Damaged Hearts (30 page)

“I remember every time that you’ve made love to me.  In fact, if I couldn’t remember then how would I have had the strength to make love to begin with?”  She said smartly.

“Oh my sweet, I’m so glad that you’re feeling well enough to argue with me again.”  He sighed.  “It’s a good sign that you’ll be right as rain in just a few days.  Just please don’t do too much right off the bat.  I don’t want you to suffer a setback and end up in bed unless you can be in bed with me.” 

As they stepped out the front door of the hotel, Frank quickly opened the door to the carriage, and after making sure that Rick had Kaitlyn situated and comfortable, he picked up the reins and urged the horse on towards the Hall.

~XXXII~

“You haven’t had much to say about your brothers but I can tell there are a lot of thoughts spinning in your head.  You want to talk about it baby?”  Rick asked as they took the short ride.  “After all these years of being gone I’m sure you have a mixed opinion about their return.”

“I honestly don’t know what to think.  I am trying to be happy for Angel’s sake since they are truly her brothers but I can’t help but be a little bitter about the whole thing.”  She sighed.  “I mean, they actually left us to fend for ourselves when I was just thirteen years old.  What kind of family does that to each other?  They may feel bad about it now but they sure didn’t look back on their way out of town.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”  He asked quietly, patiently waiting for her answer.

“You know I’m always open to your advice.  I may not always take it and do what I should with it but I always want to hear what you have to say.”  She replied.

“Well Kaitlyn; you and your sister have both grown into fine upstanding young women without their help.  While they have returned home like the prodigal son, I don’t think their lives have been all that much easier than yours...Wait, let me finish” He said holding his hand up as she started to argue before his thought was complete.  “I know that your brother Mark has definitely had some hard times since he only returned to town with Emily and Charley.  Speaking from experience, I can tell you that it’s no picnic losing a wife no matter what the circumstances.”

“I’m not sure what their stories are either but I suppose that now that we have both moved on with our lives, I can afford to let bygones be bygones.  Thanks for understanding.”  She said as she snuggled her head against his shoulder.  “I’m ready to get our life moving and settle into some sort of routine.”

“We can talk about all that in the next few days.  For tonight, just try to relax as much as you can and have a good time.  This reception is for you and Angel and you need to enjoy yourself.  Forget about the past and don’t worry about the future.  It will work itself out.”

“That’s easier said than done but I can at least admit to you that I am really looking forward to our wedding night.”  She giggled.  “You can rest assured that I will be sure to enjoy myself then.”

The carriage stopped and Frank hopped down and opened the door.  “Do you guys need anything else this evening?  Willie and James asked if I’d be willing to relieve them and watch the Sheriff over at the jail later so they could spend some time over here at the party too.  I guess Mark is supposed to show up in a few hours to help me.”

“We can get back to the hotel on our own if that’s what you’re asking.”  Rick replied as he carefully helped Kaitlyn down from the carriage.  “If we leave together, either Matt or I can drive; and it’s not too far of a walk regardless of what we decide.”

“Well, if I don’t get to talk to you more tonight; congratulations.  I guess we will try to get together in the next few days to discuss our situations and how we want everything to work?”

“Kaitlyn and I will be getting the girls and heading to Dark Magic Ranch in the morning.  Why don’t you and James ride out tomorrow evening; you can get settled then we can discuss our plans to move forward.” 

“Sounds like that should work.  Ms. Kat; please try to relax and enjoy yourself.  I’ll see you both out at the ranch house tomorrow evening.”  With that, Frank tied the horse to the post and walked off at a brisk pace towards the jail.

“One thing about it, Frank will never talk as much as Marie.”  Kat laughed. 

“You made a good choice when you hired him and James.  They’ll make good hands and we’ll never have to worry about bad dealings with either of them.  I have a feeling that they’ll always be looking out for your best interests.  Can’t hardly ask for more than that.”

“Well, what do you say Rick?  Are you ready to face the townspeople?” 

“I’m ready whenever you are Kaitlyn.  Just remember, try to take it easy on your ribs and leg tonight, and try not to overdo it.  I’d rather take you to bed for other reasons than to recoup from another injury.”  He winked.

Taking his hand, Kat took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she let him open the door and lead her into the hall.  Within seconds they were surrounded by family and friends; glancing around as everyone spoke at once, Kat saw Frances and Anna over at a table looking at the biggest cake she had ever seen.

“Well, I see you managed to get your wedding taken care of without any assistance from me.”  Rick’s mother announced as she came up.  “Since I have at least met Angel; I’d like the courtesy of being introduced to your new wife Rick.”

“Mother, as you already know this is Kaitlyn.  My sweet, this high-strung woman is my mother.  Please ignore her ranting, she’s not always like this.  In fact, I have even known her to be pleasant a time or two.”  Rick introduced his mother sarcastically.

“I’m glad to finally meet you Mother, I look forward to getting to know you better, and I’ll try my best to take care of your son.”

Giving a huff of mostly surprise “You’ll do Kaitlyn; you’ll do.  Please call me Sarah though, or mom if you’d like.  Mother is just too stuffy.”

“Only if you agree to call me Kat.  For some reason, your son will only call me Kaitlyn; and I let him get away with it.”  Kat laughed lightly.

“Agreed; you look like you’re feeling much better than we heard you were.” 

“I’m working on getting better but I still had to promise Rick that I wouldn’t overdo it tonight.”

“And you shouldn’t.  It is after all your wedding night so things should be perfect all the way around for you.  Is your room acceptable?”

“Our room is wonderful Sarah.  I appreciate your gift very much.  Having the room was one less thing that we had to worry about.”

“Well, let’s get this party underway.”  Sarah announced loudly so everyone in the hall could hear her.  “We need some music, drinks, and dancing.”

“I suppose we really should mingle Mother.”  Rick said as he tugged his wife out of his mother’s clutches and moved her towards the table where Frances and Anna waited, adding under his breath “I can sure see why Anna is in such a hurry to get moved out and into a place of her own.  I can just imagine how domineering mother acts towards her.”

“What was that about domineering mothers?”  Anna laughed.  “I can only wager a guess since I saw that Mother caught the two of you before you were able to make it to us.”

“I was just grumbling under my breath; nothing unusual.  You of all people know how mother is.”

“Well just ignore her, today is about my brothers and their wives; not our domineering parent.”

“What do you two think of the cake?”  Frances asked nervously.  “Ruby just delivered it a few minutes ago.  She said that she knew she wouldn’t have time to make separate ones so she just increased the size of this one...quite a bit by the looks of it.  I think she outdid herself with this creation.”

“It’s absolutely beautiful.”  Kat breathed.  “It looks like a small castle with all the pillars and towers.  I can’t wait to taste it.”

“I’m sure it will taste as good as it looks, probably even better.  I’ve never known of anything that Ruby makes to taste bad.”  Anna replied.

“Mother has the music group ready and Matt and Angel just showed up.  We better get our first dance under way before Mother bursts a button.”  Taking Kat’s hand, Rick pulled her out onto the makeshift dance floor and was soon followed by the other newlywed couple.

Soft strains of violin, harmonica, and guitar music floated in the air as the town’s musical talent played the first song of the night.  In Rick’s arms, Kat rested her head on his shoulder and allowed him to guide her through the motions of the dance.  She felt as if she were floating on air and nothing bad could ever happen again.

“You positively took my breath away today.  I want you to know that no matter what, I’ll always love you and think you’re beautiful.”

“You didn’t look half bad yourself.  I just can’t believe that I was so nervous that I had to empty my stomach before our ceremony.”

“You what?  Kaitlyn honey, why didn’t you tell me you were sick?  Maybe we should go back to the hotel so you can rest.  I knew I shouldn’t have let you overdo it.”  The music ended and a new song began as Kat staunchly refused to let Rick pull her off the floor and end her evening.

As they argued silently about leaving early, James approached with Consuela then spun her closer to the couple.  “Care if I cut in and swap you partners Boss?”

“Actually…”  Rick started.

“He doesn’t mind a bit” Kat interrupted.

“Then I’d be honored to take a turn with Miss Kat.”  Dancing in the opposite direction to give them a little more privacy he asked quietly “Have you told him about the baby yet?”

“I’m not sure I should yet James.  I don’t want him to get his hopes up only to find out it’s a false alarm.  Besides, I’m not even positive yet that there is a baby to mention.”

“Don’t you worry none about it.  You’ll know when it’s the right time to tell him.  Until then though, you let me and Connie look after you.  I did a right fine job with my wife if I do say so myself, and we both know Connie knows this kind of thing like the back of her hand.”

“I’ve never had a baby before so I wouldn’t even know what to be worried about if I was going to worry.  Right now if truth be told, I’m more worried about getting through the next few weeks of adjusting.”

“It’s all going to be fine.  Mark my words; things are definitely looking up.”  He whispered, gently patting her on the back as Rick reappeared with Consuela.

“I hate to sound selfish but that short amount of time was just too long to have you out of my arms.  You’re looking a little tired though; do you need to sit down and rest a few minutes?”  Rick asked, concerned with the pinched look on her face.

“Yeah, I think I better.  Maybe if we sit over there by Jacob and Willie you might be able to convince them to get on with their dancing.  It looks like Frances and Anna are in need of rescue from a couple of boys from town.”

Looking across the dance floor, he spotted Anna just as a young man that he knew to be the banker’s son first stepped on her toe and then bumped heads with her as he attempted to apologize.  Looking just a bit farther, he noticed Frances looking a bit distraught as a half inebriated cowboy from a neighboring ranch encroached upon her personal space one second and tried to kiss her the next. 

Heading for the chairs Kaitlyn had indicated, they were forced to make a detour as the two men they discussed were about to take matters and shirtfronts into their own hands to defend the women they had promised to dance with.  “Now boys, don’t be too hasty in giving the poor guys a few bruises.  I’m sure they don’t mean any harm and were only trying to have fun.”  Rick told them.

“They can have fun with someone else’s women.”  Willie ground out as he spun the cowboy around and stood toe to toe with him.  “I suggest you let me cut in.”

Not to be outdone, Jacob stepped up to the banker’s son and tapped him on the shoulder.  “Excuse me Lyle but I do believe that Miss Jamison had promised me this dance.”  He said politely before taking her in his arms and gliding across the floor with her.

“Well, I guess you don’t need to persuade them to do anything.”  Kaitlyn giggled before abruptly slapping a hand over her mouth and looking desperately around.  Not saying a word, she limped towards the door as quickly as her healing leg would allow; just making it around the side of the building before dropping to the ground and heaving behind a tree.

Embarrassed, she turned and saw that Rick had followed her out.  Not saying a word, Rick handed her his handkerchief and waited patiently as she wiped her face.  “Did you plan on telling me about this?”  He asked looking pointedly at her belly.

“Telling you about what?  How would I have had any time to tell you anything?  We have been running non-stop since the day we met and if you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, I’m not even sure about that yet.  James just told me his suspicions right before the wedding when this same thing happened.”