The doctor pronounced Elise able to go back to work, and she wasted no time in getting a horse into the corral to train. For the first time since she'd come to Russell, things between her and Harlan were different, and pleasantly so. Each time they passed in the barn, he’d either smile and wink or squeeze her shoulder. Sometimes, he found the time to stand at the corral, watch her work with a horse, and give her a nod of approval. In the evenings, unless it rained, they’d walk hand in hand through the meadow. Each night, he gave her a chaste but meaningful kiss on the lips, and Elise felt her knees begin to shake. If his quick kiss left her breathless, what would their wedding night be like?
Harlan never missed a day to tell her he loved her. She couldn’t have been happier, but she wondered if things would go as smoothly once they'd sat down to plan their wedding. Harlan had said the weekdays were too busy, and they’d make the plans on Sunday, but Elise worried because he didn’t know she wanted her parents at her wedding. How would he take it? It would mean either getting married in Pennsylvania or paying to send for her parents, who were older and not the traveling kind.
She often pushed the unpleasant thoughts aside to imagine what marriage to Harlan Tanner would be like. She’d be spending the rest of her life with him—was she sure? Yes, she was very sure. Elise had heard the older women at church back in Pennsylvania talk at the woman’s meetings about how things changed after marriage, when the thrill of a kiss or a touch no longer made a person’s heart pound. They also said it changed to something that lasted a lot longer—true love for a person that had nothing to do with physical responses. It had more to do with trust, respect, and always, truly being friends. You then had a partner with whom you felt as comfortable with as no one else in the world. Your marriage partner was the only person with whom you didn’t feel embarrassed, and together, you could face anything. It was just like the wedding vows said: through sickness and in health. It was as if two people had merged into one.
One woman in the group had been married for sixty years and said she'd loved her husband more now than she had on her wedding day. Remembering those words gave Elise confidence.
The auction was a success beyond anything they’d imagined and the couple planned for the next year’s auction. They decided to use some of the earnings to add an addition to the house. They needed more bedrooms and perhaps a nursery.
After a light dinner on the Sunday after the auction, Harlan suggested they sit at the kitchen table to plan their wedding. When he started talking about his minister and church, Elise felt it was time to tell him. “Wait, Harlan—what about my parents?”
“What about them? They’re in Pennsylvania. They are welcome to come, of course. They could have my room, and I’d sleep on the settee.”
“I can’t imagine taking such a huge step as marriage without my parents being there,” she said.
“Well,” he started slowly, “I don’t know how else we can do that. I’ll pay for their fare if they want to come out here, but we can’t take the wedding to Pennsylvania. What about Martha, Clay, and Millie?”
“I understand,” Elise said sadly. “I’ll write to invite them, but I can’t imagine them traveling here. They’re older and not exactly adventurous.”
Elise watched Harlan study her for several seconds. Then, he put his hand over hers and said, “I have a solution, if you’ll agree, that is.”
She nodded.
“Remember I told you I’d give you a percentage of the money we earned at the auction? Well, if we’re married, I won’t have to. What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.”
Elise scrunched up her nose. “What?”
“Just jesting, but our money would be joint, and we’d have enough to pay for all of us to go to Pennsylvania to get married, but,” he held up his index finger, “only if you agree to marry me here, first, in a small, informal ceremony. Then, going to Pennsylvania will be our wedding trip. We’ll have a regular church wedding there, too.”
“I love the idea,” she said, “but why do we need to marry here first?”
He picked up her hand and kissed it. “Because I can’t wait that long to make you mine.”
Epilogue
After a quiet wedding in Russell, the Tanners spent their wedding night in Sheriff Conn’s hunting lodge, deep in the forest surrounding Russell, Kansas. Harlan had Clay go to the cottage to light large candles and put a rose on one of the bed pillows. Harlan wanted the night to be as perfect as possible, and it was. They stayed in the cabin for two full days and nights.
They returned to the ranch to plan their family trip to Redstone Township, Pennsylvania.
Elise could tell that her parents were skeptical of her cowboy husband, but after a few hours with him, they couldn’t have wished for a better son-in-law.
Millie brightened the lives of Alf and Florence Ansell. She called them Grandfather and Grandmother, which didn't please them, at first, until they'd spent just an hour in her presence.
Clay and Harlan chopped enough wood while they were there to keep the Ansells warm for two winters.
On a crisp but sunny Saturday afternoon, Elise and Harlan
