CHAPTER6
Ellis couldn’t help but watch as Daisy walked down Main Street toward his aunt and uncle’s house. He had not planned on becoming infatuated or even interested in any of the women. Sure, he knew he would have to marry one of them, but he was going to let Lee find the woman he wanted, and then he would go along with his choice.
Once you’ve been in love and had your heart broken, you’re more cautious and couldn’t care less about love a second time around.
But when the blonde stepped off the stage, his cock had gone hard, his palms became sweaty, his heart pounded in his chest and it was all he could do not to scoop her up and carry her to their house. Daisy had long lashes that swept down over her sky-blue eyes, sweet cherry lips, a cute little nose that turned up at the end, and a smile that had him dreaming of her mouth around his cock.
Her long blonde hair was curled down her back and he imagined his hands threaded through those curls, pulling her soft mouth to his.
Now, the two men just stood there in the street, watching her walk to the house, mesmerized by the sway of her full hips.
“Good God,” Lee said, his voice had that breathless sound when he was about to come. “That woman is a piece of art. Why in the world is she not married?”
“Good question,” Ellis said, thinking there must be something wrong with her. Some reason that the men in Charleston had not snatched her up and carried her to the church. Some reason that right now his cock wouldn’t even listen to.
“Did you see those curves? Full breasts, tiny waist, and hips that a man can grab onto while he’s shoving his cock in her.”
“Down boy,” Ellis said with a laugh, knowing that he was having the same reaction. But he would never admit that to Lee.
“Did you see any other woman that made your cock stand at attention? When Daisy stepped off that stage, it was like my heart leaped into my throat and my cock did a dance in my pants.”
Ellis shook his head at his friend. Now that they both had successful businesses here in town the only thing they needed was a wife. But Ellis was not as crazy about the idea until now. Today had changed everything.
“Really? Your cock was dancing in your pants?” Ellis said, laughing at his friend. They had shared many women while they were traveling, but he’d never mentioned his cock could dance. That was a sight that Ellis wasn’t certain he wanted to see.
“It would have been doing more, but I told him to settle down. That hopefully that pussy would soon be ours.”
Of the two of them, Lee was more outgoing and could have a room laughing in no time. But Ellis knew that underneath the laughter, there was heartache. The man longed for a family to replace the mother and father he’d lost. Though his sister lived in Helena, he seldom saw her, unless she needed money.
Lee wanted a family. A wife. Children.
Ellis was more cautious than his friend. He’d already screwed up his chance at getting a family once, and he was afraid of how it would go down the second time around. But this woman definitely caught his interest.
Walking toward the home they shared, they passed the bank and the mercantile, which were right next to each other. Both businesses were closed at the moment, but come Monday morning, they would be open bright and early.
Along the wooden sidewalk, their boots clunked. A necessity in the wintertime when the road was covered in snow. And in the spring when a river of mud filled the street.
“Just think in a couple of weeks, we could be bringing Miss Daisy home,” Lee said excited.
Already, Lee had made up his mind. Ellis glanced down the street where he’d lived since he was a boy. His aunt and uncle and his parents started Treasure Falls and now his family was trying to continue the growth of the little town.
After seeing the destruction of the South during the war, he’d longed to come home and plant solid roots right here where he grew up.
“Maybe, if we agree she’s the one,” Ellis said being more cautious.
A breeze blew and the sun beat down on them. Ellis was glad that the nights were cooler than the day. Tonight he wanted to get to know Daisy better. See if she was who they were looking for. Find out why no one in Charleston wanted her. Why she’d left everything she knew behind and traveled so far.
While he would let Lee do the choosing, he had to keep a tight rein on his heart. Having it broken once was tough, but a second time would be devastating.
Old Man Cox stepped out of the shadows right into their path. This was not what he needed today. Especially today.
“You son of a bitch,” he screamed and ran toward Ellis.
The man was drunk and Ellis wasn’t afraid of him. At five feet ten inches and weighing maybe a hundred seventy-five, life had not been good to Henry Cox. And he blamed all his problems on Ellis.
“Henry, don’t do this,” Lee said, stepping between him and Ellis. “You’re drunk.”
“Of course, I am,” the old man said, spitting in the dirt in front of Ellis. “I should kill you.”
“Right now, your aim is a little unsteady,” Lee said.
The man snarled at him almost like a rabid dog.
Maybe he should, Ellis couldn’t help but think. At least then, the both of them wouldn’t be hurting any longer.
“Go ahead, if that’s what you want to do,” Ellis said. He was tired of fighting him. He was tired of the guilt the man riddled him with. The pain he lived with daily. He’d rather take a bullet and then it would be over.
The old man stumbled. “Hell, no, you need to suffer.”
“Should I get the sheriff,” Lee asked.
“Go ahead. I don’t care,” Henry said. “I’ve spent many a night in jail.”
Lately, it seemed like he spent every other week behind bars. Ellis had stopped contacting the sheriff. What was the point? The old man had threatened but never carried out those threats.
“You killed my babies,” he said with a slur. “You took away the people I loved.”
There was no point in arguing with the man. But it was all Ellis could do to keep from screaming back at him. It didn’t have to end the way it had. Ellis felt horrible about their deaths, but it had been out of his control.
Henry was as much to blame for Arianna’s death as anyone.
Shaking, the man glared at him. “If you think you’re going to marry one of these girls and be happy, you’ve got another thing coming. I’ll do everything I can to make certain you’re miserable. After I’m done, you’ll be living in pain.”
Like he wasn’t already.