Chapter Eight
TILLY BLINKED.
She couldn’t possibly have heard what she thought she did.
But then Mr. Hannan nodded and repeated himself, his eyes on her this time.
“Do you mean that?” Jamie barked at him.
“I do,” Liam, still looking at her, almost as if he were half-afraid that she’d turn him down.
“Tilly?” Jamie turned to her. “Do you want this? I won’t force you to wed a man you don’t wish to be with.”
Tilly could hardly breathe. Did she want it? It was all that she wanted. Although she certainly would have preferred for it to happen under better conditions. For it to be entirely Mr. Hannan’s idea, and not something he felt himself forced into doing.
But she was hardly about to say no.
“Yes,” she managed to say.
“It’s a wise solution,” Miss Darby said approvingly. She smiled at Mr. Hannan, and Tilly had the sense that no one could stay angry with him for very long.
Jamie looked between her and Mr. Hannan. “All right,” he finally said. “Tomorrow. I’ll arrange it. Miss Darby, could I prevail upon you to keep Hannan’s room for one more night? I’ll take my sister home with me.”
“No,” Tilly said at the same time as Miss Darby said, “Of course, Marshal. I’ll make an exception this once.”
“All of my things are here,” Tilly said.
“It won’t take long to pull them together. Besides, I think we need the time to catch up after what you’ve done.” Jamie turned away, and Tilly snapped her mouth shut. She was getting what she wanted, and if it meant she had to spend one evening and one morning listening to her brother rant about her foolish choices, then so be it.
Grudgingly, she stood and began to follow him. He paused next to Mr. Hannan and leaned closed to his ear. “You don’t show tomorrow, I’ll have an army of men searching for you.”
To his credit, Mr. Hannan didn’t back down. Instead he held Jamie’s gaze and said, “Of course I’ll be there. I’m a man of my word.”
Thank you , Tilly mouthed at him as she passed. He deserved so much more than her gratitude, but it was all she could give.
He nodded and gave her a tight smile. This wasn’t what he wanted. She knew that, and yet she’d taken actions that had pushed him into it.
She had come here hoping for love and a grand adventure. Now, she’d simply have to be happy with becoming Mrs. Hannan.
THIS WAS NOT THE WEDDING she’d dreamed of.
But it was a wedding nonetheless, and at least the minister and his wife seemed happy for them. Tilly looked to Mrs. Canton for reassurance as she waited for the ceremony to start. The woman gave her a motherly smile that made Tilly wish desperately for her own mother.
Among the many things she simply hadn’t thought of was getting married without either of her parents or her sister present. It hurt, not having them there, but perhaps it was for the best. After all, she still couldn’t figure out if anyone believed this to be a happy occasion.
She tried to make the best of it. The little church was decorated simply with pine boughs and red ribbons for the Christmas season. She was wearing her favorite Sunday dress, which she’d had to steam the wrinkles from after its journey stuffed into her carpetbag. Reverend and Mrs. Canton were two of the kindest people Tilly had ever met. Jamie wasn’t scowling at her for the first time since she’d arrived in town. His wife, Edie, had expressed her reservations but had pulled Tilly close for a hug before she’d met Mr. Hannan at the altar.
And of course, there was Mr. Hannan. Or Liam, rather. He’d stiffly asked her to call him that when he arrived at the church a few minutes earlier. He looked so handsome that it nearly took her breath away. He’d combed back his hair and wore the finest suit Tilly had seen on any man since she had arrived here. When he took her hands, she thought she might faint from the strong and reassuring way he held them.
She caught her breath and looked up at him. He was watching her with those dark blue eyes. She wished she could read his thoughts. Was he at least a little happy with the thought of marrying her?
Don’t raise your expectations , she chided herself as the minister began the ceremony. If she got her hopes up too high, she was almost certain to be disappointed.
But Liam smiled at her then, and it was impossible to ignore the hope that flitted through her.
They said their vows, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, Reverend Canton pronounced them man and wife.
Liam leaned forward, and Tilly realized she’d forgotten all about what normally happened at the end of a marriage ceremony.
The kiss.
Her stomach flipped and her heart tried to run out of her chest. What was she supposed to do? The only kiss she’d ever had was from Freddy Nelson when she was sixteen. And that was something awkward and messy that she’d rather forget.
Before she could decide what to do, Liam had pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes closed as he gently laid a hand on her arm. All her nerves dissipated, and for a moment, it was just the two of them. His hand tightened around her arm, and without realizing what she was doing, Tilly steadied herself with a hand against his chest. A strangled sort of noise, low and urgent, sounded from his throat, and Liam pulled away quickly.
Taken by surprise, Tilly’s eyes flew open, and she found him staring down at her as if he’d never seen her before. She gave him a weak smile as Reverend Canton took a step forward to congratulate them. Liam dropped his hand from Tilly’s arm to shake the minister’s hand.
Tilly immediately found herself enveloped in a hug from Mrs. Canton and then from Edie.
“We’ll have you both over for supper on Friday, all right?” Edie said.
Tilly nodded, grateful for the invitation. Edie, she’d quickly discovered, had a way of making anyone feel welcome and wanted.
“You can come to us at any time,” Jamie said as he wrapped his arms around her. “Remember that.” He backed away and cast a distrustful look toward Liam.
“I’ll be just fine,” she said. “He’s a good man.” There was no way her brother would have allowed this marriage to proceed otherwise.
Jamie finally nodded. “He is,” he said grudgingly. “For the most part. Keep him away from Denver.”
Tilly raised her eyebrows as Liam reached for her hand. That was something she supposed she’d need to ask her new husband about.
Husband . The word echoed happily through her mind as Liam’s hand curled around hers. There was no better feeling in the world, and she smiled up at him. But he was looking ahead as he led the way toward the door.
Outside, tiny flakes of snow drifted from the few clouds overhead. It was a perfectly beautiful day, and Tilly thought she could almost feel the joy of the upcoming holiday in the air.
It was a whimsical thought, but it matched her mood.
However, there was one big question on her mind.
“Liam?” His name still felt odd on her tongue. “My belongings are at my brother’s, and I wondered, well . . .”
“Where I intended for you to live?” he filled in for her.
“Yes.” Given that he’d had all of one night and one morning to arrange accommodations, she wasn’t expecting anything more than a room in a different boardinghouse. Or perhaps Liam had managed to sway Miss Darby and her brother to welcome them back as a married couple.
He wrapped her arm through his as they walked from the church. “I spoke with Jake Gilbert, and he offered us temporary use of one of the rooms at the hotel.”
“The hotel? But it isn’t built yet.” Had she heard him incorrectly? Besides, that was going to be Liam’s hotel, not this Gilbert fellow’s.
Liam gave a soft laugh. “No, the only hotel currently in this town. His family owns it.” He gestured off to the left, toward the mountains.
Tilly looked up, her eyes immediately meeting the large building that sat on a hill overlooking the depot. She’d certainly noticed the place, but she hadn’t asked what it was.
“It’s a beautiful building, and it’s a generous offer. I won’t overstay the welcome, particularly since we’ll be costing his family the use of one room. I’ll begin looking for something else immediately.”
“Of course,” Tilly said, but her eyes were still on that building on the hill. It was possibly the finest place she had ever seen, and she hadn’t even stepped foot inside yet. “How do you know Mr. Gilbert?”
“You’ve met him. He runs the land office. He’s a good man, determined to make it on his own without his family’s money.”
“He sounds a lot like you.”
Liam laughed again, pausing a moment to lead her around a particularly muddy place in the road as they crossed. “In ambition, perhaps. But my father ran a small business, not a hotel empire. We lived modestly.”
His words reminded her that there was still so much she didn’t know about him. “Where is your father now?”
“He’s passed on, with my mother.”
“I’m so sorry.” Tilly could hardly imagine no longer having either of her parents. Even if they were now hundreds of miles away, it was comforting to know they were still going about their daily lives on the farm.
“Thank you,” he said in a voice that was achingly sincere. “It’s been a few years, but it was the reason Deirdre and I came to Crest Stone. We wanted to come somewhere new, and I hoped it might be easier to open a business in a town that was still building itself.”
“It seems as if that was a wise decision,” Tilly said as they crossed the platform at the depot.
He smiled at her, and her heart soared. “Are you all right with walking up the hill? They only send the carriages down when the trains arrive.”
Tilly looked up the hill and wondered what sorts of wealthy folks thought that it was particularly long or difficult walk. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to see inside.”
It didn’t take long to make it to the large front doors. Liam opened one of the doors and stepped back to allow Tilly to go inside first.
“Oh.” It was all she could think of to say. They’d stepped into a large room with soaring wooden beams and roaring fires in hearths that banked each side of the room. A desk ran along the far wall, and a lovely staircase wandered up to the second floor, where a balcony overlooked the ground floor. People milled about, talking and resting on the comfortable looking armchairs around the fireplaces. A large, as-yet-undecorated pine tree towered in one of the front windows. Tilly could only imagine how beautiful this place would look done up for the holiday with ribbons and strings of popcorn and candles.
She tried not to stare as she walked with Liam toward the desk. In no time at all, he’d spoken to the well-dressed man behind the desk and received a key.
“We’re on the second floor,” he said.
Tilly nodded. They could’ve been in the broom closet for all she cared. If it was located in this building, she wouldn’t complain.
They climbed the stairs, and Liam led them toward a hallway that branched off to the right. They passed door after door. At the very last one, he fitted the key into the lock and turned. Tilly stepped into a lovely room with polished wood floors, pretty wallpaper with small flowers, and finely carved furniture. A soft, white spread sat upon the bed, and the prettiest pitcher and bowl Tilly had ever seen was perched upon the washstand. There was even a dressing table, a luxury Tilly had never had.
“I . . . I don’t know what to say,” she said as she turned in a circle in the middle of the room.
“It is awfully nice.” Liam looked just as impressed as she was. “We can’t stay here long. The money this room must bring in . . .”
Tilly nodded. She knew Liam must have felt guilty about occupying this space without paying, and she admired him for it. He was clearly a man who preferred to earn what he had. He was honest and hard-working and . . . she felt awful.
“Liam?” she said softly. “I’m so sorry.”