The Marshal Takes A Bride (8 page)

Sincerely,

Eugenia

Stunned, she stared at the white veil that had been lovingly wrapped in tissue and preserved. Oh! Sarah crumpled the note in her fist. The woman had nerve. To said her wedding veil to an almost stranger with a note regarding her son? How could she be so bold?

Well, Sarah could be just as stubborn. She would return the veil at once to Tucker and tell him to tell his mother in no uncertain terms that there would never be a match between the two of them. Eugenia had set her sights on her goal, and she was determined she would succeed, but Sarah was suddenly just as determined to put an end to her matchmaking ways. Sure, at one time she had wanted Tucker. But she wanted him to love her, not make a vow because his mother imposed upon him enough that he finally catapulted into marriage.

Maybe Tucker was right. She should meet the men he was willing to introduce her to, not to marry them, just to keep Eugenia off balance. With her involved with other men, she hoped Eugenia would give up on Tucker and Sarah being together.

Or maybe Tucker would consider that he could lose her to another man or maybe this would keep mother and son from driving Sarah crazy while she was here.

Whatever happened, it appeared that the next two months were going to be interesting, and Sarah was going to have a full social calendar for the first time in years.

Chapter
Five

At the sound of the rapid knock, Tucker glanced up from the paperwork on his desk. Why did the sight of Sarah always cause his heart to give a small leap? She stood in the doorway, her face red, her body taut. Something was dreadfully wrong.

“Can I come in,” she asked, her voice polite and brisk.

He jumped up from behind his desk and hurried around to greet her. “What’s wrong? You wouldn’t have come here if there wasn’t a problem.”

He could see the tension in her body in the way she walked toward him carrying a small tin.

“What’s in the tin?” he asked, fearing her answer.

“This is what’s the matter,” she said, laying the tin down on his desk and yanking off the lid.

She reached inside the white tissue paper and pulled out a wedding veil.

Tucker stood to the side of his desk, shock paralyzing him as he stared in horror at the white piece of material. Suddenly he remembered where he had seen this lacy material. He recognized the garment from a tintype of his parents’ wedding day. It was his mother’s bridal veil.

He shook his head. This was beyond what even he had expected from his mother. Just how far was she willing to go to see him wed?

He ran his hand through his hair. Oh, God, was he in trouble. He glanced at Sarah and noticed the tautness around her mouth, the grim determination in her features. What could he say to her?

“I don’t know what to say,” he mumbled, taken aback.

“She came by the clinic the other day, and I thought I had made it abundantly clear to Eugenia that you and I would never marry. She sent this veil to me to show her faith in just how much she believes we belong together.”

Tucker cringed and shook his head in disbelief. “I tried to warn you.”

Sarah watched him, a frustrated expression on her beautiful face. “I was bluntly honest with her, and she didn’t hear me.”

“Did she send a note with the veil?”

“Yes. She had the gall to ask me to wear the thing when I married you.”

Tucker burst out laughing. “Well, she’s going to be waiting a long time.”

“I’m glad you find this amusing. I’ve been rather annoyed.”

“I’m sorry. Even I never thought she would go this far,” he said, wondering if anything he said to his mother would do any good.

Sarah sighed. “I attempted to talk to her, let her know that we would never be a couple, but she obviously chose to ignore me.”

He cringed. Sarah’s words sounded so final, yet that was what he wanted.

“I’ll talk to her again, and tell her to leave you alone.”

“What makes you think she’s going to listen to you?” Sarah sighed. “I hate to admit this, but I think you’re right about your mother.”

She stared at him, the blue of her eyes reminding him of a clear bright sky, where he wanted to lose himself.

“I’ve been reconsidering your suggestion.”

“Oh?” Tucker said, suddenly uneasy. Maybe the idea of her courting other men wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Maybe it would be good for me to be seen with other men. Maybe then she would understand that there will be nothing between the two of us and leave us both alone.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” he said, but somehow the scheme just didn’t seem quite as agreeable as before.

The thought of her being with one of his friends made him wince. How could he look at the two of them together without remembering how it felt to be in Sarah’s arms? How could he look at Sarah without thinking even the slightest nod in his direction would have him back in her bed, as long as there were no commitments, no promises.

She looked damn good standing here, her blue eyes sparking with indignation, her blond hair pulled up off her delicate neck. He wouldn’t hesitate at an opportunity to kiss her succulent lips. Hell, he wouldn’t hesitate at an opportunity to share her bed again.

“Okay, I’m willing to try this idea of yours just so she will leave me alone. You line up the men, and I’ll agree to have dinner with them, be seen with them,” Sarah said “I’m willing to try this at least once.”

Tucker stared at her a moment, thoughts racing through his mind. How could he back out of this plan? How could he admit to her that he didn’t want to see her with other men? He couldn’t.

“I’ve already got the first one in mind. I’ll contact him and see if he’s interested,” Tucker agreed ignoring the apprehension he felt at her seeing other men. This was what he wanted. Right? He couldn’t back out now.

“All right. In the meantime, what do you want me to do with the veil?” she asked.

“Keep it.”

“The veil is your mother’s. I’ll return it to her when I go to see Rose. That way I can tell her to her face just how her plan isn’t going to work.”

Tucker picked it up and looked at the pearl headdress. “I’m surprised she didn’t send you the entire dress.”

“Maybe we were never the same size,” Sarah acknowledged.

Tucker couldn’t help but glance over Sarah’s body. No, he doubted very seriously if his short, plump mother had ever had as many curves as Sarah, or was ever built to make a man dream about running his hands over her generous breasts and small waist.

The urge to wrap her in his arms and let his fingers glide across her velvety skin engulfed him. He wanted to feel her naked flesh beneath his fingertips, caress her satin skin and explore her body just like he had done before.

He took a deep breath and tried to bring his mind back to the present Back from the memory of Sarah to the realization he was going to give her to another man. “You’re probably right.”

“Well, I’m on my way to the clinic and just wanted to show you the latest matchmaking shenanigan your mother has pulled and tell you, I had changed my mind.”

He put the veil back into the tin box and replaced the lid on the container and handed it back to Sarah. “I never thought she’d go this far.”

Sarah sighed. “I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she tries something else.”

“Oh, no. This is her last matchmaking shenanigan.

She started walking toward the door, and the urge to stop her and take her in his arms and kiss her full red lips almost overcame him. But instead he walked alongside her to the open portal.

At the door he stood there and gazed down into her eyes, which reminded him of a warm spring sky. Unable to resist touching her, he reached out and laid his hand on her arm, his fingertips tingling.

Sarah stopped and gazed up at him expectantly, eyes warm and questioning, and he wanted to lose himself in her gaze.

“I . . . I’m sorry that this has interfered with your homecoming,” he said, watching as her tongue nervously flicked across her bottom lip. Not really caring what he said as long as she stayed for just a moment longer.

She shrugged. “It’s not your fault. Well, I guess I better get down to Doc Wilson’s and see what’s going on there.”

“I’ll come by later and let you know if the man I have in mind is willing.”

Tucker had to go through with this plan; he had no choice now. He was the one who had suggested this damn scheme, and now he would be forced to endure it. But it was the right thing to do, he kept telling himself. His mother would leave them both alone, and maybe, just maybe, Sarah would find a man who would keep her in Fort Worth. He needed her to stay, for the town’s sake, but did he really want her to find another man?

“That’s fine.” She stepped out of his office and walked across the hall and out the front door.

Tucker watched her go, his mind full of images of how her skin had glowed in the moonlight, the thrust of her naked breasts and the taste of her lips.

Was he crazy to hand her over to another man? Or just crazy for torturing himself with the memory of the feel of her in his arms?

***

Sarah walked into the clinic and saw a young red- haired woman standing at the door.

“Yes, can I help you?” she asked.

“Mrs. James, I heard you were sitting in for Doc Wilson...and I...I thought that maybe you being a woman doctor, that you could help me.”

She glanced at the woman, who was so nervously standing at the doorway. She tried to put her at ease. “Come in, Mrs . . . ?”

“It don’t matter what my name is. I just wanted to see if you could help me.”

Sarah tried to reassure the pretty young woman whose green eyes barely met her own. “There’s no one else here but me and you. Come on in and we can talk about whatever is bothering you.”

“I work down at the Silver Slipper. I’m...I’m a calico queen, Dr. James,” she informed Sarah.

“You’re also a woman who needs a doctor. I’m a physician,” Sarah said slowly. “Now, how can I help you?” The woman sighed and stepped into the office, shutting the door behind her. “You don’t mind me coming to see you?”

“Not at all,” Sarah said warmly.

“Well...I keep having this problem.”

For the next several minutes Sarah listened to the woman describe her symptoms, knowing immediately that what she was describing sounded like a fungus. “What is it, Doc?”

“I don’t think it’s serious, but I would like to take a look at it Why don’t you go into that curtained-off area, remove your pantaloons, wrap a sheet around you, and then I’ll come in and take a look at it”

“Okay,” she said nervously.

Sarah gave the woman a few moments before she went in to see her new patient. She walked in and tried to be quick about looking at the woman’s legs and groin area.

“You have a fungus that is transmitted sexually,” Sarah told the woman. “I’ll give you a jar of cream, and you will need to apply it twice a day until the rash disappears.”

The woman breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “I was so afraid. I feared I’d gotten the clap.”

“You know, in your occupation, you run a very high risk of catching a disease,” Sarah said, trying not to sound judgmental.

“Yes, but a girl’s gotta earn a living, and I don’t know any other way.”

Sarah nodded in understanding, not wanting to alienate the woman. “I understand. Why don’t you get dressed and then we can talk some more.”

She left the woman to dress and found the cream in the doctor’s drug cabinet. She also opened her own medical bag and reached inside for a condom.

When the woman came out, Sarah handed her the cream and then showed her the sheepskin. “This is a condom. You put it over a man’s erect penis and it protects you and him from catching a disease. It also will help keep you from getting pregnant, though it’s not foolproof.”

“What is it?” the woman asked.

“It’s the dried gut of a sheep, and you can reuse it.”

“Oh! But will my customers agree to use it?” she questioned.

“If you’re honest and tell them that it protects them from catching a disease from you, why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t think they want to hear me talking about the clap when they’re paying me for sex,” she said.

“Then, just slip it on them before they enter you,” Sarah suggested. “Make it fun and in the end they’ll thank you for it.”

The woman reached out and took the condom from her. She let her fingers run over the soft skin. “This will keep me from catching a kid?”

“It will help,” Sarah said. “Rinse it with soap and water after every use. And when you need another one, come see me. I’ll be here for two months.”

The woman glanced up from the skin she held in her hand. “Thank you.”

Sarah smiled. “You’re welcome. Now, come back and see me if the cream doesn’t clear up the red patches.”

“You know, most people don’t want to have anything to do with women like me. Even Doc Wilson wouldn’t help us, ’less he just had to.”

“I’m a healer. If this condom helps keep you from getting sick, then I’ve done my job. You tell the other women, I’m here for the next two months, and I’ll be happy to help anyone.”

The woman nodded. “By the way, I’m called Buckskin Sue.”

“Nice to meet you, Sue.”

She took the cream and put it in her reticule, then took out a few coins and handed them to Sarah.

“Is this enough?”

“That will do. Come back to see me before I leave, Sue.”

“Thanks, Doc, I will.” The woman stepped out the door.

Sarah watched her from the window walking down the street until she noticed a small figure in pants, with a straw hat, standing at the edge of the house. She walked outside to where she could get a better look at the boy and see what he needed.

He backed into the shadow of a tall cedar bush and slinked around the comer of the house. Sarah followed, suddenly curious about what the lad was doing.

She slowly moved around the comer of the house to a small shed where he huddled in the darkness, hiding.

“Please don’t be afraid,” she called. “Come out and talk to me.”

The small figure came into the light, but all Sarah could see was the top of the hat and the white shirt and pants. When the boy raised his head, she stared into the battered and bruised face of a young Chinese girl.