by Zina Abbott
A clamor of voices shouted out the complaints about Eddie Joe getting a bride before all the miners had theirs. One of the disgruntled miners pointed a finger at Eddie Joe and raised his voice above the rest. “Tell him, Mr. Bainbridge. Tell him you have a special deal with that woman from Denver to get wives for the miners first. Tell that cowboy if he wants to marry, he needs to wait.”
The man Royce Bainbridge had identified as Herbert Price took up the cry. “My brother gets a wife before he does. Hand her over. She goes to Nathan.”
A loud whistle pierced the air. As the men settled, Royce Bainbridge turned on the drunk. “Herbert Price, since you aren’t signed up to get a bride in the first place, you have no stake in this at all. You’re just causing trouble, plus it’s obvious you’ve been drinking. I made it clear there were to be no spirits at this dance, and no one was to come if they were under the influence. My guess is you were behind the cider being doctored. Now, get out of here and go sleep it off.”
Herbert Price grumbled as he stepped back. “I ain’t the only one who had a hand in the cider getting spiked.”
Bainbridge called out even louder. “Nathan Price? If you’re here, you better come get your brother out of my sight.”
A man pulled through the crowd. “Sorry, Mr. Bainbridge. I’ll see he gets home and causes no more trouble.”
Before Nathan reached his brother, Bainbridge grabbed his arm and spoke in a low voice. “I hope you know if it weren’t for you, he’d have been gone by now. If you want him to keep his job, try to get through to him he has about run out of chances with me.”
“I will, Mr. Bainbridge.” Nathan Price put his arm across Herbert’s shoulders and guided him towards the exit. The crowd parted to allow the pair to leave the building.
One of the miners spoke up. “What about the woman, Mr. Bainbridge? Shouldn’t she go to a miner?”
Cletus retorted, the threat in his voice unmistakable. “The boss sent for her. She goes with him.”
Bainbridge turned to the men from the Jacobson Ranch. “Who’s in charge of you men?”
Eddie Joe spoke up. “I am. Eddie Joe Hampton. I’m their foreman. The owner is out of town on his wedding trip.”
“Right. Zeb Jacobson, isn’t it?” At Eddie Joe’s nod, he continued. “Mr. Hampton, I suggest you control your men. We don’t need any more trouble.”
“My men and I aren’t looking for trouble, Mr. Bainbridge, but we’ll meet it head on if it insists on coming our way. It’s your men you need to control.”
The town mayor spoke up next. “Now, gentlemen, I’ve sent for the sheriff. I suggest we all settle down before he gets here so the dance can continue. Otherwise, I’m going to ask him to send all the miners north towards the mine…”
Bainbridge interrupted to growl out his threat. “And if it comes to that, you can pack your gear and head out, because you won’t have a job come Monday.”
The mayor continued. “…and I’ll ask the sheriff to send the men from the Jacobson Ranch towards Monarch Bend with a warning they won’t be welcome in town again.”
The room erupted into muttering on both sides. A miner buried in the crowd raised his voice above the rest. “I still say the miners get the women for wives before anyone else.”
Etta used her small size to wriggle between bodies until she stood in front of Royce Bainbridge and the mayor. Once they both looked down at her and she knew she had their attention, she spoke. “Don’t I get no say in all this?”
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CHAPTER 16
~o0o~
Eddie Joe stepped up next to Etta and put his hand on her shoulder. “Etta, it’s not safe for you to stand here in the middle of things right now.”
“It’s safe. This man’s their boss and he told them to back off, and you’re the boss of your men. The other one runs the town. So I want to hear it from them.”
The mayor wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Excuse me, miss, but I haven’t met you.”
“My name is Henrietta Crabtree, and I’m the woman Eddie Joe Hampton, foreman for the Jacobson Ranch, sent for. I’ve had people all my life telling me what to do, and I’m about full up with it. Even my ma said I had to write to Mrs. Millard to find me a husband before my brother sold me off as a wife to some man, because he don’t like so many mouths to feed at his table. But Mrs. Millard said even though she’d match up my handwriting to figure out which men would make the best husbands for me, in the end it was my choice who I marry. I came here to marry Mr. Hampton, but now all these men I haven’t written to say I have to marry a miner. So I’m asking you. Since I’m the one to be married, don’t I have no choice in all this?”
By this time, Lizett Millard had joined the inner circle and stood next to Royce Bainbridge. “Of course, you have the choice, Etta. Do you know for sure who you want to marry?”
“Yes, ma’am. If he’ll have me, I choose Eddie Joe Hampton. If the preacher-man was here, I’d marry him right this minute.”
“I’ll have her.” Eddie Joe leaned forward and spoke low enough he hoped only Etta could hear. “You sure, Etta? I don’t want you to feel you have to.”
“I’m sure. What about you? You sure?”
Eddie Joe’s face split into a wide grin. “I was sure before I sent for you, Etta.” He straightened up and looked around the room. “Pastor Alwin, are you here tonight? We need a wedding.”
The mayor threw up his hands and shook his head. “You don’t need to feel pressured to marry tonight. The sheriff’s on the way and will see everything gets settled down.”
Etta straightened to her full height, which wasn’t very tall. “Don’t need the sheriff, Mr. Mayor. I just need someone to marry us.”
Several others took up the cry for Jeffrey Alwin. Soon, the pastor joined Eddie Joe and Etta. “Sorry. I was standing outside waiting for the sheriff. Someone said you want to be married tonight? Wouldn’t you prefer to get married in the church tomorrow?”
Etta shook her head. “No. Way things are going, won’t be no peace in this town by waiting for tomorrow. I’ll make it up to God at church in the morning, but I want us to get married tonight in front of this whole room of witnesses. Then folks won’t need to argue no more over who I should marry, because it’ll already be done and over with.”
Sheriff Jim Hawkins burst from the foyer into the main room on a run. “What’s going on here? Why did you send someone to come looking for me on the other end of town? I figured any trouble tonight would come from those who didn’t come to the dance.”
Eddie Joe stepped forward. “False alarm, Sheriff. Looks like the problem settled itself—or it will right quick.” He turned to Jeffrey Alwin. “Is it possible for you to do that for us tonight, Pastor Alwin? For the sake of my soon-to-be wife, I’d appreciate it.”
Jeffrey Alwin sighed with resignation. “If someone doesn’t mind giving me a ride to the church and back so I can get my Bible and marriage register, I can perform the marriage.”
Royce Bainbridge spoke up. “I’ll take you.” He turned to his miners still lining the wall between the punch bowls and the platform where the fiddler stood. “I’m agreeable to this wedding, so that ought to settle this matter. You men take it easy while I’m gone. If one or more of those bowls are spiked, I want them taken to the far side of the schoolyard and dumped. And no sampling it on your way there.”
The mayor raised his voice. “To make sure everything quiets down, I’m asking the sheriff to stay until Mr. Bainbridge returns with the pastor. Until then, let’s have another dance.”
Eddie Joe slid his arm around Etta’s shoulders and turned her around. “Come on, Etta. Join me and the boys at the food table to see if they have any desserts left. Looks like this is going to serve as our wedding cake. Once we’re married, we’re getting out of here.”
After Royce Bainbridge returned with the pastor, he and the mayor excused the fiddler as soon as the dance he was playing ended.
The crowd quieted as the pastor guided the pair through their wedding vows.
When he reached the part about the ring, much to Etta’s surprise, Eddie Joe reached deep into an inside pocket and pulled out a gold band. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I hope it’s the right size. You told me you were small, so I didn’t get a big one.”
Jeffrey Alwin cleared his throat at the interruption and continued. The next thing Etta heard was him telling Eddie Joe to kiss his new wife.
Etta glanced out at the room and at all the people staring at the three of them on the raised platform. She liked Eddie Joe’s kisses, but to be kissed in front of such a large audience? She didn’t know if she’d like that. Before she knew it, Eddie Joe held her in his arms, and she felt his lips on hers. Suddenly, she didn’t mind anymore, in spite of the cheers and clapping from the crowd. She had had her say, and now she had the husband of her choice.
In the end, Etta asked Lizett Millard to sign the marriage ledger as her witness while Eddie Joe chose Norbert, who had built the house for them she had yet to see.
After the formalities were finished, the pastor looked between them. “Since this was unexpected, do you two have a place to stay tonight?”
Eddie Joe nodded. “Etta has a room with Mr. and Mrs. Howard. If Mrs. Millard feels I need to reimburse her for the night, I’ll make it right, both with her and Mr. Howard, but I’ll stay there with her.”
Lizett Millard cleared her throat. “I need to remind you, Mr. Hampton, that under the terms of the contract you signed, your wife has a month before you can expect her to fulfill her marital duties to you. She may not wish you to spend the night in her room.”
Eddie Joe didn’t recall that condition of the contract, but if the woman said it was there, so be it. He turned to her with a grin on his face, but with an edge of steel in his voice. “Then I reckon I’ll sleep on the floor, Mrs. Millard. However, under the circumstances, I am sleeping in the same room with my wife.”
Clara Howard offered to carry her lantern and lead the couple back to the boarding house while Cletus agreed to go to the livery to bring Eddie Joe his bedroll. Along the way, Clara turned to Eddie Joe with an apology. “It’s just as well you intend to sleep on the floor, Mr. Hampton. Since Etta had a room by herself, I didn’t give her one of the larger beds. As for breakfast, you are welcome without charge. You can settle with Mrs. Millard regarding whether or not she wants you to reimburse her for this night.”
Alone in the room with her new husband and only one lamp burning, Etta watched Eddie Joe shake out his bedroll on the braided rag rug next to her bed. She waited until she heard Clara’s footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs before she leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Eddie Joe?”
Eddie Joe rose to his feet. “Yes, what is it, Etta? You going to be all right with me in here with you?”
Etta nodded then bit her lip while she considered how to word what was on her mind. “Eddie Joe, I know the bed isn’t all that big, but you’re welcome to share it with me so you don’t have to sleep on no floor. If you want to, that is.”
Eddie Joe leaned down and studied her face. “Of course, I want to. But if you want to wait the month, we can.”
Etta looked down and shook her head. “No, I already made my choice. I don’t want to wait no month.” She glanced up to gauge Eddie Joe’s reaction.
Eddie Joe grinned as he looked over at the bed that was wider than what he was used to sleeping in at the bunkhouse but narrower than the bed he had purchased for their new house. “Good thing we’re both sort of skinny, because there’ll be plenty of room for both of us in there.” He turned back to her. “You’re sure about this, Etta?”
“I’m sure.”
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MONARCH BEND – OCTOBER, 1881
CHAPTER 18
~o0o~
The next morning, Etta watched her new husband as he gradually woke up—the second time. The first time had led to more of what they had shared when they first went to bed which resulted in the two of them slipping back to sleep. Only this time, she woke up first and was already dressed, had her things packed in her tow sack and her hair fixed with her pins and new combs the best she could manage. She already had Eddie Joe’s bed roll ready to load into the buckboard.
Etta smiled as she teased Eddie Joe. “I didn’t know I had such a lay-about for a husband. I hope that’s a sign you’re a satisfied man.”
Eddie Joe grinned back at her as he sat up. “Oh, I am definitely satisfied with my new wife, Mrs. Etta Hampton. You’ve made me very happy. Now, unless you don’t mind seeing what you’ll see, you need to turn your back while I get dressed.”
Etta did as he asked. In spite of the love they had shared, their relationship was still so new, she preferred to give him some privacy while they got used to each other. “Are we planning to leave right after church, Eddie Joe? Mrs. Howard says Sundays she sets out a buffet lunch instead of providing supper. It’s something we can take with us. I can use the money I still have to cover it.”
“I’ll cover it, Etta. You hang on to that other money for something you want. You anxious to get home, are you?”
“Sure am. I’ve about had my fill of town and people for now.”
A fully-dressed Eddie Joe came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her middle as he nuzzled her neck. “Here I was hoping you were anxious to get home to spend some quality time alone with your husband.”
Etta smiled, turned her head, and lifted her cheek, hoping for a kiss. “That, too.”
After church, Eddie Joe left Etta at the boarding house to collect their buffet lunch while he went to the livery and hitched up the team. There he met up with his men. He had threatened them before the services to behave themselves and not embarrass his new wife, and he felt kindly towards them since they had done what he had asked. As soon as he returned to the boarding house with the buckboard and both he and Etta were ready, they said their goodbyes and started for Monarch Bend.
Eddie Joe was grateful for the quilts Juanita had sent. One they sat on and the other he kept tightly wrapped around Etta. Thankfully, the snowy weather from the previous day had not returned. As the afternoon wore on, the sun came out and warmed them up enough Etta let the quilt drop from her shoulders.
The trip passed with periods of silence while Etta took in the countryside. Other times they talked, sharing details of their earlier lives when they lived at home as children. The one subject they both avoided talking about was the years she spent with her first husband.
As soon as the ranch came into view, Eddie Joe turned to Etta. “Now, sweetheart, I need to warn you. Part of the men always stay on the ranch to take care of the essential chores. With our boss away, I can’t promise they’ll behave themselves when they catch sight of you. Other than maybe me stopping long enough to introduce you if everyone is on their best behavior, we are going to drive straight through to our place. I built our home a ways off from the main ranch. That way you don’t need to put up with the single men and their nonsense.”
The men still at the ranch poured out of the buildings at the sound of the approaching buckboard. Full of curiosity, they stepped into the yard near the wagon. Only Rusty went to the head of the horses to hold them.
Eddie Joe heaved a sigh of relief that none of them made rude noises or appeared to ogle Etta. He made quick introductions before he told them his plans. “I’m going to get Etta settled in our house and get a fire going for her, then I’ll be back to see how things have gone while I was in town.”
A few gave knowing grins.
Rusty spoke up first. “We’re all here and breathing. Don’t need to come if you’re busy. Want me to come get the wagon and horses in a bit, Eddie Joe?”
“No, I’ll water them at the river and bring them back with me. No need to
have any of you coming to the house unless there’s an emergency.” Although Rusty was one hand Eddie Joe didn’t really worry about being around Etta, he hoped it would not take too much to convince the rest his home place and his wife were off limits for visiting.
As they approached the house that would be her new home, Eddie Joe glanced over at Etta as she studied it. He hoped she liked what she saw. Although he had left much undone inside so she could have a say in furnishing and decorating their house, now he hoped she would not be disappointed.
Eddie Joe pulled the buckboard to a stop next to the front stoop, set the brake and wrapped the leads around it. He climbed down and helped Etta to the ground. His arm around her, he brought her to the front door. Once he shoved it open, he swept her up in his arms.
Etta caught her breath. “What’re you doing, Eddie Joe?”
“Carrying you across the threshold like a good husband should. Don’t you know about that?”
Etta giggled. “I forgot. I’m just excited about seeing everything.”
Eddie Joe helped her settle her feet on the floor. He held her hand, as well as his breath, while she looked around the room.
“This is a right nice house, Eddie Joe. I’m proud to have this for my home.” She walked over to the stove and ran her hand across the cold surface. “This here is a good stove—better than the one we had at home.”
“Did you see the sink and pump? Had the boys dig a nice well and fix it so it pumped inside.”
Etta sucked in her breath. “We didn’t have no inside pump at home, only one outside.”
Eddie Joe smiled with pleasure over her being impressed with an indoor pump. He continued his tour, explaining the boards on the sawhorses were temporary, and they would eventually end up as shelves on the wall after the two of them went to the furniture store in Jubilee Springs and picked out a table set. “I looked at some Ben Nighy said are like the ones he built for the miners’ cabins. The sets only have two chairs, but I figure that’s enough for now.”