The day before his wedding, Ewan worked in the home he would share with Jessamine. He whistled while he hung curtains, frowning as he backed away. “I think they’re crooked,” he muttered to himself. He shrugged and moved into the kitchen area where he unpacked a box of foodstuffs from the Merc.

“I always find it disappointing to see a man doing women’s work.” Mr. Abbott stood in the doorway to Ewan’s house, his long black coat buttoned shut with a red scarf around his neck. He held his black top hat in his hand, and his brown hair was shellacked in place with a thick layer of pomade.

“Mr. Abbott,” Ewan said. “Close the door behind ye as ye leave.” He glared at the man as Mr. Abbott entered, closing himself inside the space with Ewan. “Ye are no’ welcome here.”

Jessamine’s father chuckled as he wandered the small living area. “You actually believe my daughter would be content living in such a pathetic little home? She is accustomed to a mansion, my dear boy.” He smiled as he saw Ewan stiffen. “Not some patched-together shack by a second-rate carpenter.”

“I’m excellent at my trade,” Ewan snapped.

“Ah, yes, a tradesman. Just what any father should wish for his only daughter.” Mr. Abbott fingered the yellow curtain Ewan had just hung and wrinkled his nose in distaste. “You’d have to expect a father to object to you. A drunkard. A gambler. A whoremonger.”

Ewan stiffened. “I am none of those things.” His nostrils flared as he fisted his hands, and he faced his adversary.

“Yes, you are—and worse. You’re a defiler of innocents.” Mr. Abbott held up his hand. “I know you believe Jessamine’s story that she was taken advantage of by that editor, but you should know she has always been adept at fabricating tales. It’s why she has had such success as a newspaperwoman.”

Ewan half smiled. “I think I have a better idea than ye if what she told me were true or no’.” His mocking smile acted as fuel to her father’s ire, and her father grabbed Ewan’s collar. However, they were nearly the same height, and Ewan was accustomed to hard work on a daily basis. He pushed Mr. Abbott away, his eyes flashing a warning.

“How dare you imply that you have defiled my daughter!”

“Dinna think to touch me again, old man. I’ll no’ show ye respect the next time.” He let out a deep breath. “Say what ye’ve come to say an’ then leave.”

Mr. Abbott ran a hand over his coat and picked up his forgotten top hat. “I would offer you financial compensation to forego this foolish notion of marrying my wayward daughter.” He paused as he saw interest in Ewan’s gaze. “I will be most generous.”

“How generous?” Ewan asked.

“How does $10,000 sound?” Mr. Abbott asked.

Ewan ran a hand through his hair and turned away from Jessamine’s father. He took a deep breath and then another. “Meet me at the lawyer’s in an hour.” He spun to glare at the man before Mr. Abbott clapped him on his back.

Ewan watched Jessamine’s father depart, and he perched on a windowsill, his mind racing. After a few minutes he rose to prepare for his meeting with her father.

* * *

“You’re certain you want to do this?” Warren asked Ewan, rubbing at his temple. They sat sequestered in his private room at the back of his office with the door shut. “It could prove disastrous.”

“Aye. ’Tis a gamble. I ken that. But I need to do it.” He met Warren’s troubled gaze. “I need ye to be as wily as Alistair said ye are.”

Warren nodded and then motioned for him to move to the front room. “He’ll be here soon.” They settled into chairs at the table near the potbellied stove. Warren rose with deferential grace as Mr. Abbott entered, extending his hand and taking his coat to hang on a peg near the warm stove. When Jessamine’s father sat at the table, Warren cleared his throat. “I need you to understand, Mr. Abbott, that Mr. MacKinnon has already explained the particulars of your request to me and that I have been retained by him.”

Mr. Abbott smiled. “That is fine. Saves me the expense of lawyer fees.”

Warren extracted three pages. “I always like to have a duplicates in case one is destroyed.” He turned them so they faced Ewan and Mr. Abbott. “I hereby declare, as witnessed by my hand and date below, that I will no longer pursue Miss Jessamine Phyllis Abbott McMahon. I will exert no influence over her future decisions and said decisions are hers alone.”

Warren continued to read the contract about the terms, where the money was to be deposited, and the loss of funds should the contract be violated. After a moment, he raised guileless eyes to Mr. Abbott. “Is this satisfactory?”

Mr. Abbott chuckled and grabbed the pen, inking his name at the bottom. He waited as Ewan did the same to the three copies. “I assume one of these is mine?” At Warren’s nod, Abbott rose, grabbed his coat, and marched out the door.

Ewan sat back and let out a deep breath. “Thank ye, Warren.”

“Don’t thank me yet. You don’t know if Jessamine will see through this.”

Ewan rapped his fingers on the table. “When she calms down from her anger, I hope she will.” He stood. “I hope I’m not the only one arriving at the church tomorrow.”

* * *

Jessamine glared at the door as it burst open and then glowered at who stood in the doorway. “I thought you had the good sense to leave town.”

Her father laughed as he waved a sheet of paper at her. “No, I would never admit defeat, daughter dear. You know me better than that.” His polished shoes made a clicking sound on her wood floors. “If you believed those pathetic café owners would force me to leave, then you’ve forgotten who I am.”

“I’m not alone here, Father. I have friends. I marry tomorrow.” She paled as her father laughed.

“Yes, I imagine you consider that lawyer your friend. I wonder what you would think were you to know how eager he was to write up a contract between your supposed fiancé and me, making null and void any engagement.” His smile broadened as she paled to the point she looked gutted.

“Give me that,” she said, grabbing the document from his hand. She read it through twice, tears falling over her cheeks by the time she had finished the second reading. “He couldn’t. He wouldn’t,” she breathed.

“He did. Seems he’s more sensible than I gave him credit for.” Her father leaned forward and gripped her shoulder. “Money wins out, Jessamine. It always will.” He looked around her small shop and shook his head in disgust. “We will leave tomorrow on the train.”

“I …” She shook her head as she wrapped her arms around her waist. “Please leave.”

Her father plucked the contract from her numb fingers and smiled jovially at her. “This was an important lesson for you, Jessamine. Men will only ever want money. They will never want you.”

She sank to her knees as the door closed behind him, her body racked by sobs.

* * *

The morning of her wedding, Jessamine entered the livery wearing a heavy wool cloak. She paused at the entrance, then firmed her shoulders as she approached Bears. “Mr. Bears,” she whispered around a throat sore from crying, “I would like to hire a horse.”

Bears turned to face her and frowned. He noted her reddened eyes and nose before focusing again on the desolation in her gaze. “There’s no horse strong enough to help you escape your demons.”

“Damn you, I must leave town. And I refuse to leave with my father on the train.” She pursed her lips together as though battling another sob.

“You will be missed today at the church. I know Ewan will be waiting for you.” He watched her with concern as she flinched at Ewan’s name.

“Ewan is more concerned about my father’s money than with me.”

Bears smiled and shook his head. He ran a hand over the head of a fidgety mare as though he wanted to soothe Jessamine in such a manner but was unable to. “No, miss, you’ve got it backward.”

“I know what I read.” She jutted out her chin like an obstinate child.

“From where I’m standing, there’s reading and then there’s understanding. Seems to me, Ewan knows you better than you know him.” He met her furious gaze. “You’re marrying a gambler, miss.”

“He hasn’t gambled since he won Fidelia from the Boudoir.”

Bears shook his head as though surprised at her obtuseness. “He gambles every day but in different ways.” He sighed when he saw confusion in her gaze. “What did the words say?”

She bit her lip and then swallowed. “That he would no longer pursue me. That he would not exert influence over my future decisions.” She blinked rapidly, but tears fell.

Bears grunted. “Just as I thought.” He watched her for a few moments. “Think, miss. Think.”

She shook her head and sniffled.

“Why would Ewan still wait for you at the church today?” Bears’ deep-brown eyes were filled with sincerity.

Jessamine closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she thought. Suddenly she gasped. “He’s giving me the choice, giving me the decision.”

Bears smiled. “Yes, miss. So you aren’t a porcupine after all.” He chuckled when she looked at him in confusion. “If I were to marry today, I would not be in a cold livery. I’d be readying my wedding finery.”

She gripped his arm. “Thank you, Bears. Thank you so much.” She spun, racing for the exit and home.

* * *

Ewan paced at the front of the church and ignored the smug smiles his brothers exchanged. “I ken I teased ye when ye were marryin’ …” His voice trailed away as he heaved out a deep breath as though attempting to relax himself. He ran a hand over his groomed beard and then through his trimmed hair.

“But ye never thought ye’d be fortunate enough to marry,” Alistair said with a smile. “I willna tempt ye with a dram of whiskey, the way ye did me.”

“Quit ruining your clothes,” Cailean said as Ewan tugged at the uncomfortable suit jacket.

Ewan dropped his hands. “I hope she comes.”

Alistair and Ewan gave him curious glances, before shaking their heads and smiling. Soon all the guests were settled in the pews, but the bride was still missing. Ewan stared at the church entrance with such intensity as though attempting to conjure her appearance through sheer force of will.

Just as he turned away to speak with his brothers about canceling the wedding, the door creaked open. He spun to face the entrance to find Warren entering with Jessamine on his arm. Ewan sucked in a deep breath at the sight of her in a cream-colored dress with a bustle at the back and lace on the collar and wrists. Her red hair was loose over her shoulders.

Warren whispered something in her ear, and then closed and barred the door behind him. As they walked up the aisle, a pounding at the front of the church was heard, and Ewan saw Warren murmuring something to the crowd that elicited laughter.

“There must always be a spectacle with a MacKinnon wedding,” said someone near the front in a carrying voice, causing Ewan to smile. He shared a glance with Alistair, and then he focused all his attention on Jessamine.

He frowned when he saw her reddened eyes. When she finally reached him, he traced a finger under one of her eyes and whispered, “Forgive me, my love.”

She shook her head and smiled joyously. “No, my darling, we are together.” She jolted as a resounding crash sounded at the front of the church. “That will be my father, attempting to gain entrance.”

Ewan laughed. “I wouldn’t expect him to back down without a fight.”

The pastor stood in front of them and began the ceremony, pausing as the church door burst open. He glared at Mr. Abbott as he marched down the aisle. “You are indecent, sir. This is an honorable ceremony.”

Jessamine’s father waved the paper over his head. “I have a contract stating that he will not pursue her. That he will forego her!”

Jessamine laughed. “You were outsmarted by the town gambler, Father. Your contract says that he will not pursue me and that he will not influence my decisions. However, it says nothing about me pursuing him. Please desist in interrupting our wedding.”

She watched as Frederick Tompkins and Warren hauled her father out of the church and then propped up the splintered door. Jessamine faced Ewan with a resplendent smile. “Shall we?”

“Oh, we shall, my love,” he murmured as he squeezed her hand and faced the pastor.

* * *

Ewan stood next to Jessamine, his smile both delighted and holding a warning to the townsfolk. He hoped they understood that Jessamine was a MacKinnon now. He would brook no disrespect of his bride. Although some appeared nervous to approach her, most were delighted and slapped him on his back. The majority were happy that the reporter’s wedding to the last MacKinnon male was as entertaining as anything she had printed in her newspaper.

Ewan held up his hands and whistled for attention. He beamed at the crowd of townsfolk gathered in the Odd Fellows Hall to celebrate his wedding. “I want to begin by thankin’ all of ye for comin’ today to celebrate our weddin’. ’Tis a fine thing to see so many of our friends together, and I canna tell ye how much it means to have ye with us today.”

He gripped Jessamine’s hand. “Jessie an’ I would also like to thank the MacKinnons for their support as they helped us prepare for our weddin’.”

Someone called out, “And in such haste!”

He laughed and pulled Jessamine closer to his side. “If ye had any sense, Olaf, ye’d find yerself a good woman an’ marry her afore she kens better.” He felt Jessamine’s body shake with her giggles, and he squeezed her hand.

Jessamine added in a loud voice, “We hope you’ll enjoy the celebration, and we thank you for celebrating with us.” She ignored the surprised looks as she spoke, refusing to remain mute beside her husband.

When the MacKinnons surrounded them to give them hugs and to congratulate them, the townsfolk broke into small groups, and a low, murmuring hum was heard throughout the room. Soon a small group of musicians began to play, drowning out the wild speculation as to the hastily arranged marriage.

Irene and Harold pushed their way to the front of those congratulating the newlyweds. “We couldn’t be more delighted for you,” Irene said. “And you must come by the café and explain what truly transpired at the church today.” She waited until Jessamine nodded. “Although we won’t expect you for a few days.”

Ewan laughed as Jessamine blushed.

Harold nodded as he gave Jessamine a hug, then turned to Ewan with a smile. “I told you the fall was a time for great change.” His expression sobered. “No more of your wild ways, young man. Treat her well.”

Ewan laughed and nodded. “I’ve no need of those ways now, ye ken.” He laughed harder as Irene batted him on his arm at his impertinence.

“Now there will be no talk of a chivaree,” Irene said as she tapped her husband on his arm. His disgruntled moan met her glare. “The young ones have thrown a wonderful party, and that should suffice for the townsfolk. When they leave, you must let them be.”

Harold grumbled but nodded. “Fine, Irene. But that means you can’t stop me from having another glass of punch!” He laughed with glee as she shook her head in consternation at him as he walked toward the drink area where the majority of the men had congregated.

“What did she mean by a chivaree?” Jessamine asked Ewan, her brows furrowed in confusion. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s when the townsfolk come by after you’ve settled in for the evening on your wedding night, demanding food and drink,” Irene explained. “The newlyweds are expected to interrupt their … activities and attend to their uninvited guests. The carousing can last long into the night.”

Ewan growled his displeasure. “I dinna want any unwanted visitors tonight, Irene.”

She smiled and squeezed his arm. “I know, dear. It’s why Harold is over there talking with the men, informing them that they must enjoy themselves here and leave you alone. Few would countermand him.”

“Why is he no’ mayor?” Ewan asked.

Irene laughed. “Oh, he prefers telling others what to do without the weight of responsibility that comes with such a position.” Her smiled broadened as she saw her grandson. “Frederick! What a surprise to see you in town today. I didn’t know you’d be here until I saw you in church at the ceremony.”

Frederick Tompkins stood nearly a foot taller than his grandmother, but he bent to her will as he swooped down and kissed her cheek. He held a wide-brimmed hat in his hands, and his black hair was disheveled. “We needed supplies, and there was a break in the weather.” He nodded to the newlyweds. “Congratulations. You’ll be happy, I’m sure.”

Jessamine fought a giggle. “Please don’t sound so certain, Mr. Tompkins. And thank you for your help earlier with my father.”

“You’re welcome.” His lips curled up at the corner, but he failed to fully smile. “I’ve yet to see the need for marriage, but I do wish you all happiness.” He nodded again and turned away to join his grandfather.

Irene huffed out a breath as she watched him depart. “I swear I’ll never understand that boy. He’s growing too content with his own company on the ranch.” She shook her head and forced a smile. “But that’s a concern for another day. Congratulations, my dears. I wish you every joy.” She squeezed their arms. “I must ensure those without sense understand your need to marry when a certain member of our esteemed town is absent.” She headed to the food tables, calling out to friends and acquaintances.

Ewan laughed as Jessamine shook her head. “I could never match her for strategy,” she whispered.

“She’s as cunning as they come but serves it all with a warm meal and a smile, so ye dinna ken how much ye’ve been manipulated.” He watched as the smiles in their direction became more genuine and less filled with intrigue.

Alistair and Cailean approached with glasses of punch in their hands. They attempted to block their view of the doorway, but Ewan frowned as he saw a disturbance there.

“What’s goin’ on?” He nodded to the door.

Alistair sighed. “We’d hoped to spare ye.” He frowned as he met Jessamine’s worried look. “Yer father showed up an’ wanted to cause problems. He’s bein’ shown the door.”

She gasped. “He won’t like that.”

Cailean smiled at an acquaintance. “No, but Warren is with him, and you know how persuasive he can be. Seems yer father dinna like being tricked by that contract.” He shared a look with his youngest brother, and Ewan nodded his understanding.

“Well, ye should ken better than to make an agreement with a gambler.” Ewan nodded to Warren who now stood near the door as though ensuring her father did not attempt to reenter. “An’ Warren writes contracts that can make yer head spin if ye dinna ken what ye’re about.”

Cailean smiled. “He’s a lawyer. As long as he advised Mr. Abbott that he was representing you?” Ewan nodded at Cailean’s question, and Cailean relaxed. “Then Mr. Abbott will have to be disappointed that he was outmaneuvered.”

“Aye,” Ewan said before he focused on his wife. “Come. Dance with me afore I twirl ye out the back door.”

She giggled, her concern about her father forgotten, before her eyes widened. “You’re serious? We can’t sneak out of our own wedding celebration. It would be scandalous!”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Aye. An’ few expect any less than that from me.” He laughed as she shrieked when he spun her into a fast twirl, joining the dancers on the floor.

* * *

Helen Jameson stood with her shoulders straight and a blank expression on her face as she watched Ewan and his bride twirl around the dance floor. Helen ignored the pitying stares cast in her direction and stiffened her jaw as her brother snickered.

“Seems you’ll always be the pathetic one in the family. Too fat and stupid to amount to much,” her brother, Walter, sneered as he leaned against the wall on one shoulder, gazing out at the crowd, while also keeping an eye on his sister. He preened as he saw her stiffen at his barb.

“It’s amazing that one such as you ever thought that you’d amount to anything. You’re pathetic, and you’ll never be important to anyone.” He nodded to a woman across the room, hitching a thumb in his new sky-blue waistcoat.

“I am more than what you think of me.” Her breaths emerged as shallow puffs. “I will not always be around for you to abuse.”

He snickered. “No one will marry you, sister. Haven’t you learned that after three MacKinnons have married other women? Not even your pathetic attempts at throwing yourself at them could induce them to marry you.” His gaze raked over her. “And it isn’t hard to see why.”

“How dare you!” she snapped as she spun to face him. “I’m your sister. You should protect me and care for me.”

He shook his head. “No. You are nothing to me. You never have been, and you never will be.” He laughed as he looked out at the dance floor. “Look. It seems not even that lawyer wants you anymore.”

She turned to face the dance floor and clamped her jaw tightly closed as she saw Warren laugh at something Sorcha MacKinnon said while he held her close in his arms. Although she attempted to refrain from showing any expression, Helen knew she had failed when she flinched at her brother’s mocking laugh.

“You’ll lose another one to a MacKinnon.” He shook his head in disgust. “I told Mama not to go to Helena, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Helen froze. “She went because our cousin is ill.” She shivered when her brother moved closer and whispered in her ear.

“No, darling sister, she went to convince him to come to town and to marry you. And you know Mother. She can be quite persuasive.” He chuckled as she tensed at his words. “Enjoy the party.” He pushed off from the wall beside her and sauntered into the room.

She blinked away tears, her desolation magnifying with every turn around the ballroom that Warren made with Sorcha MacKinnon in his arms.

* * *

Ewan clutched Jessamine’s hand as he led her to their house. Soft light shone through the front windows, and he swooped her up into his arms after opening the front door. He kicked it shut behind him and set her down. Curtains hung across the windows, and a few pieces of furniture sat in the large room that served as the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

“I hope ye dinna mind that it’s open. I liked catchin’ the light at various times of day, and a wall separatin’ the dining area from the livin’ room would have made it dark.”

She shook her head as she traced a hand over the worn green velvet of the settee. “I love it. It’s ours.”

She smiled at him, and his breath caught at the wonder and joy in her gaze.

“We can make this our home, with little mementos.”

He tugged her to sit next to him on the settee. “Can ye forgive me?” He traced his fingers over her cheek.

She took a deep breath and laced the fingers of one hand with his. “Why do such a thing and not tell me? You had to have known how much it would hurt me. I was so confused.”

Ewan cupped his palm to her face and stared deeply into her beautiful cognac-colored eyes. “I dinna ken what I would do should yer da confront me, until he visited yesterday. He came here, filled with insults and this superiority over ye. Over me.” He flushed. “An’ I wanted to find a way to humiliate him.” His thumb rubbed over her cheek. “I’m sorry to have hurt ye. To have caused ye to doubt me.”

She nodded. “I cried all night.”

“Oh, Jessie. Ye ken I love ye. Ye an’ no other.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “If we dinna receive a penny of his money, that is fine.”

“Why did you care about his money?” She ran her free hand through his trimmed beard.

“I hated that he thought ye expendable. That because ye were a woman, a daughter, that ye had little worth. I wanted ye to receive part of what was yer due.” His eyes glimmered with anger. “He stole yer childhood. Yer joy. Yer mother.” He let out a deep breath. “I wanted him to pay something for what he’d done.”

“Oh, Ewan,” she whispered. “He almost won. When I read that contract, all I saw was your deceit. I didn’t understand what was written.”

“When did ye understand?”

“I went to the livery this morning. I wanted to rent a horse to escape town and my father.” She held fingers to his lips and shook her head. “I spoke with Bears. He helped me understand what I had been too blind to see.”

“What was that?” he asked as he kissed her fingers.

“That you gave me the freedom to fully choose what I wanted. What I needed.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “That you never intended to abandon me for money.”

“Never,” he growled as he pulled her close. “Ye are more precious than any amount of gold.”

She clung to him for a few moments. “Show me the rest of our home, my love.”

“Aye,” he whispered. He grabbed her hand as he stood. “I ken ye’ll want to continue to work at the print shop, an’ that does no’ bother me. But I ken ye often work late at night, craftin’ yer tales.” He smiled as he opened the door to a small front room off the main living area. “I thought ye could use this as an office. ’Tisn’t a bad view.”

She curled into his arms after she beheld a desk sitting in front of the window with paper, pens, and a dictionary set out as though waiting for her. “Oh, Ewan.”

“I ken ye love yer work, but I hoped ye’d work where I could be with ye,” he whispered.

She cupped his face. “Thank you. And you are always welcome at the print shop.” She caressed his cheek. “What’s in the other rooms?” She smiled as his gaze darkened with passion.

“Come,” he whispered. After showing her a small room with a single bed set up for a guest, he led her to the bigger back bedroom with a large bed with an iron headboard. A bureau with a bouquet of dried flowers was against one wall with a lantern gently illuminating the room, while curtains covered the back windows. “I wanted this space for us, aye? The view in the morning is beautiful. And ’tis quieter here in the back of the house.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Oh, Ewan,” she whispered. “I love you. Thank you for building this home for us. For preparing it tonight for us.” She squealed as he spun them, and she landed with her back against the bed with him alongside her.

“I love ye, Jessie. Ye an’ no other,” he whispered as he caressed a finger down her cheek. He kissed her, groaning as she pushed him back and leaned over him. Her small hands ran through his hair and beard before loosening his tie. She backed away, her breath emerging in pants as she tugged off his tie and then freed the buttons on his waistcoat.

He chuckled, pushing off his waistcoat and tossing it on the floor before working on the buttons on the front of her dress. He growled when her dress remained as tightly fastened as before, even with the loosened buttons.

“You have to unhook me from behind. Those are merely decorative.” She hopped down from the bed and stood between his legs, facing away from him as he undid the small buttons down her back. His fingers caressed her exposed flesh, and she shivered at his touch. She giggled when his beard rasped over her bared skin as he kissed down her spine.

When her dress gaped open, he pushed it down her hips, unceremoniously dropping her wedding gown to the floor and turning her to face him. She crawled onto his lap, her lips meeting his for a deep kiss as his fingers dug through her fiery hair.

After many minutes he lifted her chemise and then loosened her corset. After helping her out of the rest of her clothes, he rolled until she lay on the bed. He heaved himself up, peppering kisses along her arm, belly, and leg until he stood long enough to shuck his pants.

He paused before joining her in their bed, his gaze glowing at the love and joy in her eyes. “I promise to love ye and no other until I take my last breath.” He crawled onto the bed, his warm touch eliciting a gasp from her.

“And I you, my love,” she whispered before tugging him down for another drugging kiss.