A knock on the front door sent her running. She smiled excitedly, expecting Shelton. She opened the door to Hiram Greene. Her smile dropped.
“May I come in?”
She held on to the doorknob. “What can I help you with, Mr. Greene?”
“I came to apologize.”
“Pardon?”
“Please let me come inside, Katherine. There are some things you should know.”
Katherine took in a deep breath and stepped aside. “Can I get you some coffee? Tea?”
“No, thank you. I’ll get right to the point.”
Hiram admitted his guilt with regard to her position in society and asked her forgiveness for every inappropriate thing he’d ever said to her. “Please forgive me. I see now that you and Shelton have a special love. I hope it’s not too late.”
Katherine’s voice caught in her throat. “I forgive you.” What else could she do? God required it. She told Urias she had done it. So why did it seem so stiff and forced?
Hiram smiled and gave a curt nod of his head. “I’ll be on my way, then. Thank you for your time, Miss O’Leary.”
Katherine followed her unexpected guest to the front door and watched as he climbed into the saddle and rode away. Her world seemed to spin. One moment she thought she was doing what was best. Then it all fell back in her lap. She had to decide if she could truly forgive Hiram Greene and trust Shelton and his love enough for them to build a marriage.
But she hadn’t seen Shelton much since Christmas morning. Had she gone too far? Would he still take her back? Lord, I’ve made such a mess of my life. Please help me.
The next month was the hardest one Shelton had ever lived through. Every fiber of his being wanted to be with Katherine, but he still felt the Lord was asking him to wait. And he had, even after he knew that his father had spoken with her and apologized. Still, she didn’t come. For days he tried to conjure up ways they could “accidentally” meet, but he knew he shouldn’t.
Urias and the others checked on Katherine in her new home from time to time, and she visited with Grandma Mac nearly every day. Yet she still kept her distance from him. Why? It didn’t make sense, at least not to his way of thinking.
He spent a lot of time with his horses. The twin foals were growing every day. Mr. Crockett purchased the colt, although Shelton would continue to raise them for a time.
Shelton saddled Kehoe and rode to the spit of land overlooking the Cumberland River. “Forgive me, Lord, but I can’t wait any longer. I have to know what she’s thinking, what she’s feeling.” He turned Kehoe in the direction of Katherine’s log cabin. He saw her a little ways ahead, sitting on a large boulder overlooking the river.
“Katherine!” he hollered.
She smiled and waved.
Shelton jumped off Kehoe and hustled up to the side of the rock. “What are you doing here?”
“I come here to pray sometimes.” She looked at her folded hands in her lap. “Your father came to see me.”
“He spoke with me after he visited you.” He sat on the rock beside her.
“I’ve missed you,” she confessed.
Renewed hope surged through his heart. “I’ve missed you, too. How’s your new cottage?”
“Horrible.”
“Horrible? What’s the matter? You should have told me sooner. I would have come and fixed whatever the problem is.”
She let out half a chuckle. “No, you can’t fix this, Shelton. It’s me. I’ve found that I don’t like living alone.”
Shelton raised his eyebrows. “Ah Katherine, I can fix that. Just give the word and we’ll marry.”
She took his hand. “I know. That’s why I didn’t come to you. God gave me the desire of my heart to have my own home. I felt I should live there for a while and make peace with my mistakes.”
“Mistakes?”
She raised her fingers to his lips. “I wanted my own place for selfish reasons. I wasn’t appreciating everything the Lord had already given me. I was taking it all for granted, complaining, murmuring like the Jews on their way to the Promised Land from enslavement in Egypt. I’ve been trying to learn to be content with what I have and what’s been given to me. I can’t be a good wife to you if I’m not content with myself.”
“I respect that. But wouldn’t it be better if we spent time with each other, and with my family, in order for you to be comfortable with them and with me?”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to get up the courage to ask you.”
Shelton pulled her to himself. “I love you, Katherine,” he whispered as his lips captured hers.
As the passion rose, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed back some. “I love you, too.”
“Then tell me you’ll marry me.” Please don’t push me away again.
Slowly she raised her head and leveled those incredible green eyes with his. “I will.”
He pulled her closer and held her so tight he feared he’d break her ribs. He relaxed his grip. “When?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Today?”
“If you wish.”
“Really?” He jumped up. “Come, let’s tell the family.” He reached down to help her up.
She continued to sit. “I have something to ask you first.”
Please, Lord. Don’t let her doubt and fears take over. He sat back down. The rock seemed colder this time.
Lord, I hope I’m not being too forward here, she prayed. “Shel—can I call you that?”
He let out a nervous chuckle. “You can call me anything you’d like.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get married privately. I’m not opposed to your family being a part of our special day, but I’ve thought about this for a while now. It seems you and I have always been involved with the family. Every holiday, every big event, we’re surrounded by them. Not that it’s bad, and after a month of living on my own, I really do appreciate the people who care about me. But …”
“I think I understand, and no, I don’t mind. We could leave tomorrow for Creelsboro, get the parson to marry us, then take a steamer along the Cumberland River. What do you think?”
“Can you afford it?”
“I sold the colt to Mr. Crockett. That should more than cover the cost.”
The idea of being alone with Shelton for several days thrilled her. “I like it. You don’t mind?”
“No. But if my sister learns of our plans, the whole family will come running down to the church.”
“True.” Was it right to be so selfish? “Perhaps we should invite them.”
“No. But we should probably tell someone of our plans. I’ll swear Father to secrecy. If anyone can keep a secret, he can.”
It seemed odd to trust Hiram Greene with any part of her future, but she knew she had to get over those lingering doubts. She nodded her agreement. “Do whatever you think is best.”
“Tomorrow it is, then.”
“Yes.”
“Pack a trunk. I’ll ride into Creelsboro and make arrangements with the parson and check on the steamer schedules.”
With a boldness she’d only seen in herself once before, she pulled Shelton into a kiss. His arms wrapped around her. Thank You, Lord, for this tremendous gift.
The next morning Katherine dressed in the ivory satin wedding dress. The problem was, how to keep Shelton from seeing it until she met him at the altar? There were definite disadvantages to not having a family wedding, she mused. But she was still convinced that their union should be just between the two of them. And while she knew from Hiram’s own mouth that he would not oppose the wedding, she still wondered if he would be having second thoughts during the wedding service.
When she heard Shelton’s wagon drive up to the house, she covered the dress as best she could with her woolen coat and put her ribbon-and-pearl headpiece, ivory silk gloves, and lace veil into a large cloth purse. Then she reached into the hand-carved box she used to keep under the floorboards of Urias’s barn. Since
moving to Grandma Mac’s and then to her own place, she no longer kept it hidden.
She pulled out the note she’d written last night, in which she opened her heart completely to Shelton. She planned to give him the letter as a part of her wedding gift to him. She also removed a thin gold band she prayed would fit Shelton’s ring finger.
She opened the door before he knocked.
“Good morning.” His smile filled his handsome face.
“Have ye come to fetch me?” she said in her best Irish brogue.
Shelton chuckled. “Absolutely. All packed?”
“Trunk’s there.” She pointed to her left.
“What’s this?” He nodded at the dining table. She’d set it with the fine linen tablecloth, matching napkins, and the horse-patterned china she had bought what seemed like ages ago.
He lifted a china plate. “This is very nice.”
“It’s one of the dowry items I purchased.”
He put the dish back on the table. “I love it.” He picked up the trunk and hefted it into the wagon. “I’ve made arrangements with the stable to house the buggy and horse for the few days we’re aboard the steamer.”
“When’s the next ship?”
“Not until tomorrow. We’ll spend tonight in the hotel. I reserved a room and I’ve made arrangements at the tavern for dinner.”
“You’ve thought of everything.” She reached up to climb into the carriage.
“Allow me.” Shelton swooped her into his arms and lifted her, brushing his lips lightly across hers.
“You’re such a romantic.”
He winked. “I can be.”
“I have a surprise for you, but you’ll have to wait,” she teased, patting the gold ring that sat in her pocket.
Shelton made his way around the wagon and got in on the other side. “I think I’m going to enjoy our marriage.” He snapped the reins.
“I hope so. Where are we going to live after we get back?”
“At your little log cabin. I figure we’ll build our own home on that peninsula overlooking the Cumberland as soon as we have the funds.”
All the way to Creelsboro they talked about their future, the desire for children, and their hopes and dreams. At the church, Katherine sequestered herself in a small room to get ready for the ceremony.
A gentle knock on the door was followed by Parson Kincaid’s wife poking her head in. “Can I help?”
“Please. I’m so nervous I can’t get this headpiece in my hair.”
The plump, middle-aged woman came into the room. “Your dress is lovely. Did you make it yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Gracious, you are an excellent seamstress. No wonder Mr. Hastings can’t keep your shirts in the store for long. Did you make this headpiece as well?”
“Yes.” Katherine fought the instinct to nod as she allowed Mrs. Kincaid to adjust the headpiece. “I can’t believe I’m so nervous.”
The woman gave her a conspiratorial wink. “Mr. Greene has just about worn a hole in my husband’s office floor.”
Really? The information helped her relax.
Mrs. Kincaid placed the veil over Katherine’s red hair. “You’re beautiful,” she gushed.
She glanced in the mirror. Her reflection did look beautiful. She felt beautiful, too, knowing Shelton loved her no matter what her past held. She felt covered in his love and in God’s cleansing love. “Thank you.”
“Come down the aisle when you hear the music, child.”
“I will.”
A few minutes later Katherine heard the music. She reached for the crystal doorknob and took in a deep breath. “Help me, Lord.” A gentle peace washed over her. Confidently, she pulled the door open and walked to the aisle. Down at the front stood Shelton, dressed in his Sunday best with his black trousers, white shirt, and black dress coat and tails. His deep blue eyes sparkled and his smile brightened his whole face.
Katherine took a tentative step forward. It seemed to take an eternity to walk down that aisle, yet in a moment she was standing by his side. He reached out and held her hand. They turned and faced Parson Kincaid.
She repeated the words the parson asked her to say. She heard Shelton proclaim his love. But she didn’t feel married until their lips met. Her arms slipped around the man she loved, cradling and holding him with all the passion and love she had. And in that moment, she found what she’d been looking for all her life. In her love for Shelton, in being one with him, she found the place of her own that she had always longed for.
Their kiss deepened. Parson Kincaid cleared his throat.
Shelton pulled back. “I love you, Katherine.”
“I love you, too.”
LYNN A. COLEMAN was raised on Martha’s Vineyard and now calls Miami, Florida, home. She has three grown children and seven grandchildren. She is a minister’s wife who writes to the Lord’s glory through the various means of articles, short stories, and a Web site. She also hosts an inspirational romance writing workshop on the Internet and serves as advisor of the American Christian Romance Writers organization. Visit her Web page at: www.lynncoleman.com
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