Promise Me Texas (A Whispering Mountain Novel) Read online

  “Yes, dear,” she said as she kissed his cheek and vanished to find her mother.

  Six hours later Andrew stood next to Colby in the little chapel and watched Madie walk down the aisle in a white dress with bluebonnets embroidered on the hem. It was a size too big for her in the shoulders, but it fit around her waist.

  Father Benjamin sang a song in French that he said was a love song. With his beard now two inches long, he really was starting to look like a priest.

  The young preacher, whom they’d found still moving into the parsonage, nervously performed what was obviously his first wedding. The boys and Tobin sat in the first row along with Beth and her mother. A line of old Texas Rangers who’d retired to Whispering Mountain sat in the back acting as guards.

  When all the I do’s were said, they moved to the little house and had a late lunch. Madie cried with joy at each one of the gifts Jessie McMurray had bought and put a different person’s name on.

  Colby couldn’t seem to stop smiling. Andrew heard him tell Madie that they were now a family, and before long he’d have to build onto the house to hold all the kids.

  She kissed his cheek. “Promise me you’ll never toss the oldest one out because we have too many.”

  “I promise,” he said. “With each one I’ll count it a blessing.”

  Andrew wasn’t sure he’d ever given much thought to having children, but he doubted he’d ever be brave enough to tell a woman who seemed to get in a family way as easily as Madie did that he’d welcome as many as possible.

  Beth moved beneath his arm. “It was a nice wedding even if we did have to put it together in a few hours.”

  “Do you ever wish you had a wedding, Beth?”

  “No, I guess I’ll stick to my plan to never marry once you leave me. I’ll wait for a while, claiming you’ll be back, and then I might wear black and tell everyone you died. After a year, I’ll move into town, a respectable widow. There will be no wedding for me.”

  Suddenly the plan they’d talked about seemed terribly sad. He wanted to tell her that maybe there was a new plan if she’d consider keeping him on at the job of husband. But now wasn’t the time or the place.

  He tried to keep the mood light. “If I die in this plan of yours, do I have to show up in a box? I can manage to play a pretend husband, but I’m not so sure about a pretend corpse.”

  She shrugged. “I’ll tell everyone you died at sea.”

  “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you, wife? What if I spoil your plan and stay around for a while? I wouldn’t mind repeating last night a few thousand times.”

  She shook her head as her thoughts tumbled into words. “No. If you stayed, you’d have to marry me for real, and I’d never marry a man who wouldn’t say he loved me.”

  Andrew closed his eyes. “Don’t tease me, Beth; we promised we would never lie to each other. Not about this. You must know how deeply I care for you.”

  “I’m not teasing. I’m stating a fact. Because of last night I know what paradise I’m giving up, but if you can’t love me, then you have to leave me.”

  Other people circled around them and he had no time to say more. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, but not like this. Not in a room full of people. Not because she’d driven him to it.

  They were silent on the way home. Beth sat at his side and joined all the others in conversation. He could feel the warmth of her leg pressed against his. He could see her frosty breath in the cold air, but she seemed a million miles away.

  When they reached the main house, she climbed out with the others, and he knew he’d be sleeping alone tonight. She was stubborn, headstrong, spoiled, and about to drive him mad.

  “Beth,” he shouted as she reached the door. “Could you bring me that journal I left in the parlor?”

  “Of course.”

  Andrew stood waiting, feeling more alone than he had in his entire life. He wanted to tell her he loved her somewhere romantic, not in front of her house because she’d forced him to make a choice. How could she not know how he felt about her after last night? How could she be so stubborn?

  When she came back, he tossed the journal into the wagon and grabbed one of the bedrolls always left under the seat. “Walk with me,” he ordered, more than asked.

  She hesitated, stuffing something in her pocket to buy time. But Father Benjamin stepped out to watch them and she must have decided not to make a scene.

  “Where are we going?” she whispered as soon as they were away from the house.

  “We’re going to climb the mountain and sleep on the summit.”

  “But it’ll be dark in a few hours, and I’ve told you what happens up there. The dreams my family have had there have not always been good.”

  “I don’t care. We’ll build a fire and sleep there. Then, in the morning, we’ll know where this is heading between me and you.”

  “But your leg?”

  “I’ll make the climb fine. What I will not be able to do is sleep alone without you. Stay with me one more night, Beth. One more night on the summit and we’ll know our future.”

  She shook her head, but he kept pulling her to the path leading up the mountain.

  When they reached the lookout point where the McMurrays always climbed to survey their land, both were out of breath.

  Andrew stopped to rest. He turned her hand loose as they sat on the huge rocks. If she broke and ran back down now, he didn’t have the energy to chase her.

  “This won’t work, Andrew.” She finally gulped out words between breaths. “I’m not a true McMurray. I told you my mother married Teagan McMurray when I was a baby. I won’t have the dream.”

  He almost told her he didn’t believe in the legend anyway, but he’d started this crazy quest and he planned to finish it. “We’re not climbing off this mountain until sunrise. I’ve got things to say to you and I’ll say them before we climb down.”

  She looked at him at that moment as if she hated him, but she didn’t say a word. She stood and started the climb. Now there was no trail to follow and only one direction to go . . . up.

  His leg burned, but he didn’t slow. Sometimes she waited for him to catch up. Sometimes he pulled her along, but they didn’t stop until they reached the flat summit.

  Without talking, they gathered enough firewood to last the night. While he built the fire, she spread out the bedroll and sat down, hugging her knees for warmth. The sun sank, setting the western horizon on fire, and then darkness settled in around them.

  “I don’t suppose you brought any food?” she asked.

  “Nope. I’d take that piece of cake you offered me after the wedding. It would taste real good about now.”

  “I’d go for a glass of wine and some of the cheese. My mom always makes the best little sandwiches for gatherings. I should have put them in my pockets just in case my crazy husband wanted to go for a walk later.”

  He smiled, hoping she was teasing him again. She was right. He’d gone completely mad since he’d met her.

  “It was a nice wedding,” Andrew said, just to break the silence. “I’m glad Colby got a room at the hotel. Madie looked tired. He said he’d bring her back here tomorrow before he headed to his place.”

  She cuddled a little closer to him. “Colby tried to leave money for Madie’s keep, saying that she was his responsibility now. I finally took the money, thinking I’d give it to her to buy what she’d need for the baby. By the time Colby gets back, she’ll have a wagonload to move.”

  Andrew sat beside Beth on the bedroll and offered his arm as her backrest. “They’re so young. You think they have a chance? They hardly know each other.”

  “As much as anyone.” She giggled. “Better than I knew you when we married.”

  “You didn’t know me at all. You thought I was a train robber.” He knew they weren’t talking about what needed to be said between them, but he thought it best to give them both time to relax.

  As the night aged, they talked about their ad
venture, and he saw all the color she’d brought to his world. Piece by piece he figured out just how much she’d changed his life. In the dark, when he couldn’t see her beauty at all, he still couldn’t turn away.

  When the wind whipped up, they cuddled into the bedroll and fell asleep listening to the other breathe.

  “Beth.” He whispered what he’d been wanting to say. “I don’t have to dream tonight. I already know I’m in love with you. I think I always have been from the moment I saw you on the train. If it’s fatal, then I die. If it’s not, I’ll live the rest of my days by your side.”

  She didn’t answer, but he smiled. He’d said the words he thought he’d never be able to say again. When he repeated them in the morning, it wouldn’t be so hard.

  CHAPTER 36

  BETH WOKE AS THE SUN SPARKLED ALONG THE TREETOPS. Andrew was against her side, his arm folded over her, warming her, protecting her. She thought of the one page she’d torn from his journal last night. One line he’d written on the back page as if hiding his feelings away. If beauty had a voice it would whisper Beth.

  His words warmed her heart. The one line had been the reason she’d climbed the mountain with Andrew. He might not tell her how he felt, but he’d written it.

  The sun reminded her it was late. She’d slept later than she could ever remember sleeping, and, even on the ground, she’d slept solid in his arms.

  She tried to remember what she’d dreamed, but it was too late, she couldn’t catch it.

  They’d wasted their time. She’d ruined her best dress climbing the mountain. Her mother was probably worried sick about her and all for nothing. She’d have no dream to take down from the mountain.

  As she listened to Andrew snoring softly, she thought of all the lies she’d told and wondered if one more would matter. Maybe if she told Andrew that she’d dreamed of a big wedding with him as the groom, he’d decide that it would be all right for them to marry. Or maybe if she told him she’d dreamed of them with gray hair, rocking on a porch together, he’d stop worrying about her dying on him.

  Slowly, she realized that at some point the lies had to stop. He’d put up with them all, but he’d never lied to her and she couldn’t lie to him. She’d told him she loved him and meant it. He was the kindest man she’d ever met. She couldn’t lie to him, not even to keep him.

  When she tossed more wood on the fire, he opened one eye. “Up early again, I see.”

  “I didn’t dream,” she pouted, “or at least I don’t remember it, and now there is no coffee or breakfast.”

  “It’s good to see you didn’t lose your spoiled ways. I thought a night sleeping on the ground might change you and I’d have to take a new woman back down.” He winked at her. “By the way, I did dream.”

  Before he could say more, her papa’s voice came bellowing out from the trees. “Step back, Bethie, while I shoot that lying, no-account of a man with you.”

  Beth turned in time to see Teagan McMurray storm out of the trees with the priest and both of his brothers trailing behind him. They looked like a hunting party and she was standing between them and the prey.

  “On second thought,” he yelled, “I think I’ll kill him slow with my bare hands. The priest told me he dragged you up here against your will, so you can watch.”

  Beth stood and faced the papa she’d loved since her first memories. “Don’t you dare kill my husband, Papa.”

  Andrew had the good sense to look frightened, but to his credit, he didn’t run. He stood his ground beside her.

  Teagan slowed and his brothers closed rank. Both her uncles were frowning, looking like they planned to watch Teagan beat Andrew to death as long as it was a fair fight. It didn’t seem to matter that Teagan outweighed Andrew by fifty pounds and had lived his life outdoors. The man who wrote children’s stories seemed like fair game to them.

  “Back away, Mr. McMurray,” Andrew said almost calmly. “How about telling us what you’re so upset about?”

  Teagan didn’t look like he planned to explain anything, but he asked, “Are you or are you not married to my daughter, because if you’re not—”

  “Save the threats. I get the picture.” Andrew stepped in front of Beth. “Who told you I wasn’t married to her?”

  Travis, always the lawyer, jumped in. “The boy, Levi, told Father Benjamin that he heard you two talking about a make-believe marriage back when you were living together in Fort Worth.”

  Teagan butted in. “The priest told me that you two slept together night before last”—he glanced at the bedroll—“and obviously last night. No one sleeps with a woman he’s not married to, right?”

  Beth didn’t miss that both her uncles looked away.

  “Right!” Her papa answered his own question. “So, I’m asking one more time, while you still have teeth, are you married to my daughter?”

  “No,” Andrew answered. “But I would be if she’d have me. I’d marry her anytime, anywhere.”

  For a moment her strong father looked confused, then angry. He turned to her. “You won’t marry him, Beth? Why’d you bring him home and tell us you already were?”

  “I will marry him, Papa. I promise I will. Things just happened so fast and we thought we’d just pretend to be married, but I fell in love with him and then he had to think about it and then we decided to sleep on it.”

  “I do not want to hear about that part.” Teagan glared at them both. “Let me get this straight. You want to marry her.” He pointed to Andrew. “And you want to marry him.” He pointed at his daughter. “You’ve got the rings and you’ve already had the honeymoon. Appears all we need is a preacher.”

  “Or a priest,” Uncle Travis chimed in with a smile. He almost lifted Father Benjamin off the ground as he moved the man from behind Teagan to stand in front of everyone.

  “Not Father Benjamin.” Andrew shook his head.

  “Why not?” Teagan slapped his future son-in-law on the shoulder so hard Andrew stumbled forward. “We can fix this problem right now before your mother finds out about it, Bethie. It would break her heart if she thought you two weren’t hitched. She tells me she loves having a writer in the family, and you know for a fact that if my Jessie wants something I’m going to damn well make it happen, so marry the man.”

  Beth nodded, but saw Andrew glare at the priest.

  Father Benjamin was nudged forward by both the uncles.

  “Go ahead,” Teagan said removing his hat. “I figure this is about as near to heaven as any church.”

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join—”

  “Isn’t the service supposed to be in Latin?” Andrew asked, still looking like he was thinking of killing the priest.

  “It is, my son, but I thought I’d translate as I went along. Now where was I? Dearly beloved, we are gathered—”

  “Wait,” Andrew interrupted again. “Beth, don’t you want a wedding in a church like we saw yesterday with your papa to walk you down the aisle? A white dress? Wedding cake? All the trimmings?”

  “No, thank you, dear. This will do just fine.”

  Teagan locked Andrew’s arm in an iron grip. “Stop interrupting the priest or you won’t remember the ceremony.”

  “I’ve already been to that service,” Andrew mumbled.

  Teagan shook him like a rag doll. When he stopped, he mumbled to his future son-in-law, “Pay attention.”

  With all watching, Andrew leaned forward almost politely in a bow, caught Teagan by the leg, and flipped the big man into the dirt. Then, before Beth’s uncles could come to the rescue, Andrew barred Teagan’s arms at his sides with the rifle and clamped his hand on Teagan’s throat.

  “I’ll marry your daughter, sir, but not by force. If you want to be conscious to give the bride away, you might think twice before trying to bully me into doing anything.”

  Teagan struggled but couldn’t move.

  No one in the history of his life had ever knocked Teagan off his feet. All the McMurrays including Beth stoo
d frozen, waiting to see what he would do.

  Nothing. Her big powerful papa did nothing.

  Andrew released Teagan’s throat and offered his hand.

  Teagan took it. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

  “The streets of Berlin,” Andrew answered. “I’ll show you the move once I’m in the family, and, Mr. McMurray, let me say that I’m honored to have a great man like you as a father-in-law.”

  Teagan never took compliments well. “The jury is still out on you, son, but it’s good to know you can protect my baby girl.”

  “With my life, sir.”

  Teagan nodded. “I’d expect nothing less.” He dusted off as he told the priest to continue.

  Beth expected him to be angry or even embarrassed, but, in the oddest way, her papa seemed proud.

  The priest cleared his throat. “Take your places and we’ll begin again. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join . . .”

  She didn’t remember all the words he said. All Beth remembered was that she was truly married on the summit of Whispering Mountain and no one, not even her father, had forced Andrew into anything.

  CHAPTER 37

  AN HOUR LATER WHEN THEY ALL CLIMBED DOWN from the mountain, no one, not even Teagan, mentioned what had happened.

  They all ate a late breakfast in the dining room, now crowded and noisy.

  Travis filled them in on what was happening in Austin. Lamont LaCroix had told a grand story about thinking he was saving his fiancée only to find out that she’d secretly married another. He did such a fine job of acting that the judge released him on his own recognizance until the trial.

  “The bad news,” Travis boomed over the others, “is that we all have to go to LaCroix’s trial to testify. I asked for a few days to ensure Andrew’s full recovery, but I’m afraid if we don’t show up, the man will get away with shooting one of us.”