Her Heart's Desire (18 page)

Rick took her hands in his and smiled
at her. “Will you marry me?”

She caught his hopeful expression and
glanced at Ethel Mae.

“
Yes, I knew I took you,”
Rick told her.

“
He’s right,” Ethel Mae
said. “I hope you don’t mind how devious I was earlier, but Rick
told me he planned to elope with you and asked me to make sure you
were outside so he could whisk you away.”

Rick motioned to the older couple.
“They’re Judge Townsend and his wife. He can marry us.”

“
What do you say, Sally?”
Ethel Mae asked, her hands clasped together in
excitement.

Her shock finally wearing off, Sally
turned her attention back to Rick. So he did want to be with her
after all? She thought to tease him about his crazy plan to kidnap
her the way he had, but considering the hopeful expression on his
face, she didn’t have the heart. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing
to do since he had scared her, but it was something he thought
would be romantic. And when it came down to it, it was his
intention that mattered.

“
Yes,” she told him. “I’ll
marry you.”

His smile widened and he squeezed her
hands. He turned to Judge Townsend. “We’re ready whenever you
are.”

She glanced at Ethel Mae once more,
still not believing this was happening. Ethel Mae giggled and
motioned for her to face the judge, so she did. Rick continued to
hold her hands while the judge started the ceremony. Her head was
spinning as the judge spoke, and though she repeated the vows when
it was her turn, she had a hard time grasping exactly what she was
promising to do for better or worse and for the rest of their
lives. But since Rick was a judge, he could fill her in on the
details at a later time. She was sure it had to do with her being
faithful and cherishing him for the rest of their lives, and she
was more than happy to do that.

When the judge pronounced them man and
wife, Rick leaned forward to kiss her, and she swore this kiss was
even better than the one they’d shared at the park.

The others went over to congratulate
them, and as she gave her friend a hug, Ethel Mae whispered, “You
aren’t mad at me, are you?”

She laughed. “Why would I be mad at
you?”

“
Because I was deceitful
all day. It was hard to keep quiet.”

“
I was afraid he wanted to
be with you,” she whispered.

“
I know. That’s why it was
so hard not to tell you.” She hugged her again. “I’m so happy for
you, Sally. I’ve heard of whirlwind courtships, but I don’t believe
any has been as much of a whirlwind as yours.”

Sally grinned. “No, I suppose not. I
wonder what my parents will say when I tell them?”

“
Probably congratulations.
He said that he got your father’s permission before he talked to
me. He also asked me to bring your carpet bag with your
things.”

Sally’s gaze went to the spot in the
corner of the room where her carpet bag rested against the wall.
“He thought of everything, didn’t he?”

“
It seems like he knows
what he’s doing.”

“
You sound
surprised.”

Ethel Mae shrugged. “I am. He seemed
so unsure of himself all the other times I talked to him. I think
being with you has done him a lot of good.”

Pleased, Sally thanked her.

Rick called out to her and asked if
she would go over to the table to sign the marriage certificate.
After she did, the group congratulated them again, and Rick picked
up her carpet bag and joined her in going outside. Thrilled, she
called out a good-bye to everyone, eager to begin her life as Mrs.
Sally Johnson.

Chapter Thirteen

Sally’s head was still spinning from
everything that just transpired. Rick took her hand and led her
down the quiet street. She glanced back and saw the others decided
to linger on the porch, her friend looking happier than she’d ever
been as she stood next to Samuel.

“
I think she’s better off
with him,” Rick said, directing her attention back to him. “Ethel
Mae and Samuel. They’re a better couple than she and I would have
been.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind that
we eloped. I remembered what you said about surprises and romance
and thought this would fit.”

“
It was very romantic,” she
admitted. After all, what could be more romantic than
marriage?

“
I should have brought you
flowers. I didn’t even think of it. I was so busy getting your pa’s
permission and then buying the house—”

“
House?”

“
Well, sure. Didn’t you
wonder where I’m taking you?”

She decided not to answer that in case
she looked silly. The truth was, she hadn’t been paying attention
to where he was taking her, but as he stopped and motioned to a
yellow house nestled in a nice neighborhood, she realized this was
her new home.

“
You bought this for us?”
she asked, feeling as if she was dreaming. The sudden wedding, the
house… It seemed too good to be true.

“
I thought you might like
it. As soon as I saw it, I thought of you, and if you’ll notice,
there are some flowers around it. It reminded me of our walks
through your parents’ land where you said your favorite part of
living in Omaha was being surrounded by flowers in the spring. I
thought you could still have them around you.”

Touched, she turned to him and smiled.
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me, and I’m not
just saying that because I don’t have to live in the same house
with my brothers anymore.”

He chuckled and motioned to the front
door. “It doesn’t have much right now. We’ll need to buy more
furniture. All it has right now are a bed, a kitchen table and
chairs, and things to cook food with. Beyond that, I don’t know
what you’ll want to put in there.”

Thrilled she’d get a chance to
decorate her own house, she rushed up the steps.

“
Wait!” he called out as he
ran after her.

She spun around and faced him. “What
is it?”

“
I need to carry you over
the threshold.”

She giggled. “Of course. I
forgot.”

When he caught up to her, she put her
arms around his neck and let him lift her into his arms. It felt
just as heavenly to be in them as she imagined. He opened the door
and carried her inside, giving her a quick kiss before he set her
on her feet.

“
Let me light the lamp and
you can tell me what you think,” he said. “It’s in the
kitchen.”

She nodded and accepted his hand as
they walked down the dark hallway. “It’s a little spooky, don’t you
think?” she asked, aware of the way their shoes echoed off the
hardwood floor.

“
Don’t worry. I’m here to
protect you.” He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her
close to his side.

She playfully nudged him in the side.
“You’re silly.”

Laughing, he kissed her cheek. “Maybe,
but don’t you feel better knowing I’m here to protect
you?”

She snuggled against him and nodded.
“Much better. Thank you.”

He led her to the table and let go of
her so he could light the kerosene lamp. She turned her attention
to the spacious kitchen which had plenty of room for a table and
chairs. She scanned the wooden cupboards, the cook stove, the hooks
and shelves lining the wall and the little room off to the
side.

Gasping, she grabbed Rick’s arm and
led him to the small room. He held the lamp so she could see what
the room had in it and squealed in delight. “It’s a
pantry!”

He grinned. “Do you like
that?”

“
I love it! What does the
rest of the house look like?” Before he could answer, she spun him
around and led him out of the kitchen and back down the hall. To
their left was an empty room that was the parlor. She led him into
it and studied the room. “The window is lovely! It’s so big, too.
Let’s put a chair by it. Then we can put a couch against this
wall.” She motioned to the wall opposite the window. “We can put a
table in front of the couch, another one by the chair, and… Oh! We
can put another chair by the fireplace! That will be your chair so
you can warm your feet on a cold winter’s day. Then we’ll need
curtains and a rug and maybe some things to hang on the walls, and
this room will yell out welcome to anyone who comes to
visit!”

He laughed. “You don’t have to decide
where everything goes tonight.”

“
But this is fun. Isn’t it
fun, Rick?”

“
Well, yes, I suppose
so.”

“
Of course, it’s fun! I
finally get my own house to decorate however I please. I never did
care for the color curtains my mother put in the parlor, but here I
can put a light blue color. Hmm… Maybe yellow. To match the
house.”

“
You can decorate it
however you want.”

“
Oh Rick, that’s so kind of
you.” She kissed his cheek and headed for the entryway where her
carpet bag was. Noting the doorway next to the stairs, she asked,
“What is this room?”

“
That’s another room. You
can put whatever you want in it.”

“
Really?” She walked
through the doorway and inspected the space that was smaller than
the parlor but still large enough to enjoy. She bit her lower lip
and thought about what she might put in here. Then the perfect idea
occurred to her. “Rick, you could use this room.”

“
Me?” He stood beside
her.

“
Sure. You’re a judge. I’m
sure you have law books you need to read or something. We can make
this your room. You can have bookshelves for books, a desk, a
chair, and anything else you want. It’ll be perfect for
you.”

“
That does sound
nice.”

“
It will be once we’re done
putting furniture and curtains in here. Blue curtains, since you’re
a man.”

“
Thank you, Sally. I’d like
to have a room like that.”

She smiled and turned back toward the
doorway. “I want to see the upstairs. Maybe we should put yellow
curtains all through the house. Or is that boring? Do you think we
should have curtains of different colors in all the
rooms?”

He followed her up the stairs, holding
the lamp so she could see as she climbed up the steps. “It depends
on whether you like things to be the same or different.”

“
Maybe different. White for
the kitchen, yellow for the parlor, blue for your den since you’re
a man, green for the children’s bedroom… How many rooms are up
here?”

“
Three.”

She stopped at the top of the steps
and thought for a moment. “White, yellow, blue, green… Maybe pink?
No. What if we don’t have any girls? We can’t have them in a room
with pink curtains. Maybe purple? Do you think purple is good for a
boy’s room?”

“
We might have all girls.
In that case purple and pink will be just fine.”

“
You’re right. But to be on
the safe side, let’s put up purple in our room, and green and
orange curtains for the children’s rooms. If we have a boy and a
girl, we’re prepared.”

“
That sounds like a good
plan, Sally.”

She clapped her hands and studied the
rooms that would one day be for their children. “This is so much
better than I ever dreamed. I can’t believe I have my own house!”
She glanced at him and laughed. “I mean our house.”

He chuckled. “I know what you
meant.”

He walked over to where she stood at
the doorway of what would one day be one of their children’s
bedrooms and slipped his arm around her waist. He leaned forward
and kissed her, and she melted in his arms. His lips were warm, his
touch gentle, his body strong against hers. She couldn’t believe
she was really here. She was sure if she pinched herself, she’d
find out she’d been dreaming. But when he ended the kiss, she was
still with him, and he was smiling at her in a way that told her he
loved her. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. And what
was even better was knowing that she’d get to experience this for
the rest of her life.

He led her away from the doorway and
to another room. “I think before you decorate the children’s
bedrooms, you should decorate ours.”

She peered into the room which only
had a bed and a trunk in the corner of the room. “Are your things
in there?”

He nodded. “Until you pick out a
dresser and wardrobe, they will be.” Taking her carpet bag from
her, he crossed the room and placed it next to the
trunk.

She turned her attention to the window
which faced north. “What a perfect place to put our bedroom. The
sun won’t come directly in through the window in either the morning
or evening.”

“
I assure you, I had
nothing to do with that,” he teased.

Amused, she went over to the window
and saw that it looked out over the backyard. “Can you put in a
fence? I’d like for our children to be able to play back there
without running off. When my brothers and sister were younger, Ma
and I had a terrible job keeping them from running off, and quite
frankly, Richard and Tom weren’t any help.”