All Novel XO
175
“Dammit, Kate! Why didn’t Megan say something at the beginning! Why did she wait so long for me to find out?” I grasped Kate by the arm.
“I don’t know, Zeb. I just know that it isn’t too late. All you should do is go talk to her! She loves you!” Kate said with an effort to calm both of us down. “You can fix this, Zeb!” Kate turned to go back to her wagon.
“Kate,” I called to her back and she turned to face me. “Megan isn’t the only one heartbroken.” Kate nodded her understanding of my hurt as she left.
The next evening I sought Megan out. When I approached her at her wagon, she tensed up. I said, “Can we talk?” She briefly nodded and walked with me out of earshot of everyone but still in Kate’s view. We stood looking at each other and then glancing away. Both of us were too afraid to start the conversation.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
I finally gave in. “Do I call you Megan or Mrs. Young?” Kate reacted as though I had hit her with a hammer. She gulped air as she contemplated her response.
“Zeb, I never meant to hurt you,” she started, “Being around you and the children have been the happiest days of my life. You don’t know how I dreamed for your proposal and then woke up to the nightmare of my reality when you actually proposed.”
She hesitated and saw I wasn’t ready to speak.
“I grew up in a well to do family, Zeb. My father spoiled all his children and he told us that we would never want for money. But, then he died and my mother married his partner and all the money slipped away under his stewardship. We weren’t told anything until he said that he would be forced into bankruptcy unless I agreed to marry a man I never met.
The family pressured me to accept the proposal, so I signed some documents, there was a ceremony and I was told I was Lee Young’s wife. I would catch a steamship to St. Louis and then to a wagon train departing from Independence, Missouri.”
I interrupted, “But why didn’t you tell me from the start, Megan? Why did you let me go on thinking that you were single and available?”
“I was scared and alone, Zeb. Everyone was looking at me, and whispering under their breath that I was a kept woman. Kate was the only friend I could talk to. And then Gretchen extended her invitation and I was suddenly around people that liked me and I didn’t want that to stop, so I kept up my pretense. It was better for me to have the fantasy that I could have a life with you!”
Kate closed her eyes and her lips grimaced as she relived her anguish of the past few days. I wanted so bad to hold and comfort her.
“So, what now Kate? Will you divorce him and marry me? You know I love you and that I’d be good to you.”
Kate began crying and still refused to look at me.
In desperation, I said, “Kate, you don’t belong with a man that has two other wives, a man too old to give you the children or a family of your own.” I insisted. “Why, Kate, why in God’s name would you willingly go to him?”
She finally looked at me with tears flowing down her face and said, “Because, if I don’t Zeb, my little sister will be forced to take my place.”
I stumbled away from Megan, tormented with the hellish bargain she was forced to keep to protect her sister. I looked for a resolution and couldn’t find one. The closest I came up with was abandoning my wagons, riding to Salt Lake City and killing the bastard in cold blood.
Then, I would be lynched, Willi and Gretchen would be all alone in the middle of the wilderness. My wagons would be looted, and Megan would simply become another Mormon’s trophy when she was delivered to Salt Lake City. I would have to look for another solution.
As I headed out the next morning, I became concerned with some particularly rugged terrain. I told Willi to stop his wagon, I saddled my horse and scouted around for an easier path.
As I scouted, the wagon train caught up with my wagons. Cutler insisted on the train going forward despite Willi warning him of my concerns. By the time I got back, the first twenty wagons through the trail had broken every wheel off. I told the people of my discovery and they detoured around.
Despite facing an irate crowd, Cutler was insistent on moving forward and abandoning the wagons and their families. Now the entire camp was in open revolt and the upshot was the camp voted to stay in place for one week to allow repairs to all the busted wheels, and Cutler was kicked out and my old friend, Herman Kohrs took his place. Cutler was furious at his demotion.
That afternoon, faced with the down time, I took Willi down to the river and stripped some tree branches to make fishing poles. We sat there, silently glad to decompress from the stress of the past week. Slowly our catch was becoming sufficient for a scrumptious meal of trout.
Willi asked, “Do you want to invite Megan?” as a bridge for a topic we had been avoiding.
“If you and Gretchen like, then by all means. You know I’d never stop you from seeing her.” I replied. “In fact, I know how close you and Gretchen feel about her.
Megan loves you both and would do anything in the world for the two of you. In fact, there may come a time when y’all would prefer to be with her. If that happens, I just want to let you know that all I ever wanted was what was best for you and Gretchen.”
Willi nodded, “Frau Megan has told us the same thing. Gretchen and I talked about this. We wish there was some way that we could stay with both of you. But if Frau Megan decides to leave the wagon train for Utah, I must come up with a decision for what to do for me and Gretchen….
I cannot risk Gretchen’s future to the whims of an old stranger if we appear with Frau Megan in Utah without notice. He might decide to kick us out to live on the streets again. We decided to stay with you. Gretchen is telling her of our decision as we speak.”
I patted Willi’s shoulders to acknowledge that I knew how tough it was to weigh such a heavy decision on kids his and Gretchen’s age. We got up and walked back to the camp.
A stranger was peering in the back of my wagon. I handed Willi the string of trout and approached the back of the man. I gripped the butt of my pistol.
“Want to tell me what the hell you’re doing mister?” I warned.
The man swung around and gave me an oily smile that didn’t help the mercenary look in his eyes. I thought for a second he intended to draw his gun but he saw I had the advantage of clearing my holster before he could. He carefully kept his hand away from his holster.
“Just curious to see what you got there, friend,” he said in a cheesy voice.
“You ain’t my friend. Get away from my wagon, now.” I commanded.
He chuckled as he retreated, never turning his back to me. I had a bad feeling about him.
A poker game started that evening. The stranger had drifted into camp while we were fishing and had explored the surroundings. He announced that he was Michael O’ Rourke and he would be dealing the game right after supper. He kept pulling out bottles of whiskey and plying and encouraging the players to drink.
One by one, he busted players and another took a seat in the game. O’Rourke kept running a patter of jokes and taunts that served to agitate the poor pioneers pitted against him.
Wild bets by flushed drunk novices filled the stakes as O’Rourke continued to fleece his sheep. He would laugh when a man got up after losing his life’s earnings and stumbled stunned back to his crying family.
The final participants as midnight approached wound up being a drunk ranting Mike the Pimp, and William Cutler. Mike the Pimp’s stakes dwindled away as he cursed his luck.
O’Rourke kept teasing him about what was he going to bet when he ran out of money. Mike told him that he had a whore that he could wager. O’Rourke cast his eyes on a frowning Kate and shook his head.
“Don’t rightly care for that one,” O’Rourke said, “Now, you want to throw in that redhead then we might be able to work something out.”
Mike swore, but a light came into the desperate man’s eyes and I knew he was falling prey to O’Rourke’s suggestion. Kate and Megan both started yelling sharp objections.
Mike stood, fists clenched, “Shut the fuck up! I know what I’m doing!” He screamed at Megan and Kate as O’Rourke chortled while he swept in another victorious jackpot.
I knew it was time I sat down at the table.
“Ohh! New blood at the table!” O’Rourke taunted as he shuffled the cards. “Sorry, you waited so late. This is going to be the last hand of the night.” He announced as he dealt the cards in a hand of five cards draw.
I looked at the three kings I was dealt as Mike happily opened the bid for $50 dollars. William Cutler called and raised the bet for another $50. I called, and O’Rourke made a big production of studying his cards. Finally, he said, “I call and raise a thousand.” He pushed the money into the waiting pot.
“A thousand!” screamed Mike, “I ain’t got that kind of money!”
“Well, friend you better find something to sweeten the pot!” O’Rourke continued to stare at Megan.
“Okay, you got a deal. One night with the girl!” Mike said.
Kate and Megan huddled together screaming their protests. The rest of the camp was dead silent as the drama continued to unfold.
“One night!” O’Rourke sneered, “You think that pussy is gold plated? Nope, if you’re betting her, you’re betting her for keeps! That means I keep her. When I leave, she leaves with me!”