“I do hope you’ll meet the right man the next time, but don’t rush it, Penelope. You have plenty of time to get married.”
“Who said anything about getting married? I just enjoy men courting me. It’s great fun.”
“Do be careful. I’d hate to see you hurt again.”
Frank cleared his throat and McKenna smiled as he gave her a quick hug. “Last chance to back out.”
“No, I’m ready, if it’s time.”
The sisters each walked down the stairs to the wedding march and then McKenna was escorted down, Frank’s arm hooked with hers. She stared over to Cole who actually looked quite strange. She wasn’t all that sure if he was happy or sad that she was about to become his wife. McKenna had to admit she was a little nervous for the same reasons.
Frank moved aside as McKenna took her place next to Cole while Minister McMurphy performed the wedding ceremony. It was such a blur to her that she barely heard the words, and said her vows after much throat-clearing from Betty and Frank. It was so final when a gold band was placed on her ring finger. They were pronounced man and wife, and McKenna’s eyes widened as Cole moved in for a kiss that was little more than a peck on her lips, barely touching them. McKenna wasn’t all that sure, but that bothered her for some reason. And she was possibly a little disappointed.
After the wedding, her sisters hugged her and congratulated them both. Then the entire wedding party went outside where tables were set up with a wedding fare of roasted pork with red baby potatoes and carrots. There was even a wedding cake on one of the tables.
McKenna sat down next to Cole, who whispered in her ear, “Are you okay?”
“I-I’m not sure. This is so overwhelming.”
“I know. I feel the same way.”
This made her feel much better. They ate in relative silence and after dinner, the cake was cut. It was the best-tasting cake she had ever had, even though Cole had practically shoved it down her throat. But she retaliated by smashing a piece on his face. Laughter followed and McKenna couldn’t help herself; she joined the crowd in their amusement.
It was late and after many glasses of wine, it was time to go. Tears threatened to spill when Cole announced that he’d be picking her up the following day and to have her belongings ready. No wedding night? McKenna was nettled by it, but she had to remember that this wasn’t a real marriage. If she kept thinking that, perhaps she’d prevent herself from falling in love with him.
When Cole and his brother left, Abigail asked, “Why do you look so disappointed that he’s gone?”
“I’m not.”
“You can’t fool me, McKenna. It’s quite obvious that you at least like your new husband a little, from the way you were looking at him.”
“I wasn’t. I was petrified. This seems so final now. Not only have I just married Cole, I’ll be leaving Ohio tomorrow.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted, though?”
“I suppose, but it worries me, too. It’s going to be a big change for me.”
“It’ll be a big change for all of us, but I have faith in you that it will all work out.”
She about fell over from shock. She couldn’t believe Abigail had said that. “So, you’re supporting my decision?”
“Of course. It’s what you want, and I won’t stand in your way. I’ll support you any way I can. Don’t worry about our sisters. They’re capable of doing the right thing. Kayla is a little immature, but that will change in time. Once she’s in college, she’ll be too busy to worry about finding a husband. I often wonder if that’s what she really wants. She might do well with a little more freedom. That’s probably why she acts so rebellious.”
“She never acted like that when our parents were alive.”
“No, but she’s the baby and they coddled her so. I believe she’ll do just fine in college and life. We just need to back off a little.”
“The only thing I didn’t care to see was her trying to act so eager to meet someone, like how she behaved when she met Cole’s brother Bret.”
A strange look came over her face. “You have to admit that Bret is dreadfully handsome.”
“Abigail, are you actually saying that you find the man attractive?”
She fanned her face. “Oh, no. I just meant some women might find him handsome.”
“Just not you?”
“No, not me.”
McKenna arched a brow. “Are you sure, because you didn’t look so sure when you said it.”
Abigail yawned. “I’m tired. Let’s go home and get some sleep. You’ll need to get up early to pack for your trip.
McKenna nodded and left after thanking Betty and Frank for everything. By the time she finally made it home and hung up her wedding gown, she was quite sleepy. She pulled up her blanket when she lay down, and it was strange to think it would be the last night she’d do so in this house. She just hoped that she’d make her parents proud.
CHAPTER FOUR
McKenna groaned when the sun came though the curtains. It was the day she’d leave all she knew and loved. She wasn’t sure it was the right decision, but since she was Cole’s wife, there was nothing else she could do but go through with her plans.
She got up and dressed in a burgundy dress, slipping on her black and gold side-button boots. They had a small heel, but McKenna believed they’d be much better to wear going west than her slipper shoes. She sat down and tugged a brush through her hair until her sister Cadence came into the room.
“Here, allow me,” she said, taking the brush from her.
McKenna allowed her sister to brush her hair and put it up for her, leaving plenty of curls to cascade down the back with a few over her shoulders to the front.
“Thanks, Cadence. I’ll certainly miss your talent with styling my hair,” McKenna told her.
Cadence hugged McKenna and tears threatened to fall as she vowed, “I promise I’ll send for you just as soon as I get settled.”
“However did you get your corset on by yourself?”
“Corset. I forgot all about putting it on. Should I?”
“I’ll help. You don’t want that husband of yours to be disappointed in you already.”
McKenna took off her dress and her sister helped her with her corset, gasping as it was pulled tight. “This isn’t a real marriage, remember?”
“Oh, don’t be so hasty with thinking that. I saw the way Cole looked at you. I believe that man might just make you quite happy if you allow him to.”
McKenna screwed up her face. “No, I’m not even going to entertain such a thought. This is a business arrangement and that’s all.”
Cadence gave her sister’s shoulder a squeeze. “If you say so, sister.”
Abigail came into the room just as McKenna put her dress on, smoothing it into place.
“Abby, don’t look at me like that or I’m going to start crying, and I really don’t want to meet Cole with red eyes.”
“I-I can’t help it. Are you certain this is what you want to do?”
“Yes, I thought we’ve already been over this.”
“We have, but you’re my sister and I’ll miss you horribly,” Abigail cried.
“Then you won’t have an excuse when I get settled. You will visit me, right?”
“I suppose, but secretly I’m wishing it won’t work out and you’ll have to come back home.”
McKenna wrinkled her brow. “Now, that isn’t what I want to hear. If it doesn’t work out, I might not even have the means to come home.”
Abigail sighed. “Fine, but you better keep in contact with us.”
“Agreed.”
Penelope came into the room next with a satchel purse. “Here’s the money. Where are you putting it so nobody will know you’re carrying it? Even stagecoaches get robbed, you know.”
McKenna took the money out of the satchel and set it in a pouch that she slipped into the underside of her dress where there was a hidden pocket. She then straightened her dress so all the wrinkles were out of it.
“Happy now?”
Penelope clapped her hands. “How smart you are, sister.”
“I thought it would be better that nobody would know I carried money on me, too. I know how dangerous this journey by stagecoach could be. I almost wish Cole would be traveling in it, too. One thing you can count on: a man will protect you.”
“Why isn’t he traveling with you again?” Abigail asked.
“He’s bringing a wagon with supplies. He’ll be following the stagecoach, I believe.”
“I wonder if Bret is going with him,” Penelope pondered aloud.
“Why the sudden interest in Bret Winters?”
Penelope’s hands went to her waist. “It’s not what you think. I was just wondering. I like the sound of the two of them following the stagecoach is all. It’s not like I’m interested in the man. That’s more Kayla’s thing.”
McKenna took her suitcase, which was already packed, and carried it downstairs with her sisters trailing behind her. Kayla was fidgeting with her skirt from where she was standing by the door.
Her face was ashen when she glanced McKenna’s way.
“What is wrong, Kayla?” McKenna asked, concerned.
“It’s just that I don’t want you to go. Please don’t leave. I have a feeling something dreadful might happen to you out there, and we’ll never see you again.”
“This is not like you, Kayla. I assure you everything will be fine, and you’ll most certainly see me again when you come out to Nevada when I get settled.”
“It’s not going to be that easy, McKenna. Setting up the store will take time, and who knows how it will be out there.”
“True, but I promise that I’ll write.”
Kayla sniffled. “I know, but I never expected you to ever go anywhere. I thought you’d be the last one married, not the first.”
McKenna frowned. She didn’t much care about how she said that. “Thanks, I think. Not to worry; Abigail is here. She’s in charge, and I expect you to listen to her. She has only your best interest in mind.”
“I know, studying and more studying.”
“It’s for the best. I’d like to see you have a career. It’s quite possible to procure a job these days, even for a woman. Things have changed. You’ll see for yourself once you’re out of college.”
There was a knock at the door and Kayla answered it since she was nearest. Cole poked his head in and asked, “Are you ready?”
McKenna nodded, giving each of her sisters a tight hug, some of which were quite breathtaking. She walked to the door and said, “I won’t say goodbye. I’ll be seeing you all again. Be good, Kayla. Don’t be sad, Cadence. Don’t fall in love with the next man you meet, Penelope, and don’t worry so much, Abigail. I’d never leave if I didn’t think you could handle overseeing things here.”
“We really should get going before you miss the stagecoach,” Cole said. “I promise I’ll take care of your sister.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Abigail told him.
McKenna waited until Cole had lifted her suitcase and carried it out the door before she followed him outside. The sun was very bright and nearly blinding. She looked at every rose in the garden next to the house, breathing in deeply like she could capture the fragrance to enjoy later.
Cole helped her on the seat of the wagon, his strong arms encircling her waist.
Once she was settled in the seat, McKenna said, “Thanks.”
Bret then jumped into the back of the wagon as Cole flicked the reins to get the horses moving. McKenna held on to the side to steady herself. When they passed her parents’ store Neiman’s, she dabbed at her eyes as a tear threatened to fall. It still irked her that her uncle had so easily taken over the business, and there was already a new owner’s sign hanging over the door. She really felt sick after seeing that.
“Are you okay?” Cole asked.
“Yes, just thinking about our trip. Is Bret going with you?”
“Yes, I figured it would be good to have someone go with me. He’ll be riding the stagecoach back to Ohio.”
“Is the trip going to be that dangerous?”
“You never know, but I’m just playing it safe.”
“Then why do you want me riding in the stagecoach and not with you?”
“It will be more comfortable that way and the proper way for a lady to travel west.”
“I just hope it’s not robbed.”
“What would make you think that?” he inquired.
“I don’t know. I just heard about stagecoaches being robbed before.”
“Don’t worry about that. I promise we won’t be far behind you.”
“I certainly hope not. That would make me feel somewhat better,” she stated.
McKenna didn’t feel all that nervous since she had her money hidden. She planned to make people believe that she had no real means. She then glanced down at her dress and wondered if she should have dressed like a working class woman, but it was too late now to change that. She did want them to think she was a lady, at least, just one whose husband wasn’t traveling with her.
“Relax, McKenna. I’ll be following the stagecoach all the way to Nevada.”
McKenna sighed. “I’m not exactly nervous. It’s just that I’ve never even been out of Ohio and here I’m going clear across the country to Nevada to start a new venture with a man I don’t even know.”
“We’re married, remember?”
McKenna glared at him. “I swear if you think I’m going to change my mind about the name-only marriage, you have another think coming.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, dear.”
She tried to calm herself since the barb struck home. Teach her to speak to him that way. It would be better if she kept her thoughts to herself. She depended on him, after all. She had only one question to ask. “You do have money for your share of the business, right?”
“Yes, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps I should hold the money for you just for safekeeping.”
“Thanks, but I’d feel better about hanging on to my own money,” McKenna said.
“Just keep it on your person,” Bret piped up from behind her. “If the coach gets robbed, the strongbox would be the first thing they’d take.”
McKenna felt a knot in her throat. “Robbed? Just how dangerous is it riding stagecoach?”
“It has its problems, but not to worry. I’ll—”
“Be following the coach, I remember.”
She was silent the rest of the way and Cole pulled up to the stagecoach station five minutes later. Cole pulled back on the reins and Bret changed places with Cole who hopped down. When he was on McKenna’s side of the wagon, he helped her down, and she shyly pushed away. She felt so uncomfortable standing so near him and could feel the heat from where his hands had encircled her waist.
Cole grabbed her bag and led the way to where passengers were checking in. A small man with squinty eyes nodded as they approached. “Where you headed?”
“Silver, Nevada, but the lady only. Name is McKenna Winters.”
The man scratched his head, going through papers before pointing out the stagecoach that was at the front, handing them her ticket. McKenna admired the burgundy stagecoach with matching material inside the windows, which she assumed were to keep the dust out while the coach was in motion.
As she gripped her satchel, two other women were standing nearby. One was an older woman, her powder blue gown lifted so as not to get dirty, but McKenna doubted that would even be possible. The other woman was vivacious, wearing a low-cut gown that displayed her rounded breasts. It was obvious that she was of questionable virtue. What bothered McKenna about that was how she was looking at Cole, who was more intent on handing her bag over to a man who added it to the rack above the stagecoach with the other bags.
“Anyone have anything that needs to be added to the strongbox?”
McKenna shook her head, but the older woman stepped forward and dropped in a bag t
hat had coins in it, from the sound it made when it hit the bottom of the box.
Two men moseyed up and tipped their cowboy hats at the ladies. All that did was make McKenna all the more nervous, since both men made her feel quite uncomfortable.
Once the luggage was secured, the man came forward and took the tickets, and Cole pulled her in close for a searing kiss. She pounded against his chest until he released her.
“She’s a shy one,” one man said with a southern drawl.
“Yes, we just got married yesterday. She’ll warm up to me in time,” Cole said with a wink.
McKenna fumed and felt so embarrassed that she was the first one helped into the stagecoach. She slid across the fabric seat and the older woman sat next to her with the younger woman against the other window, leaving the men to sit opposite them. She was a little squished since the woman seated next to her was a little bigger, but she preferred it to sitting next to either of those men who currently stared at the women. This was going to be the most uncomfortable ride ever. Not that she had ever been in a stagecoach. It certainly wouldn’t be fun to ride all the way to Nevada this way.
She gulped when she saw two men holding rifles who walked by.
“Relax, girl. That’s the driver and the man who rides in the back. It makes me feel more comfortable if they have a rifle. Plenty dangerous on the trail,” the woman seated next to her said.
“Oh, I suppose I didn’t know what to expect.”
“The name is Ethel Braxton,” the woman introduced herself. “I’m going west to join my husband. William struck it rich in Silver and sent for me.”
McKenna smiled. “Nice to meet you, Ethel. My name is McKenna Jameson.”
“Hey, doesn’t your family own Neiman’s?”
“Not anymore, or I should say my uncle Abner does now. It’s a long story and I’d rather not go into now, if you don’t mind.”
Ethel patted McKenna’s hand. “I’m sorry if I was prying. I just remember you is all from when I shopped there.”
“I’m sorry. I’m still a little sore about how things happened, but hopefully in Silver, I’ll be able to make a fresh start.”
“That’s what I’m doing, too,” the woman opposite Ethel said. “I’m Bella O’Conner and looking for a fresh start, too.”
McKenna, (Sweet Western Historical Romance) (Nevada Brides Series Book 1) Page 4