Boaz's Wager Read online

  After a moment, Otis nodded his agreement.

  “Sound fair?” Boaz asked the man holding Eva’s arm.

  The man glanced at his partner who said, “Alright. You two will race from the wagon down there to this line.” He walked over to a clear spot and used the boot of his heel to make a line in the dirt road. “The first one over that line gets his bride.”

  “I won’t marry either one of them,” Eva protested, doing her best to slap the man’s hand from her. Again, it was to no avail. She grunted and stopped fighting. “This isn’t fair. I am a human being, and it’s not right to sell a human being.”

  Ignoring her, the man gestured to Boaz and Otis. “You ready to race?”

  Boaz tightened the reins on his horse, hesitant to go through with it, but then he reminded himself of Leroy and Hannah and strengthened his resolve. Eva was going to be married before the night was over, so it made no difference to her which man got her.

  Taking a deep breath, he led the horse away from the crowd then hopped into the saddle and trotted over to the wagon.

  As Otis approached, he smiled. “I think you’re a good man and all so don’t take it the wrong way when I say I hope you lose.”

  “I was about to say the same to you,” Boaz replied with a chuckle.

  When they were ready, they turned their attention to the men selling Eva. From the distance it was hard to make out Eva’s facial expression. Boaz gripped the reins. If he won the race, it was going to be an interesting evening.

  One of the men held his hand up in the air and counted down to one then told them to go. Boaz kicked his horse in the sides and began to race. Leaning forward, he ignored everyone else and focused on his goal. Leroy and Hannah. He was doing this for them.

  The length to the finish line wasn’t long, and really either he or Otis could easily win the race. Otis was just as good on a horse. Though he was tempted to look over at his competitor, he reminded himself to stay focused on the line in front of him. Taking the time to see where Otis was at could slow him down by a couple seconds, and right now, he needed every second he could get.

  The crowd cheered them on, some calling out Boaz’s name and others lending their support to Otis. After Boaz crossed the line, the crowd erupted into a round of applause. Boaz ventured a look in Otis’ direction, wondering which one of them got to the finish line first. To his relief, he won. But he’d only won by a foot. That was closer than he liked. He took the hat off his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. He did it. And now he could take his children home to live with him.

  Boaz slid off his horse and Herb ran over to him to pat him on the back. “You did it! Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Boaz glanced at Eva then the blonde woman. Both remained with the men who were selling them, but he could tell that the blonde was more shocked than angry about being sold. “You too. I think you’re going to have an easier time with your bride than I will with mine.”

  “I don’t know. Rachel looks scared.”

  “Better scared than angry.” They headed over to the men, and Boaz braced himself for Eva’s response to him. He tipped his hat to her. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  Not surprising, she narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t bother to say anything.

  “You don’t get your brides until you pay the price,” one of the men said.

  “We just want to make sure you won’t run off with them while we get the money,” Herb said.

  “Fair enough,” the second man said. “I’ll go with you. Deal?”

  “Fine,” Boaz agreed, figuring the first man wouldn’t allow it if he didn’t think his partner would return. He got back on his horse. “Want to ride with me or my friend?” He motioned to Herb who was getting on his horse.

  “One’s as good as the other,” the man replied then chose to ride with Boaz.

  ***

  Eva watched as the three men rode off. The men who’d lost the bidding were already heading back to their homes, none bothering to offer her and Rachel a reprieve from their situation. But why would they care? Sure, they lost but they’d been willing to force her and Rachel into a marriage they didn’t ask for. She glanced at Rachel who turned her wide eyes in her direction.

  “It might be a while before the happy bridegrooms are back,” their kidnapper said. “You can sit over there until they return if you wish.”

  Rachel looked at the grassy area not far away and headed over to it. Eva followed her only because she didn’t want to be around their horrid abductor. Plopping beside her friend, she let out a long sigh and crossed her arms.

  “Can you believe this?” Eva muttered, making sure the man didn’t overhear her. “We’re no more than cattle to those men.”

  With a shrug, Rachel leaned closer to her and whispered, “I think they’re more excited about marrying us than they would be in getting some cattle. Besides, the one who bid on me isn’t bad looking.”

  Her jaw dropped and she examined her friend to see if she was joking, but from what she could tell, Rachel was dead serious. “You actually like being bought like that?”

  “Well, the men seemed really happy to win us. If they’re in such need for a wife, then I think they’ll treat us well.”

  “But what about the man you’re supposed to marry who lives in Jordan?”

  “I never met him and he’s never met me. He’ll find someone else.”

  “Maybe, but it seems like a bad thing for him.”

  “He said I was one of several replies,” Rachel clarified. “He’ll simply send for another. There’s no reason to worry about him.”

  “But if he chose you out of the others, then he found something special about you. The man who bid on you did so only because he had no other women to choose from. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, Rachel.”

  “He has kind eyes and a caring smile. A man with those traits has to be a good one.”

  “I hope so.”

  Eva knew Rachel had a tendency to see the best in everything, but she didn’t take Rachel for being unnecessarily cheerful. It seemed wise to wait and see how things worked out before deciding whether or not they ended up with men worth marrying.

  “You’d rather be married than be a teacher,” Rachel reminded her.

  “Not this way. I imagined picking my husband, not being sold to him.”

  “Maybe fate has intervened on our behalf. Maybe this happened for a reason. I might be with someone who’ll appreciate me more than the man in Jordan, and you won’t be a spinster like you feared.”

  Eva let out a reluctant groan. Sometimes she thought it must be nice to have the attitude about life that Rachel did. “I don’t know.”

  “At least be willing to give your husband a chance before assuming the worst. He also looked very happy to win his bid. A hundred and fifty plus winning a race to be your husband is pretty exciting. He really wants to marry you.”

  “He would have taken any woman who came here. It’s just as the outlaws said. Men are so desperate for women, they’ll bid all the money they have to get one.” She crossed her arms and studied the sun which would be setting soon. “What difference does it make if it’s me or someone else?”

  Rachel placed her hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I know it’s hard to believe, Eva, but I think this is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you. You have so much to offer a man, and a man who’s willing to give up all the money he has to be with you is going to treat you right. You just watch. It’ll happen.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “When it does, I will get the pleasure of telling you, ‘I told you it’d be alright.’”

  Eva couldn’t decide if she should argue with her or not, but the sound of men talking made her look over at the two men who bid on her and Rachel. They seemed unusually happy, something that irritated her. Did they really enjoy having to purchase a wife? As much as she’d like to believe Rachel, she couldn’t help but feel like an object instead of a
person.

  “Come on,” Rachel encouraged as she took her arm and helped her stand up. “Let’s go to our bridegrooms.”

  Though her feet dragged, Eva followed her, afraid she was going to regret the moment she agreed to be a teacher in Circle.

  Chapter Four

  An hour later, Eva found herself at a preacher’s house, sharing a double wedding with Rachel. Rachel had no hesitation in repeating her vows to honor, love, and obey Herb. In fact, Rachel looked thrilled by the turn of events. Eva, however, couldn’t stop wondering what kind of man she was promising herself to. When it came time for her to say her vows, she hesitated.

  Boaz glanced over at her, a worried expression on his face, before he turned his attention back to the preacher. “Will you give us a moment?”

  “Of course,” the preacher replied.

  Eva didn’t know why she let Boaz take her by the arm and lead her to the other side of the room. If she was smart, she’d be running for the door and hightailing it right back to Omaha. But she didn’t run for the door. Instead, she faced the man who had won her in an auction.

  “I understand you’re upset,” Boaz softly said so the others wouldn’t overhear. “And I don’t blame you. I’d probably be upset if I was in your situation. But well, see… Here’s the thing. I got two children. A four-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl. They both lost their mother, and right now my brother and his wife are taking care of them. I can’t explain everything at the moment, but marrying you will make it so that I can get them back.” He took a deep breath and added, “I made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’m not perfect. But I promise I’ll provide for you and I’ll be faithful. Please marry me.”

  She sighed. Now she would have to bear the guilt of letting his children spend the rest of their lives without their father if she didn’t do this. And what good would it do the children? If he didn’t have children, it’d be so easy to say no. Shoulders slumped, she relented. “Alright. I’ll marry you.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thank you. I won’t ever take it for granted that you said yes.”

  “I hope not.”

  She stepped back to the preacher and the other couple. Noting the question in Rachel’s eyes, she offered a slight shrug to let her friend know she had decided to go through with the wedding. She still wondered if this was better than her plans of being a teacher, but she couldn’t fault a man whose motivation was to have his children with him. At the very least, it was sweet that he cared so much about them that he was willing to spend his entire life savings to get a wife. And a man who cared that much about his children couldn’t be all that bad.

  As she spoke her vows, she was aware that everyone was watching her, something that made her stumble a bit at the end. She cleared her throat and repeated the sentence, clearly this time. When the preacher said Boaz could kiss her, her face grew warm.

  “Could we skip the kiss?” she asked the preacher. Maybe she had decided to go through this, but that didn’t mean she was ready to kiss—or do anything else—with Boaz.

  The preacher hesitated, glancing from her to Boaz.

  “It’s fine if we don’t kiss,” Boaz told him.

  “Well, alright then. I pronounce you two man and wife.”

  After the ceremonies were over, Rachel turned to Herb. “Where do we live?”

  Eva shook her head, surprised at how quickly Rachel accepted her new life, already talking about her and Herb as a “we”. It would take some time before Eva could do that with Boaz. While she had agreed to marry him and knew she’d be going home with him tonight, she still couldn’t think of herself as Mrs. Boaz Grady.

  “We’re on the corner of 4th and Spruce,” Herb told Rachel, wrapping his hand around hers. “We aren’t far from Boaz and Eva’s. Their house is only a couple blocks away.”

  Her smile growing wider, Rachel asked Eva, “Did you hear that? We’ll be able to see each other whenever we wish. This will be so much fun.”

  How Eva admired Rachel’s ability to adapt to change so easily.

  “It’s good you two know each other,” Boaz told the women.

  “It is,” Herb agreed. “Do you two have anyone you need to write to and let them know you’re alright?”

  “We both have families back in Omaha,” Rachel replied. “Eva and I should go to the post office and let them know we’re fine.”

  “Yes, we’ll do that tomorrow,” Eva agreed.

  “So what do you do?” Rachel asked Herb.

  “I work at the livery stable and on Greg Wilson’s ranch. Both are part-time jobs, but I make a steady living.”

  “I work with horses,” Boaz told Eva. “I don’t have set working hours. I work when people ask me to come out and train their horses.”

  That further explained why he needed a woman to care for his children. If he didn’t work the same hours every day, it’d be hard to find someone who was reliable to watch them.

  “Both men make a good living,” Preacher Higgins’ wife said as she walked over to them. “You two ladies have nothing to worry about. We don’t get available women often. As soon as any show up, they’re usually married right away.”

  “That’s true,” Herb agreed. “I’m sure you two figured that out, though.”

  Eva glanced at Rachel, wondering if anyone was going to tell the preacher’s wife how Boaz and Herb secured their brides, but since no one volunteered the information, Eva relaxed. While she knew the important thing was that they found wives and were now married, she didn’t exactly relish the idea of everyone finding out about the auction, especially a preacher’s wife.

  “Well, we appreciate your husband taking the time to marry us,” Boaz said, placing his hat on his head.

  “Think nothing of it,” Preacher Higgins called out from the ledger he was writing in on his desk. “I’m happy to marry anyone who comes to my door. A wedding is better than a funeral any day of the week.”

  “Have you four had supper yet?” the preacher’s wife asked.

  Eva almost laughed. Her kidnappers hardly saw it fit to give her and Rachel anything other than some jerky from time to time, and one could hardly call that a meal, even if they claimed they did very well on it.

  “We just got here, so no, we didn’t have time,” Rachel replied, her response a lot more polite than what Eva would have said, which only proved that of the two of them, Boaz probably would have been better off marrying her instead.

  “I have a large pot of stew on the cookstove and some bread baking in the oven,” the preacher’s wife began. “Why don’t you four eat here?”

  “There’s no use in the men putting you to work as soon as they take you home,” Preacher Higgins teased.

  “That’s very kind of you, Preacher,” Herb replied. “We’d be honored to stay here.”

  Boaz and Rachel nodded, and since Eva had had enough of jerky and figured Boaz wouldn’t have much better in his house, she murmured her agreement. If nothing else, she’d have a full meal before she headed out tomorrow to purchase the foods she’d need. She hoped that Boaz had enough money for her to do that after he bid so much on her. She was tempted to ask him, but Preacher Higgins’ wife instructed them to go to the dining room so she decided she’d wait until later to ask.

  ***

  Eva didn’t know what to think as she entered Boaz’s small house.

  She stood in the parlor where the evening sun barely lit up the room. Boaz lit the kerosene lamp and turned to her. Her face grew warm. Up to now, the most they’d spoken to each other had been the brief conversation they’d had right before she said her vows. She had no idea what to expect. Had she been a mail-order bride, she knew her mother would have told her about the wedding night. But everyone thought she was going to be a teacher, and as a teacher, she was forbidden to marry. If she’d had any idea things would have ended up as they did, she would have pressed her mother for the information or bugged her older sister until she told her.

  Now as she stood in the parl
or and faced her husband, she was afraid to speak in case he detected the slight tremble in her voice. But there was no way she could bring herself to be with him intimately. At least not right away. She cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t expect us to spend the night together…in bed.”

  “No, I don’t. You’ve been through enough already. I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said. “You’ll sleep in the big bedroom. After we get Leroy and Hannah here, they’ll sleep in the small bedroom.”

  Relieved, she relaxed. “Thank you.”

  They stood in the parlor for a moment in an awkward silence before he picked up the kerosene lamp and gestured to the hall. “I’ll show you the rest of the house, though there’s not much to it.”

  Her curiosity piqued, she followed him out of the parlor. She came across the small bedroom first, noting two small beds for the two children. Ages four and three. And she reasoned that the beds would suit them just fine. The bedroom across from it was bigger but not much more so.

  Then she followed him to the kitchen which was larger than she expected, but then it included an area for eating and there was no dining room in the little house. What she liked most was the pantry. Her mother didn’t have one and said it would have been ideal for a family, and since Boaz had two children, she’d get use out of it right away.

  “You’ll need some clothes,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any money to give you at the moment, but you can get things on credit at the mercantile. I’ll pay the owner when I get paid.”

  “When will you get paid?”

  “In a week. That money will go to some sewing supplies, unless you don’t know how to make your own clothes. In that case, we can talk to a woman I know who makes clothes for a living.”

  “I know how to make clothes,” she assured him. “But my immediate concern is that I get a new pair of spectacles. I need them to read.”

  “Oh. There is a doctor in town I can take you to who can get a pair for you.” His gaze went to her hands. “You don’t have a purse, do you?”