Angelina smiled, remembering well her own courtship with Franco. It had been much more peaceful than Caterina’s - that was for sure. Despite the rough start to their relationship, it was plain for any to see that Kade truly loved her daughter, with the kind of love meant to weather life’s storms.
“I’m sure that incredibly handsome man of yours is pacing the floor, ready to be wed. Shall we go?”
“Yes, Mamma. I’m ready.” Caterina lifted her skirts and turned toward the door. As she walked down the stairs, her father turned to look at her with pride, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
“Oh, Caterina. You are a vision,” he said, kissing her cheek. “You look so much like your beautiful Mamma on our wedding day.”
“Thank you, Papa.” She squeezed his hand as they moved toward the front of her restaurant. From her front door, it was a short walk to the church, where Kade waited with Garrett, Tony, and Alonzo. Her brother accompanied Papa and Mamma to her wedding, not wanting to miss his opportunity to see the Wild West.
Aundy waved from the door of the church where she waited. She hugged Angelina before the woman hurried inside.
After fluffing Caterina’s skirt and adjusting her veil, Aundy smiled and whispered in her friend’s ear. “I’m so happy for you today. Congratulations.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Aundy, for all you and Garrett have done.” Tears pricked her eyes.
“None of that, now, on your wedding day.” Aundy fussed with the lace on Caterina’s sleeve. When it looked precisely as she wanted it to, she stepped back and smiled. “Who knew when you arrived here I’d make such a dear friend and Kade would find the girl he was meant to marry. No one else is tough enough to handle him, you know.”
A soft laugh escaped Caterina’s lips and she turned to her father, nodding her head to indicate she was ready.
Aundy walked down the aisle toward the front of the church where Tony and Garrett stood with Kade, taking her place on the other side of the minister.
Caterina had no idea who was there, how many people had gathered, or what anyone else looked like. She had eyes only for Kade as he stood next to the minister in a new suit that accented the width of his shoulders, the breadth of his chest, the strength of his arms, and the length of his legs.
She studied him from the tips of his polished boots to his carefully combed sun-kissed hair. Caterina couldn’t believe she was finally going to belong to him.
His green eyes glowed as he watched her, a loving smile lifting the corners of his full lips. It was a smile she looked forward to seeing every day for the rest of her life.
Kade thought his bride looked like a princess from one of the storybooks he’d read as a child as she seemed to float down the aisle. Everyone turned to watch as Franco escorted a vision in white toward the front of the church.
Her dark hair hung in ringlets piled high on her head, encircled with a frothy veil of lace that covered her face and trailed down her back.
When her father stopped in front of him and placed her hand on his arm, Kade mouthed “thank you,” grateful to see acceptance and admiration in the older man’s eyes.
The scent of the rose bouquet along with Caterina’s alluring fragrance reached Kade’s nose and kicked his senses into high alert. He heard every rustle of Caterina’s silk dress, saw every minute detail about her appearance, and felt searing heat from where her fingers rested on his arm.
He slipped the ring on her finger and repeated the words Pastor Whitting said. Carefully, he lifted her veil as they were pronounced man and wife.
Mindful of her parents and two brothers watching, Kade gave her a gentle, respectful kiss that made the women sigh at the romantic gesture.
Kade raised her fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand while his green eyes bore into hers with a promise of many passionate kisses later.
Caterina gave her head the slightest nod, acknowledging his promise. She blushed under his intense gaze before turning to greet their family and friends.
“If you all will join us back at the restaurant, you’re in for quite a feast!” Kade announced, watching as the crowd left the church for Caterina’s place.
Aundy and Nora tried to keep Caterina’s skirts from dragging in the dust until Kade took matters into his own hands and swept her into his arms. Not caring who saw, she gave him a heated kiss.
“I hope you plan on lavishing more of those on me later.” Kade spoke so quietly, only she could hear.
“As many as you can handle,” she whispered, the gold in her eyes glowing like a warm fire that beckoned to him.
At a slap on his back, he looked into the grinning face of Tony.
“Thanks for making me feel at home here, Kade.” Tony knew his sister had chosen well when she finally decided on a man to love. His new brother-in-law would make Caterina a fine husband.
“You’re welcome. It’ll work well for you to stay at my place while Cat and I get used to married life.” Kade was glad Tony accepted his offer of staying out at his acreage until he decided what he wanted to do.
With no desire to return to New York, Tony made it known he wanted to start a new life in Pendleton. He worked part-time at the sheriff’s office and spent time helping at Nash’s Folly. Life in the western community appealed to him in a way nothing ever had before.
“Take as much time as you need.” Tony gave Caterina a wicked grin. “It could take a while for you to tame that little wildcat.”
“Tony, if it wasn’t my wedding day and I wasn’t a lady…”
Tony laughed as he walked off, glancing back and winking at the couple. “See what I mean.”
“He’s impossible,” Caterina huffed then decided to ignore her brother and focus on her husband - her very handsome, very desirable husband. “But I like you.”
Kade gave her a private smile and stopped when they were still half a block from the restaurant where people milled both inside and out. Angelina, Aundy, and Nora took command of setting out the food they’d labored several days to prepare.
“Tony’s wrong, you know.” Kade kissed her cheek and inhaled her seductive fragrance. Heat pooled in his belly and he sincerely hoped the reception wouldn’t take too long.
“He’s always wrong, but what about this time?” Caterina ran her fingers along Kade’s jaw and across his strong chin. Gazing into his eyes, she plunged into the bright green depths shining with love and yearning.
“I have no intention of taming you,” Kade said in a husky tone, kissing her lips tenderly. “I happen to think you’re perfect for me just the way you are.”
Lasagna
Although Caterina didn’t have all our modern conveniences for making lasagna, I’m sure she would enjoy this easy recipe.
Easy Alfredo Lasagna
1 box of lasagna noodles (the kind you do not have to boil first)
16-ounce container of ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
2 eggs
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground sausage
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (Mrs. Dash works fine, too)
1 jar Alfredo sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine ground beef and sausage with your choice of seasoning and cook over medium heat until brown. While the meat is cooking, mix together ricotta and Parmesan cheese with eggs and salt. Stir until blended, set aside.
When the meat is brown, drain off as much grease as possible before stirring into the egg and cheese mixture.
Spray two bread pans, or a 9 x 13 casserole dish if you want to make one big pan instead of two smaller pans, with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan, layer in a noodle. (In the bread pan, one noodle fills the bottom and makes layering a snap.)
Next, layer on meat mixture and top with shredded mozzarella. Repeat layering process with sauce, noodle, meat and cheese. Spread a final layer of s
auce and then top off with cheese. Cover with foil and bake about 35 minutes, until mixture is bubbly, then remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and edges are brown.
Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes before plating. Serve with warm, crusty bread and a green salad for a delicious and simple meal.
Zeppole
Around for centuries, Zeppole are wonderful fried pastries. Although there are hundreds of recipes available, Captain Cavedweller and I like this yeasty version. These are so good, it’s hard to eat just one!
Zeppole
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. instant yeast
1 cup warm water
3 eggs
Mix flour, sugar, and salt then set aside.
Empty yeast into a large bowl with warm water. Stir until dissolved then let rest about five minutes.
Add in eggs and whip lightly then add flour mixture and stir until well mixed.
Cover bowl with a dishtowel and set in a warm place for 20 minutes. Stir down the dough and let rise again before frying.
Heat a heavy-duty pan of oil (about three to four cups) on medium-high heat until a drop of dough sizzles in the pan.
Drop a tablespoon full of the dough (think in terms of the size of a plum) into the oil, being careful not to burn yourself with any splatters and cook until golden brown. The Zeppole turn over when they are cooking, which is fun to watch.
Drain on paper towels or paper bags (to soak up the grease) then drench in sugar. I like powdered sugar best and CC prefers cinnamon and sugar. Either is delicious. Just put about a half-cup of sugar in a brown lunch bag, drop in the pastries one at a time, and give a good shake to coat.
You can also serve these with fruit, jam, or whipped cream, if you so desire.
Author’s Note
Pendleton was a happening place to be in the early 1900s. In the year 1900, it was the fourth largest city in Oregon.
Agriculture played a big part in the town’s history. In 1900 alone, an estimated 440,000 sheep produced more than two million pounds of wool, as mentioned in this story, along with millions of bushels of wheat.
There really was a train car full of clams taken out to the nearby reservation after a botched Fourth of July clam bake. I try not to imagine how bad it had to smell!
Pendleton also had a Chinese community, although the details in this story are purely fiction, based on my active imagination.
Although I haven’t found evidence of an Italian restaurant in town during this time period, there was a French restaurant and a tearoom. The town also boasted such modern conveniences as electricity, city water and sewer system, and a telephone system - to those who could afford the services.
Pendleton served as a major hub in the Eastern Oregon region, serving communities for miles around with trains stopping daily, any number of jobs, and plenty of “entertainment” like an opera house and theater along with more than thirty saloons and almost twenty bordellos.
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Shanna’s Newsletter
It’s fast, easy, and only comes out when new books are released
or extremely exciting news happens.
Ilsa (Pendleton Petticoats Book 3) - One of the most talented seamstresses of her time, Ilsa Thorsen could sell her creations anywhere in the world, but she ends up on her sister’s ranch in the western town of Pendleton, Oregon. Disgusted with the dust, smells, and nearly every aspect of rural life, Ilsa wonders how she’ll survive, particularly with the arrogant Tony Campanelli constantly underfoot.
Enterprising and hardworking, Tony Campanelli embraces life in the small community of Pendleton with his sister and their friends, especially since Ilsa Thorsen moves to town. The uptight seamstress just needs to learn to have some fun and Tony’s convinced he’s the man for the job.
Turn the page for an exciting excerpt…
~ ILSA ~
Chapter One
1901 – Chicago
Glancing furtively over her shoulder for the fifth time in as many minutes, Ilsa Thorsen continued her frantic pace toward the telegraph office.
If Aunt Louisa found out she’d escaped the confines of her room, there would be no end to her punishment.
Earlier that morning, after the maid left her breakfast tray, Ilsa listened for the turn of the key in the lock. The resonating click sentenced her to another day spent captive at the Dubois residence where she lived with her aunt and uncle. When the sound failed to come, Ilsa had a brief window of opportunity to make a plea for help.
Frantically scribbling the message she wanted to send to the one person who could save her, she grabbed coins from her hidden stash. Cautiously, she made her way out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Uncle Henri was traveling and Aunt Louisa always left the house for her dress shop at precisely eight each morning. At half past the hour, with the hired help in the kitchen or cleaning the house, Ilsa raced down the front walk and out the gate, hoping her absence would go undetected.
At any moment, she expected to feel an authoritative hand grab her arm and drag her home. Ilsa propelled her feet forward while continuing to keep watch behind her. Rapidly rounding the corner at the end of the block, she hastened her step and entered the telegraph office.
She fought to subdue her roiling emotions and breathe normally as she took her place in line. Aware of those around her, she kept her head down until it was her turn to step up to the counter. Ilsa slid her simple message across the smooth surface along with the necessary coins.
The man behind the counter read her note and lifted his gaze to study her. “Are you sure this is what you want to send, miss?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” Unable to thwart the look of desperation that filled her eyes, she dared to meet his steady gaze. The middle-aged man had a kind face and his expression was sympathetic as he smiled at her reassuringly.
“Is there anything I can do to help you, miss?”
“No, sir, I don’t believe so, but thank you for the offer. If you can please send that message to my sister, that is all the help I’m asking for today.” Ilsa gave him one last pleading look then made her way out of the office and back toward her aunt’s stately home.
Behind the screen of a shrub near the kitchen door, Ilsa watched to make sure the tattletale cook had her hands and attention buried in a batch of dough before sneaking in the door. She scurried upstairs to the room Louisa made into her personal prison for the last year.
Fervently praying her sister would receive the telegram and come to her rescue, Ilsa realized Aundy would never have allowed herself to get into such an unthinkable situation.
Strong, stubborn, and confident, Aundy was everything Ilsa knew she’d never be. She often envied her sister for her height and capable demeanor.
Ilsa knew when people looked at her they saw a delicate and fragile girl, not a self-sufficient woman. That was the precise reason why she was in this horrid predicament.
With a beleaguered sigh, she sat in a chair by the window. Thanks to one of her failed attempts at escaping, ornate iron bars now ran across it, obscuring her view. Resigned to another day in spent alone in the room, she picked up the dress she’d been embellishing and got to work.
Ilsa was proud of her talent with a needle, coming from a long line of talented tailors, milliners, and seamstresses. The flash of silver as she whipped her needle in and out of the fabric, created a beautiful row of intricate stitches.
Women from all over the city of Chicago sought out her ability to transform a simple piece of cloth into a wearable work of art. Of course, few of them knew Ilsa worked the magic in the fabric, thinking it was her aunt. The formida
ble woman owned a dress shop that catered to the city’s most elite and exclusive clientele.
Ilsa wished she’d gone to live with Aundy the first time her sister asked her to travel to Pendleton, Oregon.
Loath to admit it, Ilsa had been afraid. From the stories Aundy shared through her descriptive letters, Pendleton sounded like a wild western town with cowboys, miners, Indians, and Chinese men roaming the streets.
She didn’t like noise or dirt or anything disorderly and feared what life there would be like since she’d never known anything but the city.
An unladylike snort burst from her mouth as she considered her circumstances then she looked around to be sure no one heard her.
For someone who detested disorder, her life quickly spiraled out of control.
Shuddering as she thought of her detestable fiancé, Delmon Bertrand, Ilsa was sure his name was really demon. If horns suddenly sprouted from his head, she wouldn’t have been surprised in the least.
Lately, she’d endured a considerable amount of time in his unbearable presence. Their upcoming marriage had been arranged by her aunt and uncle, despite her many protests.
Aunt Louisa planned for her to wed Delmon in a few weeks. Ilsa could not, would not, let it happen.
Uncle Henri had friends at the station who would call if she tried to board a train, so it seemed pointless to run away by rail. She could use her stash of money to hire a cab to get her out of town, but she had no idea what she’d do then.
Desperate yet determined, she worked on the project Louisa demanded she finish before the day was through. Ilsa snipped the last thread on the dress as the bedroom door burst open and her aunt charged into the room.
“You stupid girl! I told you to be ready to leave at five on the dot and just look at you.” Louisa waved her hand at Ilsa in disgust. “Your hair is a mess, your frock is wrinkled, and your appearance is not at all suited for a dinner engagement. Poor Delmon hates to be kept waiting, as you well know.”
Caterina (Pendleton Petticoats Book 2) Page 29