When she looked up, Teresa was gone. Olivia went back to her coffee.
By the time the cup was empty, Olivia had made a decision. Setting the cup in the sink, she went outside to talk to Neil.
She was surprised to find him alone. “Where’d everybody go?”
“Sophie’s to get cleaned up and ready for the party. Hope they all remember they’re married men now—well, everybody but Shafts and the Preacher. Teresa went with them.”
He looked up at her and said, “Come sit awhile. Let me hold you.”
She crossed to him without hesitation and took a seat on his lap, raising her lips for his kiss. He obliged her, then held her against his heart.
He said, “Shafts and I are mad we missed all the shooting.”
She chuckled, “I bet you are, but there were enough bullets flying as it was.”
“Chase told me how good Teresa was.”
“She upheld the family name well.”
“Are you tired?”
“Exhausted.”
“Then just sit and relax.”
“Wish I could, but I’ve a problem.” She straightened so she could see his face. “I need you to marry me.”
He blinked. “Whoa, we didn’t go that far, did we?”
She dropped her head to hide her embarrassed smile. “I’m not carrying, Neil, but my parents are arriving tomorrow. Along with Horatio Butler. Mother’s letter says he has a writ that’ll force me to be his wife.”
“That’s mighty manly of him.” Neil was sure he wasn’t going to like this Butler.
“I know this is sudden and probably loco, but I don’t see any other way around it. If I’m married he’ll have to look elsewhere for a wife.”
“True.”
She searched his eyes. “I’m not seeking to stay married to do this ‘’til death do us part.’ I know you aren’t wanting to put down roots here. Once they go back to Chicago, we can call it off.”
Neil studied her and wondered what she would say if he announced that he wanted to marry her until death do us part. “You really want to stain yourself this way?”
“I’m not staining myself, I’m saving myself.” She searched his face. “What do you say?”
Regardless of the circumstances, Neil didn’t want to see her with another man, and the idea that she would be his, even if for only a short while, pleased him. “If it’ll keep you out of the clutches of Horatio Butler, yes.”
She threw her arms around his neck and jumped up and down with joy.
He put his hand on her waist. “Whoa, no jumping. I’m still an injured man.”
Olivia was kissing him all over his face, whispering, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
He grinned. “So when will the I-dos take place?”
“It’ll have to be tonight.”
“So soon?”
“They’re arriving tomorrow.”
Neil supposed that made sense. “What do I need to do in the meantime?”
“Nothing. Leave everything to me.”
She kissed him again, infusing the deepening kiss with her gratitude. He kissed her back, sparking a fire that still smoldered from the time together in the cellar, and she had to pull away or drown.
Her voice softened by the rekindling of her desire, she said, “I hope you’re well rested, because it will be our wedding night, and I plan to learn all….”
Neil stared.
She grinned, gave him a provocative wink, then left his lap to go back into town to arrange the wedding details.
Neil waited until he was sure she was out of earshot before yelling at the top of his lungs, “Hallelujah!”
Olivia found Cara Lee in Sophie’s big kitchen helping the staff and an army of local women prepare for the evening’s festivities. Everybody greeted Olivia with smiles and calls of greeting. She acknowledged them all, then said, “Need to borrow Cara Lee for a moment.”
Cara, shucking ears of corn, dried her hands on her apron and followed Olivia outside, saying, “I’m mad I missed all the excitement. Heard Teresa July shot nine men off the roof.”
Olivia began to laugh. “She shot one man on the roof.”
Cara asked, “You sure?”
“I was there, Cara.”
“Okay, okay. That’s what I get for living in a small town. Rumors.”
Their steps carried them out to the open plains behind the hotel and Cara asked, “What can I do for you?”
“Will you stand up for me tonight at my wedding?”
Cara looked at her strangely. “What wedding?”
Olivia explained the events leading up to her decision to marry and who she had chosen to be her husband.
Cara’s eyes widened. “Neil July?! Have you been out in the sun again?”
“No.”
“Olivia…” Cara couldn’t seem to find the words she needed.
“I know, but this is my only option.”
“But he may be in prison soon.”
“I am aware of that.”
Cara looked at Olivia as if she’d never seen her before. “Couldn’t you have found someone else? What about Delbert?”
“With Delbert comes Delbert’s mama.”
Cara said, “True, and she’s already made it plain that she’s the only woman in his life. Are you sure you can’t talk to your parents and this Butler? Seems to me if you just explain your position—”
“A man armed with a writ isn’t coming for a discussion.”
Cara quieted for a moment. “Hadn’t thought about it that way.” She searched Olivia’s eyes. “I will always be your friend, so if you want me to stand up with you, I’d be proud to, but are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“No, but I can’t see any other way out.”
Cara asked, “Who’s going to say the words?”
“I planned to ask Reverend Whitfield, but I thought he might balk.”
“And give a sermon on women who marry outlaws for convenience.”
Olivia chuckled.
“Sheriffs and marshals can perform weddings, and we have a silo full of them in town right now, so take your pick.”
“I prefer your husband.”
“Then I’ll find him and tell him he has one more official duty to perform tonight before he can put away his star. Who else are you inviting?”
“The spinsters. Neil’s family. His lawmen friends. Sophie and Asa, if they can get away.”
“No Armstead Malloy?”
Olivia cut her friend an amused look that made them both laugh.
Cara, still laughing, asked, “What time and where?”
“My back porch.” Olivia glanced at her watch. It was now almost 7 P.M. “Around ten?”
“That’s fine.” Cara then added in a more serious tone, “The Elders may make you resign because of this. They can be pretty provincial when it comes to town officials marrying wanted men.”
“I know.”
“The next few weeks may be tough.”
“I’m prepared.” She wasn’t really, but she planned to be so by the time she had to face the populace.
Cara gave her tall friend a strong hug. “I’m with you no matter what.”
Olivia hugged her back. “You’re the best. Would you ask Chase to let the other marshals know that they’re invited as well, and Sophie and Asa too, when you see them?”
“Sure will.”
“You don’t think we can keep this a secret, do you?”
“We can try, but it isn’t going to matter. Remember the nine men on the roof? Before it’s over the gossips are going to have you married to Neil and his brother Two Shafts.”
They both smiled.
Olivia said, “Then I will see you at the house. Thank you, Cara.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Olivia waved good-bye, then went to seek out Shafts and Teresa.
She wanted to talk to Shafts before she spoke to the volatile Teresa. After questioning a few people on the walk as to his whereabouts, she foun
d him coming out of one of the local bath houses. His long hair was wet and gleaming, and he looked cleaner than she ever remembered seeing him. The sculpted features of the big Comanche were as handsome as his brother’s. “May I speak with you for a moment, please?”
“Sure. I’m heading back to the hotel. We can talk on the way.”
“I’ll get right to the point. I asked your brother to marry me.”
Shafts stopped and stared. “When?”
“Just a little while ago.”
She explained her dilemma to him and waited for his reaction.
“So, you plan to stay married to him for how long?” The disapproval on his face was plain.
Olivia was disappointed by his unfavorable reaction. “Not very long. Just until my parents leave.”
“And he agreed to this?”
“Yes.”
Shafts looked out over the landscape for a long moment. He then turned back to her. “Do you care for my brother?”
“I do.”
He studied her face as if seeking the truth. “Teresa and I will be there in time to get him ready.” He walked away.
Olivia wasn’t certain what had just transpired, but at this juncture she had so many other worries that she had no room for another.
She swung by the Two Spinsters’ house and explained to them the pickle she was in and what she’d decided to do about it.
Rachel asked, “What kind of man uses the courts to force a woman to be his wife?”
Daisy replied, “Sounds like a bounder to me. Marrying Neil might be a good idea in the long run, Olivia. You may need him to protect you from this Mr. Butler.”
Olivia chuckled, “I don’t believe it will come to that.”
“It doesn’t matter what you believe, dear. Just be careful.”
Walking home, Olivia felt buoyed by the support of her elderly friends, but their concerns added to her worry list.
But when she entered her house through the back door and saw Neil seated at the kitchen table eating dinner, all of her worries melted away like snow in April.
Neil thought she looked pretty chipper for a woman intent upon sullying her reputation by marrying him, but her spirit was another one of the attributes he liked about her. “Why so happy?”
“Because when I’m with you there are no squabbles between neighbors to settle. No arguing by telegraph with snippy little clerks in Topeka over the correct amount of taxes the town owes the state. No bounty hunters terrorizing citizens. It’s just us two, and the silence.”
Olivia noted that coming home to him was different than coming home to a house with no one. It wasn’t better, per se, just different.
“How’re the wedding plans coming along?”
“Everything is in place. Chase is going to do the honors, and I’ve invited your brother and sister, Cara Jefferson, the spinsters, all your lawmen friends, and the Preacher, of course.”
“Of course,” he echoed quietly.
Olivia noted the desire flaring in his eyes. In response, her corset-encased nipples began their shameless blossoming. “Oh. I also asked Cara to let Sophie and Asa know. I’m not sure they—”
Her voice slid to a stop because he was beckoning her with a crooked finger. His gaze had already set her afire, and the intensity glowing in it now was akin to adding kindling. She went to him willingly, though—very willingly.
When she reached him, he used two fingers to trace her lips. The sensations filled her, and her lids fluttered closed. The fingers trailed down her chin and over the bones in her jaw before traveling lower to her throat. Moving with sensual intent, he teased the hollow, making her skin react, then drew a line down the valley between her breasts, and then lazily up again.
Olivia’s lips were parted, her breathing changing. The fingers circled each nipple with such a light yet arousing pressure that the familiar quickening began pulsing in the secret places between her thighs. He leaned up and kissed her then, softly, gently, still toying with her breasts.
He slid his hand gently between her thighs and rubbed her skirt erotically, murmuring, “You should go get ready before I put you on the table and have you for dessert. We’ll finish this later….”
She thrilled to his hot voice and touches, but even more to the promise. “Do you promise?” She spread her legs a bit wider to accommodate his idle play.
He raised her skirt and sought the straining bud hidden within her drawers. “Promise what?…” he asked with a whisper, moving his hand through the back slit in her drawers and caressing the soft skin of her behind. “To put you on the table, or to finish this…” and he slid his finger across the temple of her desire, making her arch and raise herself to him for more.
And he gave her more; more dallying, more touching, until she was wet with desire. The pressure built and built, and then an orgasm broke over her. She hollered hoarsely. Watching her with eyes hardened by his own desire, he smiled.
In the silent aftermath, he whispered, “Man likes a woman who’s easy to please….”
They shared one last humid kiss, then Olivia floated off to prepare for the wedding.
In the spare room where she washed up, the still throbbing Olivia paid no attention to the voices in her head. They wanted to debate the issue of this marriage and question her sanity, but she refused. She was on the verge of marrying a man who made her body sing, and she planned to concern herself only with that.
She went to her wardrobe to seek something appropriate to wear and settled on a fine lawn blouse and her purple satin suit. For the first time in her life, Olivia didn’t put on a corset. The reasons were selfish and scandalous: She wanted to feel Neil’s touch and wanted him able to feel her in return. A corset prevented that. The other advantages, such as being able to breathe freely, made her understand why more and more women eschewed the confining garment. Olivia had always worn one because her mother had, and because society deemed them proper. As Olivia slipped on the purple satin jacket over the thin lawn blouse, she decided that a women who went without corsets, rode out storms while making love to outlaws in a cellar, and confronted bounty hunters while wearing no drawers beneath her skirts had left the realm of propriety long ago. Patting her saucy little hat, she approved her reflection in the mirror, then left the room.
“Are you loco?”
Neil fixed the suspender and surveyed his brother. “Maybe.”
They were in Olivia’s bedroom. Neil was dressed in a white shirt loaned to him by Chase. He would have preferred to be gussied up for the wedding, but an outlaw rarely traveled with a formal set of clothing, and Neil was no exception. “She’s in a fix. I can help.”
“That the only reason?”
“You know it isn’t, so why even ask.” Neil’s feelings for Olivia were becoming more and more complicated, and more and more entrenched.
“Testy, are we?”
“Yep, because this isn’t something we need to be arguing about.”
“She’s using you.”
“And the point of that is?”
Neil faced his brother. “Do you see that beautiful woman out there. A woman like her wouldn’t be with a man like me for all the gold on all the gold trains. She’s smart, independent, she’s the mayor, for Pete’s sake, but there’s something going on between us. I don’t have a name for it, and I don’t think she has one either, but she picked me, Shafts. If this farce of a marriage only lasts two days, I’ll take it.”
“You’re gonna get your heart broken.”
Neil shrugged. “I’m a big boy, Shafts, but your prediction is noted.”
Shafts quieted while Neil took a brush to his hair. “Anything else?”
Shafts shook his head, but then said, “She’s a good woman. Hope it works out for the best.”
Neil paused in midstroke. They’d never been able to stay upset with each other, even when they were boys growing up. “Thanks.”
Shafts nodded and left the bedroom.
Chapter 13
Out on the b
ack porch, Neil waited for Olivia to make her grand entrance. Torches had been lit, and the soft light bathed the darkness with a romantic glow. Waiting with him were Two Shafts, Marshal Wildhorse, the Sheriffs Blake, and the Preacher. No one had seen Teresa. Although Neil was concerned about her absence, he figured she’d show up once she got done pouting.
A rustle of sound caused the men to turn. Neil focused his attention on the door and noted that anticipation had dampened his palms. First to appear were the Two Spinsters, followed by Cara Jefferson and Sophie Reynolds. Sophie had tears in her eyes even though the event had just begun. After them came Chase, Asa—whom Olivia had asked to give her away—and finally, Olivia.
Neil thought she looked beautiful in her purple suit with the bustled skirt and the confection of a hat perched saucily upon her head. She was carrying a bunch of pink and white hollyhocks. He took a quick look at Two Shafts, and his brother flashed an approving grin. As she took up her position at his side, Neil fought down his nervous trembling. It wasn’t every day an outlaw married a good woman. He waited for her to give her bouquet to Cara before reaching down and taking her hand in his. He gave her a little squeeze, and she gave him one in return.
The service took only a few minutes. When it was done, and Chase declared, “You may now kiss the bride,” Neil kept it tasteful and short so as not to embarrass her in front of her friends.
The new Mr. and Mrs. Neil July faced their friends and were showered with congratulations and applause. After tastes of the cake supplied by the spinsters and some coffee, the visitors offered their good-byes. The Two Spinsters went home to their beds, and the others returned to Sophie’s hotel for the rest of the party in the newlyweds’ honor.
Soon, Neil and Olivia were alone. Their eyes met in the sputtering light of the torches. He held out his arms, and she went to him and let herself be enfolded. More than anything she wished this moment were real, and that they were actually committed to each other, but there was nothing that said she couldn’t pretend.