His Montana Bride

by Brenda Minton

  “I told her not to do the wedding, Julie.”

  “But for you she’s going to do it anyway.”

  “Yes, I guess she is,” he admitted.

  “What in the world are you thinking, Cord? You’ve never been like this.”

  “Little sister, if I knew what I was thinking, life would be perfect. As it is, I’m pretty confused about a lot of things.”

  “My older brother, confused? It must be love.”

  He shook his head. This wasn’t a conversation he was going to have with Julie. “Why did you stop by here?”

  “For two reasons. First, you have to save Faith from our father’s matchmaking schemes. Seriously, Wilbur from the bank?”

  “He’s a good guy and Faith isn’t going to fall for Dad’s schemes. Maybe that’s the reason Mom is upset with him. He’s been pushing hard to get us all married off.”

  “Okay, second. Have you been able to contact any of the Masseys?”

  The other founding family of Jasper Gulch. Silas had left years ago and none of them had returned since. But why would they? They had no ties to this little town. “No, I haven’t. I’ve found some Masseys, but the ones I’ve called either aren’t related or aren’t returning my calls when I leave voice mail. As much as we’d like to have a Massey at the celebration, I don’t think we will.”

  “Don’t be gloom and doom. It will all work out. Things usually do work out, Cord. I know you’ve got this twice-burned issue to work through. But don’t forget the other old adage, third time’s the charm.”

  She danced away from him and hurried back to her truck.

  “That’s real funny,” he muttered. She must have heard, because she laughed as she got in the truck and closed the door.

  Third time’s the charm. Was Kate his third attempt at finding the woman he’d spend his life with? Or would she walk away from him, from Jasper Gulch and from this wedding? Even though she’d said yes, he wasn’t convinced her heart would let her walk down the aisle with him.

  * * *

  On Friday, Katie looked around the overcrowded festival hall. A hum of voices and laughter combined with the strong scent of nail polish and remover. The noise made it hard to think inside that building. And she desperately needed to think. She’d told Cord she would walk down the aisle with him. Her dress had arrived. The gown was hanging in the storage area with her name on it. Forty-nine other dresses hung on the same bar that had been installed just for the job of holding dresses.

  “Katie, over here.” Annette, owner of the Cutting Edge Salon, motioned her over to a chair. “Do you know what you want done with your hair tomorrow?”

  “I don’t have a clue.”

  “You should be more excited,” Annette offered. And then she looked in the mirror at Katie’s image and frowned. “But you’re not. Any woman in her right mind marrying Cord Shaw would be ecstatic. That man is eligible and gorgeous.”

  “He is amazing,” Katie agreed. But she wasn’t sure about the eligible part of the equation. Cord might be single. He might hold her the way she thought a man should hold a woman, but she also thought he kept his feelings as tightly reined in as he kept that young horse he owned.

  Cord Shaw wasn’t a man who was going to make another mistake when it came to a relationship. And she understood. He had Marci and Lulu to think about. He had past scars. For Cord, Katie was a friend. She was the person doing him a favor.

  “It’s great that the two of you decided to get married and fill this spot.” Annette lifted her hair. “I think a pretty French braid with baby’s breath. I’m finding out what the women want so that I can have all our supplies here tomorrow.”

  “That sounds good.” She looked in the mirror and tried to visualize the French braid. It hadn’t been her plan, but then, neither had this wedding. So what did it really matter?

  Annette leaned in. “Katie, are you and Cord doing this just to make sure we have fifty couples?”

  Katie smiled up at the other woman. “Annette, I love this town.”

  “Yes, you do. I just hope Cord hasn’t pushed you in to something....”

  “Don’t blame Cord for this. I’m doing what I want to do. For a friend.”

  “Are you really trying to convince yourself that all you feel for that man is friendship? I’ve been down that road. I didn’t want a dog. But I got Stormy. And I sure didn’t want a man. But I’m thrilled that I’ll be marrying Tony.” Annette shook her head, bouncing her dark hair with the neon highlights. “I’m going to give you some free beauty-shop advice.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Don’t let him go, Katie. Fight for what you want. If you love that man, show him. Don’t let him think of you as just a friend. Let him see the woman that you are and don’t let him get away with holding back and pretending he doesn’t need you in his life.”

  “That’s very good advice,” a voice from behind them spoke softly.

  Katie turned to smile at Julie. “You didn’t hear that.”

  “Oh, yes, I did,” Julie said and looked to Annette, who would obviously have a response.

  “Honey, this is the beauty shop, at least for today, and this is what we do. We talk romance and forever, and how to control these wild men of ours.”

  Katie looked out at the group of women joined to prepare for their weddings. Olivia was getting a pedicure and laughing as the young woman painting her nails said something. Hannah Douglas looked relaxed getting a manicure. Of course she was relaxed, she was marrying the man of her dreams and for a few hours she could be pampered and not chase her twins.

  Beth had returned to be her sister’s bridesmaid. She’d been making eyes at one of the Shaw men, or maybe both Adam and Austin were in the radar. Last night, she’d mentioned finding a way to get Cord Shaw to look at her, if Katie didn’t mind.

  Katie had smiled and decided not answering was better than admitting to something she didn’t want to admit to. Not when they were in the Shaw home and at any moment a Shaw could have walked in on them. At the time, it had been just her, Beth and Ranger, the poodle.

  Across the festival hall Gwen was sitting with their mother, who had barely spoken to Katie since she found out that Katie, too, would be getting married. Katie’s parents had arrived that morning and were staying in Ennis, making the drive rather than staying with the Shaws.

  “I came here to help my sister,” she said, not to anyone in particular.

  Julie leaned in to hug her. “And maybe you came here because God had other plans for you.”

  At that, she looked up and smiled. “Maybe so. I’ve learned I’m a pretty decent wedding coordinator. Let’s talk about something else, because a bride, even a fake bride, shouldn’t cry the day before her wedding. That can’t be good luck. Julie, how is Ryan faring with all these wedding plans?”

  Julie leaned close. “Don’t tell, but last night he threatened to toss me in the truck and elope. We were going to drive to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and get married at a wedding chapel. We talked each other out of it.”

  “Wouldn’t that be amazing!” Annette put a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened. “Oh, Julie, you’re a genius. I’m getting married in Coeur d’Alene. I won’t elope, though. I’ll need a couple of bridesmaids.”

  Katie groaned and closed her eyes. Annette and Julie both laughed. This was how it felt to be a part of lives, a part of a community.

  “Have you had any luck finding the time capsule?” Katie asked Julie, changing the subject back to the town.

  “None at all. I’m really worried that come December we won’t have the grand finale.”

  “You’ll find it. Someone will come forward. Surely someone knows something or saw something?”

  Julie shrugged. “I don’t know. Dad is beside himself, worrying over it. Mom is a mess. But for now, we have to work o
n the Thanksgiving Parade and Homecoming Feast. I hope you’ll be here for that, Katie.”

  “And you hope you can find a Massey to show up,” Annette added, lifting Katie’s hair with a thoughtful expression. “Ringlets and baby’s breath?”

  Katie shook her head. “No, I don’t see it. I’m too tall. If I was pretty and petite, maybe.”

  “You’re beautiful and elegant,” Julie admonished with a frown. “You need to see yourself for who you are, the person we see.”

  Annette looked out at the crowded room. “Tomorrow this is going to be a wedding reception. I’m just amazed.”

  “They’re putting up another tent to seat people.” Katie supplied the information, glad for something new to talk about, something else to think about.

  When she thought about the wedding tomorrow, she still wondered if she could go through with it. She didn’t know if she could let Cord Shaw slip a ring on her finger and not have it break her heart.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Saturday afternoon, the brides and bridesmaids arrived at the fairgrounds, converging on the festival hall, chattering and laughing. Katie had been there for more than an hour, making sure tables were set up, decorations were taken care of and the caterers had what they needed. The brides arrived and hurried to the back room of the hall where their hair would be done if needed. The wedding dresses were also there, waiting for them.

  Katie trembled on the inside, wishing she could be anywhere but here. Last night they’d had rehearsal with sandwiches and appetizers after. She’d had to walk down the aisle with other couples, meet Cord at the front of the tent, stand next to him while vows were repeated, hold his hand, kiss him at the end of the ceremony.

  If last night was any sign, today would be a nightmare of emotion. But she could do this.

  “Why are you doing this?” Her mother came up behind her, her eyes troubled.

  Everything had been so chaotic, they hadn’t really talked. Katie hadn’t wanted to talk, to explain. Why would she pretend to get married?

  “Because I want to help pull this off.”

  “Can’t you do it without getting your own heart broken?”

  The words surprised Katie. She looked at her mother, waiting to hear what a mistake she was making, a bad choice. Instead, there was understanding.

  “Do you love him?”

  Katie bit down on her bottom lip and blinked furiously. “Please don’t make me cry. My mascara will run. I’ll have a puffy face.”

  “Katie, I understand that you want to move here. I know you want to test your wings and find your own place in life. But this wedding and what you’re doing for this man... I’m not sure if this is right.”

  “I know.” Katie managed a watery smile. “But I’m going through with it. And I’m glad you’re here.”

  “To see my two daughters marry the men of their dreams?” Her mother’s tone was devoid of humor.

  “Yes, I suppose.”

  “Katie, this is a mistake.”

  “I’ve made a lot of them in my life.”

  Her mom shook her head. “That’s the trouble with you, Katie.”

  “No, please don’t say that. I’ve heard it my whole life. It’s my mantra, the trouble with Katie.”

  “That isn’t what I meant.”

  “No, but it is what you always say. You and Dad both. It should be a book title, really. It does have a ring to it.”

  “Katie, you’re tired and emotional and this wedding is a very bad idea. You don’t walk down the aisle with a man and vow to live your life, cleaving only unto him, and then walk away to go back to your separate lives.”

  “We don’t have a marriage license and are only standing up with the other couples, not saying the vows.” She sobbed on the words and her mother touched her hand, holding it.

  “Find him and tell him you can’t.”

  Katie nodded and walked away. She joined the other brides in the back room. It was crowded, but the women were laughing and talking. The only one with tears or doubts was Katie. She avoided looking at Julie, who was in the process of letting Nadine help her slip Elaine Shaw’s dress over her head.

  “Here’s your dress.” Gwen appeared at her side holding a dress covered with plastic. “I’m going to finish getting ready, but I thought I should help you get started. You’re looking a little dazed.”

  “I’m good.”

  “Mom?”

  Katie nodded. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t bad. It was actually very sweet.”

  “Good. Now, get your dress on. Can’t keep the groom waiting.”

  Katie watched her sister walk away. Their mother had entered the room. She’d looked at Katie, then at Gwen. Katie nodded, and their mother turned to Gwen. She was, after all, the real bride.

  Katie pulled the cover off the dress and then she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move. She shook her head as she stared at the creation of silk she held in her hands.

  “Gwen, no!” Katie felt Julie’s hand on her sleeve, but she pulled away and hurried to her sister. “This is your dress.”

  “No, it’s yours.”

  “You had it taken in. It fits you and you’re wearing it.” Katie shoved the dress at her sister. “Gwen, don’t do this. I can’t wear this dress.”

  “You’ve always wanted to wear it. I can’t walk down the aisle in that dress and then pass it on to you. I want you to wear it and I didn’t have it taken in. Don’t argue.”

  “But I’m not getting married, we both know that. This dress shouldn’t be wasted on a wedding that isn’t real, a bride that isn’t a bride.”

  “Are you walking down the aisle to the man of your dreams?” Gwen asked, a smile on her face.

  “No, I’m walking down the aisle to a man who asked me to do him a favor.”

  “Katie, I have a dress.” Gwen held up a lacy creation. “It’s more my style and my size.”

  Their mother pushed Katie’s great-grandmother’s dress back into her hands. “Wear the dress, Katie.”

  She held the dress against her and thought about the walk down the aisle, about Cord meeting her at the front of the tent. In her mind she heard the vows the way they’d been said the previous evening during the rehearsal. The promise to love, to cherish, to honor.

  As the other brides finished getting ready, she slipped the dress over a chair and walked away.

  * * *

  Cord adjusted his tie and slicked down his hair with his hand. He looked around city hall at the other men in their suits. Grooms. They were all the real deal. He was an impostor.

  Ryan Travers walked up and patted him on the back. “You look like a man about to get married.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do.”

  “What if you get there and she’s not there?”

  “I’ll survive. The town will survive.” What if she wasn’t there?

  Maybe he should be the one who backed out. He could do that. He could give her the escape she needed instead of making her be the one to back out.

  “Cord,” Pastor Ethan Johnson greeted him, stepping around a few of the grooms who were finishing ties and jackets.

  “Ethan, looks like we’re almost ready for this.”

  Ethan shot Ryan a look and the other man walked away, leaving Cord with the pastor. “Cord, let’s take a walk.”

  “A walk?” Cord looked around, making a point. “Where would we walk to?”

  “You know better than I do.”

  Cord nodded toward the door. “I guess we’ll have to go outside.”

  “Works for me.”

  The two men stepped out the door and Cord took a deep breath. The fresh air did feel good. He rarely put on a suit. He couldn’t really remember the last time. It itched and the collar was tight.

  “Feeling a little
uncomfortable?” Ethan asked with a smile.

  “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  “Maybe you should think about what you’re doing here?”

  Cord looked around. He spotted the big banner stretched across the road. WELCOME TO JASPER GULCH’S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

  “You mean the celebration or the wedding?”

  “The fact that you are about to walk down the aisle with a woman you clearly love, pretend you don’t love her while I read the vows you’ve no intention of honoring...”

  “Stop!” Cord put a hand up. “I think I get your point and I’m afraid this is going to end with you hitting me.”

  “Never. But I would like to knock some sense into you.”

  “I wish someone would,” Cord admitted, brushing a pretty shaky hand through his hair.

  “Then think about what you’re about to do here.”

  “I’ve been thinking, Ethan. I’ve done so much thinking I’m about worn out from it. I’m trying to do the right thing for our town. I’m trying not to hurt Kate. I’m not sure which end is up.”

  “I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you to pray.”

  “I guess you probably should have mentioned that a few weeks ago.”

  With that, Cord walked away, wishing God could send a text or an email because it would be nice to know, without a doubt, what he was meant to do. Katie Archer had changed his life, that much was obvious. She’d helped him through one of the toughest months of his life.

  A better man than himself would head to the fairgrounds and tell her she didn’t have to go through with this sham of a wedding. It’d all seemed so easy when he’d come up with the idea. They wouldn’t say the vows as the other couples said them. They wouldn’t have a marriage license. They would just fill a space. Not the best idea he’d ever had.

  As he headed for his truck a short time later, that was the thought on his mind. He had to back out of this wedding. Katie deserved to someday walk down the aisle without memories of this fake wedding hanging over her like a cloud.

  She deserved not to be used.