His Forever Valentine (12 page)

Rose laughed, the sucked in a breath. “At least one of us will be comfortable tonight.”

Summer shook her head in resignation and turned to her. “What about you, how are you feeling about tonight?”

“I’m nervous about the wedding tomorrow, but everyone tells me that’s normal. I just wish …”

“You wish what?”

“I wish I didn’t have this funny feeling, like I have no control of anything.”

“I felt that way too, it goes with the territory of being a mail order bride. Once you sign the contract, your life changes forever.”

Rose picked her dress up from the bed. “Forever …” she whispered. “
Mrs. Matthew Quinn,
forever …” She turned to Summer and smiled. “Thank you for all your help, you and Elle have been so kind to me, I wish we’d known each other better at Winslow.”

“Winslow if far behind all of us. Now, there’s only the future, let’s make the best of it. Don’t worry, you’ll be the bell of the ball tonight, and a beautiful bride tomorrow!”

Rose took a short breath. “I hope so.”

“I know so!” Summer said, and took the dress from her.

* * *

“Matthew, are you sure you don’t want to take your cane?” his mother asked.

He finished combing his hair, and set the comb on the table.  He picked at his face, and wondered if he had time to shave again.  He counted three whiskers already peeking through the soft skin.

“Matthew?” his mother said as she entered his room. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“I’ll be fine, I don’t need it.”

“Are you sure? Your father said he saw you limping yesterday.”

“I was on it too long, I’ve been off
of it most of today.”

“Very well, but if you go limping around tomorrow on your wedding day, what will people think?”

“That my ankle isn’t healed yet?” he asked innocently.

She swatted his shoulder before she looked at his reflection in the mirror.
“My, my, what a handsome son I have.”

He put on his spectacles. “If you say so, mother.”

“Rose thinks you’re handsome, and that’s what counts.”

He picked a pill of lint from his jacket and flicked it away. “Yes, I would imagine one’s wife should find her husband attractive.”

“She got lucky, and so did you.”

“How so?”

“What I mean is, what if you didn’t find her the least bit attractive, or she found you not to her liking?”

“She’s a mail order bride, mother. You get what they send you, that’s how it works.”

“You mean you would marry her, even if she wasn’t to your liking?”

He froze, and balled his hands into fists. “Like I’ve had a choice all along?”

  “You know what I mean, I wouldn’t want you to marry someone you didn’t like, but Rose is a beauty, how could you even think of sending her back?”

“Because you never gave me a choice?” he asked with the same innocence as before.

“Don’t be patronizing, you’ve had a choice.”

“You say that because tomorrow is my wedding.”

“Why are we having this conversation, you know perfectly well you’re not going to back out now.”

“No, I’m not. Now let’s go, I want to at least get there and have one dance with my bride before Aunt Mary show’s up and the chaos starts.”

“They’re not that bad,”

He raised a single brow.

“Okay, maybe they could be taught a few manners.”

  “A few?” he echoed. “Mother, I doubt they can be taught anything. Now let’s go to the dance.”

* * *

Clayton pulled the wagon up alongside several others, set the brake, and jumped down. Spencer followed and together they helped the women out.  Once they had them safely on their feet, both men stepped back and admired their wives. “Mmmm,” Clayton rumbled as he looked Summer up and down in the bright moonlight. “C’mere and give me some sugar.”

“Clayton!” his mother scolded. “Stop that, save it for … well
, you know.”

He laughed
as he pulled Summer into his arms. “I love you,” he whispered against her hair.

Rose felt herself blush, and was glad they were still outside in the cold.  It was a beautiful night, crisp, clear, cold and full of moonlight.  Perfect for a romantic evening with her betrothed. A chill went up her spine as she turned to enter the town meeting hall.  Music could be heard from inside, along with the laughter of the townsfolk.  Most folks were already there. She’d heard Spencer comment about it to Clayton as they pulled up.  Her heart skipped a beat as their group entered.

Soft lamplight greeted them, along with the delicious smell of food.  Spencer helped Mrs. Riley and Elle carry in several pies and a basket of fried chicken. Rose stood on tip-toe to take the sights in better.  Several fiddlers, including Mr. Quinn, were seated at the far end of the hall on a small stage. Streamers of pink and white paper were strung throughout the room, and tables with pretty lace tablecloths, were laden with all kinds of delectable treats. Rose licked he lips at the sight. Decent food was one of the things she enjoyed most outside of Winslow’s walls.

Matthew appeared in front of her and took her hand. She jumped at the contact and gazed at him. “Oh, my goodness, you scared me!”  She noted how nice he looked and smiled.

“I’m sorry, but when I saw you come in, I couldn’t wait until you found me, I had to come to you.”

She lowered her eyes, blushed, smiled, and looked
up. “Oh,” she breathed.

The people parted so Mr. Burns could carry some music stands to the s
mall stage. Standing next to it speaking with Mr. Quinn, was Tom Turner. She swallowed hard and began to fan herself as she’d seen Charlotte do.

“Is something the matter?” Matthew inquired.

Rose, her eyes fixated on the man across the room, tried not to moan. “No,” she said, her voice cracking, and forced her attention back to him.

“I’m so glad you’re here, it’s going to be a wonderful night,” he told her. “I can’t wait to have our first …”

He stopped short. Rose felt a blast of wind from behind her as the doors opened.  The Davis family had arrived.  Billy immediately went to Clayton and Spencer and shook their hands. They fell into some heated chatter about someone called Red something or other, before she noticed Matthew had stopped talking. She followed his gaze and sucked in a breath. Charlotte walked into the hall wearing a beautiful dress with matching hat and shawl. Rose smiled, she knew how much work the girl had put into making it, and was happy it turned out so well. She would have to tell her how wonderful she looked. She turned to Matthew. His eyes were glued to Charlotte’s form, his face frozen in rapt awe. Rose glanced between the two, Charlotte hadn’t noticed them yet, she was busy talking with Summer and Elle.  Rose fought the temptation to wave a hand in front of his face.

“Well, will you look at that,” he finally said, his voice breathless. Rose cringed as he turned to her. “Charlotte’s dress is almost the same shade as yours.” He cocked his he
ad this way and that. “Perhaps two to three shades lighter I’d say. Lucky you, what a travesty for you both to be wearing a frock cut from the same cloth.”

  She stared at him. Why had she been so worried a moment ago? H
e wasn’t pining after Charlotte. He was admiring her dress!  Rose sighed in relief and went back to examining the food table.

The music started.  A few whoops went up and folks began to look for their partners. Matthew grabbed her hand. “Shall we?”

She smiled as her stomach fluttered with excitement. Was it at the prospect of her first dance, or the fact Tom Turner was approaching?  He smiled that dazzling smile of his, and went straight to Charlotte.  Rose could kick herself as a knot of disappointment dropped into the pit of her stomach. Of course he would go straight to Charlotte, they were here together weren’t they?

She let Matthew lead her to a cleared area where several other couples were already dancing to a jaunty tune.  She concentrated as best she could on her steps, and they danced around in a circle.
At this point she couldn’t remember the name of the dance, she just followed Matthew’s lead.

The townspeople began to clap as they watched, a few whistling and shouting to boot.  Rose did her best, but the corset she wore made it almost impossible to breath.  She was going to have to tell Matthew to stop.  He did, and they went to get some punch and watch the others dance for a time. If she
was lucky, she’d be able to sneak away and get rid of her cursed corset!

A half a
n hour went by, and the mood of everyone was festive and light. Occasionally, a child would dart between the couples dancing in a mad dash for the food table, but their playfulness was met with good-natured scolds and laughter.  Rose thought she’d died and gone to Heaven.  Everything was perfect, the people, the food, the sights and sounds …

It was then, the
doors burst open.

Eleven

A blast of wind blew in and made those
nearest the entrance shiver. “WOOO WEE!” A male voice yelled. “There’s more folks here than beans in a can!”

The music abruptly stopped as all heads turned.

Four huge men stood in the entrance area, the people giving them a wide berth as they stepped into the hall.  A petite woman wearing an elaborate hat edged her way between the four giants to stand in front of them. “Hello, all,” she greeted in a delicate voice.

Mrs. Quinn stopped staring with the rest, and went to her. “Mary! I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Howdy, Aunt Betsy!” one of the giants said. In one quick move, he swept her up in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.  The other three roared with laughter as he set her down. The petite woman who came in with them smacked him on the elbow. “Mind your manners!” she roared.

He immediately stilled, his eyes so wide Rose could see their whites from across the room. “Your cousins
, I take it?”

Matthew moaned next to her. When she glanced at him, he’d taken his spectacles off and was pinching the bridge of his nose. Hard.

“Well,” the biggest cousin bellowed. “Looks like a real party!  What say we join in, boys?”

The people closest to them, backed up.

Their mother handed the basket she was holding to an onlooker, and turned to her sons. “Now hear this!” she yelled at them in the same rough voice. “Mind your manners or I’m gonna use some lead on ya!”

Nellie Davis stood horrified not feet away, and swooned. Mr. Davis ran to her aid. It was all Ro
se could do not to laugh and slapped both hands over her mouth.

“Hello, Mary!” Clayton called. The tiny woman turned
, her face lit up from the sound of his voice, and held her arms out wide.  Clayton hurried to her and swept her up in a warm embrace. “How’s the best little hat maker in the territory?”

“Why I’m just peachy, Sheriff. Oh, but you’re not the Sheriff anymore, are you?”

“No, that pleasure belongs to Spencer now.”

“
My brother tells me you both got married.”

“Yep, come meet the wives.” He loo
ked up at her sons. “And you are old enough not to have your ma yell at ya in public! Mind yourself tonight.”

The four stood lo
oking down at him. They were a few inches taller than Clayton and Spencer, or any other man in the room for that matter, and wider to boot.  No wonder everyone gave them space.

The music slowly started
, one fiddle at a time, and the celebration resumed.

“Them fellas sure are big.”

Rose jumped. Tom had come out of nowhere and now stood on the other side of her. “Yes, the biggest I’ve ever seen.”

“I dunno, I think
Mr. Berg back home and Mr. MacDonald have an inch or two to spare. They’re the biggest men I know.”

“Yes, but are there four of them?” she asked.

“No, but the two took on almost twenty men once, and Mr. MacDonald with a bullet in his shoulder.  It was no contest.”

“For who? The bullet or the shoulder?” Matthew asked sarcastically. “Now will you kindly stop w
ith your silly stories?” he quipped. “Rose doesn’t need to hear such lies!”

“I ain’t
no liar, Mr. Quinn. If I was, I’d be saying things like; how
horrible
you look tonight Miss Rose. Or, that dress is
terrible
on you!”

Rose giggled at his teasing. Matthew rolled his eyes and turned.  Charlotte was
now on the other side of him.

He sucked in a breath and froze.

“Evening, Matthew,” she said with a smile.

He closed his eyes as his spine set to tingling.  It was all he could do to keep breathing. She had to be the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Well lookie here,” a deep male voice drawled.

The four looked up. Matthew moaned. “Hello, Arlan.”

“Howdy, cousin. Been a long time.” He stared at the four and studied them.  Rose drew closer and took the nearest hand. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Matthew
’s.  Tom held it all the same. The giant took in the action. “Now isn’t this cozy? Look at you all lined up, boy-girl, boy-girl. I hear tell you’re gonna get married, is that true? Ya finally roped the filly?”

Matthew rolled his eyes before he looked up at him. “Yes, it’s true.”

Arlan laughed, and slapped Matthew on the back so hard it almost sent him sprawling. “Well congratulations, cousin! This calls for a celebration!”

“We’re already at a celebration, you dote!” Matthew pushed out through clenched teeth.

“Benjamin, Calvin, Daniel! Cousin Matthew is getting married!”

Whoops and hollers could be heard from the food table, but quickly quieted down.

“Hmmm, guess they’re more interested in fried chicken than you,” Arlan laughed.

“Thank the Lord, for that,” Matthew mumbled.

Arlan grabbed Matthew to him in a bear hug that sent his spectacles askew, and squeezed. “Sure is great to see ya cousin!  I can’t wait to watch you take your vows with this pretty lady!” he said and looked directly at Charlotte.

“Glehtttt goohhh
of meh …” Matthew choked out.

“I think Matthew
’s turnin’ blue,” Tom said as he studied him. “That means he ain’t getting no air,” he then explained to Rose. “Maybe you ought to let go of him before he makes a fool of himself, and passes out in front of the women.”

“Good point,” Arlan said, and released him.

Matthew’s hands flew to his neck before he quickly examined the rest of his torso for damage. “Don’t ever do that again!”

“Just a friendly hug between cousins,” Arlan said and looked to Tom. “He don’t like being touched.  Was like that as a kid, too.”

“Really?” Tom asked with interest. “I bet you could tell us all kinds of stories about him!”

“Oh yeah, I got barrels of stories!”

“No!” Matthew quickly interjected. “No stories!” He grabbed Rose by her hand. “Come along Rose, let go speak with someone civilized!”

Arlan watched with interest as he pulled her away, and saw her other hand fall out of Tom’s. “Now there’s a story.”

Tom watched Rose disappear into the crowd. “Ain’t it though?”

Arlan laughed, and wandered off.  Charlotte stood still until he was out of sight. Or rather, out of ear-shot, he was so tall, he would be hard to miss no matter where she was in the room.  “My, he’s certainly big.”

“Ahhh, he a
in’t that much. I’ve seen bigger.”

“So you mentioned. Maybe you could tell them some of your stories, and keep them out of trouble. I remember what they did a few years ago.”

Tom glanced at the food table. “They seem pretty civil to me. I don’t see any trouble coming from them.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Miss Charlotte, have I told you how pretty you look tonight?”

She smiled. “No, I don’t believe so.”

“Oh.” He snorted, turned, and headed for the food table.

She burst into laughter and followed him.

The evening continued without incident.  Rose got to dance with Matthew, Charlotte with Tom, and Clayton got to steal kisses from Summer all night.  That left Spencer on alert for any sign of trouble, of which there was none. Until …

“Well ain’t you a sight for sore eyes. Miss Davis, you get prettier every time we see ya!”

Matthew stiffened at the words.  It sounded like Calvin, one of the twins. He spun on his heel, and sure enough, he had Charlotte backed into a corner. Rose was dancing with Clayton and Matthew, for the briefest of seconds, wondered if he shouldn’t fetch him. But no, his temper had already gripped his senses. His good sense, anyway. “Unhand her this instant!”

His cousin Calvin looked down at him. “I ain’t got a ha
nd on her,” he said in surprise and held up his cup of punch.

“I’m sure you did!”

“Did not.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“Me? Lie to you? What’s the matter, cousin?”

“Kindly step away from Miss Charlotte.”

Calvin looked to her. “Is he always this uppity?”

She sighed. “Only when it pertains to …”

“Step away!” Matthew ordered and shoved him.

Calvin took a step
back as he looked Matthew up and down in shock.  He glanced to the cup of punch in his hand, sniffed at it, and then looked back to Matthew. “Is there something I’m missing’? Cause if there is, I … I’m not figuring this out.”

“I’ll not have you ogling
my … my …” Matthew snapped his mouth shut and gave Calvin another shove.

Charlotte watched him as he valiantly tried to protect her.  Little did he know, Calvin had given her a compliment, and been quite pleasant, it wasn’t until he got loud that Matthew thought something must be amiss.

“Could I be of some assistance?” Tom asked as he came up behind Matthew. 

“Mind your own business, deputy,” he snapped.

Tom looked up at Calvin who stood solid as a tree. He leaned against the back of his twin, who had his weight braced with his feet. Matthew was so busy shoving at him he didn’t notice. “If you say so.” He strolled over to Charlotte. “Would you care to dance?”

She smiled, took one last look at Matthew, and giggled. “Why, I’d love to.”

He offered her his arm and led her to the dancing area.  Matthew meanwhile, was working up a sweat and
finally
, stopped and glanced around
.
“Charlotte?”

Calvin and his brother Benjamin burst into fits of laughter. Matthew glared at them and stomped off to find Rose.

Arlan watched him go as he strode up holding Daniel by the scruff of the neck, and threw him at the twins. They caught him, but not before almost falling over themselves. “Keep an eye on him while I go talk with Spencer Riley. I caught him trying to slip toads into the punch.”

Benjamin hit Daniel on the top of his head. “What are you thinkin’ boy? There ain’t
no toads around this time of year!”

Arl
an sighed. “He knows; that’s why he was using dead ones from his collection.”

Calvin grimaced and shook his head as Benjamin quickly glanced about, then punched his younger brother in the gut. Daniel doubled over with a grunt and a snort as Arlan strode off
again.

He found Spencer near the doors leading outside. “Spencer, a word?”

“Sure Arlan, what’s on your mind?”

“Your ma’s been bending my ma’s ear all evening. Something about mail order brides?”

“Oh, good Lord!” Spencer said and moaned. “I apologize, she can’t help herself.”

“I want one.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I said I want one.” Arlan sighed. “A man gets mighty lonely out on that farm, I would’ve got myself a wife a long time ago if pa hadn’t died. But ma, she took it hard, and I couldn’t leave her with my brothers. They were still too reckless and … well, stupid.”

Spencer laughed. “I understand. I’ll speak to ma. But what of your brothers?”

“They can get their own wives. I’ve got some land next to pa’s farm, built myself a cabin on it and want to till it come spring. Sure would be nice to have a wife by my side when I do.”

Spencer slapped him on the back. “I’ll see what I can do. And w
ho knows, maybe ma can get mail order brides for your brothers too.”

“Nah, they’re still too stupid.”

Spencer laughed just as the ruckus started. The sound of shattering glass followed by women’s screams rent the air. “Speaking of stupid,” he said to himself as he hurried toward the sounds.

“I’ll handle my brothers if you don’
t mind,” Arlan called after him as they came upon the scene. But it wasn’t Arlan’s brothers causing the commotion. It was Tom and Matthew.

“
You apologize to Miss Rose,” Matthew said just before he punched Tom in the jaw.

Tom
’s head reeled, then snapped back to face him. “I didn’t insult Miss Rose, I was talking to Charlotte!”

Matthew turned to Ch
arlotte, who stood held by Abbey as tears streamed down her face. He saw the dress, the dark hair, and assumed it was Rose.  Good Heavens!  He couldn’t tell which was which?  “Miss Charlotte then! And you must have done
something,
just look at her! She’s crying a waterfall!”

“What’s going on here?” Spencer demanded.

“This miscreant said something to upset Charlotte.” Matthew snapped.

“I did nothin’ of the kind. We were discussing …”