by Renee Ryan
Smiling, he bowed his head over her hand, and placed a reverent kiss on her knuckles.
“Oh, Garrett.”
He barely had time to rise to his feet before they were surrounded by family and friends. Everyone talked at once, the noise hitting earsplitting levels.
Molly lost track of Garrett almost immediately.
Next thing she knew, she was being pulled into her mother’s arms. Then her father’s. Then Mrs. Singletary’s.
Garrett’s mother moved in next. His father took a turn.
Each one of his brothers swooped in, then their wives.
Molly’s head spun. Her vision grayed.
A loud roaring filled her ears.
Another pair of arms encircled her—Callie’s—and then someone else hugged her. The gray in front of her eyes turned darker still. Molly steeled herself against the dizzying sensation taking hold of her, refusing to let the darkness consume her on this happy, blissful occasion.
She was passed around to more family and friends.
Finally, she wound her way back to her mother. “Are you happy, my dear?”
“The happiest I’ve ever been,” she managed to say, her voice echoing in her ears and sounding far, far away.
“He’ll make you a good husband.”
Her mother’s words were the last she heard before her world went black.
* * *
Garrett watched Molly fall to the ground, helpless to stop her descent. With every step he took toward her, he was thrown two in the opposite direction. A hard jostle from the right sent him farther back. The sea of bobbing heads parted, just a bit, and he pushed through.
He had to get to Molly.
But the crowd closed in around her again, cutting off his view. Helplessness clogged in his throat. The sensation felt as though a noose had been cinched tightly around his neck.
He twisted around. And around again, searching for the familiar cloud of black hair.
There she was.
Rising to her feet again, supported by her father while Mrs. Singletary and her mother shooed aside gawking onlookers.
Once the way was clear, their entire party set out.
Where were they taking her?
Garrett redoubled his efforts to get to her, careening upstream against the tide of determined well-wishers.
By sheer determination, he caught up with his future bride on the opposite side of the room. “Molly.”
Leaning heavily on her father, she rolled her gaze to his. “Oh, Garrett, there you are.” She laughed, even as she listed dangerously to her right. “I was trying to get to you and I lost my balance.”
“You fainted,” her father corrected.
“I did? How odd. I never faint.” She shook her head in bemusement. The gesture sent her wobbling again.
Pushing into a room just off the kitchen, her father helped her to a chair.
Once she was settled, Garrett rushed to her side and cupped her cheek. “You’re pale.”
“I merely need a little air.”
“Step back,” Garrett shouted over his shoulder. “Everyone just step back.”
“Garrett, darling.” His own mother touched his shoulder, her voice gentle but firm. “You’re crowding the poor girl.”
“Come with me.” Trey Scott’s hand clamped on his arm. “We’ll let the ladies take care of her for now.”
Garrett dug in his heels. “I’m not leaving Molly.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Katherine said gently. “But we need to loosen her corset and you cannot be in the room when we do so.”
“We’ll just be outside,” her father said, dragging Garrett to a door. “A mere holler away.”
“I’m not leaving—”
“Outside, Garrett.” Sheriff Scott’s tone brooked no argument. “Now.”
Chapter Twenty
Garrett paced the perimeter of the kitchen’s enclosed garden. His footsteps crunched in the hardened snow. His breath swirled around his head.
Eyeing his every move, Molly’s father leaned a shoulder against the brick and mortar of Mrs. Singletary’s house. “You certainly know how to propose to a woman.”
“She fainted.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, changed direction, exhaled sharply. “And I wasn’t there to catch her.”
“It won’t be the only time you’ll fail her.”
Garrett’s feet ground to a halt. “I’m not going to fail her, Sheriff Scott.”
“You can’t make that promise.”
Holding her father’s gaze with an unwavering one of his own, Garrett set his shoulders. “Oh, but I can.”
“Let me give you a piece of marital advice, son.” Trey Scott shoved away from the wall, his expression unrelenting but not completely unkind. “No man can be everything to his woman.”
“I don’t want to be everything to Molly.”
Don’t you? He drew in a tight breath. “All right, maybe I do. I want to stand by her in good times and bad. I want to love her without condition, grow old with her and protect her from every harm.”
“Noble, to be sure, and I don’t doubt you’ll do your best to live up to your wedding vows. I even trust you’ll protect her—”
“With my life.”
Her father nodded. “I wouldn’t have given my blessing if I believed otherwise. But, Garrett, you can’t be her savior. And she can’t be yours.”
His shoulders went rigid at the blasphemous suggestion. “There’s only one Lord and Savior.”
“Good to know you have that straight in your mind.” The other man continued holding his gaze. “You and Molly will be good together. She’ll inspire you to become a better man. You’ll bring out the best in her. But at the end of the day, the only place either of you will be able to get true validation is from the Lord.”
Garrett knew this, believed it, lived it as best he could, but he wasn’t sure why Molly’s father was so insistent on the matter. “Why are you telling me this, sir?”
“Molly has always held a special place in my heart, even before she became my daughter.” He shoved at his hair, the only sign this conversation was hard for him. “She came to Katherine and me after being subjected to unspeakable pain in her life, some of which she’s never shared with anyone.”
Garrett closed his eyes a moment. He didn’t like hearing that Molly had suffered as a child, didn’t like knowing she held a secret pain in her heart she’d shared with no one, not even her parents.
“When she first arrived at Charity House she refused to talk to anyone—not to her sister, not to me, no one. For months she didn’t utter a single word.”
What sort of trauma had Molly endured that would steal her ability to speak?
“Katherine and I made every effort to create a safe home for her. Over time, she became the gregarious, charming girl you’ve always known.” He took a step toward Garrett. One lone, menacing step that made a louder statement than his words. “There has been only one other time in her life that I’ve seen her caught in despair like that.”
Garrett swallowed back a surge of guilt, but held the other man’s gaze without flinching. “When I went away to school.”
“That’s right.” Her father took another step forward, closing the distance to mere feet. “I’m only going to say this once, Garrett, so listen very closely.”
Bracing himself, he nodded and silently prepared for the warning to come.
“Follow through with your promise to marry my daughter.”
“Yes, sir, as soon as possible.”
It was the easiest promise he’d ever made.
* * *
Molly returned to the ballroom a half hour after fainting—fainting!—her head clearer, her balance all but restored. Her mother stood beside her as they silently watched the dancers glide past.
She noted with great pleasure that Reese Bennett, Jr. was finally out on the dance floor, with Callie Mitchell as his dance partner. Neither looked comfortable, nor did it appear they were attempting to talk to
one another.
No wonder, tonight had to be difficult for them. Fanny had played such an integral role in both of their lives.
“I’m happy for you, Molly.” Her mother hooked her arm through hers and tugged her close. “God has brought favor into your life. Garrett will make you a fine husband, indeed.”
“I love him, Mother, so very much.” The words flowed from her lips with ease, words she’d never said about another man.
“Yes, dear, I know.”
A movement in the far corner of the ballroom announced Garrett’s return to the party. Her father strode along beside him. Much to Molly’s relief, both men were smiling.
Her father stopped to speak with Garrett’s brothers, while Garrett continued making his way through the crowd. He was heading straight for her. But when he stopped, he acknowledged her mother first.
They spoke briefly about the exciting events of the evening. At last, he turned to Molly. “We’ve only danced once tonight.”
“Then I’d say it’s time we did so again.”
“We’re in full agreement.”
He drew her into his arms and spun her away. A few steps later, everything in her simply stopped and sighed.
“Molly.” His expression turned somber. “Whatever comes our way we’ll see it through, together. And I promise, to the best of my ability, to never hurt you again.”
“Oh, Garrett, of course you’re going to hurt me again. And, sadly, I’ll hurt you, too. This isn’t heaven. We’re going to fail one another. But we’ll also have great triumphs.”
He angled his head at her. “Have you been talking to your father?”
“My mother, actually. Why?”
“Your father said nearly the same thing to me when we were outside just now.” His hand flattened on her back and he tugged her a little closer. “Molly, I know I’ll make mistakes through the years. I’ll frustrate you at times. I’ll let you down. But I’ll honor you, always. I’ll protect you with my life and love you until the day I die.”
“You know.” She tangled her fingers in the hair at his collar, her eyes filling. “That sounds like wedding vows.”
“Feels like wedding vows.”
Hope blossomed in the darkest corners of her soul, the burst of emotion stinging in her eyes. “You might want to write that down, because I expect to hear every bit of what you just said again at our wedding.”
“I won’t forget a word.”
“Nor will I.”
They stared into one another’s eyes, the steps of the waltz an afterthought as they clung to one another and spun across the dance floor. Around and around and around, the perfect start of a grand adventure.
“You look in desperate need of a kiss,” he whispered.
She pressed a tiny step closer. “Hold that thought until the end of the night. We’ll steal a moment alone once all the guests have gone.”
“Only a moment?”
She laughed. “Maybe two.”
“I like the way you think, Molly Taylor Scott.”
Unfortunately, a moment alone eluded them over the next several hours.
Mrs. Singletary pulled Molly away from Garrett as soon as they left the dance floor. Apparently, it was time to pass the baskets and collect whatever donations they could. Thus, Molly returned to her duties the rest of the evening.
Meanwhile, she noticed that Garrett was accosted by well-meaning family and friends wanting to congratulate him. Even Marshall Ferguson approached him and they spoke for quite a while. They both walked away smiling.
By the time Garrett made his way into the foyer, the guests were leaving the party in droves. As official hostess, Molly was required to stand beside Mrs. Singletary and thank everyone for attending. She’d rather let Garrett spirit her away and seal their engagement with a kiss as promised.
He stayed on his side of the foyer.
Watching him from her vantage point, she was overwhelmed by her good fortune. Thank you, Lord.
The prayer was simple yet sincere.
Once the majority of the guests were gone, Garrett finally approached her. With Mrs. Singletary looking on, he gave Molly a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Good night, my love.”
She sighed into him, mourning their moment alone that had never come.
“Good night, Garrett.” She lifted on her toes and whispered in his ear, “I can’t wait to marry you.”
“And I you.”
It took every bit of willpower not to wrap her arms around his neck and insist he kiss her properly, regardless of their audience. For years she’d told herself they could never be together again, that their time had come and gone. Now, she wondered why she’d ever doubted.
“I’ll stop by tomorrow.” He paused as the clocks began chiming the hour. One, two, three. He smiled. Tomorrow had arrived hours ago. “Correction, I’ll come by later today.”
“Yes, yes.” Mrs. Singletary stepped between them and turned his shoulders toward the exit. “Take your leave, Mr. Mitchell. Molly needs her sleep.”
A brief bow of his head and Garrett left the widow’s home.
Molly watched him go.
He’d acted on impulse tonight, perhaps for the first time in his life. He was a thinker by nature, a planner, but his feelings for her had inspired him to take a chance, to propose in front of a hundred of Denver’s most influential people.
That not only took courage, it took unspeakable love. Garrett loved her. He really, truly loved her.
Why then, wasn’t she melting into a puddle of happiness? Why did she feel as close to tears as to laughter?
Fear, exhaustion, something far darker tickled the edges of her joy. The staggering complexity of her emotions didn’t fit the exultant mood of the evening.
A soul-searching moment later, Molly knew why.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Garrett. It was that she didn’t trust herself. What if she allowed fear to enter her heart again one day, and she found a reason to step back from Garrett?
Would he let her?
Unlike her other fiances, he knew her. Really knew her. Surely, if she attempted to hold a portion of herself back from him, he would break down whatever barrier she erected between them?
Or would it be up to her to fight for what she wanted this time around? If it came to that, she prayed she had the courage to make a stand.
* * *
Under Mrs. Singletary’s strict orders, Molly slept late the next morning. It was nearly noon when she finally rolled out of bed. A decadent way to start the day, but a small amount of decadence wouldn’t hurt just this once.
As her mind slowly awakened, so did her memory.
Garrett had asked her to marry him.
And she’d said yes.
Under normal circumstances, their whirlwind courtship of three weeks, two days and four hours would be considered suspect. But the man in question was Garrett. The only man Molly had ever loved. Not for the first time, she realized the Lord had blessed them with a rare second chance.
Better rested, head clearer than when she’d gone to bed, Molly was determined not to allow fear to get in the way of what she wanted this time around. She wanted Garrett. And soon he would be her husband.
With that happy thought, she finished dressing for the day. One look in the mirror told her the events of the previous evening were no dream. She practically glowed.
The doorbell rang, announcing a visitor. Molly rushed downstairs just as Winston escorted Garrett into the main foyer.
“I thought it might be you.” She all but glided across the marble floor to meet him.
His eyes traveled over her. “You look rested.”
“I slept in.”
“I’m glad.” Although he didn’t attempt to touch her, the smile he gave her was full of promises.
She waited for him to take her hand, needed him to take her hand, to prove last night hadn’t been a dream, that this new happiness between them was real.
Why wasn’t he touching her? They were engag
ed. Surely her reputation could stand a bit of public affection.
Old worries reared, working unwelcome nerves through her bliss. Perhaps he hadn’t come to see her, after all.
“Do you have an appointment with Mrs. Singletary?” Her voice sounded as nervous as she felt. Why was she allowing anxiety to creep in?
This was Garrett. Her Garrett.
The man who’d asked her to marry him last night.
She forced herself to relax.
“I’m not meeting with Mrs. Singletary until tomorrow.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “I’ve come to take you to lunch. Unless you have other plans…”
“Mrs. Singletary insisted I take the entire day for myself.” She couldn’t bear it. She reached out and touched him, a tentative grip on his arm. “I’m all yours.”
“Yes, Molly.” He smiled rakishly down at her. “You’re all mine.”
A shiver skittered down her spine. “I…I’ll get my coat.”
“I’ll wait here.”
Refusing to allow thought in her head, good or bad, she ambled upstairs, retrieved her coat, then rushed back down the hallway.
She skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs, her breath backing up in her lungs. Garrett was cradling Lady Macbeth like a baby.
Rather than squirm or resist the vulnerable position, the smitten cat gazed up at him with big green eyes and a look of complete adoration. He spoke softly to the animal, nonsensical words Molly couldn’t make out from this distance.
Not that it mattered. What settled her nerves and made her heart beat in quick, hard bursts of hope, was the picture Garrett made holding the animal. He was the very image of masculine strength, even as he tenderly stroked the animal’s head with an exquisitely gentle touch.
Their children would receive the same attention. Molly could see Garrett with them in her mind’s eye. He would speak softly to them, as he did with the cat now. He would listen to them, hear them, stand between them and harm. They would flourish under his love and protection.
As would Molly.
She had no business allowing fear to color her perspective.
Eager to start their life together, she banished any remnants of doubt in her heart and started down the stairs.
Smiling, Garrett set the cat down on the floor, and offered her his arm.
