ROMANCE: Badass Boss (Billionaire Alpha Bad Boy Romance) (Western Mail Order Bride Calendar Contemporary) (63 page)

Chapter 3

Motive

The matchmaker cannot believe her luck…in the distance, she can see Dandy Darby and her brother, Dwight, riding ever closer to the county seat, in Coleman. She knew from having spoken to Dandy’s wife, Sarah Anne Tarter-Darby, that they were thinking about selling Dandy’s inheritance to Dwight. As much as she hoped that Dwight would buy the land, she had been skeptical.

Furthermore, Dwight has a surprise waiting for him at the train station.  Having lost her “partner-in-crime,” David, to a criminal’s blood lust, she knew that it would take every ounce of her cunning to get Dwight to town today. For her, matchmaking is a great way to focus her energies into something bigger than herself. Some went to the pulpit and preached, some went off to war, she made matches.

Just as she did with Junior Parker and Dandy before, she needed them to be somewhere predictable.  This time, though, she didn’t have her dear brother there to help her in the attempt. They had discussed it when they went to San Antonio together, last summer.  She had begged Big Dave to please see that the women in Coleman County simply were not the types that needed to be marrying the men in the county, because of various numbers of reasons.

With Junior, it was because he was rich. She had known for years that he was afraid to marry any of the local girls, because he knew that none of them actually loved him, they loved his money. After all, how many cowboys in central Texas are worth over $400,000…annually? So she, the matchmaker, had made it easy for Junior to find a wife who would love him…she did it for him! A couple of letters swapped with Miss Ruth Stafford and voila! Junior has a wife, and he is walking away from Coleman County, never to return.

Dandy, on the other hand, was a little bit more difficult. Dandy, being a womanizing alpha-male, was sure that he was never supposed to marry. However, the matchmaker knew that he was itching to settle down, even if he didn’t. It had taken every bit of wiles that she possessed to find a suitable woman for him.

First, she had to pay off his favorite prostitute, a former slave girl named Sally, to get her to steal a picture of him from his room at The Hanged Man Saloon. Then, of course, there was the stroke of luck when Dave realized that his cattle were being rustled. All he had to do was call on his hired gun, and tell everybody why Dandy was needed in Voss. This was no problem, because Dave already had a reputation for being a loudmouth who says everything that crossed his mind.

Of course, though, she did not want her oldest brother to die, as he was the only one with whom she actually had a good relationship with. After all, Dwight had a family, and Dale was widely known as the town drunk. So to hear people in the county vilifying her and saying that David wouldn’t be dead right now if it weren’t for the matchmaker tears her up, because they have no idea what they are talking about. And so, it is because of this that she decides to match her brother, Dwight.

Pauline Murphy is a strikingly pretty girl from Atlanta, Georgia. In the letters that the matchmaker has shared with Pauline on Dwight’s behalf, she is convinced that the gorgeous woman is perfect for her brother. She also gets the feeling that Pauline is a very funny girl, which has always been a huge thing for Dwight, when it comes to finding a woman. Her dearly departed sister-in-law, Amanda, was constantly telling funny stories or playing practical jokes on Dwight, Emily, and other family members. Her house was always full of laughter, and her death last fall has seemingly deflated the once overflowing home.

Hopefully, all of that will change today, as Pauline will be arriving shortly on a G, C, & SF railroad car.

Chapter 4

Pauline

Looking out of the window of that G, C, & SF railroad car, Pauline is wondering what her new husband would be like.  The day that she left Atlanta for the small town of Coleman, Texas was the first in over five years that she has not worn the black drapery of a widow in mourning.  She had not told Dwight this, but she is a widow. She had married Harvey when she was only fifteen, and by the time he died when she was nineteen, she had given birth three separate times, but each of the children were either born dead or died shortly after.

She has often wondered if her husband’s continuous habit for drink is what caused her babies to die. Did God decide to punish Harvey for his sin of drunkenness? Or had the two stillbirths of her sons been the result of mere chance? And what of her third child, the pretty baby girl?  She had lived all of two hours when she breathed her last. Was she simply a victim of fate?

Pauline has always wanted to be a mother, but it seems that she will never have the opportunity, unless things go exceedingly well with Dwight. He already has a pretty, yellow haired daughter: Emily.

According to Dwight, Emily is a pretty young woman who will likely be looking for a husband while Pauline visits. At least, he hopes so. His wife died last fall, and he says that what he wants the most is a companion to help him cope with the loss. Pauline had answered back that she didn’t want to replace Amanda in his life, but rather would like to carve out her own place in his life.

Dwight looked very attractive in the photo he had sent to her…from his wedding day.  He explained that it was the only photograph he possesses of himself, and was nearly twenty years old.

“My hair is giving over to just the slightest hint of silver,” he said.  None of this bothers Pauline in the slightest. She was fifteen when she married Harvey, and had white hair on the top of his head and covering his face for the entirety of the four years they had lived together.

“I did not hope to find a handsome husband,” she had replied in her response to his letter. “I only hope to find a husband who is gentle, kind, and not given over to much drink. A Christian husband who loves God more than his spouse.”

Dwight had explained via return letter that he is a deacon in his church, and starts every morning with a reading from the Bible, before praying with his family. All of this sounded great to Pauline, and so she decided to take him up on his offer to come out west. She had him to send the name of the rail-line that she would have to board to get to him, and when he did, she went and immediately purchased tickets. And so, she packed up her ancient antebellum plantation home and boarded a west-bound train for Coleman County, Texas.

The Matchmaker looks at her watch closely before staring back at the black, serpentine train that is approaching the station in Coleman. This would be the train that Pauline should be on, if she is indeed coming today, as she had said. With any luck at all, she should be able to convince Dwight to come to the station to pick up some mail that was addressed to Big Dave’s farm in Voss, setting up the inevitable meeting between the two.

Chapter 5

Tensions

Dwight is exiting the bank with young Dandy at that exact moment. “Dandy, I want to thank you for getting’ my family’s home place back into the family. You didn’ have ta do that, you know.”

“I know,” Dandy answers. “But really, like I said earlier, I am going to buy Junior’s ol’ ranch, and keep it goin’.”

“You know, Dep’ty,” Dwight responds, “that is probably the most intelligent thing I have ever heard of you doin’. It seems that the young lady has had a good impact on your good sense, at least!”

“Yeah, she has,” Dandy answers again. “It’s jest…I’m goin’ ta be a daddy, ‘Wight. It don’t make no sense for me to run round chasing drunks or tryin’ to beat outlaws to the draw forever. I have really been thinkin’ about all this since Sarah Anne tol’ me that she’s with child.”

“Yeah, a baby has ways of making a man think straighter,” Dwight says with a chuckle. They continue walking and talking through town for a few minutes when Dwight realizes that everyone is giving he and Dandy a very wide berth. He mentions this to Dandy, “I don’ think I’ve ever walked through town and had everyone avoid me before.”

“It ain’t you they’re avoiding, ‘Wight,” Dandy responds, the slightest note of bitterness in his voice. “It’s me. Ever since Sarah Anne and I gots married back in the fall, most of the women in the county are mad at her. Why, I couldn’t tell you.”

“They’re mad,” Dwight says, grinning, “because of that damn matchmaker! First, they get somebody to come out here and marry Junior, who was the single richest man for eight counties. Then there’s you…you and I both know that if you wanted to, you could have easily had any woman in Coleman County, because they think you’re good looking! After all, wasn’t it an ol’ girl who gave you the name ‘Dandy?’ Hell, even my Emily wanted you!”

“Wait, what?!” Dandy says, suddenly nervous.

“She didn’t think I’d hear her talking to her momma back last summer, but I did.”

“What did she say?”

“Well, ‘Manda was asking her if she was int’rested in any of the men who’ve come to court her. And Emily tells her, ‘no, not really.’ ‘Well who are you int’rested in, darlin’?’ ‘Manda asked. Emily didn’t say nothing for a minute or two, and then finally yelled out ‘Dandy Darby! He’s a tall drink o’ water on a hot summer day!”

Dandy sharply inhales, relieved. Dwight still does not know, then, the he had taken Emily into his bedroom at the Hanged Man with Sally last summer, the night before Big Dave was killed. “That’s hilarious!” he says, attempting to cover up his anxiety before Dwight spoke of “Emily’s unrequited love” for him.

Just then, a runner boy from the train station ran up to the two men. “Mr. Butler, Mr. Butler!” he exclaimed, out of breath from the exertion of running.

“Calm down, son, now what’s the problem?” Dwight asked.

It took the boy another minute to catch his breath, but when he did, he blurted out very quickly “Mrs. Ammor is looking for you at the train station! She says that it’s urgent!”

“Okay, did she say what it was about?” Dwight asked.

“No, she didn’t! She just said to tell you to come quickly!” the boy answers, turning on his heel to sprint off toward the train-station to collect his fee and receive his next assignment.

“Well, I wonder what my fool sister wants now. I suppose I’d better go an’ find out.  When do you think you and Sarah Anne are goin’ to move, Dandy?”

“Well, since I now own Junior’s ol’ place, I figure I can get us moved up there by the weekend.”

“Okay, then, let me go see what the hell Sandra wants,” Dwight says, turning to walk toward the train station. “Take it easy.”

“You too, ‘Wight,” Dandy answers, turning left down the street that leads to the jail.

Dwight walks slowly down the main thoroughfare in town toward the train station.  His widowed sister, Sandra Butler Ammor has taken to calling on him a lot since David died, usually to complain about their youngest sibling, Franklin.

After his brother in law, Albert, died several years ago, Sandra had gone to live with Franklin in their parent’s old home. Dwight knows that Frankin is given over to entirely too much drink, and that Sandra has always hated it.

Dwight begins to feel bad about his reluctance to go and see his sister. The poor woman is surely lonely, with Franklin always in one of the five saloons in the county, and her working a job as postmaster in the county. Her office is in the train station, and her job is to take payment of postage at her counter, and to sort incoming mail to the various county residents.

Sandra is a short, fat widow, with a round face and long brown hair. Her nose is short and looks almost as if it was smashed onto her face. Her eyes are small, gray, and watery, and she is almost as wide as she is tall. She is also notorious in the county for being a huge gossip. This is the other reason that she could be calling him to the train station with such urgency…it is possible that she has heard some more of the most salacious gossip, and has to share it with everyone she can. Dwight always patiently listens to her ramblings. She is very active in the local church, but she Dwight believes that she has missed a few lessons on the evils of gossip.

Finally, he comes to the train station at the end of McCulloch Street, and mounts the stairs just as a train pulls out of the station.

“Dwight!” he can hear Sandra’s shrill voice before he can see her. “How are you!”

“I’m doing fair, sister. What’s wrong? Why did you call me with such urgency?”

“Well, two things really…first of all, this came in today,” she says as she holds up an envelope.

“Okay? What does it say?”

“Big Dave had life insurance!”

“He did?” Dwight asks, flabbergasted.

“Yeah! $7,500 of life insurance, and he wanted it split between us! $2,500 each for you, me, and Franklin!”

“That’s great! What’s the second thing you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, I suppose I had better get her…hold on…” Sandra answers, turning away from him, and walking into her small postmaster’s office. Dwight, feeling a little apprehensive, is left standing on the platform, confused.

“Here she is!” Sandra calls out, as she exits the office, arm in arm with a stunningly beautiful young woman. “Dwight, meet Pauline Murphy, fresh in from Atlanta!”

With a feeling of dawning comprehension, Dwight says “Oh!”

“That’s right!” Sandra says happily, “The Matchmaker is at it again!”