Almost a Bride (Wyoming Wildflowers Book 1)

by Patricia McLinn

  "Are you saying you don't know how you feel about the woman you gave an oath to love and cherish in my courtroom, young man?"

  "No, Your Honor. I'm saying–in answer to Brathenwaite's question–that I can't tell you if I picked up loving her where I'd left off six years earlier or if I fell in love with her a second time." He turned in the chair so he faced her as directly as possible. "Fell in love all over again with the woman she is now."

  "Dave." It was soft as a sigh, but he heard it, and felt it.

  "Your Honor," Brathenwaite's voice climbed an octave. "None of this is to the point."

  "Quiet." Judge Halloran steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and looked over the top of his glasses at them. "Let me see if I've got this straight. Are you saying when you two got married, and swore before God and the State of Wyoming to love, honor and cherish each other, that you were knowingly lying?"

  "What?" Matty sounded confused.

  Dave couldn't blame her. What was that old fox Halloran up to? This had nothing to do with what was in the file he had pinned under his elbows.

  "Did you love David Edward Currick when you married him?" the judge rapped out in a voice that had quelled more than one courtroom hubbub.

  "Yes."

  "Do you believe he loved you at the time you married?"

  She glanced at him and then away. "I...I don't know."

  "The hell you don't, Matty. I loved you then, and I love you now."

  "You keep quiet. I'm asking the questions. Do you love him now?"

  "Yes. But that has nothing to do with–"

  "Has everything to do with the oath you two took before me." Halloran made a show of straightening the papers and closing the file. Then he slid it to the side and put Dave's bucking bronc paperweight on it.

  Matty looked from the judge to Dave and back.

  "Is that it?"

  "That's it."

  "You're not going to punish Dave? Because it was all my–"

  Judge Halloran held up a compelling stop-sign hand. "Once was enough for all that, young lady. Besides, I see no reason to bestir myself to dole out punishment when it seems Dave–and you–have punished yourselves plenty. See if you can't get the hang of loving each other a little better and forget all this other nonsense."

  "I..." Dave watched the motion of her swallow, wishing his lips were on her throat. "Thank you, Your Honor."

  He was unprepared when she abruptly released his hand and headed out the door at the same speed she'd entered.

  "Matty!" he hollered as he started after her.

  "Dave Currick, you hold on for a minute now."

  "Judge, I've got to–"

  "You can spare a minute to your career dammit, boy!"

  The tone rather than the words halted him at the door.

  "There's evidence in this file of damned foolishness. But if we knocked over every soul who'd been foolish there wouldn't be a one of us standing. Especially," Halloran continued ominously as Brathenwaite showed signs of reviving enough to sputter indignantly, "politicians. I don't see anything here to bother the ethics committee about–as long as you promise there'll be no more of this nonsense and swear you'll settle your situation with that young lady."

  Dave grinned at him. "I swear, Your Honor."

  "All right then, go–Go!"

  Dave was thundering down the stairs from his office before the second command was even a word.

  "Matty Brennan! Matty Brennan Currick!"

  She stopped in the middle of temporarily empty Main Street, turning to face him, her hands loose at her sides like a gunslinger.

  "What do you want, Dave?"

  This was bound to be a little dicey, but he'd never expected her to make it a showdown on Main Street.

  "Are you going to stand and fight? Or are you a coward? That's right, I'm calling you a coward. Here in public, in front of everyone."

  Everyone was stretching it. There were maybe a half dozen spectators scattered within earshot. But that number was rising, and the way word traveled in Knighton, everyone would hear soon enough.

  "I am not a coward. You pick the place to talk later, and I'll–"

  "Now. Here. And you're right. You're not a coward. I am. At least I was." She gawked at him, mouth open, eyes staring, and he'd never seen a more beautiful sight "What you said back there in the office–you can't take it back."

  "I know. But it doesn't change the other things we talked about."

  "Like unequal rescues? Seems to me you just added a major notch to your side on that account. Did such a good job that Judge Halloran's going to let me keep the rest of my hide."

  "I'm glad, Dave. I'm so glad. But that doesn't–"

  "Shut-up, Matty," he said hoarsely.

  For half a second, her eyes flared with anger. Then they flared with something else as she seemed to hear the low note in his voice. Heaven help him, he was growing hard just looking at her. Right here on Main Street.

  "I know you're grown up, Matty. I've seen what you've done with the ranch and I see how you are with people. But I was afraid to let you be too grown up, afraid to see how much you've changed. I kept thinking that if I could hold onto the girl Matty, the one who'd wanted to make a life here with me, then maybe you'd stay. But the woman Matty...well, she'd spent all those years out in the wide world where she'd found things bigger and better and brighter."

  "You're wrong, Dave. The girl's the one who ran away. The one who let her hurt pride keep her away for six long years. It was the woman who had the courage to come back. It was the woman who pushed through that foolish pride and turned to you when she needed help."

  "Funny you should bring up need, Matty. Because that's something I've been thinking about a lot. When I told the florist I wanted Indian Paintbrush in your bouquet because it reminds me of you, she told me it's got certain properties. Like symbolizing how opposites can balance each other. That's some of how I need you, Matty. I need your impulsiveness to keep from being too stodgy. I need your stubbornness because I have it on good authority that I'm hard to budge once I get my mind set. I need you to keep me from trying to take control, even when I don't want to. I need you to make my dreams come true.

  "Will you be my wife? Will you have me for your husband? In sickness and in health. Till death do us part? You rescue me and I rescue you."

  "What's goin' on?" Hugh Moski asked loudly from the sidewalk.

  "Shhh!" Ruth ordered him. "Dave's asking Matty to marry him."

  "Huh? Ain't it a little late for that. They had the wedding last month. You gettin' forgetful, Ruth? We had the reception in the Methodist Church basement. I was sure it was Dave Currick she got herself married to."

  "Of course it was Dave she married. Now be quiet, or we'll miss his proposin'."

  "Don't see how there's anything to miss by ways of a proposal when they already had the wedding!"

  "Well, there's having a wedding and then there's really being married."

  "Well, now, that's the truth. Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

  Dave saw the smile in Matty's eyes before it touched her lips.

  "They're right, you know. We had the wedding. Now I want the marriage. Matty, I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Whatever my life is, wherever it is, I want to be with you." He moved closer, not letting himself touch her yet. "You've already married me, now will you be married to me?"

  "Yes, Dave, I'll be married to you."

  Without any prompting from their audience this time, the bride and groom kissed. And it was a good thing it was in the middle of Main Street because it wasn't a kiss suited to a church building. Not at all.

  * * * *

  "Funny how things turned out."

  "What do you mean?" Matty stretched against him, and a slant of early afternoon light caught her hair.

  Ignoring the questions and comments from the citizens of Knighton, they had driven straight to the ranch, cleared the bed of the photos by simply pulling off the bedspread and spent t
he past twenty-four hours there. Sometime during the night they'd made cheese sandwiches and ate them in bed while they'd looked over some of the pictures, recalling memories. Then they'd made some more memories.

  "About Judge Halloran getting that anonymous phone call telling him something was going on about the grant to the Flying W. And all the paperwork showing up for him in a file. And even Ruth being away from her desk just as you came in. I don't think this was entirely by accident."

  "You don't? But who–? Taylor."

  "Taylor?"

  "She's the one who called me and told me Judge Halloran was looking at the file. Plus, she told me when and where you were meeting. And she talked about disbarment and a lot of other things. To get me riled up, the rat! Besides, she had copies of the papers about you repaying the grant–I gave them to her to draw up an agreement about repaying you."

  "You don't have to–"

  "I'm going to, Dave."

  "Okay," he agreed, understanding that she needed to.

  "Yes," she said breathlessly after kissing him. "I'm sure Taylor was involved."

  "Who would have thought demure little Taylor Larsen would have it in her?"

  Matty gave him a searching look. "Demure? Taylor? Have you ever really looked at Taylor? She's definitely a banked fire."

  "Guess I've always been too occupied with the open flame of Matty Brennan."

  "Good answer, Currick."

  He grinned, and that deserved another kiss.

  "But Taylor couldn't have done it alone," he said eventually. "Remember what Judge Halloran said about a man calling in the tip? Besides, his secretary told Lisa, who told Ruth who told me that the caller had the voice of–and I quote–one sexy man."

  Matty's eyes widened. "Cal? You think Cal was involved? You think the two of them were in on it together? They planned it?"

  "I can't see Lisa or Ruth being left out of a conspiracy," he said dryly. But she was moving against him, and he muttered against her neck, "It's over. Who cares."

  "I care. What if something had gone wrong?"

  "Even if it had gone to an ethics review board, it wasn't likely to get me more than a reprimand."

  "Likely? Reprimand? Ooooh, wait 'til I get my hands on them."

  "How about getting your hands on me first? Right after we discuss one more thing. Kids. I want six."

  "Six!"

  "I'm glad you agree. I knew we'd agree on something without negotiating."

  "I did not agree. I simply repeated what you said. In case you didn't notice, I repeated it with astonishment. Six is a lot of kids."

  "Yep."

  "It's also a lot of being pregnant."

  "And a lot of getting pregnant."

  "Well, that's the upside. Tell you what, let's take it one kid at a time."

  "One at a time, six times?"

  "Dave."

  "Okay, okay."

  "Deal?"

  "Deal."

  ~ ~ ~

  I hope you’ve enjoyed Matty and Dave’s story, and that you’ll consider sharing your experience with your fellow readers by leaving a review.

  For news about upcoming books, subscribe to Patricia McLinn’s free newsletter.

  www.PatriciaMclinn.com/newsletter

  Wyoming Wildflowers series

  Donna and Ed’s lives are worlds apart. Can they ever bridge the distance . . .

  Wyoming Wildflowers: The Beginning

  Cal and Taylor can spark a wildfire, but will they come together in …

  Match Made in Wyoming

  Lisa Currick’s carried a secret in her heart for years–and he just hit town …

  My Heart Remembers

  Or read the three books for one great price in the Wyoming Wildflowers boxed set …

  Wyoming Wildflowers Trilogy Boxed Set, 3 Books in 1

  And now available . . . Jack’s story

  Jack’s Heart

  If you particularly enjoy connected books – as I do! – try these:

  A Place Called Home Trilogy

  Bardville, Wyoming Trilogy

  The Wedding Series

  Explore a complete list of all Patricia’s books

  This book was dedicated:

  To Toby, a very special reader.

  Thank you for your loyal support.

  ~

  Dear Readers: If you encounter typos or errors in this book, please send them to me at:
Patricia@PatriciaMcLinn.com.
Even with many layers of editing, mistakes can slip through, alas. But, together, we can eradicate the nasty nuisances. Thank you! - Patricia McLinn

  More about the Wyoming Wildflowers series

  Dear Reader,

  I had many of the characters of the Wyoming Wildflowers series running through my head, and was writing “Almost a Bride,” but hadn’t yet decided how to tie them together. I was taking a break after finishing the passage where Dave is thinking how much Matty is like Indian Paintbrush, when I picked up a linen dishtowel I’d brought back from a research trip – The Wildflowers of Wyoming. Ah-hah!

  (It’s a good thing I got use out of the towel for connecting the series, because it’s rarely used to dry dishes.)

  When the initial three books were done, I commissioned a painting by Virginia artist Moira McQuillen to celebrate. I’ve used that artwork for the covers of “Almost a Bride.” “Match Made in Wyoming,” and “My Heart Remembers.” For the cover of “Wyoming Wildflowers: The Beginning,” the prequel novella about Donna and Ed Currick, talented Catherine E. Batka did an oil painting of snowberry.

  Look for more stories, more paintings, and more wildflowers, in the future!

  Happy reading,

  Patricia

  Discover more of Patricia’s books

  Or get a printable booklist

  About the author:

  USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn’s novels -- cited by reviewers for warmth, wit and vivid characterization – have won numerous regional and national awards and have been on national bestseller lists.

  In addition to her romance and women’s fiction books, Patricia is the author of the “Caught Dead in Wyoming” mystery series, which adds a touch of humor and romance to figuring out whodunit.

  Patricia received BA and MSJ degrees from Northwestern University. She was a sports writer (Rockford, Ill.), assistant sports editor (Charlotte, N.C.) and -- for 20-plus years -- an editor at the Washington Post. She has spoken about writing from Honolulu to Washington, D.C., including being a guest-speaker at the Smithsonian Institute.

  She is now living in Northern Kentucky, and writing full-time. Patricia loves to hear from readers through her website, Facebook and Twitter.

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  Copyright Patricia McLinn

  ISBN: 9781452439099