Mail Order Bride - Westward Sunrise: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 9) (20 page)

              “Elliot, you know I have—‘”

              “I know, but this is important.  Stop, damn it!” Elliot yelled.

              Beth knew that something serious must be going on for Elliot to make demands like that.  She began pulling back on the reins and the team slowed.  It took Elliot a little bit to slow down and then jog back to the coach.

              Abby had heard shouting and when the coach began stopping, she poked her head out the window on her left side.  She didn’t see anything, though.  As she sat back in her seat, the door to the coach burst open and Elliot jumped inside.  She jumped and uttered a startled cry.

              “Elliot!  What are you doing?” she asked as he gripped her hand.

              He was panting from the heavy exertion on his body and his legs burned, but he didn’t care.  “Abby, you can’t leave.  I have to talk to you.  It was all a misunderstanding.”

              “I understand perfectly well, Elliot,” Abby said.

              Elliot became angry.  “Shut up and listen to me, Abby.  Just shut that pretty mouth of yours a minute.”

              He’d never spoken to her like that before and it stunned her into silence.

              “First of all, I love you and I still want to marry you.  Second of all, I didn’t vote for a dry town.  I voted for the Watering Hole to stay open, Abby.  I didn’t turn my back on Jake or you or anyone.”

              Abby said, “You didn’t?”

              “No.  I didn’t,” Elliot said.

              “Why didn’t you tell me?” Abby asked as tears filled her eyes.  “Why did you let me think you had?”

              “Because you had already made up your mind that I did and you wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to talk to you,” Elliot said.  “I was going to give you a little time to calm down and then talk to you, but you sort of forced my hand here.  Please come back with me and stay.  I love you so much.  More than anything I want to marry you and have a family with you.  Will you marry me?”  Elliot took out the ring that he carried with him all the time now and held it up for her to see.

              Abby thought about how he’d run after the coach all this way to get to her and tell her the truth.  Shame for the way she’d treated him turned her face pink with embarrassment.  She looked in Elliot’s eyes and saw the truth and his love for her in them and felt her faith in him restored.  Her love for the kind, loving man before her grew. 

              She nodded and said, “Yes, Elliot, I’ll marry you.  I love you.  I never stopped loving you.”

              Elliot put the ring back on her finger and grinned.  Then he gathered her close and kissed her senseless.  Abby didn’t care that Elliot was sweaty or shirtless.  All that mattered was that they were in each other’s arms. 

When they came up for air, Elliot said, “Abby, I’m glad you’re sitting down.  I have some news for you.  Marcus thinks you’re pregnant.”

Abby’s face grew white and Elliot thought she was going to faint.  He held onto her a little tighter.

“Pregnant?  How does he know?  I mean, I haven’t been feeling well lately with all the stress, but…”  Abby stopped talking as she thought about how she’d been feeling lately.  Pregnancy hadn’t occurred to her, but it should have.  “I can’t be.”

“He needs to talk to you to be sure, but he thinks you are,” Elliot said with a grin. 

“You’re happy about that prospect?” she asked.

“Yes!  Of course I am!” Elliot practically shouted. 

Abby kissed him and then said, “Oh, Elliot, I hope I am!  We’ll have to get married very soon because I don’t want to be showing when I walk down the aisle.  We have to make a nursery and I'm going to get as big as a house and eat us out of house and home.  I have to learn how to knit so I can make baby blankets and booties.  Yarn.  I need yarn.”

Elliot laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes.  “Ok, to all of that, but right now, we need to go back to town so that he can take a look at you, okay?”

“Yes.  Okay.  Oh, how are we getting there?” Abby asked.

“That’s what Joe’s for,” Elliot said as he pointed out the window.  Joe’s team had pulled up while they were talking.

Abby laughed.  “You beat him here?”

“Yeah.  There was no way in hell I was letting you and our baby get away,” Elliot said.

He helped her down from the coach and put her in the buggy.  Joe had already retrieved her bags.  Elliot thanked Beth for stopping and then got into the buggy.  Joe turned it around and they headed back to Dawson. 

As Elliot held her close, Abby talked nonstop the whole way about all the things they were going to do and the things they would need for the baby.  Joe listened to how Elliot remembered everything she said and responded to it all and was amazed.

              Abby and Elliot’s wedding took place on their ridge at sunset a month later.  Jake gave her away and Marcus acted as Elliot’s best man.  Abby had asked Rebecca to be her maid of honor.  Dean and Tessa’s twins were their flower girl and ring bearer.  Dean said that they should just hire them out for the job since they were so good at it.

              He and Tessa had returned from New York a week and a half before the wedding.  Dean praised Elliot for taking over for him on the council and for voting the same way he would have.  He’d had no idea about the vote when he’d left.  Dean was deeply disappointed over the council’s decision and greatly saddened by the death of Calvin Henderson.

              Tessa’s book deal was a lucrative one and she and Dean were thrilled by the kind of money she’d received for it.  They had some plans for the money already.  While the money was very welcomed by Tessa, it mattered more to her that others would read her creation and she hoped it would bring them joy.

              Construction on the new Watering Hole was underway and it was hoped that it would be completed by the time the cold weather set in.  Everyone was looking forward to seeing how it turned out and to getting back to having fun.  The original Watering Hole site was being renovated into a new medical facility with more modern equipment.

              Elliot watched his bride walk down the grassy aisle to him.  Her smile was radiant and his matched it.  His calmness stemmed from the knowledge that he was marrying his soul mate, the woman he’d fallen in love with before he’d even glimpsed her face.  Abby looked into his eyes as she neared him.  The sun was at the right angle to turn them the color of brown sugar and she was so transfixed that she didn’t realize at first that Jake was handing her over to Elliot.

              They laughed a little as Elliot took her hands and the ceremony began.  As they recited their vows, they both thought about the little life growing inside of Abby.  When Pastor John had been informed of the reason that it was necessary to have the wedding sooner than later, he’d merely sighed and shook his head.  It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last time that it happened.

              Elliot and Abby’s passionate embrace at the end of the ceremony surprised the wedding participants.  Several people laughed, including the bride and groom, when Marcus had to intervene. 

              When the pictures had been taken, Elliot drew Abby aside and turned her to face the valley.  “Guess what, honey?”

              She looked at her husband and asked, “Is this a game?”

              “No,” he said with a laugh.  “You see all those apple trees?”

              “Yes.”

              “Well, we own them now,” Elliot said.

              Abby stood agog for several moments.  “You didn’t.”

              “Yes, I did.  I bought the orchard from Jake.  That way we’ll always have our ridge, Abby,” he said.

              She kissed him and they stood holding each other until they were urged to move to the reception.  As it was still morning, they’d decided to have a fancy brunch, which hadn’t been done before in Dawson.  The unique affair suited Elliot and Abby just fine because they enjoyed the early part of the day and it seemed fitting that their reception take place at that time.

Since Elliot had put his announcement in the paper, his popularity had been restored.  There were many people at the reception and Elliot and Abby were busy accepting congratulations for a quite a while. 

During the meal, the guests were amused to watch Abby bend Elliot’s ear while he listened with a patient expression and laughed from time to time.  He looked into her lively blue eyes and fell deeper in love with her with every minute that passed.  Abby had found her perfect partner in every way and knew that their life together was going to be a wonderful adventure.

Elliot was relieved that they had decided against dancing.  Abby didn’t care that he wasn’t a graceful dancer.  His legs were made for other things like chasing after a stage coach to stop the woman he loved from getting away.  That was a story that Abby was looking forward to telling their children.  It was incredibly romantic and she only wished that she had seen Elliot run like that.

Near the end of the reception, Jake gave Elliot an envelope.  When Elliot opened it he found a hundred dollar bill and a letter in it.

Elliot,

              I wanted to extend my congratulations to you on your new marriage to Abby and also on your little bundle of joy that will be coming in several months.  Truly the best man won.  Please accept this gift to be put towards a college fund for your little one.  Take it from me, there’s nothing worse than running out of money when you’re in the middle of college.

When I get back, I’d like to sit down for a drink and hopefully let bygones be bygones.  You have nothing to fear from me, Elliot.  Abby told me that she would never love anyone but you and so I knew it was time to bow out gracefully.  I hope you can pardon my behavior, although I do think there was a part of you that enjoyed the competition a little.  Take care of Abby and I look forward to meeting your son or daughter, who will most likely have arrived by the time I return.

Respectfully,

Ben

              Elliot grinned as he looked at the money a moment before putting it back in the envelope.  He gave Abby the letter to read and she made him explain what Ben was talking about.  They both laughed as he told her about their competition.  There had never really been any competition and Ben had been smart enough to recognize it fairly quickly. 

              The happy couple took their leave to get ready for the stage coach that would take them to Helena for their honeymoon.  Everyone waved them off as the sun climbed higher in the sky.

              Jack Samuels smiled as Rachel came to join him in watching Joe drive Elliot and Abby to their house.  Jack looked at her and said, “You look very pretty, Rachel.”

              “Thanks, Jack.  You look handsome,” she said. 

While there would be a little space in her heart for Jack labeled “my first crush”, she was no longer obsessed with him.  There was a certain Lakota brave who was keeping her thoughts occupied at the moment.

Jack said, “So how’s Reckless treating you?”

She rolled her eyes.  “I don’t know.”

Jack frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“I can’t figure him out.  Does he like me or not?  Is he going to ask me out or not?” she said.

Her exasperated tone made Jack laugh.  “That’s his intent, Rachel.  He’s keeping you off balance on purpose.”

Rachel looked at Jack.  “So what do I do about it?”

“The best way to handle him is to ignore him.  He’s not going to be expecting it and you’ll make him tell you his intentions.  Make him work for it, but I didn’t tell you that, okay?” Jack said.

“Okay.  Thanks, Jack.  Oh, Sammi wants me.  See you later,” Rachel said and left Jack’s side.

Another smile passed over Jack’s face as he remembered how Rachel had locked him in Elliot’s office and kissed him.  He’d been terrified at the time, but looking back on it now, it made him laugh.  His mother had been right when she’d told him that he would.  He also remembered telling Rachel that he was still in love with Sparrow and that he just couldn’t turn off those feelings.

The smile faded from his face as he looked up at the sun and wondered what his beautiful Lakota maiden was doing right at that moment.  Was she looking skyward, too?  Did she think of him as much as he did her?  Was her heart as broken as his?  He closed his eyes against the tears that his internal questions caused.

A hand settled on his shoulder and he recognized his father’s familiar squeeze.  He opened his eyes and looked into eyes the exact color of his own.  Dean looked back and realized that he had to look up just a fraction of an inch to meet Jack’s gaze.

His brows drew down and he asked, “Did I shrink or did you grow again?”

The unexpected query made Jack burst out laughing.  “I don’t know, Pa.  Maybe it’s my shoes or something.  You wanna take our shoes off and see?”

Dean started kicking his shoes off.  “Yeah.”

Jack laughed again and took his shoes off, too.  Then they both straightened to their full height.  Dean still had to look up slightly.  “Nope.  I think you grew.”

“I think you shrunk.  I think by twenty I’m done growing, dontcha think?” Jack said.

“I don’t know.  Ask Marcus.  He’s the doctor.  Hey, you have a hole in your sock,” Dean said.

“What?  These are new socks, damn it,” Jack said as he looked at the little hole.

“Don’t worry, son.  I’ll buy you new ones. I’m rich now.  Actually, your mother is rich now.  She can buy you some new socks,” Dean said. 

Jack laughed and then looked into Dean’s eyes again.  “Thanks, Pa.  I needed a distraction.  How do you always know what I need even when I don’t?”

Dean clapped Jack on the back and said, “That’s what fathers are for.  Speak of the devil,” he said as Marcus and Claire came over to them.

“Jack, your aunt and I have something for you,” Marcus said as he handed Jack a small box.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

Claire said, “You’ll see.  Open it.”

Jack smiled at her, unwrapped it, and took the lid off the box.  Nestled inside sat a set of keys and a wooden keychain.  Jack lifted them out and looked at the keychain.  It said “Jack’s Place” on it.  Jack recognized his uncle’s whittling work.

“I don’t get it,” Jack said with a confused expression.

“We’re giving you our house, Jack.  It’s time you had a place of your own and we’d like to keep it in the family.  We know you’ll take good care of it,” Marcus said.

Jack asked, “Where are you guys goin’?”  He sounded panicky.

Claire put a hand on his arm and said, “We’re moving to the apartment over the new clinic.  It’s closer to work for both of us and it’s a little more spacious.”

Jack’s face broke into a grin.  “Really?”

Marcus laughed. “Yes, really.”

Jack jumped in the air and let out a whoop of joy.  People turned to look at him, but he didn’t care.  “So how soon can I move in?”

“Whoa, big fella,” Marcus said.  “Let us get out first, okay?”

“Yeah, don’t be in such a hurry,” Dean shouted after his son, who had gone off to start telling his friends about his new residence. 

A month later, Jack sat on his front porch as the evening shadows grew long and the moon looked over the horizon.  The October air was chilly, but Jack didn’t mind.  He was getting used to living alone and enjoyed the quiet after a busy day of cooking and working as a deputy.  It was nice living in his aunt and uncle’s old house.  It was so familiar to him and felt like home. 

As the moon rose higher, Jack couldn’t stop those internal questions that would probably always haunt him; was his beautiful Lakota maiden looking up at the moon at the exact same time as him?  Did she think of him as often as he did her?  He always asked these questions of the moon, but it never answered.  Jack hoped and prayed that one day it would. 

The End

 
Click on a link below to read the next book in this series (Westward Moon)

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Westward Moon Synopsis:

Sparrow, a Lakota squaw, is married to an abusive man she hates.  Her father, the chief of her tribe, has denied the divorce she is entitled to by Lakota law and she lives in misery until with the help of a friend, is able to contact Jack Samuels, the handsome deputy she fell in love with years ago. 

Jack Samuels, heartbroken when Sparrow’s tribe left for good, has never forgotten his Lakota maiden.  When he receives a mysterious letter from Nebraska, he quickly realizes that Sparrow is reaching out for help.  He jumps at the chance to be with Sparrow again and is soon on his way to rescue her.

Getting Sparrow back home to Dawson is the easy part.  While danger lurks everywhere, the biggest threat comes in the form of secrets and lies.  Can their love survive or is the handsome deputy and the Lakota maiden’s love to be forever denied?