Together we survived the winter. I want to make it clear that I was never in Hattie Springer’s bed from the day we met until the day she died. She told the boys that I was their pa and they believed her. At first I didn’t mind, because I didn’t plan to stay. Then something happened that made me so indebted to Hattie that I stayed.
It was spring and I went out of the cabin one morning to see to the stock and was cornered in a shed by a grizzly. I yelled to Hattie to get the boys in the house. That spunky woman ran at the grizzly with the axe, and as it reared up to strike at me with its deadly paws, she sank the blade in the back of its head. Then she said,’ “Now you will stay. You owe me.”
She was a strange woman. She never showed affection for her boys and certainly none for me. She never spoke of the boys’ father. After she was gone, I found several letters from him. As far as I know, she never heard from him during the ten years I was with her. I provided for her but spent most of my time in the woods.
Gradually I got a stake together and started sending logs down river to Coeur d’Alene. My business grew and I hired Wiley.
After Hattie died, I worked with the boys. Louis showed the most promise. He worked hard and seemed to like the business. Milo was a hell-raiser from the start. He didn’t take anything seriously except his pleasure. Yet he was a good dogger and would have been a good sawyer, but he was too reckless.
My relationship with the boys was not good, but it was not bad until I met and married Jean. Louis especially seemed to resent her. My dear Jean did everything in her power to win them over. But the more she tried, the more resentful they became. Both boys hated James. Jean was constantly on guard until James was big enough to take care of himself.
I am hoping Milo and Louis will work amicably with James in the business. When Dory weds, her husband can take an active part on her behalf. I’m sure that under Steven’s guidance the business will prosper.
Should Steven determine that friction between the four of them will not ever be reconciled, he is to produce and file with the magistrate of the Territory my second will, which divides the property as follows: All my property, with the exception of the homeplace, which I bequeath to my daughter, Dory, is to be sold and the money divided between James, Milo and Louis.
By doing this, each of my children will have more of a start in life than I had. I consider Milo and Louis my children because of my debt to their mother.
On closing I wish to say that I have not been a perfect man, but I have done the best I could with the hand I was dealt. I paid my debts, I loved my wife, and provided for my children.
George Callahan July 1876
When the judge finished reading, the room was as silent as a tomb. He held the sheets of paper in his hand and looked first at Dory and then at James. Dory looked as if she would cry while James’s face was creased with an angry frown.
“Why in hell didn’t he tell us that we weren’t kin to those two no-goods? They made our lives miserable! All my life I’ve had to walk on eggs to keep one or the other of them off my back. Dory did the same. Why didn’t he tell us?”
Steven spoke. “I don’t know, and it wasn’t my place to question. But they knew George wasn’t their real father. I don’t know if he told them, or if their mother did. But after George died Louis made a remark that let me know he and Milo felt they had first claim to the land because their father had filed for it and their mother had improved it. They resented Dory and James having a claim to it.”
“The old man could have told us—”
“Don’t you dare say anything bad about Papa.” Dory turned on her brother. “He was good and kind and tried to do the right thing.”
“I’m not saying anything bad about him. He was everything you said, but he should have put his foot down harder on those two. You should be glad to know that you’re not kin to them. I sure as hell am.”
“James, please—?” Dory’s voice softened. “There’s no use in hashing over why Papa did this or that. His intentions were good. Now we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to deal with Milo.”
“We don’t have to figure out anything. We’ll sell and divide the money. Malone will snap it up in a minute—” James’s voice trailed as the realization of his connection with Chip Malone dawned on him. He got to his feet and began to pace. “Why in hell did it have to be him?” He stopped and stared down at his sister. “We’re not selling to him. Somehow I’ll rake up the money to buy Milo’s shares.”
“I have a suggestion,” Steven said from the bed. “The judge tells me that I now have money to invest. I’ll buy Milo out and go partners with you, if you and Ben will run the business.”
“Count me out, Steven,” Ben said. “I didn’t marry Dory to gain a foothold in that business. I have plans of my own to open a carpentry shop and produce a finished product.”
“In that case I think something can be worked out so that your manufacturing business can be run in conjunction with the mill. I’ve always thought that Spencer would be ideally suited for such a business.”
Ben grinned. “I thought so myself.”
“That can all be worked out later.” James pulled Odette toward the door. “You’re all invited to a wedding.”
“When is this event to happen?” the judge asked.
“In about thirty minutes.”
“James,” Dory said with exasperation in her voice. “You can’t do that to Odette. She’ll want time for a new dress. Besides it will be dark soon. It’s bad luck to be married at night.”
“Then, in the morning at ten sharp. Judge, can I have the letters from my ma and pa? I want Odette to read them so she’ll understand what went on here today.”
“Of course.” The judge sent a quizzical glance at Odette as he handed the envelopes to James. “Chip should know what’s in the letter from your mother.”
“Why? He probably cared no more for her than any other woman he pleasured himself with. He’s an arrogant know-it-all, if you ask me. Nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned.”
“You may be wrong about Chip.”
“I doubt it.” James looked down at Odette. We’ll go back to the hotel, honey. I’ve got a lot to tell you.
Odette looked at Ben. He nodded and smiled. The smile she sent back was beautiful.
“Bye, Papa. Bye, Dory. Oh, bye, Mr. Marz. And… you too Mr. Judge.”
James beamed as if she had said something brilliant. “Come on, chatterbox.”
After they had gone, Dory said, “Isn’t she wonderful?” There was unmistakable pride in her voice. “She’s stone deaf, but she reads lips. She’s terribly bright and James is crazy about her.”
“Remarkable,” the judge said, and meant it. “She’s just what James needs to settle him down.”
On the way out James and Odette passed through the McHenry living quarters. Chip and the marshal were still there, drinking coffee and chatting with McHenry. James stopped and pulled his mother’s letter from his pocket.
“I may as well get this over now, Malone. Read this.” He dropped the letter on the table in front of Chip.
While Chip was reading, James stood with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes never left Chip’s face. He saw the skin pale, then redden. He saw a tic in his cheek muscle and a trembling in his fingers when Chip folded the paper and put it back in the envelope. James reached for the letter.
“It wasn’t my idea to tell you. It was the judge’s. This doesn’t mean things will be changed between us, Malone. I want you to understand that.’’
Unable to get a word through his clogged throat, Chip nodded.
“Odette and I are getting married tomorrow. You can come if you want to.”
Chip looked at the tall, auburn-haired man staring down at him. James’s eyes and brows were like Jean’s, his nose like Jean’s. Chip’s most precious memory returned as vividly as if he were somewhere looking down on the scene. His eyes narrowed suddenly and his lids blinked rapidly.
“I’ll be
there, James.”
CHAPTER
* 31 *
“I didn’t think I’d ever get you to myself. Come here, Mrs. Waller.”
Dory blew out the lamp and slipped into the bed beside her husband.
“I had to wait until Jeanmarie went to sleep.”
“Isn’t Odette with her?” Ben pulled her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him. “She’s out walking with James.”
“Walking? At this time of night?”
“It’s only been dark for about an hour.”
“Well, he’d better not… take any liberties—”
“Landsakes! They’re getting married tomorrow.”
“That’s got nothing to do with tonight,” he growled.
Dory laughed. “I pity Jeanmarie and her sisters. They’re going to have an overprotective father.”
“Damn right.” He nuzzled her neck with his lips. “You can’t be too careful nowadays. Young bucks have only one thing on their minds.”
“The same thing you’ve got on your mind right now.”
“Yeah, but I’m an old buck and you’re my wife.” He nipped at her earlobe.
“Mrs. Benton Waller, the wife of the Benton Waller whose windows and doors are in houses all over the West. I like the sound of it.”
He took her hand in his and moved it up to his chest. She felt his heart leaping under it.
“I like the sound of something else better. But kiss me first… then tell me.” His words were husky and love-slurred.
His mouth took hers in a kiss that engaged her soul. She touched the tip of her tongue against his mouth and felt him tremble, felt his body stir against her stomach. He cupped her buttocks and pressed them against him.
“If I tell you, what will you do?” she asked innocently, and worked her palm between his hard-muscled stomach and her soft one. She felt his body jump when she touched him and laughed against his mouth.
“What I’ve been wanting to do all day—get my hands under your skirt.”
“Not while we were talking to Judge Kenton!” she exclaimed in a horrified whisper.
“Yup. Even when we went in to look at old Kraus shackled to that wagon wheel and when Jeanmarie vomited in the chamber pot, I was thinking of this.” He moved her rhythmically against the part of him that had sprung to rigid hardness.
“My husband is… depraved! There’s only one way to cure him.” She placed her lips firmly against his and kissed him deeply. “Did that help?”
“Lord, no! It’ll take a million of those.”
She answered the gentle thrust of his hips with pressure of her own. Her forehead rested against his, their eyelashes tangled. She filled her hands with his wild black hair.
“I love you, my husband, my friend, my wonderful man.”
“I love you, too, my beautiful curly-haired wife.” His hands slid under her nightdress and cupped her bare buttocks. Holding her tightly to him, he turned with her, bringing her on top of him. “I like this. I like feeling the weight of you on me.” He lifted her gown up and over her head. “I like it better when there’s nothing between us.”
“Is that why your heart is beating so fast?”
“That’s not my heart; it’s yours.”
“I believe you’re right.” She leaned her chin on his and spoke against his mouth. “You’d better get to loving me, or I’ll go get in bed with Jeanmarie.”
He started to say something, then groaned deep in his throat. With his arms and legs locked about her, he rolled her over on her back. She gave herself up to his kiss and hunger leaped deep inside them. She felt the rough drag of his cheeks, the caressing touch of his hair against her forehead. The strength of him and the taste of him filled her senses.
The hard, swift kisses were not enough. Only by blending together could they even begin to appease the hunger they had for each other. He raised his hips; her hand urgently moved between them to guide him into her. She arched against him in sensual pleasure.
“I’ll love and cherish you forever.” His cheek was pressed to hers, his words coming in an agonized whisper.
The whole world was this woman joined to him. His mouth and hers were one. Spasms of pleasure that followed were like a gorgeous dance throughout his body. He was at home in her, moving gently, caressing, loving. She arched her hips in hungry welcome, and he wildly took what she offered.
Dory wasn’t really aware of when it ended. When she returned to reality Ben was leaning over her, his weight on his forearms. The sweet, familiar smell of him, the light touch of his lips brought a small cry from her. She tightened her arms around him, holding him inside her warmth, and hungrily turned her mouth to his.
Later, lying side by side, they held each other while their bodies adjusted to the aftermath of passion. Her head rested on his arm; her arm was curled about his chest.
“It’s going to take a while, sweetheart, for me to get used to having you where I can touch you and love you when I’m with you.”
“I don’t want you to ever get used to loving me.”
“It won’t be soon. Maybe forty years.” He laughed against her cheek.
Dory stretched lazily, then moved her head to his shoulder.
“Ben, would it surprise you to know that hardly anything Judge Kenton said today shocked me? Oh, it shocked me to know that James was only my half-brother. But now that I think about it, he didn’t resemble Papa in any way. Papa had light hair and blue eyes. I never saw anything of Papa in Milo and Louis either. They were so different from us. I thought it was because we’d had different mothers.”
“He said in the letter that their mother was strange. If he never married her, I wonder why the boys took his name.”
“And Steven said they knew that Papa wasn’t their father. It’s strange that they never said anything to me or James.”
“They may have thought they wouldn’t have had as much of a foothold here, honey. They wouldn’t even be step-sons.”
“I wish you could have known Papa. It’s like him to take another man’s son as his own.”
“I would have liked him if he was anything like his daughter.” His hand moved to her tumbled hair and fondled the back of her neck.
“The most shocking of all was what Louis had done.”
“I’ll have to admit I was taken aback. I’d not have been surprised if it had been Milo.”
“I was never afraid that Louis would hurt me physically. He hurt me plenty the day you and Odette came. I thought I’d die of shame.”
“You stood up to him. Held your head high. I admired you for that.” He kissed her forehead. “No one will ever talk to you like that again,” he said with rock-hard certainty.
“What do you think Milo will do now?”
“I think he’ll take Steven’s money and leave the country. Lumberjacks are a rough bunch, but they have a code of honor where good women are concerned. It’ll sweep the Bitterroot that he used his fists on you and hired men to kidnap and dishonor Odette. He’ll find no welcome in any camp.”
She reached up and nipped his chin. “Oh, Ben, things have worked out so well. I don’t think James cared a bit that he was Chip Malone’s son, just that it opened the door for him to marry Odette.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered after we learned Milo and Louis were no kin to him.” He kissed her. “I was about to give in anyway and let them take the chance. I’m never going to tell Odette that I suspected one of those two might be her father. She’s my daughter. When I see how smart and pretty she is, I know she’s mine.”
“Then what will you tell her is the reason you didn’t want her to marry James?”
“Because I was afraid he might turn out to be like his brothers.”
“But she might say that you married me when you thought I was related to them.”
“Then I will say she knew James better than I did, and I had been too protective, but everything has turned out all right anyway.”
“Just all right?” Dory pou
ted.
“Just perfect, Mrs. Waller.”
Dory smiled. “That’s better. Now turn me loose and let me go see about Jeanmarie.”
“I’ll do it.” He got out of bed and put on his britches. “I want to see if Odette is back. It’s too late for a young girl to be out with a hot young buck who has only—”
“—One thing on his mind.” Dory laughed. “For goodness sake, Ben. Look in on Jeanmarie and come back. I’ve got only one thing on my mind.”
Shortly after the sun made its appearance on the eastern horizon, James was at McHenry’s store buying wedding gifts for his bride. He bought a five-volume set of books by Longfellow, a porcelain mantel clock, a gold locket, a pair of fancy blue garters and a lacy nightdress. He assured a horrified Mag McHenry that he would not give the last two items to Odette until after they were married. He left the store with a white shirt and a black pinstripe suit. On his way to the barber shop for a haircut and a bath, he invited everyone he met on the street to the wedding.
The McHenrys and their brood took up one pew at the church. Bessie, who had been up most of the night cooking for the wedding feast, wore a large hat she had bought from Marge at the millinery. Marge was there to see the hat she had decorated for the bride. The Idaho Palace was closed for the morning. Mel arrived with Clara on his arm. Clara had tucked a lace handkerchief in the neck of her low-cut gown to make it acceptable to wear to the church.
Judge Kenton and Marshal Theiss delayed their return to Coeur d’Alene with their prisoner in order to witness the ceremony. Wiley and his longtime friend sat in the front row alongside Dory and Jeanmarie. Steven had insisted he was well enough to attend the wedding, but Mag had threatened to tie him to the bed. She hid his britches to make sure he would stay put.
A half hour before the ceremony, Chip Malone parked his buggy in front of the church and carried in baskets filled with wildflowers and decorated with ribbons.
The petite bride was beautiful in a white lawn dress with mutton sleeves and decorated with ivory lace. A white satin ribbon circled her waist and satin bows shone on her white kid shoes. Her large straw hat was covered with pink and white satin roses.
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