Damaged Hearts (27 page)

“You’re horrible Kat.”  Angel laughed at her sister.  “But that’s why we all love you.  It does sound terribly exciting though, doesn’t it?”

“Ok ladies.  If we don’t get the bathing part done, we’re never going to get to the dressing part which in turn means we’ll never get to the wedding part.”  Anna said with a wink. 

“I guess we really should get a move on.”  Kat agreed.  “Time is going to fly by and before we know it, it will be time to stand in front of Mr. Jamison.”  She added before she slid under again and rinsed her hair.

Following her sister’s lead, Angel went to washing and rinsing her own hair and started scrubbing her body with the scented soap.  “This really does smell delicious Frances.  I can see why it would make a man literally hungry for you.”

After washing every inch of their bodies, Kat and Angel got out of the tubs and were each wrapped in warm fluffy towels, before being seated on benches near the fire to dry, while the tubs were emptied and refilled.  The maids came in next and began combing out their hair as two more girls scrubbed their hair and bodies.

Kat scooted over to make more room on her bench, while Frances, wrapped a towel around herself, sat down.  Anna, having finished her bath did the same and sat with Angel.  The four women talked quietly as Morgan had her bath and then joined them.  Once they were all sufficiently dry and the tangles worked out of their hair, they moved to Frances’ bedroom to dress.

Tossing clothing back and forth until they had the correct undergarments, the girls started by putting on their chemise’s and stockings and proceeded to add corsets, against Kat’s wishes, then petticoats, and finally their dresses.  Kat and Angel fastened on their favorite sapphire earrings that were one of their very first Christmas presents to each other after they bought the ranch.

Once their dresses were in place, one by one the girls submitted themselves to having their hair readied.  Josephine entered the room carrying two beautiful veils.  “Do you think you can work these into the hair creations?”  She asks with a smile.

“They are so beautiful.  Surely we can figure out a way to use them while still leaving your hair down.”  Frances said looking at the two sisters.

“And if you can’t, then put our hair up.”  Kat announced.  “We are only getting married once so we may as well do it right.”

“I agree.”  Angel nodded her head.  “I can wear my hair down whenever I want; but this will be the only time I wear a veil.”

“Then it’s agreed.”  Anna said.  “If we can make the veils work and leave their hair down, we’ll do it.  If not then neither is opposed to wearing having it up.”

“Well everybody don’t just stand there, we’ve got some weddings to get ready for.”  Josephine laughed.  “Come along Ali; we’ll get you ready down stairs and be done before even one of the girls up here is ready to leave.”

“Very funny Mother.”  Frances countered.  “We have all gotten into our dresses; it’s just our hair that remains to be finished.”

“At any rate, hurry along now girls we wouldn’t want to show up late.”  Josephine amended as she and Ali went down the stairs.

“Whew.  Having Mother in and out of here is a bit like being in close quarters with a twister.  You never know what the outcome might be but you do know it’s going to happen in a hurry.”  Frances sighed.

“You heard the woman, we’d better get moving.”  Anna giggled.  “I’d hate to have Kat and Angel late for their own weddings.”

“Oh no!”  Kat said exasperated.  “I just realized something.  I won’t be able to ride Dusty down to the courthouse.  How will we ever get away from the party later so that we can head home?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that yet.”  Morgan spoke up.  “Last I heard from Grandmam, they were renting a room for you and Father and for Angel and Uncle Matt.  I think she’s still a little upset that you didn’t give her enough notice so she could take over the planning for the weddings.”  She added with a laugh.

“That doesn’t sound good.”  Angel said.  “We’re already starting off with our mother-in-law angry with us.”

“Oh well, I suppose she can get glad in the same dress she got mad in.”  Kat sighed.  “I’m not sure we need to worry about her right now.  I guess we better get done up and figure out how we are all going to manage to make it to the court house on time without the use of our horses.”

“Miss Kat, Miss Angel; please sit here and we shall have you both ready in no time at all.”  Frances’ maid, Alice said as she and Marie’s previous maid Susie prepared to work miracles on the sisters.

“Both of your hair is so beautiful down that we absolutely must find a way to leave it that way.”  Susie said. 

“I have an idea.”  Morgan said stepping forward.  “If you don’t mind, that is.”  She looked towards Kat for approval.

“Of course, show us your idea Morgan.”  Kat nodded encouragingly.  “Believe me; I am quite open to suggestions here.”

“You want to leave your hair down; which I agree totally with since my father is very partial to long blond hair,” she giggled as she flipped her own blond hair.  “So why don’t we take the veil, fold it, and attach it here to the crown of your head so that it will flow down your back and cover your hair like a mantilla yet still cover your face until father folds it over.  When he folds it back, it will still stay in place and look very pretty doubled up.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea Morgan.”  Kat praised.  “What do you think Angel?  I think it will work great.”

“I like it.”  Angel replied.  “Let’s get these veils on and let Frances, Anna and Morgan get their hair ready so we can be on our way.”

The results were beautiful.  Morgan beamed as the other two girls complimented her on her idea, as well as Kat and Angel for being beautiful brides.  Finally, all five girls were ready and headed carefully down the stairs to the parlor to meet Josephine.

“Frank has agreed to drive the carriage for us; I think if we work it just right he should be able to get us all there in just two trips.”  Josephine began before hugging her nieces tightly and handing them each a bouquet of fresh flowers.  “Take these with you and in case I don’t have another chance before you head back for the ranch in the morning; I love you both and I am so very happy that I’ve gotten to spend this time with you.  Congratulations.  I wish you both the best of luck and we are all going to stay in touch with each other.”

Before she could say more and before anyone could reply, Frank opened the door.  “Let’s get moving.  I’m quick but with having two trips to make, we better get started.  James was headed over to the courthouse earlier and I know Judge Jamison is already there.”

“We’ll meet you over there then Mother.”  Frances told Josephine giving her a quick hug as she headed for the door.

“Thank you so much Aunt Josie, for everything.”  Kat said hugging her once more as she quickly slipped out the door before anyone could notice the suspect dampness of her eyelashes.

“You will never know how much this means to Kat and I.”  Angel told Josephine as she too added one more hug.  “Please come out to the ranch and see us.  I know Kat is not used to having family yet because it’s something we never had before but I have a feeling though that she’s going to love it as much as I do.”

“You can be sure I’ll be out to visit after you both have a little bit of time to settle in and get accustomed to the new arrangements.”  Josephine replied.  “Now you better get going.  It wouldn’t do to be late for your own wedding.”

Laughing, Angel agreed and followed the rest of the girls out the door closing it behind her. 

Frank helped them into the carriage one by one and they arranged their skirts before sitting down, striving for the least number of wrinkles possible.  Angel being the last to ascend into the carriage, laughed as she flopped down on the seat.  “Remember our old saying Kat?  If we’re not wrinkled then we didn’t work hard enough.”

All the girls laughed then breaking the tension inside the carriage.  “This time tomorrow the two of you will be my sisters.”  Anna said quietly.  “I’m so happy.  I don’t think I could have picked better family.  By the two of you marrying my brothers, it makes Frances and I related too.”

“Just think; we’ll all be one big happy family.”  Morgan piped up.  “Our family is growing like crazy already and all of us aren’t even ready to be married yet.”

“Not yet you’re not, but I have a feeling that there are at least three more weddings that will be happening with in the next six months.”  Kat replied.  “Not that your wedding will happen for a while though.”  She looked sharply at Morgan before laughing to soften the command.

“If you’re talking about us Kat, I wouldn’t be planning any weddings yet.”  Frances said.  “In fact, I’m not even sure I know any eligible men our age.”

“We’re not even from here in town and I can name several nice eligible men that are around our ages.”  Angel answered.  “As a matter of fact, we have had several men come into town just recently.  Our brothers Charley and Mark are both free and looking if my guess is correct.  Our attorney Jacob Weatherby is definitely a nice eligible man about our age.  Willie and Adam are also both unattached and quite decent men.”

“Wow!”  Anna said thoughtfully.  “I guess I hadn’t really put a lot of thought to it but there are more than I realized.  I wonder if any of them would be ok with a teacher for a wife.”

“There’s only one way for us to find out, Anna.”  Frances told her.  “Let’s check out the men and see what we can find out tonight at the reception dance.”

“It’s a deal.”  Anna agreed.  “Maybe there is still a chance for us.”

~XXX~

“We’re here Ladies.”  Frank interrupted as he swung down from the driver’s seat and opened the carriage door.  “Out ya come.”  He helped them down one at a time.

“Stay right here while we run in and find out where they want their brides to wait and where you’ll enter.”  Frances said to Kat and Angel as she took Anna’s hand and hurried inside the courtroom.  “Where are the brides supposed to wait?”  She asked Sarah Jamison since she was the first person they saw.

“Oh, they have decided to finally show up have they?”  She asked.  “Well it’s about time.  Tell them that they can wait here in the Judge’s quarters.  The men are all occupied in the Jury Room so if the girls hurry, we won’t have to worry about the men seeing them. “

“We’ll hurry Mother.”  Anna told her.  “Do try to be pleasant today though; after all this is the only time that they will all be getting married.  Please let them enjoy their day.”  She added as she hurried out the door this time, dragging Frances with her.

“Ok, we figured out where we’re supposed to be.”  Frances told the three that were waiting outside.  “Let’s get inside and finish getting ready.”

As the girls all went inside, Frank turned the carriage and headed back to pick up Josephine, Ali and anyone else that might need a ride.  Other carriages, wagons, and horses were beginning to show up, with people anxious to witness the joint weddings.

The girls had just entered the judge’s chamber and shut the door when a knock sounded.  Turning expectantly towards the sound, Anna opened it a crack to see who it was.  Opening the door wider, she admitted James.

“I hope you don’t mind my being here.”  He said looking at Kat.  “After everything that has happened in this short period of time, I just thought I’d check on you and make sure you were ok.”

“I’m glad you came by; as a matter of fact I would be very honored if you would consider walking me down the aisle.”  Kat told him as she gave him a hug.

“But what about Mark?”  Angel asked Kat.  “He asked me if he could walk me down the aisle; I just assumed he would be there for both of us.”

“I’m ok with him doing that for you Angel but in all honesty, he was never there for me.  Other than sharing a home for a short time, we have no ties to each other.  His father was kind enough to show me about ranching; and I was able to survive and provide a life for you but other than that, he left to do his thing and I stayed and did mine.”  Kat stated with a small smile.

“I would love to walk you down the aisle Kat.”  James said with total seriousness.  “I would like it if you attempted to forgive Mark too but I’m glad you’re giving me the opportunity to do this for you.”

“Now that that’s settled, do you mind if we have Frances, Anna, and Morgan as our bridesmaids?”  Angel asked.  “We have each other for our maids of honor.”

“Of course I don’t mind.  In fact, I thought that was the plan all along.”  She grinned.

“Kat, not only will I be a bridesmaid for you; I also want you to know that I’m very proud to be your daughter.  I know I wasn’t very nice to you at first but I really am glad that you’re going to be my mother.”  Morgan told her quietly.

“Now, one last thing.”  Josephine as she came through the door.  “You have your nice new dresses, you have your beautiful earrings that double for the something old, and something blue and now you must both wear my favorite pearl necklace set.  I have split it so that you may both wear half of it.  I know how close you have been and it’s only right that you share this too.”  Tears ran down her eyes as she clipped the necklace into place around first one then the other neck.  “Now you are both complete.  You have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” 

“Oh Aunt Josie, thank you so very much for everything.”  Kat cried while hugging Josephine.  “You have done everything that one person can possibly due to make this day perfect for both me and Angel.  How can we ever thank you?”

“You don’t need to.  What you’ve said and didn’t say is plenty.”  Josephine replied.  “I did a lot of this solely because you never asked me to.  You were happy with just being a small part of the family and never once uttered a single request.  You never once held out your hand like you expected anything.”

“But Aunt Josephine…”  Angel interrupted.  “We never held out a hand because neither of us expected you to do anything.  We were fine with a small wedding and Kat would have even gotten married in her denims if I hadn’t talked her out of it.”

“I know child, that’s what I’m talking about.  Neither of you are spoiled nor demanding.”  Josephine explained.  “You take whatever life throws your way and work with it, good or bad.”

“I’ve learned a lot just listening to you this past day.”  Frances said.  “I’m very glad that we’ve all become friends.  If possible, I’d like to stay in touch too, and come out to visit from time to time.”

“We’d both love that.”  Kat replied.  “All of our new family will always be welcome at the ranches.  I’ve never really had friends or family other than Angel but I’m very excited about becoming close to all of you.”

“After everything you’ve been through Kat, it will be a nice change to have more people to rely on and more people to talk to and discuss your problems or accomplishments with.”  Anna told her.  “When I think about all that you have accomplished in your life, I think you have a lot of knowledge that you can share and teach us.”

“And that’s coming from a teacher.”  Josephine laughed.  “I had better get out there and work on getting everyone seated.”  She added giving everyone another quick hug.  “Congratulations again girls; I love you and I’m glad to have you as part of our family.” 

“Listen, there’s a piano playing.”  Morgan commented.  “They must be almost ready.”

Everyone turned and looked as another knock sounded at the door.  James stepped forward, opened it just a crack, and peered out.  “Well it’s about time you showed up.”  He growled almost surly.  “I almost decided that I was going to walk both these young ladies down the aisle.”

“That’s my sisters you’re talking about.”  Mark growled back.  “And, I already talked to Angel and she has agreed to let me do her the honor.”

“That’s solely her decision to make.”  James told him before turning back to face the girls.  “I do believe Ladies that it’s just about show time.  Are we all ready?  Any last minute things that we need?”

“Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.”  Kat groaned as she covered her mouth and ran out the door. 

Making it out of the courthouse, Kat found the nearest bush, and falling to her knees, proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach behind it.  “I can’t believe this is happening.”  She groaned again as she attempted to stand back up and brush off the little bit of dirt and debris that stuck to her dress.

“It’s ok honey.”  James said as he smoothed her hair and handed her a wet towel to wash her face, then traded her for a cup of water to rinse out her mouth.  “The way I figure it, it’s one of two things.  Either you’ve got an unexpected case of nerves, or come about eight months from now you’re going to be welcoming a new addition to your family.”

“Do you really think so James?”  She asked in wonder.  “The doc said my chances of conceiving a child were extremely slim.  Do you really think it’s possible that I might be carrying a little one?”  Her hand moved to her stomach in awe of the possibility.

“Stranger things have happened Kat honey.  Now how are you feeling?  Are you ready to go back in there and walk down that aisle?”  James asked with a smile.

“I think so.”  She told him, still dazed about the new possibilities.  “Wait til I tell Rick and Angel.”  She added with a small grin.  Taking James’ arm, they headed back inside the building and into the small room where they had been waiting.

“Everyone ready now?”  James asked looking at all the girls and finally at Mark.  “These girls may be your sisters, but from this day forward they are my daughters too.  Now let’s go get them married to those young men waiting out there.”

They lined up with Morgan first followed by Anna, then Frances, with Angel and Mark behind her and finally Kat and James at the end of the precession.  Upon seeing Morgan, the piano player began to play the wedding march and they slowly started down the aisle towards the men.

Ali suddenly danced out in front of all of them leaving rose petals to flutter to the ground behind her as she worked her way into the main courtroom.  From there, she started down the walkway towards the front of the courtroom where Judge Jamison waited with Rick and Matt.  As Morgan came down the hall, she met Adam at the door who offered her his arm.  Then together, they followed Ali to the front, taking their places on either side of the judge.

Jacob waited patiently as Anna walked down the hallway to take his arm and follow the others to the front of the room.  Frances came behind Anna and joined with Willie, who she noticed had cleaned up very nicely and sported a small tin deputy badge on his neatly pressed shirt.  All four of them took their places and watched, as the crowd got quiet.  Mark appeared leading Angel out of the hallway and down the center of the room to stand near Matt.  Finally, Kat on the arm of James appeared and after a gasp from the crowd started the long, slow walk to her groom.

“I guess no one expected to see me in a dress.”  She whispered to James as they made their slow decent.

“It doesn’t matter Kat.  You’re one of the prettiest brides I’ve ever seen so who cares what they think.”  He chuckled.  “Come to think of it, I do believe you’re about as pretty as my Melissa was when we got married.”

“Oh James, thank you so very much for being here,” she whispered.  “You have no idea how much it means to me.” 

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything Kat.  Now here’s your husband.”  He bowed as he released her arm to Rick.  “Take good care of her son, that’s all I ask.”

Turning to face the judge, the two couples looked at the men’s father waiting for him to speak.  The silence in the courtroom was almost deafening.  Finally, taking mercy on the wedding parties Judge Jamison began.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join two couples in holy matrimony.”  He started.  As he went on reciting the age-old words that would forever bind Kat to Rick and Angel to Matt. Suddenly the door banged open and chaos erupted. 

“Dad, don’t you dare stop this wedding.”  Rick and Matt yelled in unison.  “If you pause now, there will always be something that comes up.  Please, no matter what the emergency, let us say our vows and get us hitched.”  Matt finished.

“Ok son, let’s get on with it then.”  He said softly before announcing, “Please take your seats so we can finish this ceremony.”  Looking down at Angel, as Rick had instructed him to marry her and Matt first he began again.  “Do you Angel Renea Carson take this man Matthew Garrett Jamison as your lawfully wedded husband to live together in marriage?  Do you promise to love, honor and obey and keep him for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, being faithful only to him for so long as you both shall live?”

Looking deep into Matt’s eyes, Angel knew there was only one answer that she wanted to give.  In a clear crisp voice came her reply “I do.”

Nodding, Judge Jamison turned to Matt repeating the same words; “Do you Matthew take this woman Angel, as your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in marriage?  Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and keep her, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, being faithful only to her for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”  He replied without a second of hesitation.

“Do you have a ring?”  Judge Jamison asked Matt officially.  Taking the ring that Matt handed him, he held it up for everyone to see saying, “The ring is a symbol of an unbroken circle of love, freely given and received equally with no beginning and no end.  It serves as a lifelong reminder and symbol of the wedding vows taken and the promises given.”  Turning, he handed the ring back to Matt.  “Please repeat after me.  With this ring I thee wed.”

Matt looked into Angel’s eyes and repeated the words as he slid the ring into place on her third finger.  Smiling, the judge turned the couple towards the assembly and announced, “I give you Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Jamison.  Son, you may kiss your bride.”