Chapter 20
Nobody clapped or cheered louder than Grady, Brody, or Carson when they announced the names of Marta Romera, Lynn Neece, or Darcy Cain as the highest grades in the class and graduating teacher college.
Marta was beaming knowing that she was graduating and getting married all in the same day.
She found Grady in the crowd; he was usually the tallest man there and threw him a kiss.
He broke through the crowd after the ceremony to reach Marta to pull her to him and kiss her several times. “I love you and am so proud of you!”
Brody was right behind him and was able to kiss Lynn for the first time…
in fact several times. She didn’t seem to mind at all.
Neither did Darcy when Carson pulled her into his strong arms and proceeded to kiss the breath right out of her.
Her only comment was, “Wow! I should have graduated a long time ago!” Carson just kissed her again.
For all of them, they had been waiting a long time for today to happen.
“Let’s get your trunks and get boarded on the train.
We have no time to lose if we’re going to make it back to Sheridan in time to get Marta and Grady married today.
We also have to get Lynn and Darcy settled in their boarding house before we take off back home to the ranch.
” Brody told them all and they ran to get the trunks the girls had packed and ready to carry down the stairs of the dorms and out to the hacks they had waiting.
Nothing was too heavy for the strong men.
They squeezed in and arrived at the train depot just in time to get the trunks loaded and to climb on and find seats together.
Grady wouldn’t let go of Marta’s hand. Marta was glowing she was so happy.
Lynn and Darcy were going to stand up for her at her wedding, tomorrow they would go over and start working on their classrooms. Today was Friday, school started on Monday.
They didn’t have a lot of time to get the classrooms ready.
Marta hoped to get her home organized tomorrow and her classroom settled on Sunday.
She knew that she could always do more after school started…
Mattie would help her even with having homework and doing chores at their home.
She hadn’t been getting enough sleep either with all the studying they had been doing, she put her head on Grady’s shoulder and snuggled against him.
“I love you, Grady Nimrod Harper.” She whispered to him as she fell asleep.
Grady didn’t mind. He planned on her sleeping on his shoulder for the rest of their lives.
Brody and Carson sat next to Lynn and Darcy and the four talked the whole way to Sheridan.
They also managed to steal a few kisses with their women.
Nobody was as happy as they were to finally be able to hold them and kiss them after only being able to hold their hands in the commons back in Denver for over six months!
Grady woke up Marta just before they pulled into Sheridan, so that she would be awake to get married. She woke up and immediately kissed him. Grady loved it and wanted to start every day like that.
Kyra, Nimrod, Mattie, Mac, Max, Marley, Cooper, Charlie, Cass, Lyra, Chris, Clark, and Owen were all there to see Marta and Grady get married.
Grady laughed and they all walked to the minister’s house.
There were too many to go into his house, so they stood outside to say their vows.
There was already a cold wind blowing down from the mountains…
neither Kyra nor Marley wanted their babies to get sick from the cold breeze, so the minister made the wedding ceremony short…
it was still legal, but he went rather quickly through all the words.
At the end, he told them that. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your wife, Mr. Harper.”
“It’s about time…I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for you Mrs. Harper.” Grady told her in a low voice.
“Mrs. Harper, I like the sound of that.” Marta told him and kissed him back. They all cheered to see the happy couple finally wed. They also went into the Busy Bee restaurant to get fed.
Grady found himself to be starved. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast…
he had hurried to jump on the train to get to Denver for the graduation and then back to Sheridan to ger married.
He held her hand for the entire ceremony.
They also stole kisses for the entire meal.
Kyra and Nimrod were on pins and needles that Marta would ask for her children back now that she was married and could afford the babies…
.it would rip their hearts out if she did.
But she smiled at both of them and barely glanced at the babies other than to say that both her and Marley’s babies were growing really fast. Both Kyra and Marley had laughed and told her like weeds they couldn’t keep them small forever.
It seemed like forever to Grady, but actually not too long for the rest of them, they left.
For Kyra and Nimrod, they went and got their winter supplies at the resale and general store.
Since they were already in town, it would save them a trip.
Marley and Cooper did the same thing. Marley enjoyed spending time with her mother and seeing the twins for a while.
Carson and Brody took Lynn and Darcy over to get them situated in the boarding house.
Then, Carson had to take off to get back to the ranch, and Brody had to help his folks get their winter supplies.
Having an extra man to lift the heavy bags with Marley’s three babies and his folks’ twins was a blessing.
That left Grady and Marta all alone. Perfect, Grady told her and he carried her trunk over to their new home. It was the first time Marta had seen it. She was so impressed seeing it as she walked up beside Grady.
“Oh, my! It’s beautiful, Grady…seeing it on paper and hearing all you were having them put in it doesn’t do it justice.
It looks like it’s always been here sitting among these trees like it does.
I love the small stream that runs through the corral and seeing our own horses and steer getting a drink anytime they want.
” Marta told him with a laugh. She ran a hand over the washstand and rinse box and opened up the smoke house to see how full it was.
“Somebody’s been busy filling this up. I like that I have a variety of different kinds of meat to cook. ”
Then they walked into the house. It smelled of new lumber and sawdust. She loved the new cookstove and the fireplace…
so shiny, they had never even had a fire in them to make ashes.
She noticed the water closet, the tub in the corner, all the shelves, the rockers in front of the fireplace, the stairs going up to the loft and the rail all along the edge of the loft, too.
She approved of all the shelves in the kitchen and couldn’t wait to start filling them, she saw the trap door leading down to the cellar and opened it up…
she didn’t go down but saw the shelves and bins to fill it up.
She saw Grady put the trunk into their bedroom and followed him.
The bed was huge. It was also made with a colorful quilt.
She smiled. Grady had made the bed for them.
She opened up her trunk and took out two skirts and covered the windows. “I think I’d like some privacy tonight. Do you mind? Tomorrow, I’ll get some curtains to replace my skirts.”
“I didn’t even think about something to cover the windows…I wanted it to be perfect for you, Marta.” Grady told her softly.
“It is perfect…we’re married and I get to spend the rest of our lives together.
How is that not perfect?” Marta asked him quietly.
She also started unbuttoning her dress. Grady’s breath came in shorter spurts.
He hurried to put down the bars on the front and back doors.
He didn’t think they’d need to light the cookstove of fireplace…
he’d keep Marta warm tonight and every night of her life.
In minutes, they were both naked and they loved the feel of holding each other without any clothes on. Grady knew that if he didn’t get to be inside Marta pretty soon, he was going to explode…but he wanted to go slowly, he wanted to make this special for her.
Marta moved against the hardness of Grady. “Grady…make love to me…I want to feel you inside of me.”
That was all he needed to hear. He had her on the bed and inside of her in seconds…nothing had ever felt this good to either of them in their lives.
“Oh, my God…Marta! You will be the death of me…I love making love with you!” Grady told her as he slowly started to make love to her.
“I love you Grady…don’t stop…don’t ever stop!” Marta told him and they made love over and over again. It was a magical wedding night for both of them.
They awoke early and made love again. Then, they took a bath and got dressed. Grady got the wagon and horses ready. They stopped and had breakfast at Rosie’s Restaurant before heading out to pick up Mattie and his belongings. He was sitting on the porch waiting for them.
“Marta! Grady! I’ve been waiting for you all morning!” Mattie told them and ran to help them load up his clothes and the rest of his belongings.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mattie. We came as quickly as we could. Are you ready to help us spend some money on what we need for the house?” Marta asked him hugging him to her.
“Yep…but I need to see the house first. Grady said he had some surprises for me. I want to see the surprises first.” Mattie told them and grinned.
“All in good time, Matt. I assure you they are worth waiting for.” Grady told him and hugged him just like Marta was. “Morning Ma, how are you today? Did you get all you needed yesterday?”
“We did. I also made some extra bread this morning. I figured that as busy as you’d be today and tomorrow in your classroom, you’d be lucky to get any made.” Kyra handed him two loaves of fresh bread. It was still warm.
“Oh, Kyra, thank you so much. I wanted to get some started as soon as we had the makings for bread. That is one thing I can cross off my list.” Marta told her and hugged the little woman and kissed her on her cheek. “I’ve missed you while I was away at college.”
“We missed you, too, but really enjoyed your letters. We didn’t know that you and Grady were seeing each other or writing to one another.
It was a surprise that he was building a house and that you were getting married.
We loved it, but it was still a surprise.
” She told her and kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ve always thought the sun rose and set with Grady, but with him being a U.S.
Marshal, he wasn’t around as much as I wanted him to be.
It’s hard to carry on a romance with someone who’s gone so much.
When he came to see me in Denver, he let me know how he felt about me, and so did I about him.
Letters just didn’t let us express ourselves enough…
when he asked me to marry him, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
For him to become a deputy and me a teacher in Sheridan is a dream come true.
I love the house he built for us and can’t wait to make it into a home for us.
I hope to make it as warm and welcoming as you made your home, Kyra.
” Marta told her and then they had to leave to get their shopping done.
Carrie Miller, the resale shop owner, helped her get all she needed for the beds, taking a bath, all the pots, pans, dishes, silverware, knives, kettles she needed for washing clothes with scrub boards and rolling bars and clothes pins, rugs, kerosene lamps, bowls, cookies sheets, cake pans, bread pans, and everything else she would need in her kitchen, even a grinder to make chili, meatballs, and relish.
She bought a colander, curtains, and some empty canning jars because they were on sale.
Carrie told her if she for forgot anything, she could always come back and get it.
They took it to their home and unloaded it.
It was the first time that Mattie saw it.
He was given the two kittens and the beagle puppy.
He was in seventh heaven. He also loved his room in the loft.
He helped carry everything in and even helped make up his bed and carry all his things upstairs and put them away.
He loved the room he had, and the puppy even ran up the stairs with him easily.
Marta took the time to put all the pots, pans, dishes, and everything away.
She also hung up the curtains. They sure looked better than her skirts on the windows.
She loved seeing all her kitchenware on the shelves, towels on the shelf by the tub and baskets by the doors of the bedrooms for the dirty clothes.
Then, they took off to get some food to put in the house.
Helen and George met them with a stack of essentials that everyone starting out needs.
Marta was thrilled with it! Hundred-pound bags of flour, sugar, rice, beans, corn flour, boxes of yeast, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper, buckets of lard, tallow, and hundred-pound bags of potatoes, onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes, cases of green beans, corn, beets, tomatoes, tomato juice, and mixed cases of cherries, peaches, apples, and applesauce.
She also had a gallon of vinegar and bleach, and several bars of lye soap.
“Helen, this will save me so much time in telling you what we need. I’m going to get a sewing basket, an oil cloth for the kitchen table, a hatchet for Mattie to help us get our kindling, some yarn, knitting needles, paper and pencils to write down what we forgot, and some iodine and bandages for everyday cuts and injuries. ” Marta told her with a smile.
Grady smiled. “We need a wedding ring for Marta, three bags of grain for the horses, two bags of chicken feed, two hams, a side of bacon, and give Mattie a good-sized sucker. I’m going to pick up an ax, a shovel, a pitchfork, a hammer, a box of nails, and a handsaw.
I hope that’s it. Tell me what the damages are, and we’ll settle up.
Start a tab for Marta and I’ll come in and pay for it once a week, if that’s all right with the two of you. ”
“Grady, Marta, we’ll real glad that the two of you got married and that you’ll be teaching in our school. You need anything, you let us know.” George told them and started loading it all on the wagon with Grady.