"Darn straight you will." Jared punched him lightly in the arm. "Now, let's go get you married."
He went out. When Cynara began to follow him, Barclay held her back. "Let's go buy you a dress."
"No." She shook her head. "A ready-made would be too expensive. I can make one when we get home."
"I won't have you wearing a dress you were kidnaped in for our wedding. You can still make a special one for the second wedding. Imagine how pleased Ma will be to help."
Cynara smiled. "Yes, she's so kind. Like the man I'm about to marry. The man I love."
Barclay pulled Cynara into his arms and kissed her hard. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that," he whispered into her hair. "I love you too, Cynara Stratton, soon to become Cynara Givens. And I always will."
"Go ahead, sweetheart." Barclay urged Cynara to approach the showcase in the jewelry store. "Pick whichever one you want."
Surprised, Cynara framed her face with her hands. The jewelry in this store would be expensive and she’d thought him too practical to spend money unnecessarily. "Oh, Barclay, you are too generous. I don’t need anything fancy. A plain gold band will do fine."
He took her hands in his and gazed down into her eyes. "Cynara, no matter which of these rings you might choose, it can’t match the joy you′ve given me."
"But—"
"No buts. I adore you and I want you to wear a ring that echoes how beautiful you are inside and out."
She shook her head. "You̍ꞌre being silly. Have you been drinking?"
Barclay laughed. "No, I haven’t had anything except coffee. Now, may we get back to choosing your wedding ring?"
A tall man with a mustache that curved down to meet his goatee stepped up to the counter. "I believe I know exactly what you want, madam. May I show you?"
"Very well. If it’s not too expensive."
After fumbling around underneath the counter, he came up with several tiny boxes which he lined up in front of her. "I will open each box and let you study them. Try them on if you wish. If you find one that pleases you, simply wave and I’ll return."
The first box held a plain gold band. The instant she reached for it, Barclay snatched the ring away. "No. Iꞌm not leaving until you pick the one that steals your heart, the way you stole mine."
Cynara sighed. Such a difficult spot he placed her in. If she chose an extravagant ring, neighbors would say she married him for his money. She looked at each box. The rings inside became fancier as she went down the line.
Midway, she came to a ring so lovely she couldnꞌt help but gasp. It bore two small green stones, with clear ones she hoped were glass arranged around them like the petals of flowers. The sides were engraved with leaves.
"You like that one?" Barclay waved to the salesman who was helping another customer. "It is pretty. The emeralds remind me of your eyes."
"Emeralds?” she whispered. “Oh, it must be very costly then."
Cynara couldn’t help but inch her hand toward the box. She ached to see how the ring would look on her finger.
"Go ahead, darling. Try it on."
She jerked her hand back.
Barclay reached in front of her and plucked the dazzling ring from the box. As he moved it, the stones glistened in the light. Next, he took hold of her left hand and she realized he intended to put it on her finger.
"No, Barclay. Iꞌd truly prefer the plain one."
"You already have a plain one, Cynara, from your first marriage." Barclay slipped the golden loop over her finger as he spoke, his voice soft and pleading. "Please don’t make me give you the same thing. I want your ring to be as special as you are."
"Then perhaps you should choose it." She handed the piece back.
The moment she saw his eyes had focus on the box at the far end, she recognized her mistake. The stone in that ring was huge and clear. A diamond, no doubt. She grabbed his arm and jerked it back. "All right. If it’s choice between one I like or the most expensive one the store has, I’ll take the emeralds."
Barclay’s rich laughter filled the store and he swooped her into his arms. "Perfect. I knew you’d see reason.”
He kept her close as he returned the ring to the box and handed it to the salesman. "We’ll take this one, and I believe the size was perfect. Wasn’t it, darling?"
Guilt and joy infused Cynara with more emotion than she knew how to express. She wanted to put on the ring, run outside and show it to every woman she saw. "Yes. Perfect."
If only Julia were here.
"Are we going to stop at your mother’s so we can tell her about our marriage?" Cynara couldn’t wait to get there. The wagon ride had been exhausting and they hadn’t gotten much sleep since the wedding ceremony in the judge’s chambers three days ago.
Memories of their first night together brought a smile to her face, and she darted a glance at her husband, hoping he wouldn’t notice her flushed complexion.
"That’s what I planned," he said. "She’d be hurt if we didn’t." Barclay guided the team around the corner onto the road that would take them to Cutthroat. "Are you going to show her your ring?"
She glanced down at her hand and a soft glow came over her face. "Mrs. Barclay Givens," she murmured.
"Sounds good, doesn’t it?" Barclay asked.
"Yes. I like the sound of it. Cynara Givens. It has a ring to it." She grinned up at him.
He got that look in his eyes that told her if something didn’t distract him right away, he’d be wanting to stop.
Fortunately, a rabbit darted across the road into the towering grass alongside. "Did you see that?" he asked.
Cynara had scooted forward on the seat and felt the breeze kiss her cheeks as she tried for a better view. She loved seeing the rabbit. Barclay liked to tease her about her love of animals. She ignored him, knowing he liked them as well.
She had chosen to wear a lavender silk dress from her trousseau with a matching bonnet and gloves. He’d tried to buy her much more. This one happened to catch her eye. Purple being her favorite color, she couldn’t resist it.
She sat back and twisted around to check on the babies, now together in one big cradle that would come in handy when the children grew larger. Her bosom had begun to ache with the need to nurse. Thankfully, they should reach Julia’s home soon. "Theyꞌre all going to need changing and feeding by the time we get there."
Barclay automatically flicked the lines to speed up the team. Two of the traits she loved in him were thoughtfulness and keen insight.
At last she could see the turn in the road that would take them into town. A young boy stood on the roof of the telegraph office, the last building on the block, waving to someone unseen.
A signal? She hoped not. She wasn’t comfortable with crowds and whoopla.
Barclay guided the wagon around the corner and there, in front of them the entire town stood assembled. A large banner hung across the road. Welcome Home, Mr. and Mrs. Givens.
Oh, dear. They’d been found out.
Chapter Nineteen
J ulia, Jared and Chase rushed toward them as Barclay drove the wagon up to the crowd. Folks cheered and two young, overly excited men fired guns into the air.
Cynara couldn’t believe her eyes, that so many people were this happy to see them home.
Chase reached them first. "ꞌBout time you got back. Where’s my Vella? I’ve missed her."
"They’re all in the cradle in back," Cynara said.
"Oh, my dear girl," Julia cried as she reached the wagon and grabbed Cynara’s hand. "I’m so glad to see you safe."
Cynara climbed down and found herself enveloped in a tight hug. "Oh, my. I’m glad to see you too."
Julia put a hand over her heart. "You’ve no idea how frightened I’ve been, for you and the babies."
At that moment, Chase lifted the cradle out of the buckboard. Oohing and awing, the crowd struggled to get close enough to see. Connor and Vella opened their little mouths and wailed.
"Hold on here, folks." Ba
rclay came around from the far side of the wagon, hands raised. "You’re scaring the babies. Give them some space, please."
Everyone quieted down and backed up.
"Why don’t we go to the hotel where there’s more room," Julia added, "and you can all line up to see the triplets, all right?"
Everyone talked at the same time, creating a din that did little to calm Connor, Gage and Vella. Barclay escorted Cynara to the Empire Hotel’s spacious lobby, while Chase carried the babies and Jared did his best to hold back the milling throng.
Inside, the hotel owners quickly set up chairs for Cynara, Julia and Barclay. The cradle was placed on a low, wide table in front of them Unfortunately, they didn’t want to be comfortable. They wanted to be fed.
Mrs. Simmons, the wife of the hotel’s owner, tapped Cynara on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow. Hoping she’d guessed the woman’s intention correctly, Cynara picked up Connor and took him with her.
"I could see the babies needed to be fed," Mrs. Simmons said, leading her into a small room. "I hope this will do."
Cynara chose a wing-back chair and sat down. "This is wonderful. Thank you so much for your intuitiveness and kindness. I was desperately trying to figure out how I could feed them without making a fuss."
"Happy to help, Mrs. Givens."
"Please, call me Cynara. I assume you have children and that’s why you understood my needs."
“Yes, and call me Nabby.” She chuckled and folded her hands in front of her. "My name is Abigail, but everyone calls me Nabby for short. Josh and I have three boys. They’re mostly grown now. The oldest one is married."
Cynara gazed down into Connor’s little face, smiling. "I hope to have a child of my own someday. Weꞌre adopting these three."
"I think that’s marvelous. I’ll leave you in peace now. I should be at the check-in desk."
"Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness."
"You’re welcome. In a few minutes, I’ll bring you some tea."
"That would be wonderful." Nabby went out.
Cynara opened her bodice and Connor began to suckle. When the door opened, she instantly grabbed up a blanket to cover herself. To her surprise, it wasn’t Nabby returning, or Barclay coming to check on her.
A small boy about five-years-old peeked in at her.
"Hello," he said. "May I come in?"
"Very well." She smiled. The boy had overly long black hair and dark, dark eyes. She suspected he might have Indian blood. "Did you come to see the baby?"
"Not really, ma’am. I heard you was ꞌdopting them, and I wondered if maybe you might ꞌdopt me too?"
At once, Cynara’s heart went out to the boy. "Are you an orphan?" she asked.
"Yes, ma’am. My name’s Johnny Two-Hearts. That’s ꞌcus my ma was Injun and my pa was white. I donꞌt ‘spose you’d want a half-breed brat, but I had to ask."
"Having a mixed heritage would make no difference to my husband or me, Johnny, but it would take a legal action to make you our son."
He hung his head, his disappointment apparent.
"Why donꞌt you come home with us today so you can meet my husband and the rest of the family. Then we’ll see. Does that sound all right?"
He grinned, showing a missing tooth right in the center. "Yes, maꞌam. Should I wait in the wagon?"
"That would be fine, Johnny. Iꞌll see you later."
He slipped from the room seconds before Nabby returned with a cup of hot tea and cookies. "Did that boy bother you, Mrs. Givens?"
"No, Nabby." She accented the woman’s name to remind her they were on first-name basis. "What can you tell me about him?"
Nabby set the tea on a chair-side table. "I can tell you that heꞌs no orphan, if thatꞌs what he told you. His ma lives in a shack outside of town on the west end. She and the boy are terrified of his father. I doubt the couple is legally wed, not that it makes much difference."
"Is the father cruel to them?"
"Terribly. Why, Iꞌve seen Johnny when he could barely walk, his father had beaten him so badly."
Horror filled Cynara. "How awful. Can no one do anything about it? The marshal maybe?"
"Reckon not. No one’s ever bothered, to my knowledge. I give him errands to run for me so he can earn a few pennies, and I feed him often."
"Do you think his father would be angry if someone took the boy in?"
Alarm flashed across Nabbyꞌs face. "I certainly do. His father uses him as an errand boy and whipping post I doubt heꞌd want to give him up. I have to get back now."
"Thank you for the tea and the advice." Cynara picked up the cup, careful to hold it away from the baby. "I havenꞌt spoken to my husband about Johnny yet. Weꞌll take him home tonight and feed him, then bring him back and hope his father doesnꞌt notice."
Nabby shook her head. "Iꞌll be wishing you luck with that." She returned to her desk.
Sitting there, stroking Connor’s silky-smooth skin, Cynara knew it would be insane to try to help the boy. But she also knew it was something she had do.
The church could hold not even one more person. The entire town had turned out for the wedding. Juliaꞌs house also had no space left, what with all her sons, except for Gage, being there, plus the bride.
Barclay fidgeted with his pocket watch, checking it every few minutes. "When will she be ready, Ma? There are people overflowing the church, waiting for us."
The bedroom door opened and Cynara stepped out. "I’m ready now."
Barclay sucked in a breath, stricken by her beauty. The dress his mother had labored hard to finish in time looked marvelous on her, fitting her figure perfectly. The soft peach color brought out her beautiful eyes and gave her skin a lovely glow.
Slowly he walked toward her. "You are the most beautiful bride ever, Cynara Givens. I canꞌt believe my luck in getting you for my wife."
She smiled. "I won’t argue with you, though Iꞌm quite aware that Iꞌm the lucky one."
"Youꞌre both fortunate," Julia said. "Now, letꞌs get to the church, shall we?”
"First," Barclay said, "I must do this." He bent and kissed Cynara.
"Later," she chided.
Barclay took her hand and hooked it around his arm as he led her from the house. Folks at the church cheered and parted to let them enter. A hush fell over the holy building. Even so, Cynara heard the anonymous whispers as she passed down the aisle.
"What a gorgeous dress."
"Donꞌt you just love the rows of pleats Julia created?"
"Yes, and the swooping neck with the pleated ruffle underneath."
"Love the small bustle, and that glorious train."
"How sweet. She’s carrying one of the babies instead of flowers, and here comes Julia with the other two."
Grinning, Barclay glanced down at her and winked.
Cynara winked back.
Since they were already married, the vows were replaced by a brief admonishment from the preacher to treat each other fairly and honestly, with love.
“Barclay, you may kiss your bride.”
Uncaring who might be watching or what they might think, he took Cynara in his arms and kissed her with passion.
The bride didn’t mind.
About the Author
Charlene Raddon fell in love with the wild west as a child, listening to western music with her dad and sitting in his lap while he read Zane Gray’s books. She never intended to become a writer. Charlene was an artist. She majored in fine art in college.
In 1971, she moved to Utah, excited for the opportunity to paint landscapes. Then her sister introduced her to romance novels. She never picked up a paintbrush again. One morning she awoke to a vivid dream she knew must go into a book, so she took out a typewriter and began writing. She’s been writing ever since.
Instead of painting pictures with a brush, Charlene uses words.
Thank you for reading Barclay, Bachelors and Babies Book 4. If you enjoyed the story, please tell your friends. The kindest thing you c
an do for an author (other than buying her book) is to leave a kind but honest review on Amazon, Bookbub and Goodreads.
Books in the Bachelors and Babies Series
Trace
Book 1 ~ Pam Crooks ~ June 1
Logan
Book 2 ~ Margaret Tanner ~ July 1
Carter
Book 3 ~ Cynthia Woolf ~ August 1
Barclay
Book 4 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ September 1
Dallas
Book 5 ~ Cyndi Raye ~ October 1
Sawyer
Book 6 ~ Winnie Griggs ~ November 1
Jared
Book 7 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ December 1
Grayson
Book 8 ~ Linda Carroll-Bradd ~ January 1
Kendrick
Book 9 ~ Zina Abbott ~ February 1
Stuart
Book 10 ~ Caroline Clemmons ~ March 1
Chase
Book 11 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ April 1
Zach
Book 12 ~ Hebby Roman ~ May 1
Gilbert
Book 13 ~ Carra Copelin ~ June 1
Tanner
Book 14 ~ Cheryl St.John ~ July 1
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Barclay Page 21
