Howdy and Happy Easter / Sunday night :)
This is the last story chapter so I'll mark the story complete, but It's not over!
I'm going to post at least one epilogue that will be set a year or two in the future.
In OREGON! They will make it! I promise. :)
Please follow this story if you would like to be notified when the epilogue(s) get posted.
Thank you readers, lurkers, reviewers. Whoever and wherever you are for staying with me.
AND A BIG THANK YOU to GeezerWench for prereading, creative consulting, comma confetti, poking, prodding, hand holding, and just being an all around great friend and classy lady. I had fun. :)
Without further ado, on with the story . . .
Chapter 29
At the crack of dawn, Marshall McCarty made his way back to Dr. Cullen's place. He needed to return the doctor's horses and tend to his own that he had left behind, along with his jail wagon, and start the nine hour journey to Idaho City. He hoped that the outlaw's dead body might earn him a reward. If it did, he planned to share it with the Whitlocks.
Emmett only had to knock once before a very weary-looking Edward Cullen answered the door. His right eye was black and swollen shut. He looked much worse off than Emmett had remembered him looking when he had last seen him. "That's some shiner," he whistled low and removed his hat.
"I should have you arrest her again," Edward spoke through clenched teeth in an attempt to keep his aching jaw still.
"Ya mean that little woman fella' decked ya' one?"
Edward nodded and hissed a great breath of air through his teeth.
Emmett craned his neck around the door frame and saw Brandon sitting in bed looking guilty as sin. He could tell she was wearing a dress, but to him, she still looked like a boy. "You didn't try anything fresh with her did ya?"
If looks could kill, Emmett would have been dead where he stood. "If you must know, she punched me for attempting to take away her whiskey."
It made sense to the Marshall. "I just came to check on ya'. I'll be taking James on a long ride, and I only have one good horse. Can I borry one of yours?"
"I'd rather you take that horse the Whitlock's left behind. I'm not running a boarding stable, you know."
"Sure thing, Doc. You don't happen to have any more of those apple fritters the girls made yesterday, do ya'?"
"Good day, Emmett," Edward huffed and slammed the door closed in his face.
The hungry Marshall opened the back fence and collected his horse along with the peaceful bay gelding he assumed belonged to the Whitlocks, hooked them up to the jail wagon, and made his way over to the hotel.
The smells that wafted from the hotel's kitchen warmly welcomed Emmett when he stepped inside. He quickly removed his hat, and gave Caius a nod and a smile before he made his way over to the table where Aro sat, his hands wrapped around a porcelain coffee mug, his legs crossed politely. He was seated across from Peter and Charlotte, listening intently to whatever it was Peter was going on about.
Aro noticed the Marshall and his face lit up with delight as he waved enthusiastically for Emmett to join them. "Peter was just regaling us with the tale of your impressive heroics, Marshall, and how you rid our fair town of that despicable criminal. You must stay and have breakfast with us!"
That sounded like a real good idea to Emmett. He scraped the chair against the floor and sat down at the table. "It wasn't only my doin'. This lady here is the one who's the real hero. She saved all our sorry hides." He pointed his thumb towards Charlotte. His praise caused her to blush
"Oh? Most fascinating. Do tell," purred Aro, turning his attention to Charlotte. He lifted a finger and summoned a waiter to serve their new guest.
Charlotte could hardly talk about the incident involving the outlaw, much less brag about it. She swallowed thickly and averted her eyes from Aro's leering grin. He was a kind man, but something about his inviting smile unsettled her. "It weren't nothin'."
Emmett leaned back as the waiter set a heaping full plate down in front of him. "It was too somethin'! She shot him which gave me the chance to take him down. Which reminds me . . . the reason I stopped by was to ask if I could use your horse to carry James over to Idaho City . . . to collect the reward. It's your reward as much as it is mine, Charlotte."
Peter rubbed soothing circles on his wife's back. He was so proud of her. "Sure, you can take Jenks along. Just don't lose him. He was Bella's father's horse. That's why Jasper didn't sell him. Sentimental value, ya' know?"
Emmett nodded his thanks. His mouth was too full of eggs and toast to speak.
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Upstairs in the honeymoon suite Bella's eyes fluttered open and landed on her still sleeping husband. He looked so peaceful that she couldn't bear to wake him. She stretched out and wiggled her toes beneath the quilt. Waking up and not having anything to tend to or chores waiting to be done was a rare occurrence, something to be savored.
Even in his sleep, Jasper sensed that he was being watched. Two warm brown eyes blinked. Two soft pink lips smiled, and made it his best morning ever.
His soft little wife squealed as he rolled on top of her and captured those lips with his own. The tips of her breasts rubbed against the light sprinkling of hair on his chest, and he knew that if he didn't stop now they'd not make it downstairs in time for breakfast.
"I enjoyed last night," Jasper spoke into the crook of Bella's neck making her squirm deliciously against him. "You make nice sounds in bed." He could barely wait to hear her call his name out in passion again.
Bella blushed a deep scarlet as she recollected Jasper's own deep, ragged vocalizations and the enjoyable look on his face when he found his release while making love to her. "I enjoyed it too."
"If you want breakfast, we should go now before I change my mind and eat you instead." He bit her playfully on the shoulder and smiled when she swatted him away.
Bella wrapped herself up tighter in the blanket. She wasn't used to having an audience when she dressed. "I'll just need some time to get ready."
"Let me help you." Jasper walked over to the vanity, just as naked as the day he was born, and fetched Bella's hairbrush.
She sat up, scooted to the edge of the bed, and watched as Jasper bent over to retrieve his trousers and slipped them on. Instead of handing her the brush, he crawled up behind her, freed her hair out from under the blanket, and gently ran the bristles over her mahogany locks.
"Tell me if it catches. I don't want to hurt ya'."
Bella's heart swelled with joy at how tender Jasper was, and how hard he tried to take care of her. He was such a wonderful husband. She felt so lucky to have him.
After her hair was smoothed out, Bella got up and put on her dress. She even winked at Jasper when she caught him watching. Then she put her hair up with her silver comb. They both took turns using the chamber pot and then washed up at the vanity sink before they made their way down the staircase, hand in hand.
The newlyweds were about halfway down the steps when Bella stalled. The realization that everyone in the hotel, who had witnessed their wedding, would know what they had been up to last night crossed her mind. It was a scandalous thought that nearly buckled her knees.
Jasper turned when he felt her tug his hand. She had gone pale and her eyes were wide and timid. "What's wrong, hon?"
"Everyone's going to know," Bella whispered.
Somehow he managed not to laugh. He knew it would be the wrong thing to do. Bella looked positively horrified. "It's proper. You are my wife, and I don't mind that everybody knows it. You're not ashamed of me are ya'?"
Bella threw her hand up over her heart. "No, Jasper, I swear I'm not."
"Good. Then let's go eat."
He led her into the common area and over to the table where his family sat with Aro—they had just missed the Marshall. Being a perfect gentleman, Jasper pulled out a chair for his wife to sit on.
"I hope you found your room to be accommodating, Mrs. Whitlock," Aro smiled and then quietly sipped his coffee.
"Y-y-yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Bella stuttered.
Charlotte grabbed her friend's hand and squeezed. She could tell that the creepy old inn keeper made Bella nervous too. She sure could sympathize.
Luckily, Peter was there change the subject. "After you lovebirds get fed, Aro told me about some guy who might rent us a place for the winter, at a real good price. We could all go have a look."
"What about a job, Pete? He might not rent to us unless we find work first." The fact that Jasper didn't have a job weighed heavily on his mind. The small amount of cash they had made from selling the wagon wouldn't last them through the winter.
"Aro already took care of everything. He said he'd be able to find us both a job, either here at the hotel or in town. His family owns half the town, Jas. Eat up, and stop worrying so much." Peter slapped Jasper across the back and chuckled. "It just goes to show, it's who ya' know."
No matter how strange Aro was, he sure had taken a heavy load off Jasper's shoulders. "We really appreciate your help, sir . . . um. Mr.—?" Jasper reached out to shake the man's hand.
"Volturi. But please, call me Aro. I like to keep to a first name basis with friends, and any friend of your brother is a friend of mine." He looked to Peter with an adoring gleam in his eyes as he shook hands with Jasper.
Peter just sat back in his chair and grinned. Having an admirer made him feel sort of special.
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After breakfast the Whitlock brothers and their wives took Aro's carriage to the little house that they would call home for the winter.
It wasn't much to look at from the outside—a rustic little cottage that sat on a hill, but the inside was clean and furnished. Bella and Charlotte were taken with the cozy kitchen, with its little two-holed stove, and the men were excited that each couple would have their own bedroom—their own private bedroom to share with their wives. It was something they had feared they wouldn't be able to afford.
Bella wandered over to the washtub, where they would take their baths. It was fashioned from an old whisky barrel that had been sawed in half lengthwise.
Jasper found her standing there lost in thought. He sidled up behind her and placed his hands onto her shoulders. He hoped that the small cottage they would share with his family would be acceptable to her. "Is everythin' okay? Do you like it?" He spoke quietly into her ear. Worried that maybe she would want something better than what he could offer.
Her small hand reached around and covered his as she turned her head.
When her smiling eyes met his own he melted with relief.
"It's wonderful. I love it," she sighed.
"And I love you." Jasper gave her a sweet, lingering kiss.
They'd had a tough trip, but they were only at the beginning of their journey— the journey of life that they'd travel together. There would be hills and valleys. Times of feast and times of famine, but they would weather those challenges side by side.
The little cottage on the hill would be their first home, but from then on out, home would not be something defined by brick and wood and mortar. It would be a place of heart. Their love for each other would shelter them from the storms no matter where their journey led them.
Together, they would live happily ever after.
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Epilogue coming up!
Stay tuned!