Chapter 7

"Bill, I beg of ya. Please marry me!" Mary said these words and then gasped! She thought to herself, "I've ruined everything! How can he respect me now? I acted like the Whore of Babylon, an' let him touch me in my most intimate places. How could I have let myself get so carried away with passion that I could have done this. With a husband and two rapists, how could he want me, I'm tarnished goods!"

Bill was struck dumb by Mary's last words. He said, "Mary, ya know nothing of me! How could a beautiful woman like ya want a no-count saddle bum like me? I'd marry ya in a minute ifen I really believed that ya could want me! Please don't tease me like that!"

"I'm not teasing. I'd be the happiest woman in the world ifen ya married me! Please say ya will! I know that I'm tarnished goods, but could ya find a place in yer heart fer me?"

"Certainly, I'll marry ya ifen ya really want me. But we hardly know each other. How kin ya be shore that ya really want me?"

"No person has ever affected me the way ya have. Bill, I feel like I'll jus' die ifen ya leave me!"

"I'll stay here a week, and ifen ya still feel that way at the end of the week, I'll marry ya! Is that agreeable?"

"Oh, yes, Bill, YES! YES! YES! Dry me off an' let's tell Hank."

Bill dried Mary with loving care. He had thought himself in love before, but he had never been so smitten by a woman. He loved the way she quivered when he rubbed the towel over her breasts and between her legs. This woman did things for his ego that he never thought possible! He would do anything for her!

He helped her don her robe and they went to find Hank and give him the news. They found him sitting on the front veranda, smoking a cigar. He stood up as they approached and waited for the news he expected. The sounds coming from the kitchen could mean only one thing: love was in the air!

Bill came up to Hank rather diffidently and said, "Hank, I don't know exactly how ta say this, but I'm much taken with Mary, I mean Mrs. Hawkins. She's asked me ta spend a week here an' see ifen we really do like each other enough ta git married. Kin ya hang around that long?"

"Shore I kin, Bill. I'm right happy fer ya both, an' I hopes it works out fer y'all. Ya knows I gots no place I needs ta be anytime soon, soz I kin easily stay iffen y'all want me ta."

Mary said, "Oh, Hank, please stay. We both want ya around."

Hank grinned and said, "Y'all have really got my interest up. Ya couldn't drive me off with a stick! Of course, I'll stay."

Mary went to her room to get dressed, and the two friends sat on the veranda to wait for her. Bill said, "I shore would like ta cotch them rustlers an' the two bastards what raped Mary."

"Yep, I understand the feelin'. Maybe we kin find some of 'em over the next week, but I wouldn't bet on it."

"Ifen I'm goin' ta make sumpthin' out of the Bar H Bar, I'll need ta bring in some more cattle fer breeding stock. I wonder ifen Mary knows of any fer sale 'round here."

The conversation continued in this fashion until a fully refreshed Mary returned to sit beside Bill and hold his hand. They talked of building up the ranch for a while until Mary said, "Gracious, it's gittin' late. Y'all men must be starvin'. I'll see what I kin whip up fer supper on short notice." She left for the kitchen, and the two men continued to talk until Mary called them to come eat.

She had fixed a remarkably varied and tasty meal which both men enjoyed. After supper, Bill helped Mary clean up the kitchen while Hank went back to the veranda to mull over his future. Bill and Mary fit together so well that an uninformed person would think that they had been together for years. Each one laughed at the little jokes made by the other, and they spent more time than "necessary" staring into each other's eyes. As a result, cleaning the dishes took more time than it normally would.

Meanwhile, Hank had reconciled himself to the fact that he was losing his partner. The only real question was whether or not he wanted to find another partner. He thought about it a while and came to the conclusion that it was very comforting to know that someone was watching your back in tight situations. Furthermore, he did like to have someone to talk to on those lonely rides between saloons. His real problem was in finding someone he liked as much as he liked Bill Jones.

He had come to the conclusion that he was going on an active search for a partner in the bounty hunting business. Now, he just had to decide where to search. He figured that Alamogordo was a good place to start, especially since he could visit Mae and Asa at his favorite saloon.

Hank spent the night in a guest room, but Mary insisted that Bill spend the night with her in her bedroom. Even though the bedrooms were not adjacent, Hank had no trouble following the action in Mary's room by the moans and screams wafting down the hall. Bill was obviously doing an excellent job of entertaining Mary and vice versa!

The next morning, Mary was singing as she fixed breakfast, and Bill was grinning from ear to ear. Hank restrained himself and made no jokes about the sounds he heard coming from Mary's room the previous night. Yep, without a doubt, Hank was going to have to find a new partner!

The departing rapists had stolen the last remaining horses from the corral, so the first thing Bill needed to do was to go into town to purchase some replacements. Mary wanted to go, too, since she had been stuck at the ranch for a couple of months. She wanted to take the opportunity to purchase some fresh supplies for the kitchen. Bill took his horse while Mary rode in the buckboard with Hank.

Their first stop was at a general store where Mary bought her food and other kitchen needs. She really stocked up, so Hank expected to hear a complaint from Ada about the resulting load in the buckboard. Ada must have liked Mary as much as the men did, because she didn't complain about the extra work.

They next headed toward a livery stable at the other end of the street. Mary gasped as they passed a saloon; two horses wearing the Bar H Bar brand were tied to the hitching rail! She demanded that Hank stop. When he did, she grabbed his shotgun from the rack and jumped down from the buckboard.

Before either man could react, she had marched through the doors of the saloon, and, a moment later, two blasts from the shotgun were heard. Bill and Hank ran into the saloon and found Mary slumped on the floor crying. Only a few feet away were two men lying dead on the floor. Bill rushed to her and gathered her into his arms. She sobbed out, "Those were the two bastards that raped me. I couldn't help it! I jus' shot 'em as soon as I seen 'em."

Bill picked her up and carried her to the buckboard. The town marshal, who had been just across the street, came bursting in the doors and demanded an explanation. Hank told him that Mary had shot the two dead men and why she had done it. The marshal cursed and announced, "Self defense! Take Mrs. Hawkins home. I don't need ta talk ta her. There's plenty of witnesses here." He sent the swamper for the undertaker and started talking to the bartender. Hank picked up his shotgun and walked to the buckboard.

Hank hitched the two Bar H Bar branded horses to the buckboard along with Bill's horse and climbed aboard. Bill and Mary were sitting on a couple of boxes in the back of the wagon. Hank drove them back to the ranch and unloaded the buckboard while Bill looked after Mary. Hank took care of Ada and the horses while Mary and Bill went to her room. They spent the afternoon in her room, and Hank heard more moans and screams coming out until he went into the kitchen to fix supper.

They came to the dining room to eat supper, and Mary looked a lot happier than she had when they first got back to the ranch. Hank decided that Mary was happier because she had found a man who truly cared for her and was able to give her the love that she wanted and needed.