by Stephy Smith
“I hate to break this shindig up… I have to work tomorrow, and it’s getting late folks.” Carson slid from the bench and stood. He paused to wait for River.
She tossed the money on the counter of the small diner and turned to the waitress, “Keep the change.”
Carson took her arm in the crook of his and led her to the door. With ease the couple walked to her pickup. Carson reached to take hold of the handle as River moved to the side and leaned against it.
“I’m sorry for all the things I said when you left.” She ducked her head.
“Me too.” Carson lifted his hand and raised her chin with his knuckles. Her green eyes danced with the twinkling stars. He took a step closer and leaned into her slender body. Her luscious lips parted. He lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was gentle, caressing at first. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tighter as she deepened the kiss.
When they parted, he opened the door and she slid in. He strutted around to the passenger door and climbed in. She drove to the fairgrounds and parked next to his truck. The silence inside the cab left him breathless.
“Would you like to give us another whirl?” The words escaped before he had time to think about what he was proposing.
He didn’t have time to blink his eyes before she pounced on him, and initiated another round of lip-lock. Her sudden onslaught caught him off guard for a few seconds. He pulled her to his chest and squeezed her to him. Her soft cheeks moistened with hot sultry tears of happiness. Her lips glided across his face and eyes in light butterfly kisses until he caught her face in his hands and held her still.
He gazed at her and drew in a deep breath then lowered his lips to hers. “I missed you.” He whispered into her soft parting lips as they met in a long, lingering kiss. His tongue explored the depths of her mouth. The cherry soda she had at the café sweetened the taste of her soft sensuous returns. His rapid breathing heated with a passion he hadn’t felt in years. His stiff body straightened to pull hers closer to him. He wanted to feel the length of her next to him. The desire to wake up next to her every morning for the rest of his life dominated all thoughts and erased the past in an instant.
The old flood of a searing love burned deeply within his soul. He knew it was too late to back away from the hold she had on him, but he refused to release it until he was positive she felt the same way. She smelled of all things good, pure, and right. She angled her head and allowed him to nestle against her neck. His lips grazed on her earlobe with tender nips and tugs. A low moan escaped her throat and alienated all train of his thoughts.
“Merciful me, River. The things you do to me. I don’t ever want to wake up without you wrapped securely in my arms. I want to gaze upon your angelic face each morning as I open my eyes. I want to feel the tingling spread down my body all day after lying next to you all night.” He swallowed a deep breath.
River pulled back from him. “What are you saying, Carson? You want to live together?” her brows wrinkled.
“Shoot, no… I mean, yeah, but I want to be married first. I’m not going to let you get away without a contract forever binding us together. You kick me out or divorce me, you’re going to have a pretty big fight on your hands this time.”
“So was that a proposal, ‘cause if it wasn’t… I’ll ask.” She gazed into his eyes.
“Will you marry me? I promise I will love you until the end of time, always have, always will.” Carson couldn’t bear the thought of her asking him. That was a man’s place to ask, not a woman’s. He didn’t care how liberated she thought she was. If someone was going to be rejected he would rather it be him. She had been hurt enough.
“Yes, Carson. I will marry you.” She swiped the beaded sweat from his brow.
****
A genuine laugh, the familiar look in his eyes sent River’s heart racing. It was the first opportunity she had to prove she’d changed and could be the woman he always wanted. Strangely enough, she felt comfortable in being that person, the one she had locked away for so many years trying to pretend to be something she wasn’t comfortable being, lifted her spirits. The faint smell of his spicy aftershave mixed with horseflesh tickled her nose. His solid muscles covered massive shoulders, and when she leaned into him, warmed her to the bone. If he would only show a sign and pull her into him, she would go willingly into his embrace for the rest of her life.
****
Every morning he would come to her house and have breakfast with her. Her heart delighted in cooking for him. She had turned her sisters’ part of the ranch over to Carson.
“I’m going to get Daddy today.”
“I’ll go with you. Which house do you suppose he will want to live in?” he glanced at her.
“If he can’t make up his mind, we’ll tell him we’re taking him to Carol or Lydia’s.”
“He’s armed with a walking stick you know. We both could end up in the hospital.” Carson’s brown eyes sparkled as he laughed.
“I think he should go to your house. After we get married you can move in here with me.” The suggestion slipped easily out of her mouth.
“You are taking on a lot with me and him living here.” His brows rose.
“He can stay in your house. That is his home, in his heart. I’ll drive over every day and cook his meals and clean the house.” River touched his arm.
“He would like that.”
“Would you like it?” Her heart fluttered. Deep down she knew it would be all right with him, she just wanted to make sure.
“Hmm…an old wrinkled man or a beautiful young woman? I think I want to stay with the old man.” He ducked as she swung playfully at his shoulder.
“What if he falls and hurts himself?”
“We’ll deal with it when it happens. Just like we do for Grandma Dessie and Grandpa Alvin.” He touched her arm. Tingles coursed through her body.
The road had been long without Carson in her life. With each passing day, she relented to accepting him for who he was. He was a cowboy and a bull rider. His next ride would be the coming weekend. She tried to push it from her mind. The worry as she watched him hang on to the back of the beast always tormented her. It was their downfall before, but she couldn’t let it happen again. She was going to be his wife one day, and that was what mattered.
“Take the good with the bad,” she whispered to herself.
“Did you say something?” Carson looked up at her.
“No, no. I was thinking aloud.” Heat rose to her cheeks.
He sprang from his chair. “Let’s go get Moon. I can’t wait to get him home, so he can fuss over me. I sure have missed him.”
“Did we get his things put back where he had them?” Rising from the chair, she stood close to Carson. The fresh spice floated from his smooth face. She couldn’t resist raising her hand and running it across his baby soft cheeks.
He pulled her into him. “I love the way you touch my face.” His lips brushed hers.
An undeniable urgency to deepen the kiss drifted over her. She slipped her arms around his neck and coaxed a lingering, passionate kiss from him. His minty breath caressed her cheeks. A moan built in her throat as she accepted the intrusion of his tongue in her mouth.
“Boss! Boss. You better…sorry to break this up, but you need to come with me. Logan is here.” The door slammed. Carson followed Will and she fell in behind Carson.
He stopped abruptly, and she ran into his solid frame. Her breath caught as the tiny colt looked up and whinnied. Its skinny long legs wobbled as it came closer. She moved around Carson.
“I thought you may want to take this little fellow in. His mama was an old mare and in poor shape when we found her. It was too late for her, but we got the first milk down him.” Logan shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
“Will you help me train him, Carson?” she twirled around and gazed at the wide smile across his face.
“You know I will, as long as we don’t let your dad on him when he turns two.” Carson’s chuckl
e enlightened her. “How much do I owe you, Logan?”
“We’ll settle up later. I need to get back to work. Just thought I would drop him off.” Logan headed to his pickup.
Carson strolled toward his pickup.
“Hey, where are you going?” He kept walking. When he stopped at the back of the vehicle, he reached in and pulled a bag and a cooler from the bed.
“I brought you a few items you’re going to need. Milk, a halter and a couple of bottles for the little guy.”
“You knew?” Her clenched fist rested on her hips.
“I never make a promise I can’t keep. Logan called me this morning. I went to meet him before I came to see you. I picked up the supplies you need for your new baby.” He strutted back with the bounty.
Her heart flip-flopped. The promise he made the night of the barn fire. Tears sprung to her eyes, she had forgotten all about his words. A tinge of guilt floated in her mind.
“You better get him fed and settled, so we can go get your dad. I bet he’s sitting on the porch of that place cussing up a whirlwind.” Carson opened the cooler and pulled out a partially filled bottle.
She took it from him and offered it to the colt. Within ten minutes, the bottle ran dry. “Come with me, Rowdy. I’ll show you to your stall.” The foal scampered along behind her.
Luck prevailed around her. She skipped up to Carson. Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled his head down to hers and placed a long lingering kiss on his lips.
“Girl cooties, girl cooties!” He tried to pull away. She slid her hands across his cheeks and clutched his ears in her hands, and then placed butterfly kisses across every inch of his face. His laughter echoed in the air. She continued until he pulled her into his strong embrace and kissed her soundly on the lips.
“We better go get Moon.” He opened the door to the pickup. She eased into the seat and waited for him to shut the door. Her breath held as she peered at the pockets stretching across his taut behind. The sigh she released filtered in the cab. He slipped in behind the wheel and drove them into town to pick up her father.
“You go first, Carson. He looks a wee bit mad.”
“Ah, he isn’t mad.” Carson walked up to the porch. “Got held up this morning. Logan found a colt for River.”
“Is it a two year old?” River gasped at her father’s words.
“Naw, but I’ll have a full body suit ready by the time you get ready to ride again.”
“I may as well leave the both of you here. Listen to this crazy talk.” River glanced at the gleam in her dad’s eyes.
“Whatever you do, don’t call your sisters.” Moon leaned on his walking stick and headed to the pickup. “My things are in them boxes there, if you’ll bring them along, son.”
Carson transferred the boxes to the bed of the pickup while River helped her dad climb in the front seat. The silence in the cab was broken by Moon.
“When’s your next ride?”
“Next weekend. Do you feel up to it?” Carson kept his eyes on the road.
“I’m always up to seeing you ride. Now, I don’t know about River. She may ravish the banks of the creek she was named after.”
Chapter Twelve
“Why don’t you pull into the courthouse?” The raspy voice of Moon called out.
“What do you need to do there?” River leaned over the back of the seat with her arms crossed under her chin.
“I want to get you two hitched before you drive me insane.”
Carson swerved to keep from running into a light pole. The old man’s words caught him off guard for the first time in a long while. Usually he was accustomed to expecting strange requests from the man. He glanced in the rearview mirror, and River’s face reddened.
“How about it, sweetheart? You game?”
“Oh sure. It’s not like I have been planning a small wedding for the last couple of weeks.” She leaned against the seat.
“It’s settled then, let’s get this done.” Carson pulled into the parking space.
“Are we really going to get married today?” She raised her brows at Carson. Her voice rang happy and clear.
“Yes, we are. Anything to keep Pops happy.” He hopped from the truck and walked around to the passenger door to help Moon out.
“Fetch me that little box from the glove compartment. I’ll carry it in, and when we get set up you can be the ring bearer.”
“Do I have to be everything? The father of the bride, best man, witness and the ring bearer?” Moon chuckled.
“It was your suggestion. I like the way you think.” He took the tiny box and put it in his shirt pocket. Carefully he took hold of Moon’s arm and assisted him out of the seat.”
“Come on, little lady. You are about to become Mrs. Carson Long. You don’t want to keep our only guest waiting do you?”
His heart pounded. The reality of her becoming his wife settled in his bones and in his mind. A righteous pride twisted with the love in his heart. River hadn’t protested; she even seemed as if she were in cahoots with the old man.
The justice of the peace office was on the bottom floor. He greeted them with a happy smile. “Nice to see you out and about again, Leroy. What brings you here today?”
“These young folks here wanna get hitched, and you’re just the one to fix ‘em up.”
“Do you know what you’re getting into, River?” The judge slipped on his robe.
“Yes sir, I do!”
“These two hooligans didn’t twist your arm or hold you at gun point, did they?”
“Well,…there was this small thing. You see they bamboozled me, and the next thing I knew we were pulling into the courthouse.” She giggled as she bantered playfully with the judge. “All silliness aside, there isn’t anything I would like better than to walk out of this courthouse as Mrs. Carson Long. I’ve looked forward to this day for a while.”
Carson stepped back and awed at her confession. He shook his head, and took her words as honest and well chosen. Not words she thought he would want to hear, but a truth straight from the heart.
“Shall we proceed then?” River moved closer to his side; her father stood beside her, and they all faced the judge. The service didn’t take more than five minutes.
Walking out of the courthouse, Carson stopped. “Did I? Did you? Did we just get married?” River nodded her head.
He tossed his cowboy hat in the air and let out his winning war cry. “Yee-haw!” echoed in the courthouse square. He ran to River and lifted her from the ground, kissing her and twirling her in a circle.
Moon’s boisterous laughter penetrated the air. “You better fetch your hat, and let’s git on our way. I need a nap.”
They looked around. “Where did it go?”
Moon pointed his walking stick above their heads to a thin branch jutting out from a tree. Tiny fingers of the twig held the hat suspended in the air. To their relief a slight breeze whipped up and tossed it back to the ground.
****
River’s heart skipped a beat. The true test of her love for Carson twisted her insides. She sat on the edge of the bleachers, her heart pounding with passion and fear. A new and exciting pride filled her chest in the ride her husband was preparing for. Her father perched by her side, and held her hand as Carson’s name was called. Her dad’s words of comfort whispered in her ear.
She waited breathlessly. Carson eased onto the back of the bull. Farley did a little dance outside the bucking shoot. Cassie sat next to her with the baby.
“I don’t know if I can watch this.” Her voice broke.
Cassie squeezed her hand. “I know. It’s hard for me too, but, this is what they love to do, and sometimes I wonder if Craig will come home with me. Then, I see him out there dancing and making the crowd happy. He saves the riders, and I fill with pride. If he is willing to sacrifice his life, what gives me the right to be selfish?”
“Right now…I’m selfish.” River tried to smile.
“You’re a lot like your mama was. She spent ha
lf her days worrying about my sorry hide. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a woman like her. She was some kind of special. I loved her, you know, and I still do. That man out there, he knows what he’s got in you. Don’t ever kid yourself.” Her father kissed her on the cheek. “Get ready because we’re fixing to ride.”
The gate swung open, bull and rider emerged in a fit of frenzy. River stood then sat down. She didn’t know which one she wanted to do. Her voice loud and clear rang through the stands. “Hang on cowboy. You are going home with me tonight.”
The buzzer couldn’t have sounded fast enough. He released his hand from the rope and flew through the air. His legs buckled and he fell forward, quickly he regained his footing and made it to the fence. Farley lured the bull into the alley leading away from the arena.
The two men bowed before the crowd, and once more Carson tossed his hat in the air and yelled out his winning war cry. “Yee-haw!”
River ran to the fence where he jumped over. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and then kissed and hugged him. “Yep, cowboy, that was an awesome ride. I’m proud of you. Scared spitless, but proud.”
She loved her new life as a cowboy’s wife. No longer did she have problems stepping down and letting him take over the decision-making. He was perfect for the job. They combined their ranches and changed the name.
That was the beginning of the Long Moon.
About the Author
Stephy Smith grew up in the Northwest Texas Panhandle and still lives within a few miles of her childhood home. She owns her own ranch and takes care of her mother. She shares her home with three dogs and a chinchilla. Other than writing, she loves to read, garden, ride horses, paint and do just about any kind of arts and crafts. Her love for history, museums, historical markers and sites along roadsides, old houses and walking through cemeteries tempts her creative imagination. Where there's history there's mystery and ghosts! She writes young adult, sweet historical romance and contemporary western romance. You can find her novellas, Lizzie and the Rebel, Rescued from the River, Shawnee’s Creek, Sanders Cross and Gentry’s Gallery of Angels at Astraea Press, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.