Big Bad Cowboy: A Billionaire and a Virgin Romance

by Tia Siren

  They pulled up in front of a small official looking building and she knew it was the local courthouse.

  “They got what we need in here. Let’s go on in, sign the papers and be done with that, how does that sound? Oh, and if you want to wait a short time to get in to the marital bed, should I say, that sits fine with me, too. I’d like to get to know what kind of woman you are, if that’s okay with you.”

  “That’s a good idea, Mark. I appreciate that.” She did feel a sense of relief. She had been a bit worried about it.

  Margaret followed Mark into the building and went through the motions of getting married. The clerks in the courthouse were not congratulatory, nor were they interested in the event whatsoever. They signed as witnesses to the union and the two of them were walking out of the courthouse less than an hour later.

  “So you are Mrs. Mark Brooks now,” He said as he gave her his hand to help her up onto the wagon. “How’s it feel?”

  She gave him a small smile. “Not much different than when I wasn’t Mrs. Mark Brooks.”

  “It’ll hit ya later.”

  Margaret let out a small laugh. It felt good so she did it again. Mark gave her a nice smile in response.

  “So we are going to your stables now?”

  He nodded. “Yeah there’s some people there I want you to meet. I work with them all the time and they need to… they want to see you.”

  She thought it was a strange way to put things until she rolled his words over in her mind a few times. If he was the owner of the stables then all the people were probably his employees. That made her their boss, too, she supposed. It made her smile. She wasn’t about to take over her husband’s business.

  Thinking of him as her husband made her feel even more strange inside. In fact, her heart began to thump fairly hard and she felt a cold chill. She was married. It was almost too unbelievable. A year ago, she would have never believed her path would lead in this direction. Her future as the bride of a stranger.

  She wouldn’t allow nervousness to take her over. She shook it off and straightened her spine. It made the hard bench feel even harder. He glanced down at her, noticing her discomfort.

  “Sorry about having to pick you up in the wagon.” He said. “Friend of mine has my carriage.”

  You couldn’t get it for the day? She thought but kept silent. She nodded at him and turned to look out in front of them. They were on a main path that looked well-traveled but quickly turned off onto a small path that looked to be no more than wheel paths in tall grass. She could almost reach down and touch the top of the grass and weeds as they went by. She didn’t and pulled back from it a little, wondering what types of creatures and insects might lurk in there.

  Mark didn’t say anything when he felt her press gently against him, drawing away from the foliage. She was wise to, he thought. There were often prickers and flying insects that left nasty welts on their bodies if they weren’t careful. He got through the area as quickly as he could.

  Margaret was flooded with relief when the wagon moved out from the tall grass and into a vast clearing. She was staring at a cleared road, dug out from the ground so that the path was obvious and the dirt they rode through was soft but not too soft. On either side, grass had been mowed down to the smallest blade and she wondered how they had ever managed to do that. It looked as though someone had taken a pair of scissors and precisely cut each blade to perfection.

  She drew in a deep breath, looking further. In front of her stood a tall building that stretched out at least 90 feet in length. It was two stories. As they got closer, she could see it was one of the most beautiful stables she had ever seen.

  If she was this amazed by the building, how awed would she be by the horses? She turned wide blue eyes up to Mark. “I am stunned by this building, Mark. How majestic!”

  He smiled, running his eyes over the tall brown building. He kept it in excellent shape, giving everything he had to make it look like the best there was.

  “I love my horses. Thank you for the compliment. We’ll stop here and go around the building so you can see what’s on the other side.”

  “I think I see part of it.” She could see the rings running around in a half circle and then going back in the same direction. “You have a racetrack here.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that’s very interesting.” She nodded, appreciatively. She knew nothing about horse racing, only how to breed, train and care for them. When she looked at him, she noticed something strange. It looked like he wanted to weep. His face had turned a bit red and he took a moment to place his hand firmly in front of his mouth and gaze at her. “Are you all right?” She asked.

  When he responded, she could tell he only had it there to keep in a laugh. “I’m just glad you aren’t shocked by any of this. You seem like a real decent woman. How is it you haven’t been married before?”

  Margaret shook her head. “I never found the right one. The men were just…”

  She made a disgusted face, and he let out his laughter. “Well, their loss, I’d say, is my gain. Come and meet the men.”

  Chapter Three

  Margaret’s introduction to the men had gone swiftly. She made friends with most of them right away. They seemed impressed with her knowledge about horses and the entire industry. She learned about racing just as fast but kept herself mostly to the care of the animals, instead of what they did on the track.

  Before she knew it, three months had passed. She had written as many letters and received two back from her father. Their business in Virginia continued to thrive, leaving her with feelings of homesickness. She wanted to see her father but knew that it wasn’t possible.

  She had made friends with the wife of one of the men at the stables. In fact, they had become close almost the minute they met. She called her “Ellie”, which was short for Eleanor, a name her friend couldn’t stand to be called.

  She saw Ellie standing in front of the market stand, looking through apples and approached from behind. “Ellie! Good morning!”

  Her friend turned and looked at her with a large smile on her face. “Margie, how good to see you this morning! I didn’t know you were coming to the market today!”

  “I have to see Doctor Joe.” Margaret hooked her elbow around Ellie’s and walked with her. “I haven’t been feeling well and Mark wants to make sure I am not ill.”

  Ellie’s face turned to a look of concern and she stopped walking. She scanned Margaret’s face. “You don’t look ill to me.” She said. “You look fit as can be!”

  Margaret nodded. “I feel fine most of the time. But I feel terrible in the mornings, almost every day for a month now. And I feel heavier. My dresses are a little tighter. I’m no child but I’m pretty sure I’m going to have one.” She smiled at Ellie, whose face immediately lit up.

  “You are! Oh, I just know it! That’s wonderful news, Ellie! Can I go with you to find out?”

  “Of course!”

  It was a few hours before they stepped back out into the light from the doctor’s office. He had confirmed Margaret’s suspicions and had even given her a round-about date when she should expect the child to arrive.

  “Oh, Margie, there are so many things to ponder now, so many decisions to make! I can’t believe it…no, of course I can believe it, you and Mark…Oh, Margie, I’m so excited for you!”

  “You better help me out, Ellie.” Margaret directed her friend in a serious tone. “You’ve had a baby so you know what’s coming!”

  Ellie nodded. “Yes, I will help you, of course, my dear. You will need all kinds of things for your baby, like a crib and you’ll have to clean out one of those rooms in the back where Mark’s been keeping all of his junk.”

  “It’s amazing how much junk he has.” Margaret said. “I don’t know where he collects all those things.”

  “Probably from his track. Sometimes people don’t have the money to pay him. I’m kind of surprised that he even has anything left from the money he’s lost.�
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  Margaret stopped walking and looked at her friend. “What do you mean?”

  “You don’t know?” Ellie’s eyes opened wide. “Margie! Mark has been gambling on every race ever run at that track since it opened up. Didn’t you know that?”

  Margaret felt a chill run through her. He had been gambling? Questions jumped to her mind and she felt the words tumbling from her mouth. “What money is he using to gamble? He’s been doing it for all this time and I didn’t know?”

  “He hasn’t mentioned it at all?” Ellie sounded shocked. “I thought you two were so close. You looked like you fell in love with him right away. He looked the same. Why wouldn’t he tell you?”

  Ellie frowned and then her face turned to one of anger. “So you don’t know that he has that stables mortgaged all the way, and that the bank is not wanting to give him any more money to cover it? He’s been running two or three races a week, haven’t you noticed? That’s way more than usual.”

  Margaret felt ashamed. She hadn’t been paying attention to the racetrack side of the business at all. She had fully engrossed herself in the care of the horses, from their health to their grooming. She never thought about the money. It had been her father’s job in Virginia to run the finances.

  Ellie noticed her friend’s change of mood and put her arm around her shoulders. “Margie, I don’t want to be the one to scare you this way. But you will have to do something about what’s going on if you plan to have a family with Mark.”

  “How recently did he lose a lot of money?”

  “Well, like I said, he keeps running races and betting on the horses so he can get the money to pay the bank loan. And some of the races he’s winning but some he’s losing. I know he’s good at finances but he’s not the best at picking horses.”

  “Oh no, this is so terrible.” A wave of sadness swept over her and she felt tears come to her eyes.

  Ellie shook her head and took Margaret’s small face in her hands. She looked directly at her and spoke in a firm tone. “Margie! This is no time to start acting like a little girl. I thought you knew about all of this and I actually admired how you were handling it. Now you have to show me how you really handle something like this. And you have your baby to think about, too. You have to pull yourself up and be the strong woman I’ve come to know over the past couple months!”

  Margaret still felt like crying. She did want to be strong, but the thought that the business would fail and she and Mark would be left penniless, without horses or a home, made her despair. She started to walk again, her mind racing. Ellie kept up with her and just down the block, steered Margaret into a small church with a beautiful white steeple that ended with a cross way up in the air.

  “We need to pray,” Ellie said.

  The church was so quiet and there were candles on either side of the podium on the stage, which was only a step up from the rest of the church. There was a bench at the front of the aisle, with a red velvet cloth draped over it and a beautifully carved wooden cross standing before it.

  Margaret was glad there were no crucifixes. She was not a fan of seeing her Lord and Savior in such a position. She preferred to think of him as he was after he was resurrected. She went with her friend to the podium and both of them knelt down at the same time.

  Ellie began to whisper a quiet prayer. Margaret kept quiet, listening to her friend’s prayer and realizing she didn’t have to say anything, Ellie was saying all that needed to be said.

  “Father God, we ask direction in this matter.” Ellie was earnest in her prayer, her voice, though whispering, was filled with emotion. “This matter has surprised my friend and she needs to come to an understanding of the situation.”

  Ellie continued to pray, pointing out the many biblical trials men had gone through in the past. She thanked Him for his blessings and asked that He turn toward Margaret in a way He had never done before. She asked for continued blessings for her own family.

  After about ten minutes of solid praying from Ellie, they both said “Amen” and stood up. They were quiet as they left the church, but once the door closed behind them, Ellie said, “Do you feel any better?”

  Margaret nodded as they stepped out into the street to cross. “I do. But I still don’t have a clue what to do. How will I convince him to stop what he’s doing? He’s been doing that for way longer than I’ve been around. And now I’ve got another burden to put on his shoulders. What will he think of that?”

  “What will he…” Ellie shook her head. “Dear, he is just as responsible for that little one as you! He better not act like a coward or a fool about it or I will have something to say to him!”

  “Even if I convince him that he has to stop his gambling ways, the bank won’t listen to me, either.”

  A thought ran through her head and she suddenly perked up. Ellie didn’t notice and continued to talk. “I must say, Margie, you will have to tell me his response. If you come running to my house at all hours of the night crying because he’s said something mean, I will have Jack after him before he can say boo. I will tell you that, my girl.”

  Margaret giggled. Her friend was so soft on the outside and rough on the inside. And she loved her for it. She was very glad they were friends.

  “Do you want me to come to the house with you or are you going to the stables?” Ellie asked. “I have to go back to the stables because Jack asked me to bring him some of the milk from home.”

  Margaret frowned. “He asked you to bring milk? What for? The horses don’t drink milk.”

  Ellie gave her an exasperated look. “The milk isn’t for the horses, Margie! It’s for Jack!”

  They both laughed heartily.

  “I’ll go with you to the stables. I want to see if Mark is there. I think we should talk.”

  “Do you want me to come with you? You know, you might want to wait on talking to him about it until you figure out a plan.”

  Margaret hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see when I get there. I’ll see what kind of mood he’s in. I don’t want to deal with a lot of hassle or anything. And I don’t want to get emotional in front of the men.”

  “They might think you are in hysterics. When will you tell him about the baby?”

  “Well, I guess I should tell him at the same time, shouldn’t I? I mean, it is the reason I found out and the reason it must be stopped.”

  Ellie shook her head. “Your baby is very important. But he needs to stop because he’s going to lose everything he owns if he doesn’t.”

  Margaret sighed. She couldn’t wrap her brain around the idea that everything she had been working so hard to accomplish and earn throughout the months she had been here could suddenly be taken away and she could be left with nothing. Her first thought was to run back to her father. But she couldn’t do that now, not with a child on the way and love in her heart for the man she married.

  She couldn’t believe he had been lying to her the whole time. He just hadn’t seemed like the type.

  Her father was the only hope she had. She prayed she could help her husband change his ways and she prayed that her father would be able to help them with the bank. Those were her only options.

  Chapter Four

  The kitchen door swung shut behind Margaret, and she stood in the breezeway, watching the front door. She knew Mark would come through any moment and she was mentally preparing herself for what she wanted to say.

  She had spent the last day or so with Jack, at Ellie’s request, and he had filled her in on the track and the debts that Mark had built up. It was true that he had a problem. It wasn’t just the betting, it was the fact that he wasn’t very good at it and wouldn’t let anyone pick horses for him. He always insisted that he would get the right one and he rarely did. When his horse won a race, he was elated, using the win to justify the losses. And it was never enough, certainly not enough to pay the bills they had looming over their heads.

  The house was in jeopardy, the horses were in jeopardy, and the stables were
in jeopardy. They really could lose it all. She thought about her growing baby and what they would need to do to prepare for it. It was a scary thing. She was older than most of the women who were giving birth. By the time those women were her age, they were on their second or even third child. Doctor Joe had warned her that it could pose a problem but not to worry too much about it.

  Jack had given her copies of the papers Mark had signed when he bet everything he had and started in on the property. He gave her the financial documents that she needed to understand how much was owed and when it was due by.

  Her heart thumped as she waited for Mark to come in. She’d heard the wagon pull up some time ago and knew that he had to be about done settling in the horses for the night. So she stood there and waited, her mind racing with anxious thoughts just as quickly as her heart beat in her chest.

  The door squeaked when Mark pushed it open. He took a few steps inside, saw her standing there and stopped to stare at her.

  “What is that look?” He asked, his voice tense. She assumed he could tell that she knew what was going on. Only a guilty man could have a face like that. And she had grown to know his expressions fairly well over the last few months. He was open with his feelings.

  Or at least she had thought so.

  Could she trust him now?

  “Mark, we have to talk about what’s going on. You need to know something.”

  “What do you mean ‘what’s going on’? You tell me what’s going on.”

  She lifted one hand to show him some of the papers she had gripped in her fingers. “We owe everything to the bank, Mark. We’re going to lose everything you’ve built up here!”

  Mark nodded. “I’m glad you said everything I’ve built up here. This is my house and that’s my stables, you need to remember that.”