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It was a surprisingly warm day for the end of January in Texas. Emma stood dressed in her expensive white Worth wedding gown and waited for the minister to declare that she and Tommy Benton were husband and wife.

Tommy grinned at her, then made a face of boredom, and Emma nearly laughed out loud.

At twenty-seven, she supposed that they should take their wedding day with a degree more seriousness.

But that wasn’t her nature. Life should be one good time followed by another.

At least, that was how she’d always seen it—and lived it.

Nine years ago, when the chance to leave Cheyenne for her married sister’s ranch in Texas came up, Emma had jumped at it.

Some folks in Cheyenne weren’t overly fond of her.

There were quite a few who’d had their toes stepped on by Emma, and some who bore worse than that.

Leaving the area was the perfect solution after breaking her engagement to a local boy in order to take up with another man—a man who soon afterward deserted her.

It gave her an easy way to avoid all the folks who thought her worthless and difficult.

Besides, her sister, Clara, wasn’t overly demanding.

She needed help with her children, and the children enjoyed having fun.

Emma was just the right person for rowdy games and horse races.

As the children grew up and attended school, Emma had more free time.

This allowed her to escape the boredom of the ranch and do what she wanted to do.

Clara was usually far too busy with her responsibilities to worry about monitoring her little sister’s actions.

Emma did just enough to satisfy Clara and give her the relief she needed, and in turn Clara kept her mouth shut when Emma took off on one of her escapades. It was a good arrangement, one that had allowed her to meet Thomas Benton, the youngest of four wealthy Benton brothers, the previous January.

Tommy was sweet—more boy than man. He loved having fun just as much as Emma.

He agreed with her philosophy of there being plenty of time to focus on religion when old age was upon them.

Youth was supposed to be spent exploring options and opportunities.

It was no wonder most adults were sullen and serious all the time.

And many were still all bound up by religious rules from the minute they struck out on their own.

Emma considered herself lucky to have figured out that such things were a waste of time.

She glanced sideways and saw her father and stepmother.

They didn’t look all that happy. Goodness, she’d maintained her purity and given them a church wedding, they should be delighted, especially after years of worrying about her moral standings.

Her father and mother had never accounted for Emma having her own standards—standards that she had refused to yield on no matter how persuasive Tommy had been.

That was the reason for the wedding. Emma might love a life free of rules and regulations, but when it came to the physical aspects of love, she was quite guarded.

She’d heard far too many horror stories about women who allowed themselves to be com promised.

Then, too, she had to look no further than her sister to see what a life of marriage and motherhood did to a woman’s spirit.

Clara said she was happy, but, goodness, she never got to do much of anything but see to household duties and child care.

Frankly, Emma hoped she never had children.

Tommy didn’t care about having them either.

He said maybe later, in another ten years or so.

Maybe by then Emma would be ready for them as well.

Still, being married would put them at risk of that coming sooner rather than later.

It was the only real reason Emma had hesitated when Tommy begged her to marry him.

Tommy was saying something, so Emma turned her attention back to the wedding. With the heat, she just wished they’d conclude with the ceremony. Worth gowns were beautiful creations, and this one was no exception, but it was hot, and a simple cotton dress would have suited her better.

Tommy took hold of her hand. “With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship. With all my worldly goods, I thee endow. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” Tommy slipped the ring on her finger.

Emma was impressed with the ring they’d chosen.

Tommy had insisted on sparing no expense, and given that he’d inherited a hefty sum of money the previous year, he could afford the best. Diamonds and sapphires set against gold.

She’d never owned anything like it, and Tommy had given her plenty of jewelry.

One thing about Tommy, he was more than generous with his money.

Emma glanced up and met his gaze. This marriage was going to be a happy one.

They were good at finding things to do, and marriage would open up even more doors to good times.

The minister, an ancient old man who headed up a church Emma and Tommy didn’t attend but had given a large tithe to, pronounced them husband and wife. Tommy pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly.

“Well, I’m glad to know that you can keep your word to someone,” a feminine voice called out.

Tommy pulled away, and Emma turned to see who was speaking. A woman gowned in black with a heavy veil moved down the aisle toward them. Emma looked at Tommy, who had gone as white as a ghost.

The woman lifted her veil and smiled. “I don’t suppose you expected to see me today, did you now, Tommy?”

“Stella.” He barely whispered her name.

“That’s right. Stella.” The petite blond woman looked at him for a long moment, then turned to Emma. “Did he tell you he’d love you forever? Sweet talk you into doing things you swore you’d never do? Did you lose your innocence to him and then find yourself in a bad way?”

“Young woman, this is the House of God,” the minister protested.

“Well, that’s why I’m here.” She turned back to Tommy. “You took my innocence, all while promising to marry me. Now I’m carrying your baby, and you’ve married another.”

Emma wanted to do something ... anything, but found herself frozen in place. Tommy turned back to her with a sad look of regret.

“It’d be best for all concerned if we just ended this family here and now.”

Confused by Stella’s statement, Emma looked back to her. Somehow, the young woman had produced a revolver and now aimed it at Tommy’s head.

When the gun went off and Tommy crumpled to the ground beside her, Emma still couldn’t move. She watched as Stella turned the gun on herself as several men rushed her. There was a scuffle, and the gun went off a second time before someone managed to get the piece away from her.

A woman screamed, and Emma turned to see that it was Rosie Benton. Tommy’s younger sister. Poor girl. Emma’s own family was pointing and starting to cry.

Several people rushed forward to where Tommy had fallen at Emma’s feet. For the first time she looked down and could see for herself that Stella’s aim had been true. The bullet had pierced Tommy’s left temple. Blood pooled around his head. His eyes were still open.

It was only as she studied her husband’s lifeless body that she saw the spread of red across the waist of her white wedding gown. For a moment it seemed unreal. Where had the blood come from?

Emma touched her stomach and realized a hot pain spread across her abdomen. The second bullet had struck her. She looked up to see her father rushing forward. Tommy’s brother Colton was right behind him. The men took hold of each of her arms as her knees gave out and the room went black.

It would seem Stella had claimed more than one victim.

“Emma, can you hear me? Emma, please wake up, darlin’.”

It was her father’s voice. Emma knew it well, and for just a moment she was back home on the ranch outside of Cheyenne. It was early morning, and Papa was urging her to get up.

He was always so cheerful as he called her and Clara. “Rise and shine, my darlins.”

Mama would be downstairs fixing breakfast and would send Papa up to wake Emma and her brother and sister.

Of course, Papa had been up since before dawn, getting a start on the ranch chores.

In the early years, he didn’t keep a staff, and Mama didn’t have any help with the house or meals.

It was just the family, and they all pitched in to help.

“Emma, please wake up.”

Fighting against the blackness, Emma struggled to open her eyes. Instead of finding her childhood bedroom, she found herself stretched out on a desk in a small office. Papa held her hand. His expression was grave. Another man seemed quite intent on cutting away her wedding gown.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Papa smiled down at her. “I feared I’d lost you.”

“What ... happened?”

She saw her sister crying into a handkerchief while their stepmother embraced her.

“You were shot, Em. The doctor isn’t sure how bad it is, but you’re losing blood.”

Her father’s words made no sense. Shot? Then the memory of the wedding flooded back in such a rush that Emma tried to sit up.

“Tommy!”

“Stay still, Mrs. Benton.” This from the man who had destroyed her wedding gown. Well, she supposed the bullet had actually done that deed.

“I want to see Emma!” a woman all but screamed from somewhere outside the small room. “Emma!”

“Rosie.” Emma had grown quite close to the younger woman. “Let her come to me.”

Her father shook his head. “The doctor needs to stop you from bleeding to death. It would just upset her all the more to see you like this. I’ll go speak to her.”

Emma nodded at her father. “Please tell her I’m all right. Tell her I’ll see her very soon.”

“I will, Em. I will. You just stay still and let the doctor do what he needs to do.”

“I’d like to get her over to the hospital and into surgery. Better lighting and equipment.”