Hope, page 25
part #3 of Brides of the Rio Grande Series
“Ask you to marry me again?” Billy finished her sentence for her.
“Yeah, something like that.” Hope looked down at the ring on her finger. “I know I don’t deserve another chance, Billy, not after everything I said to you about Cora and you not being someone I can count on, but I think I might have made a mistake about that, and—I want to put all that behind us. Start fresh if you think we can do that.”
Billy’s heart soared. Hope was going to marry him and he couldn’t be happier. And yet he couldn’t marry her—
“Hope, I can’t propose to you again.”
The look on Hope’s face nearly crushed him. He rushed to explain. “At least, not until I explain everything to you about Cora and Charlotte.”
Billy pulled Hope’s hand in to us. “Will you let me tell you what happened?” His eyes searched hers hoping she could see right down into his soul.
She hesitated for a moment and then she nodded her head in agreement. “I’ll listen this time, Billy. Tell me about Charlotte and Cora.”
“Could everyone please give us some privacy? Hope and I need to talk.”
“Hope, do you think you can handle our patients here?” the doctor asked her. “I just got word that Faith has gone into labor and I’m riding with Sheriff Grayson and his men back to Creede.”
“I think I can take it from here, Doctor Howard.”
John leaned in and slapped him on the shoulder sending pain shooting through his body. “Ah, sorry Billy. I probably shouldn’t a done that. Me and Charity are gonna ride back with the sheriff and his men. You take it easy and I’ll see you back in Creede when you can travel. I’m gonna take the wagon and team, so you can ride back on my horse. Mr. Randolph said Hope can borrow one of his saddle horses.”
“Thanks, John. For—everything.” Billy reached out and gingerly grasped John’s hand.
“I owe you a lot, Billy. Don’t ever doubt that.” He heard John’s voice crack with emotion.
“You better get goin’ or they are gonna leave you behind.” Billy said trying to stem his own emotions from embarrassing them all.
John left the room closing the door behind him. Now that he and Hope were finally alone and she was willing to listen, he was suddenly very nervous.
“Hope, I want to tell you everything. From this moment forward, I’m not keeping any secrets—from any one.”
He saw Hope’s love for him shining in her eyes and he vowed from that moment on, he would never give this beautiful woman a reason to doubt him again. For the next hour, he threw the doors to his heart and soul wide open and allowed forgiveness and love to shine into every dark corner until he had purged his demons and there was nothing left of his old life.
23
One month later, Hope sat in front of her vanity in her upstairs bedroom surrounded by her sisters. They were flitting about like a flock of butterflies, barely landing on one thing before floating off to something else. The current topic was whether to wear her hair up or down. Frankly, Hope didn’t care one way or the other. All she wanted was to hear the preacher pronounce her and Billy married.
“Here, give me that brush. You are making a wreck of her hair.” Grace coaxed the brush from Charity’s fist and Faith managed to redirect Charity’s fiery retort before it exploded into a raging inferno.
“Charity, why don’t you sit over here for a minute and hold Baby Mary. She needs her Aunt Charity’s attention.”
“I don’t mind at all holding baby Mary. She has red hair just like me. But I know what ya’ll are doin’. I may not be good at dresses and petticoats and the like, but I know how to brush hair. Hell, I’ve brushed my horse’s mane and tail so many times, I should know how to—”
“Charity, your sister’s hair isn’t a horse’s tail.” Hope could hear the exasperation in Grace’s voice.
“It’s okay, Grace. Maybe Charity and Faith can take Mary downstairs and tell everyone I’ll be down in five minutes.”
Hope watched Charity rolled her eyes. “Come on, Faith. I know when I’m getting the bum’s rush. Let’s go down and spike Aggie’s delicious punch, shall we?”
Faith took Mary from Charity and lead the way, leaving Hope and Grace alone to finish preparing for the wedding.
“How about we leave my hair down? Billy likes it that way.” Hope stood and looked at herself in the mirror. “I can’t thank Faith enough for sending to Boston for this beautiful wedding dress. I could never have afforded anything so exquisite if she hadn’t.”
Grace nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is extraordinary. Now, we need to find your something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.”
Hope gathered the sapphire necklace and matching earrings Aggie had loaned her for her wedding day. “Aggie’s jewelry covers something borrowed and something blue. Will you fasten the necklace?”
Grace took the necklace from her and stepped behind her. “Yes, I’ll do this while you put on the earrings. These are beautiful. Aggie said Hiram gave these to her the day he proposed to her. They match her engagement ring.”
Hope fastened the earrings in place. “Yes and mine as well.” She flashed her ring, showing her sister the blue sapphire and sparkling diamonds.
“The something old is this pin Billy gave me. I love the way the colors sparkle in the light.” Hope pinned the brooch to the front of her dress. It was perfect. “And for my something new,” Hope slipped her feet into her new cream colored satin slippers. The leather on the soul felt as soft as butter. “And now, I’m ready to get married.” She declared, her voice thick with emotion.
Grace hugged her. “Look at you. Look at us. Who would have thought we would have come so far from those sad little girls in Reverend Baker’s orphanage?”
“It’s so hard to believe. And to think it almost didn’t happen. It wouldn’t have if Billy hadn’t written that letter for John looking for a wife. And if you hadn’t been brave enough to answer that letter.”
“Well, we all have certainly been lucky, haven’t we?” Grace agreed. “Charlotte is doing fine after Bobby shot her, and if Billy hadn’t stepped in front of that bullet—"
She saw tears pooling in Grace’s beautiful blue eyes. Hope felt tears sting her own eyes. “Oh, please don’t cry. I’m getting married in a few minutes. I don’t want my eyes red-rimmed. Besides, everything turned out as it should. Billy’s brother is dead and won’t be bothering us ever again. The truth about John’s wife and baby was a horrible shock to everyone, but now, everyone knows that Billy is the kind of man who chose to endure public humiliation in order to protect his friend.”
“Yeah, it does make more sense now. I never could understand why Billy would hurt John like that knowing how much he loves him.”
A knock at the door interrupted their sisterly talk. Aggie entered the room. “Oh my goodness. Hope. You are breathtaking. And Hiram sent me to tell you that Billy is about to start on a second round of stories, so if you don’t mind, would you have mercy on the rest of us and come get married to this man?”
Hope laughed at Aggie’s description of her soon-to-be husband. “Yes, the man has certainly left his brooding nature behind. He’s quite the talker these days, and yes, I am ready to make him my husband, jokes, stories and all.”
“I’ll let Hiram know you are ready for him to walk you to the alter.”
Grace gathered up her things and followed Aggie out the door. “I want to be front and center when you come down those stairs.” Her sister left her alone to join the other members of their family.
Her family. That’s what these people were to her now. They were family chosen because of a bond of love that not even a blood relative could match.
Hope sighed. She and Billy were getting married. Today. Right here in the Hanover’s beautiful home. And the only father figure she had ever known had agreed to walk her down the aisle.
Tears stung her eyes. She was so happy and eager to start her life with Billy. And she couldn’t be happier that he was agreeable for her to continue her life as a healer. He saw how important it was to her and he told her he couldn’t take her away from it. Life just couldn’t get any better.
Hiram knocked on the open door. “I hear there is a bride wanting to get married today. Would you like an escort?”
“I would love one.” Hope grinned at Hiram.
“Then shall we go? I think we should have pity on the members of your wedding party. The man is deliriously happy and he can’t seem to stop talking.”
His robust laughter completed her happiness. She hooked her arm in his and together they walked down the hall to the winding staircase leading downstairs and to the man that was her future.
Billy stood in the Hanovers’ parlor before the preacher, and John stood to his right as his best man. He looked around the room and nodded to everyone who joined them on this special day.
Suddenly Aggie and Grace appeared at the door announcing the bride was on her way. He thought he was going to pass out he was so nervous.
“Breathe, Billy. Just breathe.” He looked over at John and grinned at his best friend. John slapped him on the back.
He and John had been through a lot together. Good times and bad. He pushed thoughts of his childhood and Bobby back to the dark crevices of the past where they belonged. John was the only brother he had now. No one else mattered, except his beautiful bride.
“Here she comes.” He heard John’s whisper just in time to see Hiram and Hope appear in the parlor door. He almost buckled at the knees.
“Easy there, cowboy. You don’t want the bride to see you hit the floor, now do you?” John whispered from beside him. The occupants of the room stood as Hiram and Hope walked between the rows of chairs Sarah and Aggie had set up for their wedding.
Dear God, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He watched his bride walk toward him, her eyes locked onto his and smiling through her tears. He felt his eyes sting too. This was a moment he would never forget as long as he lived.
Hiram and Hope stood beside him and they all faced the preacher who now guided them through the ceremony.
“Everyone please be seated,” the preacher said. Billy heard the shuffle of bodies and feet as they found their chairs. But he couldn’t have said who was there or how many. He only had eyes for Hope.
“We have come together today to join this man and this woman in matrimony ordained by God. Who gives this woman away?”
Hiram placed Hope’s hand into his and answered, “I have that honor.” Then he joined his wife on the front row of chairs.
“Hope Anderson, do you take this man, Billy Buchanan, to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward, to honor and cherish, for better, for worse, for sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?”
Hope turned her face up to him, her heart in her eyes, their fingers locked together. Tears glistened on her cheeks. “Yes, I surely do,” she whispered, gripping his hand even tighter.
The preacher turned to him. “And Billy Buchanan, do you—”
“Yes, I do too.” Everyone laughed. He knew he was acting like a lovesick idiot, but he didn’t care what people thought about him. He loved Hope and couldn’t wait to be her husband.
The preacher grinned. “Let’s just be clear about what it is you do too, shall we?”
His face flushed and his ears warmed. He nodded in agreement and did his best to clamp his jaws shut to keep any other outbursts from escaping his mouth and causing embarrassment to Hope. But he couldn’t stop grinning from ear-to-ear. Hope grinned back at him.
The preacher continued. “Do you take this woman, Hope Anderson, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, to honor and cherish, for better, for worse, for sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, until death do you part?”
Billy beamed down at his bride. “I most certainly do.”
The preacher nodded. “Very well, John, will you please hand me the rings?”
John dug into his pocket and produced the two wedding bands, one large, one small. He handed them to the preacher and stepped back into place.
“These rings are a symbol of your love for each other. These gold bands are a sign to the world of your commitment to one another. Billy, please place this ring on Hope’s finger.”
The preacher handed Billy the ring he bought Hope that matched her engagement ring and he slid it on Hope’s finger, resting it next to her engagement ring.
“Now repeat these words. With this ring, I thee wed.”
Billy held Hope’s hand and spoke his vows. “Hope, with this ring, I make you my wife for the rest of our lives.”
He heard the tittering of laughter from the people watching. “I never could follow directions.”
The preacher laughed. “Let’s see how your bride does with directions. This may be a good indication of how things go in this marriage.”
He handed the larger gold band to Hope. “Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”
Hope turned to him, her delicate fingers clutching his hand, the sparkle of her rings shining in the candlelight. “Billy, with this ring, I thee wed.” Her smile was breathtaking. He was one lucky man.
“Very well done, Hope. Now, it is my honor to pronounce you man and wife. Billy, you may kiss your wife.”
He pulled Hope to him. He intended to give her a chaste kiss on her lips, but when his lips met hers, the magnet of attraction hit him square in his most southern region. He leaned in and kissed her with every ounce of desire he possessed.
A discreet cough caught his attention. Hope pulled away and the blush on her cheeks told him she was as affected by that kiss as he was.
The preacher turned them toward the audience. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. Friends. Acquaintances. Family. Well, Hope’s family. Not his family. They weren’t invited. But her family was his family now so it didn’t matter at all.
“Family, friends and citizens of Creede,” the preacher continued. “May I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan.”
Billy pulled Hope to his side as they greeted everyone in attendance. The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of wedding cake, heart-felt congratulations and good scotch whiskey. He was happy to report later he only had one glass. Even the good stuff couldn’t get him to go back on his promise of moderation.
“Thank you, Hiram, Aggie. We are so grateful to you for letting us use your beautiful home for our wedding.” He shook hands with Hiram and hugged Aggie.
He stood by the front door and waited impatiently for Hope to say goodbye to her sisters and hug Grace’s little girl, Abbie Rose and her newest little niece, Mary.
John patted him on the back. “Well, my friend. It looks like things are looking up for you. I’m happy you decided to reconsider your decision to allow Hope to follow her passion of helping others.”
Billy watched his wife mingle among the wedding guests, thinking about his friend’s comment. “Her passion is my passion.”
24
Hope was nervous. She had never been a bride before, but she knew all about the biological aspects of what happened between a husband and wife on their wedding night.
Billy had surprised her with the Nelson house as a wedding gift. He said he had sent a telegram to the owner the minute they returned from the Randolph ranch. Mr. Nelson promptly sent a return telegraph saying he and his family were staying back East and would sell him the house.
Billy had talked about selling his cabin on the mountain and moving in to town, but she knew how the noise of town distressed him. It was a reaction from his childhood and she wouldn’t put him through that. So, together, they had decided that when he was hauling freight, she would stay in town. And when he was home, they would live up on his mountain in the home he built for her.
Now, they would have the best of both worlds.
She took a deep breath and finished preparing the bath water. Mrs. Craddock and some of the women from the Creede Ladies Auxiliary Club had provided hot water along with soft towels and sweet-smelling soap.
She heard the sound of a metal feed bucket outside. Billy was taking care of the horses. She guessed he was taking longer than normal to give her a chance to prepare for their first time together.
She loved Billy with all of her heart. The thought of her handsome husband lying naked in bed next to her made her body ache with a need she had only imagined before tonight. She thought about how close she came to losing him and vowed to never take him for granted again.
Hope stepped out of her wedding dress and draped it over the chair in the corner of the large upstairs bedroom. She liked this house. It was a nice sized house and already had a woman’s touch. Mrs. Nelson’s tastes were similar to her own and there were plenty of rooms for guests and children she hoped would come along in time.
She finished undressing and slipped into the steaming water full of scented bubbles. She was sure this was what heaven felt like.
She heard the back door downstairs close. Her heart stuttered a bit. Had she taken too much time in preparing for her wedding night?
Billy’s boots scuffed on the wooden stairs as he made his way up to their room. How was this possible? Hope shifted into full panic mode at the soft knock on the bedroom door. “Hope? Can I come in?”
“Uh, well, yes. I guess so. I mean I just stepped into the tub. I didn’t realize it was so late—”
She watched her husband walk into the dim light of their bedroom. Her husband. The thought sounded so strange, but the look he gave her sent a white hot shock of desire coursing through her core.
She felt the need to apologize, but for what, she wasn’t certain. Her brain was completely disengaged at the moment.
“Hope. You are breathtaking.”
“Ummm…” She was a total dimwitted fool. She couldn’t seem to utter any words at all.
