texas is quite grueling. I would like to settle this business so I can visit my aunt’s final resting place before retiring.”