“What are you doing?” Indy repeated, panicking. She began struggling against him in earnest. “Stop it. Let me go. You have no right to do this,” her voice rose as she felt his hands tighten on her.
Jonathan’s mouth firmed to a straight line as he finished tying the rope. Picking her up, he had to hold on to her tightly as she began hitting him with her fists. Indy began crying as she wiggled, trying to get out of his arms. When he laid her on the sofa she tried to roll off only to find him holding her down by pressing one hand into her chest while he pulled another length of rope out of his pocket. Kicking her feet, she found herself turned over onto her stomach and a knee in the center of her back. Jonathan caught her flailing feet in his large hands. He quickly tied them, effectively keeping her from escaping. He turned her over gently and brushed her hair out of her eyes.
Indy jerked her head away from his touch, flinching. She glared at him before forcing out the words that were choking her. “I hope you enjoy the money you’ll get for me. Hayden must have offered you a large amount for turning me over. You are just as underhanded and devious as he is. I hope you both rot in hell.”
“Who is Hayden?” Jonathan asked softly. He could tell Indy was trying to hide her fear behind a mask of anger.
She just turned her head into the back of the sofa and closed her eyes. Jonathan ran his hand over her face again ignoring the way she shrank away from his touch. Once he had risen, Indy rolled over onto her side and tried to curl up into as small a ball as she could on the long sofa.
Jonathan watched as her small shoulders shook with the force of her silent tears. It was tearing him apart watching her. He needed to tell Jake to put her horses in the paddock away from the ranch house and to keep the dogs with him in the bunkhouse for a couple of days. He didn’t want to take a chance of her escaping or setting the dogs on him. He wasn’t about to leave her alone for long. He had discovered she was very resourceful. He had a feeling if he took his eyes off her she would be gone in a heartbeat and he would never find her.
Opening the door to the office, Jake yelled for Wally. He ignored Wally’s wide eyes as the little Chinaman took in Indy’s tied condition. He told him to get Jake immediately. Shutting the door, he walked over to where Indy was lying on the sofa. Kneeling down next to it, he ran his hand over her hair again. It hurt like hell the way she tried to jerk away from his touch.
“Indy, I’m doing this for your own good,” Jonathan began. Indy’s shoulders just shook harder as she cried. She could no longer keep the sobs quiet.
A soft knock on the door sounded and Jonathan let out a sigh as he rose to answer it. Opening the door, he saw Jake standing there nervously twisting his old hat.
“You wanted to see me, boss?” Jake asked. His eyes widened in concern when he saw Indy’s tied up body lying on the sofa. His gaze jerked back up to Jonathan, silently questioning him.
Jonathan nodded for Jake to move back out the door. Closing the door to the office, Jonathan turned to Jake before answering him. He didn’t want Indy to know where her animals were to be taken. He had a feeling she wouldn’t leave without them. If it meant using them to keep her here, he would.
“Jake, I want you to unsaddle Indy’s two horses and take them to the east paddock away from the ranch house. I don’t want Indy to be able to see them or call for them. Put the dogs in the bunkhouse and keep them there until I give you further instructions,” Jonathan ordered briskly.
“Boss, you ain’t going to turn Indy over to those men, are you?” Jake asked suddenly worried he had made a mistake telling Jonathan about Indy’s troubles.
“Rest easy, Jake. I mean to marry Indy today. I sent Carl for the preacher and his wife to come to the ranch. They should be here by shortly. I plan to marry her to keep her safe. She won’t tell me anything but I have a feeling if she gets loose she’ll disappear faster than a fox from the hen house,” Jonathan assured the old cowpuncher. “Jacob should be back anytime with Ed and the others. Let him know I’m in the office.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Jake said relieved.
He liked that Indy was marrying one of the Tucker boys. They would keep her safe. Putting his hat back on, Jake touched it and headed out to do the boss’ orders. He felt better already.
*.*.*
Indy waited until she heard the door close. As soon as the door clicked, she grabbed for the knife she had tucked inside her boot. Sawing as fast as she could, she quickly cut through the rope around her ankles. She flipped the knife around, holding it between her knees and cut through the rope around her wrists. Rolling, she sat up and grabbed her hat off the floor while impatiently wiping at her damp cheeks. She moved as fast as she could to the window of the office and pushed it open. She was half way through it when the door to the office started opening behind her.
“Shit!” Jonathan exclaimed as his glance went from the empty sofa to Indy’s backside disappearing through the window. “Damn it, get back here,” he yelled, rushing to the open window.
Indy flung herself out the window landing hard on the ground. She lay for a second, looking up into Jonathan’s furious face before rolling over and jumping to her feet. She was running as fast as she could across the yard whistling frantically. She could hear the dogs barking and Midnight neighing. Rounding the house, she slid to a stop as she watched Jake and another man fighting with Kahlua and Midnight. Kahlua was moving around and around in circles kicking out her back legs while Midnight was rearing up kicking out with his front legs trying to get away from the grip the men had on their reins. Tweed and Chester were fighting against ropes around their necks where they were tied to a post.
“No!” Indy screamed in horror. She was afraid one of her four-legged friends would get hurt in all the commotion. “Leave them alone. Don’t you touch them!” She cried out as she ran toward the dogs.
Jonathan burst out the front of the house just as Indy rounded it. He jumped off the porch tackling her before she could get to the dogs, knocking her down to the ground. Indy threw a punch, hitting Jonathan in the chin and knocking him backwards giving her a chance to roll out from under him. Jonathan grabbed her by the ankle as she tried to get back up, pulling her down again. Indy brought her booted foot up to kick Jonathan in the jaw but missed as he rolled to the side where she hit his shoulder instead. She heard a grunt of pain as he worked his way up her body, trying to trap her. He blocked another punch grabbing her wrist in his large hand while trying to protect his lower body from her knee. They ended up rolling over and over as Jonathan tried to get high enough up her body to hold her still. He ended up taking a blow to the nose when she head-butted him.
“Damnation, that hurt! Will you stop?” Jonathan bellowed out.
“Never!” Indy panted, struggling to break free. “I’ll fight you all the way to hell and back if I have to!”
With all the commotion going on between the dogs barking, the horses fighting the men, and Jonathan and Indy yelling no one heard the riders coming in until Jacob yelled above all the noise. He pulled his horse up and stared in disbelief as his older brother by two minutes fought with a woman. This was not what he expected to see when he rode in.
“What the hell is going on?” Jacob yelled loudly, looking at the chaos with disbelief.
Ed Rawlings looked down with amusement as the little filly under Jonathan took advantage of his distraction to head butt him again, this time hitting him in the mouth. Jacob had told him a little about what was going on but he never expected to come back to the ranch house to find the boss getting his butt kicked by someone half his size.
“Damn it! Will you stop that? I think you’ve busted both my nose and my lip now,” Jonathan growled down at Indy.
“Yeah, well move half an inch to the right and I’ll include your balls with that!” Indy snarled, still fighting.
The sound of laughter echoed around the yard as the other men who had ridden in heard Indy’s reply. This was the best entertainment they’d had in the last six weeks. They wat
ched in amusement as Jonathan tried to keep a grip on the female who was just as determined to get away from him. This was something none of them had ever seen as it was usually the other way around.
“Jacob, will you get your ass down here with some rope and help me? Ed, help Jake with the horses and someone shut those damn dogs up!” Jonathan snarled out.
“You leave my horses and dogs alone, you asshole. I’ll skin your scrawny ass if you hurt them! Do you hear me? I’ll…,” Indy yelled out as she struggled to break free from Jonathan’s determined grip.
Jonathan didn’t wait to hear what else Indy was going to do to him. He shut her up the only way he could think of - by kissing her. He held her firmly against him, refusing to let her get away. Her arms were stretched high over her head and his body pinned her to the ground under him.
Jacob chuckled as he got down off his horse and pulled out some rope. He knew life was going to be interesting. He just hadn’t expected it to be quite this entertaining. Coughing lightly, he leaned down looking at his brother who was kissing the very feisty, furious female.
“The rope?” Jacob said.
Jonathan pulled back just far enough to mutter swift instructions out to his brother. “Tie her damn hands, then her feet. If I get off her…. Damn it! Stop that…. She’ll run,” he bit out, nursing another bruise on his jaw when Indy head butted him again. He grabbed her forehead holding it to the ground as Jacob took over her arms.
“Jacob, I’ll castrate you for this!” Indy threatened, her voice thick with tears of frustration, anger and hurt. “I’ll use the rustiest knife I have to cut your balls off and I’ll hang them on the trailer hitch of my pickup truck so everyone will know. You’ll never have kids by the time I get done with either of you,” she promised hoarsely as she felt the tug on her wrists when Jacob tightened the rope.
Jacob winced. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, brother. You might want to tie her to your bed tonight while you sleep,” he advised trying not to laugh.
“I’ll be long gone by tonight. I don’t work for you anymore. You can’t hold me against my will. This is kidnapping!” Indy said kicking as much as she could when Jacob moved down to tie her feet.
“No you won’t,” Jonathan said, sitting up and straddling Indy who was tied up again. “Where’s the knife?”
“Go to hell,” Indy snarled out savagely.
Jonathan was just about to search Indy when the sound of the buckboard returning drew his attention. It was Carl with the preacher and his wife. He would have to give Carl a bonus, he had made the trip in record time. The preacher and his wife were staring at him in horror, taking in Jonathan’s rumpled figure, Indy’s tied one, and the men still fighting with the horses and dogs.
Jonathan glared at Ed. “Will you get those damn horses out of here? I told Jake where to put them.” Ed grinned and called out to several of the men, telling them to get the horses moved out.
“Indy, tell the dogs to stand down now. If they attack any of the men, I’ll put a bullet in them,” Jonathan demanded coldly.
Indy looked up at Jonathan with pure hatred in her gaze. Tightening her lips, she let out a sharp whistle followed by a movement of her hands. Both dogs immediately calmed down. They were panting and their eyes never left Indy but they were at least finally quiet.
“Mr. Tucker, may I inquire as to what is going on? I was under the impression you wanted me to perform a marriage?” The preacher asked, helping his wife down off the wagon.
Indy’s eyes widened as she stared up startled at Jonathan. Marriage? This was a hell of a time for someone to get married.
“Yes I do, Mr. Blackburn,” Jonathan said sitting on a now quiet Indy.
“And who may I ask is getting married?” Mr. Blackburn asked, looking at Jonathan’s bloody nose and lip then down on a dust covered Indy lying tied up under him.
“I am,” Jonathan said slowly getting up and pulling Indy up with him as he stood. Tossing her over his shoulder, he started moving toward the front porch of the ranch house.
“And who will you be marrying?” Mr. Blackburn asked trying to keep the twitch of laughter from escaping.
“Why, this here filly I’ve caught,” Jonathan replied calmly as he moved up the stairs and into the house.
Indy had had enough of the jokes. She looked up at the preacher and his wife ready to scream for help when she stopped and stared in disbelief at what the woman was wearing. She had never seen a dress like what the woman had on except in an old western movie. Shaking her head, she tried to prop herself up far enough to glare at Jacob and the preacher.
“I’m not marrying anyone! I told you I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth! Mister, you’ve got to help me. I just came for my paycheck. Tell him he’s making a mistake and needs to let me go. I’ll be gone so fast…” Indy’s voice faded off as she saw the preacher shaking his head. His wife looked horrified at her appearance.
Moving into the office, Jonathan sat Indy down on the sofa holding her there with a hand to her shoulder.
“Wally!” Jonathan yelled out.
“Yes, Mr. Jonathan?” Wally scuttled into the office.
“Get a hot bath set up in my room upstairs,” Jonathan said. “Also, get the trunk that belonged to my mother out and moved into it,” he ordered briskly.
Jacob walked in grinning as he looked at Indy’s determined face set in mute defiance. He had a feeling fireworks were going to fly before the night was over. For a moment he felt a wave of envy wash through him. If Indy was as passionate in bed as she was out of it, she would drive a man to distraction. He hoped he could find a girl like her one day.
“Mr. Blackburn, please begin,” Jonathan said tightening his hold on Indy’s shoulder when she started to move.
“Now?” Mr. Blackburn stammered out looking at the two of them. He had attended a number of shotgun weddings where the men were tied up. He had never been in the position where the woman was the one fighting the wedding.
“Yes, now. Miss…” Jonathan stopped suddenly as he realized he didn’t even know Indy’s full name. “What is your name?”
“You don’t even know her name?” Mrs. Blackburn gasped, her eyes huge in her otherwise plain face.
“It’s go-to-hell,” Indy said through clenched teeth. “That’s Ms. to you,” she added with a hiss, staring daggers at Jonathan.
Jonathan looked at Indy for a moment before kneeling in front of her. He grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her deeply ignoring the outraged gasp from Mrs. Blackburn and the discrete cough Mr. Blackburn tried to give at such improprieties.
Pulling back slightly, Jonathan stared into Indy’s darkened eyes. “What is your name? I plan to marry you with or without it,” he asked softly.
Indy stared deeply into Jonathan’s soft, concerned eyes. “Indy…. Indiana Wild,” she whispered suddenly feeling very, very confused by what was happening.
Her eyes darted around taking in the strangely dressed couple, Jacob’s sympathetic smile, Jonathan’s determined face and the antique furniture in the room. She hadn’t paid attention to it when she had came in earlier but now everything seemed to be overwhelming her. Something was off and she couldn’t figure it out. She looked back into Jonathan’s soft eyes again.
Gently running his hand down her cheek, he leaned in and kissed her tenderly again before standing. Turning to the preacher and his wife, Jonathan nodded for him to continue. Indy sat in a daze as the preacher began the wedding. She vaguely heard Jonathan say, “I, Jonathan Ryan Tucker, do take…”
Indy didn’t even remember saying ‘I do’ when the preacher asked but she must have because the last thing she heard was him saying ‘You may kiss the bride’ and Jonathan bending and kissing her again.
I really do have such a hard time thinking straight when he kisses me, Indy thought vaguely.
Jonathan and the preacher walked over to the desk so the preacher could fill out the paperwork proving he had married them. She could hear th
em talking quietly but everything seemed surreal. She focused on the preacher’s wife as she walked over to sit next to her on the long couch.
Patting Indy on the knee, Mrs. Blackburn spoke sternly. “I must say, Mrs. Tucker, this has to be one of the most unusual weddings I’ve ever attended. I hope you realize it was extremely nice of Mr. Tucker to marry you to save your reputation. I can’t imagine living alone for over a month with nothing but men. My, but if he hadn’t married you I can’t imagine any man wanting you. You know many women are going to be very upset you took one of the Tucker men out of the marriage pool. Why women for over a hundred miles have been trying to catch one of those boys,” Mrs. Blackburn continued to rattle on.
Indy finally looked at her and said the first thing she could think of. “Why are you dressed so funny?” She asked quietly.
Mrs. Blackburn gasped, putting her hand to her throat. “Why this is the latest fashion,” she said wth a huff of her breath.
“Yeah, if you live in the 1800’s maybe,” Indy muttered looking up as the preacher approached her.
The preacher cleared his throat as he stood in front of her. “Mrs. Tucker, can you sign this with your hands tied?” He asked hesitantly.
Indy looked down at her hands then at the paper, nodding slowly. When the preacher handed her an old fashioned quill, looked at it with a puzzled expression. They wanted her to sign her wedding certificate with a quill?
“If you can’t spell, you can put an X on the line and I’ll write your name in,” the preacher said gently.
Indy looked up with a frown. “Of course I can write. I have a college education. I’ve just never used a quill before. Don’t you have a regular pen?” Indy asked, confused.
“Just sign the paper, Indy,” Jonathan said impatiently.
He wanted to get this done and over with so there could be no doubt that she belonged to him. Once she signed, there would be no going back. She would be his and he already had plans to make sure there was no denying she belonged to him once he got her upstairs.