Wild West Wife

“Don’t do it again.”

“I won’t.” She could smell the pleasant scent of his body. As she snuggled closer, she tried to remember if she’d ever been this near a man. She didn’t think she had, and felt a pang of loss. It felt nice to be hugged. Especially by Jesse.

“You could have died.”

She raised her head and found him staring at her. In the darkness, she could barely make out his eyes boring into hers. She thought she read concern there, but she wasn’t sure.

His mouth twisted. “We’d better get camp set up and a fire started.” He shifted until his arm was around her, then he led her toward the horses. “Did you fall off the saddle? Are you hurt?”

“No. My horse jumped over a stream and I couldn’t stay on. When I hit the ground, everything went black. I’ve been wandering around for a while, waiting for you to find me.”

He grabbed the coat draped over her saddle and wrapped it around her. “Sit down,” he said, pointing to a fallen tree. “I’ll get the fire started, then we’ll eat.”

As he worked, she huddled inside the sheepskin coat. Gradually the shivers faded. By the time he got the coffee brewing, she was nearly thawed, although her feet felt as if they would be frozen forever.

“Did I get close to town?” she asked as he opened a can of beans. “I know I was heading west. At least I thought I was.”

He dumped the beans onto two tin plates and set them close to the fire. The light illuminated his features and she saw the corner of his mouth turn up in a smile. “You were heading due west, but Whitehorn is a little north of here. If you’d kept in that direction for a while you would have eventually run into an outpost.”

Well, that was something. At least she wasn’t completely lost. “How far is the outpost?”

“About fifty miles.”

The hint of a smile turned into a grin. She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “Fifty miles? I wouldn’t have made it.”

“I know.” He looked very pleased with himself.

“You think you can tell me what to do just because you’re the only one who knows where we are and where we’re going.”

“Don’t you forget it, either,” he said.

Without wanting to, she smiled in return. She’d made her escape, which at least salvaged her pride, and now she was safely back in camp. Perhaps it was better this way. She believed that Jesse wouldn’t hurt her, so for now she could be patient. Eventually she would get to Whitehorn and be with Lucas.

The thought of her fiancé brought a familiar gladness to her heart. How lucky she was. Lucas Stoner was everything a woman could want in a husband. Tall, kind, gentle, loving. She continued to recite the familiar list, and as always the words brought her a measure of comfort. But the thought of marrying Lucas also made her feel slightly wistful, and for the life of her, she wasn’t sure why.

* * *

Haley kept her word and didn’t try to run away again. Probably she hurt too much, Jesse thought as he reined in his gelding and waited for her to catch up. It was their third day on the trail and she was barely keeping pace with him.

As her horse tramped along next to his, Jesse glanced over at her. She’d given up trying to keep her hair in a tidy bun at the base of her neck. Instead, she wore it in a long braid that hung down her back. The sun had left freckles on her nose and cheekbones and fatigue had left shadows under her eyes. None of the scratches she’d gotten wandering in the forest had become infected although a few red marks still marred her otherwise smooth skin.

She looked at him and rubbed her left cheek. “Do I have dirt on my face?”

He shook his head. “You look tired.”

“I am. The ground is hard and I’m not used to sleeping outside.” She glanced at the sky, then at the trees around them. “Although I think I could get to like it around here. Maybe a little bit more if I could actually sleep under a roof.”

“Soon,” he promised and wondered if he was telling the truth. “Go on with your story.”

She thought for a moment, then nodded. “As I was saying, this poor woman was about to give birth to what later turned out to be twins and her husband kept swaying on his feet. The doctor told him to leave, but he’d promised her to be with her through the birthing. It was her first time and she was so afraid. Anyway, sure enough, his eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped to the floor like a stone. The whole house shook.”

She chuckled at the memory. “He was a large man, too. Tough. Worked in the railroad yard. The doctor was so surprised, he went over to the man to see if he was all right. Which left me to deal with the mother. Of course the twins decided they were ready to be born, so there I was, juggling slippery babies and one excited mother while the father was out cold through the whole thing.”

“Was he all right?”

“Sure. He had a bump on the back of his head, but otherwise he was fine. And very proud. Two beautiful baby boys had come into the world.” She grinned. “I told the mother that next time she should tell her husband to stay outside the room, where he belonged.”

Jesse urged his horse forward and hers followed suit. “Didn’t that frighten you?”

“What?”

“Delivering babies by yourself?”

“The first time it did. But I’ve done it many times since. When the doctor is busy with something else, I take care of whatever comes up. My nursing is good experience. I’ve heard there aren’t a lot of doctors around here, and it can be a long trip to town. I’ll be helpful to Lucas.”

Jesse didn’t want to think about her with Stoner because he didn’t want to think of any woman cursed with that fate. Especially not Haley. She was bright and funny, and she deserved more. She had spirit and an inner strength he respected.

“Your face is all scrunched up,” she said. “What are you thinking?”

“That you’re very different from my wife.”

“Your wife?” Haley’s eyes widened. “You’re married?”

He shook his head. “I’m a widower. Claire died about four years ago. She was...” His voice trailed off. For the first time since he’d lost her, he found himself willing to talk about her. Maybe it was because he knew he wasn’t going to be with Haley very long. Or maybe it was because Haley was in a similar situation and he wanted to warn her of the pitfalls.

“Claire was the youngest daughter of my mother’s second cousin. She was from the South—a small town near Atlanta, Georgia. She wanted to get married and I needed a wife, so our family arranged the match.”

Haley tilted her head as she studied him. “So you had a mail-order bride, too.”

“Yes.” He shrugged.

“What happened?”

A simple enough question. What had happened? “We weren’t well suited to each other and she wasn’t prepared for the life here.”

Not suited didn’t begin to tell the truth. Claire had been as delicate and fragile as a soap bubble. All pale skin and slender build, she’d never worked a day before in her life. The reality of ranch life had frightened her and she’d spent much of her time wandering through the rooms of the house, as if looking for a part of herself.

“She didn’t like Montana?” Haley asked.

“Not really. She thought it was too cold and the ranch was too isolated.”

He wasn’t willing to say more, or tell Haley how his wife had actually died. He didn’t want to think about that day, or any of the days before. He didn’t want to picture Claire in his mind. She always wore white and that was how he remembered her. A slender, wisp of a woman in a pale gown, as if she’d already turned into a ghost.

“You must miss her very much.”

He had regrets but little else. “No, I don’t miss her at all. That’s the tragedy of Claire’s death. Once she was gone, I rarely thought of her.” He glanced at the sky. “We’re going to be stopping early today.”

“Really?” She sighed. “I’m glad. I’m still sore from riding. I just want to take a nice walk around and stretch.”