Twice Blessed

by Jo Ann Ferguson

  Emma laughed and slipped her arm through his, paying no attention to the sawdust that filtered onto her skirt. “You may as well accept the inevitable, Noah. Alice is determined that we have a wedding reception.”

  With a smile, he said, “We’re planning to get married Saturday.”

  “It would be better on Friday.” Alice chuckled. “That’s the next Grange meeting.”

  “Do you mind,” he asked, looking back to Emma, “getting married one night earlier, sweetheart?”

  She shook her head, unable to speak as she gazed into his eyes, which blazed with his longing for her. She would have gladly married him the day after the Smith wedding, but he had asked for time to talk to Belinda and help the little girl deal with the changes about to come into her life. Belinda had been as thrilled as Sean to become one family.

  “Then Friday it shall be.” He smiled at Alice. “Will that do?”

  “Admirably.” She waved as she rushed to the door. “Excuse me. There is so very much to do.”

  “You would think she’s the bride,” Noah said as he locked his fingers behind Emma’s waist.

  She threw her arms around him. When his hands swept up her back to enfold her, she brought his mouth over hers. Dampening each tingling inch of her lips with the tip of his tongue, he smiled before he claimed her mouth. Craving surged over her, threatening to drown her in the depths of a savage sweetness.

  He raised his mouth far enough from hers so he could whisper, “You’re amazing, Emma Delancy.”

  “Amazing? Why do you say that?”

  “Because you have an endearing way of letting others give you your way.”

  She laughed. “Have I been that obvious that I want to get married as soon as we can?”

  “Only to anyone who sees you or speaks with you.” He chuckled again. “I’m just glad you and I are on the same side in this battle to get us wed.”

  “I’ll always be on your side, Noah.”

  “Unless you are on top.”

  Her cheeks grew fiery as she slapped his arm. “Such talk in my store!”

  “Shall I save it for when we’re alone in our bed?”

  “Yes.”

  Her smile softened when his mouth caressed hers. At a crackle from her pocket, she pulled back and drew out the letter.

  “What is this?” Noah asked. “A love poem for your beloved husband-to-be?”

  “No.”

  His face became as somber as her voice. She handed him the letter, and he quickly read it. When he cursed, she did not chide him for using such language in the store. She understood his frustration all too well.

  “Alice suggests I say nothing about this to Sean right now,” Emma said as she took the note from him.

  “Dashing his hopes would be cruel.”

  “Letting them stay high when we might be asking him to believe in the impossible could be cruel, too.”

  “Noah!” shouted Sean as he ran into the store.

  Emma shoved the letter into her pocket before Sean could see it. Listening while Sean chattered like a telegraph clicking at top speed, she kept her hand in her pocket. She looked at his animated face, and she knew telling him what Mr. Barrett had written would erase his grin. She would wait and hope another letter was already on its way to Haven with the glad tidings that Maeve O’Dell had been found.

  She hoped this was the right decision, instead of just the easy one.

  “I pronounce you man and wife,” Reverend Faulkner said, his voice resonating through the empty church. He closed the book he held and smiled broadly. “You may kiss your bride, Noah.”

  “My wife,” Noah murmured as he drew Emma into his arms. In the same dress she had worn to the Smiths’ wedding, she was a glorious sight, but he could think only of how lovely she would look tonight when he leaned her back in the large bed he had finished painting late last night.

  Her lips were soft and delicious, and he longed to savor them for much more than this quick kiss. He stroked her cheek as he gazed into her eyes, which revealed her thoughts matched his. Why had he let Alice Underhill persuade them to have a big party after the wedding? All he wanted now was to be alone with his enchanting bride, who had created such magic that he would forever be caught up in her spell.

  “Patience, my dear husband,” she whispered, “is a virtue.”

  “’Tis a dangerous wife who can read her husband’s thoughts with such ease.”

  “’Tis a beguiling husband who puts such thoughts in his wife’s head.”

  With a chuckle, he kissed her lightly again. A foolish move, for that only augmented the longing. As he shook the minister’s hand, his leg was grabbed tightly. He bent down and scooped up Belinda, giving her a big kiss. With a giggle, she wriggled to get down.

  Setting her on her feet, he smiled when she held her arms up to Emma. As Emma embraced the little girl, he turned to Sean, who was grinning so broadly that his thin face could barely hold his delight. Noah shook the hand that Sean held out to him. With a laugh, he pulled the boy into a hug. When Sean hugged him back, Noah looked over the boy’s head to see Emma’s happy smile.

  Cheers resounded through the church, and Noah turned to see what must be half the village crowded at the back of the church. They were applauding and shouting out congratulations.

  Noah laughed as he grasped Emma’s hand just before their “guests” rushed forward to escort them out of the church and in a grand parade to the Grange Hall only two doors down. Wanting to make sure Belinda and Sean did not get left behind, he held out his other hand. He was surprised and more than a bit pleased when Sean grasped it and Belinda took Emma’s hand. This was a good sign of a new beginning for all of them. They might not be a family yet, but they were well on their way—something he could not have imagined even a few months ago. He did not fool himself into thinking there would not be adjustments for all of them, including the decision of what to do when they had two houses, but those thoughts were not for tonight.

  Even more people were gathered by the door to the Grange Hall, and he guessed many plows had been abandoned early in the fields around Haven. When he saw Emma’s delighted smile, he whispered, “You shouldn’t look so surprised, sweetheart. I’m not the only one in Haven who loves you.”

  “But you’re the only one who loves me as you do.”

  He tapped her nose as if she were no older than Belinda. “I’m glad for that.”

  Emma was sure her heart would burst from all the joy in it. When she saw Lewis Parker coming out of his office in the courthouse, she waved to him.

  He came over and kissed her on one cheek before shaking Noah’s hand. “Congratulations to both of you. I’ll be joining the party as soon as I get some messages that are waiting for me at the telegraph office.”

  “Don’t be long,” Emma said. “You always said you wanted to dance with me at my wedding. I wouldn’t want you to miss that.”

  “Nor do I.” He hurried along the street toward the telegraph office.

  Emma laughed when Noah bowed deeply to usher her into the Grange Hall. Her laughter became a gasp of glee when she saw the decorations throughout the big, open room. Paper had been cut into dozens of different designs and hung from every picture on the walls. Looking across the room, she saw Alice smiling with pride, and Emma knew her friend must have had her students make these decorations.

  “Do you like them?” Sean asked, confirming her guess as he added, “We’ve been working on them for a whole week, and no one told. We all kept the secret.”

  She hugged him. “I love them, and thank you for doing this for Noah and me.”

  “For Noah and you and Belinda and me and Gladys.”

  “Yes.” She feared she would cry if she looked into his hopeful face a moment longer. How had this urchin become part of her life so quickly? She did not know, but she was grateful to whatever Providence had brought him to Haven.

  “Look!” cried Belinda, tugging on Emma’s dress and pointing along the tables that were burdened wit
h food. “There’s a cake with four tiers.”

  “One for each of us.”

  “Can I have the biggest one?”

  With a laugh, Emma said, “I think it’d be for the best if we share.”

  Belinda tilted her head to one side and replied, “I don’t want to get sick like Sean did.”

  “That’s right.”

  The guests crowded into the hall, each one trying to talk louder than his neighbor in an attempt to be heard. The children were sent to fill their plates and find a spot to sit on the raised platform at the far end of the room. When Doc Bamburger pulled out his fiddle and began to play, several men rushed to get their makeshift musical instruments. A spoon and a washboard matched the three-quarter time of bare hands on a washtub.

  Emma swung Belinda’s hand in tempo with the music as she led the way to the platform where Sean was saving her a place on one side of him while Jenny Anderson sat on his other side. The little girl giggled when Emma began to sing the words to the tune they were playing.

  “What’s that song?” Belinda asked.

  “It’s a song we sing often here after Grange business is done.”

  “Will you teach it to me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Tonight?”

  Emma was sure her cheeks must be bright red as she said, “No, not tonight, but soon.”

  “Tonight she’s going to teach it to me,” Noah said when he took her hand.

  He kissed her, and she longed to melt into this fantasy she had never believed would be hers. Her fingers in his hair shook with the power of the yearning she was trying to hold in check … for a few more hours.

  Accepting congratulations from her friends, Emma was pleased to hear Gladys had made the cake for them in Reverend Faulkner’s kitchen. She had been uncertain how the housekeeper felt about Noah bringing a wife into her house. All anxiety faded away when Gladys gave her a big hug.

  “Make him happy, Miss Del—Mrs. Sawyer,” Gladys said with tears in her eyes.

  “I hope I can. I know he makes me happier than I’ve ever been.”

  “That’s a good beginning.”

  Sean was thrilled to discover Gladys had put white icing over her delicious chocolate cake. Promising to have “just two small pieces, Emma,” he took two plates that held servings which Emma would never have described as small. She knew he had learned his lesson, so she enjoyed her cake while sitting beside Noah.

  “So much for our quiet wedding,” he said with a chuckle.

  “With a crowd this large, it may be easier to slip away without having to endure a shivaree.”

  He smiled. “Now there’s a thought.”

  Emma had no chance to answer as Doc Bamburger began playing his fiddle again. This time, the other musicians did not join in, so the sweet sound of the melody filled the Grange Hall.

  With a laugh, Noah grabbed Emma’s hands and swirled her out to dance as the middle of the room was cleared. She heard Belinda and Sean cheer from the front of the hall, but she was caught anew by the desire in Noah’s dark eyes. As her feet followed his smooth steps, all the music, even her own singing of the words to the old tune, faded beneath the frantic beat of her heart. She thought of how they would move together later tonight.

  “This is a nice gathering,” she whispered, “but …” She curved her fingers up over his collar to brush his nape.

  “Didn’t you tell me patience is a virtue?” Noah answered as lowly as his hand glided up her back, holding her closer than propriety allowed.

  “Yes.”

  “But I see no patience in your eyes, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “Some things are worth waiting for.”

  “Some things are difficult to wait for.”

  His mouth slanted across hers, and cheers filled the hall. When he stepped away from her too quickly, she was about to protest, then realized the music had stopped.

  Emma had no chance to dance again with Noah. She was sure she had danced with every man in the hall by the time Doc Bamburger put down his fiddle and called for something to drink. As she started to look for Noah in the crowded room, she saw Alice and her beau standing in a corner as they gazed with love into each other’s eyes.

  Going to the table where she had left the bouquet of wildflowers Sean had picked for her in the field behind the house, she picked it up and carried it to Alice. She placed it in her startled friend’s hands and said, “For the next bride in Haven.”

  “You’re supposed to throw the bouquet.” Alice’s eyes glowed with happiness.

  “I told you I wanted you to have it.”

  Noah emerged from the press of guests to put his arm around Emma’s shoulders. “You might as well accept the inevitable, Hahn,” he said to Alice’s bashful beau, who was turning a brighter red with each passing second. His voice softened as he said, “It’s time to be heading home, sweetheart.”

  She nodded and bid her friends good night. Gathering up the children and Gladys, she laughed when she saw, in the lights from inside the Grange Hall, Noah’s rickety buckboard had been adorned with more of the paper decorations. She helped the children into the back while Noah gave Gladys a hand in to sit between Sean and Belinda. Then Emma let him lead her around to the front of the wagon.

  He lifted her up to the seat, his smile broadening as he stroked her side. Jumping up beside her, he picked up the reins. A few bawdy shouts came from the doorway of the Grange Hall, but they were quickly silenced as other men pointed to the children in the back.

  With a wave, Noah turned the buckboard toward the road leading out to his farm. Emma nestled her head against his shoulder and looked up at the sky that was littered with stars and the widening moon. She had stopped believing in dreams coming true … until now. Her nightmares were behind her, and she would be happy again.

  A small hand pulled on her skirt. Sitting straighter, Emma looked back to see Belinda being grasped and pulled back down to sit by Gladys who said, “Sorry she disturbed you. I’ll keep a closer eye on her, Mrs. Sawyer.”

  Emma smiled when Noah chuckled at her new name. Leaning over the seat, she asked, “What do you want, Belinda?”

  “You said you’d teach me that song soon.”

  “Not tonight is what she said,” her father corrected.

  “But she said soon. And isn’t it soon by now?”

  Putting her hand on Noah’s arm to halt his reply, Emma said, “All right. I’ll teach part of it to you, but you must wait to learn the other songs.”

  Belinda nodded so vigorously that her bonnet bounced to fall back onto her braids.

  “You’re spoiling her,” Noah murmured.

  “A child needs to be spoiled a bit sometimes.”

  “Just save some of this attention for your husband, Mrs. Sawyer.”

  “Are you jealous, Mr. Sawyer?”

  She thought he would fire back a teasing retort, but he turned her to press her against him as he whispered, “I wish to jealously guard every moment we can spend together, and I don’t want to share a single one with anyone else, not even the children.”

  “Soon,” she said as quietly.

  “That’s hardly the answer I want.”

  “But you see how soon ‘soon’ came for Belinda.” She kissed his cheek.

  Emma looked back at the children as Noah laughed and drove them out onto the country road. He listened to her lyrical voice sing the words to the song the doctor had played earlier. He chuckled at the silly words and how the children tried to make their way through the first verse without missing any notes or words.

  He gazed off into the night. This had been the right thing to do. He was certain of that, but the familiar small nugget of uneasiness refused to be banished from his stomach. It was time to do as he had told Emma and leave the sorrow of the past in the past.

  Looking away from the road that the horse could probably see better than he could, he admired the lovely woman sitting beside him. He had not guessed until he arrived in Haven and met Emma that he could be happy li
ke this again. Yes, he had been happy to have Belinda safe with him after the fire, but she was a child. He had longed for the love of a woman who was everything he had dreamed of—alluring and gentle-hearted and intelligent and … alluring.

  He laughed under his breath. How irresistible Emma was seemed to be the only thing he could think of tonight. She glanced at him, clearly curious at what he found amusing, but continued to sing with Belinda and Sean as the wagon turned onto the road to the barn. Noah smiled when Sean’s voice cracked, but the boy continued gamely on.

  When Noah saw a horse tied to the paddock fence that he had built last week, he stopped the buckboard. He jumped down from the seat and lifted Emma out.

  “I don’t know whose horse it is,” she said before he could ask. “It’s too dark to see the markings. Who would be out here tonight?”

  He glanced toward the house and saw someone move on the porch. Whoever had ridden out here was waiting there for them. He considered telling Emma to stay here with the others, but told himself he was being silly. This probably was someone who had missed the wedding party and wanted to wish them well.

  When he climbed up the steps to the porch, he saw a familiar face in the thin moonlight. He did not have a chance to speak before Emma said, “Oh, Lewis, we missed you at the Grange Hall. I looked for you so we could have our dance.”

  “I was busy.” His voice was oddly brusque, and Noah wondered if the man was chagrined that he had let his work get in the way of his friend’s wedding.

  Emma smiled. “There’s some wedding cake left which we brought with us, and I’m sure Gladys can find us something to drink.”

  “Do you prefer coffee or tea, sheriff?” asked the housekeeper as she opened the door.

  “Nothing for me,” Lewis said. “I won’t be staying long.”

  “What can we do for you?” Noah held the door open so the children could scurry in after Gladys. Motioning toward the rocker, he said, “Have a seat. I think I danced my feet off tonight, and I’m going to give them a rest.”

  Emma sat next to Noah on the swing at the side of the porch. As they rocked in unison, she put her hand in his. He smiled at her, then looked at the sheriff who was still standing.