Faye Favors a Foreman: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 11)

by Linda K. Hubalek

  Rusty had never seen Cate so happy, laughing and crying at the same time, clutching Isaac's hand as they walked up to Pastor standing at the altar waiting for them.

  "Are you ready to be married, Cate?" Pastor Reagan asked as the couple stopped in front of him.

  "Absolutely!" Cate laughed. "Isaac, I assume you have witnesses ready to step forward?"

  "Sarah and Marcus," Isaac replied, "but I'd say the whole congregation counts too."

  The congregation chuckled as Sarah and Marcus stood up.

  "Here, Rusty, please hold Mark," Sarah asked as she moved down the pew to exit into the aisle.

  The baby fussed a second until Rusty moved Mark onto his shoulder and gently patted his back. The infant sighed and fell asleep again after being awakened by his mother's movement.

  Rusty felt honored that he was one of the four people holding the babies in their pew. Isaac had always made Rusty feel like part of his family and being included in the family row witnessing Isaac, and Cate's wedding was just icing on the cake for him.

  "Grandma, what you doing?"

  Faye groaned beside him, while the congregation had another reason to chuckle. Maisie had been sitting beside Faye, but the little girl crawled under the pews to reach Cate. With Violet on Faye's lap, she wasn't quick enough to grab the girl before she got away.

  “I’m getting married to Grandpa, Maisie,” Cate leaned down to sooth the child. “Want to be a part of it?”

  “Maggie, Marty, Molly, and Moses, come on up here if you want to,” Isaac said to the kids who were already pushing their way out of the pew to get to the front to stand with Isaac and Cate. The group of children had been a part of Sarah and Marcus’ wedding ceremony, so Rusty imagined they wanted to be included in their grandparent’s marriage too.

  “What about the triplets?” Maggie asked.

  “I think they are fine to watch from where they are. Now shall we proceed?” Pastor asked patiently while trying to hold back a smile.

  Rusty watched as the couple said their vows and promised their love to each other, all the while keeping five children corralled between them. Rusty thought again of his future. If he didn’t marry and have children, he’d never enjoy the joy of grandchildren either. He smoothed his hand over Mark’s back and glanced at Faye, who was intently watching the ceremony.

  Did Faye wish for the same thing as he was? A spouse, a family, and future grandchildren?

  “Would you like to dance, Faye?” Rusty asked when Kaitlyn Reagan begged to hold Violet and Faye had finally relented.

  “Do you know how to dance, cowboy?” Faye teased him.

  “I’ve been to enough barn dances and socials to get by without stepping on your toes too many times. How about you?” Rusty asked as he reached for Faye’s hand, noticing the tingling he felt when their hands clasped.

  “I had to entertain ‘guests’ at the brothel, so I know how to dance,” Faye shrugged, “but I’ve never danced with a real gentleman before.”

  Her last words cut the sting from Faye’s words. She’d danced as part of her job, but not for fun. Well, he’d show her the difference.

  “Did you ever dance to a caller before? Four dancers are in a group together and step out what the announcer calls out to do?”

  “No, we didn’t really square dance, more like rubbed our chests against the front of the man as we swayed to the piano music,” Faye grimaced.

  Faye’s words weren’t going to stomp down Rusty’s good mood this evening. The celebration of his good friends took precedence.

  “Then it’s time you learn and have fun doing it,” Rusty said as he pulled Faye into a group to make the fourth couple and put his arm around her waist.

  The music started, and Rusty pulled Faye through the first round of steps, but she caught on quickly. She laughed and kept her eye on Rusty as she flowed through the steps with the other three men in her group. It felt good to have her back in his arms, even briefly before they needed to trade partners again. The idea of courting Faye felt a little more possible when she turned again to look back at him. But could he be enough for Faye after she realized she was free to make choices of her own?

  ***

  “Having fun?” Sarah asked Faye when she and Rusty stopped by the refreshment table. Faye glanced at Rusty, but he was walking to the other end of the table to get them cups of punch.

  “Yes! I’ve never danced like that before. It’s…liberating if that makes sense?”

  “Yes, it makes sense. Enjoying dancing with Rusty too?”

  “Definitely, although other men have been eyeing me too. Is it all right to dance with others?”

  “Fill your dance card with whoever you want to dance with and enjoy the evening, Faye. This is your chance to meet prospective husbands,” Sarah hinted, but she looked at Rusty while she said it.

  “Is that all right, even though I came with…family?”

  Sarah would know Faye meant Rusty when she said, family.

  “Unless you and Rusty are courting, yes you can dance with others. You are now free to do what you want, Faye. No more brothel rules,” Sarah whispered her last words.

  Faye expanded her chest and straightened her back. Yes, she was free to do what she wanted to do now.

  “Like to sit down and drink some punch for a little bit? I know I’m thirsty,” Rusty said as he held out a cup to Faye.

  “Thank you. I would,” Faye turned her beaming smile at Rusty. As long as Violet was being handed around by an older set of ladies, she was free to do as she pleased.

  Faye had only drunk half of her punch before a stranger stood in front of her.

  “May I have this dance, Miss? I’m Barney Hilton, a cowhand for the Bar E Ranch.” the man did a bow before extending his hand to her.

  Faye glanced at Rusty, noticing his quick scowl before he shrugged his shoulders in indifference.

  “Thank you, Mr. Hilton. I’m Miss Faye Longoria, and I’d love to dance.” Faye handed her cup to Rusty before accepting Hilton’s hand. She looked forward to dancing again, but this man’s touch did nothing for her like Rusty’s hand had done. Oh well. She was here to start her new life and meeting the men of Clear Creek was one of tonight’s goals.

  “Nice wedding tonight. Have you ever wanted to marry, Miss Longoria?” Mr. Hilton asked as they waited for the caller to begin the next set of dances.

  “Yes, I have. I would have liked to have married my baby’s papa, but he was already wed to another,” Faye sighed. She still thought of Richard frequently and wished it could have turned out differently for them.

  “Excuse me?” Mr. Hilton dropped Faye’s hand. “Did you say you had a baby with a married man?” Several people looked their way at his raised voice.

  Faye knew her face was redder than a ripe strawberry. This man hadn’t heard about her past and was offended by it.

  “I’d never dance—let alone court—a woman who was a…trollop.” Mr. Hilton’s words stung as he walked away, leaving her standing alone in a group of couples ready to dance.

  Tears stung her eyes until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her against a man’s chest. Thank goodness Rusty had come to her rescue.

  The music started, and she took her first step until she twirled to meet Rusty. Only it wasn’t him, but a stranger grinning at her.

  “I, unlike Hilton, would like to spend time with you. How about we adjourn outside after this dance to walk and talk some more?”

  “Oh. Thank you, Mr.?” Faye asked as they danced together.

  “John Bellman, but you can think of me as your baby’s pa, and we can pick up where you left off with him. Either against the wall, in the back of a wagon, or in my bed if you want to wait that long to get there…”

  The man’s words sunk in the same time his hands roamed too high up her waist. She was used to such talk and actions in her past and had to put up with them, but she didn’t now. What could she do without making a scene? Everyone was watching them.


  Don’t let yourself get into a situation where you might be harmed.

  Cate’s words came back to her, calming her panic. Faye pretended to misstep and ground the heel of her shoe into his instep. The man instantly let go of her as he lifted his sore foot.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry! Clumsy me!” Faye said in a mocking cheery voice while narrowing her eyes at the man.

  When he looked at her face, she whispered, “Touch me again, and you’ll be sorry.”

  He pulled her off the dance floor and got into her face. “Oh yeah? How?”

  “Being a past ‘trollop’ I know how to fix a man, so he won’t ever enjoy a woman again,” Faye hissed in his face.

  “Faye? Are you all right?” Rusty’s question behind her made her take a deep breath.

  “Yes, Rusty. I just injured Mr. Bellman’s foot, and he won’t be able to dance now. Could you finish this dance set with me?”

  “Sure,” Rusty said, but looked between her and Bellman as if something else was going on besides a sore foot.

  Faye relaxed as Rusty took her hand and led her back to the dance floor and swung her back into the dance’s motions.

  “Care to tell me what that was about?” Rusty said as she twirled against his back.

  “No, but thank you for checking on me. I believe you’re the best dancer here tonight.”

  The evening’s reception showed Faye’s past would always haunt her here. Was it worth staying in Clear Creek to be with Sarah and her family, or should she move to Topeka to be near her father? Maybe she wouldn’t be welcomed there either, but at least people wouldn’t know she’d grown up in a brothel.

  Surely her father would find her accommodations and help her find a job to support her and Violet. But maybe not since he didn’t want his new family to know about his past children.

  Faye looked up at Rusty, realizing he was watching her. He didn’t judge her for her past. And why not since other’s did? What made Rusty special?

  But the central question that kept coming back to her was, what would be best for Violet? The love for her child had grown fierce since escaping to the Cross C Ranch, and she would do what was best for her baby before her own needs.

  Chapter 13

  Faye never told Rusty what had happened with Bellman at the dance a week ago, but it had changed her attitude. Gone was the whiny girl trying to get out of chores Sarah was always harping at her to do. Instead, Faye matured overnight, taking care of Violet and the triplets like it was the most important work of her life.

  And Rusty was attracted to this woman more than he was before her transformation. The question was whether this change was permanent, or just a fluke.

  But because of Faye’s change, she wasn’t on his porch almost every night to get away from the house, and he missed hearing her hum to Violet, even if he didn’t go out to talk to her.

  Now he was trying to find ways to cross paths with Faye, and of course get a chance to hold Violet too.

  Isaac’s suggestion that Rusty teach Faye how to handle guns was his reason to knock on the house door this evening. Marcus said it was the best time to talk to Faye when the children were in bed.

  “Hello, Rusty,” Marcus greeted him after Rusty knocked. “Want to talk to Faye?”

  “Please, if the children are taken care of.”

  “All are in bed but the triplets, but Sarah and I can handle them. Just a minute and I’ll send her out to the porch. You’re more likely to not be bothered there if one of the older children sneak downstairs.”

  Rusty nodded his thanks and moved to sit down on the porch swing to wait for Faye. Who knew if it would be a few minutes or thirty before she came out.

  He set the swing to moving with his foot, enjoying the quiet of the evening after a long day’s work. The wind had blown today but had settled down to a soft breeze at dusk.

  Rusty looked across the ranch yard to his cabin. If he had a wife, they’d be sitting on his own porch after their supper and getting their children tucked in bed.

  Faye came to mind again because she’d already made herself at home on his porch.

  Was he falling for the idea of having Faye and Violet as his family, or were they just the catalyst to point out he was ready to settle down with a family?

  So far, no woman in the area had made him think about courting and marriage. Why Faye? She was probably ten years younger than him, and certainly not mature in so many ways. But then that was because of her tragic upbringing.

  Did it bother him that she’d been with other men? Yes, and no. She’d know more about relationships in bed than he would, which kind of embarrassed him. But she was forced into it, so it wasn’t that she was a wanton woman by choice.

  I always wished I could have kissed him once, but that was against the rules.

  What Faye had said about not kissing Richard had always stuck in his mind. Rusty wondered if she had ever been kissed by a man but had never asked such a personal question.

  Maybe he could be Faye’s first kiss?

  “Hello, Rusty. Marcus said you wanted to see me?”

  Rusty stopped the swing and stood up to greet her. “Yes. Please sit down with me, and we’ll talk.”

  “All right,” Faye said formally, not at all like her usual manner.

  Once they were seated, Rusty pushed off with his foot to move the swing again.

  “Before he left, Isaac asked that I teach you how to shoot a gun. He wanted to be sure you could protect yourself and the family if need be.”

  Rusty looked at Faye who was trying to keep from smiling.

  “What? This is a serious matter.”

  Faye burst out laughing before covering her mouth with her hands.

  “Okay, what’s so funny?” Then it dawned on Rusty. “I bet you already know how to handle a firearm?”

  “Oh, very well, thanks to the stash of guns hidden in Isaac’s father’s house.”

  “Excuse me? A stash of guns?”

  “I’m sure you know Isaac’s family manufactured guns for several decades. His father kept one of every model made over the years.”

  “Yes, then Isaac sold the company after the Civil War.”

  “But apparently, Isaac didn’t know about the dozens of guns still in his father’s home. When my grandmother married Mr. Connely, he showed her his gun collection in the basement of the house, which he kept under lock and key.”

  “I bet Isaac didn’t even know the collection existed.”

  “Probably not. After Mr. Connely died, my grandmother continued to visit the room because she was fascinated with the collection. After I moved in, I’d go downstairs to help her clean them. We even took some of the guns out into the countryside and shot them off for fun.”

  “Why was your grandmother enamored with firearms?”

  “She grew up in the wilds of Kentucky, shooting for their food with an old musket gun. Her father was gone and being the oldest child, she was in charge of bringing home food for the family of six.”

  “And those new fancy guns mesmerized her,” Rusty guessed.

  “Exactly. My grandmother could shoot the hair off the tip of a squirrel’s curly tail, and the animal wouldn’t know it.”

  “And she taught you in turn,” Rusty grinned.

  “I wasn’t as good as her, and it’s been years since I shot a pistol or a longarm, but I bet it would come back to me.”

  “You’ll have to surprise Isaac with your story when he comes back. I wonder what happened to the collection since you saw it last?”

  “Grandma started selling off the guns before I left. She had a tidy income hidden downstairs.”

  “I assume your father sold the house after your grandmother died? Or was it still in Isaac and his sister’s names?”

  “I don’t know, although my father probably told Isaac in the letter he sent to him. Isaac’s never said a word about what was in the letter to me.”

  “He never said a word about it to me either.”

  “Would you like to pr
actice shooting sometime? I can take you to the caves in the canyon some evening.”

  “Maybe when Cate and Isaac return.” Faye lifted her shoulder as if it didn’t matter to her either way. Well, that was one outing he had planned to take Faye on that fell through.

  After Faye’s reply, they continued to swing in silence for a while. Rusty couldn’t help wondering about Faye’s change of demeanor, so he decided to ask in a roundabout way.

  “How’s Violet? I haven’t seen her for a few days.”

  “She’s fine, thank you.”

  “I miss seeing her when you used to sit on my front porch,” Rusty hinted.

  “You’ll have to see her during the day sometime then. I’m working on getting her sleep at night on the same schedule as the triplets.”

  “Why?”

  “To get up fewer times during the night. Taking care of four infants is exhausting, and Sarah and I need sleep,” Faye said as she pushed a bit of hair off her forehead. Rusty would have loved to move the tendril to anchor it behind Faye’s right ear, but he didn’t dare touch her.

  Rusty turned sideways in his seat to get Faye’s attention.

  “I’ve noticed a change in you this week. You’re not as…happy now. What’s wrong? You can confide in me if you don’t want to talk to Sarah about it.”

  Faye looked around every direction but at him before she finally answered.

  “I’ve been thinking it was a mistake to come to Clear Creek.”

  “Why? This is where your family lives.” And me, Rusty wanted to point out.

  “Because of my past. Half the men didn’t want to dance with me at the reception because of my past, and the other half did, thinking I’d jump at the chance to lie with them.”

  Faye didn’t look at Rusty when she spoke but continued to stare at her clasped hands in her lap.

  “Maybe I should move to someplace where people don’t know my past. I’m sure Isaac would help me financially to settle in another town. I’m thinking an elderly widow that needed help would be a place I could live if she wouldn’t mind me having my baby with me. I’d tell people I was a widow, so I could start over and leave my past behind.”