The man was right. Rafe had done it for Susanna.
“Secondly, judging by where I found the Sears Catalog, you like to read on the crapper.”
Rafe couldn’t believe his ears. Was there anything this man wouldn’t mention? “I can hardly wait to hear the rest.”
“Then here you go. Right now, you’re hurting so bad that not even whiskey will help. Betty Ann’s wearing a skimpy dress and you didn’t even notice. That tells me where your heart is, and it’s not in this saloon.”
“Sure it is.”
“I don’t believe you, son.” The Reverend nodded at the bottle. “Saloon rats don’t turn down free drinks.”
Rafe was tempted to reach for the bottle, but why? John Leaf had him pegged for what he was—a man caught between hope and yesterday’s mistakes. He tried to sneer, but his anger died when he saw Susanna’s dark eyes staring at him. He’d thought her compassion had come solely from her mother. He’d been wrong.
The Reverend hushed his voice. “My wife and I had a long talk this morning. This isn’t the kind of courtship we wanted for our daughter, but she’s a grown woman. And, as Abbie reminded me, appearances can be deceiving. Susanna knows you better than we do, and we’ve always trusted her judgment.”
Rafe shook his head. “She’s a sucker for lost causes.”
“So is her ma. We’re fortunate men.”
In spite of the Reverend’s compassion, Rafe felt like dirt. He pushed the plate away. “Thanks for trying to fix things, but it’s best if I leave town.”
“Not until you square things with my daughter.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I think I do,” he answered. “She loves you, son. That’s the only explanation for what we walked in on. Since you’re still here, I’m guessing you feel the same way. If you leave now, this is your life—whiskey, women and regrets like flies on manure. But if you’re the man she thinks you are, you’ll tell me why you’re on the run.”
Once with Lem, Rafe had been trapped in a dead-end canyon by a gang of horse thieves. He’d fought his way out and decided to do the same now, but with the truth instead of bullets. He looked Reverend Leaf square in the eye. “I stole money from my old man and left my half brother dead or maimed. It was an accident, but I’m still a wanted man.”
As he’d done with Susanna, Rafe recounted the events of his life, starting with the train ride out of New Orleans and ending in the mansion on the Mississippi. An hour later, he was feeling sorrier for himself than ever.
“That’s why I’m headed to Mexico,” he concluded.
“Don’t even think about telling me to go back to St. Louis.”
The Reverend shook his head. “I wasn’t going to. There’s a time to let the dead bury the dead, and this could be one of them. Only you can decide. But what’s certain is this. That chip on your shoulder has to go.”
Rafe scowled. “What’s your point?”
The Reverend’s eyes glinted with wisdom. “Son, have you ever made a mistake?”
Rafe thought of Nick’s leg but stayed silent.
“I have, more than I can count and they’ve been costly.”
“What’s your point?”
“You’re bitter.”
“So what? My father did me wrong.”
A throaty chuckle erupted from the Reverend’s lips.
“Isn’t that just too bad? Poor little Rafe had a hard time of it. You’re breaking my heart.”
The man was busting his ass, but Rafe didn’t know why. “I don’t need this shit.”
“Yes, you do,” the Reverend said. “That self-pity has to go. Do you think you’re the only man on earth who’s been knocked around? I could tell you stories that would curl your hair.” His voice dropped to a hush. “God loves you, son. Susanna does, too. But that bitterness will eat you alive if you don’t get rid of it.”
Rafe stared at the whiskey. “Some things are more wrong than others.”
“That’s true, but the cure’s the same.”
The Reverend dropped a handful of coins on the counter and turned to leave. Rafe pivoted on the stool.
“What’s the cure?”
“A hard look in the mirror. No one’s perfect, Rafe.” The Reverend’s eyes glittered like dark glass. “You know about needing forgiveness. It’s why you came back. But giving it is another matter.”
Rafe pushed back the memory of Walter Albright yanking him from Mimi’s grave. Instead he focused on what he’d just done to Susanna. “I love your daughter, sir.”
“Then stick around.”
“I can’t.”
The Reverend’s expression turned wistful and Rafe wondered what he was thinking. He seemed to have stepped back in time, then he blinked and said, “Have you asked her to go with you?”
“We talked about it.”
“And?”
Rafe’s lips curled into a smile. “Her old man barged in with a shotgun.”
The Reverend smiled. “You two need to finish your talk. Let’s go see Susanna.”
Rafe left money for his supper and followed John Leaf out the door. The Reverend was on foot, so Rafe led his horses as the two men made small talk about Midas. The sky had turned black with a smattering of stars, but second-floor windows beamed light down on the street. It reminded Rafe of a checkerboard. When they reached Susanna’s house, he tied his horses and took the lead on the stairs. He had just reached the landing when she stepped outside. He could see that she’d been crying.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have left like that.”
“I’m just glad you’re back.”
She hooked her arm around his waist and led him inside where he saw Abbie sitting on the divan. When the Reverend walked into the room, Susanna hugged him hard and they made their amends.
Rafe wished all mistakes could be so easily put aside.
The Reverend turned to him next. “Your room’s waiting at the parsonage. I’ll be up if you two want to talk about things.”
After hugging Susanna again, the Leafs left the apartment. Rafe glanced around the front room. “Where’s Nick?”
“At the parsonage.”
He’d been hoping the boy would give him a reason to stall. After seeing Susanna with her parents, he felt even less sure about asking her to go with him to Mexico. But Susanna seemed more confident than ever. She took his hand and tugged him to the divan.
“Sit down,” she said. “I have something to ask you.”
Rafe left space on the divan, but she dropped to her knees. Before he realized what she intended to do, she reached for his other hand and curled her fingers around his. The lamp on the end table lit up her face as she looked into his eyes. “Will you marry me, Rafe LaCroix?”
Rafe’s stomach twisted. “I have to leave. You’d be giving up everything you love.”
“Not everything. And not everyone.”
“But your family—”
“I know what I’m doing.”
He tried to break his grip. “Then what about your practice?”
Squeezing tighter, she said, “I’m replaceable.”
“No, you’re not.” Rafe thought she was one of a kind. “I don’t want to lose you. But—”
“Then marry me.” Her eyes burned into his. “I still think we should write to Thomas Smith, but I can live with the uncertainty if I have to. We can have the wedding tonight. You can leave in a few days and find a place for us. As soon as you write, I’ll follow with Nick.”
The plan had merit, but it wasn’t perfect. “I want to be sure of that fresh start before you leave Midas. We can find a church in Mexico.”
“No,” she said. “I want my father to marry us.”
Rafe had his doubts about the Reverend’s acceptance. Encouraging them to talk about their mess was one thing. A midnight marriage was an entirely different matter.
“He’s not going to like it.”
“You don’t know him,” she said softly. “We’ll talk to
him together.”
Three hours later, the clock in her parents’ bedroom chimed twelve times. Susanna was wearing her blue dress with her hair pinned on top of her head. She’d never felt more excited in her life. Her mother had spent an hour talking to her about the decision she and Rafe had made. While Abbie hadn’t been as pleased as Susanna had hoped, she had understood.
The problem, it seemed, was her father.
They had spoken to him together and then Rafe had sat with him on the porch for another twenty minutes. Susanna had been looking out the window when she’d seen her father walk alone to the stream. She knew that he’d gone to that spot to think and decide what to do. When someone tapped on the door, she expected it to be him.
“Come in,” she answered.
“Hello, Sam.” He hadn’t called her by the nickname for years.
He was wearing his preacher’s coat, which she took as a good sign. After pulling a chair away from his desk, he sat and faced her. “First off, I want you to know that I like Rafe a lot.”
“But?”
“There are no ‘buts’ where he’s concerned. The episode in St. Louis was tragic, but I’m convinced it was an accident.”
“I believe that, too.” But her stomach knotted.
“Even so, he’s not done with it, Susanna. Rafe loves you, but he’s full of bitterness. That’s why I’m asking you to wait awhile before getting married. He needs to sort through that mess.”
Susanna quivered with disappointment. She recognized the wisdom in her father’s words, but she also believed that her love for Rafe was the surest cure for what ailed him. “I don’t want to wait,” she said.
“Is there a reason that has something to do with this morning? If there’s a baby, it would change things.”
Susanna shook her head. “No.”
“Then a couple of months won’t make a difference. I’ll take you to wherever Rafe settles. We’ll bring your mother and the boys and have a wedding with tamales and even a piñata.”
Waiting made sense, but Susanna was afraid of what the future held for Rafe. Life on the road held unseen dangers. There were no guarantees that he’d make it to Mexico without encountering the Bentons. If all she could have was a few days, she wanted to grab that chance. Better a wife for a night than a lonely spinster for the rest of her life.
Susanna held her father’s gaze. “I love him, Pa. I know this isn’t the kind of wedding you wanted for me, but Rafe is part of me. He’s the man I’ve chosen. If you won’t marry us, we can go to a justice of the peace.”
“Oh no, you won’t.” Her father had arched his brow, a sign he meant business. “When I marry people, it sticks. I just want you to be sure.”
“I am.”
When he looked into her eyes, Susanna raised her chin and stared back. She had nothing to hide and no regrets.
Her father blinked first, then smiled. “I never could say no to you. I’ll marry you tonight and file the papers tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Pa.”
“Just remember one thing, honey. You and Rafe can always come home.”
It had been a long time since Rafe had set foot in a church. He’d been nine years old and sitting next to his mother. Mimi had been a loyal Catholic and had loved the incense and the awe, the statuary and priests intoning in Latin. He hadn’t expected that atmosphere tonight, but that’s what he found when he walked into the front room of the parsonage. Everywhere he turned, he saw candles, a hundred of them in all different sizes. A fire was burning in the hearth and the air smelled smoky and warm.
“Are you nervous?”
The question had come from Reverend Leaf. He was standing by the hearth with Nick and Susanna’s brothers. The boys were spit and polished, and so was Rafe. In his suit and tie, he didn’t look at all like the man the Reverend had found in the saloon.
“I’m more awed than anything,” Rafe replied. As he took his place, he wished he had a ring for his bride. Someday he’d give her something special, but that would have to wait.
The Reverend raised his voice. “Ladies? Are you ready?”
The answer came in the whisper of a dress. Abbie entered the room first and took her place at her husband’s side. Rafe’s eyes stayed on the doorway as Susanna walked into the candlelight with a graceful and confident air.
He’d been a expecting her to wear something modest, but she had chosen her ball gown. The blue silk shimmered as she walked, capturing the flickering candles like stars in the night sky. Instead of a bouquet of roses, an impossible find at midnight in November, she was holding a white leather book. As she stepped closer, Rafe recognized the thick pages of a photograph album she’d be taking to Mexico.
“There’s no reason to be formal,” the Reverend said.
“I’m going to say a few words, then you two will speak your vows.”
Susanna handed the album to Abbie and took Rafe’s hand. As their gazes locked, he smiled. On a whim he kissed her knuckles, then they both faced the Reverend whose expression had turned serious.
“In the Garden of Eden,” he said, “God told Adam to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. He intended for Eve to do the same. Cleaving means you hold on tight and don’t let go. It’s like making a braid, which is what you two are doing tonight. You’re each a strand with God’s love being the third piece. The tighter you hold on to each other, the stronger that rope becomes. That’s what it means to cleave.
“Susanna, your mother and I respect your choice and we’ll love Rafe like a son. If you two head south, you’ll go with our blessing. Will we miss you?” He swallowed hard. “You bet. But you belong at your husband’s side. It’s a choice women have made through the ages, one that your mother and I fully understand.”
Her eyes misted. “Thank you, Pa.”
The Reverend shifted his gaze to Rafe. “Husbands have a duty to their wives. Cleaving to her isn’t just about the physical act that brings life into the world, though that’s part of the bond. Cleaving means that your wife becomes a part of you. When she hurts, you hurt. When she cries, you cry. That means you put her needs before your own. Will you do that?”
“I will.”
Rafe felt the force of the Reverend’s regard for a full ten seconds, but he didn’t flinch. He’d left this morning because he loved her, and he’d come back for the same reason. No one was going to stare him down.
Slowly the Reverend’s expression changed. The corners of his mouth turned up as if he were fighting a smile, and then his eyes started to twinkle. “Don’t worry, son. You’re marrying Susanna with our full blessing. Welcome to the family.”
Rafe choked up. “Thank you, sir.”
The Reverend lifted his Bible off the hearth and started to read, “‘Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today…’”
Rafe listened to every word, letting the meaning sink into his bones. He’d never made a promise he’d been so intent on keeping. He said “I do” with complete conviction and listened as Susanna took the same vows.
The Reverend closed the book and smiled. “That’s it. You two are married. It’s time to kiss the bride.”
Rafe pulled Susanna into his arms and looked into her shining eyes. Never mind that the kids and her parents were watching. A peck wouldn’t do. With all the passion and sweetness she deserved, he sealed their vows with a kiss that held the promise of the night to come. He didn’t want the moment to end, but the boys were starting to snicker.
“Gosh, Pa. Are they ever going to stop?” said one of the twins.
“Nope,” said the Reverend. “They’re just getting started.”
Hidden by the night, Garrett stood thirty feet from the parsonage and peered into the window. He’d been watching Dr. Leaf for three days, but tonight was the first time he had spotted Rafe. The night had taken a strange turn when he realized his brother was walking down the street with a minister. Curious, Garrett had opted to lie low. As long as he had Rafe in sight, he could afford to be patient.
&nbs
p; The night had taken another twist when he’d followed Rafe and Dr. Leaf to the parsonage. They had been walking fast and seemed excited. Rafe had been carrying a carpetbag, and they had gone into the house through the back door. Lights had popped on in all the bedrooms, and eventually shadowy figures had gathered in the front room.
Garrett couldn’t make out the faces in the candlelight, but he could tell that something formal was happening. Flanked by a row of boys and a woman with dark hair, the minister was reading from a book. In front of him stood Rafe and Dr. Leaf. Considering it was just past midnight, the circumstances struck him as odd—until Rafe pulled Dr. Leaf into his arms and kissed her.
“I’ll be damned,” Garrett muttered. He’d just been to his brother’s wedding. With his cane in hand, he headed for Dr. Leaf’s apartment. It was time to give the happy couple a wedding gift of his own.
Chapter Seventeen
Susanna grabbed her husband’s hand and raced away from the parsonage. “Hurry! I don’t want to waste a minute.”
“Neither do I.” Rafe pulled her into his arms and spun her around. When they were both dizzy and laughing, he kissed her soundly in the moonlight, lingering on her lips and then whispering, “I love you, Dr. LaCroix.”
Her eyes misted. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.”
Arm in arm, they hurried down the boardwalk. They had just reached the end of her block when Susanna saw a shadow moving by her staircase. Rafe saw it too and made her stop.
“Oh no,” she moaned. “It’s probably a patient.”
“I’m not so sure. He’s got something in his hand.”
Susanna squinted into the alley and saw why Rafe was worried. The man was holding a long object across his body. It looked suspiciously like a rifle. She blinked and recalled Zeke Benton’s lifeless eyes. Had the gang come back for revenge? She rarely had calls in the middle of the night, and any of her regular patients would have known that her parents were back and gone to the parsonage. A stranger lingering in the shadows couldn’t be taken lightly. She looked at Rafe and knew he was thinking the same thing.
Midnight Marriage Page 20