Mail Order Minx: Fountain of Love (Brides of Beckham) (8 page)

"So it was pride?"  Connor asked.

She sighed.  "Yes, it probably was.  I hate it when people tell me not to do something and it doesn't work out for the best.  It makes me crazy.  Berta was certain you'd hate me and send me right back home.  I couldn't go now, because she'd think she was right."  She was so happy Berta was wrong.  She was a good wife to him, no matter what Berta or any of the townspeople thought of her.

Connor stroked her back, sighing.  "Well, you're going to have to face the town when you go back tomorrow."

"I know."  She rested her head on his shoulder.  "You don't think we could just live here, do you?  It's a nice cave.  Very roomy."

"No, Millie, we really can't.  How would we make a living?"

"I haven't spent a lot of time thinking this through yet."

He laughed.  "I'll be right beside you when we go back to town.  I promise."  He closed his eyes. "We need to get some sleep.  We have a long walk ahead of us tomorrow."

Chapter Eight

Connor and Millie walked back to town hand in hand.  He carried her bag of clothes for her, and she carried the empty sack that had once held their food.  "I really don't want to have to face anyone," she said.  "They all think terrible things about me."  She could see the hotel from where she was and wondered if she made a run for it if she could be in their room before anyone caught up with her.

He shook his head.  "No, they really don't.  I gave them my opinion of how they've treated you, and they all agreed to be more understanding."
  He still felt overwhelmed with anger when he thought about how the townspeople had talked to him about her as if she were an errant child.

"You did?  Really?"
 

He nodded.  "When they all came into the restaurant, I told them that they hadn't given you a chance at all.  They were complaining about every little thing you have done since you got there, but I pointed out how hard you'd worked, and how you only ever had anyone's best intentions at heart."

"What did they say to that?" She wondered if they had been angry with him for standing up for her.

"I think they were all embarrassed to have complained that way.  They could see that you're a good loving woman, even though they all looked for the bad in you, you were looking for the good in them and always looking for ways to help them."
He squeezed her hand tightly.  "I'm proud of the woman you are."

When they walked back into town, several of the people who lived along the main street came out of their houses to greet them.  The owner of the mercantile was the first to reach them.  "We're so glad you're all right," he said, squeezing Millie's arm.

Millie smiled.  "I'm sorry I messed up your display.  I really was just trying to help."  She didn't explain her reasons for reorganizing the shelves, because they suddenly didn't seem to matter.

He nodded.  "I know that now.  I wasn't very kind to you, and I'm sorry for that."

What surprised Millie the most was seeing John Bennett and Mary Sanders walking toward her, each of them holding the hand of one of her sons.  John smiled at Millie.  "We're getting married."

Millie looked back and forth between the two in shock.  "But..."
  Didn't they hate each other?

John laughed.  "My Ma and her Pa were childhood sweethearts.  They had a big fight, and each ended up marrying other people.  We tried to court when we were both still in school, but our parents put a stop to it as fast as they could."

Mary nodded.  "My pa insisted that I marry William Sanders immediately, because he didn't want there to be any chance of me changing my mind.  He told me that John had two other girls he was courting at the same time, so I married William."

"And all I knew was that she'd married some other man within a week of telling me she loved me."  John shook his head.  "You got us to start talking that day.  Sure, we started out by yelling, but we ran into each other later, and really talked."  He slipped his arm around Mary's shoulders and hugged her to him.  "So now, thanks to you, I get a wife and two sons."

Millie was thrilled.  "I can't believe it.  I'm so happy for both of you!"  She wanted to shout from the rooftops that she really had done something good for the couple.  She wondered if anyone would even listen.

Mary smiled.  "We wanted you to be the first person we invited to the wedding."

"I would absolutely love to come!  When is it?" Millie asked, looking over at Connor who was grinning at her.

John shrugged.  "How 'bout right now?  I don't see a reason to wait."

"Oh, but then we can't have a big party afterward.  Connor could bake your wedding cake, and I could make a good meal for everyone there.  Please wait a few days."

Mary and John shared a look, both of them shaking their heads adamantly.  "If we wait, something else will go wrong," Mary told her.  "We have to do it now."
  She leaned forward and whispered, "Before my pa finds out."

More than twenty people had gathered on the street to welcome Millie back to town and let her know that they wanted her there.  A boy of about fourteen ran ahead to tell the pastor to meet them at the church. 

Millie stood beside Mary while she said her vows, dashing happy tears from her eyes the whole while.  Now that she'd brought Mary and John together, everyone was sure to agree that her ideas were good and she was an asset to the town.  It only took one thing.

Millie couldn't have been happier for the couple, and she kept looking at Connor who acted as if he were the proud father of the bride, he beamed so much.  After the wedding, he invited everyone to the restaurant.  "I have several pies that I baked yesterday afternoon just waiting to be eaten."

They all hurried to the restaurant where Millie put on two pots of coffee and served pie to all the people.  Several people told her during the course of the makeshift party that they were "right glad" she'd ended up married to Connor and not her friend.  "Looks like you weren't a substitute bride after all."

Long after everyone had left, she kept those words in mind as she climbed the stairs to their room.  Connor had decided to do a bit of paperwork, while she went up to their room to write a letter to Elizabeth Miller. She sat with her back to the head of the bed and put her pencil to paper.  "Dear Elizabeth, I'm so glad you helped me to come out here and marry Connor.  I feel like I'm where God wants me to be.  I've done a lot of good in this small town already, and I know I can do more.  My heart is simply overflowing with love for my new husband, and I wanted to thank you once again.  Please keep in touch, and never stop the good you're doing.  Sincerely, Millie." 

Millie put the letter on the dresser to be mailed the following day.  Could life get any better?

When Connor joined her for bed, he brought up a subject that she'd wanted to discuss for a while, but hadn't wanted to make him feel like anything in her life was lacking.  "I just looked at our finances.  We have enough saved to buy a house.  It'll have to be a small house, but the
Grimsley's just moved out of town, and their house is for sale."  He watched her face, hoping she'd e happy with the idea of a house.  He knew she didn't like living in the hotel.

Millie stared at him in shock.  "Really?  Do you mean it?"  She didn't complain about their lack of space in the hotel, but every day she dreamed of moving.  "I would love that!" 

He smiled.  "We'll talk to the estate agent about it tomorrow."

"Thank you!  A house is all I need to make my dream complete."  She couldn't believe he was even offering it to her.

"That's all?  You don't want...maybe a child?"  He winked at her.

Millie blushed.  "I think that's going to happen soon enough.  I'd love to have a child by this time next year."
  Her hand went to her belly, thinking about how it would feel to have his child kicking inside her.

Connor smiled, climbing into bed beside her.  "I would like that as well."  He stroked her cheek with one finger.  "I got a letter from home yesterday.  My brother has decided to move to Idaho because of all the good things I've said about this place. He wants to help run the restaurant.  Would you mind?"
  He quickly added, "Don't worry, he'll take our room in the hotel.  He won't live with us."

She smiled.  "That sounds wonderful.  Maybe we can take days off together occasionally if we have someone to help."

"I promise you, when he gets here, we'll start taking off at least one day every week.  We don't need to keep working this way with Sean coming."

She sighed happily, leaning against him. "Two months ago, I never would have dreamed I could be as happy as I am today."  She pressed her lips to his, suddenly thrilled with her life.  Her husband loved her.  The town loved her.  And she had a great many ideas for making everything around them better.  Life was going to get interesting very soon.