18 January

Denver

Hank nodded, satisfied at the choice made. "I reckon that one."

Eloise leaned into him and lowered her voice. "It's too expensive."

"It ain't too expensive. Nothin's too good fer ya. S'ides, it looks good on yer finger."

"I know, but…" she paused, "you don't have to buy me anything."

"Ain't a matter of havin' to, it's a matter of wantin' to." He nodded to the man in front of him. "We'll take it."

"Of course, an excellent choice. And what about a wedding band to match? We have this lovely one here that would sit very nicely alongside."

"I already have a…"

"Sure, we'll take that too."

"Splendid!"

The jeweller moved away, and she turned to look at him. "It's too much, really it is."

"Will ya stop sayin' that? Woman oughta have a proper engagement ring as a symbol of how her man feels 'bout her and what his intentions are, and now ya got one."

"And it's lovely, but I don't need a ring to know how you feel about me."

"Just let me do it, will ya?" Gently, he reached out and pushed a stray tendril of hair that had come loose from her chignon back behind her ear, allowing his fingers to softly stroke her cheek in the process. "Figure I'll keep a hold of the weddin' band though til we git things done proper."

Smiling, she turned her face into his palm and kissed it gently before holding out and admiring her hand from a number of different angles, the diamond sparkling in the light, causing a warm feeling to rush through him.

Earlier that day, he'd paced nervously around the station, awaiting the arrival of the train, smoking Cheroot after Cheroot and nipping whisky from a hip flask. The entire stagecoach ride to Denver he'd been unable to relax, wondering and worrying what he might find when he reached his destination. Despite all she had said in her telegram, despite knowing her feelings, he couldn't help but worry that, somewhere along the line, she had changed her mind and that he would require to return to town alone. The past few weeks had been torturous, particularly once Zack had returned to school and he'd had nothing to distract him. His mind had wandered to some dark places at times and the depths of his feeling for her often overwhelmed him.

It was hard to believe that only a few short months ago, he had never laid eyes on her, never knew she existed. Now, he couldn't bear the thought of being without her, of not being able to call her his wife.

He found himself smiling as he replayed the moment she had alighted from the train over again in his mind. As the steam had swirled around him and numerous passengers had pushed past on the way to their own destinations, he had momentarily felt panicked, concerned that she might not be amongst them. Then, he had seen her, standing a few feet away, the deep blue dress and cape highlighting the rich redness in her hair and catching the blue of her eyes, the elegant hat depicting her as a true lady, worthy of a true gentleman and yet…she had been smiling at him. She had come home to him, and he knew he would never let her leave again.

Crossing the space between them, she had dropped her bags and thrown herself into his arms and he had held her close, lifting her off her feet, drinking in the very essence of her before kissing her with a fierce tenderness that he could only hope conveyed precisely what he felt for her and how much he had missed her.

Unsure of how long they had stood together, he had eventually pulled back, only to see tears hovering in her eyes, and a panic had washed over him. But she had reassured him that they were simply tears of happiness at their reunion and that, as she had said in her telegram, she couldn't wait to start her life with him.

A life, he had considered, which could only start with a visit to one of the most prestigious jewellers in Denver to ensure that she was properly adorned.

"Like it?" he asked, as they left the store together.

"Is that even a serious question? I love it, thank you, but, like I said, you didn't need to…"

"Hush woman," he interrupted, stopping and sliding his arm around her waist, pulling her into him for another lingering kiss. "Ya let me worry 'bout what I need or don't need when it comes to my wife."

She grinned. "I love you, Hank Lawson."

"Love ya too, Ellie Lawson," he echoed, squeezing her gently. "Now, don't know how yer feelin', but I'm starvin'."

"Starving for food or…?" she left the question hanging, raising her eyebrows suggestively at him.

"Yer learnin'," he chuckled. "Ain't no lie that I've bin starvin' for a lot of things since that stagecoach took ya away from me. One night with ya just weren't enough, and I ain't just talkin' physically."

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing that we'll have many, many, more nights together then, isn't it?" She looked up at him. "I think there's a lot of things that I could learn from you."

"Reckon there's a lotta things we can learn from each other," he said softly. "And I can't wait to git started."

It was a short journey back to the hotel and after briefly taking time to wash up in the room, resisting the urge to forgo food in favour of enjoying one another instead, they took a table in the busy restaurant, Hank's stomach grumbling as they sat down.

"I heard that," Eloise said, raising her eyebrows at him. "Why do I get the feeling that you haven't been eating properly these last few weeks?"

"Ain't had much of an appetite with ya bein' gone. Anyways, survived pretty much all my life on whisky and cigarettes, so why change now?"

"Hmm…I've been thinking about that."

"Thinkin' bout what?"

She paused. "Maybe it's not the time to discuss it."

"Ya can't start a conversation like that then not complete it. Whatever ya gotta say, say it. We're married. Can say anythin' to me."

"Anything?"

"Well, within reason. Ya start tellin' me ya want me to turn teetotal, then we're gonna have a problem."

"No," she laughed, "of course not, but…well…I've had a lot of time to think recently about a lot of things, primarily about where we might ultimately live."

He paused briefly as the waiter filled up their wine glasses and took their order. "What do ya mean? We got the saloon to live in."

"I know, but…I'd like to think that we might have a family of our own someday. I know you said that you wanted that too and…well…I feel that a child should be raised in a proper home. After everything you told me about what happened with Zack, I just thought that it might be an idea for us to see if we could buy some property separate from the saloon, with a proper kitchen so that we don't have to rely on that old stove of yours or spend every penny we have eating at Grace's every day. Besides, if Zack's going to be coming to stay with us more often, which I hope that he will, wouldn't it be better for him to have a home, with a space to call his own?" She paused and then looked away. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend…"

"No," he said. "Yer right."

"I am?"

He nodded. "Saloon's all good and well fer a man on his own, a man who can pick and choose what woman he spends the night with and don't need to concern himself with nobody else, but it ain't no place for a wife or a family."

"I'm not saying that it wasn't fine for me when I was staying there…"

"Zack spent the first five years of his life hidin' in closets whenever business was goin' on and that…that weren't right. Should never have had to do that. Should never have been raised like that. If we git to havin' our own kids, I don't want them to go through that. Wanna do better by any others than I did by him." He paused. "Wanna do better by ya than I ever did by Clarice." She reached across the table for his hand, and he squeezed it in return. "Ain't done a lotta good things in my life Ellie, and ya ain't ever gonna convince me that I'm a good man…"

"Hank…"

"But I wanna try. I wanna be different fer ya. Ya deserve that."

She paused, swallowing hard, her voice trembling over her words when she finally spoke them. "I deserve…I deserve the Hank Lawson I fell in love with. The man who was good enough to put a strange woman up when she had nowhere else to go, marry her when he absolutely didn't have to and be honourable towards her, when the law would have been on his side if he hadn't. I suppose I can only hope that I can be the Ellie Lawson that you deserve."

Emotion prevented him from responding. All he could do was look at her, marvel at her, at the woman who loved him, wanted to be his wife, wanted to spend her life with him. At times it still felt as though it couldn't be real.

The food having arrived, the conversation moved onto other topics. She told him about the conversations she had had with her parents about the business, her father's health and the truth about their marriage. Whilst he wasn't entirely convinced that she was being completely honest with him as to their reaction, he found that it didn't matter. They didn't matter. All that mattered was the two of them and their future together, whatever it might hold.

Eventually climbing the stairs to the room, sated with food and wine, he slid his arms around her, causing her to giggle as his lips nuzzled the sensitive part of her neck. Once inside, he moved over to the bed, kicked his boots off and sat down, watching her from a distance. She made a move towards him, but he held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wanna look at ya."

"You haven't stopped looking at me since I got off the train."

"I know, but now I wanna look at ya," he smiled as she frowned in confusion. "Wanna see all of ya."

For a moment she paused, then her expression grew surprised. "Oh, you mean…?" He nodded. "You expect me just to take all my clothes off in front of you, just like that? Why, Mr Lawson, I hardly know you."

"Ain't the first time I'll have seen ya naked."

"Then why make a performance of it?"

"Cause yer beautiful."

Her cheeks coloured.

"And cause yer mine."

"I see…" she paused and looked at the floor.

"Ellie, look at me." Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his. "I'm the only man who's ever gonna look at ya like this, and yer the only woman I'm ever gonna look at again. Ain't nothin' to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid," she said hurriedly. "It's just…"

"Hows 'bout I give ya a head start?" Rising, he moved over towards her, reaching for the pins securing her hat and prising it free from her hair. Placing it to one side, he gently released the chignon, and her locks tumbled free over her shoulders. His fingers then moved to the buttons on her cape, releasing them slowly one by one before sliding it gently from her shoulders. Then his arms went around her, finding the fastenings at the back of her dress and pulling them free. "There," he stepped back over towards the bed and resumed his position.

After a brief hesitation, and with seemingly careful deliberation, she eased the gown from her body, letting it fall to the floor at her feet, followed by her corset, camisole and bloomers until she stood before him with nothing to her name but her dignity. His eyes raked over her body, taking in every inch of her, committing it to memory, even though he knew they would never be parted again.

"What about you?" she said finally, when he made no move. "You're handsome and you're mine so…do I get to look at you too?"

Rising to his feet, he slipped off the good jacket and shirt he'd chosen to wear, unclipped his gun belt and slid down his pants. "Bin cold," he said in reference to his union suit, and she smiled as he slid the garment from his body, leaving himself as exposed as she was and very obviously aroused.

Sitting back down on the bed, he held his hand out to her and, when she approached, pulled her into his lap, knees positioned either side of his hips, so reminiscent of a time past, and yet now so very different. Taking his face in her hands, she bent forward and kissed him, her hair falling over both of them, her lips moving gently over his as his hands skimmed up the expanse of her back and then slid down to her rear. In a fluid movement, he raised her slightly, then lowered her carefully back down, both of them gasping as she easily encased him inside her.

Her body shook and he pushed her hair back so that he could look at her, before sliding them down to her waist and then up the length of her torso to cup her breasts as she began pulsating against him. Her movements were slow at first, but as her excitement grew and his passage eased, she began moving more quickly, her fingers sliding to entangle themselves in his hair as his lips closed around each nipple in turn.

"Oh God…" she breathed, her body shuddering as her speed increased, "oh God, Hank…"

"Feel good?"

"Yes…oh yes…"

Her cries were guttural, primitive, desperate and as she climaxed around him, he effortlessly lifted her up into his arms, turned and carefully lowered her onto her back on the bed, covering her with his body and pulling her legs around his waist before entering her again. She lay panting beneath him as he ploughed her, over and over until his own release came and he collapsed on top of her.

"I love you," she gasped breathlessly. "I love you…"

Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he kissed her flushed face, down her throat, suckling on all of her sensitive areas and causing her body to shiver before sliding back up and meeting her mouth with his own. "Got no idea how it makes me feel when you say that, 'specially at moments like this."

"Why at moments like this?"

"Woman ain't ever more vulnerable than she is when she's in bed lovin' a man. Ya let go like ya did and ya got nothin' to hide behind. It's just the two of ya, becomin' one. At least, that's how it feels between us."

"Then, you've never felt that way with any other woman? Not Clarice or Myra or…"

"Nope, never. Just when I'm with ya." He paused. "Everythin' starts from now, Ellie."

She stroked his cheek gently, "And what does everything look like?"

"Looks like us bein' back home and findin' somewhere proper to live. Looks like us gettin' married in front of the whole town. Looks like ya findin' somewhere to make them hats of yers, maybe even openin' yer own store one day. Looks like yer belly being filled and our home bein' overrun with our children." He paused. "That's what it looks like to me anyways. What does it look like to ya?"

Placing her hands on his shoulders and gently pushing him over onto his back, she rose above him again, settling herself once more into position, looking down at him, her hands skimming softly over his chest, her hair clouded around her face and her eyes heavy with desire.

"Looks like that…and a hell of a lot more of this."