City Girl (4 page)

“I haven't had much time with all three,” Darvi noted, wondering if there would be such a time. She had enjoyed some great visits with Cash in Texas but had only just met Slater and Liberty.

“Are you all set for the wedding?” Liberty asked.

“I think I am. I've told myself I can't go crazy over every detail, and that seems to help. I don't know if my mother is sleeping at all, but most of the time I'm peaceful.”

“Are there days you wish you'd just up and married?”

“Every day,” Darvi said dryly, as both women heard their hosts returning. And the timing couldn't have been better. Charles and Virginia had no more arrived with the tray full of coffee and cake than Cash, Dakota, and Slater showed up.

“How was dinner?” Charles asked first.

“Excellent,” he was told, his sons thanking him for the recommendation.

“How are you?” Dakota asked, having sat close to Darvi and taken her hand.

“Fine. We had a wonderful meal.”

The two smiled into each other's eyes for a moment.

Slater had slipped into the seat next to his wife, his eyes studying her as they often did, first her face and then her waistline. Following his eyes and train of thought, Liberty smiled, and he caught her. He was giving her a stern look for laughing at his concern when his mother offered him coffee.

“Yes, please.”

“So did you boys do anything else?” Virginia asked when she had served everyone and taken her seat.

Slater gave the details of the evening, which did consist only of eating a leisurely meal and coming home. He ended by teasing his mother. “We looked over the desserts at the restaurant, but we knew we'd get a better offer here.”

This said, he took a bite of cake, his eyes sparkling over his mother's laugh.

“Is that so?” She tried to sound outraged, but she was still chuckling.

“It worked, Mother,” Dakota reminded her, and everyone laughed at her look of surprise.

“This sounds fun,” said a voice from the edge of the room, and everyone turned to see Gretchen Rawlings in the doorway.

“Come in, Mama,” Charles invited, standing to give her his seat. “Have some cake.”

“I couldn't eat another bite,” she told him, having just returned from dinner with friends and taking the chair he offered.

“What restaurant did you visit?” This came from Cash, and in the time that followed, the eight of them fell into good conversation. The topics ranged from old family stories to the latest political subject. Some resorted to filibuster tactics to keep the floor, and with plenty of cake and coffee, it seemed they would go all night.

Darvi didn't want it to end, but she knew that her coming in would disturb her parents and thought that an early getaway from the Rawlingses might be better. All were sorry to see her go, but everyone was gracious as she and Dakota walked to the door and made their way outside.

“Have I mentioned that I'm sick of walking you home?” Dakota offered, his hand holding Darvi's as they covered the distance between his parents' house and hers.

Darvi tried not to be hurt by his words but found herself glad that it was dark out.

“No,” she said quietly, working to keep her voice normal. “I don't think you've said that.”

They had arrived on Darvi's front porch, a dark place at this time of the night. Dakota waited only until they had stopped moving to bring her gently against his chest and whisper in her ear, “I want to keep you with me. I'm sick of leaving you at your door and having to walk away.”

Darvi relaxed in his arms, so enjoying his tender hold.

“It's not long now,” she said as she felt him kiss her brow.

“Forty-eight hours.”

Darvi tipped her head back and tried to see him in the dark.

“Mrs. Dakota Rawlings. I like the sound of that.”

Dakota bent and kissed her, not a long kiss—that had to wait—but one filled with the tenderness he felt for her.

“I'd better let you go in.”

“All right. I'll see you tomorrow evening at the family dinner, and then on Saturday...”

Dakota laughed. “I'll be there.”

With one more hug, he stepped off the porch and walked into the night. Behind him, he heard Darvi's door open and close. Just a few more days and she could be with him, but in the meantime, his family was gathered as they hadn't been for a long time. He was eager to get home and share in that celebration too.

“Cash,” his mother said to him much later that night. The family had laughed and talked until some were drooping in their seats. When people started to head off to bed, Cash grabbed the serving tray for his mother and walked it into the kitchen. He hadn't planned to linger, but she caught him before he could leave.

“Yes?”

“It's time you got married,” she said without warning.

If Cash hadn't contained himself, he would have laughed.

“Why is that?” he managed, a small smile coming to his mouth.

“Well,” she tried, her brow furrowed a little as if she expected him to already know. “I was just watching your brothers with Libby and Darvi tonight, and I thought, ‘I want that for Cash too.'”

“I appreciate that, Mother, but sometimes it's easier said than done.”

Virginia looked thoughtful. “I suppose it is.” Her eyes shifted around the room, gazing lovingly at the contents before looking back to her son. “Between this house and the ranch house, I prefer the ranch house. Did you know that, Cash?”

“No.”

Virginia smiled. “You father built that ranch house for us. This house was already built. I love the kitchen at the ranch house and all the rooms. I love the way it's laid out. We've had some great times in this house, and I wouldn't want to move back to Texas, but I do miss that house.” She looked Cash in the eye. “But even with all of that, I have no problem with another woman living there. I want you to marry someone who will enjoy the ranch with you. I want your children to grow up there, as you boys did.”

Cash so appreciated his mother's words, but he couldn't exactly promise to give her what she wished. He wondered what she would say if he told her what her other sons had said to him that very evening. He ended up smiling at her and saying nothing at all.

“Well, dear,” she said quietly, in what Cash knew to be her
mother's voice,
“when the time comes, remember that your mother will be delighted.”

“Thank you, Mother,” he said sincerely, knowing no end of relief that she didn't expect to hear a plan to make this happen. And her eyes, just before she hugged him, told him how deeply he was loved. He took himself off to bed, his heart wondering if God was trying to tell him something or if Dakota's wedding had just put everyone into a matrimonial mood.

“You look a little pale,” Cash said to Dakota just an hour before the big event.

“Do I?” Dakota asked, looking vague and not quite focusing on his brother's face.

“Sit down, Dak.” Slater took his arm and led him to a chair.

“All right,” Dakota agreed, but he sat for only a matter of seconds.

“Is it hot in here to you?”

Thinking that letting him pace might be the best thing, Slater and Cash stood back while Dakota moved to open the window.

At the same time, all three men heard laughter from the next room.

“It sounds like the ladies are having a party,” Slater said casually, but Dakota did not appear to have heard.

“How are you?” Virginia asked as she sailed through the door, Charles at her heels.

“We're fine,” Slater replied, his eyes sparkling. “Aren't we, Dak?”

But Dakota wasn't listening. He had finally sat down and was staring blankly out the window.

His father found this highly amusing and started to laugh. His whole family was nearly hysterical before the groom noticed.

“What did I miss?”

No one could answer him. It had been a busy time for everyone, which left a certain level of fatigue on each person's part, making the incident seem funnier than it might have been. Nevertheless Dakota began to smile. His father's face was getting red, and he laughed a little in return.

“I think they're ready for you,” one of the wedding coordinators said to Charles and Virginia as she stuck her head
in the door.

“Thank you. We'll be right there,” Virginia responded agreeably, moving swiftly to hug Dakota and say something quietly in his ear. Charles didn't hug him, but he smiled as he moved out the door, an older version of the groom himself. Dakota had been watching him and smiled in return.

The room was still quiet after the older Rawlingses went on their way, but the tension was gone. Cash, Dakota, and Slater sat quietly and talked—something they never seemed to tire of doing—until it was their turn to join the wedding party.

Dakota's quiet and distracted state before the ceremony had not been the result of second thoughts. Not for a moment did he doubt whether or not he and Darvi should be married. But his heart had been prayerful, asking God to bless this union and help him to be the husband he needed to be. For this reason and many more, he was now able to stand in great joy and excitement and watch Darvi come up the aisle toward him.

Darvi's dress was a stylish creation of satin and lace, the very latest in fashion with a bustle that was just coming back into style. But the groom, had he been willing to admit it, didn't take much notice. His eyes intent on hers, he offered his arm when she neared, barely aware of the way Mr. Wingate let her go and took a seat with his wife.

Hundreds of people from St. Louis and family from far and wide had turned out to see these nuptials, but the bride and groom were hardly aware of them. Darvi heard someone sniff and thought her mother might be tearful, but she herself didn't want to cry at all. She worked to keep her eyes on Pastor Daniel Cooper, a man she had come to love and deeply respect since her conversion, but her gaze strayed repeatedly to Dakota, who was just as distracted by her presence.

They both grew solemn when it was time to repeat their vows, promises they were taking very seriously, and in rather short order, they were pronounced husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Dakota Rawlings turned to face the church and found smiles at every glance. The couple led the way out of the sanctuary to the large hall where a banquet had been prepared. Taking their seats at the head table, they were joined by the family, and the merrymaking began.

“She looks beautiful,” Liberty said to Slater, her head bent forward slightly to see down the table.

“Um hmm,” he agreed, looking at his wife's face. “Like another bride I remember.”

Liberty smiled as they leaned to kiss each other.

Down the table, Darvi was saying to Dakota, “It went so fast. Beforehand it felt like forever, and now here it's all behind us.”

Dakota smiled at her enthusiasm just as his stomach growled.

“Didn't you eat breakfast?” she asked him.