“I don’t want an argument, but I’m going with you in the morning. I don’t trust that Masters not to cheat like his brother did. I’ll do the countdown.” When Jack opened his mouth to argue, Wyatt put his hands up. “I’m going.”
Jack nodded. “I’ll stop by at eight, then.”
After Jack had left, Vera and Wyatt took their luggage upstairs to unpack.
“Vera, this would be a good time to move into the master bedroom.”
Vera smiled. “I’d love to.” She walked into the room and gazed around. “It’s a huge room.”
The wallpaper was brown with tan flowers, and there was a large canopy bed with a dark green quilt. The solid oak furniture gave the room a rich look. It was a lovely room. She wondered if this is where she’d conceive their first child. The curtains were sheer white with window shades—that had been pulled down. Wyatt opened the shades so she could look out.
“The room faces the road.”
“This is lovely. I can’t wait to sleep here.”
“The sooner we get your clothes into the closet and drawers, the sooner we’ll give that a try.”
The fire crackled in the fireplace, throwing warm, friendly shadows around the room. The comforter on the bed was thick and warm. When Wyatt crawled in and took her into his arms, her joy was complete. This is where she belonged. She loved her husband with all her heart.
“Are you warm, sweetheart?” he asked.
“I am, now.”
“You fit perfectly in this room … and the bed, I might add. I thought about you in the room down the hall on so many nights, and wondering how it would be when you finally moved here. It’s heaven on earth. I have the most important and most loved person in the world in my bed and in my arms ... for the rest of my life.”
Vera snuggled closer. “I love you, Wyatt. You say things I never thought I'd ever hear. I’m plain and ordinary, and I didn’t know if I’d ever marry, especially not to a man I love so deeply. Luck? No, God matched us before we were born. I believe that.”
“Sweetheart, you are not plain or ordinary. You are a beautiful woman, but I had to view you from the inside first. Our correspondence told me everything I needed to know about you. I was relieved when I first saw you, because you were nothing like Lucy, but you were pleasing to the eyes. Then, as I came to know you and love you, suddenly, you became the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Oh, Wyatt!” She put her arms around his neck and they made sweet love, each of them giving, receiving, and becoming as one.
When Vera awoke, the sun flooded through the room, but Wyatt’s space in bed was empty and she was struck by fear. Jack could already be dead; poor, sweet Jack. She’d hoped he and Thea would make a match. She knelt by the bed and prayed for Jack’s safety.
~~~~***~~~~
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Wyatt asked as they rode into town. “I could put you on a train back to Oakville. You’d be welcome there.”
Jack shook his head. “No, even though I know I’m forgiven, I have to pay for what I did. If I’m killed, I know I’ll go to heaven. God is in control and I trust him; I have to face that man.”
“How’d you get so fast on the draw doing farm work anyway?”
“I felt vulnerable after leaving the orphan home. I was alone and traveling through some rough towns, so I bought a gun and practiced every chance I got. I didn’t go into town to drink in the saloons like most of the farm help but went behind the barn and practiced shooting and drawing. I had to learn to protect myself in the rough world I was in.
“Sometimes, a few of the other farmhands would practice with me, and soon I could outdraw all of them. Only then did I feel secure enough to know I could protect myself. It never dawned on me that my skills would ever kill someone.”
Wyatt sighed. “It’s a kill or be killed world. Hays was worse a few years ago, but now that families are moving in, it’s calmed down a bit. “I’ll be praying for you.”
~~~~***~~~~
Wyatt and Jack rode behind the livery to find Beau Masters leaning against the outhouse, waiting for them. Beau straightened, walked over to where the men tied their horses, waved his finger in Wyatt’s face, and said, “Who invited you?”
“I invited myself. I’m here to make sure things go fairly. You’ll stand back to back, take ten steps, and when I say fire, you turn and fire. There’ll be no cheating.”
Beau grimaced. “You should have brought his coffin.”
Wyatt looked at Jack and wondered why he seemed so calm when he could be breathing his last breaths. He liked Jack, and he felt more nervous than Jack looked.
Jack winked at him. Jack looked upward to remind Wyatt who was in charge. Wyatt wished his faith was that strong. Jack had only known God for a short time. That he’d go to heaven was reassuring, but he’d miss him. Jack had felt like a part of the family since the trip to Oakville. Everyone there had liked him, too.
Wyatt cleared his throat loudly, “All right. Back to back. Over there.” He pointed to an open space, and the men complied. Wyatt counted the ten steps for them. He gulped before yelling, “Fire!”
Chapter Twelve
Jack’s gun went off first. He hit Beau in the right arm, causing the gun to fire as it fell. It was close. Jack hadn’t aimed to kill, Wyatt could see that. Beau had, however, and since his arm had been hit, his bullet
