Dorothy Garlock - [Wyoming Frontier] (31 page)

“No. She can’t do that. But I think you’d like her, Nan. She’s proud, independent, and she’s a warm, sweet woman like you.”

Nan framed his face with her palms and kissed him on the lips. “I’m happy for you, darlin’. If you love her, she must be a hell of a woman—and a damn lucky one. I might of even married you myself—if you’d of asked me.”

“Come to Trinity, Nan. Katy and I are going to make it a real town.”

“Build me an Opera House and I will.” She followed Rowe to the door. “Darlin’, why don’t you just kill that asshole brother of yours and get it over with?”

“I can’t, honey, unless it comes down to his life or mine.”

“If I hear anything, I’ll get word to that old stick-in-the-mud Anton.”

“I thought you liked Anton.”

“I do. He’s just not any fun.”

“You and Anton are the only ones in town I can depend on. Thanks, honey. You know where to find me if ever you’re in need.”

“I know. Bye, darlin’. Be happy.”

Nineteen

On the way back to the hotel Rowe passed the dressmaker’s shop and paused briefly. He thought of buying something pretty for Katy, but discarded the idea for fear of stepping on her pride. He continued on down the boardwalk to the goldsmith’s shop and ten minutes later came out with a small gold ring in his pocket.

He stood with his back to the building and debated whether or not to go over to the Anaconda Hotel and confront his brother. What good would it do? he asked himself. The last three times they had come face-to-face, Justin had lost control and they had almost killed each other. What could Garrick say to him that would make a difference? There would be no reasoning with a man who had so many years of hate built up inside him. Justin was still competing with him, Rowe realized. Not for their father’s love, as he had done when he was eight years old, but for things such as success and peace of mind. Rowe supposed it was Justin’s warped view that if he made his brother’s life miserable, he, himself, would be happier.

His face grave and quiet, Rowe once again moved into the stream of traffic on the walk and headed back to the hotel and Katy. It had been over an hour since he left her, and he couldn’t wait to see her again.

They had dressed carefully for the ceremony that would make them man and wife; Katy in her freshly ironed blue dress, and Rowe in a white shirt, black string tie and a coat that made his shoulders seem a yard wide.

At the door of the church Katy paused, removed her hand from his, lifted the blue shawl from her shoulders and folded it. Carefully she placed it on her head with the point at the top of her forehead and the soft folds falling along her shoulders. She stroked the softness of the shawl, took a steadying breath, and raised her eyes to the man watching her.

“I was right,” he said softly. “That shawl is just the color of your eyes.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re the one that’s beautiful.” His dark eyes were soft with love.

She reached up and touched his face with her fingertips. In a short time this man would be her husband. The suddenness of her decision was shocking, yet she knew in her heart that she had lived all her life for this moment. They had been drawn to each other like steel to a magnet. The bond that held them together was exquisitely beautiful, but as strong as chains forged in iron.

“I love you.” She raised her lips for his kiss.

“I love you. Will you be my wife?” he whispered.

“Forever and ever. Will you be my husband?” she asked with sweet solemnity.

“For as long as we live and throughout eternity,” he vowed; he bent his head and took her lips softly, adoringly, lingeringly. It was a kiss of deep commitment. “When I first saw you on the path in the moonlight, I knew I had found what I had been looking for all my life. In my heart you’re my wife, but we must go in and make our vows legal in the eyes of man.”

Anton was waiting just inside the door with a bouquet of flowers that he thrust into Katy’s arms. He then led the way to the front of the church.

The preacher stood stoop-shouldered and old in the stream of yellow light from the window. His voice, however, was strong.

“Mr. Garrick Rowe. Miss Katherine Burns. Please step forward. As you have no witnesses other than Mr. Hooker, and two signatures are required on the marriage paper, my wife will be pleased to act as the second witness.” He nodded toward a woman with a sweet face and gray hair tightly coiled on the top of her head. After both Katy and Rowe nodded to the woman, he took up a large Bible, stepped out in front of the pulpit and said, “Stand before me.”

Rowe and Katy moved to face him, holding tightly to each other’s hands. Anton and the preacher’s wife arranged themselves for the ceremony; Anton on Rowe’s right, the woman on Katy’s left.

The preacher opened the Book.

“Take her left hand.”

Katy placed her hand in Rowe’s and their fingers entwined in a knot of love. She watched the preacher’s old, spotted hands turn the thin pages of the Bible and wished that Mary were standing here beside her as she took her vows. Today she was joining her life to that of a rugged, earthy man who would love, cherish, and protect her and their children. They would live out the days of their lives together, grow old together. Never again would she wake to a day of loneliness stretching out before her. Katy was realistic enough to know that, as she and Rowe traveled through life together, there would be rough spots, that she may not always feel this glow of happiness, but she was confident their love would be enduring.

The service began. The preacher’s hushed, reverent tones brought her back to the present. Her eyes went quickly to Rowe’s and found that he was gazing down at her.

“Do you, Garrick Rowe, take this woman, Katherine Burns, to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise, before God, to love her and cherish her in sickness and in health, for better or worse, until death do you part?”

While Rowe listened to the words, his eyes were on the face of the woman who had become dearer than life to him.

“I do promise.”

“Do you, Katherine Burns, take this man, Garrick Rowe. to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise, before God, to love him and cherish him, to honor and obey him, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, until death do you part?”

With her eyes locked with Rowe’s, she whispered, “I do.”

“The ring, please.”

Rowe reached into his pocket for the gold band and placed it on Katy’s finger. With his eyes holding hers, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the symbol of their union.

“By the right invested in me by the Church of our Lord and Savior, and by the law of Montana Territory in this year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, I declare you man and wife.”

The ceremony that changed their lives forever was over quickly. Rowe and Katy turned to each other. He looked into her face, then slowly pulled her into his arms. His lips touched hers gently and reverently, then a smile stripped years from his face.

“Hello, wife,” he whispered.

“Hello . . . husband,” she answered.

For the longest time he simply held her against him, looking at her, unmindful of the others. In her eyes was such a look of adoration that he was suddenly fearful. Her love was so great a miracle that all he could think of was how well he would care for this magnificent woman who was the core of his life.

“Are you two going to look at each other all day?” Anton’s bored voice finally broke the silence. “I want to kiss the bride.”

Rowe released her reluctantly, stepped back, and bore nobly Anton’s kissing his wife. Dear God, how had he lived until now without her sweet, joyous presence in his life?

The preacher stepped over to a table and indicated a document spread on it. “If you will both sign, the witnesses will affix their signatures.”

He dipped the pen in the inkhorn and handed it to Katy. She set her name to the paper and passed the pen to Rowe. When he finished, first Anton, then the preacher’s wife signed the marriage papers. The preacher waved the paper until he was sure the ink was dry, then he handed it to Katy.

She folded it carefully, said, “Thank you, sir.” And to his wife, “Thank you too, ma’am.”

“The marriage will be recorded at the courthouse the first thing in the morning.” The preacher spoke while Rowe was pressing some bills in his hand.

“I wish you a long and happy life,” his wife was saying to Katy.

“Thank you. And . . . good-bye.”

They walked back down the aisle as man and wife. Anton trailed behind them. When they opened the doors to step out onto the porch, a volley of gunfire came from the heart of Virginia City and a roar went up from the crowd that lined the streets.

The celebration had begun.

Katy smiled radiantly up at her husband. “You’ll never have an excuse to forget our wedding anniversary.” Mischief lit her eyes.

“That goes for you too.”

“I’ll never forget a minute of it. Rowe, I didn’t expect a ring. When did you get it?” She held up her hand. The gold band gleamed in the sunlight.

“I wish it were a diamond as big as a hen’s egg, but this was all they had at the goldsmith’s.”

“It’s perfect. I’ll never take it off.”

Katy hugged his arm. She hadn’t known there was this much happiness in the whole world. She knew she was loved and that she loved in return. Rowe knew it too. She could tell by the unfettered look of love in his eyes when he gazed at her as he was doing now. Home would be wherever he was, if it were on the top of a mountain, in a soddy on the prairie, or an igloo in Alaska. She looked up at him, and the laughter he loved came bubbling out of her.

“Why are you laughing?” Rowe couldn’t stop looking at her. God, how could it be that she could make him feel like a king with just her smile?

“How are you at making an igloo?”

“An igloo?”

Aware that Anton was looking at her as if she had lost her mind, she whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

“Har-u-m-ph!” Anton said, watching one and then the other as they continued to smile into each other’s eyes. “Har-u-m-ph!” he said again.

Rowe reluctantly glanced away from his bride’s radiant face and frowned impatiently at his friend. “Do you want something, Anton?”

“Well, yes,” Anton said drily. “If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d like to know your plans for the day. That is, if you’ve made any.”

“We have. Tell him, sweetheart.”

“We’re going back to the hotel, change our clothes, pick up the wedding supper Beulah has packed for us, and head back to Trinity.”

“Now? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a celebration going on here. I thought you’d at least spend the night. I ordered a private table, champagne, and a cake—”

“Oh, Anton, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m not used to so many people around. There’s so much noise!”

Rowe clapped him on the shoulder. “Cheer up, partner. It looks like you’ll get to drink champagne and eat cake for a week.”

As they walked on the downhill slant toward the main street, Anton muttered under his breath something that sounded like he’d be damned if he ever made such a fool of himself over a woman.

Wagons, buggies, and carts were parked in every available place along the streets. Tethered horses and mules munched on feed brought by the owners. Dogs barked, donkeys brayed, and children shrieked, adding to the noise made by the rhythmic beat of a drum leading the parade up from the lower part of town.

Katy put her hands over her ears. “A person can hardly think in this racket.”

“Do you want to watch the parade?”

“No. Do you?”

“It’s the last thing I want to do. But I thought you wanted to see the girls from the Bucket of Blood fight in the mud.”

“It doesn’t sound as exciting as it did yesterday. I wonder why?” Her eyes smiled up at him.

“Then we’ll go into the hotel from the back and avoid the crowd. Anton, we’ll meet you at the livery in half an hour.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, we’re sure.” Katy placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you for making the arrangements for us, Anton. You’re really a sweet man but you don’t want anyone to know it.”

They rode out of Virginia City, leaving the noisy celebration behind, and headed for the quiet serenity of the mountains. Rowe, riding his black Arabian and leading a packhorse, was first; Katy followed on the mare she had named Juliet.

While she was changing into her riding clothes and packing her valise, Rowe had gone to the mercantile and made a few purchases to add to the supplies Anton had bought earlier. When they were ready to leave, they went by the kitchen and picked up the food sack. As he put a five dollar gold piece in Beulah’s hand, all she could say was, “Lawsy, lawsy, if you ain’t the limit.”

Rowe turned in the saddle and looked back often. He was taking extra precautions although he was reasonably sure that his brother had not had time to set up an ambush. But other dangers lurked along the trail. A lone man with a woman might seem like easy prey.

Each time Rowe looked back, his eyes swept the terrain before he allowed them to feast on the woman who rode behind him. His dark, intense gaze clung to her thick, wind-tousled hair, her passionate mouth, and tight, slim body. That he had found her and she loved him was a wonder of everexpanding proportions. She was his mate for ever and always. He was not a religious man, and had seldom called on God for anything, but now, with only the sky above them, he thanked Him for bringing her into his life and asked His help to keep her safe and happy until the end of their days on earth.

When they reached the cooling shade of the pines, Rowe reined up so that Katy could come alongside him. He edged his horse closer to hers. He leaned toward her and found her soft, trembling mouth with his. When he released her from his arms, she laughed with girlish sweetness.

“I’m so happy! Oh, Rowe! I never thought I’d be happy again. I’ll be a good wife. I’ll help you build Trinity into a town, if that’s what you want,” she promised solemnly, then continued with a sparkle in her eyes. “Confusion over my feelings for you made me a real grouch these last few weeks. Mary could hardly stand me. She’ll be surprised and pleased. I never dreamed that when I left Trinity that I’d return as a married woman. Oh, shoot!” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “I didn’t learn how to run the stage office or how to help you with the books. I clean forgot about it!” Words rushed out of Katy’s mouth like a water from a dam.