Mail Order Bride - Westward Destiny: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 4)

by Linda Bridey

  “That’s ok,” Luke said and kissed her forehead. It seemed cooler to him. “Marcus?” he called out.

  It was only a few moments before Marcus came into the teepee. Luke was shocked to see him in a loin cloth and nothing else.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Marcus said. “I stunk to high heaven and went for a quick swim to wash off. I didn’t feel like putting my clothes on yet.”

  Luke just smiled and said, “I think her fever broke.”

  Marcus picked up the thermometer and shook it. “Hey, Jamie. You gave us quite a scare there,” he told her.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  “That’s ok. You’re gonna be ok. I need to stick this under your tongue,” Marcus said.

  Jamie held the thermometer in her mouth until Marcus took it back. He looked at the reading and smiled. “Ninety-nine. I’ll take it. It’s definitely coming down. Jamie do you think you can drink some tea for me?”

  Jamie nodded. “Thirsty.”

  Luke helped her drink it and then laid her back down. Marcus gave her some more laudanum and she slept.

  Chapter Nineteen

  She stayed in the camp for a little over two weeks until both Dr. Turner and Marcus were comfortable with having her moved to the ranch. Luke carried her to Marcus’ house since there was no way she could ride a horse and from there they took her in Marcus’ buggy. Jamie had enjoyed her time in the Lakota camp and she wanted to go back to see Black Fox’s son Raven again. The little boy had developed a crush on her. He was taken with her auburn hair and green eyes. Luke completely understood and didn’t blame Marcus’ nephew one bit.

  Geoff and Maureen had arrived during the time Jamie was recovering in the camp and were very concerned about her. Upon meeting her, Geoff said, “Now there’s an Irish lass if I ever saw one, and a bonnie one at that.”

  Jamie had smiled. “Ye be full o’ blarney, boyo,” she said.

  Geoff had laughed. “I think I like you.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she said.

  Maureen sat with her sometimes to relieve others. Luke had resumed working but came to check on her often. Dean didn’t say anything about it because he’d have done the same thing if it had been Tessa. Jack made her special dishes that were supposed to be good for her. Jamie was impressed with how good they were. He delivered her meals himself and Jamie told him he should be a chef and that girls liked boys who could cook.

  Jack hadn’t blushed. He’d grinned and said, “Yeah, I found that out last week. I made dinner for Leanne Grant.”

  Jamie’s eyes had widened. “You went on a date?”

  He nodded. “You’ll have to meet her. She’s great. Real pretty.”

  “I can just imagine. So are you courting her or are there other girls?” Jamie asked.

  “Nope. Just her. Yeah, I’m courtin’ her,” Jack admitted with a huge smile.

  “I’m so happy for you, Jack. She must be special if she’s with such a great catch as you,” Jamie said.

  He had blushed then. He’d kissed her cheek and left her room.

  Luke stayed with her at night and no one batted an eyelash about it. He took care of her every need, and made her feel better just by being close.

  Jamie was up and around by the time early August came. As she sat in the swing on Tessa and Dean’s front porch, she looked out over the ranch and thought how very lucky she was to be sitting there at all. The men who’d been responsible had been sent to jail and wouldn’t see the outside for a very long time. Much to Tessa’s dismay, Joe came to see her often. He kept telling her she had to get better so they could sing together again.

  He made her laugh, especially when he and Luke bantered. Luke had mixed feelings about Jamie gambling again, but he’d told her that he accepted her as she was. He couldn’t go back on that. The only stipulation he would make was that if she was going to do that, he would go with her so he could keep her safe.

  One night when after they’d gone to bed, Jamie said, “You know, the day you proposed to me, you told me that you loved me and you’ve kept telling me. I think it’s only right that you know that I love you, too,” she said. She had wanted to tell him that day but didn’t have the chance with everything that had happened. “I knew when you promised me all those things that went with my ring, that you’d keep those promises. You’ve kept so many of them and shown me that you’ll always be there for me. I want to do all of those things for you, too, Luke. I love you.”

  Luke smiled and kissed her. “I love you and I’ll keep showing you and telling you how much I love you every day.”

  Jamie took his face in her hands and made him look her in the eyes. “You were right when you said Charlene was your past. She had no idea what she threw away, Luke. You are so sweet, kind, and so damn good-looking. You’re fun and strong. And you’re so many things that I can’t name them all. I know it really hurt you, but I can’t help being glad that she stood you up. If she hadn’t, I would be here with you now. We were each other’s destiny.”

  Luke felt the final vestiges of the old pain leave him then. He, too, was now glad that Charlene had not shown for their wedding. If she hadn’t, he would have missed out on the most wonderful woman he’d ever met.

  “You know, I like it when you swear. When you do, it doesn’t sound bad,” Luke said.

  Jamie laughed and then rattled off a string of swear words and made him laugh, too.

  “How do you do that?” Luke asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Make everything so fun?” Luke said.

  “I don’t know. It just seems to come naturally to me,” Jamie said.

  “Lucky for me,” Luke said.

  When Doc Turner proclaimed Jamie completely healed, the wedding plans kicked into high gear. Maddie was almost back to her normal activity level and she and Maureen made Jamie’s dress. It was of the finest material and done in the latest style. When it was complete, Jamie couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Maureen looked at her in it and told her that it was Jamie that made the dress beautiful.

  Jamie and Luke went to the Lakota camp one night. They wanted to talk with Black Fox and Wind Spirit.

  Black Fox smiled with he saw them. “Hello, brother, sister.”

  “Hello, brother,” Luke said. “How are you?”

  “I am well. How are you, Jamie?” Black Fox asked.

  She smiled at him. “I’m fine, thanks in no small part to you and Wind Spirit.”

  Luke said, “We’re getting married soon and we would love for you and Wind Spirit to come to the wedding.”

  “Please say you’ll come,” Jamie pleaded.

  Black Fox nodded. “Yes, we will come.”

  Jamie said, “Will you bring your moonshine? We want to get Marcus drunk and see what secrets he’ll tell.”

  That made the tall Indian laugh. “I will bring it.”

  “Thank you,” Jamie said.

  Wind Spirit asked if they would like to stay to eat and they accepted. They spent a fun evening with their new Lakota friends and didn’t leave until late.

  A couple of nights before the wedding, Dean showed up at Marcus and Claire’s house. Marcus was whittling on the porch as he often did. He was making a toy for Aiyana. Claire sat on the other side of the porch reading a book. Aiyana was inside sleeping in her crib.

  Dean went up on the porch, greeted them, sat down in the chair by Marcus and rocked a little.

  Marcus sensed this was one of those times when Dean was working up to saying something so he didn’t say anything. He and Claire exchanged a glance and she rose and left them alone.

  “I need to say something, Marcus, so please don’t interrupt me,” Dean said. “I’m going to be a groomsman for Luke, as you know. I know I’ve said it before, but I can’t tell you how sorry I am that didn’t do the same for you. If I could do it over…” he let the words trail off. “I know I hurt you and you’ve never brought it up to me again. I need to know if you’re mad that I’m going to do that
for Luke when I didn’t for you.”

  Marcus sighed and put aside his project. “I’m not angry, Dean. I guess it’s my turn to be jealous, though. More than anything, I wanted you up there with me, but I think my expectations were a little ambitious at the time. Sometimes it’s hard for me to realize that people don’t react the same way to things that I do. I forget that they have a different perspective. I forgot at the time that you were as traumatized as I was. You were hurting as much as me, but for different reasons.”

  Dean nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “It was unrealistic for me to expect you to just put aside your feelings one moment and then turn them on again the next. Feelings don’t work that way. It still kind of hurts, but I’m not mad or anything. I don’t blame you anymore, Dean. You taught me that lesson about forgiveness and I haven’t forgotten it,” Marcus said and laid his hand on Dean’s shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Dean said and patted Marcus’ hand. “Well, little brother, I’ll let you get back to your whittling.”

  Marcus watched his brother ride away and smiled. It had felt good to talk about that subject, and he felt as if something inside him had been freed and he was lighter for having gotten rid of it.

  That same night, Jamie went to the house in town that Geoff and Maureen had bought.

  Maureen was getting used to answering the door herself. They’d decided not to hire any servants except for a stable boy to hitch up the buggy when Maureen wanted it.

  She opened the door for Jamie and her face lit up. “Hello, Jamie. Come in.” She and Geoff had grown quite fond of Jamie.

  “Thank you, Maureen,” Jamie said. “How are you?”

  “I’m well. How are you feeling?” Maureen asked.

  “Outside of some stiffness, pretty good,” Jamie replied. “Marcus says that will work out on its own.”

  “I’m very glad to hear that. May I get you something? Coffee? Tea?” Maureen offered.

  “No, thank you,” Jamie said. “Is Geoffrey here?” Butterflies danced in her stomach making it ache.

  “Yes, he is,” Maureen said. She could see that Jamie was apprehensive about something. “Is everything all right?”

  Jamie nodded. “Yeah. I just need to speak with him.”

  “Come with me. He’s in the study,” Maureen said.

  When they entered the nicely appointed study, Maureen said, “Dear, Jamie is here to see you.”

  Geoff got up from his chair and came to give Jamie a kiss on the cheek. “You’re looking well.”

  Jamie looked up into his dark eyes and smiled. “Thank you. So are you.”

  Maureen and Geoff laughed. “I’m glad for that,” Geoff said. “Please, have a seat. So what’s on your mind?” He had raised three daughters and was good at reading the body posture of a woman who was nervous.

  Maureen was going to leave them but Jamie said, “Please stay, Maureen.”

  Jamie didn’t know how to begin. She kept trying to think of the right words and gave up and plunged ahead. “My daddy is gone, as you know, and I don’t have anyone to give me away and I was wondering if you would do it. I don’t have anyone else to ask and even if I did, I’d still want you do it. You’ve been so kind to me, even though neither of you knew me. I’m just Tessa’s housekeeper and nanny, not family. But will you please walk me down the aisle?”

  Tears had gathered in her eyes and began to trickle down her cheeks. Geoff surprised her by pulling her close and kissing her cheek. “Shh, don’t cry, lass. You’re more than just hired help, you know. You’ve become part of our family. We all love you and I would be honored to walk you down the aisle.”

  “Thank you so much,” Jamie said and hugged him back. When they released each other, Jamie looked at Maureen and said, “And I’ll never be able to really repay you and Maddie for making me such a gorgeous dress.”

  Maureen took her hand and patted it. “My repayment will be the look on Luke’s face when he sees you in it.”

  Jamie laughed. “Yeah. I can’t wait to see that.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jamie was the calmest bride that Tessa and her sisters had ever seen. She didn’t have any last minute panic attacks or worry overly about her appearance. Instead she laughed and teased the other women about all kinds of things. She wanted to hear about their weddings and laughed hard when Claire told her about Marcus’ “touching and funny” proposal.

  “I can’t believe he actually said, ‘Claire, I-don’t-know-your-middle-name, Fawn, O’Connor’!” Jamie said.

  Claire giggled. “He still doesn’t know my middle name. It really bugs him, which makes it fun.”

  “What is your middle name?” Jamie said.

  Claire said, “If I tell you, you can never tell him. Not ever. Do you swear?”

  Jamie said, “On my honor, I’ll never say a word to him.”

  “All right. It’s Elizabeth,” Claire said.

  “I’ve always loved that name,” Jamie said. “I won’t tell a soul.”

  “Thank you,” Claire said.

  Joe stood in between Luke and Dean at the front of the church. Luke leaned over and said, “You’re sure she’s here, right?”

  Joe smiled and said, “Yes, she’s here. I promise.”

  Luke straightened and breathed sigh of relief. He wasn’t nervous about marrying Jamie; he was worried that he wouldn’t get to marry her because she’d changed her mind. He willed himself to remember that Jamie wasn’t Charlene. Jamie would never do that to him. Luke forced all of the self-doubts from his mind so he could enjoy the most special day of his life.

  Seth stood off to one side and played a beautiful violin prelude, which had been a surprise for Luke and Jamie.

  Luke saw Mikey come down the aisle with little Aiyana and smiled. Their ring bearer did a good job of escorting their tiny flower girl. Everyone laughed softly as the two little ones made their way to the front of the church. Marcus in particular got a kick out of it. Once the rings were safely given to Joe, Marcus took Aiyana to sit with him.

  Claire came down the aisle then and looked at her husband and daughter. She was only showing slightly, and Marcus thought she was even more beautiful than the day he’d married her. He signed, “I love you” in Lakota to her and she signed it back and smiled at him.

  Tessa followed and Dean watched his wife take her place across from him. She smiled at him but made a point of not looking at Joe. Dean still couldn’t figure out why Tessa disliked Joe so much, but it sort of amused him.

  Luke straightened as Jamie appeared. Her dress was off-white, which was fashionable for a woman who’d already been married once. It suited her vivid coloring perfectly. Jamie had wanted a dress that covered the scar from the bullet that had almost taken her life, so Maureen and Maddie had designed a high-necked dress. The shimmering material moved with Jamie and sparkled as it caught the sunlight coming in the windows.

  Jamie locked eyes with Luke and smiled. She could see his love for her reflected in those dark pools. Geoff gave Luke the same warning look he’d given Seth and Marcus before giving Luke her hand. Luke had blinked a little and then smiled at Geoff.

  Jamie whispered, “Hi, Hercules.”

  Luke smiled and whispered back, “Hi, beautiful.”

  Their gazes never left each other as they said their vows. All of their promises to each other went right along with those vows and were said silently to one another. They were caught up in a spell of love and when they kissed, that love was communicated in their embrace. Pastor John introduced them to the wedding congregation and the celebrating began even before they left the church.

  Epilogue

  True to his word, Black Fox and He Who Runs brought a large supply of their special moonshine to the reception. Although everyone kept trying to get Marcus to drink it, he would only ingest a small amount. Jamie kept teasing him and taunting him about not being able to hold his liquor, but he wouldn’t budge.

  Seth, Marcus, Joe, and Wendell, the piano player from the Waterin
g Hole provided the musical entertainment. Luke wasn’t a bad dancer, but he didn’t care about any missteps he made as long as he got to hold Jamie in his arms. They laughed and talked with everyone and Jamie and Pricilla seemed to come to an understanding, which was a relief for both parties.

  Geoff tapped Luke on the shoulder at one point and cut in to dance with Jamie.

  “I know I’m not your father, but think of me as a fatherly figure. I get to do a sort of fatherly-daughterly dance with you. Is that all right, lass?” he said.

  Jamie beamed up at him and said, “It’s wonderful.”

  Geoff taught her how to waltz and she was a very good student. Seth caught Luke’s eye and motioned him over to where the band played.

  “Take over for me, ok? I have something I need to do,” Seth said.

  Luke frowned. “This is my reception, Seth.”

  Seth said, “Can you honestly stand there and tell me you aren’t itching to play?”

  “No.”

  “Then take the fiddle and play a waltz, ok?” Seth said.

  Luke shrugged. “Ok.” He took Seth’s fiddle and he and the others decided on the song they were going to play.

  Seth went over to Geoff and tapped his shoulder. He looked at Seth who held out a hand to him.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Geoff said.

  He took Seth’s hand as the music started and the two men began gliding across the floor. Jamie had to sit down because she was laughing so hard. Luke was somehow able to keep playing, although he was a little out of tune here and there. Pricilla and John weren’t quite sure what to make of this, but since everyone else was having fun watching, they supposed it was all right.

  Seth and Geoff finished to rousing applause and bowed. Jamie ran to the both of them and hugged them.

  “Thank you! That was hysterical!” She gave them both a kiss on the cheek and then ran over to Luke.

  Seth came back over to Luke and took back his fiddle.

  Luke said, “I’ve never seen anything like that before Marcus and Claire’s wedding. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard.”