Lucinda (7 page)

“What?” Henry bellowed, and Mac softly stepped closer in case he needed to protect Miss McCrea, even though he wished he wasn’t wearing a badge at the moment.  The sharp-tongued woman caused more than her share of trouble in the town.

“She’s headed for the saloon to ask for work.  No one else will hire her, of course!” the woman stated firmly.

“Miss McCrae, how I wish you were a man right now… or not as old as you are.  I swear, I’d like nothing more than to give you the hiding you deserve.”  Henry stomped out of her Dress Shoppe and toward the saloon.  Maybe he couldn’t spank the elderly woman, but he could and would make Miss Brat wish she hadn’t set foot inside the damn saloon!

Henry walked through the swinging doors just in time to see Lucinda flip a cowboy through the air and over the bar.  Her cheeks were a bright red and she was furious.  “You are in trouble, Miss Brat,” he stated as he bent down and put his shoulder to her waist and then straightened to his full height, lifting her off her feet.

“Put me down, Henry!” she scolded angrily.  “That man made improper suggestions to me, and…  You just put me down so I can smack him silly!”

“You don’t want me to put you down here, because when I do put you down, it’s going to be over my knee, young lady.  This is not the place a lady looks for work,” he told her, enforcing the words with a hard slap to her already sore bottom.  “This whole town is convinced you are of loose morals, Lucinda… and that is MY fault.  We’re going to take care of that matter first, and then, you are getting your rear paddled proper,” he promised.

“You going to marry that hot-headed she-cat, Doc Z?” one man asked with a wide grin.

“I am.”

“No you are not!” Lucinda argued, earning herself another hard spank.  “Owwww!  Henry, I’m already sore!” she complained.  “Please put me down!”

“Not on your life,” he stated firmly.  “We’re going to find the Reverend and get married right now.  I’m not going to have folks talking bad about you, Lucy, when you haven’t done one damned thing to deserve it.”

“I won’t marry you!” she protested.  Henry’s hand fell once more on her tender backside, and Henry continued to spank her the whole of the distance to the Church.

“Are you ready to be sensible now?” he asked as he walked inside the Church and found the Reverend, “Or do I need to sit down and turn you over my knee and toss up your skirts here before God and the Reverend and spank some sense into you?”

Chapter Five

“Please don’t spank me, Henry!  I am so sore I would die!” Lucinda exaggerated, controlling her temper in the face of his obvious anger. “I don’t want you to be mad at me just because I was trying to find work.  I’m almost out of money.”

He put her down and asked once again, “Are you going to speak your vows, Lucy?”

“I don’t want you to feel obligated; you did nothing to be ashamed of!” she insisted, embarrassed to be having this conversation in front of the minister, who was making no bones about listening to every word.

“Neither did you, but thanks to Miss McCrae everyone thinks you did,” he said, his face red, and then he added bluntly, “The whole town knows I bared you and switched you last evening in the stable.  I shouldn’t have done that, Lucy, but I did, and I did it because it was the right thing to do.  Now I need to face up to the consequences of my actions.  I compromised you, and unless you marry me no one in town will give you the time of day.  That is unacceptable to me.”

“But, you haven’t done anything wrong, Henry.  I don’t want you to marry me out of a sense of obligation.  I was the one who came here and turned your world upside down… and I am terribly sorry I did that.  I freely admit I was wrong about you; you were kind to take care of me last night, but nothing happened… and you don’t have to marry me.”

“No, I don’t have to marry you, Lucy, but I want to,” Henry shocked himself by admitting.  “I was too damn hard on you last night, and so was Mac.  I know that nothing of a physical nature happened, but I feel more for you than I do normally for any patient.  I like having you with me, and I swear the reason I was so hard on you with that switching was because I care what happens to you.  It’s more reason for getting married than some folks have, and I knew damn well what folks would think if I kept you all night.  I put you in a bad light, and I want to make it right.  Will you marry me, Lucy?  I vow I will treat you right.”

“It is so tempting to tell you yes, but…”

“Then say yes and trust me to make it all right, Lucy.”  Henry didn’t know why he felt so strongly on the subject, but he did.  He wanted the pretty young woman tied to him so she couldn’t leave him and so he could keep her safe from the rest of the world; a world that included her unfeeling father, cold mother, disapproving Miss McCrae, and the Apache threatening them all.

A few minutes later it was done and Lucinda had no idea why she agreed to marry Henry, but she had.  It meant she would be staying in Snowfall, and she would be Henry’s wife.  Now what did she do?

Henry seemed to have no trouble deciding.  He marched her over to his former father-in-law’s store and took the time to introduce her to the man as his new wife.  “I wanted you to hear it from me first, sir,” he added with respect for the man.

“Marilynn would be happy for you, son, and so am I.  I knew you would do the honorable thing by this young lady.”

Henry then picked out a wedding band to place on Lucinda’s finger, kissing her as he found the one he liked best, making the customers in the store stop and stare at them.  Then he winked and whispered, “Come on, Lucy, give the town something to talk about besides the Apache.”

Lucinda giggled in spite of herself, but when Mac entered the store, she moved to stand behind Henry, expecting him to protect her just in case Mac decided to put his hand to her, too.

“I see you found the lady?” Mac had his hands on his hips as he looked down at Lucinda.

“I found her and she agreed to marry me, Mac.  Congratulations are in order.”

“I hope you let her know she needs to stay out of the saloons?” Mac asked.

“Not yet, but that discussion will be in private,” he replied, and then added, “Lucy won’t need a job now.”

“You’d better treat her right, DocZ,” Mac threatened his friend.  “You can’t be spanking her every five minutes, either,” he warned before smiling at Lucinda.  “If he gives you trouble, Lucy, you just come and see me and I’ll take care of you.”

“And who is going to protect me from you, Sheriff?” she asked, feeling brave with Henry in front of her.

Mac laughed heartily, and was about to say something when there was a commotion outside in the street.  Mac turned and hurried to see what was wrong, and Henry was right behind him.

“You’d best stay here, honey, until we know what is going on.  Henry wouldn’t want to see you hurt,” Marilynn’s father said kindly.  And then he added, “My daughter would like you, Lucy.  She loved Henry, and it nearly killed me to see him grieving so when we lost her.  The look in his eyes when he looks at you is the same one he had when he looked at Marilynn.  You be good to him, honey.  He deserves a good woman to love.”

“Thank you, sir.  I appreciate the fact you are willing to accept me,” Lucinda said over the lump in her throat.

“Henry was good to my daughter.  I can’t begrudge him a chance to be happy again.”

“Lucy, I have to go,” Henry stuck his head in the door.  “The Apache hit an Army Patrol, and I have wounded men to care for.”

“What can I do to help?” Lucinda asked.

Henry looked at her in surprise, and then asked, “Do you have any nursing experience?”

“No, but I can learn if you tell me what to do,” she said, determined to help out in any way she could.

“Come on, then, Lucy.  But if you feel faint, I expect you to just get out of the way,” he said firmly.  “Some people can’t handle injuries of this sort,” he warned her.

“I was there when you stitched up the Apache, and I didn’t faint then.  I will do what you tell me to do,” she said firmly.

Henry practically ran to his office and he issued orders right and left that Lucinda followed to the best of her ability.  One of the soldiers was critical, and there was nothing Henry could do to save him, although he did his best.  Two others were in serious condition, and the rest had minor wounds that would heal, provided they didn’t get infected.  Their Captain was there, reluctant to leave his wounded men.  He had his orders, however, and they were to try and reach the wagon train and bring those people into town while the Army dealt with the Apache.

Henry told him of the experience he and Lucinda had the day before and the Captain was stunned they made it back to Snowfall alive.  “Mrs. Zabarski, it was very foolish of you to follow your husband out of town the way you did!  You are very lucky to be alive right now,” the older man scolded, his mustache wobbling in indignation.

“I learned my lesson well,” Lucinda said with dignity, even though she was a bit startled to be addressed by her new name.

“Yes, well, I certainly hope so!” he sputtered.  “Doctor, will it be a problem for you to keep Peters and Jeffries until they are well enough to return to active duty?” the Captain asked.  “I must ride out at once and try to reach the wagon train.  I just hope it’s not too late to help those people.”

“Your men will be fine here, Captain,” Henry said.  “I wish you success in reaching the wagon train.  Their scout and I didn’t get close before we were attacked, and I’m sure the Apache are watching who comes and goes from town.”

“I am certain you are correct, Doctor, but I have my orders.  Thank you for caring for my men.”  He nodded and then walked from the office, the wounded who were still able to ride following.

“You did well, Lucy,” Henry praised her.  “Thank you for helping me.”  He heard one of the patients moan, and went to check on him, nodding in approval as Lucy started straightening the area and putting it to rights.  It pleased him that she could see what needed to be done and was doing it without waiting to be asked or told.

Lucinda made sure the waiting room was neat as possible and then sought out Henry to see if he had further plans for her.  He didn’t need her help with the patients, but asked if she knew how to cook.

“Yes, I know how to cook,” she agreed.  “Are you hungry?”

“I’m working on it,” he smiled.  “And these men will be needing some broth when they wake up.  It would sure help if you could tend to that while fixing us something?” he looked at her hopefully.

“I’ll be happy to do that, Henry,” she said.  She didn’t know what kind of wife Marilynn was, but Lucinda was going to see to it that Henry didn’t regret marrying her.

An hour later she called him to come and eat, and was pleased when he complimented her cooking.  After he checked on the patients again, he picked up a dish towel and dried dishes for her.  “I know the telegraph lines are down right now, but when they are restored, I want you to send your parents a wire and let them know you are safe… and tell them of our marriage.”

“I doubt they will care, Henry.  Father won’t acknowledge it in any way since I married you without his consent and approval.”

“You are of legal age, and just because he is a stubborn man, does not make it okay for you to behave badly.  It is the proper thing to do, so we will do what is right and inform them of our marriage.”

Lucinda made a face, but she didn’t argue with him.

“I am sure you want to unpack your clothing and belongings,” he said quietly.  “I’ll show you where you can put everything.”  He led the way into the bedroom and Lucinda was surprised there were so many empty drawers in the vanity and dresser, and the wardrobe had plenty of room for her dresses.  “You can arrange things to suit yourself, Lucy.  This is your home now, too.  I won’t mind if you change things around.  When your trunk is empty, let me know and I’ll carry it to the attic.”

“Oh, do you rent that as well?” she asked innocently.

“I own the building, Lucy.  I rent out the stores below to Conrad and Abe.  I didn’t want to worry about getting kicked out once I set up a practice, and there was enough room to have living quarters and my office… so I bought the building,” he explained.  “Do you mind living above the stores below?  If you do, I can get a house for us…?”

“Henry, you don’t need to start making all kinds of changes for me.  I’m fine, really.”

“Your house in Boston was nice, though,” he commented quietly, “and Snowfall is pretty uncivilized compared to what you are used to.”

“I’m pretty uncivilized compared to most of the ladies my age in Boston,” she giggled.  “Things and money aren’t all that important to me, Henry.  I care about people, and to tell the truth, I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed back to my Father’s home once I left.  Proper young women don’t pick up and run off out west by themselves.  I am happy to be free of that, and Father’s prospects of marriage for me.  However, I am still surprised at how prudish Miss McCrae is!  I thought I’d left all of that back in Boston and the people here would have more common sense.”

“Miss McCrae’s problem is that she hasn’t had a spanking in more years than she can count!”  To his surprise Lucinda giggled.  “You think that’s funny, do you?” he teased.

“I’d pay someone to spank her!” she admitted, and then said, “If you truly don’t need me, then I would like to do a bit of shopping?  I still have some money left, and I need to get a couple of things.”

“Fine.  Don’t go near the tents at the end of town, Lucy.  There are people here I don’t know.  You should be safe enough if you stay close by.”  He reached for her as she nodded, and took her hand and pulled her to face him.  “I mean it, Lucy.  You are not to go further than the general store, or right around this area by yourself.  Don’t disobey me or you’ll quickly learn I am a man who believes in spanking a disobedient wife.  And, I haven’t forgotten that I owe you a spanking for setting foot in that saloon this morning!” he scowled.

“You’d better not try and spank me again, Henry Zabarski!  I’m already too sore to sit down!” she felt her temper stir.