Chapter 14 #2
Jacob laughed. He bent as if to kiss her, but stopped when she backed away. Instead, he nodded and planted his hat on his head. “Tomorrow will see us man and wife and on our way home.” He squeezed her shoulder before he drove off.
He was a good and kind man. She and Poppy would find a loving home there.
She left a plate of food out for Zach but didn’t wait up for him. It was far too difficult to see him and wish things could be different.
She packed her belongings before she retired. On top of her things in the trunk, she’d put the picture her maternal grandmother painted, the one Debra rescued from being sold. It signified permanency and security. She’d hang it on the wall of her new home.
Amelia lay awake long into the night praying. Please, God, let me be certain of this.
How could she think of marrying Jacob when she loved Zach? There. She’d admitted it. If only Zach would ask her to stay.
The next morning, when she went downstairs to join the others for the breakfast Gil had prepared, Jacob had already arrived and sat at the table, his smile warm as morning sunshine.
Zach kept his head down as if he cared about nothing but the food about to be served.
If he would utter even one word to indicate he wanted her to stay…
They were almost finished breakfast when a rider thundered into the yard.
Zach rushed out to greet one of his cowboys.
They all overheard the message. “Boss, the cows have been stampeded. They’s all over creation.”
“Saddle my horse.” Zach returned as far as the door. “I’m afraid I have to leave. All the best to all of you.” His gaze slid over Amelia and rested a moment on Poppy, and then he was gone along with any hope that he might have even a sliver of affection for her.
That left her nothing but the farm in the Dakotas.
Once, it would have been enough.
Jacob pushed from the table. “Thank you for the hospitality.” He addressed Pa, who blinked in confusion.
Who would watch to see that Pa wouldn’t wander off? Gil didn’t keep a close enough eye on the elderly man, and Kat often spent time at the corrals, oblivious to her father. At least, Mrs. Morrow was here for the time being.
Jacob smiled at Amelia. “Are you ready to go?”
“I have a trunk and a crate upstairs. I’ll need help bringing them down.”
He followed her up the steps and grabbed a handle of the trunk. She took the other, and they lifted it. He backed from the room and made his way to the top of the stairs.
“Stop.” She let her end drop to the floor.
“Is it too heavy? Maybe I can get Gil to help.”
“It’s not too heavy. It’s too far.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know, and I don’t expect you to. But I can’t go. I am needed here.”
Jacob stared at her. “Are you saying you won’t marry me? That you are going to stay here?”
She nodded.
“Is Zach going to marry you?”
She shrugged. “I doubt it, but I love him. Even if he won’t marry me, I’ll stay. This is where I belong.”
“That’s for sure,” Kat said.
Amelia peered over the banister to see Kat, Pa, Gil, his ma, and Poppy grinning. “I’m sorry,” she said to Jacob.
“Me too, but I’m glad you’re honest with me. I want a wife who loves me and is true to me even in her heart. I’ll be on my way.”
They waved goodbye to him at the door, and Amelia returned upstairs. There was something she must do. She lifted the painting from her trunk and took it downstairs. She found a hammer and nail and hung it where it would greet everyone who stepped inside the house.
Zach reached the cowboys at the camp, where Morgan was giving orders. Morgan turned toward him. “I didn’t expect you to come. You belong with that gal. Did you ask her to stay?”
“I was informed the cows had been stampeded.”
“You’re choosing your cows over that young lady?”
Zach felt the stare of every man in the camp. Was it so obvious to everyone else?
Words circled in his head. Was he being stubborn, prideful, and childish in not asking her to consider staying?
You have not because you ask not.
The Scripture verse had nothing to do with him and Amelia. Yet the words hammered inside his head with an almost painful persistence.
Suddenly, he knew what he must do. If he let his circumstances dictate his choices, he’d regret it every day for the rest of his life.
She’d proven she fit into his world, supported him, and met the challenges she must deal with.
Why was he being so stubborn? Prideful? Stupid?
“No, I’m not. You lot can handle the cows. I’ve got a girl to marry.”
As he rode away, a cheer rose from the camp.
He galloped all the way home. The yard was empty and silent. He jumped from his horse in front of the door and ran inside. “Is she gone?” he hollered.
No one answered. The house was strangely quiet.
Zach took a step, stopped. A painting of flowers hung on the wall facing him. “Where did that come from?”
Amelia moved into view. “I hung it there. It’s my mother’s picture.”
“You’re still here? I thought you’d be gone.”
“I belong here. That’s why I hung the picture. I know you’re afraid your life is too complicated to share with a woman, but I’m here to stay.”
“Why?”
She smiled, her eyes full of green gentleness. “I could say because you need my help. Or because I care about Pa and Kat. All of which would be true. But the biggest reason is because I love you.”
His heart pounded against his ribs, so hard it might break through. He searched her face for any trace of doubt. But there was none. Only love, unshaken and steadfast. “You’d stay and deal with my crazy life?”
“I’d stay no matter what.” The certainty in her stance would stand against a storm.
“Because you love me?” His voice rasped against a throat tightened by emotion.
She took his hand, pressing it against her heart. “With my whole heart.”
He whooped, pulled her to his chest, and crushed her against him.
He buried his face in her hair, laughter catching in his throat, overwhelmed with the kind of joy that knocked the air from him.
“Amelia, I have been fighting my love for you from the day you showed up claiming I was to be your husband.”
She tipped her head back, and a light danced in her eyes. “That seems like a waste when I could have been enjoying it.”
“It was.” He stroked her hair, savoring the privilege. Tenderness overcoming him, his throat closed over. But he had words he must say. “Amelia Pressly, I love you as much as one heart can. I love Poppy, and I propose we get married and become one big happy family.”
Something deep and knowing shimmered between them.
“I accept.” Her whisper brushed his warm cheeks.
He lowered his head, sealing their love with a kiss that contained the promise of home, of dreams fulfilled, and a forever love.
That very afternoon, they donned their Sunday best, loaded their family members into the wagon, and rode to town.
To everyone’s surprise, Gil asked to accompany them. “Amelia has made me see how nice churchgoing people can be.” His mother was already in the wagon.
Zach grinned. “She’s made a difference in all our lives.”
They went to the church. Pastor Stone took in the assembled group. “What’s going on? Mr. Wells informed me his marriage to Miss Pressly was off. Did he not tell you?”
Zach tipped his head back and shouted his laughter. Quieting, he explained. “Turns out he was the wrong groom. It is I who wishes to marry Amelia if you would do the honor.”
Pastor Stone gripped their shoulders. “It is wonderful to see two people uniting their lives to take on the responsibilities you both bring with you.”
For the first time, Zach realized the responsibilities went both ways.
They exchanged the customary vows. Pa handed Zach a ring. “It’s your ma’s. She’d want you to use it.” Pa’s moments of clarity such as this were a treasure.
Tears glistened in Amelia’s eyes as he slipped the ring onto her finger with the words, “I thee wed.”
With a gentle awe that went from his fingertips to his heart, he wiped her lashes.
The ceremony was done. They were husband and wife, but Zach signaled for the others to wait. “I want to add something.” He turned to Amelia. “I not only take you as my wife. But also I take Poppy as my daughter.”
She swallowed audibly, then spoke. “I have something to add, too. Zach, I take you as my husband. But I also take Pa as my father and Kat as my sister.” She waved them both forward and kissed their cheeks.
Kat sniffled and hugged Amelia.
Pa beamed to be part of the happy occasion.
“You may now kiss the bride,” Pastor Stone said. “Though I should have said it before the whole family was involved.” His wide grin informed them he didn’t object to the way the ceremony had gone.
Zach wrapped his arms about Amelia and kissed her… a kiss full of promise and possibility.
Mrs. Morrow sighed. “I knew it would all work out. That’s why I wrote—” She broke off. She must’ve realized she was about to say more than she intended.
Zach hooted. “It was you! I wondered who would know so much about me.”
Her handkerchief fluttering, she dabbed at her eyes. “When I saw how little time you had for courting, I knew this was the answer for you. You needed someone who didn’t mind helping with your family and someone who likewise needed a home and family.”
Amelia hugged the woman. “And most of all, we both wanted love, and we have found it. Thank you for being our matchmaker.”
Zach held Amelia back as the others left the church. “We should name our first child after her.” He chuckled when Amelia’s cheeks grew as pink as the blossoms she’d admired in the field.
“A good idea.” She leaned against him. “I’ve found the home my heart has longed for so long.”
“Look.” Zach directed her attention to the horizon. “I believe there is rain coming.” He hugged her. “We better make a run for it.” They hurried into the wagon and drove home, making it to the house as the heavens opened with the blessing of rain.
But in his mind, nothing was more of a blessing than his new family. And being united to a woman who loved him as much as he loved her.