A Betting Bride

by Rebecca de Medeiros

  "Well, apparently in your drunken stupor you mistook the boy for someone else and did something asinine. Now, Oscar fears you will try it again," turning her back on the mayor, the housekeeper walked to the door and pulled the cowering hulk inside by his elbow.

  "Just tell Oscar that you are sorry, and we can go back to normal around here," she commanded.

  "Sure. I'm terribly sorry Oscar for whatever it is I did, can you forgive me?" Holding his hand out waiting for the fellow to shake, Alec was unprepared for Oscar's reaction.

  "No!" Shaking his head violently, Oscar refused to come near him.

  "Oscar... make nice. The mayor said he was sorry," Mrs. Wyatt demanded. Her fist pounding on the table shot pain to the back of Alec's skull.

  "What in the world? What the hell happened last night? Did I give you that shiner Oscar? If I did, I'm very sorry," collapsing to lie across the table once again, Alec decided he had no energy for this convoluted conversation.

  "The shiner was an accident mayor. It was the kiss you tried to steal that scared the daylights out of him," Mrs. Wyatt informed him.

  "What!" Alec shot up, his head spun, but he was paying full attention now.

  "Somewhere in that pea sized brain of yours, you thought that Oscar was one of those Jezebel dancing girls over yonder in Rattlesnake Valley. The kind of gal, that you boys are so fond of visiting. Well, after failing to get Oscar to dance with you, you decided to pat his bottom and try to steal a kiss. That's how you got your blackened eye."

  Alec's hand shot to his face. Sure enough, his eye was swollen three times the normal size. No wonder everything appeared blurry out of it. Sadly, now that he had been made aware of its bruised state, it started to throb terribly.

  "I hit you," shuffling his big feet in embarrassment, Oscar confirmed.

  "You fell back into the fountain at that point, and Oscar came running for help, fell, and hit his cheek on the countertop in the kitchen. After we drug you from the water, we tried to get you upstairs. You weren't having any of it. So we left you where you passed out in the foyer. How you got up on this table, in this room, I will never know."

  "Son of a bitch," Alec muttered over his stupidity. "Ouch!" Alec cried out, rubbing his head. Mrs. Wyatt, taking offense to his use of profanity in her presence, gave him a hard thump up the side of his head.

  "If I have to tell you one more time to watch your mouth, you are going to be looking for another housekeeper," Mrs. Wyatt warned. Her beady eyes narrowed in anger.

  Alec barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. The old lady had a filthier mouth than he did. Hell, he had heard words come from her pruned mouth that would make sailors blush. He also knew that Mrs. Wyatt had nowhere else to go, so her threat was empty.

  Alec had hired the foul tempered woman because no one else would have her. She and her son had a small house a block from Alec's, but Mrs. Wyatt usually slept in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Walking had become too hard on her joints, so Alec suggested that she not overdo. Mrs. Wyatt took that as if he had suggested she move in, which she basically did. Alec didn't mind. Truthfully, living alone was well... lonely. It had always been a bit too quiet in the huge house, that is, until Mrs. Wyatt moved in.

  His housekeeper had a funny view on her job. She seemed to think that her employers should help her as she cleaned or cooked. She also spoke her mind at every turn, refusing to be treated like a servant. In fact, her favorite response to any of Alec's requests was, "do I look like a servant to you?" Thankfully, Alec never said yes. He was a tiny bit afraid of the miniature woman.

  She was actually a refreshing change from the servants his grandfather had employed when he was a child. Mrs. Wyatt would have stood her ground against that tyrant, instead of cowering as they had. Too bad the bastard had cocked up his toes already, or Alec would have set her on him.

  "Sorry Mrs. Wyatt," Alec murmured. He was sincerely repentant for his foul language, that whap she'd given him had put him further into pain.

  "All right then," Mrs. Wyatt nodded that she was satisfied with his apology. "Get on up those stairs and get cleaned up boy. You are expecting company this evening and need to look your best."

  "What company?" Alec asked. Hopping off of the table, he straightened to his full six foot height. Oscar who had nearly seven inches on him whimpered as Alec neared him.

  "Oscar," Alec sighed. "I really am sorry. It will never happen again, I promise."

  Reaching into his trouser pockets, Alec brought out a handful of spice candies and held them out to the man as a peace offering. "Can we still be friends?"

  Snatching the candy from the mayor, Oscar smiled shyly. He sure did love those spiced candies that Alec always carried on him. "Okay," he agreed.

  "Mrs. Wyatt, you said that we were having company tonight?" Alec reminded the old woman.

  "That heathen boy is coming back tonight."

  "What boy?" Alec asked.

  "You know, the one those boys beat. He has been here for the last two days underfoot," Mrs. Wyatt huffed. "I told the fool he looked as if he should be in bed not waiting for you to sober up, but he refused to go. It wasn't until I told him that if he stayed he would have to give you your bath, that he ran out like the hounds of hell were on his heels."

  "Hunter," Alec growled. The bastard was always underfoot, and it was starting to grate on Alec's nerves.

  A few weeks ago, a bunch of dumbass young men had formed a posse and captured an unsuspecting Hunter. The men had jumped to the conclusion that the "half breed- savage" as they called him, had killed and scalped a man from the town. They had beaten him so badly that if the foreman from the Bar S hadn't stopped them, Hunter would have been killed.

  At the time, suspicion and prejudice had run like wildfire through town. Alec had felt responsible for the attack on the younger man because he had not been able to control the situation. The color of Hunter's skin was all that some people saw, and it was enough to set the town into vigilante madness.

  In the end, Hunter had been instrumental in capturing the real killer, and even helped save Alec's own life. The kid was close to being on Alec's good side until a damning secret slipped from Hunter, forcing Alec to place him on the asses- that --need- to- be- kicked list. That day had changed everything in Alec's life as Hunter had spilled the truth to Alec.

  "Turn him away," Alec requested. He was not ready to deal with the man who claimed to be his half-brother.

  "He said to tell you that after you'd run off like the coward that you are," she chuckled. "His words not mine. They found the little girl. She is alive and uninjured," Mrs. Wyatt informed Alec.

  "Lily is truly alive? That is wonderful news!" Alec felt the weight of a cartload of stones lift from his shoulders. At least some good had come from that terrible day. The child had lived.

  "He also said to tell you that he was coming to square up with you," Mrs. Wyatt informed Alec.

  "Square up with me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Alec asked her.

  "No idea, but I suggest you go get a shirt on boy," Mrs. Wyatt gestured to Alec's bare torso. "As much as I like looking at your manly chest, you are offending my girlish sensibilities."

  Alec, noticing for the first time his state of undress, wondered where the top half of his suit had gotten off to. Self-conscious of the scars that ran across his back, Alec turned his back away from his housekeeper's line of sight.

  At the rate he was going with losing his clothing, he was going to have to make a stop at the Sinclair's clothing shop and have Mrs. Sinclair do up some suits for him. If he didn't get to that soon, he was going to be stark ass naked in a matter of days.

  "Also, the council is coming tonight, to give you the itinerary for your 'courtships.' I've had to turn them away twice," Mrs. Wyatt spoke, tearing Alec from his less than cheerful thoughts.

  "Keep turning them away," he ordered her.

  "No, can't do that son. I threw my lot in with the council," Mrs. Wyatt chuckled, "Got me a bride all picke
d out for you."

  "You're fired," Alec groaned and rubbed his aching head, prompting the old woman to laugh even louder. Unfortunately for Alec, she knew that he was much too fond of her cranky self to let her go.

  "Buck up Mr. Fancy pants, I saved some leftover liver pie from last night's dinner for you. Extra thick gravy just the way you like it." Alec's stomach lurched at the thought of Mrs. Wyatt's greasy liver pie.

  "I think I'm going to be sick..."

  Rushing past her and through the house in search of a chamber pot, Alec just prayed he made it in time. Mrs. Wyatt would surely thump his head again if he vomited on her clean floors.

  "The council is here, mayor," opening Alec's office door, Mrs. Wyatt stuck her ancient head in and inquired, "You done chucking up yer' boots yet?"

  "Just show them in," Alec grouched.

  Mrs. Wyatt winked an impertinent eye and ushered the group of men inside. Four elderly men filed in neatly, the last of them was dragging a younger man behind in his wake.

  Alec observed the bearers of his doom as he sat behind his desk. Varying degrees of wrinkled faces stared mutinously back at him. The younger man accompanying them just cocked an eyebrow as if waiting for Alec's fury.

  He really was fond of the bossy old men... in his own way, but keeping them from causing trouble was getting to be a full time job. A full time, non-paying, thankless job was what it was.

  "Alec," Mathias Sinclair greeted his best friend with a curt nod. He looked as uncomfortable to be there as Alec felt.

  "Here is your ledger," Fergus shuffled closer and placed a small book on the polished top of his desk. After doing so, he backed away as quickly as his little legs could carry him. "Give it a quick look, and then we can start to plan your schedule."

  Sighing wearily, Alec picked up the tome and flipped through all of the entries. His jaw dropped with each page he turned. "You cannot be serious!"

  "Sorry to disappoint ye son, but we are dead serious." Fergus O'Malley cheerfully informed Alec. "Don't forget, if you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, you forfeit your place as mayor in this town," he waggled a chubby finger in Alec's direction.

  "There must be a hundred names in this ledger!" Alec exaggerated. "How in the hell am I to court each of these ladies without running into trouble?"

  "Ah son, you forget, it's the women that are courting you," Fergus reminded Alec.

  Alec's head shot up in shock and met Mathias's discomfited gaze. "I cannot believe you allowed them to concoct this harebrained scheme of theirs."

  "I had nothing to do with this," Mathias denied the charge. "You know how they are when they get a foolish idea in their heads."

  At Alec's snort, the other men crowded around the desk in his tidy office, and shot him varying looks of irritation.

  "Look, I only agreed to court these women, I never said I would pick a wife out of from the lot."

  "Ouch!" Harlan cried out as Alec smacked his hand away from the jar on his desk that contained his precious spice candies. "What'd you do that for?" Harlan asked while rubbing his hand.

  "You have every one of my Friday nights blocked off until November!" Alec snapped ignoring the older man's pouting. "What about our weekly poker game? Did you fellas forget about that when you created this ledger?"

  "Nope, we are moving that to Saturday night. We have thought of everything." Josiah announced proudly.

  "Besides, you cheat," Harlan sulked.

  "I do not!" Alec snapped offended. "You're just a sore loser."

  "Enough!" Josiah boomed. "Alec, you agreed to become an example to the men in this town. If they see that you are dragging your heels, do you really think they will go through with the plan?"

  "I could care less what the other bachelors do," Alec stated peevishly.

  "You had better care. We will give you some time to mull the consequences over," with that statement, Josiah ushered his cronies out of Alec's office leaving Mathias behind.

  What Alec really wanted was a stiff drink, but he refused to go in search of a bottle. The past few days had proven to Alec that he could not drown his sorrows in liquor and get away unscathed. Hell, he could not fully remember what had transpired since the night of Lily William's kidnapping, but he had a funny suspicion that he owed quite a few apologies around town. He never did find that top half of the suit that he had been wearing, but he was just appreciative that it had not been the bottom half that he had lost. Mrs. Wyatt would have ended up with more of an eyeful than she wished for.

  "Ugh..." Alec groaned and dropped his head to rest upon the cool wooden surface of his desk.

  A snippet of foggy memory danced through his mind. Images flashed of delicate, rosy, skin. Soft kisses, curly red hair. But the visions vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Could it be possible? He tried to recall, but he was at a loss... did he try to seduce Serena Sinclair? Torn between wanting to block all thoughts of his foolish actions and needing to know if he truly had succeeded, Alec swore he would never hit the bottle that hard ever again.

  He knew one thing for certain; the only person who could answer those questions he had was Miss Sinclair herself. It was high time he found out whether or not he needed to tender and apology to her. He sincerely hoped he did not have to. An angry Serena was hard to handle, a wronged Serena, would be nearly impossible to deal with. Tomorrow, Alec promised himself, he would search out the truth.

  "Glad to see you are up."

  Stomping into Alec's bedroom without so much as a knock, Hunter White-Wolf approached the bed and pulled the thick pillow out from under Alec's sore head.

  "What the hell is wrong with you? Anyone ever tell you that it is rude to barge into someone's house uninvited?" Alec complained. His eyes tightly closed to the world, Alec tried to ignore the intruder.

  "Really? Well, you and I have a few things to talk about."

  "Like what? I've got nothing to say to you, kid," Alec pulled a different pillow over his eyes trying to block out his annoying half sibling.

  "Our mother is in a bad situation. Tensions are rising up in the Dakota territories and I'm not sure how safe she will be if the tribe she is residing with decides to war on the settlers there."

  "That is my problem how?" Alec grumbled.

  Hunter roughly grabbed the second pillow away from his stubborn brother's face and whapped him hard with it. He ignored his older half-brother's squawk of outrage.

  "That's the life she chose. Let her live it," turning his back, Alec ordered Hunter to leave. He wanted peace and quiet after the rough day he had spent arguing with the town council over his up and coming 'courting' days.

  "You're a true bastard, you know that?" Hunter fumed, his fists clenched in rage. "She is your mother, and you would leave her to fend for herself? Do you have any idea what is going on up there?"

  "She left me all those years ago, why should I bother with helping her?" Alec forced himself to keep calm. It was not easy, for the main reason that ate at his gut stood there face to face with him. It was hard to overlook the fact that they had the same eyes, some of the same features. According to Mrs. Wyatt they even had the same smart ass attitude.

  Bethany Wentworth could not be troubled to raise Alec, but she obviously felt perfectly content to raise her other son. Hell, Alec had even had a baby sister that he had never gotten a chance to see. She had been killed way before he even knew of her existence.

  "I saved your ass Alec, so now you owe me," Hunter informed him. "If it wasn't for me, you would have died up on that ridge just like that pig Dobbins. So now you are going to pay up."

  "Owe you what exactly?" Sitting up in the bed, Alec narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Hunter.

  "I'm going to bring our mother here, and you are going to help me set her up with a new life here in Liberty."

  "Like hell! I have no interest in meeting dear old mama."

  "Tough. It's going to happen," crossing to the door Hunter shot out a warning. "Heads up, when I get back...we are both moving in with
you big brother. Expect us by next month."

  The door slamming with Hunter's departure set Alec's teeth on edge. So much for getting any rest, he thought sulkily. He was too damned infuriated to even try now. What made Hunter think that he would even welcome them in his home? These strangers that were all left of his bloodline, a bloodline that was better left not continued.

  A nervous feeling settled in his stomach at the thought of coming face to face with the woman who had given him life. Bitterness burned in the center of his chest. Those years that he spent living under his grandfather's thumb were like residing in a dark corner of hell. Now he was supposed to help the woman that had left him in the pit with that demon?

  He did not want to see her. Though he tried to remind himself that he was a full grown man now, and he did not need Bethany Wentworth, still he wondered what she would think of her long lost son. Would she have pride in the man he had become? Had she missed him all of those years? Alec was suddenly angry with himself for even caring what the woman thought or felt. When was he finally going to accept that being alone in this world was the hand that fate had dealt him?

  "A beautiful face is not always the mark of a beautiful person"

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The afternoon heat gathered like angry serpents wrapping their scaly bodies around the occupants and choking all hopes of a fresh breeze in the small shop. The day was far too hot to prop the door to the establishment open in hopes of trying to relieve the heat. Serena fanned herself with one hand as a bead of sweat formed between her tightly bound breasts. Her corset chaffed, and she tried not to curse aloud in front of her bossy patron.

  "Could you please hold still Trudy? I need to get just a few more measurements before you go," Serena demanded of the woman that she had spent half the morning fitting gowns to.

  Today was hotter than she had hoped it would be when she had left the house this morning, and she had not dressed for the weather. She was beginning to become a bit crankier than she should be.