"This is a pretty little town," Lizzie said as they moved along. "I think I'm going to like living here. With you."
His heart filled with happiness and he squeezed her tight.
"Oh!" She gasped and he released her immediately.
"I'm so sorry. Sweetheart, did I hurt you? What can I do?" Panic filled him and he was horrified to think he might have caused harm to his dear bride. “I can’t believe I did that after we were just at the doctor’s.”
She stopped in the street and turned to look at him, a happy smile on her face.
"What?" he said. "What is it?" Damn. Being a husband was much harder than he expected. And he'd only been at it for a few hours.
"You called me ‘sweetheart’," she said, in a wondrous whisper, her face beaming. Her gaze softened as she stared at him, right there in the middle of the afternoon on Main Street in Juniper Junction. "That's the nicest thing I've ever heard." She reached out and cupped the side of his face.
It was the first time she'd touched him like that and his breath hitched in his throat. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Well," he said, covering her hand with his, their eyes locked together, "you are my sweetheart."
In that moment, regardless of the commotion on the street, nothing else in the whole world mattered. Time stood still. Their souls connected and intertwined.
"You're my sweetheart too."
"Let's go home." Tenderly he lifted her into his arms, just as he’d wanted to do all along.
"Matt!" she protested with a laugh. "People are looking at us."
"They've probably never seen anyone as beautiful as you. You'd better get used to it."
She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. Her gentle breath brushed across his neck and gave him shivers of anticipation.
It was a short walk until they arrived at the home he'd rented as soon as he'd gotten her letter accepting his proposal. A modest home by any definition, but they had their privacy. More than could be said of a boarding house.
He managed to open the door without dropping his bride and then carried her over the threshold. "Welcome home," he said, kicking the door closed. The afternoon sun cast light into the first floor and he could see Lizzie's face. He was nervous about her reaction. Though she'd been a maid, she'd lived in an opulent home, which this was not.
Setting her feet on the floor, he said, "I know it's not much, but it's ours. Well, as long as we pay the rent." He chuckled nervously, keeping his gaze fixed on her face, anxious that she find it acceptable. He'd promised to provide for her. But suddenly he saw every flaw in the house and held his breath waiting for her reaction.
* * *
Grateful for the years of training in keeping her emotions in check, Lizzie glanced about the house showing none of the shock which she felt. Never in all her eighteen years had she been inside a house this small. Truthfully, she didn't know that houses like this existed. Was this a shed? Or a joke?
No, not a joke. She could feel Matt's anxiety and knew he was concerned with her reaction.
Pausing to take a deep breath, she gave a truthful and heartfelt response. "Wherever you are is my home. And we will make this our home, together."
Matt relaxed and a loving smile slowly spread over his mouth.
She stared at his lips, and as though she'd willed him to act, he lowered his face and touched his mouth to hers, cupping her face between his palms. Her tummy fluttered and she reached up to clasp him in the same manner. This kiss, her first, took her breath away. Matt's lips were firm and coaxing, teasing and encouraging as she relaxed into the unfamiliar sensation of having a man so close, his mouth moving over hers. Her palms brushed up against the stubble of his beard which matched the stubble she felt around her mouth. It tickled. She clung to him and when that kiss ended, he gazed into her eyes and she knew that she'd live in a cave with Matt as long as they were together.
It was ludicrous and unbelievable and made no sense at all, but her heart felt full and free for the first time in her entire life.
They gazed at each other, stunned, and she wondered if he felt the same way she did.
"I know this is crazy, but maybe not any crazier than marrying someone you only know from a few letters, but I just want you to know how incredibly happy I feel right now. How grateful I am that you were brave enough to take a chance and travel all the way out here to be my bride. I promise to never give you reason to be sorry."
"I never want to give you a reason to be sorry either," Lizzie said, though guilt pricked at the back of her mind. She'd worry about that another day, this was her wedding day and she deserved to be happy and enjoy herself. She had done nothing wrong. Well, nothing too wrong.
Then her mind flashed with an image of the stack of currency hidden away in her valise. She gasped and pulled back from Matt's hold.
"My bag. Where is it? Did we leave it at the parsonage? Or the party?" Her heart pounded, but for a different reason, and she swiveled her head around in desperation.
"Hush, now. No need to worry. Jake and Posey dropped it off. It's right over here." Walking across the room to the sofa, he lifted the familiar bag. "I told you, I'll take care of things. And I will. Or I'll have a friend do it." He chuckled. "Here in Juniper Junction, especially among the fellas that work at Windy River Ranch, we all take care of each other. Now you're part of that family. And
