“Good. I’m glad to see you’ve come to your senses.”
Luke shook his head and closed the door. If anything, he’d taken total leave of his senses.
***
“I’m not going.” Rachel sat on the end of her bed, wringing the edge of her apron in one hand.
Jacqueline tugged on her arm. “But you hav’ta go, Ma.”
She shook her head, trying hard to fight the tears threatening at the thought of Luke marrying Leah or Shannon. Yes, things seemed better between her and Luke, but she hadn’t seen him for three days, not since the evening he arrested Carly. She didn’t even get to tell the young woman good-bye.
No, she couldn’t attend today’s activities. She still had boarders to care for, although there might be one less by evening. Her chin wobbled. She had no idea which woman he’d choose, and she could not watch.
“But Ma, I think the brides need you to be there.”
Rachel winced. One of her guests would be the loser today, and she would need comforting and encouragement. Both brides had everything riding on their hopes to marry Luke. The one not chosen would be devastated. Sighing, Rachel untied her apron and stood. Attending the bride announcement would be one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but she owed it to her guests. And she needed to be a good example to Jacqueline. She would congratulate Luke and his chosen bride and comfort the loser. But who would comfort her?
Jacqueline yanked on her arm. “Hurry, Ma. We don’t want to miss the announcement.”
Rachel grabbed her bonnet and tied it on her head. “Fine, I’m ready.”
Jacqueline ran to the front door, flung it open, and started outside, then stopped and looked back as if to make sure Rachel was coming. She hurried out and closed the door, surprised to see Main Street filled with people. Buggies and horses lined Bluebonnet Lane in both directions as far as she could see.
Jacqueline bounced. “Hurry, Ma. Looks like we’re the only ones in the whole state who aren’t there.”
Rachel couldn’t understand why her daughter was so excited. Didn’t Jacqueline realize things would be different between her and Luke once he married? She saw Luke mount the boardwalk and stride straight and tall toward his office, where he was to make the announcement. She watched him go, her heart in her throat. How did one quit loving someone?
Her eyes stung, but she lifted her head high. God orchestrated the path she was to walk. He would give her the strength to face the future without Luke.
She glanced at the bank as she walked down Main Street. On Monday morning, she’d meet with Mr. Castleby and the mayor to finalize the sale of the boardinghouse. She hated leaving the only town she’d ever lived in, but Kansas City offered more for her daughter and a fresh start for them both.
Pressing her lips tight, she walked on, fortifying herself for the next few minutes. She stopped at the back edge of the crowd and stood on tiptoes, trying to find Leah and Shannon, but the crowd was too thick.
Jacqueline jumped up and down. “I can’t see.”
“Well, go stand over there on the boardwalk in front of the mercantile.”
Jacqueline eyed her suspiciously. “You won’t leave?”
Rachel was tempted to roll her eyes, feeling as if she were the child. “Not until it’s over.”
“All right then.” Jacqueline dashed around the back of the crowd and up the steps to the boardwalk, squeezing past people, making her way toward Luke.
With so many taller men in front of Rachel, almost all wearing hats, she decided to take her own advice and crossed the street to the boardwalk opposite Luke’s side of the road. Though the area was jam-packed with people, she squeezed her way up to the top step in front of the newspaper office. The jail was directly across from her, and she could see that Shannon and Leah stood on the ground in front of Luke’s office.
The noise of the crowd was deafening, and so many people in one place made the summer afternoon seem even hotter. Rachel fanned her face with her hand. If this thing lasted very long, some of the women would be swooning. From the higher viewpoint, she could see that tables lined either side of Main Street farther down where women were selling refreshments. She’d opted not to do that at this event. Everything was far too festive for her mood. All she wanted was to go home and mourn the loss of the only man she’d ever loved. Oh God, why did You have to bring him back if You were going to give him to someone else?
The mayor shoved his way through the crowd in front of Luke, and both men stopped in front of the jail. Mayor Burke raised his hands and mouthed something she couldn’t hear. The crowd suddenly quieted.
“Thank y’all for coming out on such a warm day, but it’s a day of celebration. Our marshal is going to pick his bride today.”
The crowd cheered in unison, and Rachel watched three tossed hats drop back down. She was probably the only person in the whole crowd not excited. Well, maybe except for the two brides. They knew only one of them would come up the winner today. Rachel was determined to do all she could to help the loser, whether the woman wanted to move on to another town or stay in Lookout and try to find employment, hard as that was in such a small town.
The mayor lifted his hands again, and the crowd quieted. “After the bride announcement, we’ll have square dancing in the street, and don’t forget all the marvelous confections the ladies of Lookout have created for y’all to enjoy.”
He waited for the cheers to die down again. “And now for what we’ve all been waiting for, I’ll turn things over to our marshal, Luke Davis.”
Rachel swallowed hard as Luke stepped up to the porch railing. He was nearly a head taller than the mayor, and he was so strong, so capable—until she peered at his face. She’d seen him look nervous only a handful of times, and this was one of them. Was he unsure of his decision?
She clutched the porch railing to her left, afraid that she might just swoon herself.
Luke straightened, though his gaze roamed the crowd. When it collided with hers, he smiled and started talking. “I threatened to throw my cousins in jail once I learned they’d ordered three brides for me.”
The crowd chuckled, but Rachel’s heart had tripped over itself. How could Luke look at her like that? Was he counting on her friendship to make things easier for him?
Irritation worked its way through her body like a bad case of influenza. But then she snuffed it out. He was her friend, her oldest friend, and it was her Christian duty to help him. She would swallow her pride and disappointment and do what she could. In another week, she’d be on her way to Kansas City, and she’d no longer have to look at Luke and his bride, anyway.
“But God has a way of using strange circumstances to get our attention,” Luke continued. “I gave my heart to the Lord less than a year ago. Though I’ve read my Bible a lot, I know there’s still a lot I need to learn about walking the straight and narrow path God has set before me. Through this whole bride contest, the thing I’ve discovered is that God doesn’t want me to walk it alone.”
Luke’s gaze captured Rachel’s again as he stared across the street over the heads of the townsfolk. Why did he keep looking at her?
Now that she knew where the brides were, she no longer needed to see so well and made her way off the steps to the ground. Luke disappeared among a mass of heads and hats.
“It’s true that no matter what I face or what any of y’all face, God will be there to help us through, if we’ll only turn to Him.”
Rachel figured Mayor Burke was most likely scowling at Luke’s preaching, but she was proud that he would stand before such a large group and proclaim his faith. He’d changed a lot from the determined youth she’d first fallen in love with.
“I need to make a big apology to Miss Bennett and Miss O’Neil. I’m sorry, but I can’t marry either of you. My heart—”
Many in the crowd gasped, and Rachel missed the last part of what he said. Suddenly, heads were turning and people were looking at her. Though tempted to back away, she held her ground. The cro
wd parted in front of her like the line in the middle of Mayor Burke’s hair.
Someone nudged her in the back. “Go on up there, Rachel. He’s asking for you.”
Rachel’s head swam, and she held her ground. Just coming here at all had been hard enough, but to go up front? Suddenly, Luke’s words soaked in. He couldn’t marry either bride? But he gave his word.
“Rachel, will you please come up here?”
Hands all around her gently shoved her. She either had to move forward or fall down. Heaving a heavy sigh, she ambled toward Luke. Why did he need her up there? Wasn’t she mortified enough with half the town knowing their history?
All too soon, she stood in front of the crowd next to Luke, though she couldn’t say how she’d arrived at that place. Jacqueline peered around behind him, grinning as if it were Christmas. What was going on?
Luke took her hands, drawing her gaze to his. “Rachel, I loved you when we were ignorant youths, unaware of the hardships life could throw our way. I promised to marry, but I never said that I’d marry one of the boardinghouse brides. How could I, when my heart has always belonged to you?” He cocked his head, love making his dark eyes shine.
Rachel gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You still love me?”
Luke grinned, taking her breath away. “Yeah, but my love was hidden under a quagmire of bitterness and unwillingness to forgive. It took nearly losing you to realize that I still cared. I’m so sorry for not forgiving you sooner.”
She stepped closer, placing her fingers on his lips. “Shh ... none of that. We’re both forgiven. Let’s not go backward.”
Luke pulled her into his arms and leaned his head against hers. “Could you find it in your heart to marry me?”
Rachel closed her eyes as the words she never expected to hear filled her whole being. The tears that had threatened all day broke forth like a flash flood. She nodded. “Oh yes. There’s nothing I’d like more in this world.”
“Hey, we can’t hear. What’d you say to her, Marshal?” Bertha Boyd shouted and shook her cane at them.
Jacqueline squeezed in between Rachel and Luke. “Did you ask her? What did she say?” She yanked on Rachel’s skirts. “Say yes, Ma. Please say yes.”
Luke raised a hand in the air, and the crowd quieted. “It’s no secret that Rachel and I have a long history. Most of y’all know that. Well, I’ve asked her to marry me, and she has agreed.”
The whole town erupted in cheers, hoots, and hollers. Jacqueline squealed and jumped up and down, wrapping her arms around them both. Luke bent and whispered something in the girl’s ear, and she nodded and stepped back, grinning wide.
Luke pulled Rachel into his arms. “When will you marry me? Today?”
Rachel smiled through her tears, knowing now she’d most likely never live in Kansas City. “Not today, but very soon. A gal needs time to prepare for a wedding.”
“Two weeks. That’s all you get.” Luke tugged her closer and lowered his mouth to hers, wiping away any lingering doubts of his devotion. All too soon he pulled away.
“One week,” she said. “That’s all I can bear to wait.”
Love for her illuminated his eyes. He no longer looked at her with hurt or bitterness. God had forgiven them both and given them a future neither one could have anticipated.
Oh, thank You, Lord.
“There’s just one thing.” Luke pulled back and gazed at her. “Earlier, I told both Misses Bennett and O’Neil that I couldn’t marry them, but what do we do about them?”
“I suppose we’ll help them however we can, but it’s best we leave the boardinghouse brides to God. Maybe He brought them to Lookout for another purpose.”
Luke nodded and pulled Jacqueline into their embrace. Rachel marveled at how God could take a relationship that was torn to shreds and patch it, repair it, and make it into something wonderful, something stronger than it had originally been. Never again would she doubt God’s hand at work in her life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Award-winning author Vickie McDonough believes God is the ultimate designer of romance. She loves writing stories in which her characters find true love and grow in their faith. Vickie has published eighteen books. She is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and is currently serving as ACFW treasurer. Vickie has been a book reviewer for nine years as well. She is a wife of thirty-five years, mother of four sons, and grandmother to a feisty three-year-old girl. When not writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling. Visit Vickie’s Web site at www.vickiemcdonough.com.
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BACK COVER MATERIAL
How many brides does one man need?
It’s been years, but Luke Davis is back—older and wiser—and still alone. Returning as Lookout’s new town marshal, Luke is determined to face the past and move on. But when he discovers that the woman who betrayed him is now a widow, all his plans fall at his feet.
Rachel has carried her guilty shame for eleven years. Her marriage to James Hamilton was not what Luke or the town thought it to be. Now James is dead, and Luke is back. Could they possibly find love a second time?
Rachel begs his forgiveness, but Luke finds he has none to give.
And then the brides arrive. Three of them—ordered for Luke through newspaper ads by his incorrigible cousins. The only place in town for them to stay is Rachel’s boarding-house. And none of the ladies is willing to let Luke go. When choosing a bride becomes a contest, the chaos that ensues is almost funny.
When the mayor forces Luke to pick a bride or lose his job, will Luke listen to his heart that still longs for Rachel or choose one of the mail-order brides?
***
“An historical debut novel that captures the romance of the era. Romance, rivalry, and a race for the altar will keep the reader turning pages and looking for the next McDonough novel.”
—DIANN MILLS, author of A Woman Called Sage and Sworn to Protect
“Vickie McDonough fills her stories with the Old West we wish we could experience.”
—SUSAN PAGE DAVIS, author of The Ladies’ Shooting Club series
Vickie McDonough from Oklahoma is an award-winning inspirational romance author, who is a married mother of four grown sons.
Table of Contents
DEDICATION/ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BACK COVER MATERIAL
The Anonymous Bride (Texas Boardinghouse Brides 1) Page 35