Chapter 2

Aiden was deep in thought as he rested his head on the pillow and stared at the hotel room ceiling.  His plan was going well so far.  Even though Dennis O’Malley claimed to have investigated him, he’d managed to keep his true identity from them.

It was fortunate that he’d operated his business with Angus McCann as his front man. Sometime during their years of doing business together, Dennis got it into his head that Angus was the owner of the Bar J&K ranch. Neither Angus nor Aiden felt the need to set him straight.  When the offer for a union of families -and businesses- through marriage to his daughter, Pauline, was extended to Angus, the cantankerous old cowboy took pleasure in joking about what kind of a husband he’d make for a pampered New Orleans society princess as he handed the proposal to the true owner of the ranch. 

Since Aiden was an unknown, he could travel to New Orleans and get to know the daughter of his business associate before the marriage actually took place.

The last battle he’d fought on behalf of the confederacy was at Palmito Ranch near the banks of the Rio Grande.  It was a battle that should have never taken place since it occurred one month after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. It was also a battle that nearly cost him his life.  Had it not been for the kindly ministrations of Maggie Jones, when she found him full of bullet holes and left for dead by the remnants of his regiment, he would have died for sure.

It was Maggie who ordered her men to carry him to her struggling cattle ranch and it was Maggie who fetched a doctor to tend to his wounds.  When he was fully recovered, he repaid her kindness by helping out on the ranch; doing whatever needed to be done within his capabilities.  Little by little, he learned the ways of a cattle rancher.  Seeing that he had a good eye for livestock and a good head on his shoulders for figures, Maggie began to depend on him more and more.

Aiden’s dream of making it big in America was a constant driving force.  When he was certain Maggie’s ranch was now longer struggling and was running smoothly, he approached her with his intentions to leave and get a spread of his own.  He and his siblings managed get their hands on some of the family fortune in preparation for their new start in America.  Since he was the only one left, all of the money belonged to him. It was simply a matter of finding land and getting started.

Maggie didn’t hesitate to offer him majority shares in her ranch.  There was a small spread of land bordering hers that was up for sale. It wasn’t enough to start a ranch with, but it would make an impressive addition to the one she already had.  Since Maggie and her place were the first things since he’d left Ireland that felt like home to him, and he was practically running the ranch already, Aiden agreed. 

With Maggie being about the age of his mother and admittedly tired, the partnership was made in favor of Aiden being the primary owner. 

She felt it was only fair that he assumed the greater portion of the ranch ownership.  After all, the ranch was struggling and on the verge of going under before he came along and stepped in to turn things around.   Maggie retained enough shares in the ranch to guarantee her comfort as she stepped back and handed the leadership duties to him. He remembered the genuine smile of satisfaction on the old woman’s sun worn face when they hung the sign for the new name of the ranch; the Bar J&K.

As the country settled down after the war between the states and there was less of a need to supply beef to the military, the ranchers found themselves reaching further for their customers.  During a visit to his family in New Orleans, the head ranch hand, Angus McCann, heard about a business man named Dennis O’ Sheehan who was developing a solid meat packing and export business.  He owned a plant that would treat both beef and pork in preparation for shipping it up and down the east coast, as well as inland.  His business was thriving and his need for suppliers was great. Angus was so excited about the potential Dennis offered the Bar J&K that he wired Aiden with the information almost immediately. He emphasized that although a good distance away, with the help of the newly built railroad, driving their cattle to New Orleans wasn’t as big an obstacle as it would have been before the war. 

After some deliberation, Maggie and Aiden appointed Angus to be their front man with Dennis and initiate the business relationship.  They knew Angus had a good head on his shoulders and could be trusted to make the less important decisions without them there.  As for the bigger, more important ones, well… they were just a telegram away.  That was eight years ago.

Over those eight years, both Dennis and Aiden’s business flourished.  Uniting the families and businesses through marriage seemed like a good solidifying step that Aiden wasn’t opposed to. In fact, since he came from an aristocratic European culture that married for political gain more than love to begin with, had Maggie not stepped in, he would have done a marriage by proxy and called it good.

It was dear old Maggie who insisted that he step back and make sure Pauline was a suitable match for him.  She reminded Aiden that he’d escaped that life in Ireland because he wanted the freedom to live his life as he saw fit.  Marriage was a lifetime commitment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. He’d suffered enough in his thirty-three years.  He deserved to be happy.  She also assured him that, if the deal went sour, the Bar J&K would, and could, manage without Dennis O’Malley and his meat export business.

  He was hesitant to lie to the O’Malley family by allowing them to think he was the body guard sent to assure Pauline made it to Texas safely by Angus.  He justified the lie by reminding himself that it was the truth to claim to be her body guard since he would act as such all the way back to Texas.  Guarding was something he did well.  There were times when Aiden hired himself out as a peacemaker or guard during a dangerous trip.  He was fast and accurate with a gun, plus he had battle experience.  He knew of no one better qualified to offer the protection Pauline needed for her journey into the unsettled west.  It was the fact that he didn’t admit to them that he was the intended groom that bothered him.  He was doing this on Maggie’s insistence, but he questioned the wisdom of it. 

He hoped it didn’t backfire on him.

His first impression of Pauline was that she was a spoiled little socialite.  He supposed it was to be expected.  He’d seen it while growing up in Ireland.  Why should it be any different here; especially when the O’Malley were Irish immigrants.

Aiden’s family was of considerable wealth, but he’d been anything but spoiled.  His father’s cruelty wouldn’t accommodate spoiling and pampering the family members, like so many families of fortune knew as a normal way of life.  He lived in a home that displayed their wealth and station in life, but he enjoyed very little of its benefits himself. This wasn’t the case with Pauline; as she so clearly displayed in her conversation and temperament during the evening.

Although there were times when he wanted to take her over his knee and spank her like the child she acted as, he was admittedly surprised and taken by her beauty.  After hearing the description Angus gave of Dennis O’Malley, he questioned what type of beauty a man with bulging eyes, rounded face, overly thick waistline, and kinky red hair could sire.  Pauline inherited the kinky hair from Dennis, but was blessed with the rest of her beauty from her mother. Although an inch or two taller than Josephine, Pauline was of slight build to the point of appearing fragile.  Her skin had a tawnier tone than did her mother’s, but it looked equally as soft and silken.  He had all he could do not to reach out and caress her flesh whenever she was near.

Her baby blue eyes were set perfectly on her heart shaped face.  They hinted of a wildness behind her reserved demeanor that she longed to set free.  His eyes were drawn to her full lips whenever she spoke.  They had a natural rosiness that defied the use of makeup. When she laughed -which was often- tiny dimples appeared in her cheeks. 

He struggled throughout the evening to focus on the conversation in the room.  His mind kept wondering what it would be like to hold Pauline in his arms and stroke her silken flesh while getting lost in her kisses.  He was certain she was a good kisser, although he couldn’t say why.

It was clear that Pauline was not amiable to marrying him blindly.  He used this information to convince himself that he was giving her an opportunity to know him as well. He would give her until they reached Texas. If she was still opposed to the union, then he wouldn’t hold her to it.

He smiled as he closed his eyes and Pauline’s beautiful face floated by. Maggie was a smart woman.  Giving them both an opportunity to get to know each other without the pressures of courting could be the best thing he could do.   All he had to do was make sure it didn’t blow up in his face somehow.