Amelia's Marriage

by Agnes Alexander

  He took a gold watch from his black leather vest pocket. “Almost eight. I figured we’ve slept late enough that the folks in town will realize we had a wonderful wedding night. Now I think we ought to get our day started. We have some things to do, you know.” He returned his watch and reached for his other boot.

  Amelia didn’t know what to say so she watched him.

  In a few seconds he stood. He was wearing a clean shirt, and he’d shaved. “I tried to be quiet while I dressed. I wanted you to get as much rest as you could. I think it took you a long time to go to sleep.”

  She nodded again. Why couldn’t she think of anything to say to this man? After all, he was her husband even if it was still in name only.

  He walked toward the bed. “I’m going downstairs and get some coffee. Will thirty minutes give you long enough to get dressed?”

  “It should be fine,” she managed to whisper.

  “Good. When I get back, we’ll go down for breakfast together and let people see how happily married we are. Afterward, we’ll take care of our business at the bank.” Without waiting for her to reply, he walked to the door. “You might want to keep this locked while I’m gone. I’ll knock when I return.”

  As soon as the door closed, Amelia bounded out of bed and turned the key. Without giving too much thought to his business-like attitude, she went to the wash stand and poured water in the bowl. Taking a quick sponge bath, she put on clean under garments and chose a blue muslin day dress decorated with colorful roses. The sleeves were below her elbows and had white lace gathered around the edges. There was matching lace encircling the lowered neck of the dress.

  Sitting at the small dressing table, she tackled her hair. She wondered if she should try to put it in curls on top of her head, but she realized since it was down to her waist, it’d take some time for a fancy do. She opted to brush it smooth and twist it into one long braid. She wrapped it around her head so it would be neat and be in a style befitting a new bride.

  She was putting the last pin in her hair when there was a knock. She moved to the door and hesitated. “Is that you, Jed?”

  “Yes. It’s me.”

  She opened the door and it flittered across her mind how handsome he was. He smiled at her, but his obsidian eyes showed little emotion, when he said, “You look nice.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  “Before we go down, let me warn you. Our marriage has caused a stir in this dusty little town.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It seems nobody can believe the daughter of the richest rancher in the area has married the no good, half-breed bounty hunter.”

  She frowned at him. “That’s a terrible way to describe yourself, Mr. Wainwright. I’m sure there’s a lot of good in you.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad you think so, but don’t you think you should refer to me as Jed?”

  “Of course, Jed.” She blushed.

  He nodded and took her arm. “Now let’s head to the dining room and see how the wagers are going.”

  “What wagers?”

  “Some people are betting I’ve got you with child and this was a hurry-up marriage. They’ve marked down the date and they’re already counting the time off on the calendar.”

  She gasped. “Surely not.”

  “It’s the truth. Others are betting the marriage won’t last three months. They say you’ll tire of my ways and go running back to Daddy.”

  “I’m not going to do that and you know it.”

  “Still others are saying I’m marrying you to get my hands on your father’s ranch.”

  “People can be so ridiculous. You don’t want the Double-D.”

  “I know I don’t, but let them have their fun. You and I are the only ones who will ever know you paid me to marry you.”

  She frowned again. “That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”

  He kind of chuckled and opened the door. “Not as terrible as it would sound if people knew I accepted your money.”

  Amelia didn’t answer, but followed him into the hall. At the top of the stairs, he took hold of her hand and whispered, “By the way, you do look pretty. Just like a new bride.”

  She smiled at him as he led her down into the lobby and toward the dining room.

  Over a breakfast of steak, eggs and potatoes they continued looking at each other as newlyweds should. Only they knew it was playacting.

  When they were half through, Jed said, “Last night, I told you I had a surprise, but actually it’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Yes. What is it?”

  “I had a message left here a few days ago from Curt Allison, a friend of mine. I used to work with him until a bullet shattered his knee beyond repair, leaving him with a bad limp. It ended his career, but not his ability to work with horses and cattle. Since his injury, we’ve stayed in touch and often talked about finding a nice little spread somewhere and becoming partners.”

  “So, he’s the man you mentioned who is going to buy a ranch with you?”

  “Yes. The note I got said he’d come across a place he thought would interest me. It’s between here and Cheyenne. The man who owns it lost his wife and he doesn’t want to stay in the area without her. He’s thinking of moving to San Francisco to be with his daughter and her family and he wants to sell. Curt says the price is right.”

  “Are you telling me you want to buy this ranch?”

  “Not without seeing it.” He half smiled. “I want to go look it over.”

  “Are you going to leave me here alone?” she almost whispered.

  “I hoped you’d go with me. If I buy it, it’ll be your home for six months. I thought you might want to see it, too.”

  “Of course I do.” Relief flooded her face.

  “Good. After we go to the bank, I’ll wire Curt and tell him we’ll meet him in Swanson. It’s the nearest town to the ranch.”

  “I went to Swanson with my grandfather one time. It isn’t that far, is it?”

  “It’s about a day and a half from here. We can take the stage or ride horses. You can rent one at the livery if you like, but I’ll let you decide how we travel.”

  “If it’s all right with you, let’s ride horses. My horse, Rambler, is stabled there and I’m sure he’d like a few days away from the livery stable.”

  For the first time Jed gave her a genuine grin. “I hoped you’d want to ride. I’m sure Devil wants to get away from the livery, too. Not only that, but these long legs of mine don’t do so well on a stagecoach.”

  * * * *

  “What the hell are you talking about, Elizabeth?” Rafe Donahue was trying to get straight the story his sobbing wife was telling him through her tears. “I told you Amelia went into town to have a wedding dress made.”

  “She didn’t go anywhere near Miss Purdy’s shop, Rafe. Our daughter married the bounty hunter, Jed Wainwright. He’s the one who everybody says would as soon shoot his prey as bring them in alive.”

  “Here, Elizabeth, drink this. It’ll calm you.” He handed his wife a glass of wine. “Now start at the beginning.”

  Elizabeth took the glass and drank the wine in one gulp. She then dropped to the plush wine-colored velvet sofa and glared at her husband. “When I got your wire, I decided to come home the next day. I took the train then the stagecoach and I got into Settlers Ridge about eleven this morning. I was tired and I decided to go to the hotel for some tea before sending for someone at the ranch to pick me up.”

  “You didn’t do that. You hired a carriage and came home on your own. Why did you do that?”

  “Do you want me to tell you the story or not, Rafe?” Her voice was a little sharp.

  “Then get on with it.”

  “I was having tea when Margo Ellsworth came in. She joined me and we were having a delightful discussion about her coming baby. Then she says she guessed I’ll like being a grandmother soon. Of course, I thought she wa
s talking about Amelia and Vince and I told her not to start giving me grandchildren until after the wedding.”

  Elizabeth handed her husband her wine glass. He refilled it and she went on. “When Margo frowned, I asked her what was wrong. It was then she told me Amelia and the bounty hunter came to their house and got married last night. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to say or do. When I finally gathered my wits, I asked her to tell me exactly what happened at the wedding.”

  Elizabeth took a sip of wine after relating a description of the wedding. She then added, “When Margo finished, I knew our daughter had married a man we’ve never met. A man everyone says is dangerous and mean.”

  “Elizabeth, I can’t believe a word of this. Amelia has agreed to marry Vince. Oh, she had some reservations at first…”

  “What do you mean, reservations?”

  “To be truthful, she fought me like a cougar when she found out I’d arranged the marriage. She said she didn’t like Vince and he was too old, but I knew when she thought about it, she’d come around, and she did just that. She was all excited about the wedding when she went into Settlers Ridge to have some dresses made. I’m surprised you didn’t run into her there.”

  “Listen to yourself, Rafe. I tell you our daughter is married and you go on as if it never happened.”

  “I’m sure nothing like that happened, my dear. Even Amelia wouldn’t do something so stupid. Mrs. Ellsworth must have been mixed up.”

  Elizabeth yelled, “Rafe, get your head out of the sand.”

  “I think you’re the one with your head in the sand.”

  “No, I’m not. Don’t you understand? Amelia didn’t want to marry the man you picked out for her so she went to town and married someone else. Someone who we know nothing about except by his reputation. I don’t know how it all happened, but I sure know why. You’re such a stubborn man when you get your mind set on something. You should have listened to your daughter when she said she didn’t want to marry Vince. I have to say, I wasn’t happy about the news either. He’s much too old for her.”

  “My dear, marriage to Vince is the only answer for Amelia. We can’t go off to Europe and leave her alone. It’s no telling what she’d get into.”

  Elizabeth stood abruptly. “Rafe Donahue, you can be the most irritating man in the world. Not to mention mulish. I don’t know how I’ve put up with your ways for over twenty years.”

  “You’ve put up with my ways because you know there’s not another man around who can give you the things I can give you, Elizabeth Donahue. Not even Charles Fielding.”

  Elizabeth ignored his remark about Charles and said, “If you think a marriage between our daughter and Vince is ever going to take place, you’re out of your mind. She’s married already and to a man who…who…God only knows what he’ll do to her.” She put her wine glass on the table beside the sofa and turned toward him. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Your hard-headed inflexibility forced our daughter to marry a stranger and if it causes me to lose my daughter, I’ll never forgive you, Rafe Donahue. Never!”

  Elizabeth gathered the skirts of her green traveling dress and ran from the parlor.

  Rafe frowned. Though his wife argued with him occasionally, she’d never talked to him like this. Not giving him an ultimatum. He shrugged. It must be because she was tired and upset. Of course she had to be wrong. Surely, Amelia wouldn’t be foolish enough to marry some lowdown bounty hunter. No, Rafe picked up a cigar, not even Amelia is that set against marrying Vince. There has to be some mix up. I’ll get to the bottom of this. Elizabeth needs to calm down. She can’t start bucking me when I make a decision this important to all of us.

  He walked out the back door and motioned for the first cowhand he saw. He’d send this man to town to get the real story then he and Elizabeth would have a big laugh about it over an early supper. Afterward they’d start planning the wedding of Amelia’s dreams. They’d have it here at the ranch and invite everyone they knew. They might even invite Elizabeth’s snooty sister and her daughter. Let them see how rich ranchers live.

  * * * *

  “Do you think we’ll get there before dark, Jed?” Amelia stood by the creek where they’d stopped to rest and water the horses.

  “No. We won’t make it tonight.” He looked at her. He couldn’t help thinking she was a pretty sight in the buckskin riding skirt and crisp white blouse which fitted just right across her breasts. Looking away so his urges wouldn’t get him in trouble, he said, “We might as well camp here tonight and go to town in the morning.”

  “You mean sleep on the ground?”

  He almost snorted. “Yep. Right here on mother earth. I bet a fine lady like you has never slept on the ground have you, Mrs. Wainwright?”

  She flipped her shoulder at him. “You’d lose your bet, Mr. Wainwright. I used to camp out a lot. When my grandfather was living, he even took me on a cattle drive. We not only slept on the ground, we ate from a chuck wagon and I helped the cook.”

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That’s impressive. I never knew you had such talents.”

  “Let’s face it, we may have slept in the same bed last night, but we’re strangers. There’s a lot about me which might surprise you.”

  “Then I want you to prove what you’ve said is true. I suggest we test your camping skills right here and now.”

  “Fine by me.”

  An hour later a rabbit Jed had killed roasted on a makeshift spit. The coffee pot full of brewed coffee sat on the red-hot rocks surrounding the fire. Biscuits they’d brought from the hotel completed their meal. Jed hobbled the horses and Amelia leaned against a cottonwood tree.

  He knew she was watching him walk back to the fire, but didn’t know why the sight of her sitting there made his heart beat faster. He sat cross legged on the ground beside her, but didn’t speak.

  Amelia turned her head to the side and looked at him as she broke the silence. “Why did you become a bounty hunter, Jed?”

  He glanced at her in surprise. Nobody had ever asked him that question. Of course he knew why he was hell bent on making guilty parties pay for their crimes, but he wasn’t going to share the reason with anyone who didn’t already know. Not even this new wife of his.

  “Looked like easy money,” he said and looked away.

  “Is it the only job you’ve ever done?”

  “No.” He picked up a stick and began twirling it in his hand. “I’ve done some ranching and I was a US Marshall for a while. That’s where I met Curt. He and I worked together on several cases.”

  “You were really a US Marshall?”

  Jed nodded. “I sure was.”

  Amelia glared at him. “Why did you leave the job?”

  “The law takes too long to find and punish guilty parties.”

  “But…”

  “That’s enough about me, Amelia.” He threw the stick down and reached for one of the plates. “I think the rabbit is done. Let’s eat.”

  When they finished their meal, she washed their tin dishes in the creek while Jed lay out their bedrolls near the fire. At first he thought he’d separate them, but decided against it. He wanted Amelia to get used to him being next to her. He had no intentions of bothering her tonight, but neither did he have any intention of letting her think he was not going to demand his right to her body at some time in the near future.

  They were settled when the temperature dropped and the wind began to blow. Amelia shivered. “I hope it’s not going to rain.”

  “I don’t think it will, but you know springtime weather can be fickle. Are you cold?”

  “A little.”

  “Move over closer to me.”

  “I don’t think…”

  “I’m not going to attack you, Amelia. It’ll be more comfortable for both of us if we can generate a little body heat.”

  After she complied with his request and curled her small body close to him, he almost wished he hadn’t asked her to share the blankets. She smelled good and her nearne
ss was making his body hot all over. Even his toes. He didn’t understand it. Though she was beautiful, Amelia wasn’t the kind of woman he was usually attracted to. He liked his women tall, with long legs, dark hair and dark eyes. Women who looked like Marie. He always by-passed the blondes in the whorehouses unless they were the only ones available. Now here he was getting heated up over a tiny woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. He figured she wasn’t more than an inch or two over five feet and she probably didn’t weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds. Yet there was something about her which made him realize he was wading in water which would soon be over his head. He wished he’d walked out of her hotel room and never got involved in her marriage scheme, but he hadn’t. Now here he was married to this snip of a woman and she was backed up in his arms with her firm, shapely bottom nestled against his groin. It was going to be a long night.

  “Damn it to hell! I should have used my head instead of looking at the money and her pretty face.”

  “Did you say something?” Amelia mumbled in a sleepy voice.

  “No. Go to sleep.” His voice was sharper than he meant it to be. He cursed silently and tried to think of anything except how bad he wanted to make love to the woman who was now his wife.

  Chapter 5

  Rafe Donahue sat stiff backed in the buggy with his wife. Vince Callahan rode his horse beside them. Rafe wanted to yell at Elizabeth and demand she tell him why Amelia had pulled such a stunt, but he knew she blamed him for the incident. When Amelia became sweet and agreeable about the marriage to Vince, he should’ve known she was concocting a plan to get out of it. Why had he accepted her sweet acceptance as the truth? He knew his daughter was willful and wasn’t easily pushed into doing something she didn’t want to do. Yet, before this incident, she’d always eventually bent to his will as a good daughter should.

  He expected her to do it this time, but for some reason this was different. Why couldn’t the hard-headed girl see that marrying Vince was the right thing for them all? Sure he was a little older, all right a lot older, but she’d be safe with him. He’d protect her and give her a life many women could never hope to find. One day she’d inherit the Double-D and share it with her husband, as Elizabeth had done. Rafe had known the minute he met Elizabeth Downey he’d marry her because through her he’d eventually have control of the ranch. He’d even talked his father-in-law into changing the brand to the Double-D to include the Donahue name along with Downey. Elizabeth was attractive and he did care for her, but it wouldn’t have mattered. He would’ve married her anyway. Too bad she’d never been able to birth him a son. If she had, he wouldn’t be having this problem. Of course he was counting on Vince making a male child with Amelia. He was sure a boy from their union would be strong like Vince and daring and fearless like his daughter.