Missing Scenes from Return to Rock Springs #4

Thursday Evening at the Simpsons

The early evening was significantly colder than the morning temperature had been, so Jess asked Ma Poole if he could borrow her buggy. If he had been the only one heading to the Simpsons that evening, he would have walked. But with Daisy and Mike going and knowing that they would not return to the boarding house until late, he didn't want either one of them to get chilled to the bone in the November wind. Pulling the collar of his heavy winter coat up around his neck, he drove Ma's buggy around to the front steps of the boarding house and went in to see if the other members of the family were ready to head out to the Simpson's home. To his pleasure, they were all buttoning their coats as they met him near Ma's front door. Everyone was glad that the ride only took only a couple of minutes. The wind was bitterly cold.

"Looks like it might snow tonight, Jess." Slim commented as they pulled up in front of the Simpson's home. "We had an inch or two last week back home, but then it warmed up enough to melt after a couple of days."

"Yeah, same here. That's why I'm glad that you all decided to take the train." Jess said as he tied the reins to the railing. "Let's go in and say our hellos. Then I think I'd better ask Bill if I kin git Ma's horse into his barn. It's too cold and windy for him to jest stand here waitin' on us."

"He's got a barn this close to the center of town?" Slim asked. From his experience, townsfolk usually had a shed just large enough to house a horse or two, a buggy, and maybe a buckboard.

"It's not as big as ours back home, but his property goes way back behind his house. This is pretty much the edge of town, Slim. With his business, he's got a couple of buckboards and buggies. And four horses. There should be room for Ma's in there."

Bill met them at the door, "Come on in out of the cold." Then shutting the door behind them, he reached out to shake Slim's hand, "It's good to see you again, Slim." Turning to Daisy, "You must be the wonderful Daisy Cooper that Jess has told us about. I'm Bill Simpson, Caroline's father."

Daisy blushed slightly, "Well, I'm not exactly sure what Jess has been telling you about me, but I am Daisy Cooper."

Then Jess said, "And, Bill, this is Mike Williams. Mike, this is Mr. Simpson."

Grinning, Bill extended his hand to Mike also, "It's good to meet you, young man."

Mike beamed at being treated like one of the adults. "It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Simpson," he said as he eagerly shook Bill's hand.

Just then Julia appeared in the hallway, and Jess introduced her to Daisy and Mike.

"Let me take your heavy coats." After she placed them on the settee down the hall, she turned back to her guests, "Please come on into the parlor and meet our son and daughter-in-law." Julia then turned to Jess, "Carrie and her sisters will be down in just a minute. I swear I don't know what's keeping the three of them. But at least Len and Nancy are downstairs where they should be."

Once the introductions were made in the parlor, Julia again turned to Jess and said quietly, "I don't want to yell from the bottom of the stairs, so I'm going up for a minute and see what's keeping those girls. They just went upstairs to freshen up for a minute after helping me cook. I hope that Daisy and Slim don't think they are horribly rude."

"I'm sure they don't think a thing of it, Julia. They don't mind waiting on them one little bit. We all jest appreciate you invitin' us for dinner tonight." Once he reassured Julia, Jess went up to Bill, "Would it be alright if I put Ma's horse and buggy in your barn? It's mighty cold out there this evening."

"Sure, Jess, there's plenty of room. I'll go with you." Bill excused himself and Jess from the others, and the two grabbed their heavy coats and went back out the front door.

Upstairs in the girls' bedroom, the three sisters were all looking at Amanda's reflection in the vanity mirror.

"Mandy, you look fine. I've heard them come in, and Jess is going to be wondering what's keeping me." Caroline wondered why on earth her sister had changed her dress twice, each time asking Carrie if she looked alright.

Cecilia giggled, "Land's sake, Mandy, Mama's going to be furious with us. Let's go downstairs." Just as she opened the door, she came face to face with Julia.

"What on earth is keeping you three? Our guests are here."

"Amanda had to primp some more, Mother. Really, I don't know why she's making such a fuss over herself. She looks fine." Cecilia rolled her eyes as she walked past her mother.

Taking a deep breath, Mandy hurried out of the room behind Celie. As Carrie passed her mother, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Mama. For some reason, Mandy is especially concerned that she must look perfect tonight." Then shaking her head, "She's really acting strange this evening."

"Well, all three of you look beautiful, and Jess is waiting on you, so come on." Julia replied softly as they made their way to the stairs.

Slim tried his best to keep his mind on the lively conversation between Len, Nancy, and Daisy. But besides hearing that Len and Nancy had left their young son with Nancy's mother at their home in Rawlins, he hadn't heard a word that was said. He couldn't wait to see Amanda, and his eyes kept drifting toward the open archway that gave him a view of the hallway. Finally, he heard footsteps approaching, and soon he saw a young woman whom he had not met before appear in the archway. Close behind her were, Amanda, Caroline, and Julia. Slim immediately got to his feet as Julia approached him and Daisy.

"Slim, I know that you met Mandy when you were here before, but this is our youngest daughter, Cecilia."

Celie gave him her sweetest smile, "It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Sherman."

"It's nice to meet you also. But please call me Slim."

Then Julia turned to Daisy, who had also stood up. "Daisy, I know you met Caroline this morning. These are my other daughters, Amanda and Cecilia."

Mandy exchanged pleasantries with Daisy and was introduced to Mike. She bent down and spoke to Mike, but then she managed to slip behind her mother and Celie as they were still speaking with Daisy and Mike. She turned toward Slim, "It's so nice to see you again, Slim."

Slim stepped closer to her and reached for her hand, "And it's wonderful to see you again, too, Mandy. It's been quite a while since I met you at the General Store, hasn't it?"

Mandy smiled knowingly being quite aware that Caroline was standing right near her. "Yes, that was quite a while ago now, wasn't it?"

Just then Caroline said, "Well, where's Jess? He hasn't met Celie yet."

"I was just wondering that myself." Julia commented, "And where's Bill? They were both right here when I went upstairs to find you."

"Oh, they went to put Ma's horse and buggy in the barn." Slim said, not taking his eyes off of Amanda.

Just then they all heard Bill and Jess coming back into to house from the back door. They both appeared with a few snowflakes in their hair and on the shoulders of their coats. "Well, you were right, Julia," Bill said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's starting to snow."

"Let's hope it's a light cover. We have a wedding to go to in less than two days now." Julia said as she glanced at Caroline.

As soon as Jess could shed his coat and put it with the others, he beamed at Caroline as he saw her coming toward him. He gave her a big hug. He wanted to kiss her, but he thought better of the idea in the present company. Caroline lightly brushed a couple of snowflakes off his hair and took his hand as she led him back toward the parlor, "I was wondering where you had gone. Come meet Cecilia."

Cecilia caught her breath as she saw Carrie and Jess. She knew that her sister had told her that Jess was the most handsome man that she had ever met, but Celie had taken that with a grain of salt since Caroline was so obviously in love with the man. She hadn't even believed it when Mandy had told her, "If you like the dark-haired and lean type like Carrie does, you'd agree with her."

"Jess, this is my little sister, Cecilia." Caroline announced.

"It's good ta meet ya." Jess said as he gave her his friendliest smile.

"Welcome to our family, Jess." Cecilia was a tiny bit envious of Caroline, but she loved both of her sisters dearly. She thought to herself, "If only Jess has a younger brother that looks a lot like him. But he'd have to be several years younger to be the right age for me."

"Caroline says you're still back east at school." Jess's words brought Celie out of her thoughts.

"Yes, I have one more year at Mrs. Stewart's School."

"Oh, so you're at the school where Amanda is working now?" Jess asked.

"Yes, but Mandy is working with the younger girls. This is my final year there."

Just then Julia spoke up, "Mandy and Celie, help me get everything on the table before it dries out staying warm in the oven."

"Could I do anything to help you, Julia?" Daisy asked.

"No, no. We can handle everything. It will only take us a few minutes. And I want you to have more time to visit with everyone else here in the parlor." Then looking at Bill, "We'll call you when everything is ready. Come on, Amanda and Cecilia."

Mandy gave Slim one last smile as she reluctantly followed her mother and Celie to the kitchen. She knew her mother had no idea that she and Slim had been regularly communicating, and she certainly understood her mother's desire to give Jess and his Laramie family a chance to talk with Caroline, Bill, Len, and Nancy while they got the meal on the table.

Slim smiled back at Amanda as he watched her disappear toward the back of the house. A more in-depth conversation with this captivating woman would just have to wait until later. He suddenly felt Jess's hand on his shoulder as he heard his partner say, "What da ya think, Slim?"

"Huh." Slim realized that he had not heard a word the others had said while he had been in Mandy's presence.

Jess gave him a puzzled look and repeated what he had just said, "Len has heard talk in Rawlins that we might git as much as $60.00 a head next spring. That shor' would be better than tha price last spring."

"I'd say so." Slim said turning to Len, "Do you think that could be true?"

"At least that's what the big ranchers around Rawlins are saying."

Soon Julia announced that the dinner was ready, and everyone went into the dining room. Julia and her daughters had outdone themselves. The large dinner table was spread with scrupulous looking food, and soon they were all enjoying the wonderful meal. Bill and Julia were at their usual places at opposite ends of the large rectangular table. Jess was seated to Bill's right with Carrie at his side. Daisy was seated to Julia's right with Mike on her right and Slim next to Mike. To Slim's delight, Cecilia was across from Daisy and Amanda was across from Mike, which gave Slim plenty of opportunity to catch Amanda's eye whenever he got the chance. Len was to Bill's left with Nancy in between him and Slim. Most of the dinner table conversation centered on the upcoming wedding, and the evening passed quickly. After enjoying more coffee in the parlor, everyone heard the large grandfather clock in the hallway announce that it was ten o'clock. Jess nodded at Slim and Daisy as he stood up, "It's getting late." Turning to Bill and Julia, "Thank you so much for having us for dinner tonight. I think it's time that I went and got the buggy."

"Yes, thank you so much." Daisy added as she nudged Mike who had fallen asleep leaning on her shoulder. Slim added his thanks to the Simpsons as he caught Amanda's eye again.

"We loved having you." Bill stood up and turned to Jess, "I'll help you."

"No, Bill, I don't need any help. You should stay warm in here and visit for the next few minutes." Jess started down the hall to retrieve his winter coat as Carrie hurried to catch up to him. She watched as he buttoned his coat, "Let me walk with you to the kitchen door, Jess."

Smiling, he knowingly took her hand and walked quickly toward the back of the house. As they reached the door, he took her in his arms, "I thought we'd never git a minute alone tonight."

Caroline smiled up at him, and he kissed her passionately again and again in the privacy of the deserted kitchen.

Jess finally said, "I guess I'd better open this door before your parents wonder what we are up to back here." He reluctantly pulled away from her.

Blushing she said, "Don't forget we're supposed to be at Rev. Douglas's tomorrow afternoon at 1 o'clock."

"I'd never forgit. But what do ya think he wants us to come for?"

"Just to go over things I'm sure, Jess. Mama says he always meets with the couple the day before the wedding."

He pulled her toward her again, "Ya gonna be here or at the store tomorrow?"

"At the store."

"I'll meet ya there a little before one then, and we'll go to the preacher's together." He kissed her one last time, "I cain't wait til Saturday morning."

"Me either. Then we won't have to sneak back here to kiss each other, will we?" She looked him right in the eye, "I love you, Jess Harper."

"I love you, Caroline Simpson." He gave her an endearing grin as he went out the back door.

As Carrie made her way back to the parlor, she noticed Slim and Amanda engrossed in conversation in front of the settee in the hallway. She hesitated in the long hallway long enough to notice that Slim stroked Mandy's cheek as he smoothed several strands of her hair away from her face where they had fallen when Amanda had bent down to get Daisy's heavy coat. The moment lasted only a second, but Caroline couldn't help but notice the tenderness in his touch and the way that her sister looked up into the tall blonde's face. Something is definitely happening between these two, she thought. But Carrie stayed way down the hallway until she saw Slim and Amanda start back to the parlor with the coats.

Friday

Early the next morning Jess and Slim made their way down to the train station so that they would be there in time to meet Andy and Jonesy. Luckily, there was only a dusting of snow from last night, but it was still mighty cold and windy. Andy was the first person off the train. Slim and Jess were both surprised at how much older he looked than when they had seen him last Christmas. Of course it had been almost a year now since he and Jonesy had been back in Wyoming. Andy had decided to take a summer job in St. Louis last summer to help pay for his first year at college this year, and Jonesy had remained there all summer also. "Slim, Jess, it's so good to see ya!" Andy hugged both of them. Andy was slightly taller than Jess now, but Slim still had a couple of inches on him. Jonesy was a little slower disembarking from the train, and he put both hands on his back as he straightened up once he was standing in front of the others.

"Jonesy, I see that back is still bothering you. Guess the long trip didn't do you any good." Slim said as he shook Jonesy's hand and ended with a hug.

"I'm alright, Slim. Trains aren't near as rough on me as a long stage ride woulda been." Then turning to Jess, "I'd a never thought this day woulda come before old Slim here got married. But it's so good ta see ya, Boy!" Jonesy gave Jess a big hug, which Jess eagerly returned.

"Now why do ya say that, Jonesy?" Jess had that innocence little boy look on his face.

"Never known a wildcat that willingly let someone put 'im in a cage." Then Jonesy softened his tone, "She must be some woman."

"She shor' is, Jonesy, she shor' is." Jess beamed at the older man.

"So when do we get to meet her?" Andy asked as they headed to get their bags.

"I'll try to bring Caroline by Ma Poole's this afternoon after our meeting with the preacher," Jess said as he picked up Jonesy's suitcase. Then turning toward the older man, "Course now that's only if Jonesy here promises not ta try ta embarrass me by spreading some tall tale 'bout what I've done from time ta time back home in Laramie."

"Well I wouldn't hav ta spin a tall tale to scare her ta death 'bout what she's gittin' herself into." Jonesy gave Jess a sly grin, but then he added, "Course I wouldn't want ta ruin your chances of finally finding some woman that would have ya. So if ya promise to be real nice ta me from now on, I might jest hold my tongue til after she's said the 'I dos.'"

They had reached the porch of Ma Poole's Boarding House, and they all saw Mike bounding out the front door toward them, "Ma and Aunt Daisy say you better hurry in before breakfast gets cold!"

"Wouldn't dream of letting the good cookin' of those two git cold." Jonesy said as the four men eagerly followed Mike into the house.

Ma greeted them warmly, "Jonesy, Andy, just put yer bags down in the parlor and come on in the dining room. We'll git ya settled in your rooms after we eat."

Mike pulled on Andy's arm, "Please sit by me, Andy. I want ya ta tell me all about what college is like. But I shor' did miss fishin' with ya last summer!"

Andy grinned at the younger boy, "I missed all our summer fun too, Mike, but that job in St. Louis was the only way I could start college this past fall."

Jess ate very quickly and then stood up, "Thanks, Ma, Daisy. I hate ta miss all the catchin' up with Andy and Jonesy, but I've got ta git down ta the office. Bryce is gonna fill in fer me starting this afternoon, but I've got ta finish out my duties as Sheriff this morning. And I cain't be late this mornin' cause some of tha town council's gonna meet with me first thing." As he hurried from the dining room, Jess said over his shoulder to Andy and Jonesy, "I'll bring Carrie by this afternoon ta meet ya."

The wind was quite cold as Jess made his way to the Sheriff's office. Pushing open the door and then closing it quickly to block out the cold wind, Jess was pleased that Ben had already fired up the pot belly stove and had the coffee almost ready.

"Good Morning, Boss. I 'spect Mark Howard and whoever else is comin' will be here in jes a few minutes."

"Yeah. I hope that tha council's not upset about me leaving Rock Springs early tomorrow afternoon. I know I was supposed be here until Jake Donald got here ta take over December 1st." Jess rubbed his hand across his chin several times. He had been concerned about the date of the wedding interfering with the last three days of his contract when Caroline had first mentioned the last Saturday in November as the date for the wedding. But Bill had assured him that he'd handle everything with the town council, and then his future father-in-law had purchased their train tickets to Cheyenne for early Saturday afternoon and had telegrammed his friend who owned the best hotel in Cheyenne to reserve the finest room for their honeymoon. The way Bill had said that it was his and Julia's wedding present to them, Jess had felt that he couldn't argue with him. Jess just hoped that Bill was right. He didn't want to leave Rock Springs with any of the council members dissatisfied with his performance as their sheriff.

"I wouldn't worry 'bout that, Jess. If anyone on the council had been upset, they woulda spoken right up – 'specially, Carl Nelson." Ben poured a cup of coffee, handed it to Jess, and then poured one for himself. As the two men moved over to Jess's desk, Ben added, "So, I 'spect the meetin' this morning is jes a formality ta wish ya well and officially hand the reins ova ta me and Bryce 'til Jake Donald gets here Tuesday evening. Heck, it's only from this afternoon til Wednesday mornin' that Bryce'll fill in fer ya. Ya shouldn't be worried 'bout anything, Mr. Bridegroom, 'cept gittin' to the church on time tomorrow mornin' and saying' those 'I dos' ta yer bride."

"Guess so, at least I hope yer right." Jess was not totally convinced, but he didn't have long to ponder the issue before Mark Howard opened the office door.

"Good morning, Jess." Mark entered followed by Dale Fenton and Bill Simpson. "The three of us are representing the whole town council this morning."

"C'mon in and hav' a seat." Jess met them halfway into the office and pulled up several chairs near his desk while Ben handed Jess a stack of cups and then went back to the stove to retrieve the coffee pot. "How 'bout some coffee to warm you all up?"

"Yeah, thanks, it's mighty cold this mornin'." After the coffee was poured, Mark Howard continued, "Jess, as I said the three of us are representing the whole council and for that matter the whole town. We all want you to know that we greatly appreciate the work you've done here the last four months. Bill has told us that Caroline thought you were concerned that we'd think you hadn't finished out your whole contract since you'll be leaving for Cheyenne tomorrow right after the wedding. We all wanted you to know that we consider your contract complete at noon today." Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, "And we wanted to give you your final pay this morning. It's the full amount til the end of the month." Mark held the envelope out for Jess to accept.

"But, Mark, I couldn't possibly take pay for the days that . . ."

Dale Fenton interrupted, "Nonsense, Jess. Jus' consider the four days as a wedding present from the town council." Dale's grin spread all over his face.

Jess was still extremely hesitant. He had always worked for everything that he had. How could he take even more from these people? Especially considering that they had paid his entire salary when he had been at Doc Melvin's for so long after the Cooley gang almost killed him, and on top of that the town had covered the entire doctor's bill. He looked back at Mark Howard, still not reaching out to take the envelope.

Mark Howard all but pushed the envelope into Jess's hand, "Sheriff, you can't argue with us. After all, the town council is your boss." Then Mark gave him a fatherly smile, "The vote for this was unanimous, and I should tell you that it was Carl Nelson's idea to pay the full amount. He'd be here today except he found a fence down early this morning – sent Tate over to tell Dale that he needed to stay at the ranch this morning and help Tate fix it and find all the strays. Now quit arguing with your employers and finish up any paper work that you need to handle before noon."

Jess still felt uncomfortable as he said, "Thank you all."

"We'll see you at the wedding tomorrow." Mark Howard and Dale Fenton both left the office.

But Bill Simpson stayed behind. "Jess, don't fight 'em, son. They didn't do this because you're marrying my daughter, and I didn't pressure them into it either. They did this because they wanted to. Let them do something nice for you. They're smart enough to know that there was no reason for you and Carrie to wait until after Wednesday to get married. And they're smart enough to know that you wouldn't want to stay here and work four more days after the wedding tomorrow, especially with winter coming on." Bill put his hand on Jess's shoulder, "Don't give it another thought, Jess. And I better get back to the store." Bill couldn't help but admire Jess. It was obvious that his future son-in-law didn't feel comfortable being given anything over and above what he earned. He had also noticed that Jess had even seemed a little uncomfortable accepting his and Julia's gift of the honeymoon; however, it had also been obvious that Jess accepted the gift because he wanted a nice honeymoon for Caroline. Over the last four months Bill and Julia had seen time and again just how much integrity this young man had, and they couldn't be happier with the man that Caroline had chosen to marry.

The rest of the morning passed very quickly, and it was soon noon. Jess looked over at Ben's desk as he put the last paper on the small stack on his desk. "Well, I guess that does it." Jess stood up and walked over to Ben, "It's been great workin' with ya, Ben."

"I feel the same, Jess. And if we eva need a fill-in Sheriff again, I'll tell 'em I want you here." Ben stood up and extended his hand toward Jess.

Shaking the deputy's hand, Jess added, "You're a fine deputy. I'm not shor' I ever thanked you for keepin' me alive back in September."

"Ya did, but I don't mind at tal' hearing how great I am." Ben laughed.

Just then the office door opened, and Bryce Mosley came in, "Howdy, Boss, Ben." Then turning his attention solely toward Jess, "So, tomorrow's the big day, huh?"

Jess grinned broadly, "It shor' is." Then he added, "I really appreciate you fillin' in for me the next few days."

"Happy ta do it, Jess."

"Well, I guess I better go and let ya git on with it. You and Donnie are comin' tomorrow, aren't ya?"

"Wouldn't miss it fer the world."

Jess reached out to shake Bryce's hand, "It's been great workin' with ya."

"You, too, Jess."

Jess had mixed feelings as he walked out of the office. He knew that he belonged at the Sherman Ranch, and he wouldn't want to take his bride anywhere but there. However, at the same time, the events at Rock Springs had changed his life forever. If he hadn't taken this job, he would never had met Carrie. And there were so many special people in this town. Strange how things work out, he thought. The first time he had come to Rock Springs, he had only known one person in this town, Vic Stoddard. And Vic was already dead when he arrived four years ago. However, when he had worked as a deputy here all those years ago, he had made so many friends – Ma, Mark Howard, and Rev. Douglas, and so many others. And now he could add many more people to that list. As he made his way down to the General Store, he told himself that this would certainly not be the last time that he visited Rock Springs. With Carrie's parents here, he was sure that they would visit at some point whenever they had the time and the finances to make the trip.

Caroline was coming out from the counter with her heavy coat on as Jess entered the store. "Let me just tell Pa that I'm leaving and we'll go," she announced when she saw Jess. Hurriedly she began to brush past him on her way to the storeroom.

Looking around to make sure that no one else was within eyesight, Jess gently caught her by the arm, "Jes' a minute, Miss Simpson. Ya don't think yer gonna walk past me without a hello kiss, do ya?"

Smiling up into his face, she said, "I wouldn't dream of it, Sheriff."

He held her close and kissed her, only pausing their kiss after a few seconds to say, "Well, it's not Sheriff Harper anymore. I left the badge at tha office this mornin'. So if that kiss was for Sheriff Harper, I need another one now that I'm jes plain ole Jess Harper."

"You're anything but plain, Jess Harper."

Their lips met again in a long and passionate kiss until they both heard the bell on the store door indicating that someone was coming in. They barely managed to break off their embrace before Bart Patrick entered the store.

"Jess, would you go back to the storeroom and tell Pa that he needs to come man the front of the store so we can go to the preacher's?"

Acknowledging Bart, Jess did as she asked while Caroline started filling the list that Bart had handed her. "How's your Ma and that precious little girl, Bart?"

"They're both fine, Miss Caroline. Little Tavi shor' has got a set of lungs on her though."

"Oh, does she cry a lot, Bart?"

"Not too much, but boy is she loud when she fusses. Guess I thought baby girls wouldn't be louder than my little brothers were, but she shor' is."

"So she's about four months old now?" Caroline smiled as she placed another item from the list on the counter. She was thinking that Bart hadn't wasted any time at all giving little Octavia Ruth the shortened name of "Tavi."

"She will be in another week."

Just then Bill came to the counter, "Hello, Bart, I'll finish getting everything for you since Carrie and Jess have to leave now."

As they headed out the door, Caroline turned back and said to her father, "Mandy said she'd be here a little after 1, Pa."

Bill nodded as he continued pulling the Patrick's order together.

The wind was quite cold as Jess and Caroline made the short walk down toward the parsonage. "I still don't git why we have ta meet with Rev. Douglas today." Jess said as they hurried along, arm in arm.

"You said the same thing last night, Jess. I thought you liked Rev. Douglas." She eyed him closely, "Why are you so worried about this meeting?"

"I do like 'im. I jes don't know why he cain't jes marry us tomorrow without all this to-do."

"It'll just be a nice conversation I'm sure, Jess." Carrie giggled as she shook her head. Funny the things that Jess worries about, she thought as they continued down the street toward the parsonage. But she didn't have time to think about it long as they were soon at the parsonage door.

Mrs. Douglas welcomed them in, "Rev. Douglas is in his study. Go on down the hall."

Jess felt the hairs on his neck sticking straight up. He did like Rev. Douglas. He had liked him when he first went to church with Ma Poole all those years ago; he still liked him. But he had never before been summoned to the good reverend's office for a serious talk that he felt was totally unnecessary.

"Ah, Jess and Carrie, come in and have a seat." He pointed at the two chairs in front of his desk as he made his way to his own seat behind the desk.

As they took their seats, Rev. Douglas continued, "So tomorrow's the big day." He opened the notebook that was on his desk. "And I have down here that the ceremony is to start at 9:30 in the morning, right?"

"Yeah." Jess said as he nodded.

And then Caroline added, "We thought that would be a good time. It'll give our friends time to get into town after their morning chores and will still give us time to make the train."

Rev. Douglas smiled, thinking that Caroline Simpson had always been an expert planner. "And that will also give everyone time to congratulate you two and consume some of that wedding cake that I know several of the ladies have been working on." Picking up his pencil, "I just want to make sure that I have both of your full names right. Caroline, I know that you are Caroline Elizabeth Simpson. Jess, what's your full name?"

As she heard Rev Douglas, Carrie realized that she had never asked Jess this question. Now curiosity got the best of her as she looked lovingly at her future husband.

"Jess Daniel Harper."

"It's not Jesse, then? I guess I assumed you were named after the biblical Jesse."

"It's jes Jess, Rev. Douglas." And then in response to the preacher's curious look, "From what my parents told me, my Ma did intend to name me after the Jesse and the Daniel in the Bible, but my Pa thought 'Jesse' would be shortened to 'Jess' as I got older. So, he thought they ought ta name me what I'd be called. My Pa was kinda practical like that." Jess shifted in his chair.

"Nothing at all wrong with being practical. Sounds like your mother was certainly a God-fearing woman." As Jess nodded, Rev. Douglas wrote the names in his notebook and then continued, "Do you have family coming tomorrow?"

"My parents have been gone a long time now, parson. But my family from Laramie is already in town. They're not really blood relatives, but they're family jes tha same."

"Jess does have a sister in California, Rev. Douglas," Caroline added. "We wish she could be here, but she's expecting a baby any day now."

"Definitely not the time to make a long trip. I guess you two are wondering why I wanted you to come see me today. This won't take long. I just want to make sure that we all know how the ceremony is going to go. I'm assuming that you two have already decided who else, besides your father, Caroline, is going to be part of the wedding party?"

"Yes," Caroline smiled as she looked over at Jess, "Amanda and Cecilia will both be my bridesmaids."

"And my partner, Slim Sherman, will be my best man." Jess added.

"Alright. You and Mr. Sherman need to be next door at the church at least by a few minutes after 9 in the morning, Jess. I'll be over there waiting on you long before 9." Rev. Douglas smiled as he looked from Jess to Caroline. "The first thing the bride wants to know when she puts that wedding dress on is that her groom is present and waitin' for her." Then giving a small chuckle, "I don't know why you women are always so concerned about whether or not your man has shown up. I've never had a groom that wasn't as anxious as his girl to make it official." Then the preacher looked right at Jess, "Now I have had a couple of young men who got a little too drunk with their friends the night before and they looked a little hungover at the wedding. I never like to see that. Not the best way to start a marriage."

"I don't have any plans to do that, parson." Jess assured him.

"And, Caroline, you're welcome to bring your dress over here in the morning. Mrs. Douglas always offers the use of our home for the bride and bridesmaids to get dressed here if they want. Then you only have a couple of steps to take outside to enter the church. Seems to work better so the hems of those nice dresses don't get dusty in the dry summer or wet with snow or rain this time of year even if there's only a short walk from where the buggy is parked. You can talk with Mrs. Douglas when we're done and let her know if that's what you want to do."

"Oh, yes, that sounds wonderful. I'll talk with your wife about that before we leave." Carrie was a little surprised that she hadn't even thought about snow or mud being on the ground between where everyone always parked their buggies and the front door of the church.

Rev. Douglas went over the way the ceremony would be conducted and explained their vows. Then he looked at both of them intently, "It's pretty obvious that you two are in love with each other. I worry a little when a couple asks me to marry them and they don't seem to be completely smitten with each other like you two are. Mrs. Douglas and I have been married twenty-eight years now. And I couldn't have asked for a better wife. I hope you won't mind a little bit of friendly advice from an old preacher who's seen a lot of couples grew apart over the years. The preacher who married us all those years ago gave us a piece of advice."

He paused a second before he continued, "He said that the couples that grow closer to each other over the years are the ones who never forget to listen to each other. I mean really listen with your heart even if you don't understand the other person at that moment at all. You'll argue and you'll cry, but don't stop listening to each other. When you're mad as all get out, calm down first and then try to really listen and try to understand. And he said one more thing. He said don't let an argument brew for a whole day. You don't know how many times I've remembered his words. They sorta nagged at the back of my mind when I was so mad at my wife that I could've spit nails." He grinned as he saw Caroline's surprised look. "Carrie, preachers are just men who have been called to do the Lord's work, but we're just as human as you two are. We get mad over things and have to apologize too. And I hope when that time comes, and it will, that you'll remember the advice that he gave us."

Jess felt a little uncomfortable, but he knew that Rev Douglas meant well. He couldn't imagine right now that he would ever be spitting mad at Carrie. He was glad when Rev. Douglas stood up and the meeting was over. It only took Caroline a minute to talk with Mrs. Douglas about the time that she and her sisters would come to the parsonage in the morning. And soon they were making their way back toward the center of town.

"Well, that wasn't so bad was it, Jess?" Carrie looked lovingly into his dark blue eyes as they walked arm in arm.

"Nah, don't guess so. Come back ta Ma's with me. Andy and Jonesy want to meet ya before in the mornin'."

"Alright. But then I do have to get back home. Mrs. Denson is coming over for one final fitting just to make sure that everything is right."

"You women shor' do worry 'bout these dresses, don't ya?" Jess was half kidding. But then he became serious, "You'll be the prettiest bride there's ever been."

"And you'll be the most handsome groom."

They arrived at the boarding house just as a strong gust of wind made it hard to keep walking forward. "I hope it's a little less windy tomorrow." Carrie said as they finally reached Ma Poole's front door.