“Oh there’s always work to be done around here. But yes, mostly stuck here together.”
“Could you help me read better? And talk better?”
He smiled down at her upturned face, “I’d like that. I do have a Bible, and a couple of other books. And I’m sure when we make it into town next, we can find others. I’d be happy to teach you.”
Her face beamed with a huge grin. “Thank you, sir, thank you.”
So over the next few months, Opal tended the cows and chickens as best she could and William kept his eye on the herd and the fences. The snow kept coming and kept staying. He was amazed at the meals she managed to create from their limited pantry and she kept the house tidy with a smile on her face.
He had been paying her the few dollars a month as promised, and she kept it tucked away in a small opening in the mattress. She had never had money of her own, and was not sure what she would do with it. Perhaps she would someday have the chance to get him something in return for everything he had given her.
When the day’s work was done and dinner was eaten, they would usually sit by the stove and practice the reading. She had been so concerned about her speech as well, however he noticed that the more she read, the better she spoke. It was an inevitable progression, and he was pleased that she seemed to be making fast progress.
The winter stretched on long and cold and dark, but the two of them did not seem to notice. In William’s eyes, the company made the time go faster and Opal was still enthralled with the normal life she had found. He liked the way her eyes lit up when she got a difficult word and the way she had made friends with Lady. She found herself more and more interested in spending time with him, and his gentle manner and deep blue eyes.
Chapter Eight
As these things do, eventually the snow stopped falling and began to melt. The cows seemed well on their way to making calves, and the chickens started producing more eggs.
On their first trip back into town, William made sure to pick up plenty of seeds for the garden, hoping that Opal would have more success than he was able to find. She picked out quite a variety -- corn and potatoes and tomatoes and cucumbers. They also stocked up on other essentials that had run out during the winter.
When they returned home that afternoon, Opal was eager to get everything in the ground right away but William cautioned her to wait just in case they got a late frost. Not to mention, the ground was still going to be very hard for the digging.
As they arranged all of their purchases in the house, Opal got dinner ready to serve. She was excited to cook something different with the new food purchases, and laid out a beautiful dinner that resembled the Ploughman’s Lunch they had at the dining hall in late fall. William laughed at the amount of food on the table when he returned from the fields but reassured her that it was fine. Whatever they did not eat that night would certainly keep for later.
After they finished everything they could possibly eat in one sitting, Opal started to clean up while William poured the last of the coffee into their two mugs and they dragged their chairs outside to enjoy the last of the setting sun. As Lady curled up at their feet, and Opal pulled the horse blanket tighter around her knees, William’s spine went stiff in his chair.
“What is it, William?”
“I thought I saw something over there against the sky.”
“What do you think it was?”
“Looked like a person on horseback. I don’t get visitors and the Indians rarely come calling this late at night.”
“Indians?”
William chuckled, “Yes, we have them out here too. I doubt it is your long-lost father.”
She shook her head, “I doubt it too.”
Suddenly, Lady picked her head up with a grunt and stared at the same spot William had been watching. Now William was on alert with her. The figure on horseback was evident to all three sets of eyes.
“Maybe it’s just a lost hunter or something,” William said hopefully.
But he disappeared inside the house and returned with his rifle just the same. Opal grasped his arm and looked at him with wild wide eyes.
“It’s okay, I’ll just see what they want.”
William whistled for his own horse and mounted up quickly. Before he rode off, he turned to caution Opal.
“Go back inside the house and stay there until you hear my voice at the door.”
She nodded and scampered back inside with Lady right behind her.
The little house had no windows so she could not see what was going on. Against her instructions, she cracked the wooden door enough to see William had approached the other figure and seemed to be having a very animated conversation. As she peeked out the door, she watched as William swung to hit the other person. She let out a loud gasp and felt Lady standing on her stockinged feet. The other person swung back and caught William somewhere in the vicinity of his face. She gasped again and clasped her hand to Lady’s side.
As William appeared to regain his composure, the other man on the horse started riding at a full gallop towards the house. Opal slammed the door shut, threw the latch in place, and ran with Lady to cower between the bed and the newly added divider wall.
She heard the man beat against the door with both fists, yelling for her and screaming terrible names. She muffled her breathing against the blankets on the bed and dug her hands into Lady’s soft fur.
She heard another deep voice, William’s, and the beating on the door suddenly stopped as the two men screamed at each other. She and Lady looked at each other and Lady licked Opal’s nose as if to reassure her.
The scuffle outside paused and it seemed that the whole world went silent. Then Opal heard the shot of the rifle. It echoed throughout the house and deep into her bones. She and Lady both whimpered and clung to each other.
Then in the silence, there was one soft knock on the front door, and William’s tentative voice.
“Opal? It’s me.”
She rested her palm against the closed door and took a deep breath before opening it.
“William?”
His face had seen the angry side of the man’s fist and his eye was starting to blossom purple.
“Ohhh…” she gasped, tentatively reaching up to lay her palm against his cheek.
He rested his large hand over her cool delicate fingers.
“I’m okay, it will heal. But I’m afraid his injury was fatal.”
She looked past William’s broad shoulders to the body on the ground. It was that horrible greasy man from town, the one that had been so nasty towards them.
“William! What is he doing here?”
“Apparently he thinks you would be worth a bounty, or at least a good sale price. He was going to come take you.’
“What? Can he do that? Can he steal me?”
“No. Not in my house. Not from me.”
Her knees weakened and he caught her just before she fell to the cold ground.
“Opal,” he said softly.
“Yes sir?”
“I was… I was not just angry at him, I was scared. Scared to lose you. Scared of what he would do to you and what anyone else might have done to you.”
“William…” her voice trailed off into hesitant bewilderment.
Chapter Nine
William pulled her back into the house and set her down in one of their homemade wooden chairs. He carefully eased his bulky frame into the other one.
“Opal, I am afraid I have a confession to make.”
Her eyes fell to her lap, afraid of what he was going to say. That she was not worth the trouble she seemed to be causing, and that as soon as it got warm enough, he was going to turn her out. She had so enjoyed staying here with him, playing house, and developing a certain affection for the large gentle man and the way he was so kind to her and to Lady.
“W-W-What is it William? Have I done something? Am I in trouble?”
“Oh heavens no, please don’t think that for a moment. It’s not that at all. Quit
e, ah, the opposite.” He covered her hands with his.
“Oh…”
“I like having you here, and I enjoy your company. But I’m afraid I can no longer employ you.”
She sighed deeply and again looked down at her hands in her lap.
“You see, when he threatened to take you away, it was not like he threatened an employee or a friend. He threatened my family.”
Opal’s lips parted in a silent gasp.
“I would like very much for you to be my family. Opal, would you marry me?”
The corners of her mouth turned up in a tiny smile and then her face broke into a grin.
“William! To marry you? I never… Of course!”
This kind sweet bear of a man felt about her as she felt about him. He grinned and popped up out of his chair, dragging her to her feet as well. He held her close to his chest and could not even feel the pain of the bruise that quickly developed on his eye. In the warmth of their kitchen and affection of his embrace, Opal felt at home for the first time in her life.
Within a few days, William had made arrangements to have the traveling chaplain stop by their homestead and wed them. They received an odd look from the older gentleman, but he could find no reason not to wed the two of them. Opal had no fine lacy dresses but felt perfectly content marrying William in her button down shirt, trousers, and work boots. And in the cool stillness of the spring evening, William shared the bed with Opal for the first time, and showed his bride just how much he loved her.
Spring eventually gave way to summer, and the happy couple had settled into their routine. She tended the garden until it overflowed with the vegetables that he had so ineptly tried to grow. He would often watch her bent over the plants, her long dark hair plaited back away from her face, and smile at the future he had been given.
William carefully monitored all of his expectant bovine mothers, and it looked like their herd was growing exponentially. It was shaping up to be a very profitable year all the way around.
Opal had never asked any more questions about the man that had showed up that night, and William made sure that he would never be found. In fact, he was probably not even missed by anyone except perhaps the bartender at the saloon.
One warm summer night, Opal stretched out her bare feet in the front yard and wiggled them in the dewy grass as she looked up at William in his chair.
“Mr. William, I have been meaning to speak to you about the growing herd in your backyard over there.”
“Yes, Ms. Opal, how can I help you?”
“Whatever shall we do when our herd expands similarly?”
He smirked down at her, “We will make room as they do.”
“Well then sir, I believe it is time for that addition to the house that we’ve been talking about.”
He grinned down at his blushing bride and cupped his hand under her chin.
“Yes ma’am, I will surely build you that nursery.”
THE END
My Cowboy Savior
Chapter one
“I don’t see the reason why I have to do this, Colin. This is something that you should leave to one of your underlings. It’s not like we don’t have enough of them hanging around all the time at the ranch.” I was trying to put up a united front and make him see that I was not the woman for the job. “These guys are loyal to you to a fault. Why not give them this duty and leave me out of it. You know that I’m not much for business.” I liked my lifestyle and I could afford the finer things in life. It was nice to have people waiting on me hand and foot.
Sometimes, I feel guilty for all the good fortune that has fallen into my. I look around at how the old west had been keeping the little guy down for too long and I wonder if I’m contributing to that or not. All I know is that I grew up with nothing and to catch the eye of Colin was like a godsend to me and my family. He allowed them to live on his acreage. They were maybe a mile away and came by every, so often to make sure that their little girl was safe and being taken care of.
“Normally, I would be more than happy to give it to one of my underlings. Merriam, but this is very important and these documents have to be in the hands of the sheriff by 5:00 tomorrow afternoon. I can’t trust anybody with this assignment. They may have loyalty for me, but underneath it, I never know what somebody’s agenda really is.” My husband and I had never seen eye to eye on his business practices. He was always cutting out the middleman and finding ways to do things that were not exactly legal. “It’s the year 1845 and the gold rush is going strong. Those documents will give me a stranglehold on a mine that is just ready to be plucked clean. If I were to give this to anybody else, they might see it upon themselves to take what is rightfully mine. You have a good heart and would never to something like that to me.” He grabbed my chin and I could see the punishing for disobeying.
“Colin, if you really feel that way, then why don’t you do it yourself? That way you know that it’s going to get done and if anything happens it’s on your head and nobody else’s.” I thought it was a pretty obvious solution, but apparently I’d opened a hornet’s nest.
“I hate to say this, but you are a bit naïve. I can’t do it myself, because I’m dealing with a land dispute with the sheriff in this town and a man that thinks that he owns what I have. I can’t leave those negotiations. Let’s just say that I’m hedging my bets and making sure that I come out on top.” He moved his fingers along his finely groomed mustache, while looking at the reflection of himself in the glass of the shop window. He was vain, but he did have every right to be. He was after all a sought after commodity and any girl in their right mind would have been right where I was, except that I had beaten them to it.
I’d heard all about Colin and I knew that he was the perfect way to get out from underneath the poverty that had now become like a part of me. I still remember those days where I struggled and fought for everything I had. My parents did their best, but they barely had two nickels to rub together. I was glad that I was able to take us away from that life. If anything, I was using my sexuality and a carefully revealed ankle to my advantage.
“I really don’t want to be out there. There’s no telling what I will find. It’s not safe for a woman and I think we both know that.” He began to laugh at my expense and people were now staring and making me feel like I was this spectacle to be watched for their amusement. “Stop that… stop that right now.” I was having a tantrum and he suddenly took me by the shoulders and began to shake me.
“I’m laughing, because of the person that’s saying these things to me. Merriam, you’ve always been able to take care of yourself. I guess in some way I don’t think that you need me anymore. You could easily go your own way and you may say that you are not business minded, but I know the truth.” I didn’t consider myself to be a business thinking kind of girl, but apparently being in his presence had made it easier for me to become acclimated to his business. I began to see all the shortcuts that he was taking and I found the secret fund that he was using to squirrel away his ill gotten gain.
“I don’t know what you see in me, Colin. I’m certainly not business savvy like you.” I think what I was trying to say was that I could not be, as underhanded, as he could be on any given day. He had this charming smile that made most people believe that he had their best interest at heart, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I had to admit that getting away from him for even a few hours might not be a bad thing. He was full of himself and there were times that I thought that I made a mistake in marrying a man for convenience, instead of love.
“Merriam, I don’t have time for this. Either you’re going to do this, or I’m going to be very cross with you.” The last time that he was like that, I felt the coldness in not only his words, but in the way that he looked at me. I didn’t want to contend with something like that, so I believed that it was the best for everybody concerned that I take on this assignment.
“I hope I don’t regret this, but I think a little distance will do us both
good. You can fight the good fight here and I can do this for you and be back in two days.” He passed me tan hide leather bag. It was snapped closed and I was tempted to look into it, but I did see in his eyes that it wasn’t the best use of my time.
“I’m glad that you finally see reason, Merriam. I’ve been beating this thing to death for the last hour. I could be over at the sheriff’s pleading my case, but instead I’m here convincing you to do something that would be considered a wifely duty to her husband.” He turned and stomped off with his leather high boots smacking against the walkway. When he jumped onto the road, he crossed it, while looking at his watch at his waist. He picked up that timepiece and he was not only looking at the time, but he was looking at a legacy that had been passed down by his father.
The stagecoach was brought around to the side of the saloon. Thomas stopped the two horses right in front of me. I could see that he was sheepishly looking at his feet the entire time that he was preparing things for me. I knew in the back of my mind that he had a crush on me and that he would’ve done anything I wanted within reason.
The Captive Bride (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 45