by Karin, Anya
“Happy to, Jeffrey. Be happy to.”
“Eli! Clara! Iche! Hurry!”
Eli urged me out, his palm on my back. “We gotta go, it’s now or never.”
I turned to Seth, then to Mr. Star. “Thank you both,” I said. “For everything.”
Then I grabbed Eli’s hand and squeezed it tight. I said nothing, just pulled him toward the door.
“Thehan wanchinyanke sni!” Itan said as we emerged. He handed the reins of a mottled brown to Eli, and offered his hand to father, who took it with a slightly confused look on his face.
“Come up,” Itan said, urging him. “We go to Yankton, or close.”
Eli swung up onto the horse, and helped me up onto his lap, just like the first time we rode. Just like the time we fell in love.
As Deadwood disappeared behind us, I squinted back through the cloud of dust. I’ll swear until the end of my days, that Al Swearengen’s door was just then swinging shut. I couldn’t help but wave, hoping that someone – anyone – noticed.
Twenty
October 20, 1878
Yankton, Dakota Territory
“This is really happening, isn’t it, father?”
My father looked smaller than I remembered as he stood below my stool, watching with fascination as the single tailor in Yankton made the final adjustments to my lacy-sleeved gown.
He smiled possibly the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face. “I do believe it is, unless somehow we’ve all had a tremendous hallucination.”
I laughed right along with him.
“Suck in, Miss James! No time for laughing!” Ella, the tailor, snapped, which made father laugh even harder. I tried very hard to keep my composure, but my whole body shook. “Oh, fine then, get it all out at once and let me get back to work. These dressings on such a short notice are so difficult.” She tisked loudly, but had a bit of a grin.
“It’s just all so fast,” I said. “To be honest, when Eli proposed back in Deadwood, I thought he was joking. It just seemed crazy. But now, it feels different.”
“Right, you mean?” Father said. “I know. As soon as Itan let us off, I knew the look in Eli’s eye. Same one I had before I battered your mother with proposals until she finally relented.”
I shook my head, not able to stop smiling. “Father, I know you two colluded. He had mother’s ring! How else could he have gotten it?” I extended my fingers in front of my face, admiring the sparkling stones.
“A nice ring, for sure,” Ella remarked, apparently as entranced as I was.
Father shrugged. “Picked my pocket? Of course we colluded, Clara. Eli’s a proper gentleman. He had to ask me for your hand before he went to you. It’s just the way of things.”
“To think, I found an old-fashioned gentleman such as that all the way out here on the edge of civilization. Remember when you called it that?” I straightened myself and did my best to speak without letting my belly bulge or contract when Ella went back to work.
“Turn your head,” she said, clipping some lace.
“I do, I do. I also remember the first time you saw your husband-to-be. You had a stupefied look on your face even back that far.”
It was Ella’s turn to laugh at that one. “That’s how you know you’ve a good match,” she said. “Love at first sight. People who don’t believe in it just haven’t ever felt it, is what I think.”
Checking his watch, father let out a contented sigh. “I’m glad we found you on such short notice. Two days is hardly enough for most people to get a wedding gown together, Ella. Truly magnificent work.”
“I’m glad you have found me as well. The pile of money you gave me is enough to drive the laziest to accomplish great things. Since I’m not lazy,” She held off on congratulating herself further, but her smile said everything her words did not.
And I had to agree, she had done truly amazing work. My gown more than I imagined when Eli and I decided to get right down to business so my father could see us married before he went back home to right things with the bank. At first, we were just going to be married by Yankton’s justice of the peace, but everything just sort of fell into order.
Since I first met Eli, no matter what happens, it all seems to fall into place.
“I hope your bridegroom has calmed himself a bit. Last I spoke with him, the poor fellow was so nervous he could hardly button his collar.” Father chuckled. “It’s a good thing you had a suit for him, Ella, I’d hate for my daughter and my new son-in-law to have been married in those horrible clothes he was wearing.”
“Yes,” Ella nodded gravely. “It would have been a tragedy. Red plaid isn’t something that should be worn inside a church.”
The church was another of those things that just ended up working out for the best. There just happened to be a pastor traveling through on his way to the Oregon territories where he planned to set up a little church for some of the pioneers, and happily availed himself to us when father asked.
“All done!” Ella announced. “You look stunning if I do say so myself.”
She helped me off the stool and showed me to a mirrored dressing screen. I couldn’t believe it. I never much imagined myself a blushing bride in a white wedding dress, but there I was, looking back at my perfectly arranged hair, beautifully fitted dress, and gloves that went above my elbows. As I watched myself turn back and forth, a tear slipped out the corner of my eye.
“Thank you so much, father,” I said, turning to him. “I wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for you.”
“Nonsense,” he said. His voice was a little thick too. “I’ll save my tears for the wedding, darling Clara, but without me, the only difference is you would’ve had to find some other way to pay for the dress. That’s all.” Father smoothed his mustache, which was even on both ends for the first time since we left New York. He distracted himself by checking his pocketwatch. “Ah, look at that, two o’clock on the nose. Suppose we better get to the church! And I suppose that pastor better get a move on, because my train leaves at four. Yours at half-past.”
“My train? Where am I going?”
Father smiled. “I promised I wouldn’t ruin the surprise.”
He shuffled me out the front door, and Ella barely managed to catch the short train on my gown before it hit the floor. She handed it to father and waved as we went.
The church wasn’t elaborate, but it was all I wanted. When father held the door open for me, I began to walk, in a daze, down the aisle before Pastor Charles stopped me. He had a slight Southern accent, and said he’d been born in Virginia, but had spent most of his life moving around in service to the Lord.
“No, no!” He waved his hands. “You mustn’t come in yet! You’re lucky that your fiancé has stepped out, or else you would have seen him before the wedding began. Very bad luck indeed!” He had a round, red face, and warm eyes that made me feel comfortable from the first time I heard his voice.
Father hurried me out and stuck his head in the door to wait for the signal. In a way I was a bit perplexed by all the to-do. After all, it was just the three of us and Pastor Charles. But then again, it felt nice to have at least a little bit of the ritual I’d always wondered if I’d have.
“Okay,” my father said, and stuck his hand back for me to take, his head still inside the church. “Come on, Clara, he’s ready!”
I took father’s hand and he gave me a squeeze, holding the door. I closed my eyes, not really wanting to end the anticipation until I had no choice. I stood still and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet pine scent of the church’s walls and pews and the woods around us. Father led me down the aisle with one hand on my back, and the other as a resting place for my hand. Finally, we stopped, and a different set of fingers curled around me.
“Oh, Eli,” I said when I finally opened my eyes. “You’re so shaven.” I grimaced at my inelegance, but of course Eli just smiled.
He had a fresh haircut, a close shave, and every inch of him seemed to radiate in the black wool suit t
hat Ella had tailored to hug every bit of him. For a moment I just stared with my mouth wide open.
“Hello there, Clara,” he said with a smile that dazzled me. His dimples stood out, his blue eyes smoldering.
Pastor Charles cleared his throat. When I looked in his direction, he nodded and smiled broadly. “Mr. Masterson, Miss James?”
“Ready,” Eli said.
“Yes, sir,” I nodded. “Me too.”
I chanced a glance at father, who looked back at me, pride and tears in his eyes. He tilted his head back to the pastor.
“We are gathered here today, in this house of God, to join these two – Eli Masterson and Clara James – in the bond of holy matrimony. As there is no one else present, I assume neither of you have any reason that you two should not be wed?”
“No sir,” Eli said, never taking those eyes off me.
I shook my head no, my mouth open but no words coming.
“Good. Have either of you prepared vows you’d like to read?”
To my surprise, Eli said, “I have, Reverend. May I?”
“By all means.”
“Clara,” he said, holding both my hands in his. “From the moment I first laid eyes on you in this very town, almost two months ago, I knew you were the woman I’d been looking for my whole life. Don’t ask me how, but I knew it the first time I saw you, the first time I heard your voice, heard you laugh.”
He paused for a moment, and collected his thoughts. For my part, I was hardly keeping myself upright my knees wobbled so. It was a good thing he was holding my hands.
“In two months, we’ve been through more excitement than most people have in their entire lives. I loved you when first we met, and now I can say without any shred of doubt in my mind, that I don’t want to wake up another day for the rest of my life without you beside me. I don’t want to go to sleep at night without knowing we’re together.” He swallowed and took a breath.
“To be honest, I never thought I’d say these words – or anything close – to anyone. I thought I supposed I was to be alone for my whole life, working and adventuring out in the wilderness. But now I know I don’t want any adventure, I don’t want any life, that doesn’t have you in it, Clara James.”
My heart melted, tears ran down my cheeks. I squeezed his hands tight. “I love you too, Eli Masterson,” I said. “More than anyone I’ve ever known. I can’t come up with something as beautiful as what you just said, not without falling over my words and just bumbling through the whole thing.”
I laughed nervously, and Eli reached up, pushing a tear off my cheek with his thumb. “Take your time. We’re not in any hurry.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled it with a rattling sigh that went to the depths of my soul. “I thought I’d marry someone,” I began. “I thought that someday, I’d meet a man whose company I enjoyed, and who maybe I even learned to love, and that one day, we’d be married and have some children, and grow old together. But never in my life did I expect – never did I even think – that someone would come along who took every shred of my sense the first time I saw him.” I touched Eli’s cheek then took his hands again. “Never did I think that I’d find myself in Deadwood, swept off my feet by a man like you, Eli Masterson. Nor by anyone, come to think of it.”
I paused for a moment, watching his face, letting his gaze take me away. All I could do for a moment was smile. “I’m not sure I believed this sort of thing was even real, you know? But here we are. You and I, standing across from one another, holding hands, and I’m about to become Clara Masterson, and I just can’t believe that such a thing is possible. I woke up this morning convinced I was dreaming, but now I know it’s real. I know it’s real and you’re real, and I know I’m the happiest woman on this planet or any other. And it’s all thanks to you.”
My hands trembled as I finished.
“I’ve never heard more honest vows,” Pastor Charles said after waiting to see if I had anything else to say. “And I’ve done this a time or two. Well, without further ado. Clara James, do you take this man – Eli Masterson, to be your lawful wedded husband?”
“I do,” I said, eyes fixed on Eli.
“And you, Eli Masterson. Do you take this woman – Clara James – to be your lawful wedded wife, forever and ever, through rich and poor, sick and well?”
“I do,” he whispered. “I do.”
“Well, then, with the power vested in me by the Lord above, and whatever territory it is we’re presently standing in, I now pronounce you man and wife. Mr. Masterson?”
“Yes, Reverend?” His eyes burned in me even as he spoke.
“You may kiss the bride.”
When he pulled me close, I breathed him, let him fill my lungs, my nose and my being. Eli’s arms around me felt so good, so safe. I was home.
Eli pressed his lips quickly against mine, then deeper, and harder. For a moment that seemed to stretch into hours, our souls squeezed together, our breath was one. When he finally pulled back, our lips parted with a sweet, gentle sound and all I could see, all I could think, was of the smile on his face; the broad, wonderful smile on my Eli’s face.
*
“We’ve got somewhere to be, Mrs. Masterson,” Eli said, softly, as he cradled me against his chest.
The train carrying father to New York blasted its horn and started to move. He stuck his head out the window, waving furiously. Both Eli and I laughed and waved back, Eli punctuating his farewell with a loud whistle and a “see you soon!”
“Oh? Where might we be going? I thought you said we had all the time in the world.” I curled my fingers around the freshly-trimmed hair on the back of his head. My fingertips dipped just beneath his pinned collar.
“Somewhere I promised to take you way back when we were both young and wild and just falling in love,” he said, caressing my lips with a kiss. “A month and a half ago.” I felt his smile curl against my face. The skin on my neck prickled as his breath slid around, hot and sweet, creeping down the back of my ivory gown.
“I could live and die in Yankton, here at the edge of the world, if I knew I’d be with you,” I said. “You can take me wherever you want.”
He held up two train tickets between our faces. “Amarillo? Oh, Texas!” It hit me all at once. “I can’t believe this, Eli!”
“And why is that? I told you we were going to Palo Duro, and that I was going to dazzle you with the sunset. At the time though, I thought we’d have to show a bit more propriety, but now we can sleep in the same tent, Mrs. Masterson.”
“Oh Eli,” I said, slapping his chest. “You just can’t help but being crass, can you?”
His face grew very serious for a moment. “I’m sorry for all this. Not this,” he paused to collect himself. “I mean, everything that’s happened. We’re going to Texas without a thing to our name. This isn’t the life you want. It can’t be.”
“That’s not true,” I protested, folding and unfolding Eli’s lapels. “My father said it right, back when we were leaving Deadwood. Those are just things; clothes, hats, houses, money. What does it all mean unless you’re with the one you love?”
“You mean that?” His blue eyes twinkled. Eli pulled his hat off and pulled me close, muscled forearms tight against the small of my back.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest. “Yes,” I whispered. “All I need is right here. Forever and ever.”
“Mrs. Masterson?” Eli tilted my head back, studying my face.
“Yes, Mr. Masterson?” My voice quailed when he squeezed me, kissing my throat, kissing my forehead.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world.” He held me at arms’ length. Those sparkling eyes and that dimple took the breath right out of me. “Come on, we’ve got a sunset to watch.”
THE END
Did you love The Outlaw's Kiss (Sweet Western Historical Romance)? Then you should read Thistle and Flame - Her Highland Hero by Anya Karin!
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If hearts are meant to be together, nothing will keep them apart...
When Gavin Macgregor first laid eyes Kenna Moore at festival in their Highland home, the boy fell in love with her flaming red hair, and her easy smile.
Years later, Gavin works up the courage to give Kenna a thistle, and with one innocent gesture, steals her heart.
And then, in the blink of an eye, Gavin is gone, swept away with the rest of the Highlanders to fight in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s war, from which he never returns.
With Gavin’s thistle around her neck, Kenna finds the strength to journey south to Edinburgh, where she’s promised in marriage to Laird Ramsay Macdonald. Struggling to grow accustomed to her new life, little does Kenna know that the man who stole her heart all those years ago is waiting to do it again.
Also by Anya Karin
Her Highland Hero
Thistle and Flame - Her Highland Hero
Passion and Plaid
The Unmasked Series
Unmasked (New Adult Romance)
Wild West Brides
The Outlaw's Kiss (Sweet Western Historical Romance)
About the Author
Romance, suspense, thrills and chills are Anya Karin's favorite things to write and to read.
She lives for complex plots, characters that come to life, and maybe even a little bit of spice. So, that's exactly what she writes!
She lives in Pheonix with two dogs, a spouse and a pair of sprouts who are listed in the reverse order of the messes they make!
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