Chapter Thirty: Noah

It was as though no one was breathing for a moment and no one moved. I couldn't blame them. I didn't know what to think myself after everything I had just heard. Earnest's call for an apology had been unexpected but appreciated on the heels of a major confession.

Although I had always known the Burns' family was the source of the rumor that had destroyed my reputation, I'd never thought it would be Annie herself. Though she had appeared willing enough when her father had encouraged a courtship between us, I would never have imagined she had set her heart in it. Why would I have? She was barely out of childhood and I was...well, not the kind of person to inspire a girl's passing fancy.

"Apologize?" Mrs. Burns exclaimed, her voice shrill. "Why should any of us apologize? If he had done the right thing in the first place, none of this would have happened! He is as much at fault for this as any of us!"

And she had wanted me as a son-in-law?

"Hush, wife," Mr. Burns snapped, his face a deep red. "You're going to make this all worse. We'll talk about this later. Take Annie and the rest of the children to the wagon. We're going home."

To my surprise, Annie Burns turned towards me. "I'm sorry, Mr. Coleman," she said, though she didn't raise her gaze to meet mine. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

That, I was certain, was sincere, though a bit naive. Surely she must have known what her story would do, the repercussions it could have. Had she thought it was worth it, or had she simply just not thought about it?

"I understand," I told her gently. Hadn't I seen my own sisters and brother do whatever they could to earn our parents' approval? It wouldn't surprise me if any of them had invented stories for their own ends. "I can't say I forgive you. Yet. But I do understand why you lied."

"Noah, really?" Reverend Rollins turned towards me, a reproving note in his voice.

The girl simply nodded, still unable to look at me. She turned and shuffled her way to her mother, who promptly grabbed Annie's arm and began scolding her. No wonder the girl had been so eager to have her own household if this was a sample of the treatment she had from her own parents.

"Burns," Earnest spoke up again. My friend's tone held a note of warning.

After nearly a moment of harumphing and shifting from foot to foot, Burns finally nodded. "I suppose I should say something," he said, though he didn't sound remorseful. "Sorry, Coleman. But you can't blame me for believing my own daughter. No hard feelings?"

All I could offer him was a nod of acknowledgement. There were hard feelings and I wasn't about to lie to make him feel better. While part of me understood a parent believing their child and how important that was, I couldn't forget everything that had happened because of it. He'd burned down my barn! Shot at me! His brother had just tried to gun me down in the street.

Forgiveness may be divine, as the saying went, and it was the Lord's day, but I wasn't quite ready to forgive my neighbor. Maybe, when there had been some distance and time between what had happened, I might be able to do so.

Putting his hat on his head, Burns hurried after his wife and children. Slowly, everyone else had begun to turn away. I suppose none of them felt the need to apologize for how they had been treating me.

But that was on them and not important to me. This whole ordeal was finally over. I could marry Elizabeth and put this whole thing behind me. And, with no further gossip, everyone would forget it had ever happened.

At least, that was my hope.

"Well," I said, giving Elizaebth's fingers a squeeze. "Now that we have that settled, shall we move on to the matter of our wedding?"

"Your wedding lunch will be at the cafe," Mrs. Royal proclaimed immediately. "It might not be fancy or have a cake, but I have apple pie."

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. Elizabeth let out a laugh, her eyes sparkling with sudden humor. "I have had your pie and I think it will be more than satisfactory," she responded. "That is, if the reverend has no more objections to give?"

Right. I'd forgotten that Michael Rollins had just been objecting to marrying us. When I turned my gaze on the man I'd thought was a friend I could trust, I was surprised to see that his expression was one of defeat. He wasn't satisfied with what he'd just heard?

"Step inside and I will perform the ceremony," he said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. He gestured at the saloon. "Unless the bottles have already been opened..."

His voice trailed away before he finished his sentence. Another excuse? While I knew there were those who used Sunday as a day to drink their sorrows away, I couldn't think of anyone who did so in our little town. Even if they didn, none would object to pausing the activity long enough for a wedding. Why was he offering so much resistance?

Did this have something to do with Burns' comment that they had "discussed" the situation and had agreed on something?

"They're here!" Elizabeth exclaimed, making me start. "If the reverend feels it would be too offensive to marry us at the saloon, I'm sure Martha will know of a solution."

"Martha? You mean Martha Harper?" Rollins twisted around to see the wagon that was coming into town. "They never come to town on Sunday."

Why did he sound so put out by the information? This was outside of enough!

"They are to be our witnesses for our wedding," I informed him, my tone sharper than it probably should have been. "Elizabeth asked Mrs. Harper—Martha—to stand up with her. Maid—no. Matron of honor, kind of thing. I'm just surprised to see them so late. Something must have happened."

Elizabeth's hand slipped from mine as she hurried forward. She and Mrs. Harper both began speaking at the same time when the wagon slowed. Mrs. Harper was all apology for being late and Elizabeth was trying to explain what had happened to us.

"It looks as though you have planned everything out, haven't you," Rollins said, turning back towards me.

"Isn't that what a man should do when he intends to be married?" I responded, eyeing him with suspicion. Time to face his disapproval head on. "I get the feeling you had a different plan in mind. What? Did you and Burns plan out how to appease his sensibilities without thinking to consult me?"

His face flushed. "It would have peacefully resolved everything for everyone involved," he objected, his tone defensive. "And isn't that what we all wanted? To resolve a misunderstanding?"

"Certainly, but you knew there had been no misunderstanding on my side. You also knew I was corresponding with Elizabeth with the intention of marrying her."

"I've seen more of the world than you have. I know how often these types of correspondences come to nothing. I assumed—"

"There's your problem," I interrupted, thoroughly annoyed. "You assumed. You assumed you knew better than me how to run my life. You assumed I would just do as you said. As someone who has seen more of the world, as you claim, you should have known what a stupid plan that was."

Careful. I couldn't afford to make him any more angry. Not when he was the only man in town to marry us. I didn't want to risk making him angry enough to refuse to perform the wedding.

"I was simply trying to help." Good grief! Now he sounded like a petulant child.

"I don't think anyone needs your kind of help." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm disappointed. I wouldn't have expected this of you. I trusted you to help me."

Rollins finally looked shamefaced. "I just thought—"

"Whatever you thought, you should have come to me. I told you I found the idea of marrying a child abhorrent. That was never going to change, no matter what benefit you imagined there would be."

Rollins' gaze dropped. "There are some who believe age doesn't matter," he said, his tone quiet.

"And for some, I'm sure that is true, but it isn't a blanket opinion that fits every situation." This was worse than when I'd tried to reason with my parents. They'd had a plan in their head for my future and hadn't taken it well when I'd decided to do what I wished. I never would have expected to face it again.

Elizabeth hurried over. "Mrs. Royal, may I ask a favor?" she said, looking past me. "You have already generously offered us your cafe for our wedding lunch. Would you mind terribly if we were to have our wedding there as well?"

"I wouldn't mind at all," Mrs. Royal said immediately. "I imagine my daughters would be thrilled to have a wedding in the cafe. They will probably raid my garden for flowers."

"That would be very sweet!" Elizabeth turned to Rollins. "There are no more objections to be had, are there?"

The reverend heaved a sigh as his gaze flicked over to the approaching Harper family. "No. It seems you have an answer for everything."

I bristled at the implied criticism. "No, not always," Elizabeth said with a smile. "There are times when I rely on my best friend back home to help me see things in a different way. I do not pretend to think I am an authority on always knowing what to do."

Rollins' face flushed a deeper red, and I had to wonder just how much Elizabeth had heard of our conversation. "The cafe sounds perfect," I said, glancing between my betrothed and Mrs. Royal. "I don't think we need to discuss this any further."

"If the reverend is ready," Elizabeth added.

"Yes, yes," Rollins said, his tone becoming impatient. "I have said there is no objection. Let's not dwell on that any longer. Shall we walk to the cafe?"

Mrs. Royal stepped forward and linked arms with Elizabeth. "Come along," she said cheerfully. "Do you have any objection to an audience to your wedding? I see we are all still the focus of nearly everyone in town."

I'd been aware of the townspeople still gathered around, but I hadn't paid them any attention. When I looked over, they all made a show of turning away. Well. I hoped they had enjoyed what they had just seen.

"Of course everyone is welcome," Elizabeth declared, her voice ringing out. "A wedding is something to be celebrated, and we have nothing to be ashamed of. My only concern is how much room there will be in your cafe."

"I think we will manage just fine," Mrs. Harper said, taking up position on Elizabeth's other side. The trio hurried down the street.

After a brief glance over, Rollins followed them. Mr. Harper shook his head as he came over. "It sounds like we missed quite the confrontation," he commented, holding his hand out.

"I'll explain everything later. Is everything alright? It's not like you to be this late."

"Martha insisted we stop by your place and ensure no one had done any further mischief. I'm only sorry that I hadn't thought of it myself."

And I hadn't thought of it at all. "Given that Owen Burns was just arrested in town, I assume there were no problems?"

"Just one cat who seemed to think he was being starved."

"Well, he's not," was all I could think to say. "Thank you for checking on my place. It wouldn't have even occurred to me that I should be concerned that someone would try something today."

"Well, that's why women make our better halves, isn't it?" Harper said with a grin.

"I know it's none of my business, but I'm going to ask anyway," I told him. "Why does Michael Rollins have such an aversion to you?"

My neighbor's smile became sad. "I can't speculate on what he's thinking, but if I had to guess, I'd say he's afraid I might take his job."

Astonished, I stared at him. "What? Why?"

"Once upon a time, I had the responsibility of being the spiritual leader of a congregation," he admitted in a low voice. He added quickly, "It was a long time ago, and I have no intention of doing so again. Mr. Rollins seems to think I intend to either criticize him or take his place in town."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing? If there was a reverend in town all the time, I mean. Not the part about you criticizing him."

"I'm sure it would be a good thing, but you know he makes his living being a preacher," Mr. Harper responded. "It might make things more difficult for him if he were to lose even one town. He doesn't believe me when I tell him I have no interest in being the spiritual leader for an entire town again. I'd much rather concern myself with my family and my own wellbeing."

"Well, I suppose I must be thankful you showed up when you did." At my neighbor's quizzical look, I explained, "I'm afraid he was rather reluctant to do the wedding ceremony. He must have thought you would do it if he didn't."

Mr. Harper heaved a sigh. "I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing so."

I nodded my understanding. Sometimes, a person just had to put themselves and family first. Even if I was annoyed with Michael Rollins, I knew he wasn't a bad reverend. He worked hard, travelling from town to town, and he was respected by everyone as far as I knew.

"I wouldn't have asked you to do that. I might have asked for the favor of watching my place while I went to Cheyenne to get married, if Earnest couldn't do so. But that won't be necessary now."

"No. Now we have to get you to the cafe and get you married before some new misfortune befalls you." Harper clapped his hand on my shoulder.

~*~

When Mr. Harper and I reached the cafe, it was clear the women had taken advantage of the few minutes they had to prepare. With the help of her sons and the younger Harper boys, Mrs. Royal had pulled several of the tables aside to make the room look less like an eating place. Mrs. Harper fussed at tablecloths.

Elizabeth was standing in front of the fireplace, a bouquet of wildflowers in her hands. She turned to me with a smile.

What had I done to deserve such a beautiful person like her as a life companion?

"Just like a man to come in after everything is ready," Mrs. Harper fussed with good humor. She linked arms with her husband. "Shall we get you married?"

"Yes, please," Elizabeth called out.

Michael Rollins moved to stand in front of the fireplace. "Well, let's begin," he said with notable little enthusiasm.

One would think that a man of his age and experience would know better than to sound like a petulant child. I held my tongue, though, in the interest of getting married. He would have to reconcile himself to the situation later.

Letting go of her bouquet with her left hand, Elizabeth took my hand. Side by side, we faced the reverend. Our friends gathered behind us as Rollins solemnly said, "Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today—"

To be perfectly honest, I didn't hear anything else after that. At long last, after so much trouble and trials, we were finally going to be married. The future stretched before, and anything seemed possible.

How long would it take for the rest of town to forget Annie Burns' lies? Not too long, I hoped. I wanted to be at ease with my neighbors. More importantly, I wanted them to treat Elizabeth and our family with respect and kindness.

Our family. Would we have children? I'd never given it much thought, but having a boy or girl who was a mix of me and Elizabeth was now an intriguing thought. It would be nice to be able to pass everything we built on to the next generation.

"Noah."

With a start, I realized everyone was looking at me expectantly. "I'm sorry?"

"Repeat after me," Rollins said impatiently. "I, Noah Coleman."

Wait. Had he finished his part already? Phrase by phrase, we went through the wedding vows. "'Til death do us part," especially rang true. I wanted to be by Elizabeth come what may. Through the good and the bad, I wanted to face everything with her.

Though her tone was serious, Elizabeth repeated her vows with a twinkle in her eye. "If anyone knows why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

I'd forgotten about that bit. My heart felt like it stopped as I glanced back. Fortunately, no town member jumped through the doorway to protest.

"Do you have a ring?"

Hastily, I pulled my grandmother's ring from my pocket. I skipped it onto Elizabeth's finger, relieved that it was not too small. It didn't look as though it would be too loose, either.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." Rollins said. He paused for a long minute before he added, "you may now kiss the bride."

"Together, we can face whatever comes our way," I said in a low voice, just for her ears.

She smiled. "I like the sound of that."

Leaning forward, I pressed my lips against hers to seal our marriage.