by Indiana Wake
“Howdy.”
“Howdy.” Harriet felt like a little girl again. She cleared her throat. “Where’s Lauren?”
Cristian made a face. “I told her to leave. She should be out of Natalie’s house by now, if the sheriff is moving quickly.”
That was something. But it didn’t make Harriet feel any better.
“Were you really not divorced?”
“Yes, we were. Lauren didn’t need to sign anything.” Cristian pushed off the doorframe and entered the room. “She committed adultery, so the Justice of the Peace could stamp it as a divorce as I had grounds for it.”
“Then why was Lauren saying you weren’t?”
“Because she didn’t agree to it, so it doesn’t exist.”
Harriet didn’t know why she was asking about that. She pressed her hands to her midriff, trying to control her churning stomach.
“So, what’s going to happen with you and her?”
“Nothing.” Cristian’s expression said he meant it. “I’ve told her to go back to her last lover. They can get married and make the baby legitimate, but no matter what happens I won’t be involved.”
“Baby?” That felt like a slap in the face. “Lauren’s pregnant?”
“Yes.” Cristian ran his hands through his hair. “She thought she could come back and have the baby, just so we could raise it together. I’d rather be childless than raise a child under those circumstances... and who’s to say what will catch her eye next time.”
Harriet could see the pain. Despite her initial decision to keep her distance from Cristian, she found herself gravitating to him.
“I’m sorry, Cristian.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.” Cristian took Harriet’s hands, pressing them to his chest. Now he was smiling. “As long as I’ve got the woman I love with me, I don’t care if I don’t have children. I’ll still be happy.”
Harriet’s throat tightened. It was a sweet gesture. She fisted her hands on his chest. “The woman you love is going to be a lucky woman indeed,” she murmured.
Cristian’s smile widened. “Yes, you are a lucky woman.” He winked.
“I am?”
“Come on, Harriet, you’re a smart woman.” Cristian kissed her hands. “It’s you I’m in love with.”
Harriet was still staring in surprise as Cristian kissed her. The surprise still hadn’t abated as Cristian lifted his head.
“I…” She was in a daze. Had she just imagined all that? Or had that really happened? “I had no idea.”
“You should have guessed from when I kissed you earlier. I don’t do that lightly.” Cristian’s hand slid over her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “And I don’t give my heart away freely.”
“You love me?”
Harriet was trying to get the words to sink in. It was difficult. After being told all her life that she wouldn’t be able to get a husband, hearing that someone actually loved her, Harriet felt like she was in a dream.
Cristian chuckled, hugging her close.
“Is that so difficult to believe?”
“A little bit.” Harriet bit her lip and looked away. “I was always told I would never be able to find love because of my size.”
“Then whoever told you that were complete fools.” Cristian gently grasped her chin and turned her head back to look at him. He smiled and kissed her again. “We are going to have a long talk about that, Harriet. Because there’s a beautiful woman in there, and I want to see your confidence make you shine.”
No one had ever said that to her before. Harriet stared up at Cristian, who gave her a smile that had her whole body melting. She smiled.
“I’m sure with the right person I can be that.”
“Think you can do that with me?”
“I think I can.” Harriet put her arms around Cristian’s neck, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you, Cristian.”
“I knew that already.”
“Oh, you did, did you?”
Cristian laughed, kissing her back. “Yes, you’re not one to give your heart away easily but it makes you glow and look so radiant. Your love shines out of you with so much power it almost knocked me from my feet.”
Epilogue
Mary stood on the other side of the partially open door and watched as Cristian and Harriet sat at the dining table, deep in conversation. They hadn’t stopped holding hands since Cristian had entered the room.
Harriet was smiling now, a touch of color in her cheeks.
Mary was glad about that. She was pleased that her first match of seven had been so successful.
And just in time for Christmas.
“Mary?”
Gareth appeared at her side. Mary smiled up at her husband.
“That took longer than I thought. Cristian’s very stubborn.”
Gareth stared at her. Then he smirked and put his arms around his wife.
“You mean that you actually put Harriet in Natalie’s house to make a match between Harriet and Cristian?”
“Well, when she said she loved an Irish accent and she was a patient woman, I knew she would be perfect for him. Even if Cristian didn’t want to admit it. That man needed healing and from everything I’ve read about Harriet they were perfect together and she had the patience and the fire to do it.”
Mary had met Cristian several times and could see the loneliness in his eyes. He kept everyone bar his sister at arm’s length. She knew he just needed someone to make him see the truth and to open up more. And from the moment she had read Harriet’s letter, Mary just knew they would be perfect.
“Your gut instinct is spot on again.” Gareth kissed her head. “Just be careful, Mary. Don’t rely on it too much.”
“I need to if I want to be a matchmaker.” Mary leaned back against her husband’s chest. “Now, we’ve got two more girls to get married before Christmas in two days.”
“What? Two more?”
“Yes, two more. That’s my target.” Mary grinned. “A beautiful triple wedding.”
That had been Mary’s idea for a while. When she knew that the girls would be arriving in time for Christmas, it had planted an idea in her mind. She had given herself a target to get three girls married by Christmas Day. A Christmas wedding would be perfect.
“That’s a little too ambitious, isn’t it?” Gareth asked. “I know you want to raise the bar, but that might be a bit too high.”
“It might be. But I like ambition.”
“I’ve noticed.” Gareth drew Mary away from the door, turning her to face him. He was smiling at her as he cupped her jaw in his hand. “You’ve really changed from when we first met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this confident.”
“Maybe that was because I hadn’t found my calling in life.” Mary put her arms around his waist. “Do you still love the new me?”
“Of course, I do.” Gareth kissed her head. “Unpredictable makes it more enjoyable in a marriage.”
“Not that unpredictable.”
“The good kind.” Gareth kissed her, then nodded to the door. “You go and break up the happy couple. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to discuss with them.”
Mary went back to the door and looked in. Harriet and Cristian were still sitting, Cristian kissing Harriet’s head. Harriet looked like Christmas had come early. She was practically glowing. Mary tiptoed away, taking her husband’s arm.
“Let’s leave them a little longer. I think they’ve still got some talking to do.”
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Justin Bass shoveled a load of potatoes into his mouth and moaned as the butter and herbs melted into his tongue.
“This is very good. Joan hasn’t lost her touch.”
Cody Goodridge grinned and looked at his wife, Maeve, who sat next to him.
“She’s a great housekeeper, and between her and Maeve, the rest of us are going to get really fat.”
He sat back and patted his belly, wh
ich was looking a little rounder than before.
Maeve rolled her eyes and laughed. “Maybe I don’t want to be lonely while I get fat,” she teased rubbing her own belly which was round with child.
Cody chuckled and kissed her. Across the table, Nathan Price shook his head and sipped at his ale.
“You look as lovely as ever, Maeve. Ignore him.”
“Wait until you get a wife, Nate,” Cody warned, a glint in his eye, “And I’ll give her a flurry of compliments.”
Maeve laughed. Nathan grinned and winked at Maeve. Cody pretended to look angry and shook his fist.
Further down the table Justin sat in silence and watched them as he ate his dinner. It was a warm atmosphere he found himself in. Justin didn’t usually like being around people; in fact, he hated it, but this was an easy group. He was happy to sit back and listen to the talk, banter, and laughter. Sometimes he was so quiet they forgot he was even there. It was as if he could blend into the background and that was what he liked.
It was good to just listen to his friends, with no pressure on him. Cody was opening up more in the last few months, and Maeve was progressing well in her pregnancy. Although Justin had a feeling she was expecting twins, considering how big her belly was. Nathan was his usual snarky self, but he never failed to have a smile for Maeve, who seemed to make every man who she met fall under her spell without her even opening her mouth. She only had to crook her finger, and the men came running.
Still, it was clear to anyone, even to an obtuse person like Justin, that Cody was the first man in her mind and he would get precedence above anyone else. Justin liked how his friend was comfortable in his marriage. They had a child already, and Cody was a doting father as well as a loving husband. These were things he had despaired about ever becoming. Now he was thriving, and he looked all the better for it.
It was at times like this that Justin felt a twinge of envy. He was not like Cody; he couldn’t get a woman like Maeve, not even in his wildest dreams. His latest attempt at courting several other women had proven that.
Maeve sipped her water and began to cut up her meat.
“So, Justin, how did your evening go with Luisa Pope?”
Justin made a face at her. He had hoped nobody would ask him about that embarrassment of a night.
“It didn’t.”
“It didn’t?” Maeve blinked. “You mean she didn’t turn up? I thought she was interested in you.”
“Oh, she turned up, all right. She was bang on time. But her attitude was awful.” Justin pushed his beef around the plate with his fork. “We went to have a meal together, and she complained throughout the entire meal. Whatever she could complain about she would. It was like she had turned into a pampered princess.”
Justin had thought he might finally get lucky. Luisa was from Phoenix and was very much sought after because of her beauty and her charm. But Justin saw the ugly side of her and the snobbishness she showed when they sat down to dinner. It was only because he didn’t like confrontations that he hadn’t walked out before the first course was finished.
Now he wished he had.
“Where did you take her?” Cody asked.
“Rufus’s restaurant in Frye.”
Rufus Reynolds’ restaurant was the only place in the area that served good food fit for a romantic meal. Nathan’s saloon served food, but it was simple barbecue and fried food because that was all Nathan’s cook knew what to do. The place could get noisy and a might rowdy as well. Rufus and his wife did a wider variety of dishes and, as a result, the place was popular.
“Rufus’s place?” Nathan raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that where she works?”
“It is.”
That was what had made it more embarrassing. It was only by mere luck he managed to get out of there pretending to check on the animals once the meal had ended. Luisa had thought she would be getting a kiss after the date, but Justin had other ideas. Luisa had tried to contact him since, even threatened to send her father after him for dumping her, but Justin ignored her. He heard later Luisa had complained to her father, who was the local brewer, and he had simply rolled his eyes and told her to grow up.
“Really? She had the nerve to criticize Rufus?” Maeve whistled. “What did Rufus do?”
“I didn’t see it personally, but Amy saw me this morning.” Justin chewed on the beef. “Rufus had heard the comments Luisa made, and he was furious. When she came into work the next day he fired her almost immediately, telling her he wouldn’t have staff being so disrespectful about his restaurant, whether or not they were working.”
It was amazing that Luisa moaned about the place at all. But Justin surmised she was from Phoenix and things were different there. Her parents had moved with their job, but Luisa clearly saw Canyon and Frye as beneath her and made her feelings known at the wrong time.
Justin was glad he was not going to be dealing with her anymore.
Cody shook his head in amazement.
“How people don’t learn to hobble their lip I have no idea. You picked a right one there.”
“He certainly did.” Maeve sighed. “This is the third night you’ve had in three weeks that’s ended in disaster.”
“He’s beginning to get a reputation of a lothario.” Nathan grinned. He nudged Justin. “You must be doing something wrong.”
“Or the girls available are just too picky,” Justin grunted.
That was true enough. There were lots of lovely people in Canyon and Frye, but there weren’t many women available for marriage. Women were such a small percentage of the population and were a precious commodity. It had come to the point where men were placing advertisements for a bride from the East Coast to come to Canyon and Frye to marry them. Cody had done just that, and it had worked wonders. The women who weren’t brought from the outside were either already married, too old, too young or just downright snobby. It was like they thought they were better than everyone else. Justin didn’t like that reaction, and he wasn’t going to entertain it.
“What’s with the sudden decision to find a wife?” Cody asked. “I presume that’s why you’re walking out with these women... unless of course,... you’re bored.”
Justin grunted. He looked down at his meal, his cheeks going red. His embarrassment stopped him from looking at his friends.
“I never thought about it before,” he admitted. “Marriage and everything. But then everyone around me started getting married, and I realized I wanted what you guys had as well.”
The thing was, Justin hadn’t thought about it before, but now... when he said he wanted it, Justin wanted it a lot. He lived alone on his ranch, which wasn’t big but it did all right. He only had two hands who helped out and slept in a separate cottage. Justin liked being alone and the solitary life was fine for him, but now he was beginning to realize he couldn’t live like this forever.
He wanted a wife. He wanted to become a father and chase after his kids in the yard. Justin wanted it all. Only there was nobody around him that seemed to be what he wanted or needed.
Cody glanced at Maeve, who smiled and shrugged. Cody turned back to Justin. “How about writing off for a bride... like I did?”
“You mean the mail order advertisements for the East Coast women?” Justin frowned. “Are you sure about that?”
“Hey, don’t knock it.” Maeve admonished him with a smile. “The East Coast girls aren’t that bad. Well,” She backtracked a little, “Not all of them.”
“You’ve seen it worked for us.” Cody smiled lovingly at his wife and laid a hand over hers. “Maybe it’ll work for you, Justin.”
Justin hoped it would. Seeing Cody and Maeve together and clearly in love made him believe it could actually work. He knew the other girls who had come from the East Coast to marry many of his friends and they were nice people. But his friends had been lucky. Justin doubted he would be that lucky.
However, as he was very much aware, he wouldn’t know until he tried.
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About the Author
About the Authors
Indiana Wake was born in Denver Colorado where she learned to love the outdoors and horses. At the age of eleven, her parents moved to the United Kingdom to follow her father’s career.
It was a strange and foreign new world and it took a while for her to settle down. Her mom raised horses and Indiana soon learned to ride. She would often escape on horseback imagining she was back in the Wild West. As well as horses, Indiana escaped into fiction and dreamed of all the friends she had left behind.
