Chapter 18   

Elizabeth paced the floor of the doctor’s waiting room. Never had she prayed so hard in her life—or felt so awful.

Two times! Two times she’d shot Ben. If he never wanted to see her again, who could blame him? She had done nothing but cause him trouble. This whole trip to Texas had turned into a nightmare.

She didn’t even know what to say to his shaken parents. No one felt like sitting, and all six of them paced the floor with her. To keep from bumping into each other, Elizabeth and the three couples circled the room like ducks in a row.

For the longest while, no one spoke. But that changed when Mr. Baer stopped to pull out his watch, causing the three people behind him to collide. “What’s taking so long?” he asked.

Pulling herself away from his back, Mrs. Baer straightened her hat. “Now calm down, dear.”

“How can I calm down?” Mr. Baer spun around to face his wife. “None of this makes sense. How can someone get himself shot two times? And what in blazes were you doing at the train station?”

“I told you,” Mrs. Baer said, standing practically nose to nose with her husband, “we were trying to prevent Elizabeth from leaving.”

Mrs. Norton nodded and thumped her cane on the floor. “And that’s when those masked men showed up.”

Mrs. Edwards pressed her hands against her chest. “And the one bandit tried to kidnap Elizabeth,” she said.

The memory made Elizabeth shudder. “If it hadn’t been for the three of you, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Mrs. Baer patted her on the arm. “That’s what family is for, dear. To protect one another.”

Elizabeth stared at her in astonishment. Family? It had been a long time since she’d had a family to call her own. And to think that Ben’s mother … A lump rose in her throat, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“B–but,” she stammered when she could finally find her voice, “I shot your son. Twice!”

“I know, dearie,” Mrs. Baer said. “But don’t feel bad. It could happen to anyone.”

Her husband threw up his hands. “It only happened because you sent away for a bride out of a catalogue. I told you it was a mistake!”

“I told you the same thing,” Mr. Norton said, glaring at his wife.

Elizabeth watched in bewilderment as all three couples started talking at once. Tempers flared and harsh words flew back and forth like uncaged birds.

The door to the operating room suddenly opened, and everyone fell silent.

“You can come in now,” Doc Evans said.

Springing forward, Elizabeth shot past the doctor and reached Ben’s bed even before his three mothers.

It did her heart good to see Ben sitting up. Before he had a chance to speak, Elizabeth reached for his hand and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh Ben, I’m so sorry. I never meant to—”

“I know, I know,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“Is he going to be all right?” Mrs. Baer asked, leaning over the foot of the bed.

The doctor nodded. “This time the bullet just grazed his arm.”

Elizabeth pulled her hand away from Ben’s to wipe away a tear. “Will you ever forgive me?”

“Of course he’ll forgive you,” Mrs. Baer said. “Tell her, Ben.”

“Let him speak for himself,” Mr. Baer said.

Ben glanced around his bed. “What were you all doing at the train station?” he asked.

Mr. Baer grunted. “They were putting their noses where they don’t belong, as usual.”

Mrs. Edwards glared at him before turning to Ben. “We were there to talk the woman you love into staying,” she said with an indignant toss of her head.

Ben locked Elizabeth in his gaze. “That’s why I was there.”

“Well, you took your own sweet time,” Mrs. Baer said, the feathers on her hat seeming to bristle.

“I’ll say,” Mrs. Norton said.

Ben held Elizabeth’s gaze, and for a moment it seemed as if they were the only two people in the room. “I went to your boardinghouse, but you’d already left. I looked for you at the stagecoach stop, but when I didn’t find you, I went to the train station.” His gaze softened. “I’m glad you’re still here,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“You can thank the Madison gang for that,” Mrs. Edwards said. “She was bound and determined to leave till they showed up.”

“I guess we have God to thank for that,” Ben said and, in a softer voice, added, “Don’t go.”

Elizabeth’s heart felt like it was about to burst with emotion, and she could hardly catch her breath. So much had happened that day, it was hard to sort out her feelings, but one thing was clear. She loved this man. Loved him with her whole heart and soul. If she hadn’t known it before, she knew it now.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she murmured.

Ben tightened his hold on her hand and gazed deep into her eyes. “Do you mean that? My family—”

She touched his lips with a finger and glanced at Ben’s three mothers, who were straining to hear every word. “Your mothers put their lives at stake to save me,” she said. “How can I walk away knowing how much they care?” Her voice broke. “How much you care.”

She heard his intake of breath and felt him shudder, but before he could speak, Mrs. Baer’s voice rang out.

“Does that mean you’re going to marry Ben?” she asked.

Elizabeth’s gaze never wavered from the face she’d come to know so well. The face that she could draw with her eyes shut. “If he’ll still have me.”

“Well, of course he’ll still have you,” Mrs. Baer said. “Tell her, Ben.”

Mr. Baer tried to steer his wife away from the bed. “This is between the two of them,” he said. “We should leave them alone.”

“Horsefeathers!” Mrs. Baer exclaimed, and pulled her arm away from her husband’s hand. “If it wasn’t for us, Ben wouldn’t even know Elizabeth existed.”

Mrs. Norton gave a satisfied smile. “We knew she was the right woman for him the moment we read her first letter.”

“And her photograph didn’t hurt,” Mrs. Edwards added.

“This calls for a proposal, Ben,” Mrs. Baer prompted. “So, what do you say?”

Elizabeth’s heart pounded. “I say yes,” she said, not waiting for Ben to speak up. “I’ll marry you.”

Mr. Baer threw up his hands. “Confound it, she won’t even let the boy speak. She’s getting to be as bad as my wife.”

Ignoring his father, Ben had eyes only for Elizabeth. “Not so fast,” he said, his voice as serious as the look on his face.

Elizabeth pulled her hand from his, and her heart sank. “Are … are you saying you don’t want to marry me?”

“Oh, I want to marry you, all right, but only under three conditions.”

Elizabeth stared at him in dismay. “Conditions?” This was beginning to sound like another business deal.

Ben nodded. “One, you must promise that when you walk down the aisle, you’ll wear a purple gown.”

Elizabeth gasped. “Oh Ben—”

He held up his good arm, his gaze as soft as a caress. “Two, you agree to decorate every wall in our house with gardens. Lots and lots of gardens.”

Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand, and fresh tears sprang to her eyes.

Pulling his gaze from hers, Ben directed his attention to the others. “And three … my lovely mothers promise to offer help and advice only when it’s asked for.”

Mrs. Norton started to protest, but Mrs. Baer elbowed her. “You want him to marry her, don’t you?” she said. “If all it takes is a purple gown and gardens, then so be it.”

Mr. Baer gave an exasperated toss of his head. “And don’t forget the third condition. You gotta stay out of Ben’s affairs.”

Mrs. Baer made a face at her husband but, for once, kept her thoughts to herself.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Elizabeth hugged her before turning back to Ben, her heart filled with love not only for him but for his whole crazy family.

“Just a minute,” Mr. Baer said with a booming voice, and all heads turned his way. “I think it only right that a fourth condition be added. I think Miss Cotton here—”

“Colton,” Mrs. Baer said.

He corrected Elizabeth’s name and continued. “I think it only right that she agrees to stop shooting Ben.”

“That I gladly promise,” Elizabeth said. “I no longer have a need to carry a gun.” With Ben, she felt as safe as a babe in a cradle.

“Whoa. That’s a relief,” Doc Evans said, wiping his brow. “As Ben has now run out of arms.”

Ben chuckled as he gazed at her. “Well?” he asked. “What do you say? Will you marry me? Do we have a deal?”

“Deal,” Elizabeth said and offered him her hand.

Laughing softly, he took her hand and, moving his bandaged arm aside, pulled her onto the bed next to him. Mindless of the crowd around them, he proceeded to kiss her like she’d never been kissed before.

She quivered at the sweet tenderness of his lips. But when he deepened the kiss, her heart nearly burst with joy. Cupping his face in her hands, she returned his kiss with equal fervor. Pressed against his strong chest, she inhaled his manly scent and felt like she had found a home. A refuge. A safe harbor.

Had she not suddenly recalled that they weren’t alone, she might have stayed in his arms forever. Feeling flustered, she pulled away, her lips still moist from his kiss, her body still flushed with heat.

Surprised at how easily she’d forgotten his parents’ presence, she stared deep into Ben’s eyes before slipping off the bed. He had been right all along. Loving and being loved by him could only be part of God’s plan. As long as she stayed focused on that, nothing, not even his well-meaning mothers, could come between them.

Looking at his parents with new, appreciative eyes, she couldn’t help but smile. All six of them looked like they had just discovered a pot o’ gold.

Mrs. Edwards beamed with pleasure, and Mrs. Norton’s smile practically reached her ears. Mrs. Baer, who Ben said never cried, dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

Then all six of Ben’s parents and the doctor burst into applause, and for once, Elizabeth didn’t mind being the center of attention.