Abducted at the Altar

by Charlene Sands

  “Ever?”

  “Ever is a long time.” Then he thought about it. He had enough problems right now without riling Dorie anymore. “No. Not ever.” And he meant it. He’d been younger back then and women had been scarce in the territory. Shane had become much more selective. And the more he looked at Dorie, the more he hated admitting that she’d become the object of his desire. “They all loved the gowns.”

  Dorie’s expression softened for a second, before she eyed him with suspicion. “How do you know, did they show you?”

  “Not that any of this matters, but they didn’t. I waited in the hallway. You’re just going to have to believe me. You’re talented and they said you’re the best seamstress they’d ever had.”

  “Thank you,” she said finally, releasing a breath. “And it does matter…to me.”

  Shane smiled but wouldn’t say that it mattered to him, too. His fate was sealed already, no sense wishing for the impossible. Shane took her hand and squeezed it gently, hoping she didn’t witness the regret in his eyes.

  “I like your hair that way,” he said. “It’s pretty.”

  Dorie touched a few strands of hair as if recalling how it was different. She wore a ribbon that matched her silk gown, allowing the tresses to flow down onto her bare shoulders making a perfect picture of delicate femininity. Unable to resist the sweet expression on her face, he bent his head and kissed her lips softly, their eyes meeting for a brief instant, before Oliver’s booming voice interrupted.

  “There you two lovebirds are! You made it downstairs before us.”

  Dorie glanced at Oliver then gazed into Shane’s eyes with question. Shane tried to silently assure her the kiss had been real, instead of a ploy for the Parkers’ sake, but he doubted he’d succeeded in convincing her. Dorie’s expression turned cold for a minute and then she smiled graciously at the Parkers and her brother as they sat down for dinner.

  “Jeremiah, where did you get that hat?” Dorie asked with puzzlement. Jeremiah wore a new John B. with silver braided trim.

  “It was a gift from… Grandmother Helene and Grandfather Oliver.”

  “I’m afraid I insisted,” Helene said softly. “I saw Jeremiah admiring it at Miller’s Mercantile.”

  “Looks good on the boy,” Oliver said.

  “He’s such a dear. He didn’t want us to spend any money on him. We’re making up for lost time. I’ve tried to explain that it brings us joy to indulge him a little,” Helene said.

  “It’s very…handsome,” Dorie said, her voice tight. “I’m sure he thanked you properly.”

  “He did,” Oliver said, “about a dozen times. There’s no need for that. We’re family now. We can pamper our family.”

  “Speaking of that,” Helene said with a big smile. “I’ve brought a little something for you and Shane, as well.” Helene reached deep into her reticule, coming up with a plush blue velvet box. “This is for you, Dorie, dear.”

  Dorie stared at the box handed to her.

  “And for Shane,” Helene said, reaching deep into her bag again. “I hope this is something you might use.”

  Shane took the offered wrapped gift and waited for Dorie to open hers first. “Dorie?”

  She cast him a small smile, then glanced at the Parkers. “This is so…unexpected.”

  Shane recalled Dorie’s reaction when he’d brought her the dress from the general store. She’d been deeply moved. She wasn’t a woman accustomed to receiving gifts. Now, well, he was certain guilt played a part in her staring at the box with trepidation.

  “Please open it,” Helene urged.

  Dorie lifted the lid. Stunned surprise registered on her face instantly. “Oh, my.”

  “Jeremiah thought you might like it,” Helene added.

  “It’s…lovely,” Dorie breathed out. Shane took a look at a necklace of tiny pearls with a drop cameo. “It’s just like the one my mama had…once.”

  Oliver cleared his throat. “That’s what Jeremiah said. It reminded him of the necklace your mama had to sell. Helene and I, well, we wanted you to have it.”

  “Not that it’s a replacement for the one your mother had,” Helene added delicately, “but maybe one day you’ll be able to hand it down to your own child, when you and Shane start a family.”

  “A family,” Dorie repeated wistfully, fingering the small pearls then gazing up at him.

  Shane made the mistake of returning Dorie’s gaze. Her eyes, gleaming bright blue with promise and hope, spoke to him without benefit of words. Shane took a swallow, his emotions jumbled up. It was one thing faking a pregnancy to fool the Parkers, but quite another to actually be thinking of having children someday with Dorie. Much to Shane’s surprise, he didn’t dismiss the idea. In truth, he couldn’t imagine having a child with anyone else.

  “Are you planning on a family?” Oliver asked pointedly.

  Shane smiled at Dorie, then answered, “Maybe, someday.”

  Then Shane realized the foolishness of that statement. He and Dorie weren’t ever going to have a family. No, his family was ready-made with a pregnant Marilee, who might likely be waiting for him back in Silver Hills.

  “I’d like a family,” Dorie said on a whisper, and Shane noticed that when she spoke the light vanished from her eyes. She turned her attention back to the Parkers. “I don’t know what to say. It’s most generous of you.”

  “Enjoy it in good health, dear. Shane, why don’t you open yours?” Helene gestured toward the unopened package he’d laid on the table.

  “Sure,” he said, “but this wasn’t at all necessary.” Shane felt a measure of guilt as well, accepting gifts from the Parkers under false pretenses. He untied the string and spread apart the paper to find a belt buckle with a silver stamping of a cowboy breaking a bucking horse. “This is very nice.”

  “Sort of looks like you, Shane, when you’re breaking a wild mustang.” Jeremiah kept his eyes trained on the buckle.

  “Yeah, though I haven’t done that for a while. The Boyd brothers take those honors lately.”

  “Who are the Boyd brothers?” Helene asked.

  “Oh, they are two young boys who work for me. School chums of Jeremiah.”

  “How nice of you to offer them work,” Helene said.

  Shane let that comment go. He was lucky to have the boys on a part-time basis, not the other way around. They worked for whatever Shane could afford to pay them without complaint.

  “Dorie, why not put on the necklace,” Jeremiah said, changing the subject. The boy was sharp as a whip. It was a damn shame that his father had run out on him. The boy deserved better.

  “Oh,” Dorie said, glimpsing the necklace with longing. “Should I?”

  “Here, let me, sweetheart,” Shane said, lifting the necklace from its box and undoing the fastener.

  Dorie lifted her hair and turned while Shane set the necklace in place and fastened it in back. She smelled so good, like a fresh spring morning and, as his fingers caressed her throat, she reacted to his touch with a little shudder that only Shane could notice.

  He looked his fill, unmindful of the Parkers. Being “married” to this new graceful Dorie, tied his stomach in knots. “You look beautiful,” he said, “not that you didn’t before. But the necklace looks perfect on you.”

  Dorie’s smile was only for him.

  “I like it,” Jeremiah said and the compliments flowed forth from around the table.

  The waiter appeared and the focus shifted to what specials were on tonight’s menu.

  Grateful for the interruption, Shane gathered his thoughts. He was starting to feel too much like a real husband, married to a spirited young woman with more backbone and tenacity than ten women combined. And he was beginning to feel comfortable in the role—too comfortable for his liking.

  As the evening wound down, Shane wondered how on earth he’d manage to sleep in the same room with Dorie tonight. As fate would have it, two glasses of wine during her evening meal solved his problem. After saying good-nigh
t to the Parkers, Shane drove Jeremiah up to Henry’s house while Dorie made ready for bed. When he entered their hotel room, his pretend wife had fallen fast asleep tucked safely under the sheets on the bed.

  Shane undressed in the dark room and found what little comfort he could in the wing chair.

  He closed his eyes and wouldn’t think of the tempting picture Dorie made, her coppery tresses spilling onto the pillow, her shoulders bare but for the straps of her chemise.

  Nope, Shane shut his eyes and kept them shut until sleep claimed him, as well.

  Dorie sat in Virginia City’s Church of Christ next to Shane, with the Parkers and Jeremiah one pew in front. They practically hadn’t let Jeremiah out of their sight from the moment they’d met him and they took every opportunity to keep him near. She couldn’t blame them entirely. Her younger brother was a fine boy most of the time, when he wasn’t sassing off to her. He did his work, complaining about it at times, like any other thirteen-year-old boy; but he loved Dorie and she loved him back…with all her heart.

  Dorie half listened to the preacher’s sermon on the evils of deception. She’d heard enough to make her certain that the lies she told today would send her straight to hell. But the deception had worked. She’d minded everything Mrs. Whitaker had taught her, and she’d become a real lady—on the surface anyway. She still had frustration, times when she wanted to scream out in anger and times when she wished she could spit out the truth. She wished she’d been good enough an example to the Parkers on her own. That they would see how very hard she’d tried to supply Jeremiah with everything a boy could need. But she couldn’t chance it. The Parkers were born and bred in wealth. Why, Oliver Parker owned three large freight houses in the east and was leaving tomorrow to purchase a possible fourth in San Francisco. Secretly, she prayed for the deal not to occur. Having the Parkers nearby, if only for business, would cause her more anxiety. They’d have reason to travel west on occasion. She couldn’t worry about that at the moment. She’d have to concentrate on today’s subterfuge in order to send them on their way tomorrow.

  “Lies told, will come back in evil ways to haunt your days!” the young, exuberant preacher lectured to the crowded congregation. “Only truth will set you free.”

  The “truth” wouldn’t set Dorie free. The truth could only ruin her. Why, if the word got out how she made her living, sewing gowns for prostitutes, and sneaking into the back doors of brothels, she’d lose the only freedom she’d known. The money she earned provided for Jeremiah and kept up the homestead.

  She’d often dreamed of setting up her own shop, sewing gowns for respectable ladies, letting the whole world see her talent. How proud she would be to see her dresses worn around town, to see her creations fitted to women, young and old alike. Dorie had always wanted to sew children’s clothes, as well. She’d made all of Jeremiah’s shirts and trousers, but they were plain work clothes, made without much style. With a shop of her own, Dorie would have the freedom to design new styles and fashions. But her dream was just that. No amount of wishing would ever make her fanciful notions come true.

  “I think we’ve convinced them,” Shane said later, as they walked out of church several yards behind the Parkers. “They haven’t asked to take Jeremiah with them since yesterday when we first met.”

  “The day’s not over yet,” Dorie replied sourly.

  “Did you get anything out of the preacher’s sermon?”

  “Yes, I did. I’m surely going to burn in hell for what I’ve done.”

  “Then I’ll be right along with you, Dorie.”

  Dorie stopped walking, taking a quick look around the churchyard making sure the Parkers were well enough away. “No, not you, Shane. You’ve only helped me. If we have convinced the Parkers of anything, it’s because of you.”

  “I’ve lied, too.”

  “You hate lying, don’t you?” Dorie asked.

  “Yep.”

  “I don’t much like it either, Shane. But in this case, it’s necessary.”

  “Was is necessary to dream me up a first wife—a dead first wife at that?”

  Dorie drew in her lower lip. “It, uh, couldn’t be helped. I had to think up a reason to explain why we were walking in the worst part of town.”

  “And you killed off my first wife, without blinking an eye?”

  Dorie glanced around the church grounds. Lowering her voice, she reminded him, “You don’t have a first wife.”

  “Or any wife, for that matter,” Shane said with a shake of his head. “The truth is, you astonished me with that lie.”

  Dorie opened her mouth to defend her actions, but Shane spoke again quickly. “I must admit it was a damn good one.”

  Surprised, Dorie met his gaze.

  “You think on your feet, Dorie. You’re a survivor.”

  “A survivor that’ll probably see the fires of hell.”

  “Like I said, you and me both.”

  “But it’s a noble thing you’re doing. You’re helping me keep Jeremiah.”

  “The truth might have worked. Anyone who meets you would instantly see what a determined woman you are. When you want something bad enough, you find a way. You’ve raised Jeremiah without complaint. Nobody could love that boy more than you.”

  Dorie closed her eyes, absorbing Shane’s words. It was kind of him to speak plainly, but she couldn’t trust what he said. The Parkers didn’t know her at all. They would only see a run-down homestead with meager supplies of food and clothing and how hard life had been for the two of them. “If only that were true and I had faith enough they would believe in me. But can you understand why I couldn’t chance it?”

  Shane stared in her eyes, his green gaze studying her. His answer was important to her. She needed to know that he believed in what she was doing. If she hadn’t been so desperate, she wouldn’t have involved him in this. Of course, that would mean he’d be married to Marilee right now and Dorie just couldn’t abide that.

  “I believe that you believe it, Dorie.” When Dorie frowned, dejected by his answer, he added, “And that’s good enough for me. Try to relax. We only have a few more hours and it will all be over. We can get back to our own lives. Come on,” he said, grasping her hand and leading her toward the Parkers. “Let’s finish this.”

  Getting back to their own lives meant that Shane would eventually marry. Dorie placed a hand on her suddenly queasy stomach. She ached so much inside that she had trouble keeping pace. Tomorrow would bring great relief seeing the Parkers leave town, but tremendous sorrow as well.

  At the next sunrise, Dorie would lose Shane forever.

  Dorie and Shane spent the next hours with the Parkers and Jeremiah. They were treated to a musical revue at the opera house, enjoyed a buggy ride that toured the town and then dined in extravagant style once again at the hotel. She relished the time she spent with Shane, enjoying the pretense of their marriage. Shane had played his part well, with gentle caresses to her shoulders, soft deliberate touches to her waist and brief kisses that left her wanting more. She longed for it never to end, but it would…tonight. They would say goodbye to the Parkers and she would lose Shane by morning’s light.

  Yet, she worried as well about the Parkers. They seemed to be taking parting with Jeremiah very well. Dorie couldn’t help but worry that they had an ace or two up their sleeves. She’d given them two days with her brother, but had that been enough? Had she convinced them that Jeremiah was in good hands, wanting for nothing?

  Guilt weaved its way into her heart. She knew Jeremiah would have a wonderful, full life in New York if she would agree to let him go. He’d have the best of everything, new clothes, proper schooling, security and all the love the Parkers had to give, but Dorie couldn’t face life without him. She wasn’t that unselfish. Besides, she told herself that Jeremiah wouldn’t want to live in the east. He wouldn’t leave Silver Hills. And that brought her some measure of comfort.

  “It’s been a quick two days,” Helene said with tears in her eyes as they
approached the hotel staircase. “I can’t believe we’re going to leave you wonderful people tomorrow.”

  Oliver placed an arm around her shoulder, his face no longer bright and cheerful, his voice no longer booming with vitality. “Jeremiah is a reflection of both of you. He’s more than we hoped.”

  “Thank you,” Dorie said quietly, her emotions tied up in knots.

  Oliver smiled sadly then glanced at his grandson. “You have a place with us anytime you’d like, son. We’d love to have you for a visit, to live for a time, anything you wish. But for now, we realize you’ve got a good home here with Dorie and Shane. We understand, but remember that you’re our only living heir. One day, should you venture to the east, it might suit you to learn about the freight business. There’s no doubt,” he said with deep sincerity, “it’ll all be yours one day anyway.”

  Jeremiah’s eyes widened with surprise. Dorie hadn’t given the Parkers’ passing any thought, though both were getting on in age. But it had become instantly clear to her brother that one day these two people, true blood relations to him, would pass on. His expression saddened, as well.

  Shane hugged Dorie close, the snugness of his arms lending her great comfort. “I’m sure Jeremiah will visit you one day in the future.” Dorie stiffened. Shane wouldn’t allow her to step out of his arms. “He’s still a boy and we need him here with us for now.”

  Dorie relaxed then, realizing Shane only had her best interests at heart.

  “I’m sure you’d like to visit your grandparents sometime, wouldn’t you, Jeremiah?”

  Jeremiah didn’t hesitate. His eyes filled with tears. “Yes,” he said softly, “I would like that.”

  “Promise?” a hopeful Helene asked.

  “I promise, Grandmother.”

  “You’re a good boy,” Oliver said, grabbing Jeremiah and wrapping him in his big burly embrace and Jeremiah hugged him back. When the embrace ended, both sets of eyes held tears.

  “Oh, this is so hard,” Helene said. “We don’t mean to make you both uncomfortable.”