Ring the Wedding Bells

Or

Prime the Shotgun

Hello, everyone! Here is my latest story. It has absolutely nothing to do with my other stories. The story is completed, but I'm working on going over it one last time for editing. Hopefully a couple chapters will come up a day! This story was supposed to be a little bit shorter, but as usual, I got carried away down the plot bunny trail. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 1: Is She the One?

Jess Harper grimaced as he combed out his unruly wavy hair. "Dadgum it, stay back there," he muttered at a particularly stubborn lock that kept falling over his forehead.

"Let it lay down there," Andy, the boss' little brother, laughed. "It looks fine to me. 'Sides, your hat'll smash it down anyhow."

Jess turned his head right and left, then tossed the comb down onto the crate that served as an outdoor washstand. "Shucks, guess you're right, Andy." He placed said hat upon his head carefully, and pushed the errant hair up under the inner band.

A sorrel horse slid to a stop just a few feet from the two by the house, stirring up dust and a curse from Jess. "Lay off, Slim! I just got cleaned up."

Slim Sherman threw one leg over his saddle horn and leaned his elbow on it, his round face lighting up in a mischievous grin. "That's the third time this week, Jess. I thought you only took baths on Saturdays!"

Jess glared up at his the man who was both his boss and best friend. "Wouldn't hurt you any to follow my lead, pard." He dramatically sniffed the air before making a distasteful face.

Slim pretended offence and leapt down from Alamo's back, but Jess was already jogging toward his own horse, a stocky bay named Traveler. "I'll be home late, Slim! See ya, Andy!"

The rancher and his brother waved as the Texan galloped out of the yard. Slim shook his head with a smirk before tossing out Jess' dirty water and refilling the pan. He started unbuttoning his shirt when he heard Andy huff dramatically. Cocking a sandy brow, he inquired, "What is it, Andy?"

Andy jumped, his mind having been elsewhere. "Oh, nothing, Slim."

The elder Sherman tugged out his shirt tail. "Right." He shucked out of his sweaty shirt and threw it into a wooden box with other dirty clothes. He started mentally counting, guessing he'd get to no more than ten seconds before Andy blurted out whatever was bothering him.

"Well, actually…"

There it is, Slim smirked. "Go ahead, Andy. I'm listening." He started lathering up his arms and face.

"Well, it's Jess."

"What about him?"

"He's been goin' off a lot lately, ain't he?"

"Hasn't he, Andy," Slim automatically corrected.

"So you've noticed it too?"

Slim gave a little laugh at Andy's misunderstanding. "Sure, Andy. He's been taking a little time off. I've been keeping up with things, and it's his turn to cut loose a little after I was gone that week to that stage line meeting over in Denver."

Andy absently tugged at a fraying thread on a towel. "He ain't…he ain't thinkin' on leavin' here, is he? I mean, sometimes he gets so bored and…"

Slim snatched the towel from Andy and dried off. "I don't think so, Andy. Jess is happy. I can tell. And if things keep going the way I've heard they're going, I think he might be staying here for good."

"What do you mean?"

"Andy, what do you think he's been doing getting all gussied up, even on weeknights?"

Andy thought a moment. "Playing poker?"

Slim grinned. "Andy, Jess is in the best mood he's been in since he came here. Only love could make a perpetual grump like him whistle like a meadowlark. He's going courting."

"Courting!" Andy yelled, disgust on his youthful face. "Jess?! He wouldn't!"

"Andy, he is. I happen to know the young lady, and Jess is one lucky fella if he can manage to hold onto her."

"Who is she?"

"Malinda Sanders."

"MALINDA!" Andy yelled again, only louder. "Slim, he can't court her, he just can't!"

"Why not?"

Andy sputtered a moment. "Well, he just can't, alright?"

Slim ruffled Andy's straight dark hair. "Don't take it too hard, Andy. Everyone gets bit by the love bug at least once in their life. Even you'll get it someday."

Andy whacked Slim's arm away. "Over my dead body I will!"

Slim watched Andy storm away, heading toward the comfort of his pen of animals. Jonesy, mentor and father-figure to the ranch's occupants, immerged from the kitchen. "What's the yellin' been about?"

"Oh, Andy's just mad that Jess is spending more time with a feminine friend than around here."

"Jess been seeing a lady, has he?"

Slim filled Jonesy in.

"Hmm," the old man murmured. "Well, maybe we'll finally get rid of that boy then. Marry him off."

"And that's exactly what's got Andy so mad. He's afraid Jess'll get married and move away."

"What did Andy expect? Jess is his own man. I doubt this place will ever get its brand on him, though not from lack of trying from both of you." Jonesy rocked on his heels, hands on his back. "Though, it is kind of a surprise. Jess doesn't seem like the marrying type. He's still pretty wild."

Slim couldn't help but agree. "I know. It really is sort of a shock. And as much as I hate to say it, Malinda isn't the girl I imagine the one to stick with Jess. She's a little…well…"

"Uppity?" Jonesy finished for Slim.

"I don't know if I'd put it that way."

"Slim, that girl has blue blood, and I'm not referring to being a Unionist."

The young rancher nodded. "You're right, which is what makes this whole thing a little odd. Sure, I'm happy for Jess, but it is strange to think of those two as a couple. I've known Malinda almost my whole life, and she never showed any interest in me. I at least have some property behind my name. She seems like the type to want to find a man who could buy every little thing she could want."

Jonesy nodded. "Remember that boy she sparked to that her pa ran off? Chased him clean out of town, mostly because he had the audacity to be a traveling gambler."

Slim recalled the incident. A similarity to the situation struck him. "That young fella bore an interesting resemblance to Jess: head-strong, dashing, and maybe even dangerous."

"And without a dime in his pocket." Jonesy shook his head. "Jess should be careful. Sanders didn't become successful letting anyone walk all over him. He's got a dark heart."

Slim felt a little feeling of uneasiness. "Maybe I should talk this all over with Jess."

"I wouldn't. Jess is like a bulldog with his teeth in something when someone tells him not to do something. He won't let go."

"You're right, Jonesy. I would just hate to see Jess get into trouble."

"I guess we can just hope that boy won't go too far before it's too late to get back."

As the two sat on the porch swing, Jess looked into Malinda's beautiful dark eyes and allowed himself to be swallowed up in their depths. Still, something plagued him. "Why me, Malinda? Why love me? I'm no good, with not a red cent to my name."

She quirked her rosy lips. "Oh, Jess. I want you for you…"

They embraced, and Jess buried his face in the soft skin of her neck. He felt cool silk against his jaw. Her dress was extravagant, and without question very expensive. "But Malinda, I couldn't buy you the fine things, not on a cowboy's salary."

"Come work for Daddy. He could use a smart, resourceful man like you."

"Work for your father? Malinda, I couldn't do that."

She pulled away, a frown on her face. "Why not, Jess?"

"Malinda," he laughed, "can you picture me workin' in a bank every day?"

Her face was beginning to turn red. "Why not? It's a good job, and you could work your way up…"

He took her forearms in his hands. "Malinda, I'd go crazy! Not to mention, I ain't hardly had no schoolin'. Slim jokes all the time that I can hardly write my own name."

"What? You never told me that. Why didn't you go to school?"

"My folks were killed, but even before then we were dirt poor and I had to work on the farm instead of goin' to school."

She pressed her lips together for a moment before saying. "I wish you'd have talked about this with me before."

"Why does it matter? I've been workin' real hard, and I'll keep workin' hard to take care of you."

"But not as a bank clerk."

"Never as a bank clerk."

She shifted a bit. "Uh, Jess, what exactly did you do before you came here to Laramie?"

"I think I'd like to ask you same question." The young couple jumped a little at the unexpected voice.

Jess stood rapidly. "Mr. Sanders, no need to get riled. I've been a gentleman."

Mr. Sanders straightened his finely cut suit jacket. "I seriously doubt you even know what that word means."

"Now hold on just a minute…"

Mr. Sanders snapped out some sheets of paper. "You want to know why I think that? Take a look at this, if you can actually read it."

"I can read it," Jess snarled and snatched them up. As he glanced over the handwriting, his stomach started to slowly churn. The letter was a list of locations with notations about violent acts that had occurred there that Jess was reportedly involved in. It was as though somebody had written a history of his life and laid it all out in a timeline. He couldn't bear to look up into Mr. Sander's face. "Where did you get this?" he whispered.

"I have a friend in the Pinkerton's. He owed me a favor."

"Jess, what is it?" Malinda glided over and tried to look at the letter. When Jess tried to keep it from her, one sheet fell to the ground. The young lady got to it before he could and instantly began to read it out loud.

"'Jess Harper is a known gunfighter and killer. Do not trust him with anything, especially not your daughter.'" When Malinda's face came up, there were tears in her eyes. "Jess, you lied to me! You're a…you're…"

"Malinda, it ain't like that! I've changed!" Jess pleaded.

"Changed? You can't just change, just like that." She snapped her fingers, her voice beginning to quiver.

"Malinda, please…"

"Get away from me, you…you…" She grabbed up her skirts and ran away.

"Malinda! Come back, let me explain!" Jess made to go after her, but a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop right there, Harper."

Jess shrugged out of the grip on his body and turned partially around, only to meet the back of the banker's hand against is cheekbone with powerful force. His head snapped back as he staggered away from the man. "What the blazes, Sanders?" he shouted.

"You leave her alone. I'll not allow riff-raff sniffing around my daughter."

Jess saw red as his skin around his eye started to swell. "Just try and stop me, mister, and you'll get a mouthful of my fist."

It was suddenly apparent that Mr. Sanders was not alone. Three men joined him, and these were not soft-looking bankers. One was Malinda's brother, and the others were town boys. Jess smirked. "What's this, Sanders? Gotta have a herd of muscle to do your dirty work for you?"

"I mean it, Harper. I am not afraid to do what is necessary to keep you away from my daughter."

"By beating me to a pulp, Sanders? Or by killin' me? You think you're man enough for that?"

Sanders pointed to the letter where it had fallen on the ground. "According to this, none of us would stand a chance against a hired gun like you."

Jess' voice rose rapidly. "Mister, I've done some bad things in my life, sure. But hired out? That I ain't never done!"

"You expect me to believe the word of a murderer?"

At this, Jess lost his slippery hold on his temper. He shoved aside the little nagging thought that Malinda would surely leave him if he were to beat up her father and surged toward Sanders. He planted one foot and swung up with a powerful uppercut right into Sander's jaw, felling him instantly. The others joined the fight, and Jess felt a thrill go through him as he found himself in his element. Fists pounded and blood flowed.