Courting Miss Cartwright: A Sweet Western Historical Romance Novella (Rated PG) (Six Brides for Six Gideons Book 2)

by Kristin Holt

  Her heart skipped—but not with panic. Pure joy. Amazing in its purity.

  He eased back, held her gaze. “I’m determined to win your heart. And I will.”

  The depth of affection she witnessed in his eyes banished her objections. “You already have it.”

  Happiness illuminated his countenance. “So that’s a yes? You accept my suit?”

  Joy bubbled over, rich and growing and wildly exciting. How could she say no? “Yes.”

  He whooped with elation. He stole a kiss, then two.

  “I’ll try,” he whispered into her ear, minutes later, “but I doubt I’ll be able to give you a full year of courtship before I ask you to become my wife. When I do, I’m banking on you saying yes.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Bear in mind the lady’s inherent privilege to refuse your proposal. You will, in time, find another young lady deserving of your love and exult in the good fortune resulting from the first lady’s rejection.”

  ~ The Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship and Marriage

  EPILOGUE

  In the spring of 1880, Mountain Home’s river overflowed its banks with late spring snowmelt, and the view of said river from the new house Rocky had commissioned for his bride-to-be showed the vibrant green of new grasses and wildflowers.

  A perfect backdrop for the question he’d determined to ask.

  The timing couldn’t be better. He’d shown her through the house, the final interior details completed over the winter. The spacious rooms smelled of sawdust, plaster, and paint. All it needed was a woman’s touch. Details like furnishings, someone to set up housekeeping, and in time, the pit-a-pat of little feet.

  Rocky walked hand in hand with Felicity—truly his one source of merriment, contentment, and delight. His lady’s name suited her perfectly.

  She suited him perfectly.

  For not the first time, he thanked The Reverend Cartwright for bringing his bride-to-be into his life.

  “I have something to ask you,” he told Felicity once they reached the rushing river.

  “Oh?” She turned to him, evidently still considering the house and all it meant.

  “We’ve been courting for nine months.”

  “Five days shy of nine months.” She smiled with heartwarming trust and affection and love.

  Humbled, moved, he raised her hand and kissed her knuckles.

  He held her gaze while he lowered himself to one knee. Moisture from the damp grass soaked through his pant leg but he didn’t care. The brilliance of joy on his bride’s face filled his heart to bursting. Tears spilled over her lids and trailed down her cheeks. Happy tears. Joyful tears. Love and acceptance and promises, all rolled into that beautiful expression.

  “If I had more patience, I’d give you another four or five months, give you time to decide if I’m the best match for you but the truth of the matter is I can’t wait another day.”

  She squeezed his hand between both of hers. As if too choked to speak she simply nodded.

  “Will you, dearest Felicity, marry me?”

  She nodded, vigorously, and threw herself into his arms. He caught her, held her tight, rocked her back and forth and savored every moment. The sunshine, warm on his shoulders seemed heaven-sent as if her father were aware and approved.

  “Is that a yes?” He kissed her hair. “I need to hear your answer, my love.”

  She laughed, her cheek pressed to his shoulder. “Yes. Yes! I love you, Rocky.”

  He chuckled, joy as abundant and overflowing as the river.

  He could see now, with perfect clarity, he and Temperance had never been a good match. He’d seen it nine months ago—probably much sooner—and nothing had changed. The gal had blossomed as Mrs. W.W. Stuart. She and the attorney were happy as two peas in a pod, had set up housekeeping in a nice house on the east side of town.

  Even better, the sisterly relationship between Temperance and Felicity had deepened, strengthened, become what the minister must have hoped it would. The bond between them defined family: permanent, resilient, special.

  Rocky gave his bride-to-be one more squeeze and held her away just enough to see into her eyes. “I love you, Felicity. I think I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you in W.W.’s office.”

  “Balderdash.” But she’d found her voice and smiled through her happy tears. “You fell in love with me when you told me all about your parents, I denied your responsibility, and you discovered our similarities.”

  “You’re probably right, my dear.”

  “Probably?”

  He loved it when she teased. “My mistake, love. You’re right. Of course.”

  He claimed her mouth, kissed her with the reverence she deserved. This precious woman owned his heart. “Happy birthday, love.”

  “Ouch. I’d rather not think about birthdays. I’m an old maid. Twenty-six.”

  “You’re hardly old and you won’t be a maiden much longer.” He waggled his brows, anxious to put his wedding ring on her finger, anxious to claim her and address her as Mrs. Gideon.

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Nope. Just a man in love.” He kissed her, a quick touch of lips. “Don’t I get credit for remembering?”

  “I suppose you do. But remember that my birthday, all of my life—until you, of course—was no cause for celebration. That day reminded my mother, and everyone else, about the circumstances.”

  “That’s their problem, not yours. I’m glad you were born, and it’s my opinion that matters.”

  “Thank you. Now let’s talk about something else.”

  She hadn’t made a move to extricate herself from his hold and he liked the way she fit against him. Just right. “Let’s set a wedding date.”

  She stilled in his arms.

  “Felicity, darling, no rush. I just thought, with summer coming, you might want—”

  “Is it really up to me?”

  “Of course it is. The bride always chooses.”

  “Then I choose today.”

  Speechless. She’d rendered him speechless.

  “No comment?” she teased.

  “Don’t you want time to have a dress made? Mrs. Pettingill at the tailor shop sews exquisite—”

  “No.”

  “But your sister—don’t you want—?”

  “You’re handsome when flustered.” This time she kissed him. With heat and enthusiasm and love.

  “Don’t you want time to make plans? Invite friends? I don’t know—decorate our new house so we might be married there?”

  “It took a crisis to bring us together, Mr. Gideon. I waited twenty-five long years to find you, and now that you’ve courted and wooed me, and finally proposed marriage, I don’t want to wait one more day. I love you.”

  He nodded. She’d said everything that needed saying.

  “Besides, if May fifteenth becomes our wedding anniversary, my birthday will become a day to cherish—the day we took our vows as husband and wife.”

  “You’re most convincing.”

  “If it’s good enough for my sister, it’s good enough for me. Eloping will become a family tradition.”

  “Let’s hurry into town, obtain a wedding license, and locate the new pastor.”

  “You’re sure?” He knew he shouldn’t ask. Why would he resist when she clearly wanted precisely what he did? Happily ever after couldn’t commence soon enough.

  “Yes, I’m sure I want a minister to officiate at our wedding.” A twinkle illuminated her beautiful eyes. “In the church my father built. It’ll be almost as if he were there.”

  “I think we’ll find The Reverend Gilbert easily enough. Shall we swing by your sister’s house and invite her to witness the event?”

  “Yes, though I’m still put out she didn’t invite me to attend her wedding. She left me behind.”

  That tugged a deep, hearty laugh from Rocky, one his bride quickly joined in.

  “But darling,” he teased, “you’re so quick to forgive.”

  Th
at brought a sweet smile to her face, one that seemed to light her from within. “It’s you who taught me acceptance and forgiveness and the meaning of family, Rocky Gideon. And I can’t wait for our life’s adventure to begin.”

  “Ready?” He asked, twining his fingers with hers, tipping his head toward the waiting team and buggy.

  “I’ll race you!” She squealed with laughter, pulled free, and bolted for the conveyance.

  On May 15, 1880, Rocky Gideon and Felicity Cartwright were joined in holy matrimony by a very green, very young replacement minister of the gospel, in the church Felicity’s father had built.

  No one had ever accused Rocky of being quiet about good news. He shouted a few joyous announcements on their way through town, so it turned out half a dozen—or perhaps a couple dozen—bright-faced townsfolk joined them just in time to witness the joyful occasion.

  Felicity’s sister, heavy with child, entered the church, schlepping her attorney husband close behind. Temperance nearly called a halt to the services, exclaiming she had the right to witness the ceremony from beginning to end but Felicity’s calm reminder that Temperance had eloped thus negating all requests her little sister might make.

  Red faced, The Reverend Gilbert stuttered, coughed, backed up a phrase or two, but ultimately completed the ceremony. Rocky pushed a heavy gold band, mined from the Peerless, onto his bride’s third finger and kissed it. The preacher pronounced them man and wife, then presented Mr. and Mrs. Rocky Gideon to the cheering onlookers.

  A plump, white-haired matron pounded a few vigorous cords on the piano by way of recessional and the happy couple—dressed in simple every-day work clothes jumped in their buggy still standing at the church steps. The crowd waved them off with shouted well-wishes and applause.

  The onlookers watched, perhaps with a bit too much attention as Rocky drove the buggy next door to the Cartwright house, scooped his bride up in his arms, and shouted to his brother-in-law to put up the horses.

  With that, Rocky carried Felicity up the stairs, over the threshold, and into their very bright future.

  ~ THE END ~

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  Note From The Author

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for visiting 1879 Colorado with me. Mountain Home, Colorado is a fictional town in a very real place. I’ve built a series (Holidays in Mountain Home) set in this small town leading up to the turn of the century. When determining where this novella would be set, I chose Mountain Home and the residents and locations that would have been there in 1879. This novella is linked to the Holidays in Mountain Home Series without being a numbered volume in that series, because…

  This title, Courting Miss Cartwright, is Book 2 in the Six Brides for Six Gideons series. Book 1 in this series is Gideon’s Secondhand Bride. The hero in each book of this series are brothers, all with the surname Gideon. They became separated as children, and by the end of the series, we’ll see if and how and when they reconnect.

  So while this book is officially #2 in the Six Brides for Six Gideons Series, it’s also a tie-in to Holidays in Mountain Home. What holiday falls within its pages? Founders’ Day! I hope you enjoyed the small-town celebration commemorating the town’s original settlement and the sense of community, belonging, and home.

  More than one newcomer (character) has found the ever-elusive sense of home in Mountain Home, Colorado. I hope you’ll give Home for Christmas, Maybe This Christmas, The Marshal’s Surrender, and The Drifter’s Proposal a try.

  A real book titled The Marriage Guide for Young Men: A Manual of Courtship and Marriage by Reverend George W. Hudson, was self-published in 1883 from Ellsworth, Maine. I enjoyed reading about the Victorian American attitudes regarding courtship and marriage, and the advice given to young men seeking to wed and do so with happy results.

  This public domain book sparked my creative process in plotting this story, and while I do not quote the book, I drew upon the pervasive themes and belief system of the era to ensure historical accuracy for the quotes from my loosely based fictional Victorian self-help book.

  This fictional book exists only in the quotations cited throughout this novella. The fictional ‘book’ is by my character, The Reverend Cedric Adams Cartwright and is titled: The Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship and Marriage. This fictional publication required a date early enough to have guided Rocky Gideon’s selection of a well-suited wife (and the mess that well-intentioned advice caused).

  My inclusion of the Victorian-era quotes was not meant to poke fun but to add a layer of historical truth and better explain Rocky’s motivations. I sincerely hope I succeeded.

  My choice to include a valued Jewish character and a smattering of Yiddish is in nod to my own heritage. While Jews were in the minority in the west (aren’t we, everywhere?), pockets of Jewish communities existed historically in Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, etc.

  As always, I welcome your comments and thoughts. If you enjoyed this book, I’d greatly appreciate a review. Thanks in advance! You’re also welcome to contact me through my website. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Courting Miss Cartwright.

  Warmly,

  Books by Kristin Holt

  www.KristinHolt.com

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  Learn more about Kristin Holt’s Series:

  THE HUSBAND-MAKER TRILOGY

  PROSPERITY’S MAIL ORDER BRIDES

  SIX BRIDES FOR SIX GIDEONS

  HOLIDAYS IN MOUNTAIN HOME

  And collaborative works ~

  on her website ~or~ Amazon’s Kristin Holt Page

  Hi! I'm Kristin Holt, USA Today bestselling author of Sweet Romances (G- and PG-rated) set in the Victorian American West.

  While secular in nature, my titles are “Appropriate for All Audiences” and appeal to selective readers and fans of Christian historical romance.

  I write frequent articles (or view recent posts easily on my Home Page, scroll down) about the nineteenth century American west–every subject of possible interest to readers, amateur historians, authors…as all of these tidbits surfaced while researching for my books. I also blog monthly at Sweet Americana Sweethearts (first Friday of each month) and Romancing the Genres (third Tuesday of each Month).

  I love to hear from readers! Please drop me a note. Or find me on Facebook.

  You’re invited to join a fantastic Facebook group for authors and readers of Western Historical Romances, Pioneer Hearts.

  Please stop by www.KristinHolt.com and say hello!