Brides of Idaho (61 page)

She listened to Sarah’s excited plans and answered questions, but a good portion of her mind waited for Rudy to return. Would she always live with this fear that he’d ride out without a backward look?

Not until she heard him ride into the yard and enter the dining room did her lungs relax.

Sarah tapped Joanna’s elbow. “I said, my aunt says there are plenty of opportunities. There’s a position for a housekeeper in one of the fancy hotels, if you’re interested.”

Joanna managed to bring a portion of her thoughts back to the conversation. “I can’t go.”

Sarah sighed impatiently. “What’s holding you back?”

Joanna shook her head. She wasn’t about to confess she loved a footloose cowboy and hoped he returned her love.

She heard Rudy moving around the dining room; then his footsteps headed for the door. He opened and closed it. His boots thudded on the porch. Then his horse whinnied.

Joanna sprang to the window. Rudy sat in the saddle, his bags in his hand. He reined around and rode from the yard.

She fell back into her chair. What was holding her back? Nothing. But her throat closed off so she couldn’t answer Sarah.

Glory clattered into the kitchen at that moment. “Hi, Sarah. Come to say good-bye to Jo?”

“No. I’ve come to convince her to go with me. After all, what’s to keep her here?”

“You mean besides her lovely sisters, the stopping house, and a man who adores her?”

“What are you talking about?” Sarah’s eyes narrowed as if she meant to take care of such a man.

“She’s talking nonsense,” Joanna managed to squeak out.

“Oh, come on. I’ve seen the way Rudy looks at you.”

“Yes, well, he just packed his bags and rode out. He’s leaving.” Just like Pa always did.

“He’s moving into my shop.” Glory crossed her arms, a satisfied look on her face.

Joanna’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t speak. But a question hammered at the inside of her head, and she forced her tongue to work. “Why?”

Glory snorted. “Seems that’s a question you should ask him yourself.” She planted her face a few inches from Joanna’s. “Unless you’re too afraid.”

“I’m not afraid.” But she was.

“Of course you are. Love is risky. But let me tell you, it’s worth it. And not everyone is as careless about our feelings as Pa. Now, I can’t promise you that Rudy won’t want to move on at some point. But so what if he does? Marry him and go with him. You know moving on isn’t so hard. We’ve done it dozens of times. So stop running from what’s in your heart. Go to him. Ask him what he thinks, how he feels.” She waited. “Go.”

Joanna hesitated.

Glory pulled her to her feet. “Now.”

Joanna managed to make her legs move toward the door. What if she told Rudy she cared, and he laughed? But then, what did she have to lose except the possibility of love?

“Sarah, I’ll be back. Wait for me.” She stepped from the landing, her feet already moving at a good clip. By the time she reached Glory’s shop she was at full gallop. Not even bothering to knock, she burst in and skidded to a halt, panting for air.

Rudy stood next to a row of freshly dusted shelves, his hat on his head. “I was just about to step out.”

“Oh.” That didn’t sound very welcoming. Maybe this little visit wasn’t a good idea.

“Yup. Going to find you and tell you I’m staying.”

Joanna started breathing again. “You could continue to stay at the stopping house.”

“Could, I guess. But seems if I’m going to court you properly, I shouldn’t be under the same roof.”

“Court?” Her hopes raced for the sky. “You’re going to court me?”

His expression grew guarded. “If you’ll let me.”

She chuckled. “Rudy Canfield, I think it’s time we stopped tiptoeing around what we feel. Or at least, what I know I feel and what I think you feel.” She swallowed. “It’s hard to put our hearts on the line when we’ve been hurt so many times. But some things are worth the risk. Rudy, I love you.” There. She’d said it. She met his gaze boldly, waiting his reply.

An array of emotions chased across his face. Surprise widened his eyes. Uncertainty drew worry lines across his forehead. Hope smoothed them away then belief brought joy to his face and lifted the corners of his mouth. “You love me?” He let out a whoop that made her jump; then he grabbed her shoulders. “Joanna, I love you. With my whole heart. I never want to leave you. Ever.”

Her heart took flight like a happy meadowlark. Her eyes filled with tears of joy. And her smile claimed a large portion of her face. “How long have you known?”

“I fought it for a long time because I didn’t believe anyone could love me.”

She smoothed her hands over his stubbly cheeks. “Loving you isn’t hard.”

He turned his mouth to her palm and kissed it. “I think I started to love you the day you stomped into my campsite and demanded justice for a stolen pie.” He grabbed her hands and pressed them to his chest. “When did you start loving me?”

“I loved you from the start. In fact, I think I’ve been loving you long before we met.”

He blinked his confusion.

“I needed a man who knew how to love me past the hurts. That was you. I have waited for you most of my life.”

“Joanna, I love you. Can I court you?”

“You could do better than that. You could marry me.”

Both of them laughed and sealed their love with a kiss.

A month later

P
a, you look just fine.” Joanna admired her father. He’d shaved and donned new clothes for the wedding.

“You remind me of your mother in that dress.” His eyes shone with tears. “She was one good woman.”

“Yes, she was.” It no longer hurt to think of how Pa had worn their mother out, dragging her from place to place. Her mother did it out of love. She’d do the same for Rudy though, for now, he wanted to stay and run the stopping house.

She smiled at her sisters, who both wore dresses for the occasion.

“I hope this is the last time,” Glory said. “These skirts and petticoats tangle around my ankles and about trip me up.”

Mandy laughed. “They don’t look right on you either.” Then before Glory could start a ruckus, she turned to Joanna. “But you look radiant in that dress.”

Joanna went to the mirror. She’d gone shopping in Sand Point with Sarah. All the wedding dresses were too fancy for her. She couldn’t imagine wearing one. When she saw this gown of blue sprigged lawn, called a summer dress, she decided she could be comfortable in it for an afternoon and even wear it again, should the occasion arise.

Rudy had assured her he would be happy to marry her in a split skirt. “I love you as you are.”

“Thank you, but I think my mother would be pleased to think I wore a dress for my wedding.” She said the same to her sisters, and both agreed. In fact, they both said they would wear dresses for the same reason.

This was for Mother.

Glory and Mandy sauntered up the aisle.

Joanna took Pa’s arm and stepped into the church.

Rudy stood at the front, Freddy at his side. Rudy wore a white shirt and black jacket that he’d borrowed from Levi. He looked extremely handsome, but it was the look in his eyes that held her attention. Love—pure, simple, and enduring.

She didn’t recall walking the length of the aisle, nor could she say who sat in the pews. But she would never forget the moment her arm rested on Rudy’s, and they exchanged their vows.

Levi pronounced them man and wife.

Rudy kissed her gently, reverently, then they faced their friends and family.

“I have waited all my life for this kind of love,” Rudy whispered. “I will never stop thanking God for it.”

She smiled up at him. She would never grow weary of hearing how much he loved her. Nor would she ever stop telling him.

Both of them had found the love they wanted and needed.

To God be the glory.

Linda Ford
draws on her own experiences living in the Canadian prairie and Rockies to paint wonderful adventures in romance and faith. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her family, and she writes as much as her full-time job of taking care of a paraplegic and four kids, who are still at home, will allow. Linda says, “I thank God that He has given me a full, productive life and that I’m not bored. I thank Him for placing a little bit of the creative energy revealed in His creation into me, and I pray I might use my writing for His honor and glory.”