Sam smiled at her.  It made him feel so good that she seemed to be bubbling with happiness.<br/><br/>“Yeah . . . we should Irene.  You can ruin a good thing without paper too.”  He winked at her.  “Just leave the shackles a little loose . . . all right?”<br/><br/>Sam moved to stand beside her.  He set his left hand on her hip as they listened to Mr. Hardy go through all the requirements and questions.  In the end it took but a few minutes, cost Sam two dollars, and had Irene apparently happy enough that Sam thought she might float up off the floor but for his hand on her hip.  The warmth of her body under his hand had him thinking other thoughts too but he suppressed them until they could be alone.<br/><br/>They signed the book and Mr. Hardy completed a Marriage License certificate and handed it to Sam in a stiff envelope.  Sam grinned broadly as he turned and kissed her.  As the brief kiss broke, he handed the envelope to Irene.<br/><br/>“You’ve got a place to keep this for us.  I’ve got a horse and saddle bags.”<br/><br/>He turned to Mr. Hardy and shook his hand as Misses Cruz walked up with three large ledgers.  She spoke in a warm pleasant tone as she set the books on the counter.<br/><br/>“Mr. Markham, Misses O’Rourke . . . congratulations.  Do you have a date set yet?”  She smiled at the two of them.<br/><br/>Sam answered, “Nope . . . not yet.  This is a rather recent decision and we’ve not gotten that far along with it yet.”  He looked at Irene and smiled at her as his hand discretely slid down her back and over the delicious curve of her ass.<br/><br/>“Well best wishes to both of you.”  She slid the books forward toward Sam.  “These are all the records regarding the O’Rourke property going back to the original Spanish land grant.  That’s probably more information than you need but it is complete.  I started in the most recent volume and worked my way back.  The little stubs of paper mark the pages of each entry.  I hope this will help you in your investigation.”<br/><br/>The woman smiled and looked at Irene as she spoke.  She nodded to Sam and handed him a card with the legal name of Irene’s ranch,  then stepped back and walked back to her desk.<br/><br/>Mr. Hardy motioned with his open hand to a table in the far front corner of the office.<br/><br/>“You may use that table to study these records.  Take all the time you need.  You may use this pen if you like and this paper to make your notes.”<br/><br/>Sam spoke in a voice loud enough for Misses Cruz and Hardy both to hear.<br/><br/>“Thank you both for your help . . . we are very appreciative.”<br/><br/>Sam grabbed the books and smiled at Irene as he started for the table.  In a quiet tone, just a little above a whisper he spoke to Irene.<br/><br/>“This wasn’t so bad was it?  How about I’ll read and you write . . . that way we’ll be able to read it later.   Then I want to take you to bed.”<br/><br/>