Marshal Teaspoon Hunter left the jailhouse in the capable hands of his deputy Barnett Hamilton, and walked slowly across the dusty street toward Rachel Dunne's house. He knew the vivacious redhead would be holding dinner for him, but still he could not seem to make his feet move any faster. He was going to ask her to marry him. Having made the decision only a short time earlier, Teaspoon wanted a chance to go over in his head how he was going to actually do the proposing.
"Rachel, you and I have known each other for awhile now," Teaspoon snorted. *Just dripping with romance are not you?*
He thought for a moment before trying again, "Rachel, I've come to care for you deeply over years since we've known each other." Teaspoon stopped and shook his head. "I know that I don't have much to offer you in the way of material things and I've got a few years on you," * Great way to go there Hunter, remind her that you are poor and old. Yep, that is a sure fire way to get her to accept your marriage proposal. *
Growling in frustration at his inability to come up with just the right words that he wanted to say, the marshal halted in the middle of the road. He was not going to take another step toward Rachel's house until he came up with just the right phrase. Unfortunately, a group of rowdy cowboys feeling their oats had other plans. They charged down the street in his direction and if one of them had not yelled, "Hey, old man, get out of the way," and broke through his thoughts and alerted him to imminent danger. He hastened his steps and reached the other side of the road as the cowboys sped by. At any other time, Teaspoon would have turned his full attention onto chasing after the reckless cowboys, and tossed them all into jail, but tonight he gave them a free pass. He had more pressing matters to tend to. Asking Rachel to marry him was of the utmost importance to him that evening.
Once he had cleared his thoughts, he again searched his mind for the words that he wanted to ask Rachel to marry him. "Rachel, all I have to offer you is me, but if you marry me I promise, you won't hurt for nothing."
Teaspoon replayed the words he had just spoken aloud inside his head and deemed them a fitting enough proposal. The words were not eloquent, but they were honest and heartfelt and he knew Rachel would appreciate them. The marshal did not allow himself to dwell on the possibility that Rachel would turn him down. He accepted that it could very well happen, but for now, he would refrain from focusing on a possible negative reaction.
He reached the front door of the small clapboard house and knocked on it. He knew Rachel would be surprised by him knocking instead of coming in like he usually did, but he did not care.
The door swung open a few moments later and a beautiful young woman with reddish blonde hair and wearing a green skirt stood before him.
"Teaspoon is everything okay?" she asked him with growing concern.
Suddenly Teaspoon's mouth went dry, as he gave her attractive figure an appreciative glance. "You look real pretty, Rachel," he told her and then remembering her earlier question, quickly assured her that everything was fine. "I was wondering if you and I could sit outside on the porch for a few minutes so that we could talk."
"All right," Rachel agreed, stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind her.
Teaspoon gestured for her to seat herself in one of the two chairs on the porch.
"Okay," Rachel replied with a perplexed expression on her face. "I'm listening."
Teaspoon pulled the other chair closer to hers, before sitting down in it. He worked hard to come up with just the right words to say to her that would indicate how much she had come to mean to him. He reached out and silently took one of her smaller hands in his, enjoying the way the soft skin felt against his roughened one. Everything about Rachel complimented him. She was soft curves to his rough edges, open and caring to his hardness. He knew that he was not worthy of such a woman as Rachel Dunne, but he could not imagine his life without her. She made him feel young and whole again, and he only hoped that his instincts were not off in telling him that her feelings for him had deepened as well.
Rachel, you have come to mean the world to me. I know I do not have much in the way of material things, but what I do have, is yours. Will you marry me?"
Silence settled between them for a couple of moments as Teaspoon waited breathlessly for Rachel's response. He could see that his question had moved her, but were the tears now flooding her beautiful eyes joyful ones or an expression of remorse for the hurt she was going to cause him? He tried not to let his inner turmoil show on his face, not wanting to put pressure on her to say yes to his proposal out of some sense of duty she owed him, but because she really and truly wanted to.
He knew his instincts had been accurate the moment Rachel raised her head and gazed into his eyes. Her love for him was shining in the depths of the green orbs and he felt relief and happiness spread through him, even before she spoke.
"Yes, Teaspoon, I'll marry you."
"I love you, darling," Teaspoon said as he pulled her into his arms.
"I love you too, Teaspoon,"
Teaspoon lowered his mouth to hers and sealed her acceptance of his marriage proposal with a kiss.