And Here I'll Stay

by Rita Hestand

  The preacher shook his head and proceeded with the ceremony.

  "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife!" the preacher said a bit disgusted with this whole scene, himself, as he slammed his bible closed.

  When Anna turned to Joe, they stood rock still.

  "You may kiss the bride," the preacher said, with a disgusted look on his face and walked away.

  Joe took Anna into his arms and although Anna wasn't expecting much from Joe, she was shocked when he kissed her tenderly on the mouth. It was the first time he'd ever really kissed her, and it took her breath from her, the way his lips sought an answer from her. When they pulled apart, she looked unsettled, and blushed.

  They turned to the congregation and as everyone kissed the bride and shook hands with Joe, they all seemed to consider them and shrugged. Her parents kissed her and shook hands with Joe, but they didn't say anything. This time, no one asked questions. Especially her parents.

  But a couple of her friends whispered, "Did you see that. She has the gall, doesn't she?"

  Joe heard them and whirled around, "She does, that's part of why I married her!" he smiled.

  Anna's sister came up and kissed her on the cheek and shot Joe a quick reprisal. "This was sure a surprise."

  "Wasn't it?" Anna smiled. "I'm so happy, Mary."

  Another surprise hit her when Joe took her arm and pulled her down the aisle toward the front door. Outside, it was a beautiful day, the birds were singing, and the sun was shining and there was a buggy waiting to take them away.

  Anna did her best to stay composed as they smiled and laughed with their friends. Joe's friends seemed just as shocked as hers. He made no apologies to anyone though and they continued to their buggy.

  But already the murmurs began.

  As Joe helped her into the carriage Anna sighed heavily as they drove away.

  A certain relief made her relax and smile at him. "We did it."

  "Yeah, we sure did." Joe seemed a bit stunned himself. But there was a smile on his face too, that she hadn't expected.

  "Where are they going?" her mother asked as they watched the carriage pull away. Anna turned to wave at them.

  "I have no idea, and I'd bet she doesn't either." Her father said, shaking his head.

  "I don't understand, I thought she was marrying Bill."

  "So, did everyone else." Her father mumbled under his breath. "Well, at least this time she's married! And with Joe there might be a chance for her. She's always loved him."

  Chapter Two

  "Well," Anna didn't look at Joe now, but straightened her beautiful white dress. She felt the soft silkiness of the material, and how she and her mother had worked so hard on making this the most beautiful dress. She wouldn't tell anyone, but she had two more wedding dresses at home too.

  Suddenly she felt a bit bereft now. The enormity of what she had done hit her square between the eyes and guilt assailed her. She'd just married her best friend in the world.

  A touch of hysteria was setting in now. She'd never thought passed the wedding itself, she'd never arrived at this point before. So, what came next? And would Joe insist on his marital rights? Surely, he wouldn't!

  Joe was so quiet and the look on his face was completely unreadable.

  "That went well, didn't it?" She tried to make light of it.

  "I was beginning to think I'd never get married." Joe muttered under his breath.

  "Why Joe, you’re a very good-looking man, clean, and well-mannered and sweet. Why wouldn't you?"

  "Is that how you see me?" he turned his head to stare at her.

  "Well, aren't you?" she asked with a smile.

  "Anna, we're best friends, have been all our lives, and I don't regret it, but I have no idea where this is all headed." He told her. "And I don't think you do either."

  "So, you're sorry already, huh?" She turned to look straight at him, her mind working as she spoke. She sighed a bit too heavily. "So, you are ready to leave me too, huh?"

  "I wouldn't say that, but you could say I'm wondering just what direction we are headed."

  "Quit fretting, you and I get along just fine, don't we?"

  "Yeah, we always have, that's true." He nodded. "I just thought that love might play a part in my marriage somehow."

  She turned her head, as a tear slipped down her cheek. She'd confessed her love, but obviously he wasn't feeling the same. Any time in the past when she'd said she loved him; Joe made a joke out of it. Or ignored it as though she'd never said the words.

  "I do love you Joe. You're the best friend I've ever had," she looked a tad sad now and he looked at her. "I want you to know I'm so grateful for what you did for me today." She managed a weak smile. "Did you see how shocked everyone was. They all thought Bill wouldn't show up, but they never expected you to do the honors. I guess I showed them! Did you notice how quiet it got when the preacher asked if anyone objected? Did they really think Bill would burst through the doors and object?"

  "Yeah, like you could hear a needle drop." He mused. "I think they expected Bill to object."

  A shiver ran through her. "Bill didn't love me either. None of them did." She muttered miserably. "I realize that now. They wanted to be intimate with me, and the only way I'd allow it was marriage, so they ask me to wed, all three of them. The first time I thought it kind of romantic, to want me so, but then I began to think differently."

  Now he got very quiet and she realized he was having some real doubts about his volunteering to help her. "Yeah," he pulled at his bolero tie once more.

  If she wanted sympathy, she didn't get it.

  "So, where are we going?"

  "Well, I had planned to go to San Antonio, take a little vacation, see the Alamo and maybe ride a boat down the river there. How does that sound?"

  "You were going to take a vacation?" Now it was her turn to be shocked.

  "Yeah, get away from everything for a while."

  "You never take vacations." Her brows furrowed.

  "Well, it would seem my life is changing by the moments, wouldn't it?" he glanced at her now.

  "But what about your ranch?"

  "It'll be there when I return." Joe told her. "My boys know what to do. I won't be that far that someone can't get a hold of me. They know where I'll be."

  "I've never known you to just go off and leave the ranch." She looked a bit puzzled by this information.

  "You haven't been around me in a while either. Maybe I'm becoming impetuous like you." He raised a brow at her.

  "Funny," she sent him a mock frown. "This is probably the most impetuous thing you've ever done."

  "What is?"

  "Well, everyone was so shocked, and I have to admit when you kissed me, you really kissed me. We never kissed like that before. You're pretty good you know. I didn't know you could play act so well. I mean, I appreciated your efforts, I just didn't expect it."

  "Never got married before either." He told her.

  "Yeah, I guess that's true too. You made it look so real."

  Now a brow went up, and he stared at her for the first time. "I hate to tell you this darlin', but it was real!" He let that sink in a minute then shot her another glance, his eyes softening on her for a moment. "So, how long we gonna carry on with this charade?" He asked a bit peeved.

  "Well Joe, we just got married, we can't run to the lawyer yet." She told him sweetly. "I am curious though, where did this ring come from?" She twisted the ring on her finger.

  "From Bill, he handed it to me when he ran off."

  She gasped. "You knew he left."

  He glanced at her.

  "Why didn't you tell me? You mean you knew all along he was leaving?"

  "No, not until this morning. He arrived at the church when I was talking to the cleaning lady about which room the groom would use. He came in, said he couldn't go through with it. Shoved the ring at me and left."

  "Was he the least bit sorry?"

  "Didn't seem to be. More in a hurry,
I'd say."

  "You didn't say a word to me about it! The nerve of him, telling you and not me."

  "Well, in all fairness, you were a little busy with four bridesmaids surrounding you all morning. No one could get passed the door."

  She thought about that. "I guess that's true."

  "You didn't think this through too well, did you?" he asked her.

  "Not entirely, no." she admitted.

  "I didn't think so." He countered.

  "So, we're going to San Antonio?" she asked staring at him now. Her eyes going over him and realizing just looking at him gave her goosebumps. He was so handsome in that hat.

  She'd always been stirred by his good looks. But he never acted as though he even saw her. Realizing it at this moment made her sad.

  "That's the plan."

  "In this buggy?"

  "It's only thirty miles down the road."

  "Oh, yeah, I guess it is. I've never been there." She told him a bit in awe. "In fact, I've never been much of anywhere."

  When he didn't say anymore, she shot him a fast glance.

  "You're mad at me, aren't you?" she asked firming her lips and waiting for his reply. "I don't think I ever remember you being mad at me."

  "No, I'm not mad, I'm just wondering what got into me."

  She fidgeted a bit now. "You're wondering why you married me, aren't you?"

  "I guess I felt sorry for you." He told her, pulling at his collar once more.

  "Sorry for me?" she shrieked. For the first time she looked at him with eyes wide open. His words hurt, and it shocked her that he would say them. But recovering quickly, she tried her best to sound normal.

  None of this seemed normal now, and she was beginning to see why.

  "You were crying. You'd been left once more without a groom, you were embarrassed to tell anyone what really happened, so you married me. It would seem it is just another case of me bailing you out of your troubles again."

  His bluntness shocked her. He'd never spoken this way to her before and it hurt. This was their wedding day; couldn't they at least enjoy it.

  Was that what she'd been doing most of her life? Letting Joe bail her out of one thing or another? Her smile withered quickly, her lashes batting away a tear as she turned her gaze away from him. His troubled frustration hurt. "I guess it was," she murmured. Her memories clouded her mind for a moment, all the times Joe took the blame for her silly antics. Like the time she came home soaking wet from a fishing trip with Joe. She had pushed him in the water, playfully and he had grabbed her and thrown her in. Then when they went home, he took the blame for it. When she broke the axle on her dad's wagon trying to show all her friends how well she could handle the horses and wagon, at ten years old. Joe who was five years older, took the blame for that too. When she was fourteen and her best girlfriend dared her to kiss Joe, and she did after she smeared cherry juice on her lips, he told her parents it was Emily Jones that kissed him, after he wiped the cherry juice off her lips. Come to think of it, that was when they stopped being best friends. When she kissed him! Of course, she was fourteen, wet from swimming in the pond after he pushed her in, and her clothes sticking to her like a leech. He looked at her strangely that day, actually from that day on. She didn't understand him staring at her, she looked like a drowned rat, she was sure of that. But he'd never insulted her before.

  He probably thought her crazy, like everyone else.

  It wasn't long after the fishing trip, that he left. Maybe that's when he realized she was crazy? Well it wasn't a secret in Wayward, she was guilty, and this was about the craziest things she'd ever done. But deep down, in the back of her mind, she couldn't think of another man she'd rather be married to. Of course, she couldn't tell him that, not in his frame of mind.

  Then why did he agree to marry her, if he thought so badly of her now?

  She looked at Joe, and the memory of that day came back crystal clear. She'd been a dare-devil little imp back then. She remembered how her mother looked at her rather strangely that day too. Had he told her parents, she might have been in big trouble, it just now dawned on her.

  She hadn't kissed him to be flirty. She kissed him on a dare, and merely on the cheek. But it had a lot stronger implications than a dare. He'd really been a sweetheart that day when she thought about it. Now she had asked him to marry. And Joe being Joe, did! Despite what he might think of her, he always took up for her.

  Sometimes it made no sense to her at all! Why had he made himself her hero?

  My God, what a hero Joe had been to her all those years! But if he thought her crazy that could be the reason, she was so depressed now.

  Her mouth opened and nothing came out. He was right. Joe was always there when she made a fool of herself. This time was no exception.

  Instead of saying anything she clammed up. Usually talking to Joe was a pleasant thing, but not today. And it finally hit her that he probably thought her a fool. He had come to her rescue again! Perhaps once too many. She was grown now, and he had expected her to act like an adult.

  She was thinking way too much, and it gave her a slight headache. This was not the day to worry about her vivid past. It should have been a happy day, but something told her it wasn't.

  She wondered if this marriage would even last a whole day? Perhaps, he was already thinking of how he could leave her. Not wanting him mad at her, she gave him an option. "Look, I'll leave it up to you about the divorce then. You can have it whenever you like. Naturally, I'll pay for it. I might have to pay you back, but I can earn it."

  "Well, that's kind of you." His voice sounded even more brutal.

  "It's the least I can do, since I got you into this." She remarked, a dullness in her own voice had him looking at her now.

  "Do you at least think we can enjoy the honeymoon before we discuss the divorce?"

  "Any way you want things is fine with me. I guess I pushed you a little too far this time."

  Chapter Three

  How did she thank him for all he'd done for her? She glanced at him for a moment, seeing him in a new light. Joe Callahan was very handsome, a fact she took for granted. She had to overlook that, as it stirred thoughts that she shouldn't be having. He was very kind, and she'd used him many times without thought. But today was different. Today she'd married him and staring at him now, she realized something that shocked her, she didn't regret it. Joe was the sweetest, most caring man she'd ever known. He'd protected her half his life, and suddenly she felt very bad. Was she truly nothing more than a spoiled brat wanting her way all the time? If so, why had he put up with her so long? Why hadn't he said no? Why hadn't he turned his back on her and left?

  Of all the men she knew, she cared for Joe deeply, she knew that. But something he'd said a long time ago, made her think he'd never take her too seriously.

  He'd tell all the girls, "She's just my best friend, that's all."

  That stuck in her brain, especially when he left her at fourteen, to have his own life.

  She sighed heavily.

  When they reached San Antonio, he drove right up to the hotel. He had a reservation at the Menger Hotel, and this surprised Anna even more. "You had reservations?" she asked.

  "Yes, I told you, I was taking a vacation." He explained, as someone took their buggy and they went inside. Anna gasped at how beautiful it was, she whirled around like a little girl and smiled. "It's beautiful here. I've never seen anything like it. This place is stunning. Oh Joe, look at that ceiling, stained glass, isn't it fantastic? And the winding staircase, and the piano. It's like a palace! It's like something you read about in a book."

  He stood staring at her, a slow smile spreading over his face at her enthusiasm.

  "I've never seen such beauty, such luxury. It's so exciting being here. Oh, look at those paintings on the wall, and the balconies all done with ornate wrought iron. I've only seen pictures of things like that. The floors are like glass, so very shiny. I never saw anything like this in person." She whirled around look
ing at every detail. She didn't miss a thing, and her enthusiasm made him smile. "Can you imagine? I really didn't expect to have a honeymoon."

  "You've never been here?" He asked.

  "No, have you?"

  "Yes, I've come here for cattle auctions and stayed here before." He told the clerk he had a reservation and the clerk checked his name as he signed in and handed him the key. "

  "Enjoy your stay." The clerk smiled.

  "We will, it's our honeymoon." Joe beamed at the man.

  "We'll let management know, and you'll have the best of everything sir, congratulations."

  "I never knew. You never talked about things like coming here and all." She grabbed his arm and looped hers in his as they walked down the hall to their room. She was so excited she was practically bouncing.

  "You were never interested in what I did much, at least not after I left." He explained. "And the last few years, the only time I saw you was at town functions, and weddings… "

  Anna's smile disappeared once again. Had she been so selfish that she never listened to him? Yes, she had. Her failure to be a good friend to him, startled her. She hadn't meant to be selfish, hadn't realized how badly she had treated him.

  "Are you trying politely to tell me I'm selfish?" Anna frowned. She stopped walking toward their room and stared at him. "I thought we were best friends."

  "So did I." He said and opened their room with a key. He waited for her to go in.

  She caught up to him and went inside.

  "This is lovely." She told him, taking in the beautiful quilt on the bed, the lovely lamp beside the bed and the gorgeous pitcher on the dresser with a matching wash bowl.

  "Yes, I like it. This hotel has a lot of history."

  "Really, what kind of history?" She flounced on the bed, finding it so very soft.

  "During the war, the Mengers, William and his wife Mary closed the hotel up, and offered the soldiers a place to recuperate from their wounds. The only thing that remained open was the restaurant, to feed them. Mr. Menger brought beer to San Antonio and opened a brewery here. The brewery is in the basement. For a long time, it has been the only Hotel in San Antonio."