Reading the Rancher (Cowboys and Angels Book 28)
Page 11
He nodded. “Yes, I did.” He stared at the door. “The man gave me that note well over a week ago. I thought he couldn’t talk.”
“So did I.” Hattie held him tighter. “Cooper, those stories you were telling me about the people in Creede … you don’t suppose they’re true?” She looked at the door and back. “Do you?”
Cooper stared at the door again. “Hattie, I think we’d be a couple of fools to say they weren’t. Maybe it’s best we don’t say anything at all.”
Mr. Judrow looked from one to the other. “What stories?”
Hattie swallowed hard. “Mr. Judrow, do you believe in angels?”
He arched an eyebrow at her.
“Right,” she said with a tentative smile. “Um, well, never mind.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later …
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Hattie whispered beneath her veil.
“Neither can I, but it is.” Cooper looked at her and smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you. Enough to do this twice.”
Cooper grinned. That night in his cabin after dodging Bart Sullivan’s foul designs, he realized they had a preacher and two witnesses in Mr. Judrow and Jeb, and he was game if she was. They were married then and there, and had spent the last fortnight in an impromptu honeymoon. Today’s ceremony was just to make it official with the rest of town, but they were already happily husband and wife. And as the preacher (who really was ordained, and turned out to be sharper than he’d first appeared) had said, God saw it all and would hold them to it.
“Ahem.” Rev. Theodore gave them a stern look. “The ring, if you please.”
“Oh yes, sorry,” Cooper looked expectantly at Baxter, who was staring at something in the back of the church. “Baxter,” Cooper hissed out of the corner of his mouth. “The ring?”
Baxter reached into his pocket and handed it to him, his eyes still on whatever had caught his attention.
Cooper glanced between him and Rev. Theodore, who was getting an exercise in patience. He looked where Baxter did, his eyes went wide and he quickly faced forward again.
“What is it?” Hattie whispered.
“They’re here,” Cooper replied.
She blanched. “Both of them?”
He nodded, looked at Rev. Theodore, shrugged and smiled.
The reverend, who’d been watching the bride, groom and best man with interest, arched an eyebrow and checked the back of the church. “Mm-hmm.” He sighed and carried on. Apparently he was used to having a rooster attend a wedding. “Repeat after me, Mr. White. With this ring, I thee wed …”
Cooper said the words, his heart racing. So much had happened since he proposed to Hattie that fateful night, aside from seeing a rooster and Mr. Dunst disappear into thin air. But perhaps it had just been a trick of the light. There was a storm going on after all.
The next morning, he’d informed Hattie what Tobias had told him regarding “word blindness.” Days later Dr. Thomas received a letter from his friend in New York confirming the diagnosis.
There wasn’t a lot to be done except to manage it, which he and Hattie were working on. Working together as a team made all the difference in the world. Even if he was never able to read properly, at least he had someone in his corner helping him, believing in him. She even talked him into planning a future visit to his family’s stage stop. She’d read him like a book and told him there was no reason to stay away any longer. He had nothing to be ashamed of and needed to see his family.
She was right. He couldn’t believe he’d stayed away so long out of pride. Besides, by staying away he’d hurt his father more than helped. He needed to mend that fence.
As to Hattie, after she wired her father and told him what Bart did – attempted murder, breaking and entering, false imprisonment and a few other things, according to the local sheriff – her father not only gave them his blessing, he said he’d be wiring them some money so they could start their new life together properly. Cooper planned to buy more horses and add onto the house.
The vows done and rings taken care of, Rev. Theodore glared at the back of the church and said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Mr. White, you may kiss your bride.”
Cooper lifted Hattie’s veil, wrapped her in his arms and smiled. “Hello, Mrs. White.” He then kissed her to the applause of the McRaes, Redferns, Thomases and a few other attendees. But most of all from a pudgy little man in the back with a bright smile. The rooster next to him crowed in approval. No one back home would believe this, or anyone else Cooper could think of, for that matter. Unless, of course, they were from Creede.
In fact, more than one person in town had smiled when Cooper and Hattie told their tale over the last couple of weeks, many without batting an eye. He and Hattie had to conclude that Creede was a special place full of special people, and not without a helping hand from on high. Including Albert Dunst, whom ever he was, though they were beginning to guess. If not for him, they might never have met.
And the rooster? Well, Cooper was thankful he hadn’t tried to catch him the day he strutted around the side of his barn. After all, he had to concede that Bob, too, was special. He shuddered to think what might have happened had he tried to lock him in his chicken coop or put him in a pot. Marrying Hattie was much safer.
Also by Kit Morgan
If you enjoyed Dear Mr. Comforts please Check out the Prairie Bride Series here: http://www.authorkitmorgan.com/prairie-brides/ You’ll be glad you did!
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About the Author
Kit Morgan, aka Geralyn Beauchamp, lives in a log cabin in the woods in the wonderful state of Oregon. She grew up riding horses, playing cowboys and Indians and has always had a love of Westerns! She and her father watched many Western movies and television shows together, and enjoyed the quirky characters of Green Acres. Kit’s books have been described as “Green Acres meets Gunsmoke,” and have brought joy and entertainment to thousands of readers. Many of her books are now in audio format, performed by a talented voice actor who brings Kit’s characters to life, and can be found on Amazon, Audible.com and iTunes.
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What’s Next for Cowboys and Angels
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