Wyoming Territory
April 1884
Leah trembled with anticipation as she paced beside the giant old oak and waited for her beau to arrive. They were going to run away tonight. They were going to get married and build a little cabin to live in as they started their lives together.
Leah sat down on a large gray boulder but her legs continued to bounce. Leah hated that she had to go against her mother and fathers wishes to marry Benjamin but they just wouldn't budge. They insisted that she was too young, he was too old and her father said that Benjamin was not the kind of husband a woman needed out here in the west.
He was too soft, too cultured, too gentle-natured to keep his wife and children safe from the harsh roughness that was life in this lawless land. Leah snorted as she stood back up and resumed her pacing.
Benjamin was perfect. Yes he was older than her seventeen years at thirty-one. Yes he was softer than her father. He smiled, laughed and had an easy going nature that put her at ease. Would he be able to protect her against the wild bands of outlaws that her father liked to bring up? Of course he would. He was smart enough to figure out a way to keep her safe. He loved her and she loved him.
She was certain her father was just blowing hot air when he spoke like that anyway. They had been living in this land for most of Leah's life and she had yet to see one single band of rough outlaws. The Indians hadn't been a threat in these parts for at least ten years and Leah knew that she and Benjamin would be just fine.
She imagined his red hair, soft blue eyes and freckled cheeks. The small gap between his front teeth that gave him a boyish appearance. He wasn't overly tall but he was six feet and he was broad and muscular enough that Leah didn't feel overly huge next to him despite the German blood running in her veins that had given her broad shoulders and a heavier build.
She went to the edge of the small stream and kicked a rock into it, watching the ripples dance across the surface of the water in the moonlight. Where was Benjamin? They had been supposed to meet here shortly after sunset and she had been waiting for what felt like forever. Then again patience had never been her strong point so who knew how long it had really been. Minutes tended to feel like hours whenever she had to wait for something.
The sound of an approaching horse reached her ears and she nearly cried out with happiness. Finally he was coming! Leah hurried to smooth out her plain light green gingham dress and tame the stray hairs that had come out of her bonnet. The only thing Benjamin ever asked of her was to try to always look her best. He vowed to her that he would always take care of everything else. She loved that man.
A sillouhette became visible in the moonlight and Leah realized with annoyance and slight panic that it wasn't her beloved but her annoying older brother Chance instead.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she pulled her coat tight around herself.
"I could ask you the same thing, you crazy idiot. Don't you know it's dangerous out here at night by yourself?"
"You and pa are always talking about how dangerous it is around here but you know what? I've never seen a real outlaw."
"Screw the outlaws. There's coyotes, snakes, mountain lions and all kinds of things that would see you as a nice tasty treat."
"I'm not completely stupid." Leah said with an impatient stomp of her foot. "I have a pistol in my pocket." Chance shook his head and spit on the ground next to his large brown horses hooves.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked more calmly.
"That's no concern of yours." Leah snapped.
"I'm taking you home, Leah."
"No you're not. I won't go. I refuse. Benjamin will be here soon and he'll keep me safe." Chance snorted with laughter.
"That man could keep you safe from a pissed off butterfly." Leah felt her face redden with anger and she stepped forward and punched her brother hard in the leg.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed.
"So what are you gonna do, Leah?" Chance asked as he rubbed at the knotted muscle his sisters punch had caused. "You gonna run off and marry a man with no experience on how to keep you safe out here, that's fourteen years your senior?"
"I love him!"
"You're too young to even know what love is!" Chance argued.
"I am not!" she argued, stomping her foot again.
"Have you even thought about what this will do to mama? You know how pa is! If you run off with Benjamin he'll never welcome you back!" Leah felt the first bits of doubt creeping in. Chance was right. She would never be welcomed back home if she did this.
She pushed the doubt away and squared her shoulders. She loved Benjamin and she was going to be his wife. That would never happen if she let her family have their say in the matter.
"It's my life, Chance. I'll have all I need with Benjamin." Chance was about to say something else when an approaching horse reached their ears. He put a hand on his gun and waited for the newcomer to show themselves.
"Benjamin!" Leah shouted happily when she saw her love coming toward them on a dapple gray mare.
"What's going on?" Benjamin asked as he eyed Chance who still hadn't taken his hand off of the gun on his hip.
"I think you should answer that. You mean to take my sister off and marry her against our father's will?"
"Leah's old enough to make the decision for herself." Benjamin replied as he slid off his horse and Leah ran to his arms.
"Yeah I guess she is. She's old enough to make a mistake that's gonna ruin her whole life. I've talked to her a million times, ma and pa have tried to talk to her too, but she just won't listen to us." Chance took his hand off his gun and grabbed the reins. "Enjoy your life, little sister, here's hoping you live to see it."
"Help me up, Benjamin." Leah said and Benjamin nodded and helped her into the saddle of her horse before walking to his own and climbing on.
"He's no good for you, Leah." Chance tried again. "You're too headstrong, too stubborn, too adventurous for a man like Benjamin." Benjamin glared at Chance but Chance knew the man wasn't actually brave enough to say anything.
"And the fact that you can insult the man I love is just one more reason why I have to leave." Leah stated and then she followed Benjamin off into the night. Chance gazed off into the dark long after his little sister had left his sight.
The hooting of an owl and the trickling of the stream beside him were the only sounds out here on the plains. Chance knew that Leah was making a mistake but the little brat was too stubborn to listen. She hadn't listened to anything her family had said in the last six months since meeting Benjamin. She had gone from a little tomboy to a woman hell-bent on marriage overnight and the other Gordon's in the house had been helpless to do anything to stop the transformation.
He let out a long tired breath, shook his head and turned his horse's head back toward home, knowing he'd have to share the bad news come morning.
***
"Your brother isn't very happy about this." Benjamin stated after a long time of silence as he and Leah rode side by side toward the tiny town of Billings. Leah shrugged one shoulder.
"They just don't understand what we have." she replied. "I want to be your wife."
"And I want to be your husband." Benjamin assured her, reaching for her gloved hand and taking it in his. "You are like the sunshine and me the flower. You are the wind and me the eagle. I've searched my whole life for someone like you."
Leah smiled. Benjamin was a poet of sorts. He always had romantic things to say that made her heart swell in her chest.
"When can we get married?" she asked.
"As soon as we can get someone to marry us. It will probably take a day or two."
"I can't wait!" Leah exclaimed. "You are all I've ever wanted!" Benjamin smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze.
Leah looked out over the moonlit plains, the lights of the town were now glowing and becoming visible in the distance, and she smiled. Her family did not know everything they thought they did.
Benjamin was the man for her. She was going to marry him. They would be happy and healthy. Life wasn't as hard as they tried to make it sound and this land wasn't dangerous. Everything was going to be just fine. Better than fine, it was going to be perfect!
No sooner had that thought crossed her a mind then a whistle pierced the night. Benjamin grabbed her reins and pulled her horse to a stop and Leah felt her heart start to pound as she heard the thundering of hooves and the snorting of horses.
Before she had time to realize they'd even been being followed she and Benjamin became completely surrounded by men with bandana covered faces and drawn revolvers.