A Marriage of Inconvenience

I do not own or have any right to Bart or Bret Maverick or Samantha Crawford

I did not create them

Chapter 1 – And the Answer is No

"NO!" Bart Maverick almost spit out the word. "Absolutely no!"

Out of the corner of his eye Bart could see Samantha Crawford's expression turn from pleading to petulant, swiftly followed by anger. When she spoke there was a tone in her voice that he'd never heard before, and it caught his attention. "You owe me!"

He didn't know whether to be frustrated or sickened. She was undeniably correct and he knew it. Many times in the past they had ended up in a situation created by Samantha and her schemes and Bart had extracted them with a minimum of damage. This time the mess was completely Bart's doing and it was up to Samantha to save both of their lives. She did so beautifully after obtaining the promise that Bart owed her. If he had only known that her demand for "payback" was to marry her cousin, he might have thought twice about facing that angry poker loser and his cronies. Instead he was confronting a beautiful woman that he owed his life to - who was, in his view, demanding the ultimate sacrifice.

"How many times have I saved your hide?" He was defensive and Samantha knew it. She also knew that he would never win this argument. That's why a smile inched its way across her face as she replied sweetly "But I never agreed to repay you in any way that I could, did I?"

He pulled a cigar out of his coat pocket and lit it. There had to be a way out of this predicament. He just needed enough time to figure it out. And maybe some input from his brother. Where was Bret when Bart needed him most? In that instant he could hear Bret's voice in his head: "You got yourself into this mess, little brother, get yourself out."

Bart snorted at the perceived taunt but knew that Bret and Samantha were right. He was in a mess. And he could think of only one solution. "Give me some details. How long do we have to stay married and where am I supposed to sleep?"

"As long as it takes for the lawyer to settle the will and Caroline to be debt free. And in her home, of course. She has a spare room. It just needs to look like the marriage is real. " Samantha grinned – she knew that Bart was defeated. He was a gambler; a drifter with a taste for cigars and damsels in distress; a gentleman and a coward (to hear him tell it); a man who honored his word, when given, no matter how painful it might be. And she couldn't help chuckling to herself that, whether he liked it or not, he owed her. Bart Maverick would do as she asked and help extract Caroline Crawford from the situation she was in. It felt good to be holding all the cards, for once.