He nodded and reached for the door. “Keep out of sight.” He closed the door behind him.
“Hey, Todd, glad I caught you.”
“What’s going on, Howard?”
“The brides have arrived a day early. They’re here!”
The brides? Katie hadn’t meant to eavesdrop since she was worried about being discovered, but now her interest piqued.
“You raced out here to tell me that?”
“Well, yeah. And because they’re here so early, the mayor has decided we can do the selecting tonight, instead of waiting until tomorrow night.”
“I’ve told you, I’m not interested in participating.” Todd’s lowered voice made it hard for Katie to hear. She crouched below the window just beside the door.
The sound of feet shuffling near the door caused Katie to wrap her arms around her legs and pull herself into a ball.
“Listen, you signed the contract and put up the money. You’re as committed as all the rest of us, so stop being an ass.” It was silent for a moment. Then Howard seemed to speak from just outside the window, his tone no longer friendly. “Festivities start in two hours and we can’t get too far without you, so make sure you’re there. I have to rustle up a couple more guys, so I’m trusting that you can get there on your own.”
Katie heard the horse gallop off. It was a few minutes before the door opened and Todd entered. Katie, still curled by the door, briefly startled Todd.
“What was that about?” Katie asked as he helped her stand.
“Something I can’t get out of.”
“I heard something about brides. Are you getting married?”
He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve been against it since the start.”
“What are you talking about?” She held him, but she felt him slowly slipping out her grasp. Was it possible that she was going to lose the man after she just found him?
“Mail order brides. Loving is a small town. Mostly men. No marriageable women for hundreds of miles. So the mayor set it up months ago and we all pitched in with money for their travel.” He hugged her tighter. “I signed a contract before fully understanding what was involved. And I’ve been wanting out ever since, but it just can’t be done.”
They held each other without speaking for quite a while. Katie’s thoughts twirled around and around until finally an idea formed.
She looked up into his eyes and smiled. She tightened her hold on him.
He looked down and pulled her closer. “How is it that I’ve finally found you, the woman my mother predicted I’d marry, just to have you slip through my fingers?”
“I believe the universe brought us together because we are meant to be together. You’ve been in my dreams for so long, and now you’re real flesh and blood. I’m not going to walk away from this, especially since I have no idea how to get back to the time I came from. I’ve come up with an idea. It may seem crazy, but I think it can work.” She pulled him closer in response to the question in his eyes. “You’ll have to trust me.”
“I do,” he said. His gaze crossed her face as his fingers wove through her hair. “I absolutely trust you. If this crazy plan of yours lets us stay together, I’m all for it.”
“Okay, this is all spur of the moment, but to start, I’ll need a dress…”
Katie kept wiping her hands on the skirt of her dress. She was amazed that Todd had one, but even more amazed that it fit her perfectly. He said it belonged to his mother and other than the Bible and picture, it was all he had left of her.
“Next up is Todd Blake.” Katie heard the booming voice and knew she had to take her place. “Todd, come up here, my man, and pick the woman of your dreams.”
Katie made her way to the stage and stood behind a couple of the shorter women.
She scanned the crowd looking for Todd. He stood off to her far right.
“So, Todd, who’s the lucky woman?”
Todd didn’t say anything, but he started walking slowly in front of the women. Katie noticed a few posing for him, others tugged at their tops to show more cleavage. Some blew him kisses. He smiled and acted polite. He also avoided making eye contact with her. I’m here, right here. She wanted to shout, but she also didn’t want to draw undue attention since they weren’t following the rules.
When he got to her and their gazes locked, he smiled and reached out a hand. The woman in front of Katie inhaled sharply and giggled. Before the woman could do any more, Katie thrust her hand out and Todd grabbed it.
In that instant, she knew she was where she belonged.
“This woman is the one I choose,” he said.
“Andrew Todd Blake, do you take this woman, Kathryn Amelia Bronson to be your lawfully wedded wife…” The minister’s voice faded.
Todd leaned forward and whispered in Katie’s ear. “Your middle name is Amelia?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
He smiled. “Not at all. It was my mother’s middle name.”
The vows were quickly concluded and the next couple moved forward. Todd and Katie moved to the side.
“We just got married,” Katie said. Todd looked at her and smiled. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist as he surveyed the room and then glanced back at her.
“Yes, we did, and I’ve never felt happier in my life.”
She leaned up to his ear. “Is it proper for me to rip your clothes off now?”
He grabbed her hand and led her out of the hotel. They found Blaze waiting with the buggy and Todd helped her into the seat. He didn’t know how she did it, but she had most of his shirt undone and his pants undone before they reached the edge of town. Her kisses set him on fire, and her hand on his cock, even through his pants, almost caused him to fall over.
He reined Blaze to a halt and helped Katie down. She tugged at him and he half-fell off out of the seat. Her laugh filled his heart and as he got to his feet, he grabbed her in his arms.
“Let me carry you over the threshold, Mrs. Blake.” He fumbled his way up the step to the porch and into the house as she held their heads together in a deep kiss that he never wanted to surface from. Her soft groan spilled into his mouth as he kicked the door shut.
Todd glanced at his wife as he placed her on the bed. She tugged his body on top of hers and his heart burst with passion. They had a lifetime to explore each other in long, slow, languid intervals, not bad for a couple who had done everything on the spur of the moment.
The End
http://kaiteybenoit.tripod.com
Author Bio:
Kaitey Benoit crafts her steamy romances while drinking iced coffee in a converted New England mill building café. Kaitey can’t decide if her writing allows her to live vicariously through her characters, or if they live their lives vicariously through her, but she enjoys the orgasmic epiphanies that come to light when they all interact.
Legends of Loving, Texas Series: Spur of the Moment Page 3
