Western Ways

by Tysche Dwai

  Grace grinned and thought how sweet the two of them were together, wondering what it would be like breakfasting with John every day. The thought filled her with sadness as she would have only one more day with him for she secured tickets for Monday’s leaving. She decided then she’d change them for she knew she owed John much for saving her life, and coming to her aid. She’d stay a month, she decided. Heaven help her, would she want to leave though, at the end?

  John arrived by noon to escort her to the church. As he guided the horse pulling the wagon down the street, she caught him glancing at her often. He looked especially handsome in a navy serge suit, white starched shirt and matching tie around his neck. She sighed, wondering how she could make him a permanent part of her life, half tempted to ask him to go to San Francisco with her, though San Francisco didn’t seem quite as appealing as it had in the past. Why couldn’t she make a home for them here in Bozeman? She could write anywhere in the world if she wanted to—why not Bozeman?

  Opportunity, she reminded herself. San Francisco was the city her aunt and brother had convinced her would be the place for them. Besides, other than the fact John needed her to save his position, he hadn’t declared himself to her in any way. For all she knew, he despised her and kept the fact well hidden due to his upbringing.

  But then she thought how often his sincere, warm eyes settled on her, thought of how she’d made him laugh, and knew he was far from indifferent to her. She looked up at him then when he covered her hand with one of his.

  “Nervous?” he asked.

  She smiled. “A bit, I suppose, like any bride.”

  “You are far from being just any bride, you’re my bride.”

  “Temporarily,” she reminded him.

  He looked away but not before she caught the irritated look in his eyes. She found herself staring at his profile. How he’d said those words, his voice laced with possession—his bride! Shivers of delight slid down her spine for she found she enjoyed his possessive tone. Was it possible he wanted her as much as she wanted him? She frowned then. What is wrong with me? I am falling madly in love with a man I’ve known only two days.

  John headed the horse and wagon directly toward a long hitching post outside the church. He jumped from the wagon, tied up the horse and assisted Grace. She was astonished to see several other wagons and horses.

  Frowning, she looked up at John as he took her arm. “Oh! The church appears to be bursting at the seams.”

  “Yes, we’re arriving a bit early. The service will be done shortly, however, and then we’ll marry.”

  Heads turned as they entered the church. Grace noticed several people—men, in particular—she’d met in the saloons. Breathing a sigh of relief, she remembered then she’d been dressed as a man. It was unlikely they’d recognize her. Midway down the aisle, John stopped beside a pew. President LaFoy and his wife, Margaret, slid down, allowing them a place to sit.

  John whispered in Grace’s ear. “They’ve agreed to witness our marriage.”

  “Oh!” Grace hadn’t even thought about that.

  Soon the Mass ended, and Grace found herself standing beside John at the altar. The priest, Father Thomas O’Halloran, was red-faced and grinning like a fool as he stood before them. After they said their vows, John faced Grace then, his eyes sparkling as he leaned down and kissed her. Grace had to stop herself from groaning her pleasure and remained still as she accepted his kiss.

  That evening, as Grace settled into John’s apartment, she asked herself why she couldn’t latch on to some happiness for the next few weeks for herself. While she’d never experienced love-making, she was no green girl. She’d craved a man’s loving—had wanted it for a long while. Perhaps San Francisco could wait a bit longer.

  As she watched her new husband remove his fine jacket and loosen his tie, sliding it from around his neck, her heart sped. Handsome, and chivalrous, well described John.

  After draping his jacket over the end of the divan, he turned to her, settling his hands on his hips. He smiled and said softly, “Now what shall we do?”

  Before the words were out of his mouth, Grace rose from the divan and went into his arms, as if it were something she did every day. His lips crushed hers, and he groaned his need for her. She returned his kisses, winding her arms around his neck as she stood on tiptoe, gasping when he easily picked her up and started walking down the short hallway with her.

  No words did they speak. John’s kisses and murmurings in her ear lit a fire within Grace that threatened to explode into a fiery inferno, so great was her need for him. With a gentleness that amazed her, John removed her clothing, his eyes paying homage to each area of her body he revealed. He sat beside her on his bed and stared at her for the longest time. Her initial embarrassment diminished when she saw the reverent look in his eyes, as she lay naked before him.

  “Your turn now,” she whispered, anxious to see his body.

  Within seconds, he’d ripped off his clothes, leaving them on the floor in a heap beside the bed. He stood before her in naked glory, his face turning a shade of pink when she looked him over from head to toe. Her eyes widened then on the staff between his muscular thighs. My Lord, she hadn’t realized men were so...so big! Worry settled over her and she bit her lip and looked away.

  Grace felt the side of the bed dip then looked down to see he’d planted his hand on the bed near her waist. Her eyes helplessly traveled up from his wrist to his sinewy forearm, ending at the bulging of thick muscles in his chest and shoulders.

  “I’ll be gentle as I can be,” he said.

  She darted an anxious look at him. “How did you know that was what I was thinking?”

  He kissed her lips. “Your face is an open book. Think of it this way, our making love will make excellent fodder for your next penny dreadful, don’t you think?”

  Her worries left and she laughed and wound her arms around his neck as he came over her. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right!”

  He kissed her once more, his lips tracing a path of moist heat from her lips, to her neck, down over her bare breasts, pausing to nibble at one nipple, then down to her very core. When he slid lower, she groaned as he suckled the delicate place between her thighs. She didn’t resist when he raised her knees, tucked her legs over his shoulders and laved her core with his tongue. Within moments, she felt her world spinning out of control, her body stiffening with desire.

  “Wait, John,” she gasped, trying to pull her legs from where he’d propped them over his shoulders, uncertain about her feelings—and her growing arousal.

  He tightened his hands around her thighs, held her in place. “Stay put,” he murmured. “A bit longer,” he added softly.

  At his gentle tone she tried to relax, her eyes tightly closed as she concentrated once more on his lovemaking.

  Grace had written about men and women in love but had yet to experience the ultimate ‘little death’ which now swarmed over her body. Her body tingled from head to toe then she went rigid when everything in her consciousness settled on the area between her thighs, rippling shivers through her lower extremities. Tighter and tighter were the sensations until they burst. She gasped, her body spasming, over and over again. She lay exhausted, her body drenched with sweat from their lovemaking. She smiled lethargically when she felt him crawling up her body, his hands lifting her thighs once more. Her eyes shot open when he slid inside her slowly. Clutching his forearms, she bit her lip at the full feeling of his entrance.

  When he’d slid as far in as he could, he pulled back then jerked his hips forward. Grace gasped at the one startling sharp pain then relaxed when he proceeded to move in and out of her channel.

  “You are so hot, so wet for me,” he said, kissing the side of her neck. “I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?”

  She shook her head and pulled him closer. For some strange reason her throat felt closed, and she couldn’t speak. Couldn’t tell him how wonderful he felt inside her, now the one fleeting moment of pain
had fled.

  Soon that glorious feeling rushed through her body again and she gasped, even as John found his own release. Within moments, as they lay in each other’s arms, and within moments fell asleep.

  Grace woke the following morning with John lying lightly atop her, kissing every curve and hollow of her body. Gasping in agony and delight at his touch, she relaxed when John proceeded to make thorough love to her again. Afterward, they rode in President LaFoy’s carriage into town for breakfast then spent the day walking the streets of Bozeman, window-shopping. Shopping was the furthest thing from Grace’s mind, though, and she simply enjoyed walking arm in arm with her husband along the walkways.

  Every evening after supper they walked, oblivious to their surroundings, enthralled with each other. Within days, Grace found herself growing ever closer to her husband.

  While he worked during the day, she kept his apartment clean, cooked and started writing a new penny dreadful. But often she found herself daydreaming about John, in particular his lovemaking. Lord, but the man knew how to love a woman! And she was so weak where he was concerned. A month, she’d told herself, they’d have one month together.

  Chapter Seven

  The month passed quickly and, with each day drawing near the month’s end, she loathed the very idea of leaving, though she’d sent a telegram and money to her aunt in Georgia to purchase tickets to San Francisco a few weeks before.

  Soon, the last day arrived. She’d purchased her coach and train ticket to San Francisco, packed her trunks and now they waited by the front door. John would fetch the coach for her once he arrived home from work, though she knew he’d try and talk her out of leaving. They’d talked the evening before, but he hadn’t been able to change her mind.

  While she wanted nothing better than to stay, she had a duty to her aunt and brother.

  She was surprised when John seemed resigned to her leaving and didn’t put up a fight about it. Grace was disappointed and angry; did she mean so little to him after all? By the time they retired for the evening Grace was near tears. He’d been aloof, speaking little, choosing to sit on the divan and read one of his latest farm manuals while she tried to write—and failed.

  Finally, she tossed down her pen and rose to her feet. “Have you no words for me, husband?”

  John looked up at her, startled. “Sorry, I’ve been reading. Did I miss some important question from you, sweetheart?”

  She sniffed at the endearment and cursed the tears forming in her eyes. “I’m leaving tomorrow, you know, and nothing you say or do will stop me.”

  He sighed and laid his manual down beside him. “I know.”

  His voice was quiet, resigned, and then Grace caught the loving look in his eyes and ran across the room and into his arms. She sat on his lap as he kissed her passionately, knowing well it would be the last time. Then, without a word, he came to his feet with her in his arms and made his way to the bedroom.

  Undressing her reverently, his eyes settled on every curve of her body as he revealed it. She kept her eyes trained on him, biting her lip, her arms to her sides as she lay on her back, knowing this is what he needed. What he expected. He lay upon her then and took her for the last time as tears slipped from her eyes.

  With no words the following morning, John loaded up the coach that had arrived for Grace. He rode with her to the station, his arm around her, her head of silky hair on his shoulder. He thought how she’d changed since he first met her from the prickly woman who dared to dress as a man and play a man’s game to the sweet, pretty, utterly feminine woman in his arms. He thought how he’d changed from a single young man intent on his career to a man in love with a woman for the first time in his life, and knew he couldn’t give her up. She was a part of him as he was a part of her.

  Then horror struck him; what if she was with child!

  As the coach came to a halt, he turned to her and took her hands in his. “I want you to promise me that if you find you are with child you’ll contact me.”

  He was surprised when she nodded, guessing from the worrisome look on her face her thoughts had settled on the same thing.

  “I will. I promise.”

  John opened the coach door and jumped down to the ground. Turning, he assisted her from the coach, taking in her peach-colored silk gown, the matching reticule in her hand. Her auburn hair she wore swept up in a chignon, revealing the delicate curve of her neck. Impetuously, uncaring of people strolling by, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  Finally, when he set her down on her feet he looked up, startled at the sound of clapping. People, some he knew, some strangers, were smiling and watching them, enjoying the amorous moment between them. He grinned in return, tipped his hat and strolled into the train station with Grace. She kept her eyes downcast, her complexion pinkened with embarrassment.

  “Oh, good grief, John. Everyone saw you kissing me.”

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re married, and most of them know it. Better we were kissing than fighting, don’t you think?”

  She gave him a dimpled smile. “True.” She laughed then and looked away toward one long bench against a wall and gasped.

  John saw the stricken look on her face and followed her gaze. A young boy, just out of short pants it appeared, his head lolling on his chest, sat on the bench, arms crossed over his chest. Beside him was an older woman in a bonnet, silk streamers tied in a perfect bow, who appeared to be just waking.

  “Robbie? Aunt Lucinda?” Grace whispered as she slowly moved toward them.

  Grace was shocked to see her family. They appeared exhausted, her brother sound asleep and her aunt just rousing.

  She rushed the rest of the distance just as her aunt opened her eyes. “Grace?”

  “Yes, it’s me,” Grace said, dropping to her knees beside her aunt.

  Aunt Lucinda clamped her sturdy arms around Grace and squeezed her, even as tears squeezed from her eyes. “Oh, I didn’t know when we’d ever find you—when we’d ever catch up with you!”

  “You were following me?” Grace said, her eyes widening. “For how long? And did you receive any of my letters?”

  “How could we, my girl, when we were following you?”

  “Oh, Auntie, why didn’t you stay put in Georgia? And where in the world did you get the money for the journey?”

  “We’ll discuss that later.”

  Robbie woke up and jumped to his feet. Hugging Grace around the waist, he hollered in her ear, “Dang, Sis, yer a sight for sore eyes! And sore legs, and feet.”

  She pulled back from him and swept a lock of dark brown hair off his forehead. “Now why would your legs and feet be sore?”

  “Cause we walked a fair bit along the journey to find you, that’s why.”

  “What!”

  “Shush, Robbie! Didn’t I tell you we’d ease into telling her about our little adventure?”

  “You mean little mishaps, don’t you, Auntie?” the boy asked, grinning.

  Rolling her eyes, Grace said, “Heaven help me. What did you two do?”

  “How about we take them back to my place, Grace?”

  She turned to John, having forgotten he stood right behind her.

  “Who’s he?” a suspicious Robbie asked.

  “My—my...”

  “Husband,” John supplied.

  “Husband?” Aunt Lucinda and Robbie shouted.

  “You got yerself hitched when you was supposed to be earning money to send for us?”

  “I have been earning money, and I wired it to you in Georgia just a few weeks ago. And now someone else will likely lift that money,” Grace groaned.

  “Well, if you weren’t so fast movin’ from town to town, we would have caught up with you sooner, wouldn’t we have, Auntie?” Robbie asked.

  “The boy’s got a point. Why did you spend so little time in each town?” Lucinda said.

  “Because each time I gambled and won it behooved me to get out of town—fast—if you know what I mean.”
r />   John said, “You mean you gambled your entire way across the country?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I assumed you’d run out of money and had been playing in just the last few locations until you reached Bozeman.”

  “Heck, no. Sis’s been gambling for years, even fer our pa when he had a bad streak.” Robbie grinned and added, “Grace never has a bad streak—only good ones.”

  John took Grace by the forearms and sternly stared at her. “No! More! Gambling! Understand?”

  Grace’s chin came up. “I’m the one to make that decision, not you, or anyone else.”

  “I’m your husband, and you promised to obey me.”

  “No, I didn’t. I promised in sickness and in health to be true to you.”

  “I heard you say it.”

  She frowned. “I don’t recall saying those words precisely.”

  “You said ‘I do’ after the priest said them, which is the same as saying them. You agreed.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Every bride says ‘I do.’ I was just going through the motions to help you, remember?”

  “Yes, after I helped you. Remember?”

  Aunt Lucinda stepped in. “Um, people are staring at you two arguing. I think we’d better leave.”

  “Yes, we’ll talk more at home,” John warned.

  “You’ll only need to put up with us for a night.”

  John scowled. “You are my wife, Grace, and you’ll put up with me for the rest of your life.”

  “Are you threatening me?” she asked, her eyes widening.

  “Yes.”

  He took her arm and hauled her out of the station as Robbie and Aunt Lucinda followed behind.

  “Let go of my arm,” Grace snapped.

  John did, reluctantly, and walked away from her. Upon reaching a vacant coach headed for town, he paid for their ride and asked the coachman to load up the luggage.

  Inside the coach, Grace and Aunt Lucinda sank down onto the seats, side by side, while Robbie took the seat opposite them. John sat down beside the boy who moved over and hugged the corner.