Authors: Beth Williamson
“Malloy, what’s going on?” Buck frowned, his caterpillar brows nearly meeting in the middle of his forehead.
“Let’s wait for the Chastains.” John saw them approaching with young Charlie leading the way. She was still dancing and leaping through the tall grass. The other family members walked quickly but without the musical methods.
Gaston Chastain smiled at them and put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. Mrs. Chastain nodded to John, a sign of approval in his book. Jo and Isabelle watched intently, but neither of them were smiling.
“I have an announcement, folks, and I wanted you all to hear it from us together.” John’s gut twisted and the words stuck in his throat. Then Frankie moved closer, her sweet scent filling his nose and the nervousness fled. “Frankie and I got married in our hearts and we’ll have a preacher make it legal as soon as we can.”
Gasps sounded around the fire, but none so loud as Veronica’s. “You can’t marry her. You’re engaged to me.”
Frankie shook her head. “Your engagement was never real. He is no longer yours and he never will be.”
Veronica’s arms dropped and her hands fisted. A sheen of moisture appeared in her eyes, surprising him. “I need him to marry
me
, not
you
.”
“I love him with every fiber of my being and every breath I take. I cannot imagine living my life without him. Can you tell me the same thing?” Frankie’s speech made his heart beat hard enough to crack a rib. Her love humbled him.
A glimpse of longing passed over Veronica’s face before it vanished. Her expression changed to one of insouciance. “Of course not. I wasn’t going to marry him anyway. I was going to break it off. He has ignored me for weeks. I cannot have a husband who would ignore me for oxen and pioneers.”
John never knew the reason the wealthy girl had wanted to marry him. He thought it might be because she was lonely and saw John as a way to break away from the family who only pretended to be one. He felt sorry for her, but he wouldn’t give up his dreams for compassion.
“That is convenient for us then, no?” Frankie took his arm and pulled him closer. “I hope you will all be happy for us.”
“You must fire this man, Mr. Avery.” Mr. Harvey pointed at John. “He is a conniving man.”
“No, he is not. He is a good man.” Frankie faced down the rich man without blinking an eye. “You should not cast stones until you have your own house in order.”
Arthur Harvey hid a smile behind his arm. That boy would hopefully come out from underneath his father’s rule and do some good in the world. Lord knew the youngest Harvey deserved his own happiness.
“I ain’t gonna fire him, because he quit.” Buck shrugged at the rich man. “I have another worker to help us get to Oregon.”
Veronica glanced at Declan, but her father took her arm and they disappeared into the gloom. Arthur raised his hand and waved, then grinned and followed his family.
“Now you only have one fiancée.” Frankie blew out a breath. He was damn proud of her. That spine of steel was intact and ready for anybody who wanted to take her on.
“That idiot Mr. Callahan wouldn’t know a real woman if she landed on him.” Jo’s comment surprised him.
He turned at the same time as Frankie did to look at her. A pink flush spread across her cheeks, but she put her chin in the air and didn’t say another word. John wondered if the serious Chastain sister had a run-in with big Irishman.
John glanced around at the crowd and realized he was a different person than he was when he began this journey. She had changed him, made him a better man. Frankie was the best thing that had ever happened to him. However, she wouldn’t be who she was without her family.
He walked over to the Chastains. “I need to ask Frankie’s parents’ permission.”
“There is no permission required.” Gaston’s accented voice was full of pride. “Francesca made her choice. Anyone can see the love between you. It is like the glow of the sun around you.”
“
Oui
. There is so much love.” Marie Chastain had tears in her eyes. “All I ever wanted for my daughter was to be happy. She has found all she needs.”
John didn’t have experience with good parents, but he knew these two were the best. He only had to look at the daughters they raised to know. He would find his way in this new family, with Frankie’s help of course.
“Well, this isn’t the bride I expected you to have, John. But seeing as how you already quit, it ain’t my business.” Buck stepped forward and shook his hand. “But I’m real happy for you anyway.”
John grinned at his friend and suddenly everyone was there congratulating them. Lots of back-slapping, handshakes and hugs abounded. They were surrounded by so much goodwill, he didn’t know what to do.
Then she was there, his beautiful woman, the wife of his heart. She took his hand again and led him from the crowd. Her parents watched them walk away, their expressions content and approving.
John and Frankie walked hand in hand into the night, into their future. All they needed was each other, but they had so much more. There was nothing they couldn’t do together. Side by side. One heart, one soul, one love.
Epilogue
Two days later
A traveling preacher happened upon the wagon train and, for a small fee, agreed to marry Frankie and John. The entire group of pioneers was excited to attend, the promise of a future brightened the lives of everyone.
After a brief wash, John packed up his tent for the last time with the wagons. In fifteen minutes, he would be a married man and on his way to a new life in the Wyoming Territory. His stomach was tight with anticipation.
“John?” The woman’s voice startled him. He looked up into the face of Veronica Harvey.
“Miss Harvey. What are you doing here?” The last person he needed to see was his one-time fiancée, who’d nearly tricked him into marrying her.
She stared at the ground, shuffling her feet. The posture and behavior surprised him. She had shown nothing but aggression in every encounter. Until now.
“I wanted to talk to you. To explain.” She kept her gaze down.
“There is nothing to talk about or explain. I am marrying Miss Chastain.” He picked up the tent and his saddlebags, intent on getting away from the blonde.
“Please, I only wanted a few minutes of your time.” She fell into step beside him. “I wanted to apologize.”
John stumbled in surprise. He frowned at her. “
You
want to apologize?”
She frowned back at him. “Yes, I do. I am a human being with feelings.”
“Could have fooled me.” It fell out of his mouth before he could stop it. John wasn’t one to hold a grudge, but this woman had pushed the boundaries of his patience.
“I suppose I deserve that.” Veronica blinked her big blue eyes and waited.
John sighed. “Fine, you have two minutes. I’ve got to get everything packed up to leave and you’re wasting my time.”
Her cheeked colored, but she didn’t look away. “I had reasons for what I did. I chose you because I knew I could trust you to do the right thing.”
“While you did the wrong thing?” John might not ever forgive her for what she did, but he could try to forget it.
“I needed a fresh start, away from my father.” She took his hand into hers, cold and clammy. “He isn’t a kind man and he has fists of steel. Arthur and I tried to leave once, but the repercussions were, um, quite severe.”
John knew of men who beat their families, quite well in fact, and he sympathized with her plight. Not enough to marry her.
“You can find a new life when you get to Oregon.”
She shook her head. “He has already promised me I will never marry now, since I’ve humiliated both of us.” She swallowed hard enough he heard it.
John looked into her face and knew the idea behind the wedding was not her idea. “Your father wanted you to marry me? Why?”
“He has little to no money left. An unwed daughter costs a great deal.” She looked into the distance, her expression wistful. “I had hopes you would accept our marriage and I could escape from Harvey hell.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Harvey, but I can’t marry you. I love Frankie.” He felt sorry for her but he knew she didn’t want pity. “Perhaps Tom Avery?”
She shrugged. “Perhaps. He is a boy.”
John swallowed a chuckle. “I reckon he is the same age as you.”
“In years, but he is a boy. I believe you know what I mean.” She hid behind the rich, caustic young woman she showed the world. John had no idea what lay beneath the shiny exterior.
“He is a good man and he will be a good husband.” He glanced at the Chastain wagon and saw the gathering crowd. “I have to go.”
She nodded. “I understand. I wanted to speak to you, to explain. My actions were for self-preservation only.”
It was the first time he’d seen what he would call a genuine expression on her beautiful face. He could hardly believe this was the same girl.
“Good luck, Miss Harvey. You’re strong. You’ll survive.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. There was nothing he could do for her, beyond words. Tom Avery was an honorable person and maybe she would take a chance to get to know him before she acted. Good things could happen.
She wrapped her arms around her belly and her expression tightened. “I have no doubt I will survive, Mr. Malloy. In what condition, I don’t know. Thank you for listening.”
Before he could walk away, she turned on her heel and almost ran the opposite direction, away from him and his happiness. He didn’t blame her. When he was miserable and angry at the world, the last thing he wanted to see was folks smiling and being happy.
John wanted to talk to Buck and Tom before he left. Although he didn’t owe her a thing, he would do what he could to protect her after he was gone from the wagon train. For now, he had a wedding to get to.
He could hardly wait.
Frankie was going to vomit. Her stomach churned and flipped this way and that. It would be highly embarrassing to vomit on her groom’s feet, but it might be unavoidable. She stood still while her sisters fluttered around her, readying her for the wedding.
Charlotte wove flowers into Frankie’s hair with all the concentration she had, as always the tongue poking out the side of her mouth while she worked.
Isabelle and Josephine made sure Frankie’s dress was as perfect as possible. They’d been sewing like mad the last two days, accepting donations from nearly half the women in the wagon train to make the beautiful blue concoction. It was some sort of damask material—she suspected that Veronica Harvey had a hand in its appearance—and the same color as John’s eyes.
Frankie had never felt more beautiful, which is why vomiting would ruin the day completely.
Maman stood by and watched, a smile on her face. She helped only when Frankie asked, which was sincerely appreciated. It had been hard enough to make the leap and admit she loved John. Getting married was taxing and having too many people helping would have been disastrous.
She let her sisters help because she couldn’t stop them. They had all been so close, it wouldn’t have been the same if they hadn’t been there at her side.
“I love you, girls,” Frankie blurted.
Isabelle and Josephine smiled while Charlotte made a face. “We aren’t going to start that shit again, are we? I thought you loved Mr. Malloy. He sure as hell is cute.”
Her youngest sister’s brash words broke the tension and everyone laughed. Frankie’s stomach even eased up its mad roiling.
“He is quite handsome.” Frankie ran her hands down the side of the dress. “I hope he likes my dress.”
A fancier gown would have been appropriate for a New York wedding, but it would have been wrong for Frankie. This was a love match, but it wasn’t a wedding of pomp and circumstance. It was the union of two people who found the other half of who they were. A dress the color of the groom’s eyes was the right path.
Papa stepped up and tugged Maman’s hand. “Everyone is waiting.”
There went Frankie’s stomach again, somersaulting around her body.
“
Bon
. Girls, go.” Maman shooed away her other daughters and approached her eldest. She cupped Frankie’s cheeks and kissed her forehead. “I am so proud of you, Francesca. You are the bravest person I have ever met. I wish you the best of everything, the love of a lifetime and never ending joy.
Je t’aime, mon fille
.”
“I love you too, Maman.” Frankie’s throat was tight. She could barely swallow the lump of emotion that had formed. How could she ever thank her parents for their love, their guidance, their acceptance? It was impossible to put into words.
Papa took her hand and kissed the back. “You are as beautiful as your mother,
lapin
. Go and be happy with your young man. I shall miss you.”
This time Frankie could not speak. She simply hugged her parents, breathing in their scent and their love, letting it wash over her. It gave her the strength to let them go and move on with her life with John. She kept her eyes closed until the tears no longer threatened, only then did she step back away from their embrace.