The Outlaw's Kiss (an Old West Romance) (Wild West Brides) (24 page)

“Oh, Eli,” I said when I finally opened my eyes.
“You’re so shaven.” I grimaced at my inelegance, but of course Eli just smiled.

He had a fresh haircut, a close shave, and every
inch of him seemed to radiate in the black wool suit that Ella had tailored to
hug every bit of him. For a moment I just stared with my mouth wide open.

“Hello there, Clara,” he said with a smile that
dazzled me. His dimples stood out, his blue eyes smoldering.

Pastor Charles cleared his throat. When I looked
in his direction, he nodded and smiled broadly. “Mr. Masterson, Miss James?”

“Ready,” Eli said.

“Yes, sir,” I nodded. “Me too.”

I chanced a glance at father, who looked back at
me, pride and tears in his eyes. He tilted his head back to the pastor.

“We are gathered here today, in this house of God,
to join these two – Eli Masterson and Clara James – in the bond of holy
matrimony. As there is no one else present, I assume neither of you have any
reason that you two should not be wed?”

“No sir,” Eli said, never taking those eyes off me.

I shook my head no, my mouth open but no words
coming.

“Good. Have either of you prepared vows you’d like
to read?”

To my surprise, Eli said, “I have, Reverend. May
I?”

“By all means.”

“Clara,” he said, holding both my hands in his.
“From the moment I first laid eyes on you in this very town, almost two months
ago, I knew you were the woman I’d been looking for my whole life. Don’t ask me
how, but I knew it the first time I saw you, the first time I heard your voice,
heard you laugh.”

He paused for a moment, and collected his
thoughts. For my part, I was hardly keeping myself upright my knees wobbled so.
It was a good thing he was holding my hands.

“In two months, we’ve been through more excitement
than most people have in their entire lives. I loved you when first we met, and
now I can say without any shred of doubt in my mind, that I don’t want to wake
up another day for the rest of my life without you beside me. I don’t want to
go to sleep at night without knowing we’re together.” He swallowed and took a
breath.

“To be honest, I never thought I’d say these words
– or anything close – to anyone. I thought I supposed I was to be alone for my
whole life, working and adventuring out in the wilderness. But now I know I
don’t want any adventure, I don’t want
any
life, that doesn’t have you
in it, Clara James.”

My heart melted, tears ran down my cheeks. I
squeezed his hands tight. “I love you too, Eli Masterson,” I said. “More than
anyone I’ve ever known. I can’t come up with something as beautiful as what you
just said, not without falling over my words and just bumbling through the
whole thing.”

I laughed nervously, and Eli reached up, pushing a
tear off my cheek with his thumb. “Take your time. We’re not in any hurry.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled it with a
rattling sigh that went to the depths of my soul. “I thought I’d marry
someone,” I began. “I thought that someday, I’d meet a man whose company I
enjoyed, and who maybe I even learned to love, and that one day, we’d be
married and have some children, and grow old together. But never in my life did
I expect – never did I even think – that someone would come along who took
every shred of my sense the first time I saw him.” I touched Eli’s cheek then
took his hands again. “Never did I think that I’d find myself in Deadwood,
swept off my feet by a man like you, Eli Masterson. Nor by anyone, come to
think of it.”

I paused for a moment, watching his face, letting
his gaze take me away. All I could do for a moment was smile. “I’m not sure I
believed this sort of thing was even real, you know? But here we are. You and
I, standing across from one another, holding hands, and I’m about to become
Clara Masterson, and I just can’t believe that such a thing is possible. I woke
up this morning convinced I was dreaming, but now I know it’s real. I know it’s
real and you’re real, and I know I’m the happiest woman on this planet or any
other. And it’s all thanks to you.”

My hands trembled as I finished.

“I’ve never heard more honest vows,” Pastor
Charles said after waiting to see if I had anything else to say. “And I’ve done
this a time or two. Well, without further ado. Clara James, do you take this
man – Eli Masterson, to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do,” I said, eyes fixed on Eli.

“And you, Eli Masterson. Do you take this woman –
Clara James – to be your lawful wedded wife, forever and ever, through rich and
poor, sick and well?”

“I do,” he whispered.  “I do.”

“Well, then, with the power vested in me by the
Lord above, and whatever territory it is we’re presently standing in, I now
pronounce you man and wife. Mr. Masterson?”

“Yes, Reverend?” His eyes burned in me even as he
spoke.

“You may kiss the bride.”

When he pulled me close, I breathed him, let him
fill my lungs, my nose and my being. Eli’s arms around me felt so good, so
safe. I was home.

Eli pressed his lips quickly against mine, then
deeper, and harder. For a moment that seemed to stretch into hours, our souls
squeezed together, our breath was one. When he finally pulled back, our lips
parted with a sweet, gentle sound and all I could see, all I could think, was
of the smile on his face; the broad, wonderful smile on my Eli’s face.

*

“W
e’ve got somewhere to be, Mrs. Masterson,” Eli
said, softly, as he cradled me against his chest.

The train carrying father to New York blasted its
horn and started to move. He stuck his head out the window, waving furiously.
Both Eli and I laughed and waved back, Eli punctuating his farewell with a loud
whistle and a “see you soon!”

“Oh? Where might we be going? I thought you said
we had all the time in the world.” I curled my fingers around the
freshly-trimmed hair on the back of his head. My fingertips dipped just beneath
his pinned collar.

“Somewhere I promised to take you way back when we
were both young and wild and just falling in love,” he said, caressing my lips
with a kiss. “A month and a half ago.” I felt his smile curl against my face.
The skin on my neck prickled as his breath slid around, hot and sweet, creeping
down the back of my ivory gown.

“I could live and die in Yankton, here at the edge
of the world, if I knew I’d be with you,” I said. “You can take me wherever you
want.”

He held up two train tickets between our faces.
“Amarillo? Oh, Texas!” It hit me all at once. “I can’t believe this, Eli!”

“And why is that? I told you we were going to Palo
Duro, and that I was going to dazzle you with the sunset. At the time though, I
thought we’d have to show a bit more propriety, but now we can sleep in the
same tent, Mrs. Masterson.”

“Oh Eli,” I said, slapping his chest. “You just
can’t help but being crass, can you?”

His face grew very serious for a moment. “I’m
sorry for all this. Not this,” he paused to collect himself. “I mean,
everything that’s happened. We’re going to Texas without a thing to our name.
This isn’t the life you want. It can’t be.”

“That’s not true,” I protested, folding and
unfolding Eli’s lapels. “My father said it right, back when we were leaving Deadwood.
Those are just things; clothes, hats, houses, money. What does it all mean
unless you’re with the one you love?”

“You mean that?” His blue eyes twinkled. Eli
pulled his hat off and pulled me close, muscled forearms tight against the
small of my back.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against his
chest. “Yes,” I whispered. “All I need is right here. Forever and ever.”

“Mrs. Masterson?” Eli tilted my head back,
studying my face.

“Yes, Mr. Masterson?” My voice quailed when he
squeezed me, kissing my throat, kissing my forehead.

“You’ve just made me the happiest man in the
world.” He held me at arms’ length. Those sparkling eyes and that dimple took
the breath right out of me. “Come on, we’ve got a sunset to watch.”

––––––––

THE END

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The Outlaw's Kiss (Sweet Western Historical Romance)
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