The two women said their goodbyes and then Patience left the house to meet Forest. “Did you have something to do with the Cinderella moment that just happened with Cassie?” she asked him with suspicion.
“I might have mentioned to her in passing that I wasn’t sure what kind of clothes you’d brought with you,” he replied. “I can’t have my date showing up to my friend’s wedding in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.”
She wanted to be mad at him, at Cassie and at everyone who had shown her such kindness. She wasn’t used to people treating her so nicely. She wasn’t accustomed to anyone caring. She didn’t like it because it was just a little bit scary, because deep in her heart she knew she really didn’t deserve it.
* * *
Forest tugged on the black tie that threatened to strangle him. The last time he’d put on a suit and tie had been for Cass’s funeral.
He didn’t want to think about that somber, heart-breaking occasion now. Besides, Cass would have been thrilled to see one of her “boys” getting married and moving on with his life.
Today was all about joy and love and he couldn’t wait to spend time with Patience away from the ranch. Beneath his suit coat he wore his gun, aware that anytime they were out in public together danger could find them. He wasn’t expecting trouble, but would be ready if it came knocking.
Hopefully today nothing would happen but good times. Since the night he and Patience had made love, there was no question that she’d tried to distance herself from him, but that only made him suspect it had meant much more to her than she’d pretended or wanted to admit to herself.
She’d said it was just sex, but whether she knew it or not, she’d made sweet, hot love with him. Even in the last couple of days as she’d attempted to gain distance, her gaze had lingered on him for seconds too long, she’d touched him more frequently...casual but meaningful from a woman he knew didn’t touch others often, if at all.
She might not believe in love, but that’s what emanated from her whenever they were together. She might be fighting the feelings, but they were there, and he hoped that by the end of today she’d be more open to them and to him.
There was nothing like being surrounded by love to feel it in your heart, in the soul. Lucky Lucas, he was getting his dream. He was marrying the woman he loved, adopting Nicolette’s young son and working on his own ranch.
It was what Cassie had wanted for them all, to grow into men who would learn to trust again, learn to love and build families of their own. She would definitely be smiling down from Heaven today.
He moved his arm, grateful that the bandage had come off and the bullet graze was nearly healed. He doubted he’d even have a scar. The only scar he might harbor was the memory of that moment when he believed he’d be killed, leaving Patience vulnerable to the same fate.
At four-fifteen he left his room and knocked on Patience’s room. She opened the door and his breath caught in the back of his throat. The green dress matched the hue of her eyes and brought out the splendid red of her hair.
Silver earrings danced at her dainty ears and her lips were pink and her eyelashes sinfully long and dark. “You look absolutely stunning,” he said when he finally found his voice.
“So do you,” she blurted and her cheeks flushed with color. “I mean you clean up real nice for a cowboy.”
He chuckled and took her room key from her and shoved it in his back pocket. “Your chariot awaits,” he said and gestured toward the navy pickup with silver trim. “Sorry it isn’t a limo, but you don’t find too many cowboys with luxury rides.”
“The ride doesn’t matter, it’s the company that counts,” she replied and headed for the passenger door.
Was she even aware of her own words? Of the confirmation that she wasn’t as immune to him as she wanted him to believe? He gave a small shake of his head and climbed into the driver’s seat. She had no idea that she kept his brain muddled with confusion most of the time.
She kissed him as if she meant it. She’d made love to him with passion and when she looked at him he saw something more than mere affection flickering in the depths of her gorgeous eyes. Was he merely seeing what he wanted to see? He shoved away any confusing thoughts and focused on the evening to come.
“Happy is the bride that the sun shines on,” he said once they were underway.
“It is a beautiful day,” she replied.
“I hope you manage to put your skepticism aside about the whole love and wedding thing for the rest of the evening.” He cast her a sideways glance.
“I don’t know about that, but I promise I won’t mention my skepticism to anyone. So, what should I expect from this ceremony and reception?”
He gave her a surprised glance. “You’ve never been to a wedding before?”
“I don’t socialize enough to have ever been invited to one before.”
“Well, darlin’, your socializing habit is about to change.”
He felt her gaze lingering on him. “I might change my habit for a night or two due to unusual circumstances, but people don’t change who they are at their core and the beliefs they have.”
“You’d be amazed what love can do,” he replied firmly. “It was Cass’s love that brought us all together and made us men, and believe me that wasn’t an easy task. Most of us were wary and broken and not in a place to trust or care about anyone. Her love healed wounds that for most of the cowboys at the ranch ran soul-deep.”
She leaned back in the seat and didn’t reply. Instead she gazed out the passenger window and the silence between them grew.
What was she thinking? How he wished he could crawl into her mind and not only see her thoughts, but also erase the childhood and her traumatic college experience that he believed had made her into a woman afraid to trust, afraid to even believe in love.
He’d managed to work his magic on the horse, but he had such little time left to do the same with Patience, if it was even possible to change her beliefs.
The church parking lot was almost full, the prevalent type of vehicle in the spaces being pickup trucks. All of the men from the ranch had been invited. Adam Benson was Lucas’s best man, and Cassie was Nicolette’s maid of honor. Forest assumed they had already arrived.
It wasn’t just people from the ranch who had been invited to the special event. There were men and women from other ranches as well as townspeople. Thankfully nobody from the Humes ranch had received an invitation.
He found an empty parking space and pulled in, then hurried from the driver door to the passenger side to help Patience out of the truck.
“Looks like they have a big crowd,” she said when they walked toward the front door of the quaint white building with a tall steeple.
“Both of them have lots of friends, although the wedding itself is small. Cassie and Adam are the sum of the wedding party, except for little Sammy who is serving as ring bearer.”
She reached for his hand as they walked up the two steps to the front door. The gesture both surprised and delighted him. She was apparently a bit uneasy about mingling with a crowd of people. Her grasping his hand surely meant she considered him a source of comfort.
There was no bride side and groom side of the pews. Neither Nicolette nor Lucas had family to attend. As Forest and Patience walked down the center aisle to find a seat on one of the pews, Forest was greeted by many townsfolk who had been invited to share in the festivities. Disappointment flooded through him as Patience finally dropped her hand from his.
“That’s Daisy Martin,” he murmured as he waved a hand toward a plump woman with flaming red hair. “She owns the café. Next to her is Trisha Cahill, the waitress that Dusty has a huge crush on.”
They finally sat next to the aisle five pews back from the front of the church and Forest continued to point out people to her. He leaned toward her, filling his se
nses with the familiar, sweet scent of her. “Right next to me is Fred Ferguson who owns the motel and next to him is Janis Little, a waitress at the Watering Hole.”
“The Watering Hole?” She looked at him curiously.
He grinned. “The bar where every self-respecting cowboy goes to get lit and play a little pool.”
“Do you go there often?”
“Occasionally, but I’m not much of a drinker. I’m usually the designated driver and corral all the drunks to get them home safe and sound.”
She placed a hand on his forearm. “You’re a nice man, Forest. You deserve all of your dreams coming true.”
You are my dreams. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but at that moment organ music filled the church, the minister took his place and Lucas appeared next to him.
Lucas looked handsome in his black tux and pale pink bowtie and cummerbund. He also appeared nervous as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stared down the aisle, not making eye contact with anyone in particular.
Forest grinned inwardly. Lucas had confronted a killer to save Nicolette from danger when she’d first arrived in town with Cassie. He’d wrestled steers and faced hungry wolves among the cattle without blinking an eye. But he stared down the aisle and fidgeted with his tie as if deathly afraid his bride-to-be might not show up.
Forest had seen the love that had blossomed between the two and the young boy who was so hungry for a father figure. He knew there was no way Nicolette wouldn’t be at the altar within a matter of minutes.
Six-year-old Sammy appeared carrying a white pillow with two rings attached. He walked slowly and deliberately halfway down the aisle and then broke into a run and leapt into Lucas’s arms.
The crowd laughed and ahhed and a deep yearning swelled up in Forest’s chest. What must it be like to have a child who loved you unconditionally? He wanted that. He wanted the child and the loving wife to go with a baby.
He glanced at Patience. Her eyes shone overbright, as if she were fighting back tears. The dragon lady definitely had a soft center and nobody knew that more than Forest. If he could only dig deep enough to convince her that love wasn’t just a kiss or simple sex. It was the breath of life.
The Wedding March began and everyone got to their feet. Without looking backward, Forest knew the moment Nicolette stepped into view, for Lucas’s features lit with a happiness, a force of love that was palpable.
Lucas hugged Sammy and set him on the floor next to him, then watched intently as Nicolette, clad in a soft pink wedding gown, approached him. She had probably decided to forego the traditional white because this was her second marriage.
When she passed their aisle, there was no denying the serene happiness that she radiated. She was a woman certain of what she was doing and the man she was about to bind herself to for the rest of their lives.
Once Nicolette had joined the others, the music stopped and everyone sat back down. When they spoke the vows they had written themselves, the only sound was the sniffle of women crying tears of joy and the ring of the couple’s love for each other.
He glanced again at Patience. It had appeared she was on the verge of tears before, but now she had her arms crossed and her chin up, as if daring anything happening to affect her in any way.
Rather than be discouraged, he was encouraged. Her defensive posture meant she felt threatened, and if she felt threatened it was because something in the setting, in the ceremony and the collective love in the room was touching her on an emotional level.
It was just after five-thirty when the minister introduced the new couple as Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Taylor and their son, Sammy.
“Now I got a real dad,” Sammy exclaimed. Everyone whooped and cheered as Lucas picked Sammy up in his arms and the three of them headed down the aisle to leave the church.
If Patience’s beliefs had been threatened during the simple ceremony, then he hoped the reception shook her to her very core because before she left the ranch, he intended to proclaim his love for her.
Chapter 11
Patience would never admit to anyone how much the wedding ceremony had touched her. She believed love didn’t exist, and yet it had been difficult to look at Lucas and Nicolette and not believe that that kind of strong emotion wasn’t what they felt for each other.
“It was a nice ceremony,” Forest said as they drove the short distance from the church to the community center. He shot her a quick glance.
“It was okay for people who believe in such things,” she replied.
She thought he expelled a small sigh. “The reception should be fun. Cookie catered the food so I know it won’t be the usual after-wedding little cakes and dainty sandwiches. I also heard they hired the Croakin’ Frogs band for the night, so there should be plenty of foot-stomping music.”
“The Croakin’ Frogs?” Dear Lord, what had she gotten herself into?
“It’s a five-piece country Western band. They play a lot of places around the state and are building a decent following. Scott Earnhart is the lead singer and lives here in Bitterroot. Expect lots of dancing and eating and laughter.”
“You told me you sing like a frog. I’m surprised you aren’t their lead singer,” she replied teasingly.
He laughed, that low deep rumble that had become so familiar, so welcome to her ears. “I croak off-key,” he replied.
He looked so handsome in his suit, white shirt and black tie. His hair was neatly combed, and she was slightly amused that instead of dress shoes he had on a pair of highly polished black cowboy boots. You could take the man off the ranch, but you apparently couldn’t take the cowboy from the man.
She turned her head to look out the window. She was definitely out of her comfort zone, but she’d been out of her comfort zone since the moment Forest had introduced himself to her.
It had all seemed so easy with him, their conversations, their time spent alone and among others. Their relationship had felt organic, as if neither of them had worked hard for it, but it had sprung to life on its own.
For the first time she realized how lonely her life had been before him, how isolated she’d kept herself from fun and laughter and friendships that wouldn’t have taken away anything but might have added a richness to her life.
It was a stunning self-realization, and before she could give it any deeper thought they’d arrived at the community center.
The one-story building itself was huge and painted white with a cheerful sign announcing it to be the Bitterroot Community Center. It sat in the center of a large lot that provided plenty of parking. A smaller sign just outside the front door announced Friday night bingo games and a monthly meeting of the Bitterroot Women’s League.
Inside, a stage was at the back of the large room, and the band had already set up in preparation of their performance. A highly polished wooden dance floor was right in front of the stage.
A head table was covered with a pink tablecloth and held a centerpiece of pale pink and white flowers. Five chairs were behind it for the newlywed couple, Cassie and Adam and Sammy.
A buffet was set up along one long side wall, and the center of the room held round tables covered in light pink tablecloths and with white candles in silver holders as centerpieces.
“Let’s grab a table near the dance floor,” Forest suggested and took her by the elbow to guide her forward. Each table sat eight, and by the time the room had begun to fill, Dusty, Sawyer, Clay and Flint had joined them, with Clay’s date, Ramona, and Flint’s date, Julie Hatfield, who was a waitress at the café.
It was a full table and slightly daunting, as Patience didn’t know Flint or Clay very well and both of the women were strangers.
Thankfully, Julie and Ramona were friendly and talkative, and as they ate they regaled Patience with stories about the people in town, the cowboys on the Holiday
Ranch and then asked her easy-to-answer general questions about her work.
By the time the band began playing and Patience watched Lucas and Nicolette share the first dance, she was relaxed and looking forward to a dance with Forest.
Forest teased Dusty, challenging him to ask Trisha, who sat at another table across the room, to a dance. Instead Dusty stood and took Patience’s hand. “Come on, Doc. Let me have a dance with you before the big ox takes control of you.”
Patience laughed and allowed Dusty to lead her out on the floor. Maybe it was the two glasses of champagne she’d consumed a bit too fast, or maybe it was just the atmosphere of caring and acceptance that allowed her to shrug off some of her inhibitions.
Once she was on the floor, she found herself in the arms of one cowboy after another. She not only danced with all of the other cowboys from the Holiday Ranch, but also with Dillon and Fred Ferguson, the motel owner.
She finally returned to the table, exhausted and yet still filled with a bit of adrenaline from the fun. Forest took a sip of his glass of water and eyed her in amusement.
“Cinderella is the belle of the ball,” he said in amusement.
“Except for with you,” she replied. “You haven’t danced with me yet.” He was the man she most wanted to dance with, the person she wanted to pull her close and wrap her in his big, strong embrace.
“I figured you should save the best for last,” he replied, a wicked little gleam in his eyes that heated her from head to toe.
“And you’re the best?” she asked teasingly.
“The best you’ll ever have,” he replied with a confidence she found breathtakingly sexy.
His words instantly evoked memories of their lovemaking. No, she mentally corrected, not lovemaking. Sex. It had just been sex between two adults who had been pulled together by hormones and body chemistry that had called to each other.
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