The Officer and the Bostoner (Historical Western Romance) (Fort Gibson Officers Series, Book 1) (18 page)

Allison lifted her chin a notch. “I don’t see how.”

“It just is.”

“
I see. You’re using the same logic you applied when deciding by all of my no answers that you have nothing more to say to me to determine that there’s a difference in how you would have reacted had I asked you to help me dismount versus when you’d ignored me before when I’d asked you to do things.”

He blinked at her. If he understood what she was saying correctly, she thought he was an illogical thinker. But he wasn’t. “The difference is that jumping down from a horse the way you did could have gotten you hurt. If you would have asked, I would have helped you down. I refused to return you to the barracks because you only demanded it to escape my presence and avoid answering my questions. The matters are different entirely.

“As for not answering your questions,” he shrugged, “I already told you there wasn’t a reason for me to do so. You’ve made it quite clear that you find Nicholas superior to me, so why should I bother to waste our time by answering your questions?”

She blanched. “So now it’s a waste of your time to so much as talk to me?”

“When what you have to say will only cause more hurt and not change the outcome, yes.”

“
I don’t understand you, Wes. You already knew—”

“
Yes, I did,” he cut in, not wanting her to remind him once again of what he already knew: she hadn’t changed her mind and she still intended to marry her precious Nicholas. “And damn it all, it’s my fault.”

“
Your fault what?” she pressed.

“
Nothing. Now, if we’re done arguing, I’d like to help you back onto Midnight, so we can return in time for me to meet my men.”

“
No.”

“
No?” He released a pent up breath. “Allison, I don’t have time for this. I have to get back.”

“
Then just answer my question.”

“
Which one?” he asked flippantly.

“
How is it that I told you that you were more handsome and charming than Nicholas and that I love you, and yet you get angry and accuse me of saying you don’t compare to Nicholas. Why is it that you don’t believe me?”

“
It has nothing to do with that.”

She knit her brows. “Then what is it?” Her voice cracked in the middle of her demand. “I said no to everything you asked.”

“But you didn’t mean no.”

“
No, I didn’t, Wes. I have to admit. I think he’s the best rounders player to grace this country,” she said with a huff.

“
It’s not that and you know it.” He crossed his arms. “I asked if you cared about his wealth.”

“
And I said no.”

“
Your voice might have said no, but your hesitation and tone said yes.”

An uncomfortable silence engulfed them.

“Wes, I—I—I...” She sighed and fisted her hands into her skirt. “I didn’t mean for it to be this way.”

He kicked a rock with the toe of his boot. “It’s all right, Allison. You don’t have to explain,” he said, just as much to spare her pride as his own. “Now, are you ready to go back or would you prefer to walk?”

“I’m not going anywhere until you listen to me.”

“
Fine. Say whatever it is you think is so important.”

“
Wes, I love you. I really do. I love you more than I ever thought was possible. But it has to be this way. I’m not what you need.”

“
Is that so? Or is it that I’m not what you need?”

She shook her head violently and clasped her hands in front of her. “No. You are. You’re all I need, but I—I am not the wife you need.”

“And because you claim to love me, that makes you qualified to decide what’s best for me?” he asked in a tone dripping with sarcasm. He shook his head and twisted his lips. “What about what I want, Allison? Does that not matter? Do you think you know my own mind better than me?”

“
What do you want, Wes?”

“
You.”

Her lips formed a perfect O and her eyes shone with what he thought to be happy tears at his admission, but then her face fell in a way that might suggest she was about to spout off a reason that his feelings for her didn’t matter..

Before she could say anything further to trample his pride, he said, “I’ve answered your questions, so if you’re satisfied, I’d like to return to the barracks now.”

~Chapter Twenty-One~

The tension that filled the air surrounding them was enough to choke them both to death. Or at least Allison. With her back to Wes as they rode at a breakneck speed, she couldn’t see his face, but she had an idea of what she’d see: a scowl darker than thunder.

She swallowed uncomfortably. “Wes?”

No response, not that she’d actually expected one.

“Wes?” She sighed at his lack of response again. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay married to him. It was that she
couldn’t
. He just wasn’t allowing her the opportunity to explain that. Not that she believed she could find the right words to do so anyway.

The barracks came into view, and so did an incredible amount of horses and soldiers she didn’t recognize.

“Whoa,” Wes said soothingly to the horse as he pulled Midnight to a stop. They sat there for a minute, and then Wes clicked his tongue for the horse to move again.

Neither said anything as he unbridled Midnight and saw to the horses needs, only intensifying the tension between them more, if such a thing were even possible.

“Let’s go,” he barked.

“
Where?”

He shot her a peeved look as if she should be able to read his mind.

Just then, the booming voice of Colonel Lewis floated to their ears loud enough to block out even her own thoughts. “Captain Tucker, get out here, now!”

Allison’s eyes widened. She’d never heard the soft-spoken Colonel raise his voice. She chanced a glance at Wes. His jaw was clenched and a muscle in his cheek was ticking.

It was evident that now wasn’t the time to be argumentative or ask him questions, so she kept her mouth closed. She had the strangest urge to reach for his hand but didn’t know if that would be more reassuring for him, or her, and decided against it.

They took four steps forward before the large door at the end of the stable swung open, revealing a stony-faced Colonel Lewis alongside— “
Nicholas,”
she gasped.

***

Every muscle in Wes’ body contracted at once. Not because Colonel Lewis was angry. He’d been on the receiving end of his wrath a time or two and knew the man, though usually quiet and mild, could get his dander up over small things that could be easily fixed. No, the reason his muscles were knotted tighter than a hangman’s noose had nothing to do with Colonel Lewis and everything to do with the man standing to his left. More specifically, Allison’s reaction to him.

“
Allison,” the immaculately dressed man with yellow trousers and a white coat said, coming over to her. He lifted his hat, which was just as white as his coat, from his head with one hand and lifted Allison’s hand to his lips with the other.

Wes jerked his eyes away. The last thing he wanted to see was this man placing his lips on Allison’s knuckles. Instead, he had to meet the cold eyes of a disgruntled Colonel Lewis.

Unlike the other times Wes had spiked his ire, it was rather clear this wouldn’t be so easy to explain.

“
H-how did you get here so soon?” Allison asked, then cleared her throat.

“
As soon as I got your letter, I came,” he said. He lowered his eyes to take in her shirt and skirt. “And not a moment too soon, I see.”

“
Did you hire a mob to get you here?” she asked with a slight hitch in her voice.

He giggled. Yes,
giggled,
leading Wes to snap his head around to face the man. “Don’t be silly, the Army escorted me. That’s how I found out where you were in the first place,” he explained.

“
And just how is that?” Wes heard himself ask; though why he was interested in the man’s answer, he couldn’t explain.

The man put his hat back on and, not releasing his hold on Allison’s hand, which Wes couldn’t help but notice, turned his head to address Wes. “When General Bridges came to my home, he brought Miss Pierson’s letter with him and said it had accompanied the supplies that had been sent down from here.”

McCorkle
. That’s who was in charge of overseeing shipments that were sent and received from the other forts. Checking the outgoing post for missives that needed to be delivered was just a courtesy; one that most who had that position honored. It had been so long since he’d done it, he’d forgotten that fact; besides, how was he to know supplies were about to be sent to Fort Marcy? He pushed the thought from his mind. This was just another setback, albeit a rather large one, but there was still time to convince her. She still needed him to sign the papers, didn’t she?

“
Of course I couldn’t leave my intended stranded in some godforsaken fort surrounded by Indians, so I slipped enough coins into the right hands, and
ta da
, here I am!”

“
Yes, here you are,” Wes muttered under his breath as the odd little man turned back toward Allison. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said that he was refined. He was. So much so that Wes was certain he’d only met one other who was just as
particular
. He shuddered at the thought. His money must mean a great deal to her if she was willing to marry a man who clearly was only using her to help his image among his peers.

Ignoring the way every muscle in his body tensed to the point of pain, Wes forced his feet to carry him forward all the way out of the stable and across the courtyard, heedless to Colonel Lewis’ demands for him to halt.

A month in the stockade as punishment for disobeying orders was fine with him. It couldn’t possibly be any harder than to see the woman he loved being doted on by a man who saw her only as a tool he could manipulate, not someone he could love.

***

Allison stood frozen in the barn, her eyes unable to look away from the sight of Wes’ retreating back. Was that it, then? Was he truly walking away from her?

Her heart sank. Could she blame him? She’d pushed him away.

“Allison,” Nicholas’s soft tone drew her attention. “Now that I have reclaimed what is mine, I think it’s time we collect your things and tell Major Rawlings we’re ready to start back to Santa Fe, then onto Austin.”

“
We can’t. Not yet.”

“
Not yet?” He knit his brows. “What do you mean?”

Allison licked her lips and shot a glance over to where Colonel Lewis stood, shamelessly staring at them. “It’s not as simple as just leaving, I’m afraid.” She looked to Colonel Lewis again. Hadn’t he told Nicholas of her marriage to Wes? Perhaps not. “Do you remember the gentleman who was just in here?”

“You mean the barbaric-looking giant who abducted you to go riding? Yes, I saw him and he’ll be dealt with. I’ll make sure of it myself.”

Allison frowned at him. “Not too harshly, I should hope. He is my husband, after all.”

Nicholas’s face went whiter than his coat. “Your what?”

“
Colonel Lewis, can we have a moment alone?”

Colonel Lewis shook his head. “No,” he said in his usual soft tone. “I have no idea what is going on here, and until I can make sense of just who is what to you, I’ve made it my responsibility to act as your guardian.”

His words would have melted her heart had she not been so frustrated—mainly with herself. “Nicholas, as I stated in that letter, I was stranded here. As you have already noticed, there aren’t exactly a lot of ladies present. Three of us, to be precise. The other two were married and there wasn’t anywhere for me to go, so I...uh...married Wes.”

His jaw dropped. “You married a stranger because you didn’t have a place to stay?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she persisted. “I had to stay somewhere until you could come for me.”

“
Is that so?” He crossed his arms. “And you’re telling me you couldn’t have stayed with one of the other married ladies?”

“
I—I hadn’t thought about that,” she said. “But—”

“
No, you probably weren’t given the time to, were you? He took advantage of you, Allison. He saw an opportunity and took it.”

“
Now, see here,” she hissed, her face flushing with embarrassment. “Wes isn’t the kind to take advantage of anyone. There wasn’t any place for me to go, and if he hadn’t married me, I’d have been at the mercy of all the men here.”

Nicholas gave a bark of hollow laughter. “And you believed him? Surely there was somewhere for you to go.”

“No, there wasn’t. The only two other ladies who are here don’t have a lot of extra room. Besides, it would take away from their own privacy to have another person sleep in the room with them.”

“
So without asking them, you willingly jumped in bed with a stranger?” He clenched his hands at his sides, his face growing redder than the cock feather that decorated Wes’ hat. “Two years we courted and you refused to share my bed; but you jump into bed with a stranger after only a few hours.”

His words stung more than if he’d slapped her cheek. “It wasn’t like that. He— We—” She straightened her spine. “Actually, believe what you want. You will anyway.”

His lips thinned. “We can address the state of your chastity when we’re alone. Right now, we need to find a way to dissolve this marriage.” He turned his head toward their guest. “Colonel Lewis, do you know how to dissolve this—this—travesty my simple-minded intended created for herself?”

Colonel Lewis frowned and allowed his eyes to travel from Nicholas to Allison then back to Nicholas. “I am not at liberty to dissolve this union, but I know of a man who is. He’s in Fort Smith, so it should only take two or three days to get him here and get matters settled.”

“I suppose that will have to do,” Nicholas said with a huff. He turned back to face Allison. “Is there nothing else you might be able to put on? You know how I feel about my intended being seen in beggar’s clothes.”

Allison looked down at her shirt and skirt. They weren’t as fancy as the things she’d worn in Boston; and the craftsmanship of the skirt wasn’t as good of quality as it would have been had she hired someone to make it for her; but she’d become quite attached to the freedom the costume gave her, not to mention the idea had been Wes’. She swallowed. She’d certainly made a mess of things where he was concerned.

Nicholas clearing his throat reminded her of his question.

“
Unfortunately, all of my clothes were still on the stage, and the dress that I was wearing at the time isn’t in any better condition than this one.”

“
That’s all right,” Nicholas said with a wide smile. “You can just stay inside until it’s time to leave for Santa Fe.”