Chapter 8 #2
“That should take care of the problem. You let me know if she starts in again. Remember you don’t have to do anything she says.
You’re the mistress of the house now. She lives here by your good graces.
If I have to, I’ll start building the house on the property where she can live alone, sooner, though I’m not sure how with the ground and trees frozen.
Now I have to get to work. Both of you have a good day. ”
He kissed Emily goodbye for the second time that morning.
She smiled and watched him go. Not that his warnings would make any difference. Doris wouldn’t change and Emily didn’t believe her meek act for a minute.
After he left, Doris turned on her.
“I may have to accept you for now, but you just watch your back.”
Then the woman stomped out of the kitchen.
Emily’s smile faded, replaced by a frown and a nervous stomach. What would Doris do now? Emily was not anxious to find out.
Emily heard Doris stomp down the stairs and out of the house. The next thing she heard was the buggy leaving down the driveway.
Well, now. That’s interesting. I have to prepare lunch for the men by myself. I can do it, I just don’t have Doris here telling me how to do everything because the way I’m doing it is wrong.
She smiled and went to the icebox to get the ground beef and start a pot of chili.
Then she’d make cornbread, a beef roast with carrots and potatoes, a couple of pans of biscuits.
That would take her most of the rest of the morning.
She would clean the rest of the house as soon as she could and as much as she could after lunch, even the windows.
If this wasn’t her home, the windows could turn brown with dirt and she wouldn’t wash them unless Doris asked nicely.
Even then she’d have to think about it…hard.
As it was, she’d do the windows as a matter of pride in her home.
“You’ve got to get rid of Emily before Ben falls in love with her.” Doris paced in front of the rose-flowered sofa where the dark-haired woman sat contemplating her fingernails.
“Ben will be eating out of my hand, again, when I’m through with him.”
Melissa’s soft, silky voice cut through the chill in the room.
“You’d better hurry. I see the change in him every day.
He touches her all the time, kisses her in front of God and everybody and doesn’t give a damn if anyone cares or not.
I see him slipping under her spell more and more each day.
If she doesn’t disappear soon it will be too late.
My buyers are tired of being put off. They want the ranch now. ”
“You may be right. Perhaps I should put my plan into action sooner rather than later.”
Doris stopped her pacing right in front of Melissa.
“Of course, I’m right. You stupid girl. I thought you wanted to marry my son.”
Melissa ran her hands down the silk of her ruby colored gown. Doris didn’t see any wrinkles so she thought it was probably a nervous gesture.
Melissa shrugged.
“I did and then I didn’t. I was infatuated with another man and thought he would marry me, but he didn’t and now I must get married.
Ben has to get rid of his wife and marry me.
My money isn’t enough to protect me, I don’t want to marry anyone else and I sure as heck don’t want to raise this child alone, so it has to be Ben. ”
“You’re lucky I like you.” Doris narrowed her eyes. “I see myself in you. When I was younger, of course, and with more money. You are still going through with our deal after you marry Ben? You’ll take him away and leave the ranch to me?”
Yes, Doris had been nearly as dumb when she was young, marrying Joseph Logan. The man was handsome enough, but he’d had a mind of his own and wasn’t easily manipulated. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t control Joseph at all.
Ben was like him but Doris knew that without interference from his wife, she’d do exactly as she pleased.
And she’d have Ben all to herself, he’d do exactly as she wanted.
He’d sell the ranch and take her to San Francisco to live.
She was tired of the ranch life. She wanted to live in the city, with running water and cafes and candy stores and coffee shops and where you couldn’t get everything from one place.
She wouldn’t have to share him. Doris would use Melissa to get rid of Emily.
Melissa raised an eyebrow.
“Of course.”
“So what is this plan of yours?”
“I’ve employed Rory Schroder to get rid of Emily. No one will think twice if he kidnaps and murders her. Oh, they’ll know murder was committed but they won’t think it unusual that he did it because he’s already Ben’s enemy.”
Doris crossed one arm over her stomach and then put her other hand on her chin. “Not bad. Not bad at all. See that it happens immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am. No one is more anxious to be Ben’s wife than I am.”
Silly girl. You put the cart before the horse and now think that my Ben will bail you out of your situation, but I have other plans for my son and now they don’t include a wife, even one as malleable as you.
The day couldn’t have been any better. The sun was shining, only a slight breeze stirred the air and though he still needed a coat, the temperature was not unpleasant given that it was November in Colorado.
After he finished his chores, Ben set up cans and other targets in the pasture behind the barn. The time had come for Emily to learn to shoot a gun, for her own safety and that of his unborn child.
He found her in the kitchen chopping vegetables into a large pot. Walking up behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.
“Can you leave that for a while?”
She bent her neck giving his searching lips greater access to her sensitive skin.
“I suppose. What do you have in mind?”
“Not much. A little shooting lesson.”
Emily turned in his arms.
“Seriously? You’ll teach me how to shoot a gun and I don’t even have to beg you?”
He laughed.
“Yes, without any begging.”
She hugged him.
“Thank you.”
Stepping back out of his embrace, she took off her apron and patted her hair down.
“I’m ready.”
“You’ll need a coat. The weather is chilly.”
She grabbed her sheepskin coat off the peg by the outside door and he held it for her to put on.
“Now I’m ready.”
“Follow me.”
He led the way out to the yard and then took her hand and put it in the crook of his elbow for the rest of the walk to the target range.
When they arrived, he removed his pistol from its holster.
“This is a Colt .45 pistol. The chamber holds six bullets. Once you’ve expended your ammunition, you remove the empty shells and reload.”
He unloaded the weapon and then reloaded it.
“Now I want you to do the same thing.”
Ben handed her the gun.
“Oh.” The weight pushed her hand low. “My, this is heavy.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
She grunted and managed to unload and reload the pistol.
“Now do I get to shoot it?”
“Yes.”
He turned and pointed at the cans he’d set up on tree stumps.
“When you’re ready, point the gun at the cans. Use the sight at the end of the barrel to aim with. Pull the trigger slowly and evenly. Don’t jerk it.”
Emily took a deep breath and then nodded.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
She raised the Colt with both hands, aimed and fired. The recoil from the discharge of the bullet sent the gun high, but she didn’t let the weapon go.
“Well, that’s exciting. How’d I do?”
He grinned.
“You kept it in the pasture.”
“Let me try this again.”
She aimed and fired, prepared for the recoil, she didn’t allow the gun to rise as high as before.
“You hit the stump. That’s great. Fire again.”
Emily did. She fired again and again. Emptied the Colt, reloaded and shot all the bullets again.
By the time Emily heard the call to quit, her arms ached from holding the gun.
Ben practically had to pry it out of her hands.
He reloaded the weapon and holstered it.
“Lord, but I hurt.”
“Come here.”
She stepped forward.
Ben picked up her hand. He massaged her palm, each of her fingers and her wrist. Then he placed his hands on her upper arms and rubbed, digging his fingers into her sore muscles.
She didn’t know whether to moan in delight or holler in pain.
By the time he’d finished with both arms, she almost felt like herself again.
“Thank you. I feel much better.”
“That gun is too heavy for you. I’ll see about getting a smaller one.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and gazed up at her husband.
“Thank you. That’s the second nicest thing you’ve done for me today.”
He grinned.
“Come into the barn and I’ll do something even nicer.”
“Really? In the barn? Again? I’ve still got a meal to fix so you’ll have to be fast.”
“Uh huh. I planned for it. I knew you’d be tired and totally unable to resist your handsome husband.”
Emily giggled.
“You sir, are a wicked, wicked man.”
“And that’s why you love me.”
She stiffened.
“What makes you think I would love you? I can’t, and I won’t, until you can admit that you are able to love me in return.”
She stepped out of his embrace, turned and walked back up to the house.
He hadn’t disagreed, just let her go.
As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep the tears from falling.
Two days later, Emily was preparing supper when Ben came into the kitchen carrying a box with a big red ribbon on it.
“What’s that?”
She jutted her chin toward the box he set on the table.
“A present.”
After their little fight a couple of days ago, a present was the last thing she expected, unless this was to apologize.
“For me?”
“Don’t look so surprised. Of course, it’s for you. Open it.”
She wiped her hands on her apron, then walked to the table, pulled the ribbon open and unwrapped the package, careful to keep the paper usable for another gift.
Inside was a leather covered box stamped with the name Colt.
Her heart started pounding, her stomach turned over and her hands felt moist so she wiped them on her apron again.
She looked over at Ben.
He grinned.
“Go ahead.”
She gingerly opened the case and found a Colt pistol, much smaller than Ben’s. She plucked it from its resting place.
It was about half the weight of Ben’s Colt 0.45.
“This is a twenty-two. That’s the size bullets it uses. They are a lot smaller and that’s why the gun is so much smaller and, therefore, lighter. But don’t think because it’s not as big that it isn’t just as lethal as the one I carry, because it is.”
She laid the gun back in the case.
“Oh, Ben.”
She rushed to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.
“Thank you.”
“I knew you’d be needing a smaller weapon and I ordered this two weeks ago. The gunsmith got it from Denver just yesterday.”
“You’re still giving it to me? Even though we were fighting?”
He sighed.
“Emily, we will have disagreements over the years to come. But we’re still married and I still will follow through on my promises.”
“Oh, Ben. Thank you and forgive me for doubting you.”
He hugged her close.
“You’re forgiven. Where will you keep the gun? It doesn’t do much good if it’s not on you.”
“I’ll keep it in my apron pocket or my skirt pocket. I’ll always have it with me. I never know when I’ll need it. With your crazy mother and ex-fiancée, I might actually have to use it, but I truly hope I never do.”
“I hope you don’t either, at least on humans. You can shoot all the snakes you want.”