“I don’t need anything, thank you.”
“Are you sure? You don’t seem to have much.”
She felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. Her few possessions were pitiful, but he was marrying her and for now it was enough. She didn’t know whether he had much money or not, didn’t really care. He seemed a decent man and after what she had been through it was all that mattered.
“Do you have much food at your place?” She glanced around at the well-stocked shelves, averting her eyes from the colorful candy in large glass containers.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a good cook with the right ingredients.”
He grinned. “I can’t cook much at all. I mainly live on beans, ham and eggs. Oh, and coffee. I had intended to stock up on a few basic things.”
Flour was four cents per pound, sugar ten cents, coffee twelve cents, similar prices to the mercantile in Raeburn she thought. “Do you have a kitchen herb garden?”
His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “No, but I do grow potatoes and corn.”
“Apart from flour, sugar, salt, rice and coffee, it would be good to buy molasses and dried fruit.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t think of all that kind of stuff.”
Dried apples were ten cents a pound and dried apricots fifteen cents, she could get by without them, though. “If you can’t afford it.”
“I can afford it. We’ll get enough stuff to last a month or so then we can go into Harris Junction, that’s the town I was telling you about. It isn’t big but suits my needs, and I know the people there.”
A man down the end of a long counter hurried up to them. “Howdy. What can I do for you?”
“Howdy,” Steve said while Katie smiled.
“Firstly, I need a wedding ring.
“You getting hitched?”
“Yeah, today if possible.”
“This your intended bride?”
Steve nodded.
“Let me see what size your finger is.”
Heat rushed to Katie’s cheeks. Reluctantly she held out her left hand. The man looked shocked at their condition but didn’t say anything.
She selected a couple and would take the first one that fit. Fortunately, the narrow gold band she tried on first was suitable.
Steve frowned. “Don’t worry about the cost, if there’s one you like better get it.”
“Thanks, I like this one.” The simple gold band was the cheapest at two dollars.”
The shop keeper looked as keen as she was to not have to look at her chafed hand again.
After giving the man the rest of the order Steve said. “Can you get all of this stuff ready and I’ll pay for it when we get back from the preacher. We’ll take the ring with us.”
“Bread,” Katie said staring at several loaves on a shelf behind the counter. “It would be quick and easy meal on the ride home.”
“Good idea didn’t think of that. Two loaves of bread thanks.”
“What about oats or chaff for the horse?”
“I always make sure I’ve got a full nose bag before leaving home. Where does the preacher live?”
“It’s the white weatherboard place next to the church. Go down the end of the street and turn right, you can’t miss it,” the man said.
“Thanks.” Steve slipped his arm through hers as they left the mercantile.
“I hope you weren’t embarrassed about the state of my hands. When I worked on my father’s ranch, I wore gloves for protection most of the time.”
“It didn’t worry me, but I could see your embarrassment. I’ll expect you to help me with some of the outside chores, but your hands will never get in that state again, I promise. Jones should be reported to the authorities for what he did.”
He strode along, making her almost run to keep up. “You’re going too fast for me,” she finally said, as her heart raced with the effort not to fall behind.
“Sorry, I keep forgetting what a little thing you are.” He matched his stride to hers.
Please, Mr. Preacher man, be home she inwardly prayed, wondering what Steve would do if he wasn’t.
They walked up the cobbled path of a small white house next to the church and knocked at the door. It was opened by a tall man wearing a clerical collar.
“Howdy, I’m Steve Colby, this is Katie McMullen, my intended wife.”
“I’m Preacher Norton. Nice to meet you, Miss McMullen, Captain Colby.”
“Steve please. I’m not in the army anymore.”
“Once a cavalry man, always a cavalry man,” the preacher said. “Come in, you’ll need a couple of witnesses.”
“I didn’t think about that.” Steve gnawed his lower lip.
“Don’t worry,” the preacher said. “My wife and a couple of ladies from the congregation are over at the church doing the cleaning, they’ll do.”
He took them into a cluttered sitting room. On a small side table was a brass crucifix, otherwise there were no religious items to be seen.
Katie sat nervously on the edge of a brocade chair. Steve, looking equally ill at ease paced the floor.
“Were you really a captain in the cavalry?”
“Yeah, a few years ago.” A shadow crossed his face. “Doug was too.”
“He doesn’t seem bitter about it like you?”
His eyes hardened and she wished she could take the words back. “What’s past is past,” he said. She knew as well as he did it wasn’t true. She had secrets, so did he.
****
Ten minutes later, they walked out of the preacher’s house as man and wife.
“I’m glad that’s over,” he said, slipping his arm through hers.
“Me too.”
“I’ve been thinking about what you told me regarding the jail break.” He frowned. “I’ll be seeing Doug in a few weeks, maybe I’ll check with him first.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I would feel better about telling him first. You know, the preacher was so nice I was tempted to ask his advice, only I thought you might get angry.”
“Why would I?”
“I don’t know you very well.”
“Once we get back to the ranch, we’ll get to know each other in every sense of the word.”
It was obvious he wanted her to know he would be expecting his husbandly dues. And why shouldn’t he? She was getting a roof over her head, food and a husband’s protection. Only fair he should get something out of the deal.
Her toes curled just thinking what it would be like to give herself to Steve Colby. He would never love her. So long as he treated her well and with respect, she would accept it even if she secretly craved more.
Back at the mercantile she watched her new husband pay for their order, he handed over the dollar bills without batting an eyelid.
“Will you have room in your buckboard for everything?”
“Yeah, there’s extra space at the back of our legs.”
They walked to the buckboard with the shopkeeper and a boy carrying their supplies. Once they were loaded, Steve grasped her around the waist and lifted her on to the seat with ease.
“Thanks,” he said to the storekeeper. Climbing on board, he made a clicking noise and flicked the reins a couple of times to get the horse moving.
“We should get to the ranch mid-morning tomorrow,” he said.
“Laramie was a long way for you to come.”
“Yeah, I nearly wasn’t going to bother except Doug had been so insistent. Him and Beth have been trying for years to get me married off.”
“Do they have children?”
“Yes, two boys, both at school now. Why did you write off to the newspaper?”
“I found a discarded St Louis Gazette on the floor in one of the rooms and I was so desperate after what I saw, I wrote off to someone called Lovelorn. I hoped, yet never really expected to get a reply, let alone a solution.”
He sighed. “I don’t know whether I’ll be muc
h of a solution.”
“You got me away from that awful hotel. You wouldn’t believe how filthy some of those rich people were.”
“Tell me.”
She told him about the latest disgusting guest she had to clean up after.
“Tarnation.” He slapped his hand against his thigh. “Jones, the lowdown skunk, had no right making you clean it up.”
“Well, he did. Now do you see why I had to get away. The place was making me sick.”
“What was your childhood like?” This was the question she feared. Hunching her shoulders, she said. “Not very good.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” She dared not tell him about being an Indian captive in case he reacted the same way as her parents had. Would he despise her if he knew? She couldn’t risk telling him. “What about your childhood?”
“It was okay. My parents had a ranch in Texas. They weren’t happy when I decided to make my career in the army. We sort of drifted apart. Last time I heard they had sold the ranch and moved to Houston.”
“You didn’t have any brothers or sisters?”
“No.” He shrugged. “When I was a child, I hated being the only one, later it didn’t worry me. The army became my home and my family.”
They lapsed into silence. She couldn’t think of anything to say while he was obviously disinclined to talk.
As dusk fell Steve drove off the road and pulled up near some trees. “We’ll spend the night here, it’s too rough from here in the dark with the buckboard.”
Katie was glad to be able to get out and stretch her legs. They had had a couple of short breaks to give the horse a rest. She liked that he didn’t drive it too hard. Pa had been hard on her and his animals, expecting them to work to the point of exhaustion to finish any job he set for them.
Many were the times she had seen the horses toiling under the whip ploughing a paddock, their coats flecked with foam. He had no mercy on them or her for that matter. The man was a monster, her mother little better. Strangely enough, he never laid a hand on his wife, although she slapped and kicked him quite often.
Steve jumped down from the buckboard and lifted her down. “Can you get a fire going while I see to the horse?”
“Yes, we can have beans, cheese and bread,” she said.
“We need an early night. I have to be up at first light.”
Would he consummate their marriage under a star filled Wyoming sky? She hoped so.
There was plenty of wood lying around for a fire and a creek flowed close by. This was a perfect stopping place. In fact, someone had built a rough fireplace. By the time he arrived back from seeing to the horse, the fire was burning brightly.
“I noticed a fireplace has been built here. Do you always stop here?”
“Yes, this is my usual stopping place. Some other ranchers stop here and a few drifters too. I know Doug has on occasion.”
“Will I toast the bread?”
“No, unless you want to for yourself. It will be nice and fresh. I’ll bring over my bed roll.” He frowned. “You don’t have one.”
“Maybe I can share yours,” she teased, starting to feel much more relaxed in his company now.
He laughed. It was a nice sound. “No man who’s still breathing could refuse an offer like that from a pretty young woman.” He strode off, straight backed, tall and strong.
Excited butterflies danced in her stomach. She was starting to have feelings for Steve Colby. It was foolish on such short acquaintance when she had no idea what he felt. Being starved for love from as far back as she could remember, she was too eager to give her heart to a man just because he was kind.
Remember what happened with Jake. Fake promises and lies and she had fallen for it. The difference was she was attracted to Steve who had promised her nothing except a roof over her head and food in her belly.
He returned with a bedroll tucked under one arm, a pan, coffee pot and the cheese and bread in his hands.
“What a feast,” she said.
“I’ll get water for the coffee pot.” He stepped past her and soon disappeared behind the trees and tall bushes.
Once the sun set it became cool. She shivered slightly and held her hands out to the flames.
When he returned, he set the coffee pot on the flames, opened the beans with his knife and tipped them into the pan. “We’ll have to spread them on our bread, I didn’t think to bring plates.”
He rested one of the loaves on the paper bag it had come in before hacking off a couple of thick slices. He broke a small piece off and popped it in his mouth. “Mm, nice and fresh. Do you want some now or do you want to wait for the beans to heat up?”
“I’ll wait for the beans to heat up. I’ll have a piece of cheese while I’m waiting.”
He cut off a chunk with his knife, speared it on to the tip and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She took the piece and popped it in her mouth. “Nice.”
With their backs against a fallen tree trunk they ate their supper and Katie couldn’t believe how good it tasted.
“This is nice,” he said.
“Yes.” She stopped eating long enough to say. She was starting to feel nervous now, wondering what he would expect tonight – if anything.
They drank their coffee in a leisurely fashion. It seemed to taste somehow better with just a hint of smokiness. Stars popped out all over the black sky and a lazy moon hung over the distant mountains. They didn’t speak, it was as if neither of them wanted to break the comfortable silence embracing them.
Finally, Steve said. “If you need to relieve yourself, you better go soon, it gets pitch black out there.”
He was a thoughtful man. She had been wondering how to broach the subject.
“I’ll wait here until you get back. Don’t wander off too far. You never know what might be hiding out there.”
“Wild animals?”
He laughed. “No, I was only teasing you.”
“That isn’t kind.”
“I know.” He laughed again. “I couldn’t help it. You’ve obviously never slept under the open sky before.”
“I have….not.” The lie caused her cheeks to burn and guilt would be clearly written on her face. Thankfully he couldn’t see. As an Indian captive she had often slept under the stars. She scurried off.
When she came back, he had spread a ground sheet out and a blanket lay on top of it.
“We’ll have to share. I wasn’t going to waste three dollars on buying a blanket when I’ve got plenty at the ranch.”
“Oh?”
“Army issue. I’ll be back in a minute.” He strode off and the darkness soon swallowed him up.
Piles of leaves carpeted the ground, so she gathered them up and placed them under the ground sheet to make a pillow.
Steve moved so quietly she jumped when he spoke. “I’m back.”
“You nearly scared the wits out of me. Should I sleep in my clothes?”
“I’m going to.” Safer that way she thought she heard him mutter.
This being married to a stranger wasn’t easy.
He built the fire up until it gave out a comforting orange glow. If it gets too cold, we can move in closer. He removed his gun belt and placed his Colt within arm’s reach. After removing his boots, he lay down.
She bent down, unlaced her boots and took them off, then unbuttoned the top two buttons on her dress.
“Come on,” he said. “You’re hopping around like a cat on hot bricks.” He patted the ground beside him.
They lay quietly side by side, covered by the blanket and she had never felt so warm or safe. She suddenly realized her life had been dogged by fear, now she wasn’t afraid with this strong man to care for her.
“Thank you, Steve,” she said softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek. He let out a groan and she feared she had somehow hurt him.
He dragged her into his arms. “A man should be shot f
or this, but I can’t wait until we get to the ranch.” His mouth closed over hers, hot and urgent. Momentarily her lips remained tightly shut, then they opened to him.
Excitement and heat vied for supremacy as they raced through her body. The black Wyoming sky above them was sprinkled with a million stars. The soft ground caressed them. The night birds serenaded them, and with the flickering orange flames casting shadows in the darkness, Steve made her his wife.
Chapter Ten
Next morning as dawn streaked the sky with pink Steve woke up with Katie curled beside him. He had been greedy last night, expecting too much of her. He had been amazed at how responsive she was to his passion, even more surprised and pleased that she had given the gift of her virginity to him, something he hadn’t expected. He didn’t know much about love, didn’t know whether he was capable of such an emotion, although he sure as hell wanted her.
He eased himself away, covering her shoulders with the blanket and hurriedly dressed. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever though he’d be making love to a woman out in the wilderness. It was so sensual he wanted to do it again.
Are you crazy or what? His bristles rasped as he ran his hand across his jaw. The fire had burned down to a bed of glowing embers and he placed the half full coffee pot on them. Leaving Katie to sleep, he hitched the horse to the buckboard, only then did he wake her.
She sat up looking around from sleep glazed eyes, then red fired her cheeks as she glanced down at her state of undress. “The coffee is nearly ready,” he said, turning away to give her privacy but he really wanted to stare at her body in the daylight. He had touched her all over last night, now he wanted his eyes to travel the same path. “I’ll cut us some bread and cheese.”
****
Katie couldn’t believe how she had reacted to Steve last night. A few moments of pain and shock had been followed by rapture. She had felt the puckered skin around his shoulder, but he had brushed aside her query as to what had happened to him.
Was it love or lust he felt for her? He hadn’t said he loved her, barely spoke at all. She was truly his wife now and it felt good. She knew nothing about what a man expected from his wife, but instinct had told her he enjoyed their coupling as much as she did.
Lost in Laramie (Yours Truly: The Lovelorn Book 4) Page 6