The Forgotten Bride (Brides 0f Brimstone Book 2)

by Laura Fletcher

  “I’m sorry it worked out that way,” Betsy told her. “I know how much you wanted to be different.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Cici countered. “I’m not sorry. I’m thrilled to be marrying Kelvin. That’s all I ever really wanted, and now I’ve got it. I couldn’t be happier.”

  Betsy smiled at her. “That’s a girl.”

  Just then, a shout went up outside. Betsy looked out the window. “The porter’s here from the Hotel. You stay put, and I’ll have him bring up your trunk. Then we can start going through your things.”

  Cici sat on the edge of the bed and waited until the porter brought up the trunk and then left. Betsy opened it and started laying Cici’s dresses and linens on the bed. “This chiffon is immaculate, and I love this hat. That’s a nice warm shawl. You’ll need that when the weather changes.”

  Cici leaned back on the bed and watched her. “Thank you for doing all this, Betsy. I appreciate it.”

  “I should be thanking you,” Betsy replied. “I never got a chance to do this for my own wedding. I miss all the fussing you get from mothers and sisters and everybody else when you’ve got your family around you. I guess I just want to live through you for a change.”

  “It’s nice,” Cici told her. “It makes me feel like I have a real home and a real family again.”

  “I’m sure you will again. I’m sure you and Kelvin will come to a good place real soon. He’s a good man.”

  “I know,” Cici murmured.

  Betsy laid the things back into the trunk. “You’re right. You don’t need anything.”

  “Sorry, honey,” Cici teased. “You won’t have anything to do before the ceremony.”

  “Don’t kid yourself,” Betsy returned. “We’ve got the cake to plan, and the whole wedding dinner. I don’t like leaving the wedding dress to a man, though. I wish I could watch him make it.”

  “I don’t think he would appreciate that,” Cici replied. “I think you better just sit down here and talk to me for a minute before you go conquer the world.”

  Betsy threw up her hands and sank onto the bed next to her. “I know I’m doing too much. Jed’s always telling me that.”

  “How did it happen for you?” Cici asked.

  “There’s nothing to tell. We wrote to each other for a while, and as soon as I got off the coach, we went to the church. Well, it didn’t happen exactly like that, but sort of.”

  “Have any of your family come to visit you since you came out here?” Cici asked.

  Betsy studied her hands in her lap. “No, but I never expected them to.”

  “It’s too bad Jed doesn’t have any family,” Cici remarked. “You two are on your own.”

  Betsy straightened up and did her best to smile. “That’s true, but we talk about making our own, you know?”

  The next four days passed in a blur for Cici. She and Betsy visited Sam Dolan’s shop every day. When they entered the dingy little room the first day, Cici’s heart sank. He sat in the same place sewing a man’s shirt with no wedding dress in sight.

  Betsy tried to be cheerful. “How’s the dress coming, Sam? Do you think we could have a look at it?”

  He shot them a fierce glare. Then his eyes skidded sideways to an old codger standing there. The old man fingered a length of corduroy on the table and paid no attention to the women or the tailor.

  Sam bent over his work, and his needle flashed faster than ever. He scowled at his stitches in silence until the old man shuffled out of the shop.

  The instant the door banged closed, Sam hopped off his table. “I keep it hidden in the back room. Every two-bit cowboy in three counties would want to touch it and smudge it with their dirty fingers if I left it out here. Come on. I’ll show you what I’ve done so far, and you can tell me if you like it.”

  He held back a filthy blue curtain and escorted Cici and Betsy to another room. A narrow wooden cot leaned in one corner. A rusty oil stove sat next to it on the floor. An upturned wooden crate served for a chair. The room contained no other furniture or decoration. Nothing covered the bare wooden board walls.

  Across the room, a dressmaker’s model stood on a post. The model wore the most heavenly white wedding dress anyone ever imagined. It gleamed in the dim light and cast an angelic glow over the whole horrible room.

  Cici froze in the doorway and stared at the dress. Shimmering white cascades tumbled to the floor. A high lace collar surrounded the neck, and cloudy puffs set off the shoulders before slanting down to tight long sleeves.

  Betsy gasped, and her hand flew to her mouth. Sam scrutinized Cici’s face. “I think she likes it.”

  Cici swallowed hard. “I…I don’t know what to say. I never imagined it could look like this.”

  “No,” Sam replied. “That’s my job. Anyway, now that you’ve had a good eyeful, do you mind stepping out?”

  Betsy and Cici retreated to the shop, and just in time before a cowboy entered. Dust billowed from his chaps and his hat and his boots. “When’s that shirt gonna be done, Dolan? I’ve been waiting three days.”

  “It’ll be done today,” Sam replied. “I’m just finishing the collar now.”

  The cowboy left. “We’re sorry to bother you, Sam,” Betsy told him. “We won’t disturb you anymore, now that we’ve seen the dress.”

  “You can come see it any time you like,” he replied. “Just wait until everybody leaves, and if you don’t mind, don’t tell anybody I’m making it. If word gets out, every man in the territory will want to come around and take a look at it. You know what single men are like.”

  Betsy turned bright pink. “I suppose so. Thank you, Sam.”

  She and Cici left the tailor shop. They walked down Main Street. Neither said anything until they got back to the forge.

  “It’s amazing,” Cici murmured.

  “It’s magical,” Betsy breathed. “It’s better than any woman could make.”

  “He’s very talented,” Cici remarked. “He should be making clothes for princesses and duchesses. He’s wasted in this town, making shirts for cowboys.”

  After that, Cici and Betsy went to Sam’s shop every day and watched the dress grow out of thin air into the most etherical work of mystery and beauty Cici ever dreamed of. She couldn’t wait for Kelvin to see her wearing it.

  She busied herself helping Betsy with the housework and planning the cake and the wedding dinner. As busy as she kept herself, she couldn’t help gazing out the window every now and then. How was Kelvin getting along without her? Pretty soon, he would have to leave the Rocking Horse Ranch.

  Were Jed and the doctor taking charge of him the way Betsy took charge of her? Were they planning his clothes and his household objects? Did they all get uncomfortable when the subject of the future came up?

  She stopped herself from thinking about that. The future would take care of itself. Through the long, lonely hours, she relived Kelvin’s story about his great-grandfather. She would share that happiness with him someday. They would look back on this from the distance of years. They would enjoy the treasure of their children and grandchildren around them. The little details of the next few weeks and months would become nothing then.

  At last, the fateful day arrived. Betsy came to Cici’s room in the morning. “Jed just got back. He says the ceremony’s on for eleven o’clock. That gives you time to take a bath while I go pick up the dress from Sam.”

  Betsy hauled the bathtub up to Cici’s room, followed by several buckets of hot water. She filled the tub while Cici laid out her clean underwear and corset and stockings. Cici went through the motions of getting ready until Betsy left her alone.

  Every move she made took an eternity. She studied her hands moving over her buttons when she took off her dress. The sensation of her arm sliding out of the sleeve gave her a dizzy thrill.

  This was her wedding day. She would never be Cici Cope again. Her old life would end, and something new would begin. As close as she got to Betsy these last few days, she would be closer to K
elvin. He would know all her secrets, and she would know all of his.

  She peeled off her clothes and stepped into the tub. She scrubbed herself all over with extra care. She toweled off and put on her underclothes before Betsy came back. Betsy laid a long box on the bed, and her eyes flashed.

  “How does it look?” Cici asked.

  “I didn’t get to see it,” Betsy replied. “He had it all boxed up when I got there. Let me help you with your hair, and then we’ll have something to eat before you get dressed.”

  Cici stared at herself in the mirror while Betsy brushed her hair. She coiled Cici’s long braids behind her head in loops and curled the long front bangs over her ears. Cici looked into her own eyes. She hardly recognized herself. She could have been looking at a stranger.

  When Betsy finished, Cici was looking at a stranger. A graceful dark-haired lady sat up straight in front of the mirror. This wasn’t the quaint country girl who came here less than a week before.

  This woman commanded her own life. She made her decisions, and she stood by them. She never questioned her own judgment like quaint old Cici Cope did.

  She sat staring at herself while Betsy brought some apples and bread and butter upstairs. Cici managed to carry on a hushed conversation with her friend, but Betsy didn’t push her to interact much. She must have sensed the transformation taking place in Cici’s heart.

  Betsy returned from putting the food away. She knitted her hands to stop them shaking. “You better open the box. I’m a nervous wreck.”

  Cici took hold of the box and lifted off the top. Layers of tissue covered something white down in the depths, and Cici laid them aside to expose the dress. Dainty lace and pearls decorated the neckline, the frilled bodice, and the gauzy overskirts.

  Cici and Betsy gazed on the delicate creation in silence. Cici’s hands picked it up, and the long folds draped over the floor. Betsy clasped her hands to her heart. “Oh, put it on! Put it on!”

  Betsy wasn’t much help getting it buttoned up, but somehow Cici got dressed in front of the mirror, and the transformation was complete. She became the vision Sam Dolan saw the first time he laid eyes on her in his rough, dirty shop.

  “Look,” Betsy breathed.

  She took a veil out of the box and pinned it to Cici’s hair. It surrounded her in a blessed filmy mist that separated her from the world.

  “It’s perfect,” Betsy whispered.

  Just then, a heavy tread climbed up the stairs and someone knocked on the door. Jed’s voice drifted in from the landing. “The buggy’s ready when you ladies are.”

  “We’re coming,” Betsy called. She turned back to Cici. “It’s time. Are you ready?”

  Cici nodded. She couldn’t speak. She already existed somewhere beyond the world of human concerns.

  Betsy wrapped her in a robe and put a shawl around her veiled head to protect her from the dust. She escorted Cici downstairs. Instead of going through the kitchen, Betsy steered her through a different door near the parlor.

  The buggy stood outside the front door behind the house. Jed supported Cici on one side while and Betsy held her hand on the other side. Cici got into the seat, and Jed took the reins. Cici perched on the backseat, and Betsy sat next to Jed up front.

  He drove her to the church, and Betsy helped her down. She never let go of Cici’s hand until they got into the vestry. Betsy helped unwind the robe. Once she took off the shawl, she straightened the veil.

  “This is it,” Betsy murmured. “You look stunning. I can’t wait until Kelvin sees you. Are you nervous?”

  “I’m okay,” Cici replied.

  “All right. I’ll see you in there.”

  “Where are you going?” Cici asked.

  “I’m going inside to sit down in the pews,” Betsy replied. “Come in when you’re ready.”

  Jed appeared and took Betsy on his arm. “Congratulations, Cici. I can’t tell you how happy I am for you and Kelvin.”

  “Thank you for everything, Jed,” she replied. “I’ll wait a moment, and then I’m come inside.”

  A male voice interrupted from behind her. “You’re not going in alone.”

  Cici turned around to find Doctor Kearney at her side. “Doctor! What are you doing out here? I thought you’d be in the pews, too.”

  “I’m here to walk you down the aisle, young lady,” he replied. “You don’t think I’d leave you standing out here alone, do you?”

  Cici’s heart exploded in relief. “Thank you.”

  “Not at all.” He took her hand and slipped it into his elbow. “A lady needs someone to give her away, and I’m the only one available.”

  Jed took Betsy into the church and shut the door. Cici’s heart started to pound. Kelvin was in there. He would see her any second now. Would he think she was beautiful in this dress? Would he be happy to marry her?

  She stayed calm right up until this moment. Now her palms broke out in sweat, and her blood screamed in her ears. She thanked heaven for the doctor’s grounding presence. She couldn’t face walking into that church alone, and she didn’t have to.

  “You look absolutely divine,” the doctor told her. “Kelvin is a lucky guy.”

  “You’ll find someone, Doctor,” she replied. “I’m certain of it.”

  He kissed her hand. “Do you know what they say? They say the prayer of a bride on her wedding day always comes true. If that’s so, you’ve just given me your blessing, and I know it will come true. Now come on. There’s a very nervous young man waiting for you beyond that door.

  The two of them took their places, and the door swung open.

  14

  Cici floated down the aisle on a cushion of air. Kelvin’s eyes caught her in their mesmerizing sway the moment she stepped into the church. An invisible filament towed her toward him until he stood in front of her. She didn’t see Jed and Betsy sitting in the front pew. She didn’t feel the doctor break away and leave her alone with her betrothed.

  He took her hand, and the minister’s words drifted into her ears. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony.”

  Those bottomless green pools in front of Cici’s face transported her away to a tiny house in the middle of nowhere. Dozens of people flowed all around her. Voices bubbled in all directions. Doors slammed, and smells wafted on the breeze, but still she stared into those eyes. They filled her mind and spirit with nothing but themselves.

  Children ran around Cici’s feet. Adults came and went and talked and worked. The Christmas tree gleamed in the corner, and stockings hung from the mantle shelf. Cici and Kelvin stood in the center of it all. They stared deep into each other’s eyes in a silent dimension all their own.

  The family rotated around the center axis of Cici’s heart united with Kelvin’s heart. They anchored the family and gave it a foundation on which to build future generations. As long as their two hearts remained locked in eternal bliss, the rest would follow. In that far-off world of dreams, it already had.

  Just then, Cici heard the minister say, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Cici heard nothing else of the whole ceremony. The rest roared in her ears in a torrential tide of energy and destiny crashing over her head.

  When the minister told Kelvin he could kiss the bride, he glided close to her. His lips quivered, and he glanced down at her mouth. A squirt of saliva seared into her mouth. She wanted to kiss him. Her being wanted to hold him and enfolded him in her heart.

  His warm lips touched her mouth, and that delicious heat spread all over her. She wanted so much more. She wanted to go on kissing him for the rest of her life, but he broke away. He took her hand, and they floated down the aisle to the vestry.

  Jed, Betsy, and the doctor appeared, and Cici woke from her trance. Shining faces surrounded her. Tears streamed down Betsy’s cheeks, and even Jed and Kelvin blinked back tears when they embraced and clapped each other on the back.

  The doctor
kissed Cici on the cheek and patted her hand on his arm. Betsy kept hugging her until Kelvin helped Cici into the buggy. He took his place at her side while Jed drove them back to the forge.

  Back in her room upstairs, Betsy helped Cici out of her wedding dress. They packed the dress and veil in the box to wait for the day when one of Cici’s daughters would wear it. Cici gave the box a loving caress. She sent a silent prayer of gratitude to Sam Dolan for giving her the happiest day of her life.

  Betsy and Cici joined the men downstairs in the parlor, and they all talked and ate cake and drank lemonade and ate the biggest dinner imaginable.

  “Have you heard the news?” Doctor Kearney asked. “Sheriff Rupert is under investigation by the Territorial Office in Omaha. That report Betsy gave Marshall Faulk made it all the way up the chain of command, and now they’re lighting a fire under the Sheriff’s rear end.”

  “That explains why he’s been behaving himself these last few days,” Kelvin replied.

  “I don’t see what difference that will make,” Jed remarked. “It’ll only make him nastier in the end. He’ll want revenge.”

  “It makes you wonder what sort of person he could have been if he didn’t get mixed up with Merrill Fox,” Betsy chipped in. “Money corrupted him, but he might not have been like that all his life. Maybe he started in the law for the right reasons and things went wrong later.”

  “We still have to deal with him the way he is now,” Jed replied. “I’m surprised Merrill hasn’t come after us about that Deed.”

  “Either way, we still don’t know where we’re going after this,” Kelvin said. “I suppose we’ll check into the Hotel until the coach can take us somewhere else. I’ll find some kind of work, I guess.”

  “You won’t go to the Hotel,” Doctor Kearney told him. “You’re going home to your cottage at the Rocking Horse.”

  Kelvin whipped around. “What?”

  A mischievous smile spread over the doctor’s features. Cici never saw him smile like that before. “Sorry, son. I hated to see you two squirm this last week, wondering what would happen to you. I hated to do it, but I wanted to save it for a wedding surprise. I bought the Rocking Horse. I went to the Land Office and paid for it and got the ranch transferred into my name. I’m the new owner, so I need a good man to run the place for me, a man who knows what he’s doing and a man the cowboys like and trust. Do you suppose I could find a man like that?”