Brides of the West-Part One

by Hestand, Rita

  Dal had two steaks and a baked potato and half of hers.

  She stood up and twirled around the room.

  But her dress kept hanging up on the furniture.

  "Why don't you take your dress off?" He suggested as he unwound it from a chair leg.

  "Take it off?" She hollered suddenly stopping.

  "Well, it's gonna get torn up, in here." He said giving her the long trails of it.

  "You uh…want to take a bath?" He whispered.

  "A bath…where, there isn't a creek around here."

  "No…we gotta tub. I could scrub your back if you wanted me to."

  Bonnie seemed paralyzed by his questions.

  "Uh…no. I don't think so. That sounds almost….indecent, doesn't it? Besides, I had a bath this morning, in the creek."

  "You see…that's another thing married couples do, to get to know each other better. A man and woman don't have to be shy with each other, Bonnie. I guess…you and me…we started this off wrong…"

  She turned to look at him, her worry and doubt clouding her eyes. "I'm sorry! I guess being a wife is harder than I figured."

  He frowned with disappointment. "Yeah, being a husband isn't easy either."

  But when they got ready for bed, she took her clothes off and hopped in bed before he had a chance to peak.

  She was naked under the sheets.

  He glanced at her when she pulled the sheet around her. Her cheeks were flushed. He swallowed hard. He saw how she had folded the dress so neatly and all her underthings. She tried to get all the little flowers out of her hair, but she couldn't see them all.

  He sat down on the side of the bed, and he reached over to help her and their eyes met.

  "You were a beautiful bride."

  A blush crept up her cheeks once more, as she clutched at the sheet around her.

  And he was supposed to sleep with her? Was she teasing him?

  He left his drawers on and slid under the sheet. He did his best not to look, but he did catch a quick glimpse. And what he saw took his breath away.

  "You always sleep like that?" He whispered, turning away from her.

  "Like what?" She asked rolling around to him, and pulling the sheet around her.

  "Without….without clothes on." He swallowed hard this time.

  "Well, when I don't have no gown I do. I didn't know we were coming out here. Did you bring me a gown?" She asked as though insulted.

  "No!"

  "Well…I can't sleep in my wedding dress, and that camisole thing that holds everything together, it's just too tight."

  He couldn't stop himself, he laughed.

  "What's so funny?" She asked suddenly perturbed by his manner.

  "I don't know. This whole night is funny. I didn't expect to sleep with you in the bed. I sure didn't expect you to take it all off."

  "Get out…" she yelled suddenly and pushed him with her foot until he fell off the side of the bed.

  "Hey…there's no call to do that!"

  "There's every reason to do so." She spat.

  He stood up and looked down at her. "Now look Bonnie, you said I could sleep in the bed with you. How'd I know you was gonna be naked as a jaybird."

  "Well, what did you think I was supposed to wear?" She nearly screamed at him. Then it came, the tears.

  He sat on the side of the bed and pulled her into his arms.

  He knew instantly it was a mistake, but he wanted to comfort her.

  Now he wanted to do much more because the sheet was quickly slipping away.

  She grabbed it, covered herself and turned away from him and cried.

  "I'm sorry, honey."

  "Just get in the bed…and let's go to sleep. I'm tired." She wailed aloud.

  "Okay…okay…" He slipped under the covers and turned away from her once more. But sleep was hard when he knew she was naked and this was their honeymoon night. What was worse, deep down, he wanted her. He wanted all of her. He wanted to make her his.

  And she was just too innocent to know.

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning was even more embarrassing. Through the night, she had wound most of the sheets around her and now lay in his arms with her head just beneath his chin. She'd never had such a carefree night of sleep in her life. In such a big and soft bed. Now wrapped in his arms, she felt secure and safe.

  She moved comfortably against him, snuggling into him.

  And then her eyes popped open and she glanced around wildly.

  Her head lay on his arm, his arm surrounded her as he held her against him.

  She felt something poking her and she jumped.

  "Oh my God…" she jumped up, grabbing the sheet around her.

  "Hey…hey, it's alright." His voice softened. "We are married. It ain't against the law to hold your wife, especially on your wedding night."

  She relaxed a little, her face full of guilt. "It isn't?"

  "Naw…relax." He said with a smile.

  She moved over and laid away from him.

  "Was that you…?" She asked with wide eyes.

  "Of course it is." He firmed his lips and looked at her. "When a man gets up in the morning, it happens, it's natural."

  "Oh….I knew that." She tried to fool him into believing it.

  "'Course when a beautiful woman is laying naked in your arms, that's natural too…." He grinned.

  Unshaven, he looked more primitive, more dangerous, more handsome.

  She didn't stop to think of the compliment he gave. She was angry, embarrassed, and not about to say a word.

  He leaned over, his eyes widened. "You have nothing to fear from me. I'll never hurt you. I promise you that. And I'll never take the advantage unless you want me to."

  The way he said it had her melting. A flush went up and down her body. Her eyes strayed down his body. She heated up. She'd never been with a man before and being this close without clothes on was a new sensation. The feelings inside her were so new to her, so mixed with her feelings for him.

  "Oh…" but the oh didn't last, because he kissed her.

  Her arms went around his neck and he pulled her against him. It went on and on, and this time her mouth opened for him and his tongue went inside to mate with hers. Glorious and sweet, they danced.

  When he came up for air, he licked her lips and pulled reluctantly away.

  "Maybe we better not sleep together anymore…" He suggested.

  She nodded. "Yeah!"

  "Unless maybe…you want to." He suggested.

  "You leaving that up to me?" She asked, almost furious that she had to make the decision.

  "I think it's the right thing to do."

  "How am I supposed to let you know I want to….?"

  "When you are ready, I don't think I'll have to guess…" He smiled.

  She was quiet a moment. "There's only one way I think I'd ever be ready."

  He looked at her sincerely. "How's that?"

  "Well, we done got married, and we kissed a time or two, but…we haven't committed ourselves to loving each other yet. Maybe we never will. I don't know. But coming together according to the bible means we become as one. And in order to do that we need to be sure how we feel about each other."

  "Oh, I agree…"

  "Good."

  They laid there, for a few more minutes apart, thinking.

  Then he got up and put his pants on.

  She began to whimper. "I don't have anything, but that dress to put on…"

  "It's okay. We'll go to your place and you can change. But first I want to talk to you."

  "It's not my place no more. You are my husband, and it's our place." She offered in a quiet like whisper. "What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. Aint that the right of it?"

  "Yes, that's the right of it."

  She raised her head and stared at him. He hadn't shaved and the kiss had scraped her skin, but she was so involved she didn't mind. It was her second kiss since they'd been married and she filed every one of them into her
heart. She only wished she didn't melt every time he took a notion to kiss her.

  "What did you want to talk about?"

  "I went to see the banker. He accepted the water rights deal I drew up. Each herd that pays a yearly fee of fifty dollars can water their entire stock for a year. They are to leave their guns off the property, and only allowed at the creek bed. I'll enforce that. As long as there is no violence, they can proceed every year there for the water. If any violence occurs that a person can't water their stock there any longer. And they'll be trespassing if they come on the property. How does that sound?"

  "Fifty dollars. Why, we'll be rich!" She shouted sitting up all of a sudden.

  "There will be some expenses, but we'll make out fine. I plan to build a small dam that will ensure the water will keep coming. When planting time comes, we'll have our seed. The taxes have already been paid. Then I want to look into something called 'irrigation.'"

  "What's that?"

  "A way to get the water to the crops, all the time. If we plant cotton, we won't have to water all season, just the first part. It's a practical crop to grow and it brings in a lot of money."

  "It's also a lot of hot, hard work to pick." She insisted.

  "That's okay, we'll get some help."

  "You gonna pay someone to help pick it?" She looked puzzled.

  "Some people don't even own land. They don't own nothing. Some people are starvin'. Sometimes just feeding them would help them. We'll find those people and we'll work together."

  "That's a wonderful idea…" She raised up and smiled.

  Without thinking, she got up and ran to hug him.

  The sheet fell away and she was exposed. But as he gently tucked it around her once more, he trained his eyes on her trembling lips.

  For one stunned moment, the room stood still as they stared at each other. His eyes went over her in one sweep, and he reached for her.

  Heat rose in the room so fast, her head was spinning.

  He held her close for a moment, his hands around her protectively. He obviously tried not to think about touching her, but it was impossible.

  "Many more times like this and we'll be sleeping together every night…" He laughed.

  She grabbed the sheet and for just a moment, he pushed it away so he could feel her against him. Their eyes locked onto each other. "You're beautiful Bonnie…"

  "Me?"

  "You."

  Their lips met in an explosion of passion. The way her lips melted into his made him feel as though they had consummated their marriage. How could that be? His legs shook with his need of her. He felt her heartbeat and saw the look of surrender in her eyes. He wanted her more than life itself. But he controlled it. He had to put a stop to it now, or there would be no stopping.

  He gently tucked the sheet around her and groaned as he moved away from her.

  "I guess we did have a little bit of a honeymoon, didn't we?" He smiled and turned away from her.

  "I'm sorry." She whispered.

  "Don't be…I'm not." He barely managed before he went outside for a smoke. "I wouldn't have married you if I hadn't liked you Bonnie. And I like you a lot…"

  "I feel the same…" she barely murmured.

  She hastened to get dressed. But the zipper kept sticking and she was nearly in tears when he came back inside.

  "What the hell?" He looked at her strangely.

  "It's my zipper, it's stuck." She cried frantically.

  "Honey, I'm your husband. When you need help, just holler at me, okay." He came closer and turned her around.

  In seconds, he zipped it up but not before he got an eyeful of her beautiful, flawless back. How he wanted to touch and caress her. He nearly shook with his needs.

  "There. All fixed. We better get out of here." He muttered thickly.

  "Oh…shouldn't I clean our mess up?"

  "No…he won't expect us to." Dal sighed heavily and started to go outside, but she pulled on his arm.

  He turned to look at her.

  "I want to thank you…it's a wonderful plan. I wish I had been bolder and thought of it." She tried to build his ego a bit. "I mean…I did think of it, once, but it scared me. No telling what men would do knowing there was no man on the property. I was just plain scared to try it."

  "Let's hope it works well." He said. "And you had every right to be scared about that, Bonnie."

  In half an hour, they were headed back to the home place.

  The kids hadn't returned yet.

  They walked inside.

  "Okay, show me where I bunk." He said, his voice losing some of his good nature.

  "In there, with Daniel and the other boys. It's nothing but a bunk." She said.

  "And where do you sleep?" He asked curiously as to the arrangements.

  "In here." She opened the door to hers and Becky's room.

  He shook his head. "First thing I'm going to build is better beds all around."

  "They are pretty hard."

  "Worse than the ground. The ground gives with you a bit." He laughed.

  "I guess if we both work hard, we can fix it up." She said, not daring to look at him. "I still don't know why you decided to marry me. It was a kind gesture. But I don't think you know what you're getting into."

  "Maybe someday, I'll tell you." He said, reaching to take her hand.

  She nodded. It was a good beginning.

  Chapter Eight

  When the ranchers realized that Dal had taken over and was offering water rights, some signed up right away to take advantage. The banker handled all the financial dealings for Dal, so all he had to worry about were the ranchers letting things get out of hand. However, he found out that most of the ranchers were so experienced, there was little trouble. Everyone seemed happy about the arrangements and things were looking up. Most of the talk of trouble died down.

  Bonnie had been right about one thing, it was dangerous allowing this many people and cattle on her land. The kids could get hurt, but he aimed to see they didn't. If she could keep them away from the creek during watering times, everything should be alright.

  The first herd came within a week and Dal was there to greet them. Although he was armed, he kept his gun holstered and his rifle on his horse. He didn't want to offend anyone. So far things were very peaceful. The ranchers watered their cattle then herded them back home. What surprised Dal most was the fact that most of the ranchers were glad to have the water and not wanting a fight over it.

  Dal helped them all he could.

  Mr. McDermott, Mr. Collins, Mr. Hood came that first week, and all went well, only having to round up the strays caused any friction at all. They had been ranching in the area for years and were glad of the water during the drought. Most of the herds would have suffered if this deal hadn't gone through. It was good for the community all around.

  The banker in turn put the payments in an account to pay for the land. It worked well. Bonnie didn't have to worry about her mortgage any longer.

  By the end of the second week, Bonnie was proud to see them come. She kept the kids at home doing chores while the herds watered. They could hear the cattle, and even see a cloud of dust, but they weren't close enough to smell them and that meant they were safe.

  What they hadn't realized was that John Banister, the wealthiest of the cattlemen in the area, hadn't agreed to pay for the water.

  Dal figured he was holding off, planning some scheme to best them.

  At the bank Banister had protested the action of the other ranchers, slamming his fists on the banker's desk. "That water is rightfully mine. I owned that land before the McDaniel's ever set foot on that property. It should be mine. And it should be shared among the ranchers in the area, without payment."

  Mr. Coldwell eyed him with perception. "John I doubt you would have shared that water for free. No sir, I think you would have done the same as Odom is doing. And rightfully so. It won't do you any good to raise Cain about this. It's all legal."

  "Don't you have any rec
ords showing I owned the land?"

  "That's the key right there, John. You did own it. But you don't now. You sold it to the McDaniel's. The land is theirs, they have the mineral rights too, you don't. They can do as they wish about the water. I'm not saying there could be a lot of trouble about it. But what they are doing is legal and their fees for the water are quite reasonable."

  "Reasonable? Why isn't it free?"

  "Because they chose to charge a small fee, that's why and they are within their rights to do so. It's a fair price."

  "Well, I won't pay it." Banister slammed his fist on the banker's desk.

  "I'm sorry to hear that John. There are times when your stubbornness is uncalled for."

  Mr. Coldwell informed Dal about John's unwillingness to cooperate. Dal suspicioned there would be trouble with him, he just wasn't sure what Banister might do.

  He was right.

  Three weeks later, in the middle of the night, John Banister drove his cattle on the property and led them to the water. Having such a large herd, the thunder of hooves woke Dal and Bonnie.

  "What in the world could that be?" Bonnie jumped from her bed. Throwing on a worn-out robe, she trudged down the hallway and out on the porch.

  Dal was there, staring out at the full moonlight. He was only half dressed, he hadn't thrown a shirt on.

  "What is it?" She asked, looking but not seeing. She rubbed her arms as though she were cold.

  He turned to look at her, his eyes meeting hers. "It's Banister. He's come on the property without paying. Only he has a herd that big."

  "What are we gonna do?" Bonnie trembled, her shoulders hunching forward.

  Dal's muscles tightened in his shoulders and back, and then he set his jaw. "First, since we got the right on our side, we are goin' to the law. If that don't do anything, then we'll have to figure out how to handle it ourselves."

  She avoided looking straight at him while she pressed her lips together and then asked. "Won't the law support us?"

  Dal looked down at her worried face. His smile was tight. "I don't know. Banister is the richest man in the territory. He knows how to pull the right strings. But we'll do things accordingly until we see it won't work. Some may follow his example if we don't set a stop to it. A man like him gets pushy, he begins to control others too. So we got to nip this in the bud now."