by Kara Summers
“Yes Silla.”
Lance knew what she was doing, taking the boy’s worry on herself and letting him concentrate on something else. Ellie took Jake’s hand and led him to the waiting area.
“Come on Jake let’s let Lance sit a bit with Silla.”
Ellie and Jake made their way out of the room as Lance noted the tears rolling down Silla’s cheeks. He moved closer to her and took her hand.
“Silla, you know you’re going to see again,” he tried to reassure her.
“That’s kind of you to say so Lance, but there is no guarantee.” Silla shook her head and began to cry harder. “And now all of our plans are ruined,” she sobbed.
“What do you mean, ruined?” Lance asked, squeezing her hand in his.
“You can’t marry me Lance, not now. You can’t take care of me and the ranch, it’s just too much. I’m so sorry,” she sniffled.
Lance thought for a moment before speaking. What if she was right?
“Let’s not think about that right now Silla,” he said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “We will postpone the wedding for a month or two until you are feeling better,” he offered.
She removed her hand from his and shook her head.
“That is very sweet if you Lance but what if I never recover? No, you should move on and try to find someone else,” she said.
Lance looked at her as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. How he wanted to tell her that in the short time they had been together he had come to grow very fond of her. If he was honest with himself, he was falling in love with her. He didn’t care about the ranch or his grandfather’s stupid clause anymore. He only cared about Silla and wanted to make her his wife. But what if she didn’t feel the same?
“Well I’m gonna let you rest a bit. I’ll be back in a while,” he said softly as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“Now don’t you go run off with some no account cowboy while I’m gone,” he said, trying to elicit a smile.
Silla offered a weak laugh and turned away from Lance a he left the room.
Once in the waiting area, Lance looked at Dr. Novak.
“You have to help her doc,” he said thickly.
“Lance, I wish I could, but there is nothing we can do but wait.”
“Well who can help her, and how can we get him here?” Lance demanded.
Doctor Novak understood Lance’s concern and telling him to wait a few weeks would be of no comfort to him today. It was clear that Lance was deeply in love with Silla and would do anything to help her.
“I can make some inquiries.”
“I don’t about the expense you just get them here,” Lance ordered.
With that, Lance turned on his heel and stalked out of the doctor’s office.
At Lance’s insistence Jake and Ellie were taken to the ranch and Ben was ordered to drive them into town whenever they wanted to see Silla. Ben did not mind the charge as he had become quite fond of the three. Each day he would take Ellie and Jake in to see Silla, and each evening Lance would come in to stay with her until dark. He would spend long hours with her on the porch just outside her room upstairs of the doctor’s office. It is on one of those evenings that Silla begins to realize that though her sight was still gone, she was beginning to develop her other senses. It is also on one of those evenings that she finally admitted to herself that she was in love with Lance. As they sat on the balcony one evening, she could hear music from the Silver Slipper on the other end of town.
“The music is so lovely Lance. Almost makes me want to get up and dance,” she said.
She turned her head in his direction and Lance saw the smile on her lips. It was the first time in weeks that he had seen her smile.
“Then, would you care to dance?” he asked.
The smile vanished from her lips and she began to play with the cuff of her sleeve.
“I’m afraid I’d do nothing but trip over myself and step all over your feet,” she said softly.
Lance stood up and took her hands in his, gently lifting her from the chair.
“You can dance, and I’m gonna show you that you can.”
“Lance, what on earth-”
He pulled her close to him and held her in his arms gently swaying to the music.
“See, nice and easy. You’re a wonderful dancer you’ll be dancing at our wedding in a few months.”
He twirled her around and her smiled returned. Silla gave herself over to the music and to Lance’s lead, feeling that as long as she was in his arms, she was safe. She attempted to step away from him a bit and felt herself falter. Lance grabbed her and pulled her closer to him.
“Hold on to me Silla. Don’t think of anything else but holding on to me. Can you feel my arm around your waist? Know that I am holding you and I’m never letting you go,” he whispered.
“Lance-”
“Shhh Silla, I will never let you go,” he repeated.
The music stopped and Lance still held her in his arms. The feel of her heart beating next to his was something he wanted to feel forever. He took her hand and put it on his heart.
“Can you feel that? That’s my heart Silla. It’s professing my love for you.”
Silla placed her head on his chest and smiled, “It beats the same as mine,” she said.
Lance led her back to her chair and helped her to sit.
“Thank you for the dance, my lady,” he said.
“The pleasure was mine, good sir,” she answered, smiling.
As Lance made his way back home that evening he knew that he would keep his promise to Silla and he would never let her go.
The next day, Doctor Novak had some news for Lance. He rode out to the ranch to tell Lance that a fine doctor from Denver had offered to come to Cheyenne to see Silla.
“You’ve heard of this doctor?” Lance asked, feeling hopeful.
“He’s excellent in this field and eager to meet Silla,” the doctor said.
Lance gave the go ahead to fund the specialist’s trip and made arrangements to get him to Cheyenne as soon as possible. That night as he knelt at the side of his bed, he prayed that this doctor would be albe to give Silla the most perfect wedding gift.
Chapter Six
It was only three days later that the specialist, Dr. Hunter, arrived in Cheyenne and was greeted at the train station by Doctor Novak. After a brief conversation to bring Dr. Hunter up to speed on Silla’s condition, Dr. Hunter asked to see the patient.
The two doctors walked into Silla’s room, where Ellie was sitting describing the happenings on the street below to Silla. “ Ellie, this Dr. Hunter. He’s a specialist and he’d like to examine Silla. So if you don’t mind we need you to leave the room,” he said.
“Oh of course no problem doctor,” Ellie squeezed Silla’s hand and promised to be right outside the door.
After Dr. Hunter completed his examination and conferred once more with Dr. Novak, he presented Silla with her options as he saw them. “Well Miss Montgomery, there are two choices. I can perform a rather new operation to try and relieve the swelling from your skull that is impairing your vision, or you can wait for a few more weeks and see if the injury heals itself.”
Silla asked the doctor a few questions about this new operation and its risks. When she was satisfied with his answers, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Doctors, if you will give me some time to think this over, I’d appreciate it. Also can I please have my family come in, I’d like to tell them my decision.”
“Of course Silla,” Dr. Novak said. “I’ll send your brother and Ellie in.”
Before ushering Jake and Ellie into Silla’s room, Dr. Novak introduced Dr. Hunter to the family.
“Dr. Hunter these are Miss Montgomery’s Brother Jacob, her friend Ellie, her fiancé Lance Boardman, and Ben Jones.”
“Pleased to meet you all,” Dr. Hunter said.
“Dr. Hunter, do you think Silla will see again?” Lance asked eagerly.
“I do Mr. Boardman
. I gave her two choices; one was to have me preform an operation that would relieve the swelling from her skull, or wait a few more weeks and to see if it comes back on its own,” He explained.
“Has Silla made her decision?” Ellie asked.
“She asked to speak with her family and I think she’s waiting for you to go in.”
Lance stayed behind as Jake, Ben, and Ellie went in to see Silla.
“Dr. Hunter, that woman in there is to be my wife and I don’t want any mistakes here,” he said to the doctor.
“I understand Mr. Boardman and I assure you that I am an excellent surgeon if that is the route she wishes to take,” Ellie and the others stepped out of Silla’s room and Ellie nodded to Lance. “She wants to talk to you Lance.”
Lance entered the room and walked over to Silla, placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Lance,” she started. “The doctor spoke to me and told me of my options and I told him I would tell him of my decision after I spoke to all of you.”
“Well what have you decided?” he asked.
“I have decided to have the operation Lance. I don’t want to wait another two or three weeks before I can see your face again.”
“So you want to see my face again, eh?” he said lightly.
“I most certainly do. I want to see your face when I say those vows that will make us forever man and wife.”
Lance picked her up from the chair and held her in his arms.
“You know I’m going to hold you to it now Miss Montgomery,” he said.
Three weeks had passed since Silla’s operation, and much to her joy, her vision began to return a little each day. At first, she could only distinguish light from dark, and then gradually shapes and colors began to reappear. One morning, as she walked carefully to the kitchen, she saw her brother clearly.
“Jake? Oh Jake I can see you,” she cried.
Jake enveloped Silla in a hug as she continued to look around the room.
“Ellie! Oh Ellie it’s so good to see you too,” she exclaimed.
Her gaze fell on Lance who sat in the corner just waiting for her to find him.
“And you, Mr. Boardman, you are as handsome as ever,” she said, beaming her brightest smile.
Lance rose from his chair and swept Silla off of her feet. I love you Silla,” he said as he placed a kiss on her lips.
“I love you too Lance.”
Chapter Seven
As her wedding day arrived Silla was absolutely radiant. She was going marry the man she loved. The sun was shining and everyone in town had shown up to celebrate. As Ellie was helping Silla get ready, she began talking about Ben and how close they had gotten.
“You and Ben? Oh Ellie I think it’s wonderful! Ben is a wonderful man and I know he cares a great deal about you.”
“He is so kind. I knew you’d be happy for us Miss Silla.”
There was knock on the door and Travis Boardman entered the room.
“Since this is a special day, I have something special for you. It was my great grandmothers and every bride after her wore it for her wedding,” he said, as he took a beautiful necklace out of its box. Travis held up a tear dropped shaped fire opal surrounded by rows of diamonds so bright it glowed.
“Oh Mr. Boardman it’s beautiful,” Silla gushed. “And on you Silla, it looks like it always belonged.”
The sound of the music cued that the ceremony was about to begin. Outside in the yard the guests waited for the bride, and Ben took her hand to walk her down the aisle toward her happily ever after.
The End
Return to the TOC for Bonus Content
Mail Order Bride: Dyani
Chapter One
I had always been a curious child, though that wasn’t considered a bad thing. The Crow people valued intelligence and curiosity. I would never think my desire to learn a strange thing until I met the white men. I was a young child when they came to our valley and settled in. I wasn’t afraid of them like the others, however. When I saw these strange humans building their odd-looking teepees, I only became more curious.
When I got too close, my mother would pull me away, shielding me in her pelts. She did not want the strange men to see me. She was afraid they would steal me away. Most of the mothers feared for the children. There was a tight tension that ran through our camp and it was almost as if my people expected that the men would destroy us. There was an anxious fear that settled over my people.
One day, I had managed to sneak away from my mother’s protective watch. My heart was beating out of my chest with excitement as I wandered away from camp. I knew that what I was doing was dangerous, but young children did not often understand just how dire the situations they put themselves in could be.
When I glanced back over my shoulder I was surprised that I could hardly see the sticks that held my home up. For a moment I considered going back. Maybe this was too dangerous. Maybe I was making a mistake. I glanced toward the woods and pursed my lips. If I did not move forward, I would never know what lay beyond my peoples’ land. I would always have questions but no answers.
Finally, I decided to push on and wander into the woods. The trees were dense and offered shade from the hot summer sun. It cooled my tanned skin and I sighed in relief as I moved through the forest silently. I was one with nature, my body moving easily with the wind and the trees. I did not make a sound as I ran toward the camp, a grin on my face.
I was only about ten feet from the tree line when I heard the wet sound of a rock splashing in the river. I blinked and turned toward the water, wandering over to it. As I poked my head around the side of the tree I noticed a young, pale-skinned boy standing at the edge of the river, looking down into it and tossing rocks into the calm waters.
I looked around for a moment, wondering if there were others around. When it seemed that the boy was alone, I wandered out from behind the tree and smiled just a little. I did not speak his language, but that did not matter. We’d figure out a way to communicate.
As I came to stand beside him he jumped, wide eyed as he turned to look at me. He seemed startled and almost scared. He appeared to be about my age and I could not help but wonder if we enjoyed the same things.
“Hello?” he whispered, voice weak and on edge.
I did not understand so I just picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the surface of the water. He seemed impressed and so I showed him how to do it. With that, it seemed that our friendship had begun. We did not talk, though he tried. It was a valiant effort.
After a long moment of silence, he dropped his rock and turned to me, pointing at his own chest. “Johnathan.”
He repeated it a few more times and I slowly began to understand. This boy wanted to know my name. I smiled and pointed to my own pelt covered chest.
“Dyani.”
He smiled and held his hand out. I just looked at it and he eventually took my hand and put it in his. My cheeks flushed red as we shook hands. I did not know what the gesture meant, but I realized that I liked touching him. I expected his skin to be cooler than mine, but it wasn’t, and it made my chest flutter in a strange way.
That was the first of many days we would spent together. I never told my family about him and I could only assume that he never told his about me. I wasn’t entirely sure how his people felt about mine, but judging by the tension on either side, I had to guess that it was not positive.
Our differences did not matter to us, though. We spent our days doing our best to learn each other’s languages and to show each other things we knew. I taught him which plants could be turned into medicines and which ones were poisonous, and he taught me how use a pistol. We were young and our friendship was strong.
There were times when we would be laying under a tree, watching the clouds pass overhead and we would turn and catch each other’s eyes. His cheeks would go red and I would smile, my own heart beating excitedly. It was something I did not really understand, I thought that this was how you must feel when you found yo
ur true best friend.
We’d been good friends for well over a year and we would meet and play in the woods. We even stole kisses here and there, but one day he just stopped coming. The first few days I figured it was because he was busy with other things, or maybe he was sick. His family had a farm and Johnathan had a lot of responsibilities. As the days turned to weeks, however, I began to understand that he wasn’t coming back. I feared that he’d grown tired of our friendship.
It was the first heartbreak I’d ever experienced, and I’d never forget it. I went back to my life as usual, but I did not forget Johnathan or the things he’d taught me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry. I’d felt betrayed and pushed aside, but I knew I was going to have to put those feelings aside if I was going to move on.
As I got older, my interest in Johnathan’s people only intensified. I wanted to learn everything I could about them. My family wasn’t happy about it and they tried to derail my interest, but nothing they did mattered. I had my mind made up.
I was going to be a part of that world, with or without Johnathan.
Chapter Two
As time passed, my people’s relationship with the pale man improved. There wasn’t as much tension and there was a silent understanding that as long as we both kept to ourselves, we would leave one another alone. We traded with them on occasion, but for the most part we minded our own business. Communication was difficult since I was the only native that spoke English. It had been hard to learn, but a kindly pale woman had given me some English books on a trade once. I used those as well as little bits of conversation I could catch when I wandered close enough to their little town.
I was eighteen now and ready to explore the world I had watched from afar for so long. My parents could not stop me anymore, though my mother begged me not to go with tears in her eyes. Her tears broke my heart, but I knew I had to do this.
The sun was high in the sky and I was packing up the last of my things, making sure to tuck away what little gold I had. I would need it to survive on until I could find a job, which might take a while considering there was still a general sense of distrust between the pale men and the natives.
