The Gray Dove

Even before he opened his eyes, Luke Morgan knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd died and gone to heaven. After six weeks on a cattle drive, eating dust and sleeping in a bedroll at night, he realized that his belly was full and he was lying in a soft bed on top of the woman who had occupied his thoughts for the last four years, with his head pillowed on her warm, inviting breasts. Life could not possibly get any better.

Raising his head, he smiled as his eyes took in her face. He realized that he'd never seen her asleep and felt a deep tenderness stir at the sight of her relaxed features. For the thousandth time since he'd known her, Luke thought that the man who'd thrown this sweet, beautiful girl away, when he could have had the privilege of waking up in the same bed with her every day, was the biggest fool who'd ever walked the face of the earth.

Glancing at the clock on the mantle, Luke was happy to see that it was only ten thirty. While he was physically satisfied, he had a lot on his mind and a lot to talk over with Jessie. Therefore, he was happy to see her eyelids flutter and then crack open and a soft, sleepy smile grace her face.

"Hey there, Cowboy," she sighed, sliding her arms around his neck and nuzzling his lips.

Using every last bit of self control he had, Luke rolled off Jessie and settled on his back next to her. She immediately curled up on her side against him, snaking her arm across his chest as he wrapped both of his around her and held her close. Luke looked down at her and pulled the covers up over them both, enjoying the softness of the fine bedding against his skin. He loved this bed, it was soft and comfortable and held the woman that he loved. He'd had some of the happiest moments of his life here, and he was going to miss it.

"Jessie? Darlin', are you still awake?" he asked, stroking the hair away from her cheek.

"Mmmm hmmmm. Wide awake," she sighed in a sleepy voice that contradicted her words. "You ready for another ride, Cowboy?"

Chuckling, he pressed his lips against her forehead before he answered.

"I'm always ready for that, sweetheart, but not this moment. I need to talk to you about something. Something that I didn't tell you over dinner."

Sensing the change in his tone, Jessie came fully awake and looked up at him, then propped herself up on one elbow, snuggling even closer.

"What is it, Luke?" she asked, searching his eyes with hers. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I just need to talk to you, darlin'. You know that I've been saving for a spread of my own, saving for the last ten years, don't you Jessie?" he began, playing with a long strand of her auburn hair in a distracted manner. "Well, it looks like I've found a place."

"Oh, Luke that's wonderful! You've worked so hard for so long, I can't tell you how happy I am for you!" Jessie smiled, her eyes sparkling. She knew how much Luke had wanted his own ranch. She knew what it was like to save every cent you made, in hopes of it affording a good life someday. She was genuinely happy for him, happy to see that dream coming true. He had worked hard for it and he deserved it. "Where's it at? Is it around Carson City?"

Luke soberly shook his head, and looked into her eyes.

"Do you remember me telling you about my brother, Matt? The one who works on the big spread in Montana? Well, the rancher he works for is selling off some of his land, and he gave Matt first chance at it. He decided to sell enough that Matt, another brother Josh and I decided to combine our money and have a real good sized spread. We thought it'd be easier making a go of it as a family proposition, instead of the three of us by ourselves," Luke said, watching her face carefully. "It's outside of a town called Kalispell."

As Jessie listened to Luke speak, she knew that she had broken one of the basic rules that saloon girls tried to live by. She knew then and there that she had fallen in love with Lucas Morgan because she felt her heart shattering in a hundred pieces.

"Kalispell," she replied woodenly. "That's nice, that's very nice. I'm very happy for you, Luke. I know it's what you've always wanted."

"Matt says the land's good for grazing and there's plenty of room for us to raise enough crops to get us through the year. And he says it's real pretty there, with mountains all around and lakes and streams for irrigation and fishing. It sounds like an ideal setup. Josh and his wife are already on their way there from Dakota Territory and," Luke cupped her cheek in his hand, "I'll be leaving in a week to join them."

"A week," Jessie whispered. She grew silent and dropped her gaze from his, her fingers unconsciously caressing the soft hairs on his chest. It made sense now. The desire for an all nighter wasn't to celebrate the end of a cattle drive. It was to say goodbye.

"It all sounds wonderful for you, Luke. I know that your brothers and you will make the place into a fine ranch," she said quietly. Then, lifting her eyes back to his, she said it out loud. "So, this is good bye, then."

"I hope not Jessie. I don't want it to be," the cowboy said, gripping her shoulders. "There's something else that I wanted to tell you tonight. I wanted to tell you that ever since I met you, you're always on my mind. I think about you day and night and count the weeks between trips to Reno. I've been with a fair share of women n my life, but ever since I met you, they just all faded from my memory. I won't lie to you, I've spent time in a few other saloons along the trail in the last few years, but none of those girls could hold a candle to you. And for the last year you're the only woman I've been with. I'm in love with you, Jessie. I think I have been since the first night I saw you. And I'd like for you to come to Montana with me. I want you to marry me, Jessie. To be my wife."

Jessie stared at Luke Morgan with a blank expression her face, and then without warning leapt from the bed. Her only instinct was to cover herself, beyond that, her thoughts were in such turmoil that she couldn't even begin to think straight. She grabbed the pink night gown from the floor and pulled it over her head and then slipped her arms into the flimsy negligee, trying to regain control over limbs that were shaking so badly that she could barely hold onto the thin fabric.

"Jessie." Luke was standing behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and trying to turn her around.

"Luke, you don't know what you're saying," Jessie said, yanking her shoulders free and crossing over to the window, staring out of it blankly. "Men don't marry women like me. You want to marry a woman who you can be proud of, who you can introduce to people and hold your head high. I'd only bring shame to you, Luke."

"Jessie, Montana's a long way from Reno. No one will know you there; it'll be that fresh start that you've always said you wanted. Isn't that what you always told me? That you were saving your money to buy a place of your own sometime, far away from this town?"

"Luke, don't you understand?" Jessie cried, whirling and facing him. "How could I ever start fresh with you when you know what I am?! I'm a whore, Luke. A Whore! "

"Jessie, that's only what you do, not what you are," he said, firmly gripping her shoulders and this time not letting go. "I want to tell you about my brother Josh's wife, Nancy. She was married when she was fifteen years old, to a man twenty years older than her who was a drunk. He beat her every day that they were married, Jessie, for four long years. Finally, one night she couldn't take it anymore and when he went after her she grabbed a gun and shot him. She sat in jail for four months and, with Josh being a deputy, he spent a lot of time with her and got to know her. After it was all said and done, she was acquitted and Josh had fallen in love with her. Even though the jury hadn't convicted her, the people in that town had. Enough of them felt that she'd gotten away with murder, even though the man was a worthless,brutal drunk, that they made her life miserable. They made it clear to Josh that his career as a deputy was over if he chose to keep company with her. He resigned, married Nancy and they moved out of that place to start over together."

"But Luke, what happened to her wasn't her fault. It's not the same thing at all," Jessie began, trying to make him see reason.

"Jessie, it's exactly the same thing! She was put in a terrible situation through no fault of her own and she did the only thing that she felt she could. You were given to a man when you were much too young and he was a damn fool not to hold onto you with everything he had! When he left you here, you had no one to turn to but Miss Lorraine. And, because of that, you couldn't get a job anywhere else. You did the best you could with the cards you were dealt, Darlin', and no one can fault you for that."

Jessie's eyes were filled with tears at his gentle words and tender tone. Hear heart ached to believe him, to reach out and take what he was offering, but she had felt like nothing for so long that she didn't know how.

"You deserve so much more, Luke," she whispered, reaching up to lay her hand against his cheek.

"You've got that backwards, honey. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. The life that I'm asking you to lead will be a hard one in a lot of ways, Jessie. Matt, Josh and I will make sure there's a roof over our heads, but it's going to be a lot of hard work for you and Nancy at first. There'll be tending chickens and milk cows and other livestock that provide food for us. The two of you will have to tend a garden and put up food in the summer and, more than likely, make most of your own clothes for a while. From what Matt says, the land's quite a ways away from Kalispell so you won't be able to make a quick trip to town when you need something. But I know these are all things that you could do, if you were a mind to. I know you Jessie, and I know that it's in you be the best kind of wife that a man could ask for."

At his last words, Jessie suddenly heard Jack Pierce's voice as if he were standing next to her.

"You'll have my sons, you'll take care of them and raise them. That's what a good wife does."

Dropping her hand, she once again turned away.

"I could never be a good wife to you, Luke. A man needs a wife that he can raise a family with. Who can give him children; sons to help him work the ranch and then, one day, pass it on to. You deserve that kind of wife, Luke," she said, her voice and eyes hollow. "Not a barren whore who you'd just end up despising."

Luke looked at the woman standing in front of him and his heart broke at the expression on her face. As he had thought about this evening, he knew that he would have a hard time convincing her to come with him. He knew that both the bastard who'd been her husband and the life that she'd led at the Gray Dove had combined to make her feel unworthy of ever finding happiness with a man. But he truly thought that he'd be able to reason with her. He didn't even have to wonder if she loved him, because if she didn't, she wouldn't have the look of utter devastation on her face that she did right now. Luke Morgan felt all his dreams slipping away from him as he looked down at her sweet, sad face.

"Jessie, I could never despise you," he said, guiding her across the room and sitting down in a chair by the bed, pulling her limp, unresisting form onto his lap. "I love you, Darlin'. I have since the moment I met you, and I will till I take my last breath. And if the only way that I can have you is the way we've done things in the past, then that'll have to be good enough for me."

"What are you talking about, Luke?" Jessie whispered, finally raising her gaze to his once more. "Montana is hundreds of miles away. You won't be coming through Reno again."

"No, Jessie. If you won't come with me then I'll send my share of the money to Matt and Josh and stay here. I know Mr. Hayes was sorry to see me go, so I know he'll be happy to keep me on at the ranch in Carson City."

"No, Luke, you can't do that! You've dreamed of this for years, you can't throw it all away on me!" Jessie said, stunned at what he was saying.

"I have dreamed of it, for a long, long time. But it wouldn't mean a thing without you, Jessie. I don't have to have all these sons that you seem so determined that I need. Josh and Nancy already have three kids and Matt's getting hitched next month. There'll be plenty of offspring running around the place. And I can live without having a place of my own. I've had a good life working at the Hayes ranch and might end up as the foreman there someday. I won't feel like I'm throwing anything away if it means that I'm still able to see you and spend as much time with you as I can. You're worth it, darlin'. A man only gets one life, Jessie, and I won't live mine without you."

Jessie's eyes welled with tears at the gentle sincerity of his words, overwhelmed not only at what he had offered her but by what he was willing to give up for her. She felt something that she'd not felt in years begin to grow in her. She felt a sense of hope.

Seeing the conflicting emotions in her eyes, Luke saw the sudden uncertainty playing across her face and decided to try one last time. He KNEW, in his heart of hearts, that she wanted to go with him but was afraid. Afraid of hurting him, afraid that she would somehow disappoint him and, maybe the biggest fear of all, afraid to believe that she deserved the happiness that he was offering her. Cupping her chin in his hand, he tilted her face up to within inches of his.

"Darlin', I'm asking you one last time. Come with me, Jess. Let's go to Montana, together. Let's make a life for ourselves, TOGETHER. I know you want to, honey, I KNOW it. All you have to do is say yes," he said urgently.

And he saw it. He saw the struggle cease and the pain and uncertainty slowly disappear. He saw the love in her eyes, shimmering bright beneath her tears, and for the first time since he'd known her, he saw a smile of pure, unadulterated joy spread across her face. It was like watching the dawn breaking on a new day, and Jessie was resplendent in its glow.

"Yes," she whispered, her voice shaking with emotion as she nodded her head. "Yes, Luke, I'll go with you and yes, I'll marry you. I'll be as good a wife as I'm able, and I'll do everything in my power to make you happy. I love you, Luke, I love you so much!"

The last was a combination sob and laugh as she threw her arms around his neck and began to kiss him, tears streaming down her face while he crushed her to his chest. When she finally broke away from him, her heart was full to bursting. In all their times together, Jessie had never seen anything close to the happiness that she saw on her Cowboy's face at this moment, and the thought that she put it there with one, simple word was more than she could comprehend.

Finally, as her emotions settled a bit, Jessie became cognizant of her surroundings once again and began to giggle as she wiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"And just what are you tickled about, Miss Jessie?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It may be just as well that we don't have any little ones. It'd be hard to explain to them how their Papa proposed to me while he was as naked as a jaybird" she continued to giggle.

Luke became aware that he had just given the most impassioned speech of his life without the benefit of a stitch of clothing. A broad grin spread across his face and he joined her giggles with a chuckle or two of his own. The humor slowly faded as he also became aware that this beautiful woman, this woman who had just promised to spend the rest of her life with him, was curled up on his lap, the skin of her long legs pressed against his where the nightgown had hiked up, and the warm flesh of her hip pressed against his suddenly alert cock.

"Now you know, darlin', it's not very ladylike to make a gentleman feel like he's not dressed proper," he said, his eyes filling with desire. "I think you ought to join me by showing me your birthday suit again."

Jessie lifted her arms as Luke drew the gown over her head, and watched his face as his hands slid down her back and over her thighs. It was clear that he was enjoying having his lap filled with a warm, naked woman, and she felt his cock become even more firm against her hip. She wasn't surprised when, seconds later, he scooped her into his arms and carried her across the room to the bed.

Laying her down he joined her, laying on his side against her as his hand roamed over her skin. Glancing at the clock, he looked back at her and smiled, lowering his head to hers and indulging in a long, slow kiss.

"Now, look at that, it's not even midnight. Do you know what my plans are for the rest of the night, Miss Jessie?" he asked after he broke the kiss.

"Please, Cowboy. Do tell," she teased, running her fingers through the hair on his chest.

"I aim to spend the whole night making love to my future wife," he said, rolling on top of her.

Luke was as good as his word. That night the two explored and caressed each other as if it were their first time together. Learning every hill and valley of the other's body, using both their hands and mouths. They joined over and over, legs wrapped around hips, chests touching, long wet kisses exchanged; they were insatiable. At 2AM, the girls were escorting the last of the customers out, when they passed Jessie's room and heard banging against the wall mixed with Jessie's voice crying out "Harder, Cowboy, harder!". They all exchanged winks and laughter, knowing that it must be Luke. At 4AM, Miss Lorraine awoke, thinking she heard someone rattling the front doors. All checked secure, but she heard the vigorous squeak of bedsprings and familiar grunts still going strong in Jessie's room, and raised her eyebrows in amazement. And, at 6AM, as he was on his way to the bathing room to empty and clean the tin tubs, Billy heard the unmistakable sound of skin slapping against skin combined with several high pitched squeals of pleasure. All in all, Luke really did make it an all nighter.

Around ten, the girls were gathered in the kitchen having breakfast, when they burst into giggles as Jessie came in, leading an exhausted but happy cowboy by the hand. Lorraine Harrison took one look at Jessie's glowing face and knew she had just lost one of her best girls. Jessie and Luke confirmed it with an official announcement a few moments later and Lorraine couldn't have been happier. She knew that Jessie had never been intended for this kind of life and was glad that she had found a good man to love and appreciate her.

That night had been Jessie's last night as a working girl at the saloon. The next few days were spent getting together an adequate wardrobe for the new kind of life she would be leading and getting her finances in order, while Luke returned to the Hayes ranch to pick up his final wages and bid his employer good bye. Jessie was satisfied as she looked over her bank account, knowing that the impressive sum would go a long way towards purchasing necessities for the ranch. She was thankful to Miss Lorraine for not only being generous with her wages over the years, but in showing her how to invest her money wisely. It made Jessie feel that she had something of substance to contribute to the marriage and she found that very satisfying.

A week after he'd asked her to marry him, Jessie McCallister and Lucas Morgan stood in the parlor of the Justice of the Peace in Reno, Nevada and exchanged vows to love and honor each other for as long as they lived. The Justice of the Peace was in the unusual position of presiding over the marriage of a girl whom he'd bedded at least once a month for the last five years, however he managed to perform the service with the solemnity and reverence that the two young people deserved. The only witnesses were Lorraine Harris and Luke's former boss, Wally Hayes.