CHAPTER 8
People began showing up early for all the festivities that were scheduled to happen. Cowboys rode in on horseback, people who lived in Big Rock rolled up in buggies, families from outlying farms and ranches arrived in buckboards, spring wagons, and even a few old-fashioned Conestogas. For today and part of the next day—because a lot of folks would spend the night—the Sugarloaf would have as big a population as a lot of small towns.
Smoke and Sally spent a lot of the morning on the porch greeting visitors. Sally looked lovely in an elegant, dark blue gown, while Smoke still wore jeans and boots but had consented to honor the dignity of the occasion by donning a white shirt with pearl snaps and a string tie. That was about as dressed-up as he ever got.
It would have been nice if his brothers Luke and Matt could have been there, as well as his nephews Ace and Chance, but all of them were off elsewhere in the West and had their hands full with their own doings. As for Preacher, Smoke’s oldest friend and surrogate father, he had gone off to the mountains a number of years earlier and never returned. Smoke didn’t even know if Preacher was still alive . . . although it seemed unlikely because he would be more than a hundred years old.
Still, where Preacher was concerned, Smoke had learned never to rule out anything.
He put those thoughts out of his head and concentrated on saying hello to the people who were there, making them feel welcome. All of his friends from Big Rock were showing up, most prominent among them Louis Longmont, the gambler and gunman who had sided Smoke in many battles, and Sheriff Monte Carson, who like Pearlie was a onetime enemy turned perennial friend and ally. Phil Clinton, who still edited and published the Big Rock Journal, was covering the wedding for his newspaper, of course, but would have been there anyway as a friend. Smoke was glad to see all of them, shaking their hands enthusiastically, and they all got hugs from Sally, too.
Even though the dance wouldn’t take place until the evening, it was impossible for that many Western folks to get together without the fiddles and guitars coming out. Lively strains of music soon filled the air, blending pleasantly with the talk and laughter of old friends seeing each other again for the first time in months, in some cases. Spread out as the farm and ranch families were, special occasions were always welcomed as an excuse to socialize.
Women trooped in and out of the house carrying bowls and platters of food they had brought for the feast. Sally had done a lot of cooking to get ready, as had Inez Sandoval, the Sugarloaf’s regular cook and housekeeper. Inez had recruited several assistants to help them, too. Smoke and the hands had several sides of beef smoking over pits of coals, but there would be plenty of other dishes as well. The food would be brought out later, but a table with pitchers of lemonade and glasses had been set up so people could quench their thirst.
While Smoke was standing on the porch, a hand fell on his shoulder and he looked around to see his son standing there with a big grin on his face.
“Today’s the day, eh?” Louis said.
“Appears to be,” Smoke responded dryly. “Are you doing all right? Did you sleep last night?”
“Hardly a wink. I was too full of anticipation. It’s not every day that a man gets married, you know.”
Smoke nodded. “I know.” He had tied the knot twice in his life, the first time to a beautiful girl named Nicole who had given birth to Smoke’s other son, Arthur. Both of them had died young and tragically, although their memories lived on in the names of his twin offspring. He didn’t want to dwell on such painful recollections, so he put those thoughts aside, knowing that Nicole and Arthur would understand and not hold it against him.
He went on, “You’re not feeling under the weather? I mean, your heart—”
“It’s fine,” Louis assured him. “Nary a twinge in weeks now.”
“I’m mighty glad to hear that. And Melanie? How’s she doing this morning?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Louis replied.
Smoke frowned in confusion, but Sally laughed and said, “Of course he wouldn’t know, Smoke, because he hasn’t seen her today. On the wedding day, it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride until the ceremony.”
“Oh, yeah, I reckon I have heard that,” Smoke admitted.
“But speaking of Melanie,” Louis went on, “I’d appreciate it if you’d go check on her, Mother. She’s made a few friends around here and they’re supposed to be helping her get ready, but since I haven’t bothered her, I’m not sure that’s the case. If she needs anything, someone needs to be there to see to it.”
It was Sally’s turn to frown. “What about Denise? I’m sure she’d be glad to lend a hand.”
“I haven’t seen Denny this morning,” Louis replied with a shake of his head. “Maybe she is with Melanie, but I don’t know that.” He paused, then added, “Anyway, I’m not sure how much help she would be with . . . well, with bridal things.”
“That attitude toward your sister doesn’t help things,” Sally said tartly. Her voice softened as she continued. “But I’ll go up and see if Melanie needs anything. There’s no rule that says a mother-in-law can’t see her prospective daughter-in-law on the wedding day!” She put a hand on Smoke’s arm. “You make sure that everyone who arrives is made to feel welcome.”
“I will,” Smoke told her.
Sally hurried into the house.
Smoke turned to his son and said casually, “You haven’t seen Denny all morning, eh?”
“No, not that I recall. Should I have?”
“No, no reason that I can think of. She’s around somewhere, I suppose.”
Louis said, “There is something I want to talk to you about, though, Pa.”
“Sure. Any advice I can give you—”
“Well, it’s not actually advice I’m looking for. Remember when I said I wanted to study law and was thinking about going to Harvard?”
Smoke nodded. “I remember. Last year around Christmastime, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. I’ve looked into it and talked it over with Melanie, and she agrees with me that if that’s what I want to do, I should give it a try.”
“That’s the way I feel about any man’s ambitions. But are you telling me that you’re leaving the Sugarloaf, son?”
“That’s right,” Louis said. “I’ve applied to Harvard and been accepted and plan to start on my law degree in the fall.”
Smoke slipped his hands into the hip pockets of his jeans and stood there for a long moment without saying anything. When he finally spoke, he said, “A man’s got to follow his dreams. Preacher went west to the mountains, and so did I. If your dreams lie in the east, that’s where you should go. But . . . have you told your mother about this?”
“Not yet.” Louis shifted his feet nervously. “In fact, I’ve been dreading doing so.”
Smoke grunted. “Likely with good reason. You and Denny haven’t been back home all that long. Sally’s not going to be happy if you start talking about leaving again.”
Louis summoned up a smile. “That’s why I was sort of hoping . . . maybe after the wedding is over, of course . . . that you could tell her . . .” His voice trailed off as Smoke shook his head.
“No, sir. You’re going to have to do that yourself. It’s your responsibility.”
“I figured that’s what you would say,” Louis responded with a sigh. “But I didn’t think it would hurt to ask.” He nodded. “All right. I’ll take care of it when Melanie and I get back from our wedding trip. But there’s one more thing you should know, Pa. I’m not planning on leaving for good. Once I’m ready to start practicing law, I intend to come back and do it in Big Rock. That’s where we’re going to make our home.”
Smoke grinned. “Well, I have to admit I’m glad to hear that. I thought you might decide to settle down in Boston or New York or Philadelphia or some such place where we’d hardly ever get to see you.”
Louis shook his head and said, “No, sir. I’ve spent enough time out here to realize that this is home and always will be. I may not be cut out for running the ranch, but I don’t want to be stuck in some giant city. I want to raise Brad—and any other children we may have—in a place where the air is clean and you can see the mountains.”
Smoke clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m mighty glad to hear that. I’ve got a hunch your mother will be, too. And don’t forget, there’s a legal side to running a ranch, as well. We’ll be turning to you for that.”
“And you’ll have Denny here to handle the day-to- day operations.”
“Wait . . . you don’t think your sister’s ever going to get married and move away?”
“Well, I . . . I hadn’t really given it much thought,” Louis admitted. “She seems to fit in so well here. To be honest, after we’d been here a few months, I couldn’t really imagine her anywhere else”—his eyes scanned the crowd—“which again brings up the question . . . where is she now?”
Smoke saw some cowboys leading horses toward the area where the race would begin in another half-hour or so. “I reckon we’ll find out before too much longer.”