by Linda Bridey
“I do not want my family in the camp to know.”
“Reckless is gonna tell them, Minx. I’ll tell them,” Joe said. “Your mama and daddy have a right to know they’re gonna be grandparents.”
“No! They are not going to be grandparents! I will give it away to someone who wants it, but I do not!” she said and hit the floor again.
“Hey! Knock that off. So this is about the baby’s father then.” Joe nodded. “I can understand that.”
The intense light in her dark eyes frightened Joe just a little when she look at him. “No, you cannot. Do you know what it is like to carry the child of the man who raped you? Do you know what it is like to be constantly reminded of what happened? I hate this baby!”
Joe sat closer to her and took her shoulders in his hands. “Minx, you don’t mean that. This baby didn’t do anything to you. If you wanna give it away, fine, but don’t hate it.”
“I cannot help it! It is going to ruin everything! I cannot ride, I will be laughed at, made fun of because I am not married. I do not want everyone to know what happened! But if they do not know I was assaulted then they will think I didn’t value my virtue and I will be called dirty, unworthy!”
“Ok, all right. Hey, calm down. Don’t panic on me, here.” Joe tried to think of something plausible to tell people. All that came to mind, however, was, “You could find a fella that would marry you. I know where you could find one.”
The blow to his arm was delivered so fast that Joe never had a chance to block it.
“Ow! Holy crap!”
Minx was immediately contrite. “I am sorry. I should not have done that.”
Joe smiled at her even through the pain. “If you weren’t pregnant I’d let you fight with Reckless at the bar. People would flock to that match. They always did when Sammi fought.”
“I like Sammi,” Minx said.
“I was joking with you, by the way,” Joe said. “But speakin’ of Charlie. What are you gonna do about him?”
“Do about him? Why must I do anything about him?”
“It’s not nice to let him keep thinking he has a chance with you,” Joe replied.
Minx grunted. “By now most men would realize that there was no chance and leave me alone.”
Joe flexed his arm. “Ok, but what if he’s really in love with you?”
“That is ridiculous. He cannot be in love with me,” Minx said.
“No? Well, I say he is and I’m never wrong about these things. Ask Eddie. I told him that Deena was interested in him way before they started courtin’ and now they’re gettin’ married.”
“What am I supposed to say to him? ‘I am sorry but I was raped and I am having a baby so I do not want anything to do with you’?”
“Uh, leave out the part about being raped and you’ve got it. You’re having a baby and you’re not interested in any guys because the father is a deadbeat who promised to marry you and backed out on the deal. Damn! That’s it!” Joe said.
Minx thought about it. “That might work for Charlie, but what about the people in camp?”
“Why can’t it work there?”
Minx sighed. “I will not be able to pull it off. My conscience would not let me sleep. I also did not sleep after I stole all of those things. We are taught to never lie. We may refrain from answering sometimes, but that is as good as lying. I will figure out what to tell Charlie so he does not pine for me.”
Joe regarded her silently for a few moments, and then asked, “You’re sure?”
“Yes. It is my responsibility. I will face it,” Minx said.
Joe patted her knee. “And that is why you’re my very brave bravette.” He got up and stretched his back. “I can’t believe you sleep on the floor like you do. You might rethink that bed idea when you’re farther along, you know.”
“No. I will not,” she said.
Joe kissed her forehead. “Don’t keep stuff from me, Minx. You’re not in this alone. Remember that. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
*****
The next day was very busy for Deena and her bridesmaids. All of the decorating of the church was completed. She tried on her dress one last time and the music for the reception was gone over. Tom had apologized to both her and Eddie soon after their engagement and he would be walking her down the aisle. He seemed to have come to grips with the fact that his little girl had grown up. Eddie did not quite trust the man yet, but he hoped for Deena’s sake that he would someday. He also hoped that Tom was done acting crazy.
Joe threw a bachelor party for Eddie that night and it was well attended. Although some of the other men got quite wasted, Eddie didn’t so that he could say his vows sober. Joe was pleasantly drunk by the time he walked back up to the main house, but he would sleep it off.
Eddie lay in his bed alone for the last time that night, thinking about the next day when he would marry the love of his life. He grinned as he thought about the night Tom had held him at gunpoint. It was funny now, but at the time, he’d been too angry to see the humor in it. Joe had though, which had made him even angrier. Joe teased him about it often and they both laughed about it.
Eddie asking Rick to stand up with him was his way of getting back at Joe. Not only that, but Eddie genuinely liked Rick and figured it would be nice to have him in the wedding party along with Gina. Before Rick had left that night, Eddie had heard Joe tell him to make sure to leave the ferret home during the wedding. Jake had also agreed to stand up with Eddie and had told Rick to bring Curtis to the reception so he could help serve drinks. Joe had told Jake to go to hell and that Rick could join him if Curtis showed up anywhere near the reception.
Deena was staying at Alice’s overnight and the ladies had their own celebration, which got a little out of hand when Alice brought out the moonshine her husband, Slater, made. The women weren’t used to drinking it and they laughed loudly at everything, which caused the neighbors next door to flag down Jack on his last patrol of the night.
When he’d knocked on Alice’s door and she opened it, Jack was able to smell the alcohol right away. Deena had pushed her way past Alice and hugged Jack.
“I’m gettin’ married tomorrow, Jackie!” she said.
Jack had grinned and patted her on the back. “Yeah, I know. I see you’re having a good time.”
“Yeah. C’mon in,” Alice said and she and Deena had pulled him inside before he could resist.
“Ladies, uh, can you do me a favor and hold down the celebration a little?” he asked.
Lacey had hugged him, too. “Want something to drink?” she offered.
“No. I’m on duty. So, can you be a little quieter? Your neighbors are a little annoyed by all the commotion,” he tried to explain.
Gina said, “What nei-neighbors are those? Don’t they know someone’s getting married tomorrow?” She’d hiccupped loudly and said, “I need something to drink to get rid of those.”
Jack had had no choice but to start getting the women to go home because they weren’t going to listen otherwise. When he finally had them underway, he said under his breath, “It’s like trying to herd cats.”
*****
By the time she’d gone to bed, Deena had sobered up, but she was still in good spirits. Tomorrow she would become Mrs. Eddie Baxter, something she’d been dreaming about for what seemed like forever. She looked at her ring finger and tried to imagine how it would look with a wedding band on it. Having Eddie put that ring on her finger would mean the realization of all her dreams.
Deena smiled as she thought about her future father and motherin-law. Meeting Eddie’s parents had been nerve wracking at first, but Carl and Doris Baxter were very nice people and they had liked Deena. Eddie had inherited his mother’s dark hair and his father’s blue eyes. She and Eddie ate supper with his parents once a week so they could get to know each other better and the meals were friendly and fun. She was relieved that she would get along with her in-laws and hoped that things would improve between Eddie and her father.
Deena wondered what Eddie was doing right at that minute. Was he already asleep? Was he awake wondering what she was doing? Did he feel excited, nervous, or both? The memory of the night he’d proposed to her came to her and how romantic he’d been. Eddie said that he wasn’t always the romantic type, but he had been when he’d given her the ring. He just didn’t know he was romantic.
Since then, he’d taken to doing things such as bringing her flowers or buying her perfume. He’d taken her on a couple of picnics complete with wine and he never missed the opportunity to go dancing with her. Alice had teased her that it may have taken Eddie a while to catch on, but it seemed like once he had, he was making up for lost time. Then she’d taken her husband Slater to task for not being more romantic.
Slater had said, “Wait ‘til I see Eddie. I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind for makin’ me look bad.”
After the reception, they were going to Helena for a few days, which Deena was excited about. For their wedding night, they were going to stay at Joe’s family cabin and leave the next morning for Helena. Eddie was going to show here where he’d grown up. He was curious to see what had changed since he’d been there last.
Deena was nervous about consummating their marriage even though she wanted Eddie intensely. One evening as he was saying goodnight to her, he held her and told her that even once they were married, he would wait until she was ready. It had been sweet of him and showed her how thoughtful he could be. Rolling over on her side, Deena thought about how strange and wonderful it was that she would no longer be sleeping alone. She fell asleep chuckling about how Eddie had teased her that she’d better not hog the covers.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Emily Dwyer stood back and surveyed the bride and bridesmaids once they were dressed.
“Y’all are stunning,” she declared.
She and Zach Bradbury were once again serving as flower girl and ring bearer.
Deena said, “Thank you, honey. You look quite beautiful yourself.”
Emily beamed. “Mama always picks the best dresses,” she said as she ran over to hug Lacey.
Lacey kissed her and said, “I’m glad you approve.”
“Yep. Daddy smelled like booze this morning, so I told him to get cleaned up before breakfast ‘cause I didn’t want him stinkin’ like that at the table.”
The women laughed and Lacey said, “She really did and he went to do it right away. He would have before breakfast anyway, but he went right that minute. It’s funny how he listens to her when she scolds him. It’s almost like the roles are reversed.”
Gina said, “I know. It’s so funny to watch.”
Emily looked at her mother. “How come you don’t have him trained by now?”
This brought more laughter.
“Well, honey, your daddy’s pretty hard to train.”
“I’ll say. Aunt Abby sure has Uncle Elliot trained. She asks him to do something and he’s on it like a duck on a June bug.”
Deena was grateful to Emily for keeping them entertained because it helped ease some of her anxiety. She hadn’t been able to eat and fretted that she might have forgotten something. Her friends had assured her that everything was in order and urged her to stop worrying.
Eddie’s mother came into the room and put her hands over her mouth as she gazed upon Deena. “Oh, you are gorgeous, dear. Eddie is such a lucky man.” She went to Deena and carefully hugged her. “That dress is perfect.”
Deena looked down at the bare shouldered, satin dress with a wide sash and said, “I am so happy you like it. I wanted to be beautiful for Eddie.”
Doris’ dark eyes met hers as she said, “You are much more than beautiful, Deena. I can’t imagine Eddie picking anyone better to be his wife. Well, I’m going to leave before I cry and get you all blubbery, too.” She kissed Deena and told the other women how lovely they were. Then she hugged Emily and hurried from the room as tears of happiness started to fall.
*****
Joe didn’t know what to do with Eddie. He wasn’t nervous, but he wasn’t calm either. Eddie was having a strange reaction to the day. The man cried; not big sobs, but quiet tears. Joe kept cracking jokes and trying to reassure Eddie that everything would be fine.
This went on for about twenty minutes until Rick stepped up to Eddie and said, “Do you want to stop crying?”
“Yes,” Eddie said wiping his face.
“All right. Look straight ahead,” Rick said. “Good.”
Rick slapped Eddie hard enough that the sound echoed in the room. Joe and Jake were open-mouthed as they waited for Eddie’s reaction. Eddie held his stinging face and asked, “What the hell did you do that for?”
“It’s the same principle as smacking someone when they’re panicking. It snaps them out of the behavior and refocuses them. Do you still feel like crying?” Rick asked.
Eddie still rubbed his face and said, “No. Not now.”
“Good. Glad to be of help,” the deputy said.
Jake started laughing and Joe joined in.
Jake said, “I gotta remember that for the next time you start gettin’ wound up about Curtis, Joe.”
“You try that on me and you’ll be a dead man,” Joe responded.
Eddie took a deep breath and sat down. “I’m getting married in just a little bit. It doesn’t seem real yet. Was it like that for you fellas?”
Joe said, “Not for me. I got married too fast to be nervous or anything.”
Jake said, “I was as nervous as a dog poopin’ peach pits. It was real all right. I was so happy, but scared. I realized soon after the ceremony that I didn’t have anything to be worried about, though.”
Rick said, “I know what you mean, Eddie. Some days it still doesn’t seem real to me. It’s better than any dream could be, I know that much. Gina and my little people are more than I could ever have hoped for.” “Little people” was Rick’s term for children. “Oh, by the way, we’re pretty sure there’s going to be another little Westlake soon.”
Joe said, “You are talkin’ about a baby and not a ferret, right?”
Rick laughed. “Yes, Tex, I’m talkin about a baby. But don’t say anything to anyone just yet.”
The other men congratulated him heartily while Rick grinned happily. Then Eddie sat quietly and imagined what it would be like having children with Deena. He found that he suddenly couldn’t wait to see her holding their baby. The sigh he let out was one of happiness.
*****
Tom came to collect his daughter and looked dapper in his dark blue suit and tie. He got teary-eyed when he saw Deena in her dress.
“I wish your ma was here to see you, honey,” he said, kissing her cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you, Pa.” Deena was so happy that Tom’s attitude seemed to have changed dramatically.
Tom looked at the other women in their pale gray dresses and said, “Don’t you all look pretty? What a good lookin’ bunch of ladies you are.”
The dresses had been chosen with Alice’s red hair coloring and pale complexion in mind and were very pretty dresses.
“Well, sweetheart, are you ready?” Tom asked.
Deena’s face lit up. “Yes, Pa, I am.”
“Then let’s not keep that groom of yours waitin’.”
*****
Dr. Ben Walker, Marcus’ partner at the medical clinic, played the wedding music and started the Wedding March on time. Emily and Zach argued in whispers with each other as they came down the aisle followed by the bridesmaids, who chuckled at their behavior along with the congregation.
Minx attended, holding Emily’s brother, Timmy, who clapped and babbled. Lacey had talked her into wearing just a simple blue dress with matching slippers and Charlie thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Lacey had been informed of Minx’s pregnancy and they’d chosen something that hid her slightly fuller abdomen.
Eddie watched Deena enter the sanctuary on Tom’s arm and he grinned at how exquisite she looked. If someone
had told Eddie that she was an angel, he wouldn’t have been surprised, she was so beautiful. It looked to him like she floated down the aisle and all of his attention was focused on his bride.
Deena had seen Eddie in a suit a few times and he always looked handsome, but he was devastating in a tuxedo. The cut flattered him in all the right places, not that he needed much help in that regards. For once, his hair had been tamed and he looked more like a country gentleman than a ranch foreman. Deena found that she wanted to mess up his hair and laughed inside. As Tom gave Eddie Deena’s hand, he didn’t meet the younger man’s gaze for very long. He was still ashamed of his previous bad behavior and felt it was best to just smile, kiss Deena, and go sit down.
Deena was glad to see that her hands weren’t the only ones shaking. As she held Eddie’s, she could feel a very fine tremor in them and she squeezed them tighter. Eddie smiled into Deena’s beautiful eyes and felt tears prick the backs of his eyes. Oh no, not again, he thought. He tried to think about how Rick had slapped him and it seemed to work.
Then he saw tears in Deena’s eyes and he was done for. Their vows were recited while tears trickled down both their faces. The ring exchange was a little difficult because both of their hands were shaking. They laughed a little as they fumbled and then they weren’t so nervous. By the time Pastor John pronounced them man and wife, both had grown calm.
Eddie took Deena’s face in his hands and kissed her deeply and she responded in kind. Pastor John cleared his throat loudly, drawing their attention once again. They laughed a little and let him finish the ceremony. Since it was a slightly rowdier crowd, loud cheering and clapping erupted once the happy couple had been presented to the congregation.
Picture-happy Joe corralled the wedding party and parents for pictures while those going to the reception left for the community center. Joe complained about having to be in a picture with Rick, which kept cracking everyone up. As a result, it took a little longer to get the pictures done.
During the bride and groom dance, Eddie murmured in Deena’s ear, “I thought you were an angel when I first saw you today. I’m so proud that you’re my wife.”