Page 36 of Inventions of the Heart

She smiled back. Being this close to him helped her keep a sturdy backbone. It was strange to depend on a man likethis. She’d always depended on her father. But somehow, she’d expected any man she married to let her take charge. This imagined husband might even depend on her. It didn’t look like it was going to work out that way with Zane. She couldn’t feel overly upset about that.

MICHELLE LOOKED DOWNat the bright orange flowers in her hands.

Annie had found them. And Dorada Rio didn’t seem like the kind of town that would have greenhouses full of flowers. But it was summer in California. These grew wild around here. Michelle had studied botany. These were poppies, and their vivid color and large floppy heads made her smile.

Annie had found a ring at the general store. Plain gold but more than Michelle had expected. It fit too. Right now, it was safely tucked in Zane’s pocket.

Annie would have put Michelle in a white dress and veil, and had her hair done up fancy, but Dorada Rio didn’t stretch to such things. There was a nice little dress shop in town, and at Annie’s nagging, they’d gone in, and Michelle had found a pretty blue dress that fit quite well.

Everything she had at the ranch had been hand sewn for her, mostly by Nora and Harriet, though Gretel had made her a decent black riding skirt and pink calico top, which she’d worn to town. Good, well-made clothes, and she was very grateful to have them.

This dress was fussy and finely made. It had lace at the collar and cuffs and wasn’t burdened with the foolishness of a corset or bustle or, heaven forbid, hoops. Putting it on hadfed a—oh, she’d probably just as well admit it—a feminine part of her heart that was lonely for pretty dresses. The dressmaker also found a straw bonnet with a ring of blue flowers on the brim.

Michelle felt well turned out for her wedding.

She’d been to fine weddings in San Francisco among the social group her parents were part of. Very beautiful, elaborate affairs with flowing white dresses and intricate veils. Michelle knew what a formal wedding looked like.

Under the circumstances, she was more than a little stunned to find herself even having this wedding, and she’d certainly not expected this pretty dress and a bouquet. Yet here she stood at the back of the church, facing Zane at the front, with orange flowers clutched in her hands.

She even had guests. Jilly and Zane’s sisters and the cowhands that had helped them haul Jarvis to town.

The church had a center aisle. Pretty stained-glass windows lined the walls and cast colorful light into the sanctuary. Before she’d come inside, she’d seen a large brass bell hanging in the steeple.

And the altar was a thing of beauty. Shining oak with a high varnish and elaborate carvings on the front. The top was draped in a white altar cloth, embroidered with golden threads. Behind the altar hung a cross, carved with designs that matched the altar.

Parson Lewis stood beside Zane, who had turned to watch her walk toward him. No Papa to walk the aisle with her. No Mama to smile and sniffle.

No, not the wedding of a girl’s dreams ... and that had nothing to do with the lack of a white dress and veil.

The parson was a slender man with a shock of white hair.His wife was as skinny as he was. They looked like people who worked hard every day of their lives. Mrs. Lewis played beautiful music on a nice little piano while Michelle walked toward a future she’d never foreseen.

Toward Zane.

She was going to be a cowboy’s wife.

He stood there in his regular cowboy clothes. As she drew near, his solemn expression changed, and he gave her a smile fit to shine right out the windows.

She wondered if the folks outside noticed a light beaming through the stained glass.

Jilly, sitting alone in the front row, rose and came to Michelle’s side, to stand as witness.

Michelle glanced at her and smiled, then turned back to Zane, that bright smile on his face drawing her like he was magnetized and she was a Euclidean vector field.

Only when the parson cleared his throat did Michelle realize she was staring at Zane. Flushing, she turned to face the parson, who had a benevolent expression on his face.

“Dearly beloved...”

The service was simple and direct. Love, honor, and obey.

Since she was right in the middle of risking her life to convict the man who’d broken into Zane’s home, she figured that “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” covered her so far as “loving” Zane. She thought it was fair to check that one off.

Honor, yes. Not a problem.

As for obey, he had gold, and she wanted to manage the mining. So far she’d obeyed his wishes that she not do that. But then, it was hard to get around him.

The wedding vows didn’t say you had to like it.

She’d checked off all three boxes, and she thought she was fully able to take these vows.

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