Romancing the Wilderness: American Wilderness Series Boxed Bundle Books 1 - 3

by Dorothy Wiley

  Still astounded, her mind became instantly alert. Her head filled with questions. “You want to marry me? Now? Here, in the middle of nowhere? How?”

  “It’s not the middle of nowhere,” Boone proclaimed. “It’s the middle of the proud new state of Kentucky. May God bless her and keep her.”

  “The Colonel can marry us. He’s a Justice of the Peace and can perform marriages,” William stated.

  “It would be my privilege and my great honor to perform the rites of matrimony for you two,” Boone said.

  She turned to William. “Truly, you want to get married right now, right here?”

  “I do,” William replied without hesitating.

  “You want to marry me?” She drew a step nearer to him. “Even though…but what about…” she asked faintly.

  William interrupted before she could finish. “That doesn’t matter to me, it never did. What matters is that I love you.”

  His tender words healed her soul as nothing else could have. It didn’t matter to him, she repeated to himself. She was so relieved she wanted to cry. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Her other palm pressed to her gladdened heart.

  She still couldn’t believe this might be possible. No, it couldn’t be. She backed away a step. She struggled to speak, to find the right words. “I love you too, William, with all my heart. But I’m just a simple, ordinary, plain girl from the mountains of Virginia. You should have a wife more suitable to your station. You have a bright future ahead of you. You need a wife who can help your status. I would only hold you back.”

  “You are none of those things. You are extraordinary. Marry me and I will tell you all that you are, every night, for the rest of your life.” He peered at her intently. “Kelly, I couldn’t care less about station. And even if I did, you are in a class above all others. You make all those genteel girls back in New Hampshire look like coddled silly dimwits.”

  She heard both the Colonel and her father chuckle.

  “I want my future to be with you and no one else,” he said, reaching out for her. “I love you for all that you have been, all you are now, and all you are yet to be.”

  His words made her suddenly breathless and her body light, weightless. Joyful tears filled her eyes. She stepped to him, her hands grasping for his. “Every night?” she teased, finally letting this miracle sink into her heart.

  Fervor lit William’s face, framed with wavy locks of sunny hair. His tanned skin was smooth across his cheekbones, except for a hint of whiskers that covered his strong jaw. His lips parted in a dazzling smile, displaying straight, white teeth. She saw hope in his kind eyes. He was so handsome a dizzying surge of desire flared within her.

  “Kelly, will you do me this great honor?” he pressed, enjoyment in his crystal blue eyes.

  In a choked voice she managed to say, “You’ve just made me happier than I ever thought possible. Yes, my dear William, yes!” Her heart quivered in her chest. Her stomach tumbled. Her feet wanted to dance a jig. Shaking with excitement, she spun in a circle, arms outstretched, looking up. She couldn’t believe she could feel this blissfully happy. She clasped her hands to her chest.

  She studied William’s eager smiling face, glanced at her expectant father and then Boone, and scanned around her, savoring the glorious beauty of the woods and the clean smell of the tall pines. A mockingbird sang in a nearby tree, its tune perfect for the happy moment. She wanted to keep this memory tucked away in her heart forever and be able to remember every wonderful small detail. Smiling, she reveled briefly in the momentous moment and then turned to Boone.

  “Colonel Boone, Sir, if you would be so kind as to marry William and me, right here in the middle of the great state of Kentucky,” Kelly said. Tears of joy filled her eyes and her chest and stomach felt like a thousand butterflies had just escaped their cocoons to fly, set free at last. She turned to William, nearly breathless, and said, “The honor is all mine.”

  He reached out and pulled her to his side.

  Tonight, there would be no fear in her heart, she promised herself.

  Chapter 16

  “Are you ready to be married, Sheriff Wyllie?” Boone asked.

  William turned to Kelly. “Do you think we should wait for Sam and Bear?”

  “Of course, we should!” she answered.

  “It would mean a lot to me to have them here,” William said, “especially since Stephen, Jane, and Catherine won’t be here. Jane will never forgive us, you know.”

  “Do you want to wait until the whole family can be with us?” she asked.

  “Absolutely not. I don’t want to wait another second, but I will agree to wait a few more minutes for Sam and Bear to arrive. Tonight, this very night, you will be my wife,” William declared with a broad smile.

  “William, I must look a fright. Could you grab my bag off my mare?” Kelly asked. “I need a comb and a wash rag to dust off my clothing.”

  “Indeed,” William answered, and reached for her bag. “Although a bride of your beauty needn’t concern herself with primping.”

  “You flatter me,” Kelly said, a blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks.

  “While we wait, let’s make some coffee and warm up some of my dried meat,” McGuffin suggested. “That is if you brought along any water Colonel.”

  “Outstanding idea,” Boone said, “and yes, I have water and some corncakes too.”

  “I have some water too and jerky. We nearly have a feast,” William said, happily.

  While Boone and McGuffin busied themselves with starting a cook fire, Kelly sat on a nearby log and began combing through her long hair. William kept an eye on her, not wanting to let her out of his sights, and soon became completely entranced. Her large oval eyes glittered with happiness and excitement made her complexion glow. He saw both strength and intelligence on her proud face. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

  Kelly raised her long lashes and found him watching her. Her rosy lips parted slightly and then the corners of her mouth curved into an impish smile.

  She drew a rag from her bag. “William, could I have a bit of water?” she asked, breaking into his reverie.

  “I wish I could bring you a gilded tub full of clear warm water,” he answered, “but this will have to do for now.” He poured a little water onto her rag from his white oak wood canteen. Then he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I can hardly wait to see your beautiful naked body floating in the clear water of that stream by my cabin. I’ll be enchanted forever, you are so lovely.”

  Kelly gaped up at him, eyes widened, her temptingly curved lips open. Color like a rising sunrise bloomed on her cheekbones. “William! Is that something a husband and wife do—see each other—completely unclothed?” She sounded shocked and slightly appalled.

  William searched for a plausible explanation. Had he sliced open a recently healed wound? He could kick himself for his brashness. A warning voice chastised him in his head. He needed to remember that she was new to the idea of intimacy. “Well,” he swallowed, trying to manage an answer.

  “I would love to see all of you,” she whispered, secretively, her voice full of longing. She licked her parted lips.

  His eyes widened and overpowering desire flared through him with the speed of an unleashed arrow. William was glad he held the water bag in front of him. Entranced by her young innocence and unworldliness, he wanted nothing more than to see all of her beautiful body as well. His pulse quickened at the captivating speculation. He suspected she could see his swift desire flare in his eyes, but he couldn’t help himself. He cleared his throat and tried to regain control of his body.

  “Kelly, I can’t wait to have you alone and in my arms. I promise you, I will be gentle and slow and teach you what you will need to know. Don’t worry about anything that will happen between us. Just take comfort in the wonderful things that await you.”

  His words did give her comfort. She stood and tried to ignore the strange aching in her limbs and the tingle in her bre
asts. She moved toward him, compelled by a need to touch him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. A pleasant shiver ran through her. His nearness made her heart hammer with pleasure. “William, you make me so happy my heart is smiling for the first time. I never realized what love was until now. I’m not worried. I trust you. There will be no fear.”

  “Promise me that if ever you are afraid, you’ll let me know,” William said, running his fingers through the hair she had just straightened, and twisting the locks in both his hands.

  “I promise.” Soon, it would be time to make another promise. She heard Sam and Bear galloping toward them.

  “Here they come,” William said, looking up.

  She turned and squealed in delight. Reluctantly, she released William’s neck, and quickly returned to her grooming, trying to comb the new tangles William just created, out of her hair. If only she had Catherine and Jane here to help make her look presentable. Catherine was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen the night she married Captain Sam. And red-headed Jane was stunning as well. Oh well. She was getting married. Nothing else mattered. She tucked her comb back into her canvas bag and ran the cloth over her face and hands one more time. At least she would look clean.

  As William strode over to greet his brothers, she found her father, hoping to have a few private words with him. “Papa, I can’t tell you what it meant to me to hear you say what you did. I’m so glad you’ve given up whiskey and want to be my father again.” Her heart filled with hope.

  “I do, Kelly girl. I always was your Papa, but when I drink, I forget that for some reason. I don’t even feel like the same person. I feel rotten and wretched. And I know I don’t act like myself. Something happens to my mind and it lets out all the bad in me.”

  His words echoed her own thoughts. “I know. I hardly recognized the man you became.”

  “You’re all that I have left in the world and you mean everything to me. Forgive me, forgive me for all the wrongs I’ve done to you. Can you?” He stared at her, imploring her absolution.

  “I’ll forgive you, Papa, but I won’t be able to forget. I wish I could.” A cold shiver spread over her as she recalled some of his recent stays in their home—the days when he turned into another man. She regarded him somberly. “However, I understand now how losing my mother could have changed you so much. I realize you loved her deeply. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost William, and we’re not even married yet.” The thought made her shudder. “But William taught me something important. When bad things happen to us, we have two choices. We can let it break us or we can let it make us stronger. We both need to try hard to be stronger.”

  “He’s a wise man. He’ll make you a fine husband, my girl.”

  “Will you move to Boonesborough?” she asked, wanting to keep an eye on him.

  Colonel Boone ambled over and overhead her question. “You could have a productive farm near Boonesborough. A man can grow a hundred bushels of corn an acre with good care. Seventy-five with middling care, and fifty if you don’t plant at all.”

  McGuffin laughed. “Could it be that you are exaggerating just a bit Colonel?”

  “I guess that’s possible,” Boone acknowledged with a wink at Kelly.

  “I’ve spent my life in the wild maneuvering around tree stumps,” McGuffin said, “I guess I’m too old now to start plowing them up.”

  “Life is simpler when you plow around the stump,” Boone said. “But I understand.”

  “Kelly, lass” Bear shouted in his booming voice, as he hurried over to her, leading both Camel and Harpes’ stallion. “I hear ye are going to be our sister.”

  “Is that all right with you my wee little friend?” she asked, reaching up to place a hand on the giant’s broad shoulder.

  “Aye. And ‘tis about time. I do na know what took William so long to ask ye.” With one of his enormous hands, he affectionately disheveled the hair she had just finally got straight.

  “Bear!”

  “I’ll second that,” Sam added with enthusiasm, and reached over with one of his big hands, patted her head, and scrunched up her hair too. “Welcome to our family, Kelly.”

  Good heavens! Did all three brothers have something against straight hair? She had probably never looked worse. She quickly retrieved her comb yet again while Sam and Bear both shook her father’s outstretched hand and returned his stolen weapons to him. Soon, she heard them exchanging words of congratulations and saying cheers with coffee cups in hand.

  “I believe we all have a wedding to attend,” Boone said after a few minutes, drawing a Bible out of his saddlebag. Then he showed Kelly and William where to stand. Her father took her arm and stood before the Colonel. Sam and Bear stood on either side of William, who beamed back at her with a smile as bright as the morning sun.

  With her heart shaking within her breast, Kelly listened intently, as Boone began.

  “Marriage as an institution is appointed by God, honored by Jesus, and declared to be desirable by the sainted apostle Paul. Yet this honorable institution requires grace and understanding for one another to prevail over the often wayward ways of fate and life. The prevailing winds of love are sometimes a hearty gale, now and then a steady gust, at times a gentle wind, and even on occasion, a whispered breeze. But you must respect all of these times, for the gift that they are.

  “And do not fail to listen to one another and to God. As the natives so beautifully say, ‘Listen to the wind—it talks. Listen to the silence—it understands. Listen to your heart—it knows.’

  “From the first book of this Bible, we read, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.’”

  Kelly remembered the next verse. ‘And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.’ She had forgotten it earlier when William mentioned seeing her unclothed. He was right. It would be perfectly natural. And she did want to see all of William and love all of him.

  As her mind drifted to that tantalizing image, Boone continued, and before she realized what was happening, she found herself saying, “I do.”

  Chapter 17

  “I must be on my way,” Boone said. “I need to reach Lexington before dark and these fall days are growing short.”

  “We understand, Colonel,” William replied. “You have our gratitude for so much—for the cabin, for saving Kelly’s father, and now for marrying us. What a great honor it was to have you be the one to marry us.”

  “The honor is all mine,” Boone said, with a kind smile. With that, he shook the hands of all the men and gave Kelly a quick kiss on her hand.

  “Before you leave,” Sam said, “I just want to say, I will remember with grateful emotions the day you pitched your tent and identified yourself with the wilderness of Kentucky.”

  “Aye,” Bear agreed.

  Boone nodded to them both, acknowledging their expressions of gratitude.

  “Enjoy your ride home, Colonel Boone,” Kelly said.

  “Indeed, I will,” Boone said. “I believe heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place.”

  William watched as Boone rode away, hoping the aging hero would arrive safely at his final destination. Then William decided that for men like Daniel Boone, there was no final destination, just the next starting point.

  “Shall we get packed up and head home?” he asked his new bride.

  “Yes, husband,” Kelly answered jauntily, a breeze fluffing her blonde locks.

  “Catherine and I will give you two a special wedding present. She’ll want to have a say as to what,” Sam said after they had mounted and were on the trail to Boonesborough again, “but how about this for a start. I would like to offer you a job, Mister McGuffin. I can pay you well and provide food and a tent. We need another hand to help with the building of our new home near Cumberland Falls. The architect has finalized the plans and yesterday I bought the remaining tools and supplies we will need. Bear has agreed to help as well. With three men, we ca
n make rapid progress.”

  “Oh Papa, what a generous offer,” Kelly exclaimed. “Now you won’t have to spend the winter trapping in those hills.”

  “I thank you for your offer, Captain Sam, and now that we’re family, please call me Rory,” McGuffin said. “I built our cabin myself, so I do possess some carpentry skills. It will be hard to miss the trapping season, but it would be nice to have a change of scenery. All right, I accept,” McGuffin said.

  “There will be only one caveat,” William said, interjecting. “You cannot bring any whiskey with you or consume any while employed by my brother.”

  “To do so, will result in your dismissal,” Sam added, his tone leaving no doubt that he meant it.

  “And one more,” Kelly said, “you must accompany Captain Sam to Boonesborough every time he makes a trip there, so I can see you often.”

  “Agreed,” McGuffin said, “no more drinking and a lot more visiting.”

  William watched Kelly study her father as though she were trying to decide if he could keep his promise. He sincerely hoped the man would. If her father ever gave Sam any trouble or caused Kelly any more grief, McGuffin would answer to him.

  “Was that thunder?” Kelly asked, her long hair blown into disarray by a sudden wind.

  William and Sam both stopped and turned their horses back toward the north. Clouds were quickly enveloping the horizon. The upper part of the cloud mass was the shape of an anvil and below it, the sky was an eerie blue-black color. A rapidly moving autumnal cold front could drop the temperature twenty or thirty degrees in a few minutes.

  “It’s a blue-tailed norther,” Sam declared.

  “In Virginia, we call those a winter whistler,” McGuffin said. “The wind just whistles through the trees and sets the stage for the first frost.”

  The wind, stiffer now, brushed against William’s cheeks. “It’s moving our way fast. We’d best pick up our pace. Mister McGuffin, ride Harpes’ stallion. Carrying you, your horse won’t be able to keep up.”