Jodi Thomas - To Wed In Texas

“I need to fix breakfast.” She kissed him lightly.

“I've had breakfast,” he answered, leaving no doubt as to what he was talking about. “And I must say, Mrs. McLain, you do some things in the kitchen quite well.”

“Thank you, Reverend. It was my pleasure.”

“And mine.”

He pulled her to her feet and kissed her soundly, loving the way she never pulled away from him.

When he raised his head, she saw a fire smoldering in his eyes. “Would you like another serving?” she asked boldly.

“Yes,” he laughed, “But I'll starve myself until tonight. Right now, I'd like to make sure the men who tried to take you away from me are rotting in jail.”

“I'll comb my hair and go with you.” She moved away from him and was halfway across the room before she turned. “And Daniel,” she giggled. “It was wonderful.”

He tried to look stern but knew he failed. “You're not supposed to talk of such things.”

She disappeared without promising, but he didn't care. He planned to love her, not judge her.

A few minutes later, she came back with her hair in a proper little bun. He pulled on a fresh jacket as a tap sounded on the kitchen door.

Karlee threw the lock before he could stop her.

Gerilyn walked in, her face so pale her powder looked pink. She was closely followed by a tall, rather thin gentleman who held her elbow in a tight grip.

“I know I promised you time, Daniel. But I simply must pick up my luggage. It seems to be scattered all over the porches. This gentleman insisted on helping me.”

She turned to the man behind her. “I'd like you to meet my brother-in-law, Daniel McLain, and his wife…”

Daniel took one step toward the door as the stranger sauntered inside without waiting to be invited.

“Reverend McLain.” He nodded as he stood beside Karlee.

Daniel hesitated. “Have we met, sir?”

“No, but that was my error. We should have met last night. I'm Cullen Baker.” As he spoke, he pulled a small derringer from his vest pocket and pointed it toward Karlee. “And I assure you though this gun is small, it will make you a widower. I've come for my rifles. Your sister-in-law was kind enough to show me the way.”

Gerilyn let out a very lady-like scream and fainted. No one moved to her aid.

Daniel appeared almost calm. “You'd better have two bullets in that weapon, because if you kill her, you'll have to kill me as well.”

Baker looked sarcastic. “How touching. A man who loves his wife. Well, maybe I'll grant your request. One could go first.” He moved the gun until it pointed at Daniel.

“I'll show you the rifles!” Karlee interrupted.

Baker smiled. “That's better.” He pointed the gun back at Karlee, guessing Daniel was less likely to charge if there was a chance the bullet would hit her. “Where are they, Mrs. McLain?”

“On the porch. In a trunk that's shoved into a corner.” Karlee took a step closer to Daniel. “Take them and go.”

Baker motioned for both of them to move ahead of him as he casually stepped over Gerilyn's body. “I would have come by last night, Mrs. McLain, but I didn't think it necessary. Now you see, I not only must get my own guns, I resent you putting half my men, dumb as they are, in jail.”

When Daniel walked through the door, he saw his gun belt hanging over the railing. But Karlee stood between him and the weapon. If he moved for the gun, Baker would have time to get off a shot.

“They're in the trunk.” Karlee pointed to the finely tooled leather trunk. Someone must have removed the tablecloth.

Baker watched them both as he worked the latch. When he lifted the lid, Daniel moved closer to Karlee.

“Take the guns and go, Baker. We have no quarrel with you.”

The outlaw reached into the trunk and pulled out a handful of lacy petticoats. He dug deeper, spilling lingerie across the porch.

“What is this?” He was not a man who tolerated being double-crossed.

Daniel knew time had run out. He shoved Karlee aside and stood facing Cullen guessing the man would demand an answer before killing him.

“The guns!” Baker snapped. “I'll burn this house to the ground before anyone takes anything from me!” He threw a handful of underthings on the ground.

Gerilyn flew from the doorway, rage awakening a warrior as her underthings drifted like colorful snowflakes across the porch.

Daniel rushed forward into Baker's direct line of fire. Karlee screamed. For only a fraction of a second, Baker hesitated.

Daniel had his opening. He slammed into Baker, sending the derringer flying. With two mighty blows, Baker swung backward and tumbled into the trunk.

Karlee slammed the lid and strapped the latch. Gerilyn pounded on the trunk as if beating Cullen senseless.

When she stopped, all was quiet, all was still.

For a moment Daniel, Karlee, and Gerilyn stared at one another, afraid to believe it was over.

“How dare that man handle my private things!” Gerilyn attacked the trunk once more pounding as she lectured him on what was proper.

“He could have killed you,” Karlee cried. Suddenly fear overwhelmed her.

Daniel pulled her close. “No, darling. He could have killed you. That alone would have killed me. I'm a man who has always believed in peace, but you're worth fighting for.”

She forced her tears away. “What do we do with him?”

“We'll let Gerilyn handle him for a while.” Daniel smiled. “I'll hitch the buggy and get the rest of her luggage. After she's on board, we'll take him down to the jail and let them figure it out.”

They walked toward the steps. Karlee stopped suddenly. “But wait! If the guns are not in the trunk, they must be…”

Daniel followed her thoughts. “In one of the other trunks?”

Karlee nodded.

“Why don't we just leave them there? Gerilyn can turn them over to the Army in New Orleans.”

“Shall we tell her?”

Daniel glanced over at the wild woman still pounding on the trunk and yelling. “No, let her be surprised. I've learned a few unexpected turns in life can be very interesting.”

An hour later, Gerilyn was aboard telling everyone all the details of a story “too terrible to talk about.”

Karlee took the twins and walked back home, thankful to no longer have company. Daniel delivered the trunk to Wolf at the jail but didn't stay around to watch the unpacking.

It was almost dark by the time he finished his errands and made it back to Karlee. When he opened the door, he smiled. She was sitting on the floor with the twins, teaching them to make clothes for their dolls. Supper was burning on the stove. He was home.

She didn't say a word as she went about being the best wife she knew how to be. He hardly noticed the cornbread that crumbled in his hand or the coffee still full of grounds. He read to the twins, then she put them to bed.

When she came back downstairs, Daniel was waiting for her.

“I wanted to ask you something,” he said, suddenly nervous.

“All right.” She trying to guess what bothered him so.

“Will you marry me.”

She smiled. “I thought I was married to you, Daniel.”

“I know, but I wanted to ask you so you'd know you'd been asked right and proper.”

Karlee understood. “And what is the bargain you offer?”

“A forever kind of marriage. A true marriage. I don't have much. This house isn't mine. The church burned, and my income from the articles is never enough. Most folks would say you're getting saddled with a readymade family. But I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life.”

“Then I'll be your wife.” She answered. “My home will be your arms.”

He hugged her tightly. “Come along, Mrs. McLain.” They walked, arm in arm into the kitchen. She was looking up at him and for a moment she didn't see all the people standing quietly around the table loaded down with presents of all sizes, wrapped in shiny paper with pink ribbons on each box.

“What's this?”

“It's your birthday, my love.” He grinned.

DANIEL HEARD THE CHURCH BELL RESOUNDING through the clear summer air. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath thinking how he'd missed the sound.

He marked his place in the Bible with two ribbons, one blue velvet, one pink satin, and stood from a desk now void of all clutter. Glancing up, he noticed Karlee standing at the study door and wondered how long she'd been watching him.

Her beauty stopped his breathing for a moment. How could he have ever thought her hair a hindrance, or her body too thick? She was perfection. Just the memory of how they'd made love in the hours before dawn made him wish for the privacy of night once more. She was a woman who took him into her heart and body so completely, he became lost in the pleasure of her.

“You still love her, don't you?” she asked so quietly it was almost a thought. Her eyes held only a question, not a demand for denial.

Slowly, he straightened, pulling himself back to the present, making his mind see her now and not as she'd looked at dawn with her body bare and damp after their mating. “Yes.” He circled both ribbons around his hand. “Do you mind?”

Karlee smiled. “No. She's part of you, part of what made you the man I married. If you stopped loving her, you wouldn't be my Daniel. She can be your first love as long as I can be your last.”

He closed the few steps between them and kissed her tenderly. He couldn't keep his hands from moving over her, longing for the feel of her closer. “I do love you,” he whispered against her ear.

“I know.” She leaned into him as she always did, a perfect fit against him.

He knew she loved him, she'd told him so since before he even wanted her to say such words. But it was the way she touched him, always offering more, almost daring him to take more, that drove him mad. They'd been married four months now and, when he made love to her completely and fully, he saw her smile as she fell asleep, exhausted and satisfied. She somehow knew he'd never get his fill of her. She knew he'd always want more of the nearness of her, the feel of her, the taste of her.

He leaned, very properly, and kissed her on the forehead as his hand, hidden between them, moved over her boldly. She grinned, taking in a deep breath so that her breasts brushed lightly against his starched shirt. Daring again, he thought. An invitation. The challenge he'd grown accustom to.

Cinnamon shattered the silence as she ran down the stairs and out the back door, yelling, “Clear the decks!”

Daniel pulled himself back to the world.

Starlett followed her sister. “We're going to be late, Cinn. The bells are already ringing.” She disappeared through the kitchen.

Daniel and Karlee didn't move. They both seemed to need another moment of closeness before the day began.

He wondered if she knew how deeply he wanted her? How much a part of him she'd become? He wasn't sure he'd ever find the words to tell her, but he planned to spend the rest of his nights showing her.

He couldn't resist tasting her lips briefly before moving away and pulling on his coat. “Are you going to miss this house?” His voice was slightly off balance as he forced conversation that lay far from his thoughts. There was no need to talk of the desire growing between them. They both knew it would be satisfied in the midnight hours.

Karlee shook her head. “My home is anywhere you are. Ida needs to live here, and we have a place waiting for us.”

Daniel took her hand. “It'll be different, helping start a land-grant college. Some say it will take a few years. An agricultural and mechanical college at that. Sounds like a strange school to need a theology professor.”

“Maybe they'll just call it A and M.” She took his hand. “They'll surely change the name as it grows.”

They walked out of the house without looking back. The wagon was loaded with their belongings. The twins were already on board, sitting atop Karlee's old trunk.