“I’d follow you,” he said simply. “I won’t give up on you, Catherine, but I won’t hold you prisoner.”
“What about the ranch?” she asked. “Your plans? Your father?”
“With any luck you’d change your mind and we could come home,” he replied. “I don’t want to give up my dreams. But I don’t want to force you to, either.”
“That’s a nice sentiment, given that I’m just about out of options. You’ve got me trapped, so you can afford to be kind,” she said, her voice tart. Wisely, Wade didn’t say anything.
He handed her the blue dress and she tried to put it on. Not an easy task under a wagon, and then she realized that it wouldn’t possibly fit without her corset. Wade sighed and handed her his long overcoat without a word. She pulled it on and crawled out from under the wagon, face bright red with shame. John might have chased their immediate audience away, but distant, judgmental gazes still followed her as she scuttled over to the tent. Maria stood inside, her eyes wide.
“I was so worried about you, señora,” she said. “You weren’t here last night, and José said to just go to bed. But then all the people showed up and started talking, so I came out to see…”
Her voice trailed off, and she blushed almost as fiercely as Catherine.
“Are you going to marry him?” the girl asked. “If you don’t, people are going to say terrible things about you.”
Catherine shrugged her shoulders, then sat down on her bedroll, dropping her head into her hands. Why had she done it? Everything she’d wanted had been right there for the taking, and yet she let herself go to Wade—no, practically forced herself on him, all because she didn’t want him lusting after this pretty Mexican girl.
“I don’t know how this happened,” she said finally. Maria nodded knowingly.
“It was that cider,” she said. “José told me not to touch it, because it would make me drunk. He said cowboys can’t be trusted around pretty girls.”
Catherine laughed weakly, wishing she could blame the cowboy in her life for everything, but that wasn’t really fair. She’d done it to herself.
She knew what she had to do—she had to marry Wade Masters, and the sooner the better. Sure, she could take her gold eagles and set out on her own. Texas was a big state, and nobody would ever know about her tainted past unless she told them. But she didn’t want Wade to leave his home. He’d be miserable away from the ranch. And he was right about one thing—there was opportunity to be had here, for people who worked hard and smart. She could make good things happen with him if she chose.
“I’m going to marry him,” she said slowly, looking over to Maria. “Today, I guess. That’s what they suggested. I suppose Wade will talk to the minister.”
“Well, you’ll be lucky in one way,” Maria said, her voice matter-of-fact. “There are a lot of people here to celebrate if you get married right now. Not everyone gets a party that big.”
“That’s certainly true enough,” Catherine said, laughing weakly. “I suppose I should get dressed. Can you help me?”
Maria nodded quickly, and offered her an encouraging smile.
“You’ll be all right, Señora Masters,” she said. “He’s a good man. José says so, and he would know. We’ve met bad men before. During the war.”
Catherine nodded her head, understanding Maria completely. Wade was a decent man in a country where too many devils came looking for opportunities. She could build a life with him. And Lord knew, the sex was good. She laughed at that thought, wondering if she’d lost her mind.
* * * * *
Wade stood at the front of the barn, his suit brushed and straightened as much as it could be under the circumstances. The day had flown by, with several of the town ladies coming together to clean and press Catherine’s dress while others prepared food. Maria had woven a lovely ring of flowers for her hair.
The wedding took place in the late afternoon, and almost everyone who’d come for the dance had opted to stick around for the nuptials. Catherine’s cheeks burned bright as John walked her down the center toward Wade, who looked grimly handsome. As she took his hand, he stared straight ahead, and if his expression held any triumph he managed to keep it under control. The minister seemed faintly disapproving, as if it pained him to officiate at the joining of two such immoral people, but the mayor looked on proudly and John Masters’ expression was fierce enough to quell anyone who might feel the need to whisper.
The minister launched into the brief ceremony, and Catherine felt herself grow almost dizzy as the words of the service washed over her. When she’d married Ryan she’d been filled with hope and excitement, yet the marriage had been a nightmare. Perhaps this was better, to go into it knowing what to expect from Wade. He would be good to her, she knew that in her bones. But why, oh why had she let herself get trapped into this?
Then Pastor Eddings called upon them to exchange their vows, and her chest went tight. She turned to look at Wade, and his large hands took hers gently. His green eyes were bright with an emotion she didn’t want to name, one that she thought she might understand. She felt a bit of it too. Because for all her protestations, she was a little excited about the marriage.
The thought stunned her.
Marriage to Wade excited her . She looked at him, watching his mouth form his vows, and realized she felt happy to hear them. Then she noticed the minister had stopped talking, and that everyone was looking at her.
“I do,” she said quickly, blushing. Wade smiled, the grim cast of his mouth finally breaking. She smiled back, suddenly shy, and decided that she really didn’t mind losing out on the teaching job so much. In fact, she wondered if a part of her hadn’t truly wanted it in the first place. Sure, she’d had some cider to drink the night before. But had she really been too drunk to go back to the tent?
It probably didn’t bear thinking about.
“Do you have the ring?” the minister asked. She looked up, startled. Wade couldn’t possibly have a ring so quickly—why was the minister reminding everyone that this wasn’t a planned event? To her surprise, John handed something to Wade. He took her left hand and slid a ring onto her finger, a beautiful star sapphire that matched her eardrops. Her eyes went wide.
“I am pleased to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Wade Masters,” the minister proclaimed, and the barn erupted with cheers and shouts of approval. Wade pulled her close, giving her a long kiss and fueling the fire for the cowboys surrounding them. They started to whoop and holler, and then music burst forth for dancing.