Happy Is The Bride (14 page)

Beau hung his head. "Know I'm acting crazy, but
can't think straight. Glad you're marrying Beth after
wanting her all these years, but I can't think about
anything but Amy leaving me."

"I know, Beau." Mason exhaled and smiled at Beth.
Love shone from his eyes. "Don't worry, Beth. You
look pretty as a picture."

Beth looked down at the angry welts across her skin
and knew she looked a fright. "You always say nice
things to me. Thank you."

"Papa, your horse is at the Medina livery with a
stone bruise on the frog of his right front hoof."
Mason looked at Beth while he spoke, and clasped
her hands in his. "Beth, for your wedding present I bought you a pretty new buggy and a roan mare to
pull it."

Another murmur rippled across the room.

Reverend Moseley cleared his throat. "Shall we get
on with the ceremony? Mason, would you and the
best man take your places at the front?"

The elderly man started awake. "What happened?
Oh, I see Mason finally made it." He pulled out his
pocket watch and peered at it. "Damned well time he showed up."

Ben returned and guided Mrs. Pendleton to the
front pew across the aisle from the Whittakers and
down a space to leave room for Mr. Pendleton.

The accompanist played the little pianoforte that Mr. Pendleton and two other men had hauled to the
chapel. Beside the pianist, Mozelle Darby straight
ened her shoulders, thrust out her bosom, and broke
into song. Off key. Apparently the screech startled the
accompanist, and she missed notes of her own.

Beth gritted her teeth against Mrs. Darby's shrill voice and ignored the titters that rippled across the guests. Mrs. Pendleton had insisted they use. Mrs.
Darby because the woman had once sung solos at a
large church in Austin. It must have been years ago,
for what little voice the woman may have once pos
sessed had long since departed. Mrs. Darby finished
the first selection and broke into a second. The ac
companist raced to keep up. Thunder rumbled
outside and appeared to punctuate the soloist's vo
calizing.

Rachel, standing in front of Beth, turned around
and rolled her eyes. Some people laughed openly at
Mrs. Darby's attempts at singing. A couple of chil
dren covered their ears. Beth would have liked to, but
she stood rigid beside her father. Finally, Mrs. Darby
took her seat. The accompanist played alone.

Ben took out a match safe and lit a long taper he
handed to Ben, Jr., who carried the lighted candle
and used it to start those at the front of the chapel.

Halfway through, he yelped, "Hot damn," and
dropped the lighted candle. The boy danced first on
one foot and then the other while shaking his hand. Ben rushed toward his son. Mason scooped up the
candle and stomped out the burning floor. Smoke
rose, and Beth smelled the scorched wood.

Mason's gaze met Beth's, and he smiled.

"No, Daddy, it's I who don't deserve him." She
placed her hand on her father's arm and began the
walk down the aisle.

Mason heard the murmurs. Bets. Jinxed. All sorts
of vicious gossip floated toward him. At this point he
didn't care. The day he thought would never come, the day he thought barred to him, the day he would
wed Beth had finally arrived. In a few minutes she'd
be his wife.

He watched her walk toward him and beamed at her. No woman on earth had ever looked so lovely. The dress hugged her figure the way he intended to
in a few hours. The long train probably picked up
plenty of mud and water as she came toward him in
spite of the washtubs at the door, but Beth had never looked lovelier. Even Rachel, walking a few steps in
front of Beth, looked pretty in her pink dress.

Beside him Beau seemed to weave, but Mason ig
nored his cousin and kept his eyes focused on his
bride. Rachel, Mr. Pendleton, and Beth came for
ward. Halfway in their walk down the aisle, Beau
keeled over and took out both of the large flower urns
as he fell flat on his face. The accompanist crashed
her fingers against the keys and stopped playing.

When Mason saw Beth shaking with her hand over
her mouth, at first he thought she was crying, and he
started to go to her. Rachel, who had missed the water
by only a few steps, hid behind her hand as well. Then
he realized that Beth's anxiety had apparently shat
tered her demeanor, and she pressed her hand to her
mouth in what looked like an attempt to stifle laugh
ter. Both women shook with suppressed mirth. He
had to admit it was pretty funny that Mrs. Pendleton
had received her comeuppance, but he kept a straight
face.

Rowdy appeared and took Beau's feet while Mason
grabbed his cousin under the arms. They dragged
him to the side. Apparently out cold, Beau never so much as moaned.

Rowdy grinned as if he'd heard a funny joke and
wanted to bust out laughing. "Reckon the jinx is on
your cousin."

Mason agreed and smiled. "Thanks for your help."

Rowdy went back to his seat. Mason felt in Beau's
pocket for the ring and nodded to his father.

"Papa, I think you'll have to fill in for Beau. He's out for awhile."

Mr. Whittaker came forward and took the ring. Mr.
Pendleton seemed to suddenly remember he'd left
his daughter midway up the aisle and went back for
her. The accompanist resumed playing, and Beth and
her father stopped in front of the minister.

"We are gathered here today to
..."

"Who gives this woman?"

Rachel peered around to look at the train. "It's
torn, but nothing shows through."

Mason smiled down at her. "I do."

Behind them, Ben, Jr.'s, crystal clear voice
sounded. "Mama, you done lost the bet with Cousin
Beth and now you got to give her that new quilt."

Ten

Beth almost died right there. She wanted to sink
into the floor, right after she smothered Ben, Jr., to
death.

"Bet?" Mason looked at Beth and frowned. "What
bet?"

A fountain of unwanted information, Ben, Jr.,
stood. “The one where Mama has to give Cousin Beth
her new quilt if Cousin Beth gets married before the
end of June, and if Cousin Beth don't, then she has
to give Mama some new silk from New York."