Page 1 of Conveniently Wed
THE WRANGLER’S INCONVENIENT WIFE BY LACY WILLIAMS
1
WYOMING, LATE SPRING, 1900
Being the responsible one was rougher than he expected.
Edgar White had been up half the night with a calving heifer, now a proud mama cow. But instead of burrowing into his bunk and sleeping the morning away, he was working as a trail boss, driving a herd of cattle to meet the morning train.
And wrangling his younger brothers was turning out to be even more difficult than handling a bunch of ornery, smelly beasts.
On his trusted cow pony, he was half dozing, dreaming of getting back to his bedroll with only half an eye on the herd, when the far-off whistle brought him fully alert and upright in the saddle. They would have another half hour after the train arrived in Bear Creek to load the animals, but there was no sense in lollygagging around. It would be the work of a quarter hour to push the animals into town to the loading pens near the station.
Since the lion’s share of work on the family ranch had fallen to him these last couple of years, twenty-four-year-old Edgarwas always prepared. He followed the most logical course. Was early for his engagements.
His adopted brothers, all six of them, called him boring.
Out of all the guys his pa had taken in before marrying Penny, Edgar was the only one who didn’t dream of leaving home on some grand adventure one day. Even Davy, the quiet one, dreamed of traveling back east when he had the cash to do so.
But his adoptive pa Jonas must’ve thought Edgar’s steadfastness was a good thing, because he’d left Edgar in charge while he and his wife Penny had taken fifteen-year-old Breanna, Edgar’s adopted sister, and their smaller children on a trip to Philadelphia for several weeks. Oscar, the oldest brother and now happy husband with children of his own, had surprised his wife Sarah by declaring they were going on the trip too—sort of as a belated honeymoon. Edgar would never have wanted to travel with that many little ones, but the womenfolk had talked of nothing else for weeks.
Maxwell, his second oldest brother, was living in Denver while his wife Hattie finished her training to become a doctor. They both planned to return to the area within the year. With Oscar and Maxwell gone, it meant Edgar was the oldest still at home.
The oldest, and the one charged with the most responsibility. He needed to get the cattle to Jonas’s buyer and take care of the ranch in his pa’s absence. He didn’t mind. Work was something he knew, and he refused to let his adoptive parents down.
Urging his horse into a canter, Edgar rounded up the last few slow-moving steers, pushing them over the train tracks toward the station on the edge of town.
He had his hat off and was waving the all clear to his brother Seb, who was riding flank near the middle of the herd, when he saw the break in the tracks.
Somehow a section of the track had split. The ground was cracked open beneath the dirt and grass, maybe from the dry winter they’d had, and the connection was broken.
There was no doubt that if the train hit this area at full speed it would derail. Passengers could be hurt or killed. A glance to the east showed the line of smoke puffing nearer, though the train wasn’t in sight yet. From here he couldn’t tell if it was slowing, but if the engineer didn’t know about the damage to the tracks, every passenger on board was at risk.
It wasn’t his business, didn’t have a thing to do with his cattle or the job, but Edgar couldn’t let innocent people get hurt, not if there was a chance he could prevent it.
He whistled shrilly, and Seb turned, twisting in his saddle. “What’s a matter?” the younger brother shouted.
“Take the cattle on in! I’ll follow.” Edgar waved him on, because the animals could be injured too, if the train derailed.
Seb waved his acquiescence and wheeled the horse back to keep the animals in line.
Edgar took off with a cry of “ha!” to spur his horse on. The large animal responded quickly, breaking into a gallop that nearly blew Edgar’s hat off.
The train maintained its speed, chugging quickly toward Edgar as he raced alongside the tracks. Even if he got the attention of the engineer, could it be stopped in time?
Briefly considering a warning shot from his rifle, Edgar dismissed the thought. The engineer might think he was some kind of robber or something. Instead, he loosened the bandana from around his neck. He clutched the material in his hand as he leaned over the horse’s neck, urging the animal with his body for more speed.
As he neared the train, he began waving the dark blue cloth, hoping the engineer could see it. Hoping the man would throw the brakes.
He knew there was a chance the engineer wouldn’t stop. He whispered a prayer under his breath for the safety of the passengers he could now see through the windows on the passenger car.
And the train began to slow with a squeal of brakes against the rails.
Would it stop in time?
“What’s going on? Are we already there?”
Will anyone take us in?
