“And don’t you look beautiful today.” Mary Jo stopped to give her a hug.
“Granny, you were rude,” Lizzy said.
“For that smartass remark and since you are bound, damned, and determined to marry that worthless son-of-a-bitch, wannabe preacher, you can say grace before we eat this good food.”
Lizzy dropped her chin and said softly, “Father, thank you for this food. Forgive Granny for her dirty language and the rest of us for our sins. Amen.”
“That wasn’t a prayer. God didn’t even hear that short two sentences,” Irene fussed.
“It’s enough, Mama. Eat your dinner,” Katy said.
Irene picked up her fork. “Okay, but if I die tonight and God won’t let me in the pearly gates because I ate unblessed food, then I’m going to tell him it’s y’all’s fault.”
Blake chuckled. “I think I’m fallin’ in love with her.”
Irene’s head popped up. “Who’s fallin’ in love with who?”
“No one, Granny. I hear Nadine made cherry pies and she’s got ice cream and chocolate syrup,” Allie said.
“I said that I was falling in love with you,” Blake said.
“Bullshit! I’m old. You’re not in love with me. You are in love with Allie.”
Blake nodded. “You are right. I have fallen in love with Allie. I’m downright crazy in love with this woman and I don’t care who all knows it.”
Irene clapped her hands.
Allie blushed.
“Hey, if you can declare that I’m your boyfriend right here in the middle of this café, I can tell the whole world I’m in love with you in the same place.” Blake leaned to his left, tipped her chin up with his fist, and kissed her right there in public.
“Well, would you look at that, Katy? I think he means it?” Irene giggled.
“I was going to wait for a private moment, but this seems like a perfect place and time.” He pushed back his chair and dropped down on one knee. “Allie Logan, I love you. Plain and simple and I can’t imagine life without you. Will you marry me?”
He flipped open a red velvet ring box to reveal a brown diamond solitaire ring surrounded by more than a dozen sparkling clear diamonds. “I chose this because it’s the color of your eyes.”
“Yes!” she said without hesitation.
He slipped the ring onto her finger, picked her up out of the chair, and swung her around the floor several times before his lips settled on hers. Most of the folks in the café clapped. The ones who didn’t were already talking on their phones.
Later that afternoon, Allie held the ring up to catch the sunlight pouring into the bedroom. “I can’t believe you proposed right there in public.”
Blake wrapped his hand around hers and brought the ring to her face. “That brown diamond is the same color as your eyes. Darlin’, it was either propose or explode. I knew I wouldn’t be able to swallow that good food until I asked you to marry me.”
“We need to talk,” she said.
“Oh, no!” He fell back on the pillows. “I hate it when you say that.”
“Well, we do.”
“Please don’t tell me you aren’t going to marry me,” he groaned.
“Oh, honey, I’m going to marry you, but I’m fixin’ to give you a way out if you don’t want to be burdened with what I’m about to say.” She swallowed twice and started three times but the words wouldn’t come out. “Hell’s bells, Blake, this is tough.”
Blake propped up on an elbow. “Just spit it out.”
“I was married for two years and sexually active for two years before that. We were young and stupid the first two years. After we married we wanted children, but it never happened and Riley said it was my fault,” she said slowly.
“And what has that got to do with us?”
She shrugged. “I’m three days late and we haven’t even talked about kids because I told you I couldn’t have any. But I’ve never been late and now I’m thinkin’ maybe Riley lied to me about going to the doctor to get tested.” She stopped to catch her breath.
Blake pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I want kids, but I want you more. If you are pregnant, then I hope it’s twins so we’ll get a jump on a house full. If you aren’t and you really can’t have them, then someday in the future we might discuss adoption if you want them.”
She pushed back and let the tears loose to stream down her cheeks. “I love you with my whole heart and what you just said makes me say yes to your proposal all over again. Let’s get married this week.”
“Sounds great to me, but don’t take the test until afterward. I don’t ever want you to feel like I married you because I had to. I’m marrying you because I love you, Allie.” He kissed away her tears.
“You are trying to make a ranch here. A wife wasn’t in your four-year plan and I know a baby wasn’t.”
“We’ll take them when we get them and if we never get them, then we have each other. Did you have your mind set on a big wedding?”
“Hell, no!” she said loudly. “Let’s go get a license at the courthouse before Friday, get married on Sunday morning after church, and the potluck can be our reception. I want to be a wife, not a fiancée.”
He laid a hand on her flat stomach. “I love you, Allie.”
“I love you, too, Blake,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-seven
You cannot wear that.” Lizzy was absolutely aghast that Sunday morning. “You are getting married, not going to stand on the street corner to solicit business.”
“It’s Valentine’s Day. I like red, and Blake is wearing a red tie so this is it. Besides remember our roots, Lizzy.” Allie smiled. “I’ll be the hooker bride. You can be the snow white virgin bride.”
“I’m not a virgin. Haven’t been since I was eighteen,” Lizzy said tersely.
Allie leaned in close to the mirror and applied eyeliner. “You might as well be one as long as it’s been since you’ve had a good romp in the bed. When your Mitch comes home, take him to a motel and jump his bones. It’ll make you feel a hell of a lot better.”
“That wild cowboy has made you as rowdy as he is.” Lizzy laughed.
“Yes, he has, and I love it and him for doing it. Now let’s go to church and have a wedding afterward, then we can eat all that lovely food. And Lizzy, thank you one more time for helping me move all my things over to the Lucky Penny. I can’t believe I’ll be waking up tomorrow in my new home.”
Lizzy laid a hand on her shoulder. “Or that it’s this close to Mama and Granny. I envy you, sister.”
Allie turned around and hugged Lizzy tightly. “I’m not going to think about you having to live all the way up there in the city. I’ll miss you so much.”
“Don’t talk about it or we’ll both cry and mess up our makeup. I’ve got to stand up beside you at the wedding and I don’t need to have black streaks down my face. Who is Blake’s best man? Deke?”
Allie took a step back. “No, it’s his brother, Toby.”
“Well, you will have a few months before he moves in to enjoy the honeymoon,” Lizzy sniffed. “At least Mitch and I won’t have another person living with us.”
“But Grady will be there every day, I betcha. And with Deke in and out every day, we’re already used to an extra person around,” Allie told her.
Allie’s hands had started to sweat when the preacher took the podium. He laid his Bible down but didn’t open it and smiled out at the congregation. “Today, we aren’t going to have a service, but we are going to have a wedding. In my opinion there isn’t a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than to unite two people who are very much in love in the bonds of holy matrimony.”
“I thought he was going to preach first,” Blake said.
“So did I.” Allie nodded.
The preacher’s wife hit a few keys on the piano and Lizzy stood up in her cute little off-white lace dress. She pulled a small bouquet of tiny little white flowers mixed with half a dozen red roses from a small c
ooler at her feet. The white ones reminded her of that tiny little snow flower that Blake had brought her that day and the roses—they reminded her of the roses that grew on the barbed wire fence between the Lucky Penny and Audrey’s Place in the summertime.
Folks looked around to see where Mitch was and from the expressions on their faces, Allie could tell that they thought Lizzy was the bride. But then Lizzy laid the bouquet on the altar and took her place on the stage.
Blake and Toby rose to their feet at the same time. Some folks might say they walked up the aisle, but from where Allie sat, there was no doubt that was a Texas cowboy strut or swagger. It definitely covered much more than a walk. She waited until they made it to the front to start down the aisle.
Blake caught her eye and everything else disappeared. She didn’t hear the whispers about her tight red dress or the gasps, or even thumbs working frantically as some of them typed in text messages. All she saw was the man she loved, the wild cowboy she’d been waiting on her whole life. She picked up the bouquet and joined him on the stage.
“You are beyond beautiful today. Words could never describe what a stunning bride you are,” he whispered.
“I love you,” she said loud enough for everyone in the church to hear.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite Alora Raine Logan and Blake Alan Dawson in holy matrimony…” the preacher said.
“I just realized what your initials are,” Allie whispered. “I really did fall for a bad boy.”
“And I fell for an angel.” He grinned.
She handed Lizzy her flowers and held both of Blake’s hands in hers. Six weeks ago she hadn’t even known this man and now she was standing right there before God and her friends and family saying that she would love, honor, and cherish him until death parted them. Not one doubt filled her heart when she said a loud, “I do!”
The ceremony ended with a prayer and the preacher said, “You may now kiss your bride, Blake.”
She wasn’t expecting him to bend her backward in a true Hollywood kiss and then sweep her feet off the floor and swing her around the stage twice before he set her down and kissed her again.
But he did and the whole congregation applauded.
“I am the happiest man right now on this whole planet,” he said.
“And now the bride and groom and these two young people who have stood with them to witness their marriage vows are going on to the fellowship hall. Give them five minutes to catch their breath and we’ll join them,” the preacher said.
Lizzy handed Allie the bouquet.
Allie turned around to loop her arm in Blake’s but he shook his head. “Not that way darlin’. We are doing this our way.”
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the sanctuary and down the short hall to the place where the potluck was set up.
“Would you look at this?” He grinned.
Allie was stunned. Red roses decorated tables covered with white cloths. A gorgeous three-tiered cake decorated with roses and snow flowers sat on a round table with a lovely silver punch bowl.
“Mama, Nadine, Mary Jo, and Sharlene got together yesterday and did all this,” Lizzy said.
“It’s gorgeous,” Allie said.
“I guess I’d best tell you that the church was packed this morning because my family brought campers and RVs and they set up last night on the Lucky Penny,” Blake said. “Surprise! You get to meet them all in about two minutes.”
Allie was sure she’d faint dead away right then, but she stiffened her legs and made her knees stop knocking together. “Bring ’em on. I tamed the wildest cowboy in Texas. I’m not afraid of anything.”
“That’s my girl,” Blake said.
An hour later when everyone had gone through the buffet line, some more than once, and it was almost time to cut the cake, Allie looked around for Lizzy and couldn’t find her. There hadn’t been a formal table for the wedding party so she figured Lizzy had opted to sit elsewhere, but something wasn’t right. Allie could feel it deep in her bones.
“I’m going to make a trip to the ladies’ room, darlin’. I’ll be back soon and then we’ll cut the cake so folks can have a piece of it,” she whispered.
“Don’t take that test without me standing right beside you,” he said.
She kissed him on the cheek. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She found Lizzy curled up around a toilet in the handicapped stall in the bathroom. Her eyes were swollen and she’d cried so hard that she had the hiccups. She threw her arms around Allie’s knees and sobbed.
“What happened? Did Mitch die?”
“No, worse,” Lizzy said. “But I didn’t want to ruin your wedding day.”
Allie sat down on the floor and held her sister tightly. “How much worse?”
“He’s not going to marry me, Allie. The preacher’s daughter went with them on the mission and he says he’s found his soul mate. That after praying…” Lizzy gagged but nothing came up, “about it, both of them praying about it, that they realize God meant them to be together and for them to preach at the little church in Mexico so they aren’t coming back to Texas. They’re going to be missionaries.”
Allie hugged Lizzy even tighter. “Oh, Lizzy, I’m so sorry. That bastard did this with a phone call?”
Lizzy nodded. “He said I was never cut out to be a preacher’s wife anyway. And God told him that with prostitutes in my background that he’d never be accepted as a preacher. What am I going to do?”
“Break up with him,” Allie said.
“Are you crazy? He broke it off with me,” Lizzy said.
“And he’s not coming back to Texas for a long time. Give me your engagement ring.”
Lizzy pointed at the toilet. “I flushed it.”
“That’s even better. You are going to get up, wash your face, and use the makeup kit in my purse to fix things as best you can. Then we’re going back into the church and we’re going to cut my wedding cake. You aren’t going to say a word but when people start to notice that your ring is gone you are going to say that your broke it off with him because you found out he had another woman on the line. Do you understand me?” Allie said sternly.
Lizzy nodded. “It’s almost the truth and it will save all that sickening sweet pity, won’t it?”
Allie pulled Lizzy up and marched her to the sink. “Work some magic in five minutes. The gossip fiends will come looking for me if I’m not back by then.”
Lizzy washed her face with a brown paper towel and then applied makeup. When she and Allie walked out of the bathroom, they both had smiles. Maybe Lizzy’s didn’t reach her eyes but no one would notice.
“And here is our bride and her lovely sister,” the preacher said loudly when they reached the fellowship hall. “Let’s cut into that cake and see if it’s as good as it looks.”
Allie reached for Blake’s hand and he raised an eyebrow.
“Later, darlin’. More than one prayer got answered today.” She smiled up at him as they crossed the floor to the cake table.
“You took the test?”
“Not yet. It’s waiting at home and I’ll explain the rest later.”
“And after the cake cutting,” Katy announced, “Allie and Blake will have their first dance as a married couple.”
Allie picked up the long knife with a lovely cut glass handle. “The mamas went all out, didn’t they?”
“Mamas are like that.” Blake kissed her again and the whole crowd applauded. “Don’t worry, I chose the song.”
“You knew?” Allie asked.
“Not until late last night. Let’s get this cake cut and dance so we can go home, Mrs. Dawson.”
When the first strands of music started, Allie’s eyes widened out as big as saucers. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Not the conventional wedding music, but it’s our music and the words remind me of…” Blake said.
Allie put her fingers over his lips and blushed. Blake twirled her out on the area
cleared out for a dance floor and danced with her just like they’d done at Frankie’s place while Etta James sang “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.”
“And now for my choice.” Allie put her arms around Blake’s neck and swayed with him to “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait. “And yes, I knew last night, too. Lizzy told me.”
She glanced over at her sister sitting in a folding chair, a smile plastered on her face even though it didn’t reach her eyes. That’s when Toby stood up and shook the legs of his jeans down over his boot tops and held his hand out to Lizzy.
Allie could have kissed her new brother-in-law as he drew Lizzy into his arms. Lizzy frantically looked across the room to her sister.
Allie nodded and winked. She and her sister might fight. They would definitely argue, but as sisters, they still had the ability to comfort and convey messages with a glance.
Lizzy relaxed in Toby’s arms and followed his expert steps around the room as the rest of the floor filled up with folks dancing to the next song on George Strait’s CD, “I Swear.”
“I do swear to love you with every beat of my heart until death parts us just like George is singing,” Blake whispered.
Allie rolled up on her toes and kissed him and hoped that someday her sister found a man just like Blake Dawson. One who, like George Strait sang about, would love her with every beat of his heart.
It was mid-afternoon when Blake picked up Allie for the second time that day and carried her across the threshold into the ranch house. He didn’t stop at the bedroom but took her straight to the bathroom before he set her down. “I love you, Allie Dawson, but I can’t wait any longer.”
She followed the directions on the paper and laid the stick on a paper towel on the counter. With a hand on either side of her face, Blake looked deeply into her eyes. “Neither of us will look until the time is up.”
The seconds dragged but finally she covered her hands with his. “Okay, here goes. Oh, Blake, it’s positive. Three weeks. Must have happened that first time.” She’d wondered all week how she’d feel if she was really pregnant or how he’d feel. And now the answer was there. She was going to be a mother. She was carrying Blake’s child. And she was filled with an indescribable mixture of awe and happiness. And his face registered absolute pride and joy.
Wild Cowboy Ways Page 28