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Chapter 30
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2021-09-02 23:16:15It was well into the evening when Jake and Steven greeted Pauline and Aiden as they wandered onto the ranch.
“I thought I asked you to turn in early,” Aiden growled as Jake took his horse’s reins from him and handed them to Randy, who oversaw the stable maintenance.
“I wanted to make sure you got home okay,” Jake said. “Any longer and we were going to head out looking for you.”
“We took some time to rest so Aiden’s leg could recover from the strain he put on it during the ambush,” Pauline offered as she accepted Steven’s help getting off her horse. “I’m bone tired.”
Aiden firmly suggested that Pauline go directly to his room and take a hot bath while he discussed plans for rescuing Eliza from the renegades with Jake. He worried about his good friend. He was disappointed to find that Angus hadn’t returned from his search. From what he’d
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Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 31
After hugging and greeting Eliza upon her return, Pauline twirled with delight upon seeing the pack horse and her luggage tied to the back of the wagon.Aiden pulled her bags from the pack horse himself and proudly set them down on the porch in front of her. “I’m still sending for the seamstress. You need a wedding dress,” he said softly.“I was sick all morning,” she admitted in a voice that was just above a whisper. “I’m beginning to think you’re right about what might be going on with me.”“I’m also sending for the doctor. We’ve got a good day’s work for him between us all,” Aiden chuckled.Aiden’s back was to the long drive leading to the ranch and everyone else was pre-occupied with settling the captive ladies in until the sheriff arrived. Only Pauline saw the slumped figure on the horse that was slowly wandering along as if it hadn
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Prologue
April 1865Cannons roared and gunshots echoed off the distant hills. They blended with the cries of men as they were taken down in droves. He looked into the eyes of his neighbor. There was fear mixed with something else? Regret? It was probably regret. He knew he wasn’t the only one who wished he’d reconsidered joining up with his confederate brethren to fight for something he didn’t even believe in.Aiden Kennedy owned no slaves. Having immigrated from Ireland with his mother and two brothers, he was all too familiar with the concept of one person owning another. They called it indentured servitude in his homeland, but it was nothing more than slavery with a time stamp on it.He’d only been in Virginia for a week before war was declared. He’d started out in New York, but the reception for Irish immigrants was poor and they were forced to live in conditions they wouldn’t
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 1
May 1875“Pauline, ma’s going to skin you alive if she sees you still haven’t gotten dressed for dinner.”“I plan on begging off with a headache,” Pauline O’Malley said as she clambered up the bank of the creek with her fishing pole in one hand and four good-sized trout in the other.Her brother, Jimmie, looked at the fish and smiled, “You always did know where to catch the biggin’s.”“I thought I could use the fishing as an excuse to beg out of dinner,” Pauline explained. “The sun was pretty hot today. I can say I’m suffering from heat exposure.”“While standing, mid-calf, in a creek of cool, running water?” Jimmie laughed. “Ma wasn’t born yesterday. Besides, she invited this fella especially to meet you.”“She and da still don’t intend to go ahead with their plans to marry me off to t
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek 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 bu
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 3
Pauline fidgeted in her seat while Mary Anne struggled to tame her wild locks enough to braid her hair for bed. Her mother agitatedly paced the room behind her.“There’s something that man is not telling us,” Josephine said with knitted brows. “I can feel it.”“Then, call off the wedding,” Pauline said as she shrunk away from Mary Anne’s ministrations and placed her hand on her head where her hair had been pulled too hard.“Good try,” Josephine said as she unceremoniously yanked the brush from Mary Anne and tackled the tangled mop on Pauline’s head with gusto. “Have you been using the coconut rinse I purchased for your hair?”“I hate the smell of coconut,” Pauline whined.“I should think you’d prefer it to going through this every single night,” Josephine spat.“Ouch! Mother, please give the brush ba
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 4
Pauline struggled to clear the fog from her head when Mary Anne shook her awake at the pre-dawn hour. Sleep eluded her for most of the night. Images of Aiden Kennedy haunted her. Her body was hot with desire before she succeeded in pushing him far enough out of her head for sleep to take over. She had no idea how much sleep she got, but she knew it wasn’t much.The temptation to roll over and stay in bed was great, but she knew that, once she was up and maneuvering through the day, she’d regret not taking time to be alone at her favorite thinking spot.She kept a special outfit set aside for whenever she would sneak out during the wee hours of the morning. Since it consisted of men’s attire, she had to wear it during a time that she knew she wouldn’t be seen by her parents - or anyone else, for that matter. Pants and lack of a corset made for a much more comfortable fishing experience.As she donned her coat and ac
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 5
Aiden was lost in the bliss of Pauline’s supple body. His mind could think of nothing more than what it would be like to have her completely. He wrestled with the idea of taking her right there on the bank. After all, she was destined to be his wife. Why not taste her charms a little early?Her willingness to have him was both exciting and disconcerting. Her kisses were fairly expert for an untouched socialite. This led to the next question. Was she untouched? Her father claimed so in his proposal of marriage, but her actions led him to believe differently. The need to know the answer was all overwhelming.With his lips still consuming her breast, he slid his hand into the pants that her slender hips barely filled until they found her most private area. Her gasp of encouragement drove him on as he slid his long, recently manicured fingers into her soft depths to feel for her virginity. It was intact.Scowling
Last Updated : 2021-09-02Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 6
Pauline stood on the bank in stunned silence while she stared at Aiden’s broad shoulders as he sat with erect casualness in the saddle while riding away. It was clear he was just as much at home in the saddle as he was out of it; if not more so.What just happened? She didn’t know whether she should chase after him and demand he go with her to the house to face her parents or turn her back on him like he had done to her.She wasn’t used to men not giving in to her desires and wishes. She certainly never imagined a man would love her and leave her. Yet, that’s exactly what it looked like Aiden Kennedy was doing.She bit her lip nervously. Had she been a fool? Had she given up her virginity to a gun slinging cad who had no intention of making an honest woman of her? Would she be sent off to marry the Texas toad as a soiled woman?What made matters worse was that, despite the fact that h
Last Updated : 2021-09-02
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Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 31
After hugging and greeting Eliza upon her return, Pauline twirled with delight upon seeing the pack horse and her luggage tied to the back of the wagon.Aiden pulled her bags from the pack horse himself and proudly set them down on the porch in front of her. “I’m still sending for the seamstress. You need a wedding dress,” he said softly.“I was sick all morning,” she admitted in a voice that was just above a whisper. “I’m beginning to think you’re right about what might be going on with me.”“I’m also sending for the doctor. We’ve got a good day’s work for him between us all,” Aiden chuckled.Aiden’s back was to the long drive leading to the ranch and everyone else was pre-occupied with settling the captive ladies in until the sheriff arrived. Only Pauline saw the slumped figure on the horse that was slowly wandering along as if it hadn
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 30
It was well into the evening when Jake and Steven greeted Pauline and Aiden as they wandered onto the ranch.“I thought I asked you to turn in early,” Aiden growled as Jake took his horse’s reins from him and handed them to Randy, who oversaw the stable maintenance.“I wanted to make sure you got home okay,” Jake said. “Any longer and we were going to head out looking for you.”“We took some time to rest so Aiden’s leg could recover from the strain he put on it during the ambush,” Pauline offered as she accepted Steven’s help getting off her horse. “I’m bone tired.”Aiden firmly suggested that Pauline go directly to his room and take a hot bath while he discussed plans for rescuing Eliza from the renegades with Jake. He worried about his good friend. He was disappointed to find that Angus hadn’t returned from his search. From what he’d
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 29
It was dusk before Steven returned to fetch them. He had two of the ranch hands from the search party with him. They were eager to apologize to Aiden for not finding him sooner, as well as express their happiness in the fact that he was alive and returning to the ranch.Steven did a thorough job of describing the bullet wound in Aiden’s thigh, so Amy was able to pack first aid supplies accordingly. They took the time to wash off the wound and apply a healing salve that had numbing properties before bandaging it. Aiden sighed with relief as the pain and throbbing that he’d lived with for almost two weeks subsided.They’d brought him a well-trained, sure-footed mare to ride back to the ranch, while Pauline was given one of Aiden’s spirited back-up horses.“I think you have the horses mixed up,” Aiden said as he saw them hand the reins of his spirited gelding to Pauline.She chuckled before mounting with the ea
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 28
Parting was more amiable than he would have expected. The chief was pleased with the quality of horses and saddles that were traded for Aiden. Aiden did his best to hide his emotions as he said goodbye to his prize gelding. He knew they had no other option than to trade for him, but he would miss his old friend. A cowboy and his horse were a partnership. He knew he’d be lost without him for some time. As for the saddle, of course the chief was happy with it. It was crafted with the finest leather and custom made to fit his horse’s back; like a man would have a shoe made especially for his foot. The saddles on the other two horses were nothing to scoff at. Although they weren’t custom made for the horse, they were of quality.Pauline’s courageous entry into their village also impressed the chief. Not only did he praise her courage, but he expressed his pleasure that she felt she could walk into his village to trade; be it with horses or some
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 27
The sun felt excruciatingly intense to Pauline and her stomach was upset. Noticing her discomfort, Steven suggested they stop and rest in a small grove of trees for a break and a bite to eat. Amy packed roast beef sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, apples, and some hard cheese for them since she expected them to be gone most of the day.Pauline settled herself beneath the shade of an ancient looking Burr Oak. She pressed her back against its rough bark as she used the trunk for support. She longed to shed some of the layers she wore, but couldn’t for propriety’s sake. Thoughts of the cool water they’d recently crossed taunted her.“Is this an area you already checked?” she asked as she accepted half of a sandwich that was wrapped in a napkin.“I was assigned to the north side of the ranch. I think Bart and Curtis checked here for a few days,” he replied.“One has to question how thoroughly they
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 26
Pauline sat in the overstuffed wing-back chair next to the unlit fireplace in the main room of the large ranch house as the ranch hands who were going out each day searching for Aiden stood before her with hats in hand. They reminded her of nervous school children as they shifted from one foot to the other while fidgeting with their hats. She wondered if she really looked that foreboding or if it was simply a matter of them not being used to standing in the presence of an eastern lady. She hoped it was the latter.After much grilling, she learned that Aiden’s horse returned without him the same day of the ambush. When Angus was able to speak and told them that he saw Aiden heading for Indian Ridge, they went out each day and searched for him, but with no luck. When she told them she intended to go and search herself, they worriedly warned her of the perils of the Indians who lived in that area. They claimed they were lucky not to have run i
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 25
Pauline awoke the following morning with a sense of urgency gnawing at her. Her mood didn’t improve when she climbed out of bed and was hit with a sudden case of nausea. She barely made it into the water closet before she was assaulted by projectile vomiting. She’d enjoyed the soup from the night before and thought her queasiness after she’d eaten it was due to how fast she’d eaten and the unfamiliar spices Amy used to season it. Perhaps it was best to find out what those spices were, since they clearly didn’t agree with her.She sighed at the concept of wearing her travel soiled riding habit after performing her morning constitution and freshening up for the day. Sadly, there was too great a difference in her body size and Aiden’s for her to improvise with his clothing and she doubted Amy had anything she could fit into either. She looked for a clothing kit in hopes of brushing away most of the dust and perhaps fresh unde
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 24
Pauline was grateful that the stallion knew his way back to the ranch house. It was dark before they reached the drive leading up to the house and its surrounding buildings and there was no moon or stars out to illuminate their way.“Who goes there?” shouted someone from a long outbuilding that Pauline guessed was where the ranch hands slept.“I am Pauline O’Malley,” she called out. “I have Maggie with me. She’s hurt.”Lanterns filled the night and footsteps could be heard running from all directions as Pauline continued to allow the stallion to make his way up the drive.She heard Angus bellowing orders to his men long before she saw him approach the stallion. “Dear lord, gal. You ride the wildest beast on the property!”“He does have some spunk,” she said as she relinquished Maggie’s limp body to the ranch hands who rushed up to carry her off and then
Love at Wolf Creek Chapter 23
The trip from Brownsville to the Bar J&K was about a ninety-minute ride. When Micky informed Pauline that they’d reached the start of the ranch, Pauline relaxed and breathed easy. They were almost there. She was so wrapped up in reveling over the fact that they’d made it to the ranch safely that she didn’t notice how alert Micky and Maggie suddenly became. What Micky failed to mention was that they’d reached the area where, if the gang was going to ambush them, this was probably the place they’d do it.“How long before we reach the house?” Pauline asked wistfully as she pulled her horse abreast with Maggie’s. “This horse has an unusually rough gait. My hip and leg are beginning to ache.”“I noticed that rough gate, but the livery didn’t have anything else tame enough for you,” Micky offered from behind them.“You are mistaken about my riding ability,&r
