{Chapter 6}

Wade had never been more grateful of wet dirt in his life. The softness of the ground made it easier to dig around the tree with his bare hands until they could both get out. Sunlight pierced through the narrow opening he had made as he pulled himself out before assisting Aubrey out into the open air.

She breathed deep and laughed. “It’s clean!”

She was covered in mud from head to toe, but she still made for a beautiful woman. Her pink dress was marred and ripped, at the hem, barely looking salvageable. He brown hair had dried but was matted in some placed with mud. She looked at him and Wade saw the gash on her cheek with dried blood in a stream down her face.

“Miss Aubrey,” he walked over to her. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“What was the use, its fine now, really” Aubrey tried to swat him away, but he gave her a look.

“You’ve got dirt all in it. We need to get you to a doctor so he can clean it,” Wade said.

Aubrey huffed. “Quite you’re fussing so we can get home. I’m hungry, thirty, and tired.”

“Thirty?” Wade couldn’t believe she was that old.

“What? No, thirsty. I told you I was tired” She gave him a light slap on the arm that felt more like a big gust of wind that a slap.

Wade shook his head and they started back toward town. The three-mile hike over fallen trees, debris, and little streams made the going slow.

At one point, Wade made Aubrey stop and rest.

“I don’t need rest, I just need to get home,” Aubrey protested.

“We have all day to get home. You need to rest before you get too tuckered out” Wade told her.

Aubrey huffed and sat down on a log. “You’re the most worrisome man I’ve ever known.”

Wade smiled. Something about her talking back and him still winning gave him a sense of pride.

“You know that they’re gonna be as crazy as a Bessie-bug when they find out we spent the night out here” Aubrey said.

Wade looked at her. “They will?”

“Yes siree. Just warning you.”

Wade groaned. With a family like the one she had described last night, there was no telling what they would make him do.

They continued their trek toward town and reached the outskirts on Lovelace in nearly two hours. They had walked slow over the rough terrain but had finally made it.

Thankfully, the twister had missed the town entirely and no real damage was done. The looks they both received while walking down the road were shocked and sometimes even threatening as women looked at their muddy clothes.

“Mr. Wade!” Jay’s voice echoed across the street as the boy ran toward him.

Wade opened his arms and picked Jay up when eh reached him.

“I thought you left me all alone” Jay said, his arms wrapped around Wade’s throat so tight he feared he would choke.

“Hey” Wade pulled Jay’s arms out from around his neck. “You’re way too much fun for me to leave you now, okay?”

Jay smiled. “Where were you?”

Wade followed Aubrey toward the mercantile. “Well, it’s like this. I was riding my horse and all of the sudden it was pouring down rain. I was riding back to town and then this woman right here practically fell into the road in front of me…”

“Hey now” Aubrey protested.

“So I was rescuing the damsel in distress when this big huge twister came and we had to jump in a hole so we wouldn’t be carried away in the wind. We were safely hidden until this tree fell over the hollow we were in and so we were stuck until it was light enough I could dig us out” Wade explained.

Jay’s eyes were wide. “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine, aren’t we Miss Aubrey?” Wade looked ahead.

“Sure are. Thank God. It could have gone really wrong out there.”

They reached the Mercantile and Aubrey opened the door. “Come on in and I’ll get us something besides muddy water to drink.”

Wade and Jay stepped into the mercantile as Aubrey lined up a few crates beside each other.

“Ya’ll sit down now, okay? I’ll be back in a second.”

Wade and Jay sat down on the crates.

“She sure got ugly while you guys were gone” Jay leaned over and whispered.

Wade elbowed the boy and sent him a look.

Aubrey came back with three glasses of water. She handed one to each of them and walked to the counter.

“I don’t think a little boy can grow up good and proper without a free piece of candy every once in a while” she produced a peppermint stick and held it out to Jay.

Jay looked up at Wade, but Wade just looked away.

Nothin’ like a piece of candy from an ugly woman, huh Jay?

He smiled in spite of himself.

“Want one, Mr. Dylan?” Aubrey asked.

“No thanks, and call me Wade” Wade smiled.

Aubrey stuck a peppermint stick in her mouth and sat on a stool beside the counter.

“Thanks for getting me out of there, by the way. Wish there was some way I could repay you” Aubrey said sweetly, not at all like the contrary woman she was when they were on their way home.

“No thanks needed, ma’am” Wade smiled and took a sip of water.

“Aubrey!” A voice screeched from the back room.

“Not Momma” Aubrey groaned.

A short, skinny woman with graying black hair came into the room. “Aubrey! We were so worried!”

The woman hugged Aubrey and stood back to take her in as a tall man with dark brown hair came into the room, looking to be Aubrey’s father.

“What happened?” Mrs. Cutshall asked Aubrey.

“I went for a walk and got caught in the storm. Lucky for me this man was there and we found shelter before the twister came through” Aubrey told them all about their night and exactly what went on.

Mr. Cutshall’s eyes pierced through Wade and seemed to be accusing him.

“You two spent the night together?” he asked.

“Not like that, Daddy. We were forced into that hole and that’s all there is to it” Aubrey said calmly.

Wade’s heart began to thump faster and faster.

***********

Aubrey saw the fear in Wade’s eyes as her father accused them of being improper.

“No daughter of mine is going to be subject to the disgrace of a man like that,” Daddy said adamantly.

“Disgrace!” Aubrey exclaimed. “Don’t you trust me when I say that nothing happened?”

“I believe that you have a kind heart that will do anything if a charming man were to ask you nicely,” Daddy said, shooting daggers out of his eyes at Wade.

If she didn’t know any better, she would say that Wade’s expression was terrified.

But, of course, she knew better.

“Wade is nothing but a perfect gentleman, Daddy,” Aubrey corrected.

“So we’re on a first name basis now?” Daddy was madder than a wet hen now.

Aubrey felt like screaming at him. “Oh, Daddy! Won’t you listen?”

“Eve, go after the preacher,” Daddy said to Momma.

“What?” Aubrey and Wade exclaimed at the same time.

“You two are going to do this right or I’ll die trying to make you” Daddy looked at both of them as he spoke.

She wanted Wade to protest, but the way Wade was eyeing the shotgun her father rushed to grab and load made her doubtful of any such gallantry.

“Daddy, please try to be sensible about this!” Aubrey pleaded.

“Aubrey, you’ll do what’s right in the eyes of God,” Daddy commanded.

Momma left for the preacher, and Bridgette came in with Jake and Jordan at that moment.

“What’s going on?” Bridgette asked.

“Daddy’s performing a shotgun wedding, that’s what!” Aubrey told her sister.

Bridgette looked confused.

Daddy cocked the shotgun and pinned it on Wade’s chest. Wade pulled Jay to stand behind him.

“I’ll marry your daughter, but you’re not going to point that gun in vicinity of this child, is that understood?” Wade’s kind voice nearly made the words not so threatening.

Daddy narrowed his eyes at Wade and moved the gun barrel to point at the ceiling. “Don’t think I won’t shoot you, if need be.”

“I have no doubt of that, sir.”

Aubrey realized that she had no say in the matter anymore. There were worse things than marrying a man as kind as Wade.

“At least left me get cleaned up, Daddy,” She pleaded.
Daddy nodded. “Go with her, Bridgette.”

**********

A shotgun wedding. Things he had only heard about, but to Rawhide they were to be feared more than a whole herd of bulls seeing red.

Wade stood stock still in front of Aubrey’s father, who was sporting a loaded shotgun and meant business. What had he gotten himself into? A wedding wasn’t on his list of things to attend while in Lovelace, let alone take part in. A wife was certainly not what he had in mind. Not that the thought of being married to Aubrey was terrifyingly horrific. She was sweet enough, but cantankerous when she was hungry and thirsty.

Mrs. Cutshall came back with a man dressed in a pair of dusty pants and an old work shirt. He certainly didn’t look like a preacher.

“Pastor Grey” Mr. Cutshall nodded.
“Cutshall. Nice to see you, even if such unpleasant circumstances” the preacher leveled Wade with an unholy look.

Wade nodded politely in spite of himself.

Aubrey reappeared, dressed in a clean green dress with most of the mud combed out of her hair that was pulled into a haphazard braid.

“Let’s get this done, preacher,” Mr. Cutshall said.

Wade removed his hat and handed it to Jay. He sent and apologizing look to Aubrey, only to find one given in return. The stood in front of the preacher.

“Do you…” Pastor Grey pulled out his Bible and looked to Wade.

“Wade Dylan” Wade answered his unspoken question.

“…take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health…”

“Get on with it, man! We don’t need that,” Mr. Cutshall protested.

Pastor Grey huffed at Mr. Cutshall. “Fine. Are you gonna take care of this gal, Wade? Do you promise you won’t cheat on her, divorce her, or kill her?”

“I do” Wade said.

“Aubrey, you gonna take care of this man? Don’t cheat on him, divorce him, or kill him. Do you promise you won’t do these things and that you’ll obey the man?” Pastor Grey said to Aubrey.

“I do” Aubrey said.

Wade was surprised at her lack of hesitation.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may…” Pastor Grey sent a look over to Mr. Cutshall. “You may shake the bride’s hand?”

Mr. Cutshall nodded and Wade extended his hand to Aubrey. She shook it hard with determination in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Me too” Wade mouthed.

“So” Jay spoke up. “Does this mean you gotta wife now?”

**********