Saving Grace Read online

  By the time we got to the ranch the moon was up and I was glad it was. That road could get darker than the inside of bear's gut in February, daddy used to say and he was right. In a new moon, even if it was cloudy, it was pretty hard to make your way home in the dark. Plus there was always the danger of wildlife and what not.

  I left the horse with the men, figuring if they were out to steal it or do me any harm, I was already in deeper than I should have been and nothing I could do now except start screaming into the cold, dark night would help me. The one who'd walked up to me and Sam took my horse and started talking to him real gentle, which made me feel much better about the whole thing. I went inside to try to see if there were any matches and candles left, or if the damn thieves that'd started all this had taken those too.

  Turns out they hadn't and by the time I heard a knock on the door, I had a few of them lit on the counter and had started putting wood in the oven to get a fire going.

  "Come in!" I called out, lighting a match and holding it to the kindling until the fire caught. I swung the heavy door to the stove shut and stood up just as the two men stepped through the door. "Nice of you to knock. Not like I have much choice but to let you in though, do I?" I said with a smile and a chuckle. I saw the two men move through the shadows by the door and step into the dim, yellow circle of light cast into the kitchen by the candles.

  I couldn't be quite sure what time it was, but if it was before midnight I'm pretty sure I set some kind of record that day. As soon as those two men stepped into that dim light and out of the shadows I caught my breath and time crept to a standstill once again. I'd seen one or two cowboys in my day, but I'd never seen two that looked this good standing next to each other. They hadn't shaved in a few days and their strong, square jaws were covered in a rough stubble. They'd removed their hats and were holding them by the brims along with their saddle bags, the muscles beneath their shirts flexed and pushing at the cotton, threatening to rip it apart.

  I didn't know if this is what Rebecca felt like around her cowboy, if this is why she'd done what I'd seen her do that morning. I didn't know if this is how her body felt when she looked at him but then, I didn't really care. All I cared about at that moment right then was trying to breathe again. That feeling in between my legs, the slickness that I'd felt that morning, was back and along with it came an ache, a yearning I hadn't felt before.

  We'd ridden along mostly in silence, after having introduced ourselves, but I couldn't remember who was which and with my head in a bit of a cloud, I just stood there staring, not saying anything. I wasn't very used to visitors, either.

  "It would behoove me to introduce myself again," the one on the right said with a smile as he stepped forward. I shook off the daze I'd been in and stepped towards him as he offered his hand. "Austin Owens, at your service."

  The man took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His touch only served to further excite me and I was glad for the darkness, glad that he couldn't see the warmth that flushed into my cheeks, glad he couldn't see the embarrassment I felt at my own desire.

  "Grace Madsen," I said, grabbing his hand and giving it a real squeeze.

  "A pleasure," Austin said, smiling. He turned to the other man and tilted his head. "Care to join us?" The other man gave me a nod.

  "The name's Cole. Thank's for taking us in."

  Now that my eyes had adjusted to the light, I couldn't help but rake them across Cole's strong body. Just slightly taller, with blonde hair instead of Austin's shock of black, he was equally muscled, equally rugged and seemingly, much more serious.

  "Pleased to meet you," I said, returning the nod with one of my own and trying not to stare. I looked back at Austin to see him looking around at the mess all over the floor.

  "Pardon me for prying, but it looks like you've had some trouble here," Austin said softly. I looked down at the broken dishes and overturned chairs on the floor and breathed in a deep sigh.

  "I was robbed."

  "I'm sorry to hear that. Did they take much?" Austin asked, his voice still low, but now with a tenderness that hadn't been there before. A sudden wave of fatigue rolled over my body as the whole memory of the whole damn day came barrelling through me like a freight train. But my body was too tired to cry.

  "Everything. They took everything. What they didn't take, they smashed or threw out the window."

  "Is that...is that what you were there to see the sheriff about?" Austin asked cautiously. I breathed in another deep sigh as I began to piece together an explanation in my mind.

  "No. The sheriff...Sam, well, he's a son of a bitch, that man is." I saw Austin's eyebrows raise at my profanity but I was too tired to care. "See...this ain't really my ranch. I mean it is, but I don't hold the title. My daddy died not too long ago and left me in the care of his friend Doc Thompson. That, along with the title to the ranch are held by him until the day I marry. Well I just heard today that the Doc..." the memory of Doc's news crawled up from my stomach and grabbed me by the throat again. I clenched my teeth and breathed in hard, pushing back the tears that were already burning behind my eyes. Maybe I wasn't too tired to cry after all. After a few moments, I managed to collect myself and carry on.

  "I heard today that Doc's dying. Sam came by while I was there, to help the Doc make up a will and that's when the Doc gave me the news. That and the fact that he was handing the title to the land over to that old fu..." Austin held up a hand and interrupted me before I could get another word out.

  "Pardon me for interrupting," he said glancing over at Cole who seemed to have not moved since he'd walked into the kitchen. "I want to make sure I understand. You don't own this land?"

  "It's my daddy's land. It's rightful that it be mine, but seeing as how a woman can't own property, it was passed to the Doc to be kept in good faith until such time as I married. Then it would be given to my husband and that way my daddy's wish that it stay with me would be honoured."

  "So how does the sheriff, er, Sam, intend to justify that it be given to him?"

  I looked Austin square in the eyes.

  "He intends to marry me."

  The two men stood there silently as the whole convoluted situation sank in. Cole stared off into the distance while Austin glanced down towards the ground and let out a sigh. I was too tired to worry about awkward silence, or the fact that I wasn't being a very gracious host by inviting folks into my house only to tell them about my problems. After a spell Austin looked up, a kind expression on his face.

  "Well it does sound like you've been having some troubles and I'm sorry for it," he said, the tenderness back in his voice. He reached into his pocket and pulled a flask halfway out. "Care to drown your sorrows?" I wasn't normally a drinker. In fact I didn't much enjoy the taste of alcohol at all, but right then, after everything that had happened, my body craved the release it would bring.

  "Don't mind if I do," I said, pulling a chair up off the floor and towards the table. "Care to join me?" I asked with a smile.

  The two men looked at each other again and Austin gave a sort of shrug that might have meant he wasn't quite sure of what to make of me, but they both joined me at the table. I did have the faintest thought that I might be putting myself in peril by sitting down to take a drink with the two men but they did seem honest and I suppose I thought that if they'd meant me harm they'd have harmed me already.

  "Care for a glass?" Austin asked, tilting the open flask towards me. I reached out, grabbed the bottle, brought it to my lips and took a swig. As soon as the alcohol hit my throat it began its slow burn down into my stomach, my lungs seizing from the shock, I felt my face begin to turn red as I struggled for a breath. When the breath finally came it was laboured, noisy and inelegant, as Austin took the vial from my hands carefully so its contents wouldn't spill. As soon as I regained my composure, I managed a weak smile and decided that I'd leave the drinking to the men.

  "What about you?" I asked after clearing my throat, "What's your story?" Austin looked at
Cole again and passed him the flask. Cole took a swig, passed it back, then leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest indicating that it was Austin who was going to do the talking. Austin turned back to me, took another swig, then put the bottle back in his pocket.

  "Just passing through." Austin gave me a smile then looked down at the table. Normally I would've taken the hint and not done any more prying, but the whole situation was about as far from normal as you could get and the whisky had already started swimming in my head.

  "Hands for hire?" I asked bracing myself with one palm against the table to try to stop the room spinning.

  "Not exactly..." he trailed off, then glanced back at his friend. I saw Cole shrug.

  "Outlaws?" I asked with mischief on my lips, the burning in my belly making me bolder. For all I knew, they may as well have been outlaws, the way they'd handled Sam. I should have been more careful.

  "Not outlaws."

  "Circus clowns?" I said, a loud snort kicking off a peal of laughter that I couldn't catch up to. I was drunk. I chased my own bad joke around the room in my mind, unable to stop myself from laughing. Could have lasted for a minute, could have been five. The men just sat there looking at me, Austin smiling politely, Cole with that same stern, rugged expression. When I finally managed to calm myself down, I let out one last final sigh and leaned back in my chair.

  "Looking for land."

  The voice was Cole's, obviously because it wasn't mine or Austin's and he was the only other person in the room. But I didn't recognize who'd spoken at first, since he'd said so little. I looked at him, the smile fading from my lips, trying to figure out whether he was serious, whether I'd misheard, or whether this was some strange joke or worse.

  "You're looking for land?" I asked quietly, eyeing Cole.

  "That's right. Looking for a place to settle down."

  The wheels began to turn in my head right away. I looked at Austin, turned to Cole, then back to Austin trying to figure out if this was what I thought it was, if the two men were...together.

  "You're looking to settle down? Just the two of you?" I asked, the question about as subtle as a scared jackrabbit in a whisky shop.

  "We'll find a wife, eventually."

  My brow furrowed at this and this time I was sure I'd misheard.

  "A wife," I asked, a quirky smile playing across my lips, "just one?" I added, with a chuckle. The two men's expressions didn't change.

  "That's the way it is, where we're from." Cole's cool voice drifted over the wooden table. He'd suddenly become very talkative. I stared at him, watching the corners of his mouth, his eyes, the muscles on his cheeks, anything that would betray that this was some queer joke that they were making and that any moment now they'd burst out laughing. When I finally couldn't hold his stare any longer, I looked down at the table, the warmth of the whisky and my own embarrassment at not knowing what was going on flooding my cheeks again.

  "I'm not sure I understand," I said, my hand fluttering up to touch the back of my neck at the bead of perspiration that had formed there.

  "What Cole's saying," Austin began, "or what he's trying to say, is that things are done a little different where we're from."

  "Is that so?" I shot, almost immediately after he'd finished.

  "That is so," he said slowly, nodding at me. Thoughts were racing through my head now that it was clear the two men were serious. But how could they be serious? I'd never heard of any such fashion that two men might take a single woman for a wife? The whole thing seemed ridiculous. How would that...work? I blushed again at the thought of a woman being shared, one night with one man, the next with the other. Unless...

  "I can see you've got some questions," Austin said, soft and low. I surely did and he must have seen them running across my face, which is why he asked.

  "I was just..." I drifted off, trying quickly to come up with an explanation of what I'd been thinking about. Thankfully, Austin decided to save me any further embarrassment by continuing to talk.

  "Most folks do, you know. When they hear about the custom. First thing comes into their minds is Well how in the heck would that work? Is that what you were wondering?"

  I blushed again for the umpteenth time at his accurate estimation, but nodded nonetheless.

  "Well, it's in the tradition, in our heritage that two men marry with one woman. That two men discipline and train her to be a good and obedient wife, that two men work to keep her in a good and comfortable home, and that two men make sure her needs are attended to. In kind, the woman submits to both men's will, does their bidding and lies with both..."

  I almost gasped at the last part. Everything else sounded like a normal marriage, or what little I knew of what that looked like. I mulled over what he'd said for a bit, the obvious question rolling around in my mind before it made its way down to the tip of my tongue. The words came out soft and fragile, almost scared sounding like I didn't want to know the answer. But I wanted nothing more.

  "Both? At the same time?"

  Austin nodded before he spoke, confirming my suspicions.

  "It's the Ironhorse way."

  Perhaps my cheeks had tired of flushing, or perhaps the alcohol was making them burn enough already, but anything I felt about what I'd just heard went straight down into my belly and ended in the now familiar wetness in between my legs. My mind raced as I tried to imagine the possibilities. Flashes of flesh and limbs and softer things exploded burst like lightning in my mind's eye and faded just as quickly. The thought that lingered, the final one I had, was not that of two men's hands giving me the stern licking I deserved for misbehaving. It was the thought of two men's mouths caressing my skin with kisses at the end of the day. The ache in my middle grew, pushing at my insides like it didn't have enough room. Like my body needed something to take it away.

  "That's where you're from? Ironhorse?"

  "Yes ma'am," Austin answered, both of us adjusting to the new feeling in the room that had settled after the last conversation.

  "What does bring you out this way?" I asked in earnest. Ironhorse was a long way from Dalton.

  "Gettin' to be late," Cole mumbled from across the room, pushing his chair back and standing up. I looked at Austin, secretly hoping that he wouldn't follow Cole's lead. He took a breath, though, and nodded, standing up as well.

  "That it is, that it is. Would you prefer that we stay in the barn?" Austin asked earnestly. I cocked my head and looked at him, unsure of whether he was serious.

  "Now why would I drag you all the way up here from that nice cozy campfire you had burning by the river, just so as you could sleep in my cold, damp barn? There's a room over there with a bed and another right beside it. I'll go get fresh water first thing in the morning, but if you wake before I do, the well's out back the house."

  Austin nodded, Cole had already started for the room.

  "Good night then," Cole said heading in the direction of the rooms.

  "Good night," I said quietly, watching him go.

  "Well, good night. We do sure appreciate you taking us in like this," Austin said. I looked into his kind eyes and felt the warm swell of pleasure flood through me again. I'd certainly never felt anything like that before when looking at a man.

  "Glad I could help," I said, not taking my eyes off his. For a moment we stood there, the energy in the room growing, my body almost shaking beneath his handsome gaze. For the first time, I'd felt that with a man, felt the swell inside myself, the swell of desire of his affections. I hoped to heaven he felt it too. Just when I thought he was going to lean in, just when I felt my body tense at the possibility that our eyes would close and our lips would meet, just when I thought I would get the relief my body craved from this strange, new sensation, Austin broke the stare, sighed and turned around.

  "Good night then," he said, walking away and yawning. I almost gasped at his departure but managed not to let the sound escape. Instead I stiffened my back in disappointment and muttered a curt,

&n
bsp; "Good night," of my own, blew out the candles and walked quickly to my room on the other side of the house. I couldn't help but peer through into the darkness of the house through the crack between my door and the frame, even though there was nothing to be seen. The picture of the two men burned brightly in my mind and part of me hoped I would hear footsteps back across the floor and towards my room. But when none came, I changed into my nightshirt, crawled under my sheets and tried to go to sleep.

  But sleep did not come easily and I found myself tossing and turning, trying to smother the embers of the memory of Austin's gaze before the flared up again.

  Not having had a mother growing up, or any woman that would school me in these matters, I was quite ignorant of what was even done in a bedroom, should a woman marry. My father had once asked a neighbour to explain what was to be done once a month, a request she obliged. But aside from a lesson in how to keep myself clean, little was said about anything else.