by Tanya Hanson
He showed teeth in what could only be described as a lewd smile. “And the ladies might well enjoy my studies of young unclothed university athletes running, jumping, wrestling. Their glorious physiques and the interplay of perfectly shaped masculine muscles.”
“That’s enough, Eadweard.”
As if on cue, one of the town’s ladies Geraldine Hackett surged in the boardinghouse, followed by her stooped but smiling husband, who carried a covered dish. Hawk and Muybridge rose as one.
“Cordy, Delmar and me, we’re here to set up for the potluck. Lisa Pelton’s right behind with the wedding cake.” Geraldine smiled at Muybridge. “Welcome to Paradise. You flying your horse too, sir? Oh, Cordy, don’t you worry about that gaggle of mean geese. I put them all in their place.” She moved to shake Muybridge’s hand. “I reminded them I once shot a man.”
“Really, dear lady? Allow me to introduce myself. Eadweard Muybridge.” He brought Geraldine’s hand to his mouth and gave a courtly bow.
Geraldine preened. “Indeed, I did. Derringer hidden in my décolleté. He deserved it.”
“I understand perfectly. Sit with me at supper and tell me more.”
“Along with Delmar. You’ll enjoy his company. He stood beside me the whole way.”
“As it should be.”
“And as it will be.” Hawk stared into Cordy’s beautiful face. “With us. You’re still marrying me, correct?”
“Just try and stop me.”
Katie Haynes burst through the front door next, one hand dragging Charlie Tuttle, the other carrying a hatbox. She planted a kiss on the young wrangler’s cheek, reminding Hawk of the delicious task soon to come as soon as he and Cordy had a private moment.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Muybridge.” Katie gave the man a brief nod.
“How on earth?” Curiosity raised the pitch of Hawk’s voice a few notes. “Have you met? Oh, no need to explain.” He chuckled. “News spreads like smallpox in a small town.”
Katie grinned. “Not this time. Aunt Mattie remembered a copy of Scientific American in her old teaching supplies. I shared it my class.”
“Wise women.” Muybridge’s eyes twinkled.
Hawk groaned as chitchat roared to a crescendo around them. Why wouldn’t the noisy herd run off? Cordy’s lips begged for a kiss, and his heart swelled at her love and declaration. The time was perfect.
“Cordy.”
The syllables of her name danced like delicious morsels on his tongue. But each person in the room stopped mid-word, ears pricking up like dogs’. Then Katie trotted forward with the hatbox and handed it to Cordy.
“We admired this at the mercantile earlier. It’s your wedding gift from me.” Katie touched Cordy’s cheek. “And you can’t let the bridegroom see it beforehand, you know. It’s bad luck.”
Cordy held the box to her breast like a Biblical mother protecting her child from King Herod. “Oh, Katie, thank you! I love it, and made by your mama even more meaningful. You’ll stand up with me at church? Oh, Hawk, my heart is so light I think it’s soaring.”
“We don’t have any bad luck, Cordy,” Hawk announced to her adoring eyes.
She blushed. “It seems so. I hope Clancy used it all up.”
“And I promise the most agreeable wedding portraits ever photographed.” Muybridge, who still held Geraldine’s hand, saluted with his left. “I can most certainly maneuver your local man’s equipment.”
Geraldine took charge. “Wedding starts soon as dusk hits.” She pointed at each person and yelled orders. “Get that fool screen off the dining table, Eadweard, Delmar. Haul it over to the store. We’ll get it stitched up on my Singer machine after the wedding. Now, Charlie…”
Amazingly, even Eadweard Muybridge obeyed.
Cordy’s gaze met Hawk’s, melted him to his core. “I want to help Miss Geraldine stitch, but I’ve something to tend to first.”
She held out her hand. Love and dreams swirled around them as Hawk led her into the kitchen. “It’s not the most romantic place, but I can’t wait another second. Kiss me, Hawk,” she ordered with a smile that weakened his knees. “But only if you mean it.”
“Oh, I mean it. Now and always. You fill me with your strength and determination, as well as love. And desire.” His fingers trembled around her face as he bent to her.
“That’s all I need to know,” she murmured.
“I hope you need to know how I love you,” Hawk muttered into her lips. “I shouldn’t have waited to tell you. Just like I shouldn’t have waited to kiss you. I wanted it perfect.”
Their mouths met, hot and fragrant, and his veins all but exploded. Her lips opened gently beneath his like a flower slowly blooming, and the sweetness of her melded into him. It was…
“It was perfect. A kiss like no other.” She breathed against his chest when he pulled her close. So close he felt the beating of her heart. “It’s like it could have been my first.”
“It is our first.” He held her face and gazed down at her, cheeks flushed and lips moist from his. “You and me. No one else matters from this moment on.”
“I know, Hawk. Our whole lives through. Until death parts us.” She smiled over the word, now that there was no threat.
“Our whole lives through.” Despite the kiss, doubt flickered. He couldn’t bear to have his heart shattered. “Are you sure about this, Cordy? Now that it’s about to happen, I mean.” He trailed his fingers across her warm cheek.
“I’m certain, Hawk.” She laid her hand over his. “I’m certain I’m in love with you, and I’m certain of what I’m doing.”
“But Colorado?”
The old floor creaked beneath their feet as she rose on tiptoes to kiss him again.
“I know I have the strength to start again somewhere else. I’ve shown it. With the mountains holding us close. Or anywhere. As long as you’re by my side.”
Hawk drank in the love pouring from her. Her two years in Paradise had proven how well she undertook change and challenge, so he knew she could find success and love as a ranch wife. His wife. But would she miss Paradise when she left? Katie? The motherly old mercantiler? Chaps like Charlie Tuttle and Gunnar Schlaap?
For that matter, would he?
The prairie had wide-enough skies, and Paradise had welcomed him from the start. And in the same short time, he had met authentic friends.
Hope, peace, goodness swirled through him. “Oh, Cordy, I never imagined finding love here. Finding my future. Finding friends. Um, I wonder, you know. When you say anywhere, Paradise is a fine town. I can convince my father.”
She cupped his face with fingers hot it tender. “No. We need the fresh start we both were finding before we met.” Into his shoulder, she murmured, “Heavens, was that just yesterday?”
Her burst of laughter was real, pure, and he shared it. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.” She looked up, shy. “I think I have. In my dreams.”
“Cordy, love, do you believe in love at first sight?” His heart fluttered with wings all its own.
She sighed, long, deep. “I was raised against it. But Hawk, I truly believe in it now.”
Once more, he drew her close and tasted bliss.
Then she gripped his shoulders, face flushed a glorious pink. “The inn is full. Where will Mr. Muybridge sleep tonight? He’s a gentleman of class and distinction. I draw the line at Skinny Hank’s sleazy rooms over the saloon.”
“That’s an easy problem to solve.” Hawk whispered into her hair. “He can have your room. Because you will be in mine.”
Author’s Note
Apologies to Mr. Muybridge, the father of the motion picture, for my taking fictional liberties. Reading about him years ago—I’ve had horses flying in my mind ever since. I knew, someday, he’d have to play a part in one of my stories, and what better place than…Paradise.
A word about the author…
Tanya Hanson lives on California’s Central Coast with a real-life hero, her firefighter husband. When she’s not writing,
she is traveling, wine tasting, and volunteering at the local horse rescue. Oh, and playing with her three grandbabies. College days in small-town Nebraska helped inspire the setting of this book. You can reach her at
www.tanyahanson.com
www.petticoatsandpistols.com
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