The Road That Will Lead Me Home- Chapter 10
Ben was heading for the barn when he stopped in the doorway and started watching Alissa work with her dog as he chuckled softly. It had been three weeks since Alissa had found Baron and convinced Adam to bring him home, and Ben was surprised at how quickly she had trained him to do so many different commands by using only hand gestures or a few words. It seemed as if Baron was so grateful to be found, that he would do anything to please her.
Joe was grabbing his hat off the rack as he noticed Ben had stopped in the doorway.
"What are you chuckling about, Pa?"
"I was just watching Alissa with her dog. It is amazing how well Baron follows her instructions. She sure has him well trained."
"Yeah, too bad she can't train Adam as well," Joe laughed, as he slapped Ben on the shoulder as they headed out the door.
Ben couldn't help but smile at Joe for his comment, and then watched Alissa as she stopped her training and told Baron to sit and stay as she walked over.
"You certainly have that dog well trained. I guess it is a good thing, as he has grown so much that he weighs more than you do now. And if he decided to jump up on you, he would easily take you down," Ben said smiling at Alissa, as she came to stand beside him.
"Oh you don't have to worry about that, Ben. He is as gentle as can be…just watch."
Alissa raised her hand and made a motion for Baron to come to her. He immediately came trotting over and sat down right in front of Alissa waiting for her next command. When she patted her chest and uttered the word "up," Ben's face suddenly lost its smile and quickly changed to panic as he watched Baron stand and put his front paws gently on Alissa's shoulders.
"Good boy my sweet, big, old Bear," Alissa laughed, as she hugged this huge dog, then told him to get down and go and lie down by the house.
Ben and Joe were both still in shock that the dog hadn't knocked Alissa over, as they watched Baron obey Alissa's command and go and lie down.
"How come he didn't knock you to the ground," Joe asked, as he started to check Alissa out to make sure she was all right.
"Oh, Joe, I am fine, quit your fussing. He is as gentle as can be with me. Now with a stranger, not so sure about that. I think he would put all his weight into it and probably would knock them down."
"Well, I for one am glad that dog knows us," Ben chuckled, as he gave Alissa a hug and started for the barn.
"Let's go, Joe. The work won't do itself you know."
"If only." Joe winked at Alissa then turned and followed Ben.
"Did you say something, Joe?"
"Nope, you're right Pa, time to get busy."
Alissa shook her head and laughed softly at Joe's comment. He always could make her laugh with his witty comebacks. It was a good thing Ben didn't hear what he said as he wouldn't be as amused as she was with Joe's humor.
Alissa turned and was starting to walk towards the house when she saw Adam come riding up.
"Hello my beautiful lady," Adam called out.
Then he removed his hat and slightly bowed from where he sat on Sport as he watched Alissa turn around to greet him.
Alissa curtsied and smiled up at her handsome cowboy. "So where have you been so early, Adam?"
"I had to go finish some final orders up at the lumber mill and I wanted to get it done early so I could take you to town. I do believe that today is an important day, is it not?"
Alissa grinned and came over and hugged Adam tightly after he dismounted Sport.
"Oh Adam, can you believe it, today is my final fitting for my wedding dress! It has taken so long for the dress to be absolutely perfect, and Miss Riley is going to finally finish with me today. She promised it will all come together, and I will be the most beautiful bride for my handsome groom. I am so excited as our wedding is only two weeks away…can you believe it?"
As Alissa looked up at Adam, she winked wickedly and teased, "Think you will be ready, cowboy?"
Adam leaned down and picked her up in his arms as he spun her around, then kissed her soundly. As he finally pulled away from her sweet lips, his hazel eyes twinkled.
"Damn right I am, little one. You will be lucky to leave the room for days."
"Adam Cartwright, you devil you, that's not what I meant. If your Father heard those words I…" But the rest of her words were silenced as Adam quickly brought his full lips down on hers and made her easily forget the rest of her comment.
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Three hours later Alissa was standing on a raised platform in front of a floor length mirror at Miss Riley's dress shop. It was all she could do to keep the tears from flowing as she looked in the mirror at her reflection. It seemed like it had been so long for this day to finally come with all the obstacles they had been through, but now it was here and she was in love with her beautiful wedding dress. It was everything she wanted her wedding dress to be.
When she first saw the pattern that Miss Riley had shown her, she wasn't sure the seamstress would be able to do all the changes she wanted. But Miss Riley had come through with the most amazing wedding dress Alissa had ever seen. And Miss Riley whole-heartedly agreed with Alissa as she finished pinning the hem of the dress.
"You my pet, will be the most exquisite bride with the loveliest wedding dress that Virginia City has ever seen. Of course, you are marrying the most handsome and sought after man in town, so naturally you must have the most special dress ever!"
After placing the last pin in the hem, Miss Riley stood and walked around Alissa smiling broadly.
Clapping her hands, she declared with delight, "Perfect, perfect! Now I will get the veil to finish this special creation I have designed."
As Alissa waited for Miss Riley to come back with her veil, she looked in the mirror at all the details on her dress. It had a high fitted neckline in delicate white lace with small pearl buttons in the back that went all the way down to her waist. The long tight fitting sleeves were also in the same delicate white lace that was at her neckline, and ended at her wrist with a pearl button on each wrist. The tight fitting bodice was made of taffeta, and started at the top of her bust line where the delicate lace ended, and extended to just below her waistline in a perfect V. In the front of her dress just below her waist, the taffeta was draped into three soft layers that were then gathered at the back of the dress to form a small bustle. The train cascaded from the bustle and extended into a small train. Exquisite four-inch long lace started right below the layers in the front of the dress and covered over the taffeta the rest of the way down the dress before ending at her feet.
Alissa felt a tear slide down her cheek as she slowly turned all the way around while looking in the mirror at this beautiful creation.
"This is going to be the best day of my life," she gushed, as she turned around again just to see the bustle in the back.
"And my train is just the right length! You out did yourself, Miss Riley," Alissa said smiling, as she watched her walking back in with the veil draped over her arm.
"I have the crowning glory now, my pet. This veil is perfect I think for your dress. Not too much to detract from your dress, but just right!"
Miss Riley held out the veil for Alissa to inspect before she placed it on her head.
"Oh, Miss Riley, the dainty faux pink and white roses on the headpiece that hold the veil are so special. I absolutely adore them!"
"I agree, I think it is just enough to draw attention to your lovely hair. The woman I employ does superior work and faux flowers are one of her specialties."
Alissa held the veil in her hands and nodded approvingly before she handed it back to Miss Riley. Then she stepped down from the platform so Miss Riley could place the veil on her head and adjust it. The veil was a very simple two-tier, cathedral length veil made from tulle. The first tier was shorter and would be the part that covered Alissa's face, while the long cathedral part of the veil would flow down her back and extend about a foot behind her. After Miss Riley finished adjusting the veil on her head, she went behind Alissa and gently pulled the long veil through her hands.
"Now start walking slowly and the veil will fall gracefully behind you as you walk."
Alissa did as she was told and Miss Riley squealed with delight. "It is perfection, my pet! You will be the talk of the town for years to come. Not only do you have on the most beautiful wedding dress I have ever seen, but your incredible beauty will make Adam Cartwright burst with pride that you will be his bride!"
Alissa grabbed Miss Riley's hands in hers and squeezed them.
"Thank you so much for making my day even more special than I could ever imagine with this splendid dress. I have to confess though; I love that man so much that I would marry him dressed in a gunnysack if I had too and be content. As long as we get married, that is all I care about because then my life will be complete."
"That is so sweet of you to say, Alissa, but I have to say, I am very glad you will be wearing this dress. And I am so happy and honored to have been a small part of what is going to be a glorious day for you. Now turn around so I can start to help you out of your dress so you can go and meet that handsome cowboy of yours," Miss Riley insisted, as she smiled warmly and started to undo the buttons at the back of Alissa's dress.
An hour later Adam and Alissa were riding back to the ranch when Alissa suddenly reached over and pulled up on the reins.
"Adam, I need to talk to you before we get home. I have been thinking about something to do with our wedding."
"Is something wrong? Is your dress not to your liking?"
"Oh heavens no! You will be blown away it is so gorgeous!"
Adam looked confused for a moment as he arched his eyebrow. "Now just how do you know the wind will be blowing on our wedding day?"
Alissa couldn't help but giggle as she lovingly touched his cheek with her hand. "Oh my love, I don't know how the weather will be…I sure hope it will be a nice sunny day."
"But you said…"
Alissa put her finger on Adam's lips to silence his words.
"It is just a saying that means you will be overwhelmed at how lovely my dress is going to be."
Adam took Alissa's hand in his and kissed it gently.
"Well that sure is an odd saying. But then so many things you say are odd," Adam chuckled, before looking intently into Alissa's ever changing green eyes.
"You do know my lovely, enchanting bride to be, I think you will look amazing in any dress you wear, because you are the most beautiful woman in all of Nevada!"
Alissa grinned playfully as she wrapped her arms around Adam's neck. "Just Nevada, what about the whole country?"
"That too, my love! Now stop talking and kiss me."
"Your wish is my command, cowboy," Alissa whispered, as she started to kiss Adam, but he suddenly pulled away.
"Oh really? My wish is your command…since when? Which reminds me, you do know there will be the part about obeying in the wedding vows?"
"Yes, I know," she said with a bit of a pout.
"I have been thinking about that part, and haven't decided on how I will handle it just yet. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Whoa there, little one. What do you mean you haven't decided about that? It is part of the ceremony and…"
"I know, I know, Adam, but let's not talk about that right now. What I want to talk about is what I would like us to do a couple of days before the wedding."
Adam just shook his head as he grinned at his precocious bride to be. "Very well, what is it you wish to talk about?"
"I know the minister will perform the ceremony and the words will be very traditional and that is wonderful. But I want us to tell each other what is in our hearts too. I know we can't do that during the ceremony, so I thought if we went on a private picnic two days before the ceremony, then we could tell each other what we felt. It would be very special and just between the two of us. Do you think we could maybe do that?"
Adam flashed his dimpled smile before he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.
"I think that would be a splendid idea! Just the two of us sharing our thoughts on how we feel about each other before we get married. It's perfect! But what made you think of this?"
"Well, I have seen other couples do this at their wedding ceremony and it is a very special moment for them."
"Really? Well that sure isn't anything I have ever heard of."
"I know, and I realize this and that is why I thought we could do ours privately before the ceremony."
"Well my love, that sounds perfect to me, and I can't wait till tonight when I can start writing my thoughts alone in my room. Now, are you ready to go? We need to get home before dark."
Alissa snuggled against Adam's shoulder and sighed contentedly.
"Yes, my knight in shinning armor, I am ready. So lead on sir knight!"
TBC
Hello dear readers!
I bet by now you think I took a slow boat around the world as it has been soo long since I posted a new chapter. Well, I didn't go on a boat, but I have been very busy with real life. That and the fact that my muse left me big time, and I just couldn't get a new chapter written. So when a new reader found my stories and started at the begining of this series and let me know how much she enjoyed them, it motivated me! So I went back and reread some my stories and finally got my muse to peek out from under the desk and say, "Let's get going and get these two married...It is time!"
I hope my faithful readers are still here, and you will enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks ~ Sierra