by Bella Bowen
Mrs. Carnegie sent word for Lizzy to join her for dinner in the big house that afternoon, but she just wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything at all. So she sent the messenger back with a thank you, but no thank you.
Mrs. Carnegie found her in the kitchen stirring soup that didn’t necessarily need stirring.
“I asked you to dine with me so I could apologize,” she said.
That got Lizzy’s attention away from the soup. “You have nothing to apologize for, ma’am.”
“Oh, but I do. I was wrong the other night. When I told you Jacob Montgomery was there to choose one of the other brides.”
Lizzy shrugged. “I’m not a bride yet, remember?”
“Oh, but you are. You were able to kill a critter when you needed to, therefore you’ve graduated. You can move back into Stoddard House if you’d like.”
Her response came quickly, along with the shake of her head. “No. No, I would not like to.” She gripped the edge of the hoosier, her knees weak at the thought of being rewarded in any way for killing a man.
Mrs. Carnegie seemed oblivious to her reaction and forged on.
“Very well. As for my apology,” with no objections, she went on, “it seems Mr. Montgomery fooled me, which I’m not proud of. I always make sure I know what a man has on his mind… In any case, he lied to me in order to get close to you. When he wrote to me and asked if you were still here—”
“He what?” Lizzy’s knees recovered quickly.
“Montgomery wrote nearly three weeks ago. I believed he was interested, but thought you wouldn’t wish to be treated like a child… Oh dear.” The woman looked close at Lizzy’s face. “It appears I was wrong about both of you.” Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. “Could it be you didn’t pass your hunting course because you were stalling for time, hoping he’d come back?”
Lizzy shook her head frantically.
Mrs. Carnegie looked sideways at her. “No. I don’t think you were. Otherwise, you would have jumped at the chance to see him again. Instead you ran off.”
Lizzy bit her lip. She’d run because she couldn’t stand the idea of seeing him dancing with other women. And because she believed he hadn’t come back for her.
And why would he? She was still a child in his eyes. A child who needed protecting. A child who needed consoling.
Only a child.
“Lizzy, I’m so sorry!” Fontaine yelled from the doorway. Standing behind her with his gun drawn, was Jacob Montgomery. “He got the drop on me.”
Mrs. Carnegie stepped in front of her, but Lizzy walked around the woman and to the other side of the bread table.
She looked the intruder in the eye, trying to ignore the dearness of his face. “What do you want?”
She didn’t believe for one second the man had tricked Fontaine. Her friend was much too fast. Too dangerous. On the other hand, Lizzy had no doubt he’d been able to sweet talk Fontaine into allowing him onto the ranch. That face—that man—was simply irresistible to all of womankind.
He holstered his gun and swept his hat from his head. Fontaine sheepishly joined Mrs. Carnegie on the other side of the table. There was no one left between them.
He stepped forward, then paused. “I’ve decided to take some advice Fontaine gave me when we first met.”
Could he possibly mean what she thought?
Lizzy folded her arms and stuck her nose in the air. “It sure took you a long time.”
He shrugged and held up his hands, but he was smiling. “I’ll have you know I had to put a hell of a lot of affairs in order before I could make myself into the kind of man you might want.”
You are already the man I want, she wished she could say. But instead, she said, “What kind of a man would that be?”
He shrugged and took another step. “A rancher, of course. A cowboy.”
She gave him a pitying look. “You’ve failed already.”
That pulled him up short. “I have?” His brows knit with worry. He looked much like a little boy at that moment. A little boy in need of reassurance.
She nodded once. “Wrong hat.”
“Ahh. I see.” He flung his hat to the other side of the room and his smiled pulled up on one side. “I’ll get a new one tomorrow.”
“It’s a start.” She unfolded her arms and braced herself. “Are you going to scoop me up now?”
He gave a sober nod. “I am indeed. The sheriff and the preacher are waiting.” He rushed forward and she only had an instant to look into his eyes before he bent and scooped her into his arms. But what she saw there melted her insides like butter on a hot skillet.
In spite of the onlookers, he pulled her close for a long kiss. She could see no reason at all to deny him. After all, he was the man she had saved all her kisses for.
“I just remembered something,” she said.
“What is that?”
“In the dark…the other night when—”
“Yes?”
She was grateful he hadn’t made her finish her sentence. She wouldn’t be ready to talk about it for some time, she was sure. But with the love and support she’d been shown in the past two days, she was able to tuck the experience away for a little while.
She brushed a curl of hair off his forehead and looked into his charming eyes. “The other night, you told Shaw you were my husband.”
“And you’re just remembering now?”
“Yes. I’ve been trying to put it all out of my mind, but apparently, that was important enough to remember.”
“It sure took you long enough,” he said softly, handing her own words back to her. His gaze dropped to her lips and he exhaled ruefully. Then he turned to face the others. “Would you ladies like to come along?”
“Yes!” Fontaine jumped forward and headed out the door, like a child invited to go to the rodeo.
Mrs. Carnegie shook her head half-heartedly.
“Devlin’s there,” he teased. “Come with us.”
She eventually gave in and insisted on taking Lizzy with her in the carriage as soon as they packed a bag for her.
Reluctantly, he agreed to go on ahead.
~ ~ ~
“Every bride at Diamond Springs is given one last lesson,” Mrs. Carnegie told Lizzy. “But only after she’s chosen a husband. We don’t have much time, but I’ll try to teach you the basic principles.”
For the duration of the ride into town, Mrs. Carnegie shared her theories on how to keep a husband in love with his wife. Fontaine drove the team and pretended not to listen. Most of it, Lizzy had already guessed. Some of it was new and educational. But the last bit was downright mortifying and she suddenly never wanted to see Jacob Montgomery again.
Mrs. Carnegie laughed. “Oh, my dear, you won’t be embarrassed for long. And perhaps one day it will help you. Just remember, you’re the one with the influence. You just have to learn how to use it.”
When they reached the little church, Lizzy asked for a moment alone and the two women went inside without her. A heartbeat later, a frantic Jacob emerged, but his brow cleared when he located her in the carriage. She scolded herself for the cowardly urge to flee in the opposite direction. The last time she’d fled him, it hadn’t ended so well.
“That woman,” he grumbled and climbed into the carriage with her. “She said she hoped you hadn’t run off.” He huffed out a breath. “I’m sorry I panicked.” He pretended to relax and appreciate the trees to the side of the church. Eventually, his gaze came to rest on his own fingers linked on his lap. “I’ve frightened you, haven’t I? You would have wanted a proper courtship—”
“You didn’t frighten me.” Lizzy nodded toward the church door. “She did.”
“She did?” He bent forward and pulled her up and off her balance, then pulled her onto his lap. “Oh, my Lizzy. I’m so happy it wasn’t me.”
She wasn’t about to divulge that it was ultimately about him.
She determined she could be brave if it meant she would get to share all her future days looking
into that man’s eyes, especially from her current vantage point.
She smiled. “Mr. Montgomery?”
“Yes, the soon-to-be Mrs. Montgomery?”
“I believe I’m ready to be scooped now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
The ceremony was a sweet little exchange Lizzy tried hard to commit to memory. But in the end, she was afraid the thing she would remember most, other than Jacob’s kiss, was the strange little dance that went on beside them, between Mrs. Carnegie and Sheriff Zollinger. The way they were blushing and stealing glances whenever the other one was looking away, brought to mind the mating ritual of the local birds.
Lizzy frowned over at Fontaine, but her friend simply shrugged and rolled her eyes.
Jacob laughed and leaned close to her ear. “I’ll explain later, my love.”
A little group had gathered outside the church and tossed flower petals at them as they emerged. And from what she’d gathered, it was likely that Martha and the short of stature, Mr. Ambrose, would be repeating the experience before the current carpet of blossoms had time to wilt.
Mrs. Carnegie insisted the newly wedded couple take the carriage to the hotel and waved a handkerchief. Fontaine got the horses moving. Lizzy turned to thank Mrs. Carnegie and discovered her locked in a passionate embrace with the sheriff.
The preacher noticed and ducked back inside the church as if someone had started shooting.
Jacob pulled her onto his lap again. “I am the envy of every man in town at the moment.”
“Are you?”
“All right.” He chuckled. “Everyone but Devlin Zollinger.”
Apparently, Jacob had seen them too.
She couldn’t think of a more perfect time to tell him. In fact, rolling leisurely down the street in a lovely carriage, with flower petals still stuck in their hair was a much more romantic picture than she’d ever been able to imagine.
“I have something to tell you,” she said, just as she always planned on saying.
“And what is that, Mrs. Montgomery?”
“It is just that… Well... I have saved all my kisses, every one of them, just for you, husband.”
Jacob smiled perfectly, just as she always imagined her husband would smile.
He lifted a finger and ran it along her bottom lip. “You mean to say that no other, besides myself, has ever pressed his lips to these?”
“No other.” She shivered with happiness. He’d heard her, when she’d told Shaw she’d been saving her kisses for her husband. And still he’d made the moment perfect for her. Could there be a man more wonderful, in all the world?
“There was never a more perfect gift, my Lizzy.”
EPILOGUE
The bees buzzed in the lilac bushes next to the porch and roused Lizzy from a lovely dream that didn’t differ much from the scene she awakened to.
She kicked her feet and started the swing to rocking again. Her daughter, Caroline still lay sleeping with her little blond head sweating against Lizzy’s leg. The two boys were lying on their bellies a few feet away, trying to write out their names while copying the letters on the front of the Montgomery Ward catalogue.
“If we’re not careful,” said Jacob, “they’ll grow up signing their names as Montgomery Ward, and not stop with Montgomery.”
He handed her both lemonades and scooped little Caroline into his arms. He took up the space in the swing before reaching for his drink. The seat gave a little bounce.
“I’m getting too heavy to share your swing, my love,” he said, and took a sip.
Lizzy smiled and leaned toward him to whisper. “I’m afraid I’m the one getting too heavy. At least for another seven months.”
Jacob’s face crinkled with a loving smile and he leaned to kiss her.
Their eldest groaned. “Aw. Not another one!”
The kiss was cut short.
“Hey now,” Jacob said. He kicked the boy’s foot. “You don’t know it will be a girl.”
The boy smiled, instantly cheered. “That’s right!” A moment later his attention was back on his letters.
“But I certainly hope it is,” Jacob whispered carefully.
THE END
If you enjoyed Lizzy’s story, please go to Goodreads or Amazon and leave a review. Then hop over to my website at www.bellabowen.weebly.com and let me know so I can thank you personally.
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If you missed Gen and Devlin’s story, you can pick up Book 1 here.
Thanks so much for reading!
Excerpt from BOOK THREE:
THE BRIDES OF DIAMOND SPRINGS RANCH
It was near midnight when Molly headed off to bed. She’d done everything that could be done in a day and then some. Her pa had no choice but to let her sleep if he wanted to get any work out of her tomorrow. Otherwise he’d have given her chores that might be done in the dark. She was sure of it.
She waddled a bit, thanks to the sack of food stuffs she’d tied to her leg, under her skirt, so she stretched her back a little as she went. Hopefully, her pa would assume her strange walk was due to being tuckered out—that was, if he was seeing through those half-closed eyes. His chair had stopped rockin’ an hour past. Maybe he didn’t noticed how one of her legs seemed a bit heavier than the other.
It was just pie in the sky, though. Of course he was watchin’. Of course he’d noticed. Question was, would he do anything about it?
Her heart beat so hard in her breast as she climbed the stairs, she couldn’t tell if the man was walkin’ up on her or not. Her hand shook when she reached for the knob. Still, he didn’t stop her.
Molly pushed the door open, pleased it no longer squeaked. She’d put some lard on the hinges that afternoon. She prayed that would be the last time she’d have to lie to her pa about what she was doing. But if he didn’t watch her so close all the time, she wouldn’t need to lie at all.
If he didn’t watch me so close all the time, maybe I wouldn’t need to run.
And, God willing, soon there wouldn’t be anything for him to watch.
She stepped inside her little room and froze, holding her breath. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed. No cousins waited, or so she hoped.
She gave it another half a minute. Still nothing. Finally, she turned and closed the door. In spite of her cautiousness, she half expected one of her cousins to grab her then, so she stayed by the door. At least, if she screamed, close to the cracks, her pa might hear.
“I know you’re in here,” she hissed. Then she waited again.
Nothing.
She could have whooped and hollered for the relief she felt, knowing it was the last time she’d ever have to repeat the ritual. Never again would she have to wonder which side of a door posed more of a danger.
Her excitement made the need for sleep unnecessary and it eased away the weariness. She crept quietly about, gathering what things she wanted to take. There wasn’t much. A little lace collar—she hoped to have a pretty blue dress to wear it with someday. A miniature painting of a grandmother she never knew, but she’d been told it looked much like her mother, so she’d hidden it under a board in the floor. And a little doll’s arm she’d found long ago.
When she’d been small and frightened, she’d held that little doll’s hand, even though the rest of the body had never been attached. She’d imagined the pretty little face, tiny lips, the soft curling hair. She was certain the fancy dress would have been pink when the toy was new.
She kept the little arm for a remembrance ‘cause sometimes, when she wondered how she’d gotten along for so long without falling to despair, she’d been able to look back on those days when she’d held that tiny little hand and pretended it was real. She’d fallen asleep hundreds of times holding tight to a doll no one else could see.
Molly took her Sunday bloomers and tied a knot in the end of one leg, then tucked her treasures inside. In the other leg, she tuck
ed the rolls she hadn’t eaten at supper and the rest of the food she’d horded: a large piece of dried beef she’d held back from the soup pot, and dried old carrots that would perk up fine with a little bit of creek water.
When she was done, she tied the two legs together in a knot, then slung the seat of the bloomers around her neck. The bundles dangled in front of her like a couple of fat bosoms while she made her way out the window.
The smell of urine caught her under the nose. One of her cousins was relieving himself out the back door. She could hear it splashin’.
She held as still as possible on the roof that covered the porch and waited for him to go away.
A dry shingle snapped beneath her slight weight and the splashing stopped.
Molly held her breath and listened. If the boy stepped out away from the house, he’d see her for sure, but she didn’t dare back away. One more creak and she’d be caught.
See more of Molly’s story, Book 3, and meet all the Brides of Diamond Springs Ranch, at http://bellabowen.weebly.com.
ALSO BY BELLA BOWEN
BOOK ONE: THE BRIDES OF DIAMOND SPRINGS RANCH
(Gen and Devlin’s story)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EPILOGUE
Excerpt from BOOK THREE:
ALSO BY BELLA BOWEN
About the Author