Authors: Tina Folsom
Charlotte had outlasted him by all of three seconds.
Still, he”d lost.
Luke curved his chest around her back and held her tight. “You”ve won.” He kissed her shoulder, trying to suppress his regret. “I”ll be your lover like we agreed. But I”d like to ask you for a concession.”
Slowly he pulled out of her body and allowed her to turn in his arms. Charlotte looked sated and happy, her skin glistening, her eyes wide. “Concession?”
He nodded. “When you get with child, I want the child to have my name.” He stopped her from interrupting him by putting a finger on her lips. “I know you don”t want to marry me, but I love you, and if all you want is a lover, I”ll be that lover - the only lover you”ll ever have. And you will have my children, because every night I will leave my seed inside you and pray for it to grow.”
“Children? Luke, I didn”t think you were a family man.”
“I wasn”t before, but when I”m with you, everything changes.”
She smiled. “You know, I only won by a few seconds. It can”t really be called winning.”
“What are you saying?”
She took his hand and led it to her face, kissing his palm. “Maybe we can forge a
compromise.”
He pulled her closer. “Yes?”
“Maybe we can get married once I am with child?” she asked.
Luke”s heart leapt. He lifted her into his arms, off the ground and pressed her against him.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, if you want to.”
He wanted. Oh, he wanted. Quickly, he carried her back to the mattress and lowered them onto it.
“What are you doing?” she asked, laughing.
“Going to work on getting you with child, so you”ll make an honest man out of me soon.”
Luke smothered her laughter with his lips and eagerly got to work on making her his wife.
THE END
THE WRONG SUITOR
by
Tina Folsom
Texas, 1883
Ellen Irving gave the ruggedly handsome cowboy another once over. He appeared somewhat uncomfortable in her elegant parlor, but she wasn”t going to make him feel any more comfortable. His proposal was the third she”d received in as many days. Yet this one was entirely different. The cowboy standing in front of her, shifting from one foot to another, wasn”t the one making the offer. He was merely the messenger who had brought an offer of marriage from his employer.
Maybe she would even have considered the offer, had it actually come from the cowboy, not his employer. The man was tall and extremely well-built. He was not like the dandies she was used to from her time in the East, where her father had sent her to school.
This rather potent male specimen was what women dreamed of: a man who could sweep her into his arms with one swift move and not break into a sweat. One whose swagger would draw every woman”s eyes to admire his tight butt. And were he to take off his shirt, no doubt his chest would be rippled with muscles ready to be explored by her hands.
For a moment she let herself drift into the fantasy she”d created around him. A brief moment only. Reality was cruel. He wasn”t here to offer for her.
Why suddenly all eligible bachelors within a hundred mile radius had started lining up at her doorstep she didn”t know. But she was getting to the bottom of this, one way or another.
But first things first. The cowboy had to be dismissed, no matter how much she liked looking at him. Maybe she could think about him tonight in the privacy of her bedchamber.
“Tell Mr. Riley that I”m not interested in his offer. If he doesn”t even have the guts to address me personally, he”s obviously not the right man. Good day, Sir!”
Ellen threw her head back and turned. With a ruffle of her skirts she stomped out of the room, leaving the cowboy to find his own way out.
***
The petite curvy woman was as fiery as her red hair and as wild as a mustang, and James knew exactly what to do with wild horses: tame them.
Moments after Ellen”s departure, her father, Frank Irving entered the parlor, his face perspiring.
“I take it my daughter did not look upon your employer”s offer with … how shall I say, grace?” He flinched.
“Mr. Irving, would you grant me a few minutes of your time?” James pointed at the sofa and accepted Irving”s nod as a sign to sit.
Irving took the chair opposite of his guest. “Time I have plenty. Nerves? Not so much.”
“May I be frank with you?” James leaned forward.
“I”d be insisting on it. Please do tell me more about your Mr. Riley,” Irving offered.
“Sir, I
am
James Riley,” James confessed and let the news sink in.
“But, didn”t you say you came to bring an offer from Mr. Riley, your employer? Your brother maybe or your father then?”
James shook his head. “No. The offer of marriage is from myself. Let me explain, if I may?”
Ellen”s father nodded in agreement, curiosity painted on his face.
“Your daughter has quite a reputation -”
“You don”t say,” Irving interrupted dryly.
“Which is something that matters little to me. But she is known to reject any offer outright.
Did you think she would react differently if you threw more suitors at her?”
“Mr. Riley, that”s hardly your concern.”
“I think it is. Have you considered at all what kind of men you will attract with the kind of invitation you put out? Don”t you think that by offering a thousand dollars to any man who married your daughter you”re asking for the wrong kind of attention? I am curious, is your daughter quite aware of the monetary enticement?”
Frank tossed a hunted look to the door. “Please, I beg you for discretion. My daughter is entirely oblivious to this, and believe me, I”m intending it to remain this way. I have barely a prayer that she would accept anyone, let alone if she knew I was meddling.”
James raised an eyebrow. “Why meddle then, as you call it?”
His host leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I am planning to marry, and the woman I plan to make my wife … well, let”s just say she and my daughter don”t see eye to eye.”
James chuckled. “Does anybody see eye to eye with your daughter?” He enjoyed the way the conversation was going. He was insinuating himself into Irving”s confidence. It would help him execute his plan.
“Well, not exactly, but you see, you can only please one woman at a time, if you get my meaning.”
“I hope you do understand that your offer has attracted some of the less honorable individuals in these parts. Are you prepared to risk any of them gaining your daughter”s trust?”
Irving gave him a surprised look, as if he hadn”t thought of this possibility before. “What kind of less honorable individuals are you referring to?”
“Gamblers, gun slingers, bounty hunters, outlaws. In short, anybody who”d gladly take the thousand dollars and rid himself of your daughter first chance he gets.”
It was a real possibility, one her father had clearly not considered. Had Irving”s wife-to-be come up with this ludicrous scheme?
“I”ve thought of this, of course,” Irving rebuked him. “And before he gets the money, there”ll be a wedding. Believe me, I am not as naive as you make me out to be.”
He had no intention of upsetting Ellen”s father, but the man still hadn”t seen the light.
“And what would stop a less honorable man from deserting her after the wedding?”
James” question hung in the room. Uncomfortable and unanswered. James got to his feet.
He”d done as much as he wanted to get done for the day.
“I shall remain in town for two nights. I have taken a room at the Painted Veil Saloon if you”d like to continue our conversation at a later time. Good day, sir.”
James made his exit and let his host stew over what he”d said. He”d put the machinery in motion. Now it was time to be patient.
***
She snatched a warm biscuit off the baking tray and bit into it, earning a disapproving look from Maggie.
“You”ll spoil your appetite for supper.”
“What does it matter? My life is over anyway,” she said dramatically. “I can”t believe my father is letting all these half-wits come to our house to insult me with offers of marriage.”
“An offer of marriage is hardly an insult, my dear.”
“It is to me! None of these men know me. They have no idea what I want, what I like, what makes me laugh, or what makes me cry. Brutes, all of them! Do you want to know what really takes the cake?” She gave Maggie a provocative look.
Maggie took the bait. “Go on then.”
“One of those uneducated, back-water idiots sent one of his cowboys to make an offer on his behalf. One of his employees! The gall! He couldn”t even be bothered to come himself! That”s how much I”m worth to those men!”
“Miss Ellen, I”m sure they”re not all uneducated. Now I know that your life in the East has influenced you in some highfalutin ways, but that doesn”t mean everybody else is a half-wit.
Men are different out here. Life is rough for all of them.”
Ellen made a dismissive hand movement. “I know that life is different out here, but that doesn”t mean a man can”t show some refinement. I”d rather remain a spinster than marry an unsophisticated man who thinks he can chain me to his bed and stove and have me produce a child for him every year.”
Maggie shook her head. “If you”re looking for romance, I”m not sure you”re in the right parts here. Men don”t have time for frilly things like love out here.”
“Well, tough!” Ellen huffed and stormed out of the kitchen. Everybody was against her.
Even Maggie. At first, when she”d come back to the ranch after her school years in the East, Maggie had been somewhat of an ally. She had been the only one Ellen could talk to when she felt lonely, but now Maggie increasingly seemed to take father”s side. Ellen felt deserted, just the way she”d felt when father had sent her away after mother”s death.
She”d felt as if nobody wanted her, nobody cared what happened to her. And it hadn”t changed. Nothing had changed after her return. Father had made sure she attended every dance and every gathering so she could meet eligible men, as if he couldn”t wait for her to leave again.
Why had he called her back home at all if he didn”t want her here?
Ellen found it strange that suddenly a man asked for her hand who had never even met her.
Who was this Mr. Riley anyway? No man made an offer of marriage to a woman if he didn”t even know what she looked like, not even in these parts. Something was up. If her father was scheming she”d find out. He wasn”t as smart as he thought he was, and there was no way he”d pull a fast one on her.
“I”m riding into town, Maggie. I”ll be back for supper,” Ellen called out toward the kitchen.
“But your father said -” Maggie came running into the foyer.
“I don”t care what my father said.”
She slammed the door shut behind her and crossed the yard toward the barn. A few minutes later her horse was saddled, and she was on her way. She knew exactly where to go. If anybody knew whether something fishy was going on, it was Mrs. Albright who ran the General Store with her husband. Anything worth knowing was being gossiped about in the store. And Ellen was sure that the sudden increase in offers of marriage received in the Irving household were of great interest to the town”s people, and speculations about their origin would be rife.
James paid Mr. Albright and took the parcel of supplies he”d purchased. He”d brought an extra horse with him to take a few supplies back to the ranch once his business in town was done.
No need wasting a trip.
As he stalked to the door to leave the General Store, he was stopped by Mrs. Albright”s voice whispering to a female customer.
“Yes, isn”t that something. Finally she accepts an offer, and then it”s this no-good out-of-towner, what”s his name? Branson something. Yes. Not sure how Mr. Irving feels about this. Is his own fault, that”s what I say. He shouldn”t have sent out that invitation. Attracts all kinds of bad folk.”
James turned toward her and saw how the woman she was talking to nodded eagerly. But he”d heard enough. What on earth had compelled Ellen to suddenly accept an offer of marriage?
He”d been at her father”s ranch only yesterday and been rejected by her. She couldn”t suddenly have changed her mind about marriage.
Damn, this wasn”t panning out like he”d planned it. He”d wanted to soften up her father first to get him to accept his little plan of how to tame his unruly daughter. Now he had to act fast otherwise somebody else would snatch that filly up from right under his nose.
***
“A gambler? Are you certain?” Irving patted his perspiring forehead with a handkerchief after James had presented him with the news. “Oh, dear. Why would she do that?”
“You should know your daughter, Mr. Irving,” James replied calmly.
“What am I to do now? She can”t marry him.”
“Good. Then we”re in agreement.”
“In agreement of what?” Irving gave him a confused look.
“That your daughter will have to retract her acceptance and agree to Mr. Riley”s offer instead.”
“You mean
your
offer?”
“Yes, mine, but that”s between you and me. I don”t want her to know yet who I am.”
Irving scratched his head. “Do I want to know why that is?”
James shook his head. “The details are immaterial. Let”s just say I have a better chance at getting your daughter interested in matrimony if she doesn”t know I”m the suitor you chose for her.”
“I guess that makes sense, right? So, we”ll let her think that she made the choice. Is that what you”re saying?”