On the way to the school, Will sat contemplating Quinlan's reaction around the women. After he stubbed his toe, he'd cursed, letting the back door slam shut. When he came into the living area, his wife was almost cowering behind the ladies. Did she fear him? 

Maybe she'd witnessed a man mistreating a woman when she was younger and she feared men. What if whatever she saw had been her own family. That would explain so much, but until he was certain, it would be best not to create loud noises or frighten her. Somehow she had to learn to trust him and that could take a while. 

Will pulled the wagon in front of the school and glanced at Quinlan. Disappointment was etched on her face, her mouth open in shock, her eyes brimming with tears. 

"Hey, we'll fix up the building. There's no need to be crying," he said as he reached over and wiped the tear on her eyelash away. Could her tears be a result of what happened earlier? 

"You tried to warn me it was in bad shape, but I just kept hoping. How can we complete this in time for school to start? How can I let children in this building without worrying about their safety?”

She had a point. If his kids were in this rundown shack, he would worry. It wasn't the walls so much as the roof. A sag in the middle told him one good Texas windstorm and the kids would be looking up at the sky. 

Climbing down from the wagon, he hurried over to help Quinlan alight. As he placed his hands on her tiny waist, his heart skipped a beat. Soon, he promised himself. Soon, they would consummate their marriage when the time was right. That moment had yet to arrive and sometimes he wondered if it would. 

Setting her on the ground, he took her hand and she gazed up at him and smiled. Will had been seventeen the last time he courted a woman and he was doing his best to remember what women liked. 

Walking up the steps, he noticed that some of the boards had rotted. Those would need to be replaced. The carpenter in him assessed the entryway—there were several weakened boards. A spider web was strung across the corner of the porch to the front door. With his hand, he swiped the cobwebs away and pulled Quinlan behind him as he prepared to open the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Just making sure no wild animal is in here getting an education," he said. 

With a click of the knob, he swung the door wide, and stared into the gloomy darkness. A lantern sat on a desk and he quickly struck a match and lit the wick. Light glowed in the room, showing the dirt, webs, and in the corner, a frightened rodent scurried into the wall.

"Quinlan Adams, your first teaching job on the prairie."

Giggling almost hysterically, she said, "Looks like animals are the only ones fit for this schoolroom."

He laughed. "We'll make it right. Now let's go out to the wagon and let's start by cleaning the inside of this shack spotless, then let's set out some mouse traps. Tomorrow, I'll buy the supplies for the roof and porch. Together we'll make this a good place for children."

At his side, she stared into his eyes. "Are you convinced you want to do all this work?"

Pulling her into his arms he held her. "I know the teacher who is going to be working here. She's a pretty special lady. Someday my sons and daughters will be attending this school, so I want to help make it the best I possibly can."

Unexpectedly, she leaned against him and returned his hug. "Thank you, Will. If I had been alone when I pulled up in front of this building, I think I would have taken the first train back to New York."

He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "And left your husband behind? No, I would have come after you."

She tilted her head. "And done what?"

"Convinced you that by leaving me, you were taking the only chance I had of ever loving. Because I'm committed to you. I'm so proud that you're the teacher for our community, that you're my wife."

The thought of her fleeing left him with an empty feeling. A feeling he hadn't felt since the death of his brother. A feeling he never wanted to experience ever again. 

"My place is here with you," she said. "Until you tell me to leave."

Stunned, he asked, "Why would I ever tell you to leave?"

"My past. When people find out the truth about who I am, they usually stay away from me."

Confused, Will simply stared. What about her past could be so bad that people would shun her? 

"Someday, when you're ready to tell me, I'd like to know, but not until then," he said, knowing his wife was as skittish as a newborn colt. He didn't want to scare her away. Some day they would both need to confess their pasts, but right now was not the moment. 

"Guess we better get busy," she said. "There is lots of work to be done."

The sun was beginning to lower in the western sky when Quinlan and Will walked out of the building. The inside was fairly clean, though she wanted to mop the floor one more time, just to make certain all of the mouse droppings and dust were gone. 

"I'm exhausted," she said.

"That was harder work than I expected. And we still need to do the windows."

"Not to mention that the classroom will need to be set up," she said, watching as he closed the door behind them and tried to lock the door. The door handle refused to latch. "Guess we will need to purchase a new handle."

"Looks like it," she said. 

After scaring her earlier in the day when the door slammed after he'd stumped his toe, Will had been kind and helpful and very courteous. But then her father had been nice until he started drinking and then she did her best to become inconspicuous. 

She tried to disappear into the shadows or hide. When he did see her, she lived in fear until she could slink away again. Many a time, her father popped her or slapped her when she committed some minor infraction until her mother rescued her and took the beating. 

"There's so much work to be done here," she said sighing. 

They turned from the door just as a man came around the corner and Will drew his pistol from his holster faster than the strike of a snake. Quinlan never saw his hands move. One moment, they were turning from the door and the next, Will had his Colt out and pointed at the man in front of them. 

Quinlan's heart raced with fear as she stared at the scruffy looking stranger her husband held a gun on. 

"Hey, it's me," the man said. "Married life made you trigger happy?" The man walked toward them and Quinlan watched as Will eased his Colt back into its holder. 

How did he know how to draw that fast? She'd never seen a man move so quickly and silently. Was this how the gunslingers used their guns? After all, she was from New York and no one ever pulled a gun that quick. 

"What are you doing here at the school house? Education is not your top priority," her husband teased as he clasped the man's back. "Why are you in town?"

"Came to talk to you. Went by your folk’s place and they told me you tied the knot. Your mother said you married a teacher."

Will reached back and pulled Quinlan forward. "Meet my bride, Quinlan."

The two men were friends and she breathed a sigh of relief. 

The man took his hat off and bowed over her hand. No one had ever treated her so formal. "Congratulations, Mrs. Adams, though why any woman would want to hitch themselves to this scalawag is beyond my understanding, especially when I'm available. Albert Martin, at your service."

Quinlan knew the man was flirting but living at the orphanage she never had this experience before. His behavior seemed a little strange in front of her husband.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Martin, but I'm a happily married woman."

It wasn't exactly true, but it wasn't untrue either. She was still learning her way in this adventure called marriage. She didn't want Will to think that she encouraged Mr. Martin. 

"Why don't you follow us back to the house for dinner. How long you going to be in town?" Will asked. 

Al looked at Quinlan and then Will. "Long enough to tell you about Lee Carver."

Her husband's face grew taut. "Can you stay for supper?"

"Sure, might even bed down in your barn, if you don't mind."

Will turned to Quinlan. "Honey, do you care if my good friend Al has dinner with us and stays the night?"

The man had already asked, but she didn't care. This friend of Will's would keep him occupied and that would give her more time to finish her book about Cynthia Parker.

"Of course not," she said. 

"Well, I didn't want to interfere with you newlyweds and all," Al said.

"We’ll be newlyweds long after you're gone," Will told him. "Follow us to the house."

As they started toward the wagon, Quinlan didn't know what to think. Hopefully, the men didn't expect her to cook for them and yet maybe with his friend at the house, Will would leave her alone tonight.

Later that evening, Quinlan finally went to bed, leaving the two men to sit up and talk.

"Why in the world did you get married?" his friend asked. "When you left, you said nothing about finding a wife."

Will turned and gazed at the man, thinking the answer wasn't obvious. "You've met my mother. She's the one who laid the guilt on me. After all, unless I got married, she would never have grandchildren."

Though his mother had chosen Quinlan, he couldn't be more pleased. Somehow he felt like he'd gotten the best out of that deal. Now if only their marriage would become a true one, with love, he would be the luckiest man alive. 

Laughing, Al reached over and uncorked a bottle of whiskey. "Didn't want to bring this out until your wife had gone to bed. Didn't know if she was a teetotaler or not."

"Can't answer your question. We've only been married a couple days."

Will had no idea about Quinlan's opinion on alcohol, though if she searched the house, she would find a bottle of whiskey. 

His friend filled them each a glass and then turned to him. "To you and your beautiful wife. May you have many happy years together."

They clinked their glasses and sipped the liquor. The burn of the alcohol warmed his throat. "Your wife, is she shy? What's the deal with her? Several times tonight, I caught her watching me like she didn't know for certain whether she liked me."

If only Will knew. Sometimes she looked at Will that way as well. The woman was as nervous as a colt and he kept reminding himself to tread gently. 

"Quinlan was a mail-order bride my mother picked out for me."

Shocked, Al spewed his whiskey. "What?" The man jerked toward Will. "That beautiful woman--you are one lucky SOB. If I ordered a bride, she'd be the ugliest hag in the state. Your wife is gorgeous and smart."

"Yes, but I don't know much about her. At the age of seven, she was taken to an orphanage. Quinlan has never been around men much and sometimes she acts like she's terrified of me." 

Will shook his head. "It's taking everything I've got to take things real slow. Hopefully the next time you come to see us, she'll have faith in me enough to realize I would never hurt her."

Trust took a while to build. But Will's patience was not as long as it should be. Maybe Quinlan would teach him the good virtue. 

"Do you want me to talk to her? Let me tell her about the time in Kansas you pulled that man off the saloon girl he was beating. You told him for every hit he gave her, you were going to give him double." Smiling, Al shook his head. "That poor fool probably didn't walk for a week."

Will considered letting his friend talk to Quinlan, but he wanted her to believe in him naturally, if that made any sense. Someone telling her was not the same. Besides, no one other than Al had knowledge of his past and he didn't want to divulge that information. 

"No, let us work things out, eventually she'll come around." Will sipped his whiskey and watched as Al poured himself another. "Tell me about Lee Carver. Where is he?"

Will was anxious to learn where the leader of the gang that murdered his brother was, the man who almost killed him. Someday he hoped to put the man six feet under. 

Shaking his head, Al pursed his lips together. "Broke out of a San Antonio jail and was last seen in Abilene. Rumor is he's hiding out in Hide Town, Texas. That place where the outlaws keep their families and no decent law man has come out walking and breathing."

There were towns in Texas where the criminals kept their families safe. And if you screwed up in an outlaw town, you were as good as dead. An honorable person would be wise not to go near one of these rogue communities. Though they had a church, a doctor, saloon, and a restaurant, it wasn’t family friendly.

"That's a dangerous place," Will said. 

"Money's too good for me to pass up going after that SOB. After he murdered that rancher and raped his wife, the bounty on his head is bigger than ever. We'd be looking at a thousand dollars each if we capture him. After he shot you up in Wichita, I thought you’d want a piece of him."

And Will did. Had wanted to see him behind bars or hanging with a noose around his neck. With his heart aching, he glanced back at the closed door of the bedroom where a beautiful woman waited for him to join her in bed. His parents came to mind and how they already lost one son, how he nearly died a year ago. 

Was risking his life catching Lee Carver worth it? 

While Will hated the idea of Lee getting away and hurting someone else, this was his honeymoon. Until they were married for a while, he should remain by his wife's side bonding with her and strengthening their relationship. Secrets lay between them they needed to work through. Plus, he promised her he would finish the school.

Glancing at his friend he sighed, his decision made. "Lee Carver is a despicable human being that I hate with a passion. Sooner or later, someone needs to nail his ass, but it's not going to be me. My place is here with my wife."

"You're going to walk away from that kind of money?"

Will chuckled. Al never understood that money wasn’t what drove him to catch outlaws. It was justice. Justice for people who had no one else to defend them. "Two grand will give you a lot of time at home." 

Again, Al took a big swig of whiskey and filled himself another glass, draining the bottle. The man always liked his whiskey. "With all that money, I just might retire and become your next-door neighbor. Find me a beautiful wife, settle down and raise a couple kids. I'm getting too old to be chasing these young bucks who have no respect for life."

A risky job that came with great monetary rewards, but when almost losing his life, he kind of reassessed what was important. Soon, he prayed Al would hang up his guns and marry a good woman. 

"Eventually, one's going to get you," Will said, remembering how Lee Carver almost ended his life. "I'm not ready to die."

"Of course, you're not. With that pretty filly sleeping in your bed, you'll soon have some young’uns of your own."

"Hope so," Will said, setting his glass down, eager to make his way to his wife's side. "When you go after Lee Carver, you be careful, Al. He's a dangerous man with a draw faster than anyone I've ever seen. The man doesn't have a heart. He'll kill you, step over your body without looking back."

"I hear you, brother, but this could be my last big hunt. This could be the one where I call it quits and find me a beautiful bride like you."

A smile crossed Will's face. For years, Al talked about giving up bounty hunting, but never did. Pursuing bad men was a hazardous life, and Will knew because he had once ridden with Al.