Their Tempting Bride by Lacey Davis
2
As they continued on down the street, Martin felt his heart begin to slow back to normal. He’d feared being trampled when the crowd turned and ran to safety. Sure, he managed all right with his leg, but it was so easy to lose your balance and then he would have been in the same situation as the young, beautiful woman.
Trampled by either the crowd or the cattle.
Another example of how he couldn't care for a family. What if he had young children with him and something like this happened? How would he get them to safety? How could he protect them?
That was his biggest challenge in finding a wife. Sure, he would be nervous in showing her his scarred stump of a leg, but what if she needed protecting and he couldn’t do it?
And how would his children react to the fact that their father was less than perfect?
“You’ve got that look on your face,” Daniel said as they walked into his three-room assay office, the gold he bought and sold from the miners sitting in locked cases. He strived to give them a fair price and never took the minerals or precious metals for less than what they were worth.
Because of his honest dealings with the miners, his business had grown tremendously over the two years they had been here.
“What look is that?” Martin said, trying to buy some time to come up with a good excuse. His friend always assumed the best about him, and yet, Martin had so many concerns about adding a woman to their life.
Yes, he wanted a wife, a partner. And one like Georgia Carroll would be perfect. But again, what if he couldn’t protect her?
“The look that tells me you’re having doubts. But who could ever have second thoughts about Georgia Carroll? When I scooped her up from the sidewalk, I didn’t have time to take a thorough assessment of her curves, but once we were inside…the woman fit perfectly in my arms. Her breasts were soft and her hips well rounded. Just think of that beauty spread naked on our bed."
The thought made him groan, his dick rising to attention.
“I always have doubts,” Martin said, walking into the office.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” the man sitting at the front desk just inside the door said.
“Jones, what can you tell me about Georgia Carroll?”
The man frowned and tilted his head. “Why?”
“I just want to know,” he said. “That’s all.”
“Her father runs the Cypress mine owned by Mr. Bartlett. He likes to hang out at the Lucky Miners' gambling hall.”
Jones was the man that handled the office on the days they stayed at the ranch in Bridgewater. Daniel would sell the business before he would move to Butte. The city was way too big and they loved their home they had in Bridgewater. All it needed was a wife and kids.
Already, Martin could see Daniel’s brain going into overdrive. If it was well known that her father went to the gambling hall, was he a big gambler?
“Thanks, Jones,” Daniel said. “Wait, one more thing. Does she have a fiancé or intended or anyone that you know of?”
“No, her mama keeps her real close and can you blame her? The woman is striking.”
Daniel smiled at Jones. “Yes, she is.”
As they walked into the office, Daniel went into the workroom and Martin into his office where he kept the books.
Sitting at his desk, he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Daniel came in. When the man had something on his mind, he was like a dog with a bone.
As Daniel came into his office, Martin smiled. “So if we start to court her and her mother finds out we’re from Bridgewater, I’m sure we’ll be blacklisted immediately. How can we get to this woman?”
Martin started to laugh. “Don’t you think we should lay down the ground rules between us before we add a woman?”
“What rules?” Daniel said.
“Who is going to be her legal husband? Who gets her pussy and who gets her ass? What we expect of a wife?”
Daniel smiled. “No wonder you’re a damn bookkeeper. Everything has to be written out for you. I’m going to be her legal husband, so my father will leave me alone. You can take her pussy first then. As for what I expect in a wife… she’ll need to obey us, cook, and take care of our family.”
Martin nodded. “I’m agreeable. And I’m going to have sex with her every chance I get.”
A grin spread across his friend’s face. “Oh, yes. Now we just need to convince her papa I’m perfect for his daughter.”
“Are you certain about this?” Martin asked, knowing his friend could sometimes make rash decisions, especially where his family was concerned. As almost brothers, Martin knew Daniel wanted his business to succeed without his father's help.
And his father was hell when he didn’t get what he wanted, which was his son returning to Philadelphia to be part of the banking business.
“Today, when I picked her up in my arms, I just knew this woman was ours. It was like I was supposed to be there to rescue her and she is going to be our wife. It was instantaneous. She’s ours.”
Martin sighed and shook his head. “I’m glad you’re certain. But how are we going to be introduced to her.”
“I’m working on that now. For a moment today, I thought her mother was going to ask us to dinner. But then she retreated.” A grin spread across Daniel’s face. “How did we meet our wife. A fucking stampede. If I could thank those cattle, I would.”
“It’s not a done deal, just yet,” Martin warned him. “We’ve got to convince her father we’re the right men for his daughter.”
Daniel leaned back in the chair. “We could have children soon. A family of our own.”
“And we’re not going to raise our children the way we were raised.”
“Oh, hell no,” Daniel said.
“Agreed,” Martin replied. “I miss my sister and hope they’re doing well. But my father can kiss my ass.”
The memory of his father’s words when he saw his injury still raised rage inside Martin. No matter what, he would be a man who lived as full a life as possible for a man with one leg.
