By the time the moon climbed to its full height in the night sky, Miranda was Rowan’s wife in every sense of the word.
***
Next morning, they drove the buckboard to town and left it outside the bank. Rowan climbed out and helped her down. Miranda was wearing the same dress as she had worn last night, and as befitted a married woman, had pinned her hair up.
She did not imagine the curious looks being cast their way by a few passersby as they headed toward the bank. “I hope he’ll see us without an appointment.”
“Of course, he will see us. How busy can a small bank like this be?” Rowan scoffed. “Come, we’ll just go and knock on the door, there’s no one in with him by the looks of it.” He stared through the glass windows which had ‘Bank Manager’, written on it in gold lettering.
Rowan rapped his knuckles against the door.
“Who is it?” Clem called out, not even giving them the courtesy of getting up from his desk and opening the door.
“It’s Miranda.”
“I don’t see anyone without an appointment, you know that.”
Rowan shoved the door open. “You don’t have anyone here. We won’t take up much of your time. I’m Rowan Carstairs, Miranda’s husband.”
“Husband!”
“Yes. I’m her husband, and you’ll deal with me from now on.”
“When? How?” he spluttered.
It was obvious to her this was not what Clem wanted to hear. Sneaky varmint probably thought he would buy up the ranch cheap.
“We were married in Mountview. Would you like to see our marriage lines?” Rowan pulled the marriage certificate out of his pocket and handed it over.
Clem perused it. “Seems in order. How do I know this is a proper marriage?”
Miranda gasped.
“Oh, it’s proper all right.” Rowan ran his hand across her stomach. “Hopefully, we’ve already got a baby on the way.”
Her cheeks burned. Clem blustered. The man was a bully through and through when facing women. With Rowan towering over him he seemed to have somehow shrunk in stature.
“I have money with the bank in Mountview, enough to pay the loan off with a little over. I will contact them and get the money transferred through to you here. Will that be satisfactory?”
“Yes,” Clem said grudgingly, obviously not pleased with the turn of events.
“Good, you’ve sighted our marriage certificate so you get the bank papers ready and Miranda and I will sign whatever is necessary. Okay?”
“All right. I must say this is suspiciously sudden.”
“It’s none of your business. We’re married in the eyes of God and the law and have the paperwork to prove it. I’m transferring my money to pay out the loan that’s all you need to be concerned with.”
“But…”
“I can always go across to see the sheriff. Bob Tait, your previous sheriff, is my cousin so the new man knows me.”
“Very well. I’ll get the papers drawn up ready for you when the transferred money comes through.”
Rowan gave him a tight smile. “Nice doing business with a man who quickly understands how things are now. We will return in a couple of days. Come, my dear. I think a coffee at the diner is in order.”
“Good morning, Clem,” she said.
“Miranda. Mr. Carstairs.”
“You will address my wife as Mrs. Carstairs from now on.”
As they left the office, she stifled a laugh. “You handled him so well, Rowan.”
“I’m not normally so rude or obnoxious, but he’s a pompous bully.”
“I know, he is a horrible man.”
“Do you need anything while we’re here, darlin’?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. We can get everything next week. I need to send a telegram to the bank in Mountview.”
She knew he was anxious to return to the ranch to check on his cows. It was pleasing he cared so much for his animals. It made her love him even more.
They strolled over to the Telegraph Office. “I’ll send a telegram to Bob as well to let him know we’re married. He’ll get a real kick out of it.”
“I wish he’d come back here and be sheriff again,” she said. “Not that’s there’s anything wrong with the new one.”
Miranda waited outside for Rowan. She ran her hand across her flat stomach. Was is possible he had given her a baby last night? She suddenly yearned to hold Rowan’s child in her arms.
If the Lord deemed them worthy, he would endow them with such a gift.
EPILOGUE
Three years later
Miranda sat in the sitting room with Bob’s heavily pregnant wife Lotte. He had returned to Twisted Creek twelve months ago, not as sheriff but to work with Otto the Swiss cheesemaker. Otto had been looking for a young man to take in as a partner to expand his cheese making venture. Kingston Ranch was now supplying him with as much milk as he could use.
From being purely a beef producing ranch, they had gone back to dairy cattle with Hank taking charge of things. With Otto’s experience, and the knowledge passed down to Lotte from her father, a renowned Dutch cheesemaker, Bob had quickly learned the trade.
“I wish this baby would hurry up and arrive,” Lotte said.
Laughing, Miranda patted her stomach. “Just think of it, in a few months I’ll probably be saying the same thing.”
Miranda had been pleased when Bob returned. She and Lotte had quickly become close friends.
“I wonder where the boys are?” Lotte asked.
“Which boys?”
“All of them.” Lotte’s blue eyes lit up when she smiled.
“The two little boys are with Hank and Tom riding those ponies Tom bought last month.”
“And the big boys?” Lotte eased herself into a more comfortable position.
Darcy was two years old now and as determined as Rowan, not to mention looking so like his father it was uncanny.
Bob and Lotte’s son Robert was
