My Hero (Cowboy Craze)

by Sable Hunter

  Sara came out to meet them. “Hey, I’ve been waiting for you guys. Hi, Nita!” She removed the little child from the car seat. “How did the appointments go?”

  “We survived,” Benjen muttered. “Barely.”

  “Oh, don’t mind him. Nita and I were troopers.” At Sara’s quizzical look, Apple waved her hand in the air. “I’ll explain everything. What’s going on with you?”

  “Oh, not much.” As they walked toward the house, Sara looked back over her shoulder and winked at Benjen. “I thought we could give one another mani-pedi’s and try out some new makeup I bought. Maybe do something with our hair.”

  “Sounds fun! I love it!” Apple almost squealed with delight. “I haven’t done anything like that for myself in ages.”

  “Me too?” Nita asked as she bounced along in Sara’s arms.

  “Oh, yea, for sure. I brought the prettiest pink nail polish for you. You’re gonna love it!”

  “I will. I will!” Nita cheered.

  “Thanks, Sara,” Benjen called after them. “You girls have fun!”

  As they went into the house, Benjen followed slowly, feeling pretty good about himself. Only the worry of what his family would have to go through in the coming months put a damper on his good mood.

  His family.

  Yea, he loved that little girl as much as Apple did.

  He also loved the child he had made with Apple.

  Benjen looked up into the sky and sent up a prayer of protection for each of them.

  …Once inside, he called his brothers, making sure each one was covering their part of the plan. Unbeknownst to Apple, he’d arranged a ceremony. A little mix between cultures. Perfectly legal and attended by family and just a few friends.

  Sara had proven to be worth her weight in gold. She’d seen to the music, the flowers, the preacher, and making sure everyone was notified about the particulars. Easy was back and he was in charge of the dogs. Daniel had taken care of the preacher, while Sam had rented chairs and a pretty canopy for them to stand under, setting everything up in a pretty spot down by Honey Creek. Taking his to-do list from his pocket, he checked it again. “Yep, everything is taken care of.”

  Now, all he had to do was wait.

  …Waiting didn’t prove to be as easy as he thought it would. He’d always heard of nervous grooms, but he never thought he’d be one. After checking his watch for the third time, Benjen decided to pace for a little while longer. He was waiting for the perfect moment to take in the boxes containing his girls’ dresses and assorted wedding paraphernalia. “God, I hope I didn’t leave anything out.” He started to check the boxes again but decided not to when his cell phone began to buzz.

  Seeing it was Zane, he assumed he was calling about the wedding. “Counselor? Don’t tell me you two can’t make it tonight.”

  “Oh, we wouldn’t miss it. I wanted to update you on the progress I’ve made with the adoption quest.”

  “I hope it’s good news.”

  “Well, it’s news. I am in the early planning phase. There’s a lot of legwork to be done.”

  “I can see the pile of billable hours piling up from me.”

  “Hardy-har-har.”

  “I took that number you gave me, the one Simone called Apple on and it’s been disconnected.”

  “Oh, hell. I’ve heard horror stories about that area.”

  “Right. Anyway, we traced the number to an address So, I’m sending one of my best investigators down there to make triple sure we can get the grandmother’s signature – if we can locate her – and verify there are no relatives who could lay claim to Nita later on.”

  “I’m praying there’s not. Apple has her heart set on adopting that little girl.” He did too, but that was beside the point.

  “I understand. We’re going to do everything we can and do it right. My guy will meet with our ambassador down there to ensure we deal with the right parties. Every country has their own rules about people from another country adopting their children. While we’re there, we’ll see about getting death certificates to confirm the parents are no longer living. We’ll also work here with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.”

  “Good gracious, that sounds like a nightmare.”

  “That’s why you pay me the big bucks, bud.”

  “So, no real news yet.”

  “Nope, I just didn’t want you to think I was here sitting on my laurels.”

  “Nah, I figured you were at that fancy desk of yours sitting on your ass.”

  “Nice. See you tonight, groom.”

  …Benjen didn’t share Zane’s news with Apple. Even though it wasn’t bad news, he wanted her to be able to concentrate on their celebration tonight.

  When the hour drew closer, he changed clothes, then took the two white pasteboard boxes from the closet and went to find the ladies. Benjen located them in Nita’s room and when he saw Apple, he froze, his heart pounding in his chest. “God, you’re pretty.” She was all fixed up. Her hair lay in gorgeous curls and she wore just enough makeup to enhance her natural beauty.

  “How bout me?” Nita called for his attention and he gave it to her.

  “You look like a princess.”

  Benjen gave Sara a grateful look. “You three look like you’ve had a good time.”

  “Yea.” Apple twirled around. “All fixed up and nowhere to go.”

  “Actually…you do have somewhere to go.”

  “Where?” she asked with a blank expression on her face. “Am I missing something?” She looked at him again and noticed his clothes. “You look nice. What’s going on?”

  “If you don’t get dressed…” He handed her the biggest box. “You might miss your wedding.”

  “Wedding!” Her mouth flew open and so did Nita’s.

  “Yea, get dressed girls. We’ve got a ceremony to attend!”

  Sara pointed to the door. “I’m going to give you three a minute while I check on the other details.”

  “You knew about this!” Apple addressed her future sister-in-law.

  “Guilty.” She waggled her fingers at them all and sashayed out the door.

  “I can’t believe this,” Apple muttered, coming to Benjen and wrapping her arms around him. “I thought we were just going to the courthouse.”

  “Yea. Well. I wanted this to be special. We can still have a big celebration on our one-year anniversary, but I wanted you to have some special memories on this day too.” He glanced down at Nita who was staring up at him like he could move mountains. “We can’t leave a certain person to go on a honeymoon, so I thought I’d do what I could to make you happy in other ways.”

  “Oh, I am happy. So happy. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, baby.”

  “How bout me?” Nita tugged on the leg of his blue jeans. “Do you wuv me too?”

  “You bet your bottom dollar, I do.” He picked her up and they hugged the small girl together. “Now, I want to see if those pretty dresses fit.”

  After untangling themselves, Apple and Nita tore into their boxes, finding handmade buckskin wedding dresses. Butter soft, pure white, and decorated with turquoise and silver beading.

  “Oh, my God. These are so beautiful!” Apple screamed. “I love them! I love them!” She threw herself in Benjen’s arms, then pulled back to admire her dress some more.

  Nita held hers up in front of her. “I’m gonna be an Indin pincess,” she announced solemnly.

  “As soon as you’re dressed, I’ll come back and help you with the rest.”

  Giving them some privacy, Benjen slipped out to get a breath of fresh air. When he did, he reached into his pocket to make sure he had the rings. Just touching the bands of gold made him happy. For a moment, he thought of Kelli. “Yes, I loved you, but I never got the chance to love you like I do Apple.” Now, he knew love matured. It grew. It was fed by touch. By tears. By laughter. He pulled the ring out and stared at the perfect circle. “Infinity. Eternity. God, if you’re listening. Give me those thi
ngs with this woman. Protect my children – both of them. Help me be worthy of those I love.”

  “Beegee! We’re ready!”

  With a smile he returned to continue doling out the items he’d gathered to make this day special for his beloved.

  Inside, Apple stared at herself in the mirror. What she wore wasn’t a traditional wedding dress. No, it was the perfect wedding dress. She felt beautiful in the garment Benjen had chosen for her. When he entered the room behind her, Apple’s eyes met his in the mirror. “Where did you find this gorgeous thing?”

  “A woman I know makes them. She’s probably seventy years old now, but she does the finest handwork in the land.” After giving her a kiss, he went back to the box and drew out a chain of wildflowers. “I made this for you.” He placed it around her neck. “And this.” He placed another, smaller chain in her hair.”

  Apple picked up the delicate, natural jewelry. “You made this. With your own two hands.” She marveled at the braid work. How he’d woven eagle feathers in between the blossoms. “It means something, doesn’t it?”

  “Yea, it does.” He bent and placed a miniature version of the flower chains on Nita – who was enraptured with everything they were saying and doing.

  “Here’s something old.” He gave her a bracelet that belonged to his mother. “And here’s something new.” Benjen pulled the engagement ring from his pocket and got down on his knees. “Will you marry me, beloved? I will give you everything I have, my whole life, and all my tomorrows.”

  Apple was crying, by this time. “I’m going to ruin my makeup Sara applied so carefully.”

  “Perfection can’t be improved upon, my love.”

  “No, you’re right.” She held out her hand, bending to give him a kiss while he slipped the ring on her finger. “You’re the perfect one, cowboy. And I’m the most fortunate woman in the world.”

  “No, I am!” Nita called out with confidence.

  They both laughed, while Benjen returned to his box. “Something borrowed.” He pulled out a delicate piece of lace. “My mother’s wedding veil.”

  While she gasped, he fit it on her hair in just the right way to frame the small crown of flowers.

  “Amazing.” Apple admired herself in the mirror. “I just can’t believe all of this.”

  “And something blue.” He gave her a wicked grin when he showed her a blue garter for her to wear on her thigh. “For good luck.” While Nita laughed with glee, Apple lifted her foot for him to slip the garter on and pull it up to a good four or finches above her knee. “I’ll enjoy removing that…later.”

  Apple’s heart was skipping beats. “Will we have guests?”

  “Oh, yea. I’m sure they’re all ready and waiting for us.”

  “This is crazy,” she told him with tremulous lips. “You’re crazy.”

  “Yea, for you.” He bent to the boxes. “One last thing.” Benjen pulled out two pair of the softest moccasins anyone could imagine. They weren’t the bulky fringed ones, these were slim, narrow, form fitting and covered in turquoise jewels.

  “Wow!” Nita exclaimed. “We’re gonna be Cindawella!”

  “Yes, you are,” Benjen affirmed with a soft kiss to the little’s girl cheek and a full-blown one on the lips of his future wife. “But when the clock strikes midnight, we’re not going to turn into pumpkins, we’re going to be a family.”

  …A little while later, Apple felt like she’d entered a dream. Sam had horses waiting for them. Once they were mounted, Benjen and Apple rode ahead while Sam walked beside Nita on her small white pony.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Just wait and see.”

  Apple held her breath as they wound their way to the water. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw everyone seated and waiting for them. In addition to Benjen’s family, her eyes found Dr. Cleveland, her daughter, and Mandy from the vet’s office. Sitting behind them were several of the McCoy family, including Ryder and her husbands, Pepper and Judah, Jaxson and Tamara, and Philip with a woman Apple had never seen before. On the second row from the front sat Zane and Presley next to Alivia and Saxon. There were several others she didn’t know, but they all looked happy to be there.

  Not as happy as she was – however.

  When they drew near, Benjen dismounted, then came to get his ladies. While a romantic flute played, he walked them down the aisle where a preacher waited for them beneath a canopy of white silk decorated with sunflowers. After the first few steps, Apple saw a sight that made her laugh with joy.

  At the end of the way, standing with Easy, were all the dogs. All the dogs, including the pit bull pups. Each dog wore a ribbon on their collar. On either side of the preacher waited Daniel and Sara. In Sara’s hand, Apple saw the red ribbon tied in the love knot that Benjen had placed on her hand what seemed like a lifetime ago. “Oh, I’ll never forget this moment. I’ll never forget it.”

  “I know you won’t. I won’t either,” Benjen whispered as they took their place and the preacher joined their hands. Nita stood happily next to Sara, holding a bouquet her new aunt had slipped into her hands.

  “Dearly Beloved. We are gathered here to join this man and woman in Holy Matrimony. Apollonia Wright and Benjamin Blackhawk wish to welcome you to this ceremony. To begin, our groom will salute his bride.”

  Benjen took Apple’s hand. “Our guests don’t know this, but this isn’t our first wedding.” Hearing a few gasps, he explained while he looked deep into his beloved’s eyes. “I wanted to do anything I could to hold on to you, so I took you to a special place and I slipped a ribbon around our joined hands. The words I spoke were a blessing, but they weren’t the exact words. Today, I’ll do it the Apache way.” Taking both of her hands in his, he brought them to his lips for a kiss. “Now you will feel no rain, for I will be a shelter to you. Now you will feel no cold, for I will be your warmth. There will be no loneliness, for we will be a companion to one another. We are two persons, but we have only one life before us. Beauty will surround us in our journey all of our years and happiness will be our companion. We will go now to our dwelling place to enter into the days of our togetherness, and our days will be good and long upon the Earth.”

  Apple’s hands trembled in his. “May I say something?”

  “Of course,” the preacher said, bowing his head.

  “Benjen Blackhawk, in the presence of our friends and family, I give you my heart forever as your sanctuary of warmth and peace. I pledge my love and devotion to you as I join my life to yours. I promise I will walk with you, hand in hand, wherever our journey leads us. Living, learning, and loving together forever. I take you to be my partner for the rest of my days. I see these vows not as promises, but as privileges. For I’m the one who gets to laugh with you, cry with you, care for you, and share with you. I get to run with you and walk by your side, build a life together and live with you in it. From this day forward, I am yours.”

  “Beautiful.” The preacher held out the Bible. “Join your hands and lay them on the Word.” Once they did, Sara gave him the red love knot. “Slip your joined hands within this symbol of your love.” Very carefully, they did so. Once it was in place, the pastor drew it together, binding them as one.

  “Do you Benjamin Blackhawk take this woman to be your wedded wife.”

  “I do.”

  He gave her a smile, showing those precious dimples. Apple almost swooned.

  “Apple, my love, I take you as my wife – to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part, in the presence of God I make this vow.”

  “Do you Apollonia Wright take this man to be your wedded husband.”

  Apple glanced at Nita, then held Benjen’s gaze. “Si. Yes. Si.”

  Benjen choked out a laugh, then wiped a tear from his eyes.

  “Benjen, my all, I take you as my husband – to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for rich
er, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part, in the presence of God I make this vow.”

  “May we have the ring?”

  Benjen turned to Daniel who placed the golden band in his hand.

  Placing it on her finger, Benjen whispered, “With this ring I thee wed.” His eyes smoldered and his voice dropped in timbre. “With my body I thee worship.”

  Apple swallowed, knowing the man had just made her wet. “Oh, God, I love you.”

  Benjen smiled and finished. “With all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

  “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Taking the preacher’s direction with enthusiasm, Benjen pulled Apple to him with a full dimpled grin. As all the guests cheered, he wrapped an arm around her waist, dipped her back, and kissed her for all he was worth.

  “It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you – Mr. and Mrs. Benjen Blackhawk!”

  With that announcement, everyone rose, and Benjen escorted Apple down the aisle to ride off into the Texas sunset together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Like Texas sunsets, their honeymoon might’ve been short – but it was spectacular.

  After celebrating with their friends, Benjen took his love in his arms, and carried her to his bed.

  “This seems like a dream, doesn’t it?” she whispered as he undressed her with the utmost care.

  “What can I do to make it real for you?” he asked before placing her gently in the middle of his big sleigh bed.

  “Oh, this is real. You’ve made all my dreams reality.”

  Lying back on his bed, looking like a wet dream, she watched him hungrily as he shed his clothes. “I want you to repeat what you said in our vows.”

  “Which part?” he asked, never taking his eyes off her. Watching the rise and fall of her lush breasts, his heart thundered in his chest like a herd of stampeding buffalo. Coming to the bed, he laid down beside her, trying to figure out what she was asking.