Chapter Fourteen and Conclusion To Part III
TWO DAYS LATER
Heath and Isabella's wedding day arrived. She decided to wear the sky blue empire silk dress from the masked ball in Paris. Audra loaned her a small seed pearl tiara that Scott had given her in London of his mother's. Heath was to wear his navy blue suit. Liesel and Nick would be standing up for them at the wedding and Jarrod would give her away.
Victoria had filled the parlor with fresh flowers. She wrapped the staircase in greenery and brought out her linen, crystal, and silver for the buffet. Silas and Liesel created a beautiful wedding cake and petit fours for the couple. Jane and her daughter-in-laws worked behind the scenes making sure the meal was perfect with Rosa.
"This engagement may not have come under good circumstances but this wedding and marriage will be a celebration of love and the future," Jane told her daughters-in-law.
Will and Joe had been standoffish after their confrontation with McColl.
They greeted their mother as always the next morning but she told them in no uncertain terms, "Get your snooty east coast noses back in joint. I am not in my dotage. I know what I want and my own mind."
Tab, Jack, Trey, and Joey were dressed early in their suits. "You may go outside but do not get dirty. The wedding is in a couple of hours and you do not have time to bathe again or the facilities" Anne told them, "Do you understand me, young men?"
"Yes ma'am." the boys said in unison.
Elisa sent them out with books to read while the girls and ladies continued to get dressed and ready.
They got bored reading after a few minutes and Tab got the idea to pretend they were searching for pirate's gold.
He made up a story that pirates escaped from bandits near the ocean and rode all the way to the Barkley ranch. They hid their loot in the woods by the house.
Jack and Joey were the youngest so they paired up with Tab and Trey.
"The first team that finds a treasure in the woods wins!"
The boys made pretend maps and started into the woods near the house.
An hour later, Joey and Tab found two quartz rocks, an arrowhead, and a snakeskin. Trey and Jack found a partial deer antler and a toad in hibernation for the winter. The boys were arguing why their finds were the best.
Joey had to relieve himself and walked back a few feet not to be teased by the older boys.
Tab and Trey boasted a while longer until Jack interrupted them, "Where's Joey?"
The older boys panicked and went in the direction they saw him last. He was nowhere to be found. Trey started to tear up, "He's only three. Something can eat him or an Indian can scalp him."
Jack started crying next. The older boys were feigning bravery.
Tab tried to shush them. "We gotta find him. My Papa says men gotta look after the little ones. Uncle Jarrod too. Men take care of their family" he spoke braver than he felt.
They held hands and went deeper into the woods.
McColl came out of the foreman's cottage smoothing down his grey suit. "I was so flustered the other night, I rode out in it and now I can't get these blame wrinkles out."
He stepped over the discarded books. "What in the world?" He saw the trail into the woods and two candy wrappers on it. "Them boys" and he took off after them.
He thought of all the times he got the Barkley children out of scrapes.
Their path was easy for him to trail. It led to a pile of rocks in a pretend campfire. An antler, an old toad, some rocks, and snakeskin were discarded.
"Boys? Boys? Where are ya? We got a wedding pretty soon and I don't think your mommas will be happy if you are all muddied up."
He saw some broken branches and continued on the path. He heard Jack crying. He went towards the noise. The trail ended at the creek. Joey had slid in and was holding onto a bending branch from a dead tree. Trey was several inches out holding Tab's hand trying to rescue him.
"Hold on boys. I am coming."
"McColl!"
He went into the creek and grabbed Joey with one arm just as the branch broke. They both fell into the rushing water. He held the boy above him but his boot stuck into the mud. He pulled and pulled leaving his new boot mired at the bottom of the water.
Joey was shivering and McColl was rubbing him to warm him up. "No telling how long he had been in the mountain stream water."
Nick, Jarrod, and his cousins came clamoring through the woods as he was cuddling young Joey. "You're gonna be ok, little one. I promise. Your grandma Janie is pretty special to me and you both." just as they arrived on the scene.
The boys had been reported missing by Rosa and the men had gone off to look. Joe ran immediately to grab his son but his arms were firmly around McColl.
"Ok little buddy, your daddy is here. You are safe."
"NO! You saved me, Mr. Coll"
"Here, here boy. Your daddy wants to see that you is just fine."
His father carried him back after shaking McColl's hand, "Thank you".
Nick and Jarrod rounded up the three other boys to head back. "Your mothers are going to have a lot to say"
Jarrod noticed him hobbling as they walked back. "Where's your new boot?"
"Stream ate it. Too fancy for me anyway."
He looked down at his ruined, wet suit. "Well, don't that beat it all. It at least doesn't smell like cows."
Nick and Jarrod laughed.
The group made it back to meet all of the ladies in the yard.
Cate ran to her son who proudly proclaimed, "Mr. McColl saved me."
Janie grinned and ran to him planting a kiss on him in front of everyone.
"Let's get you cleaned up, Douglas. We have a wedding to attend. Why don't you wear those church pants and your white shirt? I ironed it the other day."
Her sons looked at her in surprise.
"Of course, I know how to iron." was all she said. They went into the cabin with familiarity.
About thirty minutes later, the wedding began. Iva Merar played the piano, Mendelssohn's Wedding March (1842) as Jarrod greeted Isabella at the foot of the stairs. Heath stared up at her and smiled. She smiled back.
Taking Jarrod's arm, she walked to stand by Heath. Liesel smiled at Jarrod as he kissed her sister on the cheek. He placed her hand in Heath's calloused hand. He looked lovingly at Liesel standing by her sister. Only two months ago, the roles were reversed in an ancient cathedral.
He heard a soft "Pappy" and Rose waved to him with her basket of petals. Sophie and Mae were standing beside the toddler. Audra was seated in front of them in case one decided to bolt.
He waved back at her and blew her a kiss. Tab and Jack stood side-by-side seriously in front of Nick.
Will and Joe sat a couple of rows back with their families. Young Joey was changed into pants and a shirt in lieu of his ruined suit and wrapped in a blanket. He was seated in his grateful mother's lap. She kept ruffling his hair and kissing his head.
Across the aisle were Jane and Douglas. He was wearing his Sunday trousers, suspenders and a white shirt. His hair was slicked back, freshly washed from the stream water. Jane looked beautiful in her lavender dress with her silver hair. His arm was casually draped around the back of her chair.
Katarina and Victoria took the two front seats with tears in their eyes.
A few minutes before, Heath had walked Victoria in and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, Mother. Thank you for everything."
Reverend Stacy performed the simple ceremony and the couple said their vows.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."
He softly cupped her chin with his hand and gently kissed her. He took a moment just to look into her eyes and reassure her.
He softly whispered, "I love you, Bella."
The family and ranch hands celebrated with a meal and several dances. Liesel played the violin for the couple's first dance.
Heath murmured sweet endearments into her ear and she blushed out of happiness.
"I didn't know you played. It was exquisite." Jarrod remarked to his wife.
"You never asked. I left my violin in France. Mrs. Merar found this one for me to borrow when Bella asked me to play."
Nick and Katarina shared a dance. The closer he pulled her, the more his child kicked him. It made them laugh.
"Remember, little one, she was mine first."
Douglas and Jane danced all four dances together as her sons watched across the room.
Cate elbowed Joey. "He saved our son's life. Don't you think you should give him a chance?"
Anne echoed the same sentiment with Will.
Both brothers were united in their stubbornness about McColl being "unsuitable" for their mother.
"I appreciate he saved Joey. We can give him a reward or something else. But this doesn't mean he is right for our mother. She is too old to remarry again anyway. She was just lonely and he took advantage of her. We can take care of her."
Both ladies were united in their anger at the brothers. They refused to speak, dance, or even be in near distance to the men the rest of the day.
The young couple changed from their finery into traveling clothes. Heath had already packed the wagon for the trip to the lodge,
They waved as they left the wide doors of the mansion. Bella halted for a moment and came back to kiss Liesel. "I will remember what you told me." and she ran back to Heath.
Jarrod raised his eyebrow and she responded, "I told her to trust Heath the way I trusted you."
He kissed her and whispered, "I love you."
She whispered it back to him. His smile could not get any bigger.
—&—
It took most of the afternoon to get to the lodge. The hands had brought supplies up a few days before. They unpacked the picnic basket of wedding leftovers fixed by Silas.
"We have enough here for a couple of days."
Heath made a fire and they ate their supper in front of it. He poured her several glasses of Barkley wine and they toasted their future,
"To Mr. and Mrs. Heath Barkley" he toasted.
"To us," she replied softly.
She started to take her hair down. He put his hand on hers, "Let me. I have wanted to do this for a long time."
He unraveled the braids and took the pins out. Taking handfuls of her hair, he would breathe deeply of the lavender wash. He couldn't resist and he kissed her neck and earlobes. She leaned into his kisses and he laid her back on the floor. He pulled a throw pillow off of the couch and placed it under her head.
He kissed her several more times and she responded. Dr. Merar's admonitions of her bruises were taken quite seriously by him.
He whispered to her, "Don't be afraid. I am not going to make love to you tonight, Just relax."
"I trust you, Heath"
He gently caressed her and awakened feelings she never knew existed. He was patient and watched her face for any fear or discomfort. He saw none.
He allowed his hands to gently move over her body; she closed her eyes and made small noises of pleasure. He grinned. He began to kiss her again this time parting her lips. Her eyes opened quickly out of surprise but she responded with ardor. He kissed her several more times then pulled her into the crux of his arms.
"I can't wait to wake up beside you in the morning."
"Heath, are you sure?" remembering all the stories she heard in Paris and Mama-Marie's opinion on men's needs.
"I just want to wake up with you beside me. It is enough, I promise."
and they fell asleep on the floor fully dressed.
Coming Soon—Part IV A Flock of Trouble and conclusion to the Four-Part Saga
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