by Reece Butler
Josh gave Sophie a squeeze. His cock had hardened with that kiss, but he was under control again. If this was the way the river was running, then he’d go with the flow. She might already be carrying their child. He shook away thoughts of a baby. He had far too much on his plate already. But they’d been doing everything possible, day and night, to create a child.
“I’d be honored to have you conduct our wedding ceremony,” said Josh formally.
“Welcome to Tanner’s Ford, son,” said Judge Thatcher. He shook Josh’s hand, pressing just enough, and then looked around the room. “Well? Aren’t you women going to rush off and plan Sophie’s wedding?”
“Whoa,” interrupted Sheriff Barstow. “You ladies can git, but I ain’t going nowhere until I hear about this Isaac galoot.”
Josh heard the folksy words but, having met the man, knew he was no backwoods, small-town sheriff.
The room went silent except for the soft sounds of babies. Josh nudged Sophie. “It’s your story to tell, baby,” he whispered. “I’ll be right here beside you.” He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back, cleared her throat, and took a breath.
“I’m afraid this may be a shock, as we all know him. It was that newspaperman, Buford Hames, who—”
Roars of fury sent the babies to wailing. There were only four that he could see, but it was enough. Husbands settled flustered wives in chairs while glaring at Josh as if their upset was his fault. He waited patiently, silently supporting Sophie.
When the pandemonium had cleared, only the men were standing.
Sophie held up her hand. The group slowly quieted, though Josh caught rumbled threats muttered between the men.
“I don’t know if Lily said anything, but I put myself out as bait to catch Mr. Hames.”
“You did what!” Thatcher glared at Lily. “You put Sophie up to that, and didn’t even speak to me about it?”
“It worked, Ambrose,” Lily replied, grinding the words out between her teeth. “Now calm down and let Sophie tell the rest of the story.”
“We’ll be having words later, woman!”
Lily’s cheeks turned pink at the threat, though her eyes shined. Josh made sure Sophie stood in front of him, blocking certain parts. He had a good idea what the older judge would be doing to his wife. The same thing Josh wanted to do right now. Paddle her ass, kiss her silly, then plow her pussy until she screamed.
“I had help,” continued Sophie. “Tess, a woman who worked at the saloon, left a poker heating in a brazier. When Mr. Isaac came in, he wore a leather mask. I grabbed the poker and jabbed it at his face. It slid down the smooth leather to his cheek, then dug in.” Her smile blossomed. “Hames now has a deep burn, one that won’t ever fade.”
“What else happened?” demanded Beth. “What did our husbands do to help?”
Sophie tilted her head up to Josh. “You tell them. I wasn’t there.”
“Ranger and Sin started a fight in the saloon to take attention away from—”
“Naw, that’s not it,” interrupted Patrick, grinning. “They’ve been wanting a reason to go at each other for months now. I wished I’d seen it! Who won?”
“It was interrupted,” said Josh. He returned the grin. “I figure they’ll both boast of beating the other.”
“Oh, no,” groaned Jessie. “That means they’ll have to do it again!”
Josh got the impression she was eager to watch rather than upset.
“When Sophie and I left this morning, Hames was in jail.” Josh wouldn’t say anything about the other crooks except to the sheriff and judge. He didn’t want anything getting back to the Jennets before his brothers hauled them to justice.
“It’s over?” asked Molly.
“Yes,” answered Sophie.
“Good,” declared Lily in a no-nonsense voice. “Gentlemen, I suggest you head somewhere else. We ladies have a wedding to plan.”
“I’ve got some fine brandy and whiskey,” said Judge Thatcher. “Shall we give Mr. Gibson a Tanner’s Ford welcome?”
Josh leaned down to kiss Sophie, but two sets of arms hauled him backward.
“Na-uh,” growled Nevin on his left. “You’ll marry her before you taste her again.”
“I’m sure you understand,” said Patrick on the other side. He grinned as if looking forward to Josh fighting.
Josh had two older brothers. He recognized the same “I dare you to try” attitude. If there were just the two, he’d go for it. But around them was a circle of equally eager men.
“As long as I buy the first round,” he said.
“He’ll do,” declared the judge.
Sophie rushed up. She was tall enough to go up on her toes and kiss him. He got a fleeting taste of her before he was hauled away. She gave him a wide smile of promise.
“Keep that thought,” he called out. She laughed and waved as they hauled him backward out of the room.
Once out of sight of the women, they released him. The congratulatory pats on the back almost knocked him over. He’d find a reason to get them back. For now he’d go along with their plans.
Chapter 42
“I don’t want to ride another horse for at least a week,” said Sam. He groaned as he dismounted. Stumpy came out of his livery stable to meet them.
“Stop complaining,” replied Max. “My back end is just as sore.” He dismounted, holding onto the pommel for a moment extra to steady his legs. They hadn’t had much sleep the night before and, like the men from Tanner’s Ford, had worked all day looking for Hames. The others decided to keep an eye on the jail once Hames was found and returned to it alive. But he and Sam decided to ride hell-bent for leather after their wayward brother and his bride. Their bride.
“Josh better not have married Sophie without us.”
“He knows better than that.”
“Ain’t been no weddin’ yet,” said Stumpy. He cackled. “Ain’t been nuttin’ goin’ on. Judge said that feller cain’t even kiss Miz Sophie afore he says words over ’em.”
A wave of relief swept over Max. He trusted Josh, but Sophie was a far greater temptation than anything any of them had been faced with.
“Can you tell us where they are?” asked Max.
“Yer brother’s stayin’ in Miz Sophie’s room at the hotel. She’s stayin’ with Miss Lily and the judge. Won’t be no shenanigans that way.”
“Hotel’s got a bath,” said Sam. “Don’t want our bride to see us like this.”
Max smacked his hand against his coat. A cloud of dust drifted in the cool breeze. He dropped his saddlebags over his shoulder. After handing a few coins to Stumpy, the two of them headed down the boardwalk. Their heels clumped on the wood and their spurs jingled as they stretched their legs out.
“There’s lights. That’s a good sign,” said Sam. He sped up, so Max kept pace. They entered the hotel kitchen through the back door.
Meggie Elliott looked up from the stove. She dropped the spoon and rushed to the dining room door. “They’re here!”
Josh was the first one through the door.
“It’s about time! They won’t even let me kiss her!”
Sophie flew through the door, right into Sam’s outstretched arms. Max hauled Sam away before they could kiss.
“If Josh can’t kiss her,” he said, “there’s no way you’re going to do it.”
He snagged Sophie, managing to pat her bottom before she was hauled away. People exploded into the room, then out again, yelling.
“I’ll get the judge and Miss Lily!”
“Clear out those chairs so we can have a wedding!”
Max looked at Sam, then at his clothes.
“There won’t be a wedding until we can get cleaned up.”
An hour later he and Sam had joined Josh and the other men in a second-floor room at the hotel. Oz Cutler had broken out a very good bottle of whiskey to celebrate. Max figured it was more for Sarah’s freedom from Isaac than Sophie’s wedding.
A knock and the door opened. Jud
ge Thatcher and Sheriff Barstow entered. The room went silent. Max swallowed. Was this it?
“No, I didn’t bring the sheriff to haul you in front of me,” said Thatcher to a white-faced Josh. “We want to know what happened with Hames.”
“I haven’t had a chance to tell Josh this, but Willy Wright hauled us down to the jail,” he frowned at Sam. “Was that just this morning?” Sam nodded. Max shook off his exhaustion. “Hames was gone.”
“What the—”
“He was taken during the night by some of the women he’d abused,” said Sam into the uproar. “Willy found him in the cellar of the Golden Nugget. He was alive, but it looked like dang near every woman he’d tortured had added her own touch. He’s got a line of burns, likely the ends of fireplace pokers, all up his thighs.”
“He still got his balls?”
“Yes, but he’s not going to get any use out of them. When Willy found him he was curled in a ball, whimpering and talking to his dead mother. We brought him back to jail and he did the same. Don’t think he’s going to get his mind back.”
Barstow sidled up close to Max. “What about the Jennets?”
“We’re charging Hugh for interfering with and endangering a peace officer, as in Sam,” said Max. “Eudora should be locked up for stealing from her father’s bank, as well as arranging to have her husband murdered, but that was so long ago it might not stick. We’ll be bringing them both East to face the courts.”
Barstow snickered. “You think your two brothers are going to leave Sophie here, alone, and head off East just for that?” He shook his head. “There’s other agents who can haul them away.”
“Yes, but we have to go anyway, to resign from the Pinkerton Agency.”
“Fer gawd’s sake, man!” Barstow blew out through his droopy moustache. “What’s he gonna do if you sign a letter of resignation and send it with your agents? Fire you?”
He stomped away in disgust, leaving Max with a huge dilemma. Did he stay with his family, or finish the assignment he’d been ordered to complete?
* * * *
Though excitement flooded her body, Sophie pushed everyone out of her room and took a few minutes to herself. Finally, she was going to marry Josh. She chewed on a ragged fingernail. Would they be upset that she’d bought the ranch they wanted? She’d been shocked the previous evening when Nevin knocked on Lily’s door and asked to see her. He said he was there replacing Trace as the mayor of Tanner’s Ford. Trace wanted to know if she wanted the ranch Orville Rivers used to own. He’d held it for her in case she wanted to sell the hotel. They’d wait for her hotel to sell before being paid, if she wanted the ranch.
She’d said yes before she could think. It would be her first home. Not the one Rivers had built, as that had been torn down. The men had constructed a brand-new cabin in a different spot. She’d been there, of course, having supplied some of the food for the work party. She’d admired the design, dreaming of living there. And now her dreams would come true. If, that is, her husband and his brothers weren’t furious at her for buying it.
The one thing she would not do was to choose a brand. Nevin said there were things men just had to do, and putting their mark on things was one of them. He’d laughed and said it was like pissing up a tree. The biggest dog lifted his leg the highest to show his superiority. Her buying the ranch was one thing, he’d said, as it was a woman’s home. But the cattle brand was men’s work, and they’d not tolerate her interference.
All that mattered was that she had a home. If Josh was willing to live in a hotel to keep her, he shouldn’t get upset that she’d found them a home.
A quick knock and the room flooded with women. She’d helped almost everyone from Beth to Casey marry, and they were not going to miss the chance to get her back.
“We have some advice to give you on how to manage a home along with three big men,” said Beth.
* * * *
Sam stuck his hands in his pockets. If he held them out they might tremble, so he kept them in fists.
This was it. A woman had agreed to marry them. A woman so wonderful that he couldn’t believe it was real. All his life he’d kept his true feelings hidden, pretending he wanted to be wild and carefree. But it was a mask. Thinking he could never have a loving home, he’d pretended it didn’t matter.
But all he really wanted in life was the security of a home, and a loving woman in it.
Sophie would save them from themselves. Max was already mellowing. He’d even suggested they send in their letters of resignation rather than present them in person!
Josh, ever so calm and controlled, bounced on his toes, straightened his tie, and glanced at the door every two seconds.
“No one will tell me who owns that ranch!” said Max.
Sam grabbed him by the arm. “I know you want a home. So do I. But let’s get through this wedding first.”
The swish of rustling fabric and chatter of returning wives made them turn around. Beth whispered something to the judge. He caught Sam’s eye and nodded.
“It’s time.”
Max nodded, straightened his tie once more, and strode forward to join Josh. Sam took his younger brother’s other side. He blinked back womanly tears but was unable to stop the lump forming in his throat.
So many years, a lifetime of dreams, and now it was happening.
“Here she comes!”
* * * *
Josh kept his mind carefully blank. Ever since Max and Sam arrived he’d been closeted with the married men, getting unnecessary advice on how to handle a strong Valley wife. He’d kept his mouth shut and his ears open and had picked up one or two things he planned to use on Sophie. The woman who would soon walk into the room and change his miserable life forever.
He trembled as everyone stood up to see his bride enter the room. Flanked by his brothers, he turned to watch Sophie approach.
“Look at that dress!”
His heart and lungs stopped. There she was.
He hadn’t thought about what she would wear. She ignited the room with her flames. They thought it was the color of her dress, but that was nothing to the passion he knew flared beneath it.
She smiled at him, a wide promise of love forever.
Someone pounded him on the back, breaking the spell. He gasped for air.
“That is one magnificent woman,” said the judge.
“Amen to that,” murmured Sam.
Staring him in the eyes, she shook her head. Her loose hair fluttered around her. He narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth to keep from saying anything. When she got close he saw that sparkle of mischief. She knew, and had done it anyway. His cock surged to life.
“I said no one would see your hair down.”
“You’re not my husband,” she replied flippantly. “You can’t give me orders.”
“That situation is going to change in two minutes,” he replied, tugging on the thick brown ends dancing at her hips. “And as soon as the door closes behind us, you know what’s going to happen.”
Her nostrils flared. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
His body jerked at her challenge. “I’ll catch you, and then I’ll—”
“Enough,” said Sam. He jammed an elbow into Josh’s side. “Get the wedding done before you get into the honeymoon.”
“Excellent advice,” drawled the judge. He raised a bushy eyebrow. “If you four are ready?”
Josh gave Sophie a quelling look. She winked impishly. He turned to the judge but couldn’t hide his smile. Thatcher sighed.
“This valley is full of them,” he said. “And I expect the next generation will follow in their mothers’ footsteps.”
“Enough jawing,” called a voice from the audience. “Let’s get this wedding over so we can get down to some serious drinking!”
“Drinking wasn’t what I had in mind,” said Josh quietly.
He reached down and patted Sophie’s bottom.
“If the bride and groom can keep their hands off each other,”
said Thatcher, “I will conduct the ceremony.”
Chapter 43
“Are we going on a picnic?” asked Sam the next morning, eyeing the wagon. He leered as Sophie approached. “It’s a mite cool for getting naked, but if you’re game, so’m I.”
“Yes, it’s a picnic,” replied Sophie as she stepped onto the hotel porch. “I’d like to see that ranch, in case it comes up for sale.” Josh took the basket out of her hands and set it down.
“Good morning, wife,” he said. He gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
Flames ignited at his touch. She moaned, grabbed his shirt, and hauled him closer. He deepened the kiss and she matched it, their tongues fighting. Passion erupted as fast as it had the night before. She backed up a step, trying to haul him with her.
“Whoa. My turn.”
Josh broke away. Chest heaving, she found herself facing Max and Sam. The one on her left had a dimple while the other had a scowl.
“Sam,” she said, nodding to the man on her left. “Max.” Another nod. She smiled and held out her arms. “Who’s first?”
Sam grinned and moved forward, but Max elbowed him out of the way. “Me!”
An hour later she was bumping her way toward her new home, not that any of the men realized it. Josh’s horse, saddled with Gibson tack, was on a lead behind the wagon. Sam and Max rode, one on each side as if to protect her flanks.
It was a lovely September morning. Cold and crisp, with bright sunshine to bless them. The mountains hadn’t yet gained their mantle of snow, but in a few weeks they’d be white. Come spring, if all went right, it would slowly melt and keep the lands green as long as possible. By then she hoped they had cattle to graze on their ranch.