But between here and the house, he and Wesley had some things to discuss. Like how he was ready to marry Pearl.
“Sounds like you’ve made up your mind about staying,” Anthony said. “You told Pearl you wanted to marry her.”
“And I do,” Wesley said.
There was a moment of silence.
“You told me you wanted a wife regardless of whether I stay or not,” Wesley replied.
There was no way Anthony was going to let Pearl get away without a wedding ring on her finger.
“You’re right. I did, but is this fair to Pearl?”
The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon and it would be dark when they arrived home. If only Pearl would’ve been waiting for them, but that would soon happen.
“How can I be a good husband if there is a price on my head? How can I protect her and any children we may have if they haul my ass off to jail?”
While Anthony could understand his hesitancy about marrying, Pearl believed they were both going to be there for her.
“I agree, but Pearl thinks you’re going to be her second husband. You’re going to sleep with her, have sex with her, and then leave? That’s not a good husband.”
With a sigh, Wesley shook his head. “I know, but damn, I can barely keep my hands off her. And after spanking her this afternoon, it was all I could do not to fuck her.”
Anthony chuckled. He understood exactly what the man was talking about. Even now just thinking about her, he had a hard-on. And that was after her sweet fingers gave him relief today.
Pearl was the most stunning woman he’d ever met and he couldn’t help but wonder why some man in Charleston had not snatched her up. Even after the war, he was shocked that no man had asked her to marry him.
Maybe they needed to talk about that with her. Was she hiding something? Had something back home kept men from marrying her?
“I’m experiencing the same problem and can’t wait before we make her our wife. Those vows can’t come soon enough,” he said wistfully.
“I’ll be honest with you, Anthony. I’m afraid. I’m afraid that my family will somehow hurt us. I don’t want to harm Pearl or you because my father is the town idiot with a badge.”
Anthony respected Wesley for thinking of their safety.
“Maybe it’s time you and I took a trip to Helena,” he said. “At least, then, you could put this behind you.”
Wesley shook his head. “I’m not ready. You want a child. A family. I want to fuck Pearl. If my life was perfect, I would still want her as my wife. I’m going to marry her, and after we’ve been married for a while, then I’ll turn myself in. That way the two of you will not be affected.”
Anthony wasn’t certain he agreed with this idea, but he knew the kid was trying to do what was right for both of them.
Wesley continued. “I want you to have that son you’re longing for, even though I’m still not certain you can’t get Pearl pregnant. But this way, you’ll have the heir you long for. If they lock me up, don’t ever let my family know that your son could be mine. Don’t let them near Pearl or our children.”
Maybe his father had changed. Maybe they should seek the opinion of a lawyer before Wesley returned to Helena. But no matter what, it was time for him to put this behind him.
Time to settle his past.
“If we find out that your father has dropped the charges and that you’re a free man, are you going to stay here in Treasure Falls?”
Wesley chuckled in the darkness. “What do you think? I’m going to walk away willingly from Pearl. Oh, hell no. If I wasn’t afraid for her, I would just never return to Helena. But I’m terrified that someday a posse will show up at our door. I promise you, I didn’t kill that man.”
Anthony had found Wesley beaten to a pulp lying in the street. All he knew was that the stranger was in desperate need of medical attention and he’d helped him. The particulars of the fight he’d never asked about and Wesley never told him.
“I’ve been around you long enough to know that you’re a man who would never hurt someone unless you were defending yourself. I believe you, Wesley.”
The sun slinked below the shimmering horizon and they were engulfed in the evening light as darkness approached. Another ten minutes and they would be home.
“What do you think of Pearl’s response today to her spanking?”