A Horsewoman for Harlan
Page 10
“Then, before I had a chance to know if you were still here or not, you were kidnapped, and I thought I’d go out of my mind. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I couldn’t live without you—I was in love.”
All Elise had to say was, “Oh, Harlan,” and the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Now, it’s your turn,” he said.
“My story isn’t as poignant as yours. I felt it sooner. I loved that you were such a loving father to two orphan children. I loved how you treated the horses, your staff, and Martha. The walks we took were definitely a part of it. When you were angry with me, I felt more than guilt—I felt as though I’d lost you forever. The moment I knew that I loved you for sure was when you held me in your arms after I was kidnapped. I felt so safe, and the trauma I’d endured evaporated as soon as you held me, but I had no inkling you’d ever feel the same about me.”
Harlan stood and hugged her. It was awkward because she was lying down, and he was bent over her.
“Please, help me to stand,” she said.
Harlan obliged.
Elise threw her arms around his neck, and he hugged her properly.
“So, what is your answer?” he whispered in her ear.
“I think we should kiss before I decide,” she whispered back.
“I’d love to, but why?”
“Because if you kiss like a fish, I couldn’t marry you.”
Harlan threw his head back and laughed while Elise giggled. When he finally stopped laughing, he said, “Pucker up, then.”
He kissed her gently on the lips. “Oh.” Elise sighed. “My answer is yes.”
“So, I don’t kiss like a fish?”
“Goodness, no. You are a very talented kisser.”
“Hm. By the way, how do you know how a fish kisses?”
They both laughed. Harlan held her closely and said, “This will be a happy marriage, I know it will be.” Harlan put his finger to his lips for her to be silent. He tiptoed to the door and said, “Well, Millie, you’re getting a mother—now, open the dratted door.”
The door opened, and Millie flew into Elise’s arms. “My prayers have been answered.”
Harlan laughed. “I think all of our prayers have been answered.”
Troy was apprehended by Sheriff Conn, simply because he was too drunk to remember T.J. telling him not to return to the ranch. He had counted his money and realized he hadn’t gotten his share from the cattle drive, so he rode to the old ranch, where the sheriff’s posse was waiting for him. T.J. and Troy had argued so loudly while in the same cell, the sheriff had to put Troy in another cell at the end of the room. The sheriff told Harlan in jest, “That’s what happens when a cheater cheats another cheater.”
The doctor pronounced Elise able to go back to work, and she wasted no time in getting a horse into the corral to train. For the first time since she'd come to Russell, things between her and Harlan were different, and pleasantly so. Each time they passed in the barn, he’d either smile and wink or squeeze her shoulder. Sometimes, he found the time to stand at the corral, watch her work with a horse, and give her a nod of approval. In the evenings, unless it rained, they’d walk hand in hand through the meadow. Each night, he gave her a chaste but meaningful kiss on the lips, and Elise felt her knees begin to shake. If his quick kiss left her breathless, what would their wedding night be like?
Harlan never missed a day to tell her he loved her. She couldn’t have been happier, but she wondered if things would go as smoothly once they'd sat down to plan their wedding. Harlan had said the weekdays were too busy, and they’d make the plans on Sunday, but Elise worried because he didn’t know she wanted her parents at her wedding. How would he take it? It would mean either getting married in Pennsylvania or paying to send for her parents, who were older and not the traveling kind.
She often pushed the unpleasant thoughts aside to imagine what marriage to Harlan Tanner would be like. She’d be spending the rest of her life with him—was she sure? Yes, she was very sure. Elise had heard the older women at church back in Pennsylvania talk at the woman’s meetings about how things changed after marriage, when the thrill of a kiss or a touch no longer made a person’s heart pound. They also said it changed to something that lasted a lot longer—true love for a person that had nothing to do with physical responses. It had more to do with trust, respect, and always, truly being friends. You then had a partner with whom you felt as comfortable with as no one else in the world. Your marriage partner was the only person with whom you didn’t feel embarrassed, and together, you could face anything. It was just like the wedding vows said: through sickness and in health. It was as if two people had merged into one.
One woman in the group had been married for sixty years and said she'd loved her husband more now than she had on her wedding day. Remembering those words gave Elise confidence.
The auction was a success beyond anything they’d imagined and the couple planned for the next year’s auction. They decided to use some of the earnings to add an addition to the house. They needed more bedrooms and perhaps a nursery.
After a light dinner on the Sunday after the auction, Harlan suggested they sit at the kitchen table to plan their wedding. When he started talking about his minister and church, Elise felt it was time to tell him. “Wait, Harlan—what about my parents?”
“What about them? They’re in Pennsylvania. They are welcome to come, of course. They could have my room, and I’d sleep on the settee.”
“I can’t imagine taking such a huge step as marriage without my parents being there,” she said.
“Well,” he started slowly, “I don’t know how else we can do that. I’ll pay for their fare if they want to come out here, but we can’t take the wedding to Pennsylvania. What about Martha, Clay, and Millie?”
“I understand,” Elise said sadly. “I’ll write to invite them, but I can’t imagine them traveling here. They’re older and not exactly adventurous.”
Elise watched Harlan study her for several seconds. Then, he put his hand over hers and said, “I have a solution, if you’ll agree, that is.”
She nodded.
“Remember I told you I’d give you a percentage of the money we earned at the auction? Well, if we’re married, I won’t have to. What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.”
Elise scrunched up her nose. “What?”
“Just jesting, but our money would be joint, and we’d have enough to pay for all of us to go to Pennsylvania to get married, but,” he held up his index finger, “only if you agree to marry me here, first, in a small, informal ceremony. Then, going to Pennsylvania will be our wedding trip. We’ll have a regular church wedding there, too.”
“I love the idea,” she said, “but why do we need to marry here first?”
He picked up her hand and kissed it. “Because I can’t wait that long to make you mine.”
Epilogue
After a quiet wedding in Russell, the Tanners spent their wedding night in Sheriff Conn’s hunting lodge, deep in the forest surrounding Russell, Kansas. Harlan had Clay go to the cottage to light large candles and put a rose on one of the bed pillows. Harlan wanted the night to be as perfect as possible, and it was. They stayed in the cabin for two full days and nights.
They returned to the ranch to plan their family trip to Redstone Township, Pennsylvania.
Elise could tell that her parents were skeptical of her cowboy husband, but after a few hours with him, they couldn’t have wished for a better son-in-law.
Millie brightened the lives of Alf and Florence Ansell. She called them Grandfather and Grandmother, which didn't please them, at first, until they'd spent just an hour in her presence.
Clay and Harlan chopped enough wood while they were there to keep the Ansells warm for two winters.
On a crisp but sunny Saturday afternoon, Elise and Harlan were joined in marriage again.
As they left the church, the colored leaves on the trees spun to the ground. It was fall, a time whe
n the leaves and flowers died, but always with the promise of spring after a long, cold winter. Yet, Elise and Harlan knew that, for them, it was the birth of a lifelong commitment, no matter the season.
After a month in Pennsylvania, the Tanner family headed back to Russell, Kansas with a promise from Grandfather and Grandmother Ansell to visit them in the spring. The visit with Millie had given them an excitement for life, something for which to look forward.
Yes, Elise was Harlan’s horsewoman and bride, but most importantly, she was finally Millie’s mama.
What about Clay? What would be his HEA? Stay tuned and watch my fan page for news of my next book. https://www.facebook.com/groups/324759648782567/
Note to readers: The series calls for the heroine to be a mail-order bride but I found it rather unbelieveable that Millie and Martha could find one that was a skilled horsewoman. The letter that Martha wrote to our heroine was by mail and no one in the family had ever met her, so I hope you’ll give it a pass. Mail-order... well she was contacted by mail. I hope you enjoyed it.
The next book in the series is.... May 24 - Mail-Order Mama Series ~ Book 12 Lynn Coleman, An Au Pair for Austin- https://www.amazon.com/Pair-Austin-Mail.../dp/B08NPQJFXG/
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Looking for another good book to read?
Other books by Barbara Goss:
1. Forbidden Legacy
2. Captured Heart
3. Stolen Heritage
4. Dangerous Illusions
5. Silent Love
6. The Final Vow
7. The Kissing Bridge
8. Drawn from Darkness
9. Temptation by Moonlight
10. The Romantic Ruse
11. Shadow of Shame
12. Shadow of Deceit
13. Shadow of Regret
14. Shadow of Hope
15. Shadow of Love
16. Shadow of Faith
17. Shadow of Second Chances
18. Sunshine in the Rain and 19. Yesterday’s Rain (Two books in one)
20. Mail Order Mishap Book 1
21. Mail Order Vixen Book 2
22. Mail Order Ruse Book 3
23. Mail Order Calamity Book 4
24. Mail Order Compromise Book 5
25. The Guilty Proposal
26. The Reckless Proposal
27. The Shotgun Proposal
28. The Housekeeper’s Proposal
29. Dan McCall’s Bride
30. Looking for Love
31. Delightfully Deluded
32. Ricochet Romance – (2 books in one) and 33
34. Wanted: Horse Breeder - Silverpines Series
35. Wanted: A Trusting Heart – Silverpines Series
36. Rescued in El Paso
37. A Bride for Nathan (Proxy Brides Series)
38. The Trapper
39. A Bride for Travis (Proxy Brides Series)
40. Hope (Prairie Rose Series)
41. The Secret Diary (Lockets and Lace Series)
42. A Bride for Logan (Proxy Brides Series)
43. The Marshal’s Mission
44. A Bride for Wyatt (Proxy Brides Series, Christmas Edition)
45. A Bride for Adam (Proxy Brides Series)
46. Conner’s Contrary Bride (Matchmaker’s Mix-Up series)
47. Jesse (Bounty Hunter’s of Sunset Creek)
48. A Bride for Cameron The Proxy Bride Series # 56
49. A Horse Woman for Harlan