Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (Code of the West) (24 page)

“Quiet or I’ll tell Danni Mae you’ve got a wife and six kids livin’ in Ogden.”

“A bit touchy, ain’t he?”

“And nervous,” Stack reported. “Look at the sweat roll down his collar.”

Danni Mae scooted into the room. “It’s time. Come on, Stack, you’ve got to play the piano. We’ll have to squeeze through the crowd.”

“Don’t these people have anything better to do?” Tap mu
mbled.

Danni Mae pulled Stack out of the kitchen. “Wiley, you stand at the door so I can signal when it’s Tap’s turn to come out.”

“Yes, ma’am. Do you think it’s safe to leave him in the kitchen by himself?”

“If he knew how beautiful Pepper looks in that dress, he’d be runnin’ to the altar right now.”

“Pretty handsome, huh?” Tap asked.

Danni Mae laughed. “Andrews, you’ll go weak in the knees, and we’ll have to prop you up.”

Soon they all left.

The piano begin a slow waltz.

I answer “I will,” and I say “I do.” After that I kiss the bride and slip the ring on her finger. No, I give her the ring. Then I . . . the ring! It’s in my saddlebag.

Tap charged out the back door. Spurs and jinglebobs rang as he sprinted across the yard.

I am not goin’ to be late. I am not goin’ to be late. How long’s that song anyway?

He shoved the barn door open wide. It crashed into a wooden pail of water that had been used for the horses. The contents washed across the dirt floor, but Tap leaped over the mud puddle and scampered into the tack room. He grabbed the purple velvet pouch, checked inside for the gold ring, and then shoved the whole thing into his vest pocket.

Rushing back across the barn, he caught a spur in the wire handle of the water pail and tried to free himself on the run. The pail bounced loose in front of him. He stumbled and fell to the barn floor.

“No!” The ruffles slammed into the mud. “Another bad dream?”

He hurried back into the tack room and washed his hands in the shaving basin. He wet a towel and tried to sponge off the shirt. It only smeared the mud worse.

“I’ll wear this other shirt. I’ll change in the kitchen.” He grabbed up the old shirt and ran back across the yard. Wiley and Wade hustled toward him.

“What happened to you?” Wade pulled him toward the back door.

“I went back for the ring.”

“What happened to your shirt?” All three men hustled into the kitchen.

“I slipped. I’ll have to change.”

“Don’t have time, partner.” Wiley held the door open.

“I’ve got time. Stack’s still playing that waltz.”

“It’s his second time through. Pepper’s beginnin’ to panic.”

“I’ve got to change.”

“Not now. Go out there and look purdy. Maybe no one will notice.” Wade pushed him into the front room.

Everything became a blur. Tap flushed all over as som
eone shoved him to the front of the room. He stood beside Reverend Houston.

“Man, it’s hot in here.” Tap tugged at his collar.

Pepper stalked back and forth in the small bedroom, dragging the train of her beaded off-white wedding dress behind her.

“What do you mean, he’s not out there?”

“Wiley saw him run out to the barn. He went to get him,” Danni Mae reported.

“I knew it. I knew he’d find a way. He’s either running away or going to be late. How many times has Stack played that song?”

“Just twice. Relax, girlie. You really are gettin’ married.”

“It’s freezing in here. Can’t you put some logs on the fire? My hands are almost frozen.”

“Really? It feels rather pleasant to me. You’re just a bit -nervous.”

“I am not,” Pepper snapped. “It’s time to get this started. We’ll just have to go on.”

“You can’t start a weddin’ without a groom.”

A rap sounded at the door. Rena stuck her head inside. “Okay, you two. We’ve got a groom at the front of the room.”

“How does he look?”

“Anxious .
 . . and, eh, rather muddy,” Rena admitted. “But he’s willing, girl. Now come on. It’s your turn to shine.”

Did she say muddy?

Bob McCurley met her at the door, and she took his arm. While Stack pounded out a processional, Pepper and Mr. Mac serpentined through the crowd toward the fireplace. She saw Tap standing there—straight, strong, with a twinkle in his eyes, and the little-boy smile on his face.

He held his hat in front of him, covering the ruffles of his shirt.

She released Bob McCurley’s arm and took Tap’s. They turned to face Reverend Houston.

Danni Mae began to sing.

“You don’t have to cover the ruffles now,” she whispered. “No one can see them but me and the parson.”

“They sort of got messed up a tad.”

“What?” She pulled his hat down. “It looks like you rolled in the mud.”

“I tripped. I didn’t mean to. It’s a fine shirt, but I didn’t have time to change. Maybe you could have Danni Mae sing both her numbers, and I’ll slip out to the kitchen. I’ve got a
nother shirt in there."

“You aren’t going anywhere, buster, until you marry me.”

“Your hands are cold.”

“Yours are hot.”

“I’m a little nervous.”

“Me too.”

When the song was over, Danni Mae and Stack moved through the crowd to the front and stood alongside Tap and Pepper.

“You’re a mess, partner,” Stack chided beneath his breath.

“So I hear.”

After an opening prayer, Reverend Houston looked over the crowd and spoke in a deep, booming voice. “Forasmuch as these two persons have come hither to be made one in this holy estate, if there be any here present who knows any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined in marriage, I r
equire him now to make it known or ever after to hold his peace.”

Pepper glanced at Tap.

Then the front door burst open.

“I do. I object!”

They both spun around.

“Little Bob,” Pepper cried out. “What are you doing here? Go away!”

Waving his new rifle above his head, Little Bob Gundersen stomped into the room. “I object because I’m in love with Pepper, and I believe deep down in her heart she loves me too.”

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me, Little Bob,” Pepper cried.

Selena slid through the crowd and wrapped an arm around Little Bob’s neck. Pepper saw her whisper something to him and then lean over and kiss his cheek.

Little Bob turned bright red. “Uh, maybe I made a mi
stake. I might have acted rashly.” He lowered the rifle. Selena brushed her lips against his. “Go ahead. I need to think this out.”

Selena laced her long fingers into Little Bob’s hand and tugged him toward the front door.

“I, uh, have no objections, your honor.”

The two of them disappeared outside.

“That’s why she wore a dress like that,” Tap whispered.

“That’s one reason,” Pepper replied.

“Shall we continue?” Reverend Houston asked.

After they both repeated the vows, Tap leaned over to give Pepper a kiss. “Not yet, cowboy, ’til I get my ring.”

The crowd roared.

When the service concluded, Tap scooted to the kitchen to change his shirt. He joined the festivities of food, laughter, music, dancing, and more food. Most of the time, Pepper refused to let go of his arm, an arrangement he very much enjoyed.

Wade Eagleman finally pulled him aside. “Have you looked out at that storm?”

“I suppose we should let folks get on the road home.”

“I figure it’s too late.”

Tap stepped out to the porch. The blast of frigid air felt refreshing, but the new snow had piled up another foot since daylight. “They can’t get out.”

Pepper slid up beside him. “What are you two doing?”

“Mrs. Andrews, no one will be goin’ home in this storm. Looks like we’ll be entertainin’ guests.”

She gave him a dazed look. “But that’s not the way I planned it.”

“We might as well invite them to stay.”

Tap pulled Pepper back into the front room and shouted, “The storm’s mighty rugged. We suggest you stay with us ’til mornin’. We don’t have a lot of room, but you’re we
lcome to camp out by this fireplace. Or up in the attic. Or in the kitchen by the woodstove. The hardy ones can head out in the barn, the tack room, or up in the hayloft. But that bedroom belongs to me and Pepper. The first one that walks through that door will be shot. Is there anything else you want to say about that, Mrs. Andrews?”

“I think they all get the picture.”

The music and laughter blared once again as Tap pulled Pepper over to the corner of the room. “It will only be for one night. It’ll likely clear by mornin’.”

It snowed heavy for three more days.

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