Page 15 of The Rancher's Wedding

But, as he was having these thoughts, he realized that everybody was silent and staring at him. Had it come to that part of the ceremony already?

“I do,” he said.

“Will you comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

“I will.”

The preacher turned toward Estelle. “And Estelle Williams, do you take this man, Michael Holden, to be your husband? Do you pledge to share your life openly with him and to speak the truth to him in love?”

She looked toward Michael and his heart fluttered.

“I do.”

“Will you comfort him, honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

“I will.”

“Estelle and Michael,” the preacher said, “through their words today, have joined together in holy wedlock. Why, they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

The preacher looked to them both and, in one final breath, said, “You may now kiss the bride.”

***

And then he kissed her.

Estelle had never been kissed before. When she was younger, she used to kiss her hand to see what it was like, but, as she had suspected at the time, it was a pale imitation of the real thing.

Love was something that Estelle never thought she’d get to experience in life, which was part of the reason she’d found herself out in Grafton Town, Utah to begin with. But, in Michael’s kiss, she at least knew what love must be like. For an instant that lasted forever (and that also ended too fast), she felt her body swell with an intensity and a sense of belonging that she hadn’t known she was even capable of. It was a feeling so strong it threatened to tear her apart—but at the same time, she wanted it to.

And it all came from the slightest touch of her lips against his.

She opened her eyes when they separated and wondered if Michael had felt it, too. The look he gave her provided comfort and reassurance, though she couldn’t interpret much more than that. She hoped that he had felt even an ounce of what he had done for her, if for no other reason than it would mean that they’d kiss again sometime soon. She didn’t know him well enough, though. She couldn’t interpret his expression.

All he did was whisper, “Mrs. Holden.”

In that kiss, she had become a whole new person. Estelle Williams was no more. Now, she was Estelle Holden.

She liked the way it sounded.

Chapter Six

Megan handed her small bag to the whip, who put it in the wagon for her.

“What a gentleman,” she said.

“I do wish you’d reconsider,” Estelle said. “Can’t you just stay a week longer?”

“Dear,” Megan said, “I wish I could, but I must return to my family. I promise I’ll write to check in on you. I’ll miss you, dearly.”

“Stay,” Estelle said, “if not for me, then for Jacob.”

Megan smiled. “I’ll be writing to him, as well.”

Megan had finally admitted after the ceremony, after she had seen Jacob cleaned up, that she had feelings for him. Estelle really believed that if she pushed hard enough, she could convince Megan to stay, but Megan always was stubborn. When she made up her mind, she stuck to it, even if it didn’t make very much sense.

Estelle hugged her best friend and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Remember to address the letters to E. Holden,” Estelle said. “And please, please, keep this a secret from my family.”

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