Joy moved from him, then turned and lifted her face to his. “I keep remembering how wonderful it was to hear you call me your sweetheart, Gideon. When you rode off to town to get the doctor for Grandpa, I kept hearing you in my mind and it gave me such comfort to know that you would call me by that name.”
“You are my sweetheart, Joy,” he answered, holding her hands in his and yearning to enclose her in his embrace. “I haven’t looked at another woman since my wife died so long ago. It’s been a long, dry spell for me without a woman in my life. I love my son dearly. I’m sure you know that, but I wouldn’t marry just to give him a mother. It would have to be a woman I could love wholeheartedly, one who could return that love.”
Joy smiled up at him, as if she was pleased with his words. “I’ve never known a man, Gideon. Grandpa and I have lived here alone. We go to town when the weather is good, to church in summertime when we can travel in our wagon. But Grandpa has kept me from the men who would have made themselves a part of our lives. He saw a few who wanted the property and were willing to marry me to get it, and some who just wanted a woman to tend their own homes. He knew he couldn’t let me be snatched up by a man who was selfish in such a way, and so I’ve just lived here with Grandpa and done my best to tend things for him.”
“You’ve done more than any woman should, Joy. But there is much about a farm that only a man can tend to. I’d like to be that man for you and for your grandfather, too. He’s agreeable to my suit, and if you feel the same way, I’d like you to consider me as the man in your life. I’d like to be your husband and give you Joseph as your child.”
“You said you wanted to hold me, Gideon. That you wanted to kiss me. Would you do that now?”
Gideon felt his heart swell within his chest. To have such an invitation from Joy was almost more than he could imagine. His arms went around her as he stepped closer. His head bent and his mouth touched hers softly, then more firmly as she responded to his kiss. He blessed the fullness of her lips with his own, then dropped countless kisses along the length of her cheek, beneath her ear where her pulse beat rapidly, making him smile at her response. Then he visited the smooth skin of her forehead until he reached her temple, where her soft tresses met his lips.
He buried his nose in the sweet scent of her hair, and then finally lifted his head, breathing deeply as if he could not hold all the clean, pure aroma of her within his lungs. “You overwhelm me, Joy,” he murmured. “I can’t believe you would allow me the privilege of holding you and loving you this way. I don’t want you to fear me, sweetheart, but know that I ache to possess you as my own.” He held his breath as he awaited her reply, knowing that she was as innocent as could be about what was involved in a man and woman coming together in marriage.
She lifted her head to meet his gaze, and her words were slow but confident as she answered his query. “I don’t know the full meaning of which you speak, Gideon. I’m without much knowledge of men, but I feel that I can trust you and I’m willing to give my heart into your care. Your willingness to be investigated by our local lawman speaks well for you. I trust you, Gideon, and I want to be a mother to your child. I truly love him, and if we marry and one day I bear your children, Joseph will always be my first son. Can you believe that of me, that I will love him and care for him as my own?”
Gideon’s heart lifted in his chest at her words and he reached for her again, his lips covering hers, his kiss a promise of what was to come in the future. “I love you, Joy,” he said softly, the words a plea, as if he would ask her to repeat the phrase to him.
“I’ve never loved a man, Gideon. But what I feel for you is honest and my words are sincere. Know then that I feel for you as I have no other person. I love my grandfather, but that is different than what my heart feels for you. When you left here to get the doctor, I prayed you would be safe and return to me swiftly. When you came back, I felt such joy to see your smile. I knew such happiness when I realized that you cared for us enough to tend to our needs. But most of all, I felt a closeness to you.”
“Can you accept that as enough, then, Joy? Do you feel enough for me to marry me? Will you agree to be mine? To live with me for the rest of our lives and to accept me as your husband?”
She nodded her head, holding his hands within her own. “If the preacher will speak the words over us and record the wedding in his books and make out a certificate for us to have, I’ll be proud to stand beside you and speak the words of marriage with you.”
“Glory be! I’ve never been so happy, Joy,” he said, lifting her from the floor and holding her against himself, whirling her in a circle around the kitchen and kissing her as if he thirsted for her, as if his body yearned to draw her within himself.
And Joy appeared to be overcome with happiness at his words. “Will the preacher do as we ask, Gideon? Will he really marry us today? Will I be your wife that soon?”
“Oh, yes, sweetheart,” he said, holding her close and walking with her out of the kitchen and into the parlor, where the doctor sat watching her grandfather and the preacher stood near the front window. Joseph looked up from his perch on the end of the sofa, his grin a happy greeting for them both.
“Well, from in here it sounded like someone was mighty happy out there in the kitchen,” the preacher said with a smile as he held out his hand to Gideon. “I’d like to be the first to congratulate you, Gideon, on your forthcoming marriage.”
Gideon placed his own palm against that of the parson and his own smile glowed with happiness. “Joy has agreed to be my wife, sir. I couldn’t be happier, and all that stands in the way of our marriage is for Grandpa to give us his blessing.”
“Well, we can tend to that right now, I’d say.” Pastor Wright nodded at Grandpa, who was watching the two men from his perch on the sofa.
He lifted his hand toward Gideon. “If you and Joy will come over here to the sofa and kneel by me, I’ll be happy to do just that very thing, young man.”
Gideon’s arm tightened around Joy’s waist. “I want this more than anything,” he told her. “I want your grandfather’s blessing on us, Joy.”
“I want it, too, Gideon. I want him to be pleased with our decision to marry.”
Gideon led her to the sofa, where they knelt and placed both their hands in her grandfather’s.
“I ask only that God will place His hand on Joy and Gideon and make their union one of peace and happiness, so they will live in harmony and know the full pleasures a good marriage can bring to two people. I give my blessing on their marriage, and ask that God will also bless it according to His words in the good book. That two people will come together and be joined as one and live as one, accepting each other’s burdens and loving each other to the end of life.” The old man leaned back against his pillow, his breathing slow, his words halting as he seemed to recover from the exercise he’d undertaken.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” the preacher said with a laugh of pleasure in hearing Grandpa’s words of blessing.
“Well, if all is in order, I’d ask you to do the deed, Preacher,” Gideon asked nicely, holding out one hand to Joseph, who rose quickly from the sofa to join his father.
“As I told you, I just happen to have my book of sacraments with me, Gideon,” the pastor said, reaching in his pocket for the small black book he carried with him. “If the doctor wants to stand as a witness, then we’ll ask Joseph to stand between the bride and groom and you can all join hands for a moment.”
They did as he asked, Joseph fairly shivering with happiness as he joined his father and Joy, his smile a beacon of delight as he reached his hands out to them. The preacher read the beginning of the marriage ceremony to them, then reached to join Joy’s and Gideon’s hands together, allowing Joseph to stay in place between them. His words were spoken slowly, as if to emphasize their importance to the two who sought marriage. And then he asked them to
repeat the vows. Gideon spoke first, his voice resounding with fervor as he gave his promises to love, honor and cherish the woman beside him.
Joy spoke then, repeating the words the pastor read aloud. Her vows were much the same, to love, honor and obey the man she’d chosen as her husband. She smiled up at Gideon as she said the words.
Within a few short minutes, the preacher spoke the final words of the ritual, the most important in the sight of those present. “And now I pronounce you man and wife, in the sight of God and these witnesses. Amen.”
It was done. Gideon was awash with the happiness of knowing he and Joy were united in marriage and he had been given the responsibility and privilege of looking after her and keeping her safe and secure in his love. He bent to her at the preacher’s words and touched her lips with his, brushing the soft surface with a kiss of promise.
Joy looked up at the man who had claimed the title of husband to her. He was tall and handsome and his smile held the promise of happiness she craved for her future. It was as if Christmas morning had arrived once more.
Gideon turned his attention on the boy who stood to one side now, observing the scene, not missing a word spoken or a gesture of any of the two who had become one.
“Joy is your new mother, Joseph,” his father said quietly, placing his hand on the boy’s head as he spoke. “Will you accept her as such and call her Mama from now on like we discussed?”
“Of course I will, Daddy,” the boy said, as if there was no doubt in his mind as to the real meaning of this ceremony. “I told you I wanted Joy for my mama and now I can call her that for real, can’t I?”
Gideon laughed aloud. “You bet you can, son. She’s your new mama and you can use that name from now on when you speak to her.”
Joseph reached to hug Joy, his arms tight around her waist, and she bent low, kissing his forehead and cheek.
“Well, I’d say this has been a day of joyous miracles,” the preacher said. “First we have Grandpa feeling some better and willing to rest and recuperate as the doctor has ordered, and then we have a wedding to beat all,” he announced with a joyous sound that almost brought to mind church bells and the sound of angels singing.
Doc Stevens was making ready to leave, putting his bag together and issuing last-minute instructions to Grandpa. The preacher came to Gideon and shook his hand again. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am that I made this trip along with Doc Stevens. I felt like I should come out and see Grandpa, and lo and behold if I didn’t get to perform a wedding. I’m hoping to see all you folks in church when the weather breaks and Grandpa is feeling a bit better. We’ll introduce you and Joy and Joseph, too, as the newest family in our congregation.”
After saying their farewells, the two gentlemen made their way out the backdoor to the horses and climbed into the buggy, then headed out together toward the road to town. Gideon stepped back from the window and sought Joy’s attention.
“Did you have any idea you’d be a married lady by the time this day was over, sweetheart?” he asked, his smile announcing his own happiness in the matter.
“I’m stunned, Gideon,” she said softly.
While Gideon did the evening chores, Joy, Grandpa and Joseph passed the time in quiet celebration. Joy sat in the rocking chair with Joseph on her lap, reading to him from his favorite book, his sigh signifying his pleasure at the arrangement.
“I’ve surely enjoyed hearing you read every evening, Joy,” Grandpa said softly after listening for a while. “Reminds me of when I was but a small boy and my mother used to read to all of us every evening in this very parlor.”
When they were done reading, Joy reached over and grabbed the hymnal from the organ-music rack and sat back again in the rocker, then cuddled Joseph close as she opened the book to a familiar hymn. Her voice rose as she began, and Grandpa kept time with his index finger, tapping the sofa cushion as she sang. Joseph joined in on the chorus, seeming to recognize the music, and Joy sang another verse before she turned to a second hymn.
“That’s one of my favorites,” Grandpa said from the sofa. “I remember my mother singing it when I was but a wee lad.”
In no time at all, Gideon came in the backdoor and within but a few minutes he joined them, sitting on the floor by the rocking chair and nodding at Joy to take up the reading.
She did, until she realized that Joseph was about to close his eyes in slumber. The boy sighed as his father lifted him in his arms and headed for the stairway with him.
“I’ll put him to bed and be right back. I doubt he’ll even stir, he’s so tired,” Gideon said quietly, leaving Joy and Grandpa with a smile as he carried Joseph to his room.
“Why don’t you sleep in my bed tonight, Grandpa,” Joy said to the older man. “I hate to see you climbing the stairs in your condition, and I can sleep in your bed.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Grandpa said. “In fact, I’m going to take my leave right now.”
Before long, Joy had tucked Grandpa into her bed, gathered her nightgown and robe and made her way up the stairs. Gideon was just leaving his bedroom, where Joseph was already asleep.
“Now, where are we sleeping, Mrs. Burnley?” he asked Joy.
“I forgot altogether, Gideon. My name is Joy Burnley now, isn’t it?” she said.
“It sure is, sweetheart. And I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” Gideon told her.
“We’ll sleep in Grandpa’s bed up here while Grandpa uses my room downstairs. I thought he’d better not use the stairs for tonight, at least, and this way we’ll be close to Joseph in case he wakes.”
“That’s all right with me,” Gideon told her. “I’ll just go down and lock up and bank the fire in the stove. I won’t be long.”
Joy went into Grandpa’s bedroom, fluffing the pillows on the bed and straightening the quilt into place. She went behind the screen in the corner of the room and changed her clothes, putting her nightgown on and hanging her dress and petticoat and drawers over the screen till morning. The floor was warmer than the ones downstairs, with this room being right over the kitchen and the heat from the cookstove coming through the vent. She found her place in the bed, pulling the sheet and quilt over herself and turning to face the door.
Gideon was there quicker than she had expected, and he closed the door behind himself. “I looked in on Grandpa and he’s sound asleep already,” he told her, his words almost a whisper. “I checked Joseph, too, and he’s snug as a bug in a rug, all curled up in the middle of the bed. Now it’s just you and me, Joy.”
She nodded, her heart beating a bit quickly as she watched him approach the bed. He bent to blow out the candle on the nightstand and then he was but a shadow as he took off his boots by the chair before he stripped from his clothing and approached her.
He sat on the side of the bed, then turned and slid beneath the bedding, finding his place beside her. He scooped her up in his arms and held her near, his big body warm as she curled against him.
“I sure do like cuddling with you, Gideon,” Joy whispered. “You’re warmer than my quilt.”
He chuckled, knowing the joy of holding the woman who returned his love in full measure and had given herself into his keeping, declaring her love for him and making him the happiest of men. For he felt he was holding the prize at the end of the rainbow within his arms.
And he couldn’t believe his good fortune as he thought of the wedding night he had planned.
Epilogue
Christmas night, 1888
It was snowing again. Joy stood at the window and looked out, remembering a year ago when she’d stood here, watching the same view, not knowing how much her life was about to change. She walked toward the parlor where her family awaited her and stood in the doorway, watching them.
The Christmas tree was ablaze with the twinkling candles that tipped each
branch, a sight that seemed to mesmerize Joseph. Grandpa snoozed on the sofa, a quilt tucked up beneath his chin and a pillow supporting his head. Gideon had found a puzzle in the bookcase and he bent over it on the floor, with Joseph helping him fit the pieces together. Joy was content to watch and be silent. She claimed her seat in the rocking chair, keeping an eye on her grandfather, listening to Joseph and Gideon as they worked together on the puzzle they both enjoyed. There was within her a warmth, a joy she’d never known before Gideon came into her life, and the thrill of motherhood as she watched the small boy who called her his mama.
She was happy, not with any great rush of emotion, but with a constant knowledge that she loved and was loved in return.
Now she readied herself to share her secret with Gideon, for it would be his gift from her this year, marking their second Christmas together. With a smile wreathing her face, she slid to the floor to sit beside Gideon and placed her hand on his, gaining his full attention.
He bent to her, dropping a kiss on her cheek and whispering his love in her ear. She turned her head and touched his ear with her mouth, then whispered words she’d been hiding in her heart for several days.
“Would you like to hear about your Christmas gift from me, Gideon?” she asked.
He turned his head to look fully in her face. “Are you speaking of the new curtains you’ve been sewing for our bedroom?”
She shook her head. “No, the curtains you can already see, but your gift will take about seven months before you can see or touch it,” she said, her smile seeming to be a permanent fixture on her lips these days.
Gideon looked puzzled for only a moment, then his own lips curved into an answering grin, even as he bent to kiss her. “Are you sure? How do you know?” he asked swiftly, hugging her as he tossed his queries at her.
“I’m not absolutely positive, but if feeling queasy in the morning and hating the smell of your coffee and noticing some changes in my usual schedule are anything to go by, then, yes, I’m pretty sure of my facts, sir,” she said with an impish grin of her own.
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