Falling for Allyson, page 14
The thought of waiting until spring was nearly unbearable.
He’d do it, though, if that’s what she wanted.
But he had to give her a choice.
She shivered against him.
And he’d already waited too long just to ask.
“Let’s get you back inside,” he said, taking her hand and leading her back into the saloon.
“I guess we won’t be going outside much for a while,” she said as they walked back toward the kitchen.
He tugged at her hand.
“Wait,” he said.
She looked back, her cheeks flushed from the snow, a smile on her lips.
“Aw, hell,” he muttered.
Then dropped to his knees.
“Allyson,” he said, taking both her hands.
Her eyes widened.
Jared took it as a good sign that there was actually no one in the saloon at this very moment.
An unexpected, rare moment of privacy.
Seize the moment.
“Will you marry me?”
She didn’t even hesitate. Not even a little bit.
“Yes,” she said and dropped down into his arms.
Jared held her close.
Brantley and Doc Alexander swore that the Whiskey Springs saloon held an element of magic.
And now he believed it, too.
With Allyson in his arms, he held more good fortune than most men ever saw in a lifetime.
A beautiful green-eyed southern belle from New Orleans.
What were the odds?
“I don’t have a ring to give you,” he said.
“I don’t need anything,” she said.
“But you do. You deserve something.”
Jared ran a hand over his chin, searching for inspiration.
“I have you,” she said.
“I’ll figure something out,” he said.
He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
“Here,” he said, pressing the watch into her hand. “Keep this until I can get you a proper wedding band.”
Time. The only thing that mattered.
Except for love.
CHAPTER 72
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Samantha asked.
She had her hands in Allyson’s hair. A jumble of silk ribbons on the dresser next to them.
Allyson wore one of Samantha’s dresses in a lovely maroon silk. Samantha had almost as many lovely dresses now as she had back home.
“No,” Allyson said. “I think I should just wear my hair down. It’s not like it matters.”
Samantha ran a brush through a strand of Allyson’s hair and twisted a ribbon through it.
“Not your hair, Silly,” Samantha said. “Getting married.”
Allyson ran the chain of the silver pocket watch through her fingers. There was nothing she wanted more.
She told Samantha so.
Samantha sat on the bed next to her. Her eyes were moist.
“I’m so happy for you,” Samantha said. “And I’m so happy that we’re here. Together.”
“Me too,” Allyson said. “Please don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying,” Samantha said. “These are tears of joy.”
Allyson sighed. “I wish Mama and Papa could be here.”
Samantha ran a hand beneath her eyes. “Well,” she said. “We need to get you downstairs. The preacher needs to get out of here while he can.”
Allyson rolled her eyes. That’s what she’d been saying.
But she didn’t say it. She was too happy.
Instead, she just followed her sister out the door and down the hallway.
It took all she could do not to start skipping.
Savannah was sitting at the piano, a big grin on her face. She had stayed behind when the troupe had left Whiskey Springs.
When Savannah saw Allyson at the top of the stairs, she began playing the same music they’d played at Samantha’s wedding.
Allyson quickly scanned the room until her gaze landed on Jared.
He smiled at her and sent her heart racing.
Thomas was standing next to him. The whereabouts of her brother was one less thing to worry about.
A few minutes later, she stood next to Jared.
He leaned over and whispered for her ears only. “I so do.”
She smiled. “I do, too.”
Reverend Reed cleared his throat.
Everything blurred except for Jared.
He was the only thing she could see as they promised to love, honor, and cherish each other.
Then he swept her back, nearly off her feet and kissed her.
His lips pressed against hers, sending shivers up and down her spine.
He kissed her good and thoroughly.
When they turned to face the guests, Allyson was a little wobbly at the knees.
One of the men near the back whooped and then everyone was laughing.
Toby announced that the bar was open. Free whiskey for all.
Jared beamed with pride and kept a hand clasped tightly with hers as Samantha and Natalie rushed up to congratulate them.
Jared kissed her on the cheek and kept her at his side.
And just like that she was Mrs. Jared Montgomery.
A brand new start in a brand new country.
EPILOGUE
It was only May, but already the snow was melting, leaving little splotches of dirty snow, mostly beneath the trees.
They said it was going to be a hot summer.
Allyson stood in the window of her bedroom over the saloon and squinted against the bright sunlight.
What was now the bedroom she shared with Jared.
She was well loved and Jared made sure she knew it every day. It was the little things. Lazy mornings reading dime novels together. Late evenings reading and talking. Breakfast in bed. Hot baths.
The baths with lavender scented soap were the best. He’d trudge out through the snow, haul water from in the well, heat it up, and haul it upstairs. He did that every few days.
It hadn’t taken long before Brantley started doing the same for Samantha. Then Doc for Natalie. But Jared had started the whole thing.
She and Jared had spent the winter honeymooning. Nestled in the little saloon that had become home.
But Jared was already clearing the land where he’d build their house.
The blueprint of the little house was spread across the bed. She and Jared had been looking at it this morning.
She lifted her arms high and stretched toward the ceiling.
She lowered her arms, running her hands over her stomach, feeling just the tiniest hint of a bump.
She and Samantha had gotten married just days apart and it looked like their babies would grow up together.
Allyson couldn’t imagine a happier life for herself.
And to think that she’d actually considered joining a troupe of saloon entertainers in order to find excitement.
There was nothing more exciting than being than being a well-loved wife and expectant mother.
She turned and smiled as Jared came into the room.
He grabbed her in his arms and twirled her around, lifting her feet off the ground. She grabbed his shoulders and laughed.
“Come downstairs,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
“Can I at least get dressed?” she asked, running a hand along her nightgown.
He looked down at her gown and bare feet.
“Good idea,” he said, going to her trunk and digging.
Allyson giggled. She loved it when Jared picked out her dresses.
“Wear this one,” Jared said, pulling a blue silk dress from her trunk.
Allyson slipped off her shawl. “Isn’t that one kind of fancy?”
Jared had a funny expression on his face. “Maybe,” he said, “but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t wear it before you get too big.”
“That’s what a girl always wants to hear,” she said, but allowed him to help her get into the blue silk dress.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asked.
“No hurry,” he said, tying the laces on her boots.
She laughed. “Jared Montgomery. I know when something’s up with my husband.”
He grinned and kissed her on the nose.
“Let’s go,” he said.
He led her out the door, down the hall, and down the stairs. She held up her skirts with her free hand.
The saloon was empty. Now that people could get outside, they were doing just that. The saloon picked up in the evenings.
He pulled her along with him to the kitchen.
Just inside the door, he stopped.
Everyone was sitting around the fireplace.
Samantha and Brantley. Natalie and Doc. A couple of other people.
Thomas sat on the hearth, his back to the fire. He was laughing like a loon.
Allyson looked questioningly at Jared.
He just grinned.
She just shook her head, but walked toward the group.
As she approached, everyone stopped talking and looked at her.
She thought fleetingly, but belatedly, that she should have at least brushed her hair.
She looked first at Samantha. Her sister was glowing. They’d both gotten through the months of morning sickness without being the worse for wear.
Allyson followed Samantha’s gaze to the left.
Her mind froze as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
An elegant woman, a bit older, sat next to her sister. The woman wore a dark blue travel jacket over a matching skirt. Her hair was pulled atop her head and she wore a stylish blue cap.
Allyson blinked.
Mother.
She glanced to the man sitting beside the woman.
Father.
Her breath caught in her throat.
“Mama?” she said.
The woman smiled and held out her arms.
Allyson fisted up her skirts and dashed to her parents.
She put her arms around both of them and didn’t even try to stop the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.
“How are you here?” she asked, leaning back to look at them.
“We made it to Denver last fall,” Papa said. “But the snow hit before we could get up here.”
“But how did you find us?” Allyson wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Mama shared a look with Samantha and put a hand over hers.
“It was a stroke of good fortune,” Mama said.
Jared came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He put his chin on the top of her head.
A stroke of good fortune.
The whole Beauchamp family reunited.
Right here in Whiskey Springs.
Where the only thing that mattered was love.
Keep Reading for a preview of Saving Savannah…
SAVING SAVANNAH PREVIEW
Chapter 1
New Orleans, Louisiana
July 1861
Excitement filled the air. It was so festive, if a person didn’t know better, they’d swear the south had already won the war.
They were even shooting sky-high fireworks over the river.
In the daytime.
Savannah LaFleur strolled along the crowded street near Jackson Square on the Mississippi River side, twirling her light blue parasol over her shoulder.
The parasol was more for fashion than for protection from the heat. Though truth be told, along with the breeze off the river, it did help to shield her delicate pale skin from the sun’s brutal rays.
Dodging a horse and buggy, she nearly ran headlong into one of the south’s finest soldiers.
“Excuse me, Miss,” the soldier said, taking off his cap.
Savannah kept walking, but spoke over her shoulder.
“You better watch where you’re going now,” she said, in her sweetest southern drawl. “You wouldn’t want to step on a lady’s toes.”
“Oh no, ma’am,” the soldier said.
Savannah laughed to herself as Beatrice tapped the soldier on his wrist with her fan.
“You behave yourself,” Beatrice said. “And don’t you go looking at a lady like you’re just about to pounce on her like a big ole gator on an innocent little duck.”
Savannah started up the stone steps leading to the huge Cathedral doors.
Beatrice caught up in short order.
God help the man who underestimated the power of that little black woman.
Beatrice had been with the family since her mother was a child. No telling how old she really was. Beatrice was as much a part of the family as anyone born naturally into it and there was no way she’d ever let Savannah out of her sight. Celebration or no.
Savannah stepped inside the Cathedral doors into the cool shadows.
How the Cathedral stayed so cool, she’d never know. And inside, the noises of the celebration disappeared behind the thick stone walls.
Savannah made her way to her family’s pew and sat down, secure in the certainty that Beatrice would be waiting at the back of the church.
Savannah couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever been out in public without the protection of Beatrice’s watchful eyes.
She didn’t mind though. Beatrice never scolded her for anything. Firmly stating that it wasn’t her place.
Besides, Beatrice wasn’t one to sit in the house. Savannah secretly believed that the main reason Beatrice accompanied Savannah around town was to satisfy her own sense of adventure.
Savannah put her chin on her clasped fingers and closed her eyes.
Dear God. Please protect my brother. He’s never been in a fight. He’d rather read a good book than lift his hand against another.
There was so much more that she could say.
But she figured God already knew anything she could tell him. She just wanted to make sure God knew that Martin had at least one person who cared about his well-being.
Savannah had somehow become convinced that support and kindness were what held families together.
Her father had taught her that there was nothing that mattered more than family.
Not wealth. Not education. Not social standing.
All those things mattered, of course. But without family to share them with, they were nothing.
Having completed her errand, Savannah prepared to leave the Cathedral.
“Miss Savannah,” someone called from the back of the church.
Beatrice was on him like a spider on a fly.
“Keep your voice down,” Beatrice said. “Can’t you see Miss Savannah is praying?”
The soldier lowered his voice and removed his cap.
It was Henry, one of the men who worked for her father.
It was odd seeing Henry wearing his shiny new butternut gray uniform.
“Don’t fret, Beatrice,” Savannah said. “I’ll step outside and talk to Henry.”
Beatrice kept her gaze pinned on Henry as Savannah followed him outside.
“I’m so sorry to bother you like this,” Henry said, when they were outside.
“It’s all right,” Savannah said. “Did my father send you?”
“Yes ma’am,” Henry said. “He said you need to come quick.”
* * *
Chapter 2
Savannah sat in her family’s parlor and waited. Fresh roses cut from her mother’s garden spilled prettily from a vase on a little table next to the sofa.
She picked up one of the fallen petals and ran it between her fingers. So soft. It was such a shame that they didn’t live long after they were cut.
When she had her own home, she decided, she wouldn’t cut flowers and bring them inside.
It was wasteful. Flowers lasted much longer outside. On the vines.
All one had to do was to walk outside into the courtyard to enjoy them.
Besides, outside, the flowers were visited by bees and butterflies. Also beautiful.
But then Savannah had always thought differently from the rest of her family.
Nonetheless, her mother had insisted that Savannah was an honestly born LaFleur.
The grandfather clock in the foyer chimed eleven times.
Almost Noon.
And it had already been a most eventful day.
Savannah was a little annoyed.
Although, she’d made it to the Cathedral and had gotten that done, she’d planned on stopping by one of the little shops downtown to see what new treasures had come in from France.
She ran her hands along the soft cotton of her lavender dress. It was one of her favorites.
But she’d already worn it to every social gathering she could.
It was quite the challenge really. Not wearing the same dress twice to a similar event.
She could get away with it a little. She could wear it to church. She could wear it to visit the elderly ladies when they had their sewing circle.
Not that she participated in the sewing, but she stopped in to greet them and to drop off materials.
Most recently, the ladies had tackled the project of making Confederate flags.
In fact, the ladies couldn’t produce enough flags no matter how fast they sewed.
Then Savannah could wear the dress to an afternoon tea with her mother’s friends.
And to an evening party. Sometimes two parties. It depended on who happened to be invited.
And sometimes she had trouble finding out who was on the guest list ahead of time.
But Savannah had her ways and hadn’t been caught wearing the same dress around the same people yet.
Still. It was just about time to retire this dress.
She could still wear it at home, of course, and out shopping like she’d done today.
Father’s voice, drifting from his study across the hall, was serious.
Father was so serious lately.
Especially since her brother Martin had joined the Confederate army and ridden off with his friends to the war.
It was almost like father had changed that day.
He’d begun meeting with other men behind closed doors.
Savannah shrugged and dismissed the thought.
Perhaps he’d been doing that all along, but she hadn’t noticed. Life was boring here without Martin and his steady stream of friends.
