“He’s been at the smithy plenty,” she commented.
Dillon let go of her and chuckled. “He said he wanted to be able to talk without the subject of Matilda’s rash being the center of attention.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Too bad they didn’t know what it was from the beginning. I know of a salve I could have made for her. It’ll be nice to get to know Patty too.”
“Good. Oh, Patty wanted to know if you could wear one of your fancy dresses so she could see it. I happened to mention to Terry that you know how to sew wonderful creations, and now Patty can’t wait to talk to you about dresses.”
“Wonderful creations? Did you really say that?” Her lips twitched.
“No, I don’t think so. It must have been words Patty used or something. Terry and I don’t talk about pretty dresses that way or dresses in general. Let’s get you home so you can rest up for tomorrow.”
She nodded and smiled as he lifted her up onto the wagon. She cherished the closeness she now shared with him. To think she had almost left such a fine man. It would have been the biggest mistake of her life. She loved him so much it hurt. She’d been waiting for him to say he loved her before she said anything, but maybe she should say it first. She watched him drive, staring at his profile. What if he didn’t say it back? He did say he wanted to be friends.
Turning her head, she watched the scenery. It would kill her if he didn’t love her. Perhaps not knowing was better. She was glad when the house came into sight. She had a lot of thinking to do. She also needed a good night’s rest. Her husband had been keeping her up at night, not that she minded in the least.
* * *
The next day, Dillon dressed in his Sunday best. It’d been hard to hide the surprise from Scarlett. It had been even harder to arrange everything. Thank goodness for Terry.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs. Now that her ankle had healed, they now shared the big bedroom on the second floor. “Are you about ready?” he called.
He didn’t get an answer, but he didn’t need one. She stood at the top of the stairs as pretty as a picture. Her red dress was stunning. She looked lovely. She’d left her hair down, and he couldn’t help but stare.
Gracefully, she walked down the stairs, gazing into his eyes the whole time. He held out his hand and helped her down the last few steps.
“You are stunning. Patty is going to have a great time asking you questions.”
She glowed at his praise. “I dressed for you. I want you to be proud to have me as your wife.”
He would have hugged her but he was afraid he’d mess her hair. “I’m always proud to have you as my wife.”
He led her out to a beautiful carriage.
“Oh, how pretty!”
“The owner wanted me to drive it. He says the wheel squeaks, but when I’ve driven it down the street in town I never hear it. Maybe I’ll hear it this time,” he lied.
He offered her his hand and helped her into the carriage. He rounded the other side and got in. “This is going to be fun. I’ve been looking forward to it. Terry has been such a good friend to me. We traveled to Oregon on the same wagon train. It’s a shame his wife died on the trip. He has Patty though. She kept him going through his grief. He did well for himself and now he’s being hounded by the single women.”
“Oh, just like you were. I don’t envy him that.” She leaned back and smiled. “It sure is a fine carriage. I don’t hear a squeak do you?”
“No I don’t. I’ll be able to report I drove it clear out to the Boxer ranch and didn’t hear a thing.”
“Are we almost there?”
“We certainly are.” He drove the team up a hill and the ranch came into view.
“Who are all those people? I thought it was a small luncheon.”
“It’s a surprise for you. We never had our reception, and Terry offered to host it.”
“That’s sweet of him. My, there certainly are a lot of people there. It must be the whole town!”
“It certainly looks that way. Ready? Here’s the turn off.”
“I’m both excited and nervous. Don’t leave me alone with any wicked women.”
“I promise.”
As they got closer, they could make out the faces of the people and Scarlett gasped.
“What on earth? Is that—?” Her mouth dropped open.
“Yes it is. Hold on, we’re almost there.”
“There’s my ma and pa. Oh Dillon, thank you.” She hugged him hard.
“Love, let go. I’m trying to drive.” He waited until she was sitting down again. “Don’t you know I just want you to be happy?”
She stared at him for a moment. “Of course I do, and I want you to be happy too.”
“Let’s skip the party and go home. I think we could find something exciting to do there.”
She turned a becoming shade of red.
As soon as he stopped the carriage, she practically flew out of it straight into her ma’s arms. Then she hugged her pa. After that, it was a long procession of brothers and sisters. She took Dillon’s hand. “I want you to meet my family.”
“This is Lynn, my ma and Smitty, my pa. Of course, you already know my pa. This is little Rose. Next is Greg, his wife Mercy and their daughter Hannah. This is Juan and his wife Sonia, their son Brent and their baby Zacharias. Zacharias means God remembered. This is Hunter holding Oscar’s hand. Carlos, Anthony, Cynthia and in her arms is Alex. Jax, Will, Brian, Mia and this little girl she’s holding is Christy. And this fine fellow is Cotten.”
“I’ve heard so much about all of you I feel as though I know you all,” Dillon greeted with a big smile. “Scarlett, we need to say hello to our hosts.”
Scarlett nodded and readily took his offered hand. “We’ll be back. I’m dying to hear what I’ve missed.”
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You’ve been keeping this a secret for a while haven’t you?”
Dillon entwined his fingers with hers. “It wasn’t easy. I knew it would make you happy and a couple times while you were recuperating I almost spilled the beans. I’m glad I didn’t, your face is glowing with joy.”
“Where have you been hiding them?”
“Terry has been taking care of them. They got in late yesterday, and they plan to leave in the morning.”
“Such a short visit?”
“They have a ranch to run.”
She nodded. “I understand, but I don’t have to like it. Oh, there’s Terry with his daughter Patty.”
Dillon looked in the direction she indicated and smiled. “Let’s go and thank him and enjoy our day. It’s not every day we’ll get a party thrown for us.”
Terry shook Dillon’s hand and gave Scarlett a huge hug. “A bigger turn out than I expected,” Terry said.
“I wish I could say it’s because we are popular but you know how nosey the people of this town are,” Dillon said his voice full of humor.
“Everything looks so beautiful, Terry. I don’t know how to thank you!”
“Scarlett, this is my daughter, Patty. She’s been dying to meet you.”
Scarlett smiled at the shy redhead. “I’ve wanted to meet you too, Patty,” Scarlett greeted. “I hear you’re interested in fashion. I’m glad to have finally found someone that shares my passion.”
Patty’s eyes glowed with happiness and Dillon was proud as could be of his wife. She wasn’t the same spoiled little girl who had first arrived here. They’d had a few bad moments, but he had a feeling they’d have a long, fruitful, happy marriage.
The violins were tuning, and then the music began. He offered his arm to his wife. “Would you care to dance?”
She beamed at him and put her hand on his arm. “We’ve never danced before,” her voice was delightfully shy.
Love filled his heart as he took her into his arms and they whirled around the dance floor. Gone was the haughty, scathing, insecure hellcat and it felt wonderful to have finally gotten down to the real Scarlett. The kind, giving, funny, c
aring wife that she’d become.
Their gazes met and locked. Her love for him was there for him to see. It was a promise of a lasting future. He doubted she’d ever want to go back to her parents again. Their nights together were magical and he wouldn’t trade them for anything. To love and to be loved was such a gift, such a blessing. He hadn’t known what he was missing all these years. He remembered his turning point.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
God’s words had shown him the way, and if he hadn’t listened, he’d have given up in defeat long ago.
“What are you thinking about?” Scarlett asked.
“I was thinking how lovely you are and how blessed we are to have such love between us.”
Scarlett almost tripped but Dillon steadied her. “You love me?” There was hope mixed with fear in her blue eyes.
“Of course I love you. You’re my heart. I’m happiest when I’m with you.” He smiled.
Tears filled her eyes. “Oh Dillon, I’ve been waiting for you to tell me first. I was afraid to tell you. I’m not very loveable you know.”
“You are loveable, Scarlett.” She radiated happiness.
“Dillon, I love you too,” her voice was soft as she said it. “We are so very blessed indeed.” The music stopped and she took a step back. “I’d like to dance with my father. I know there are many women out there dying to dance with you.”
He cocked his brow. “I didn’t think you’d be happy if I danced with anyone else.”
“I didn’t either but I know our commitment is strong. Plus I can pull out the hair of any woman who tries to flirt with you.”
He laughed. “I’d best keep an eye on you.”
“That’s always a good strategy. I don’t even know what I’ll do before I do it at times. You know most of the town is here and there are no people whispering about us or staring at us. It’s nice.”
* * *
“May I cut in?” Smitty asked. He hardly waited for a yes, before he drew Scarlett into his arms. He twirled her a few times and pulled her close. “Happy?”
‘Yes, Pa, I am. More than I ever thought possible. You chose well for me. We had our problems at first and I wanted to go home, but Dillon wouldn’t allow it. Did you know people want him to be mayor of the town but he’s too busy? He also has the biggest house. At first I liked the house because it was the biggest, but now I like it because it’ll hold all the children we plan to have.”
Smitty smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
“I have to admit I thought you to be out of your mind having me marry such a tyrant. I’ve come to find that if you look at things with your heart, it’s never what you thought. At least what I thought. I now wonder how you put up with me.” She kissed his cheek.
“I’ve always known that you had a sweet, gentle, loving heart. I’d catch glimpses of it at times. It took a special love to bring it all out. Dillon is a good man. He too deserved love but he never seemed to think so. You look so happy, you glow. Of course we do miss you at the ranch, but knowing our little girl is happy makes it better.”
“Little girl?”
“Oh, Scarlett you’ll always be my little girl. I’ll hold you in my heart, always.”
“Pa, you’re going to make me cry.” She felt tears begin to form again.
Smitty took a step back and wiped the few tears that fell with the pads of his thumbs. “Be happy, you deserve it. Remember, we love you. We’d love if you could come and visit us.”
She nodded. “That would be fun, wouldn’t it? We’ll have to see what Dillon’s schedule is. He’s the busiest man in town. Did you know he designs tools and houses? And that people come in to ask his advice about practically anything?”
“He’s well respected. I bet you’re an asset to him.”
The music stopped, and her pa took her hand and led her to her ma.
Lynn pulled her in for a close embrace. “I’ve never seen you look so beautiful. You wear love well. He seems like a very nice man. Plus he’s very nice looking. I worried about you but it looks as though I worried for nothing.”
“Oh Ma, you had good reason to worry but we worked everything out. It was so bad he was going to build a separate house for himself right next door to me. I had a lot of growing up to do.” Scarlett grimaced.
“My dear it happens to us all. It’s hard to adjust to marriage at first but it seems as though you got through the hard part. The fact that he wanted us here proved to me that he holds your happiness as a high priority.”
“Ma? I’m sorry I was such a trial to you.”
Her ma laughed. “My dear, all children are a trial just in different ways. You need to embrace their uniqueness and try to gently guide them onto the right road. Now where did that husband of mine go? He promised me a dance.”
They hugged again, and held on extra tight for a moment.
“Pa is over at the punch bowl.”
Scarlett watched her ma hurry over to her pa. She spotted some of her siblings sitting under a tree with the little ones. She walked over and they all wanted to talk at once. It made her heart swell in a way it never had before when she lived at home. She sat and picked up Rose. It felt right to have a baby in her arms, and she wondered what her children would look like.
She felt the warmth of someone staring at her and she looked up. There stood Dillon with the oddest look on his face.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
He sat on the ground next to her. “No, not at all. You look absolutely gorgeous with a baby in your arms. It suits you.”
She felt her face heat under his gaze. “I never want this day to end. It’s been so perfect, Dillon. I’m afraid I’ll burst being so happy.” She handed Rose to him.
For a moment he didn’t seem to know what to do but it didn’t take him long to figure out how to hold her. “She sure is cute.”
Scarlett smiled. “You look good with a baby in your arms too.” She laughed as his face reddened.
He handed the baby to Mia and stood, offering Scarlett his hand. “Let’s dance. I never get enough of having you in my arms.”
“Eww,” a few of the younger siblings said.
Dillon just smiled as he walked to the dance floor with his wife on his arm. “Your family is very nice.”
“Yes, they are. Thank you for arranging all this.”
“I do believe you’ve thanked me a few times already.” He took her into his embrace.
She never would stop loving the feel of his strong arms around her and his hard chest under her ear. There was nowhere better to be. The sun had gone down, and most of the food had been eaten. Unfortunately, the day was going to come to a quick end. It was a day she’d always remember.
It was hard to say goodbye but it was different this time. She knew she had Dillon and they had a good marriage. She hugged her pa last. He held her for a very long time.
“Don’t you forget about us, now. I expect a visit when my grandchild is born.”
“Oh, but I’m not…”
“You will be, my dear. All in good time.” He squeezed her again. “I love you with my whole being. Always remember that. Now go to your husband. It does my heart good to see you both so happy.” He kissed her cheek before he let her go.
Tears filled her eyes as she was drawn into Dillon’s arms. “We should go,” she whispered.
He nodded, and Hunter was right there with their carriage. As Dillon drove she looked back at her family for as long as she could. It wasn’t very long in the dark. She’d miss them, but her home was here with Dillon. He was her heart and soul and her bliss.
“I bet Missy misses us. We’re not usually gone at night.”
Dillon laughed. “She’s a cat, she can see in the dark. I’m sure she’s fine
.”
“You’re probably right. There are times I think she’d rather just be alone. I’d rather be with you.”
He put both reins in one hand and entwined his fingers with hers. “That’s good because you’re stuck with me.” He leaned over and kissed her. “I love you so very much, Scarlett.
“I love you too, Dillon.
Epilogue
Scarlett screamed so loud that Missy ran for cover. Dillon started to laugh, and she gave him the evil eye.
“This is all your fault and you laugh? When I’m done, I’m coming for you, Dillon Stahl! I think you need to feel some of this pain.”
She sounded so serious that Dillon wiped the smile off his face. “I’m sorry.” He took her hand, which she squeezed hard. “You have to admit it’s not all my fault.”
“Let’s go to the double falls and have a romantic afternoon. Do you remember saying that to me? I do. You seduced me under the falls.”
“I don’t think husbands seduce, do they?”
“Now is a fine time to ask. Ohhh!!”
“You had fun that afternoon. You even wanted to go back and do it again sometime.”
She squeezed his hand again. “I must have been out of my mind.”
Dillon wiped her brow. Lolly was there to help, and she told him that Scarlett was acting perfectly natural. “You’ll be happy once the baby is born.”
“And when will that be, Dillon? I’ve been in labor for days.”
“It might seem that way, honey but it’s only been a few hours.”
“Don’t honey me,” she shouted as another contraction rippled through her body.
Dillon wisely kept his mouth shut.
She fell back against the pillow. “Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?”
He was almost afraid to answer. No matter what he said, it would be wrong. If this was what childbirth was like, he wondered why people stayed married. He had his choice to wait outside but he wanted to be there for her. Someone should have warned him. “A girl just like you.”
“But what if it’s a boy? You won’t want it?”
Now he knew she was out of her mind.
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