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He didn’t wait for a response, he simply left. She frowned and realized she wasn’t certain what Wade expected from her in her new role. Other than that last parting comment, he said nothing else all evening. He disappeared to the bunkhouse where she was certain he was informing his ranch hands of the new situation at the house.
She watched from the back porch and wondered exactly what he was saying. One thing for certain, he would not be declaring his undying love for Anna. Recalling how irate he had become at being tricked into marrying her, she blushed with humiliation and prayed he left that bit of information out as well when talking to the men.
When she spotted him emerging from the bunkhouse, she hurried back into the house and waited with uncertainty near the bottom of the staircase. Being they were now married and it was their wedding night, Anna waited breathlessly for his return. Having never been with a man before, she felt a finger of trepidation run up and down her spine. However, the anticipation of finally being with him was more powerful.
The back door opened and he looked startled to see her standing there, but just as swiftly recovered. Giving her a nod, he said, “Night, Anna.” Then went up the stairs to his bedroom. Alone.
She stood there feeling utterly foolish and could not recall her feelings being hurt so desperately. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had hoped his marrying her was an indication of his love for her. However, his outright rejection was confirmation of her false hopes. It was apparent he detested the very thought of touching her. If she had been that woman at the saloon, Anna was certain she would be spending the night with her husband.
Closing her eyes in anguish, she headed for the cook’s room and shut the door quietly. Her body felt numb even though she was on the verge of breaking down in tears. Dropping down fully clothed onto the bed, she covered her eyes with folded arms and forced the pain aside. After all, she had brought this upon herself. She had been a fool to think she could snare Wade. Up to then, no other woman could. Why she thought that she, a simple peasant girl from the mountain, was able to snare the most eligible bachelor in the entire province was beyond even her own thinking.
* * *
Marriage life wasn’t so bad after all, Wade deduced a few weeks later. As a matter-of-fact, it affected his life little. True, at the beginning, the unending amount of visitors to the ranch, bringing gifts and well-wishes was unbearable, but eventually that even eased off until finally life returned to normal at the Circle H.
As he watched Anna milking the cow only a few yards away from him, he thought that in the end he truly was the winner. Taking her on as a bride turned out to be less stressful than he would ever had imagined. She continued to work hard around the ranch and in the home, not once complaining. Any other wife would have whined for a servant or maid by this point. Anna asked for neither.
Though, admittedly, he did consider hiring her a maid. He was no fool and knew her workload was huge. Until then, he thought he could probably shift some of her duties to some of the ranch hands.
“Anna, why don’t you leave that?” He told her. “I’ll have Neil finish it for you.”
She looked up, startled, and Wade caught his breath. Even with her hair messy and her face covered in dark smudges, she was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. A corresponding response shifted in his pants. Forcing the feeling down, he went over to her and removed the bucket from her hands.
He would give anything to take her up to his room and make love to her the way a man does with his wife, but she had requested one thing at their wedding. Keep things the way they were. And he had agreed. Hell, he just didn’t know how long he could hold that promise. It had already been a long while since he had been with a woman. He couldn’t even recall the last time he made a visit with Marion. As a married man, those days were over.
As he stood above her and watched as she rubbed her hands over the boy’s clothing which she preferred to wear when working, he realized with a start the reason why he hadn’t been with Marion. Ever since he discovered she was a female, both his mind and body refused to betray Anna. He wanted her and was willing to wait.
He smiled and she frowned up at him. “What?”
“Tomorrow we go into town and buy you proper attire. I think those clothes are at the end of their line.”
She looked down and examined the clothing. “They have lots of wear left out of them.”
This time Wade frowned. “All right. Then let me put it to you this way. No wife of mine is going to walk around looking like a boy.”
That obviously got her attention for a look of hurt crossed her features, but Wade didn’t care. So far the rules of this marriage were being followed as per her wish, but every now and then he was determined to get his way.
The following day brought gray skies and cooler temperatures. As it looked like rain, he ensured they packed their slicks before heading to Lantern. Prescott had joined them as he intended to visit with Elizabeth. As Wade watched him head toward the restaurant, he had a feeling his brother would be following shortly in his steps. Kathleen would be having that wedding celebration after all.
Grinning he turned Anna toward the boardwalk. A woman with bright red hair headed their way, and he felt Anna tense up beside him. He wished the memory of finding them in a sexual position would have been one of the memories Anna had lost forever.
“Hello there lover.” The woman offered her usual seductive greeting.
Wade would have liked to ignored her completely and move on, but she stopped directly in front of them. “Morning Ms. Walsh.”
Her painted face screwed up. “Now why have you started going all formal on me?”
“If you’ll excuse us,” he decided not to respond, but instead drew Anna away.
But the redheaded woman had other ideas. “Heard you got married?”
“That’s right.”
“Where is she?”
Anna went rigid next to him, but Wade decided it was best to be as civil to Marion as possible. If he was lucky, she would simply move on without any trouble. “Anna, this is Marion Walsh. An old friend.”
The woman arched her brows in a theatrical manner. “My God, what a horrible mistake. I thought this was one of your ranch hands.”
