by Irene Brand
“Why, yes, ma’am, I do. He’s always talking about buying a Red Angus bull from the Arrowsmith Ranch near Bassett, Nebraska.”
“Will you show me the kind he would like?”
Favoring her with a perplexed glance, Al nodded and headed toward one of the pens. He pointed out a huge animal chained inside the temporary stock fence.
“That’s the kind of bull he wants, but he’d rather have a bull calf and raise it to suit him.”
“How much would a calf cost?”
Looking frightened, Al said, “Five or six thousand dollars, maybe. Miss Kennedy, I don’t know what you have in mind, but I won’t be a part of it. If you’re going to do what I think you are, Derek will kill me.”
Kennedy patted the cowboy on the shoulder. “What Derek doesn’t know won’t hurt him. You go ahead and forget you talked with me today,” she said, with a fond smile in his direction.
Al backed away from her, looking as frightened as if she had a contagious disease. After a short talk with the owner of the Arrowsmith Ranch, Kennedy went to the First National Bank and asked to see the president. She told him the price the ranch owner had asked for a bull calf. When he assured her that the price was reasonable, she said, “I want to buy it and take it to the Circle Cross today for a wedding gift. The owner has assured me that if Derek doesn’t like this one, he’ll exchange it for an animal Derek does want. Will you guarantee the check I’m giving him?” The president smiled broadly. “Miss Blaine, you’re already a good customer of this bank, and I’ll be happy to do anything for you.” Two hours later, with some trepidation, Kennedy followed the cattle trailer that contained the Red Angus bull calf as the truck left Valentine and drove toward the Circle Cross. She knew how touchy Derek was, and perhaps she shouldn’t have bought the animal, but she also knew that Derek would be hesitant to spend the money necessary to upgrade the ranch’s stock.
Looking extremely cold and weary, Derek came out of the barn when the rancher drove into the ranch yard. Kennedy parked her car quickly and ran toward Derek, who had the oddest expression on his face.
Putting her arm around his waist, she said quickly, “I’ve been trying to decide what to buy you for a wedding gift.” She gestured toward the truck, where the calf bellowed loudly. “Will that do?”
Derek looked down at her, and she couldn’t tell if he was angry or stunned by what had happened.
“Darling, please don’t be angry. The man says that if you don’t like this bull, you can come to the ranch and pick another one.” Kennedy held her breath. She’d never seen Derek look like this. Was he embarrassed? Would he even marry her now?
Suddenly, he swept her into his arms. She could feel his uneven breathing on her face as his arms tightened around her waist. “I don’t deserve you, my love,” he whispered. “God really smiled down on the Circle Cross the day you came here.”
Disregarding the rancher and the Circle Cross’s men, he tipped her head backward and kissed her soundly.
With his arm around Kennedy, Derek walked to the truck and shook hands with the Arrowsmith owner. He peered through the bars at the bull.“From the looks of him, I couldn’t have chosen a better one.” Squeezing Kennedy tightly he said to her, “I knew you’d turn into a good rancher. Let’s unload our new bull.”
“Then you really do like him?” Kennedy asked anxiously.
“I like him, but I wonder how you knew this was the kind of stock I wanted.”
Laughing because she was so happy and because she wanted to protect Al, she said, “Maybe a little bird told me.” Only one more day until I’m Mrs. Derek Sterling was Kennedy’s first thought when she woke up. Putting on her robe, she went to the kitchen, where Matti already had French toast prepared for their breakfast.
“What time are we meeting for rehearsal?” she asked.
“Seven o’clock. Daniel and his mother won’t arrive in Omaha until around noon. Tony wanted to allow time for plane delays. His parents and his sister’s family are driving in from Lincoln. They have reservations at the Holiday Inn where the reception will be held and where the rehearsal dinner is. You know all of this, I guess, but if you’re as excited as I am, you’ve probably forgotten most of the details.”
“You’re right.” Kennedy held out her left hand and caressed the engagement ring Derek had given her—a French-cut pave setting with sixty-six brilliant cut round diamonds. Kennedy hadn’t wanted him to spend so much money, but he begged her to pick out a ring she really wanted, and she had. “Once Derek slips a gold band on my finger to match this one and Daniel pronounces us husband and wife, my sanity will return, but until then my brain isn’t functioning very well.” Tony came after Matti in midafternoon so they could spend time with his parents at his home. Wanting the wedding to be as family-oriented as possible, Kennedy later drove her grandfather’s Buick to the ranch house to pick up Derek and June. He drove them into Valentine in the Buick, and they were the last to arrive at Tony’s church, where they would be married in a small chapel rather than the main sanctuary. All of the other wedding party was there, including Daniel Trent and his mother.
Daniel was a broad-shouldered man with dark eyes and hair who looked like an athlete. Tony had mentioned that Daniel was an “exercise freak,” and Kennedy could tell that he did work to keep his body in shape. His mother, Rebecca, on the other hand was overweight, which didn’t seem to bother her in the least. Her dark blue eyes gleamed from a face that seemed prematurely wrinkled, so perhaps her early widowhood was still painful for her. But she was an outgoing woman about June’s age, and the two of them bonded right away.
“I feel as if I know both of you already,” Rebecca said to Derek and Kennedy. “Tony was so happy to be reunited with his long-lost cousin that he told us a lot about Kennedy in his frequent e-mails.” Turning to Derek she said, “I believe he said you were in school together.”
“Yes, we met when our family moved here. We were friends during high school, but we didn’t see much of each other after he went away to college.”
“Where did you live before you came to Valentine?” she asked.
“In Chicago,” Derek said shortly, and Kennedy knew he was annoyed that Rebecca’s questioning reminded him of things he preferred to forget during this time
“In Chicago,” Derek said shortly, and Kennedy knew he was annoyed that Rebecca’s questioning reminded him of things he preferred to forget during this time of happiness. She hadn’t wanted anything to remind Derek of his unknown past during their wedding festivities. Rebecca apparently sensed his restraint, and although she continued to visit with them for a few minutes, she didn’t ask any other personal questions.
Kennedy had been a bridesmaid at two of her friends’ weddings, so she was aware of what to expect, but Matti laughed nervously a few times while Daniel led them through the steps of the ceremony he would perform the next day.
When Kennedy opened the door and stepped into the hallway at Riverside after they came home from the rehearsal dinner, she said to Matti, “When I walk through that door tomorrow night, I’ll be Mrs. Derek Sterling.”
“But you shouldn’t walk through the door. Derek is supposed to carry you over the threshold.”
“He’ll never think of it,” Kennedy answered.
Giggling, Matti said, “Well, stand outside until he does.”
“I’m so excited from all the visiting and eating that I won’t be able to sleep. Do you want to watch something on television?”
“I don’t think so. I still have to pack my clothes for our honeymoon.” She grabbed Kennedy’s arms and swung her around the hallway. “Imagine, little ol’ poor girl, Matti Gray, honeymooning in Hawaii.”
“You deserve it, my friend. It’s a honeymooner’s paradise.”
Matti stopped twirling and leaned against the wall. “I wish Derek and you were coming with us.” Kennedy took off her coat and hung it in the hall closet. With a mischievous glance toward Matti, she retorted, “Now, girlfriend, as much as I like you,
I don’t want you or Tony on my honeymoon. I’m looking forward to hibernating here at Riverside for a few days with nobody except Derek, even if I have to handcuff him to me.”
“Sure, I understand. We’ll see lots of each other from now on.” Heading toward the stair steps, Matti said, “Try to sleep.” Kennedy heard the clock in the living room strike midnight, but she must have gone to sleep soon afterward, because she didn’t wake up until Derek called her at seven the next morning.
“I know the groom isn’t supposed to see the bride on their wedding day,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t call you, does it?”
“No, and I’m glad you did. It’s seems like a long time until two thirty.”
“This day is made to order for us. It’s rare to not have snow on the ground in February and with temperatures in the low fifties.”
“So Tony and Matti won’t have any trouble driving to Omaha and taking their flight to Hawaii.”
“It doesn’t seem likely.” With remorse in his voice, he stated, “I still feel guilty that we didn’t plan a trip.”
“Don’t! Darling, I’m perfectly content to spend our honeymoon at Riverside. Really, I am. But I’m holding you to your promise to take a vacation next summer.”
“I’ll go anyplace you want to,” he said.
“I know you will, but it’s a honeymoon just to be with you and know that you’re my husband. I mean it, Derek.” He started to speak, and Kennedy said sternly,
“And don’t let me ever hear you say again that you don’t deserve me.”
Laughing, he said, “I don’t, but that wasn’t what I started to say. Daniel and Rebecca have decided to stay an extra day or two, and Tony asked if we could take them out to dinner before they leave.”
“Do we have to?” Kennedy groaned. “I wanted a few days for just the two of us, but I don’t suppose we can turn Tony down. We might just invite them to Riverside. I’ll think about it.”
“I know how you feel, sweetheart, but we’ll have the rest of our lives together. I like Daniel and Rebecca,” Derek said. “And it was good of him to come all this way to marry us. Besides, I’m glad that Rebecca will be at the wedding, so Mom won’t have to sit alone.”
“Only a few more hours,” Kennedy said.
“They’ll drag for me, though,” Derek said. “I’ll never really believe you’re mine until Daniel pronounces that we’re man and wife.” Kennedy’s fingers felt as if they were all thumbs while she and Matti helped each other put on their wedding dresses in a classroom close to the chapel where the marriages would be celebrated. As she settled a white cotton eyelet scooped neckline gown over Matti’s head and shoulders, she considered their wise decision not to wear identical wedding garments. Though they would be married in a joint ceremony in the same chapel on Valentine’s Day, their weddings were otherwise individualistic.
Kennedy smoothed the full skirt over the slight hoop and tied a blue satin ribbon around Matti’s waist while Matti put on the pearl earrings and matching necklace Tony had given her as a wedding gift. Kennedy placed a short veil over Matti’s red hair, which was styled in an informal upsweep with her face framed by wavy tendrils. She turned Matti around to see the final results. “Oh, you’re beautiful! I only hope I look half as pretty as you do.”
“You know you’ll outshine me,” Matti said generously. “Your hairstyle is stunning,” she said of the glamour-girl coif the local hairdresser had created. From the deep part on the left side, her hair cascaded in waves several inches below her shoulders.
To complement her blond hair, Kennedy’s had chosen a gold Chantilly lace over ivory satin gown with flared cap sleeves and a matching cathedral-length veil.
She wore the diamond pendant her mother had worn on her wedding day and her own diamond earrings, a gift from her parents when she’d graduated from high school. When the dress was in place, Matti fitted Kennedy’s feet into ivory peep-toe pumps.
Kennedy opened the door into the hallway so they could hear the music being played on the piano by Tony’s sister, who was a music teacher in Lincoln.
Kennedy recognized “From This Moment,” the selection to be played before the “Wedding March.”
“Let’s go,” she said to Matti. “We should be at the chapel door by the time she finishes this arrangement.”
“Are you nervous?” Matti whispered in a trembling voice as they walked down the hallway.
Gripping Matti’s arm, Kennedy grinned and joked, “No, I’m shaking like this because I’m cold. Seriously, though, I’m not nervous about being married. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I arrived at the Circle Cross and saw Derek for the first time.” The music stopped and, after a slight pause, strains of the “Bridal Chorus” from Wagner’s opera Lohengrin reached their ears. Clasping hands, the girls moved into the open doorway. A short distance away, Derek and Tony waited for them. Derek’s heartrending, tender gaze met hers, and Kennedy’s spirits soared.
It would have been difficult to find two more handsome men. Derek wore his gray tux with a matching shawl collar easily, as if he dressed in such garments every day. Kennedy was used to Tony being dressed in formal clothes, but she marveled at the happiness shining in his eyes as he waited for Matti in a classic tux, white shirt, and black bow tie.
The processional was probably the shortest one in history, for only a few steps brought them to the pulpit where Daniel Trent stood. They took their places between Derek and Tony.
between Derek and Tony.
Before he asked the couples to join hands, Daniel read in a solemn voice, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses, to join these men and these women in holy matrimony. This honorable estate, instituted of God, was adorned and beautified by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. The family is the foundation of human fellowship. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into by any unadvisedly, but reverently, discreetly, and in the love of God.”
Soon Kennedy and Derek stood hand in hand and took their separate vows. Kennedy had been determined that she wouldn’t shed any tears today, for it was the happiest day of her life, but when Daniel held up the platinum wedding band with a geometric design that Kennedy had chosen for Derek and said, “The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love,” her eyes misted with tears. She intended to do everything in her power to keep those vows.
When she slipped the ring on Derek’s finger, she leaned forward and kissed his hand. And judging from the euphoria she experienced when Daniel at last pronounced them man and wife, Kennedy wondered if she’d ever been completely sure of him until this moment.
Although Derek’s kiss was gentle and brief, Kennedy saw the tenderness of his gaze, and happiness filled her heart. To the majestic strains of “Trumpet Voluntary,” Tony and Matti preceded them down the aisle, kissing and hugging those in attendance. When Kennedy and Derek reached the seat where June sat with Rebecca Trent, Kennedy stopped abruptly.
With a big white ribbon around his neck, Wilson sat on the pew beside June. Sensing Derek’s silent laughter, Kennedy turned on him.
“I thought Wilson deserved an invitation,” he said.
Wilson’s ears perked straight up, and he gazed at them with solemn eyes.
“I agree. If it wasn’t for Wilson, I might not be here today.” She knelt and threw her arms around the dog. He barked joyfully, wagged his tail, and licked Kennedy’s cheek. Then he jumped to the floor and walked down the aisle before them, as if he considered he had earned that privilege.
Tony’s parents had insisted on providing a stretch limousine to transport members of the bridal party and their families from the church to the reception at the Holiday Inn. Matti and Kennedy would have been content to travel in private cars, but because Tony’s mother had been disappointed when they didn’t have a more elaborate wedding, everyone had agreed to travel in th
e limousine.
Kennedy had expected several guests, but she was surprised when she saw the huge crowd of people waiting for them in the entrance hall once the limousine parked under the hotel’s canopy. She picked out Sam, Joel, and Al, as well as Miranda, from the noisy crowd that greeted their arrival with applause. Miniature bubbles drifted around their heads as their guests cheered. The reception coordinator directed the wedding party to take their position in front of the floral-draped fireplace.
“Kennedy and Derek, you stand first in the line; June comes next,” she said. “Then Matti and Tony, with your parents beside you. The guests will greet you first and then move on toward the buffet. They can start eating, and after all the guests have been seated, we’ll cut the wedding cakes.” Matti and Kennedy had both chosen four-tiered cakes, but otherwise they were different. Matti and Tony had chosen a vanilla cake with a roasted pineapple and coconut filling. Derek had assured Kennedy that he had no preference, so she decided on layers of chocolate chip cake filled with dark chocolate mousseline and white-chocolate cream. As an extra touch, the bakery had prepared a special peanut butter and jelly cake for children.
The line of guests seemed endless, and the high-heeled sandals Kennedy had chosen for style rather than comfort pinched her feet. She shifted from foot to foot to ease her back muscles, and, perhaps sensing her discomfort, Derek often placed his strong hand on her back.
They had been standing and greeting well-wishers for more than an hour when Kennedy turned to the next guest and stared, tongue-tied, amazed, and very shaken. Gabriel Morgan stood in the line, accompanied by his housekeeper, Esther Holmes. Kennedy’s back stiffened, and Derek turned quickly to see this unexpected guest.
“I didn’t receive an invitation, but I hope I’m welcome,” Gabriel said, a glint of humor and uncertainty in his sharp eyes.
Kennedy sliced a fast look toward Tony, but he was talking with one of his parishioners and wasn’t aware of his grandfather’s entrance. Derek gently squeezed her right underarm. A fleeting memory of her mother’s sorrow caused Kennedy to hesitate momentarily, but she knew that with his gentle touch, Derek was encouraging her to let bygones be bygones.