She leaned back enough to send him the hint of a sassy smile. “If you’re up for it. I want to be safely yours.”
He was more than up for it. He pressed another kiss to her forehead. “Let’s go see how the sheriff’s feeling.”
CHAPTER 32
The doctor’s front parlor smelled of carbolic acid and lavender, a peculiar combination that somehow seemed fitting for this rather unusual wedding ceremony.
Sheriff Hawkins sat propped in a high-backed chair, his left arm secured against his side with bandages, but his weathered face bore a satisfied expression as he held a worn book in his good hand. The bullet had passed clean through his shoulder—painful but not life-threatening, unlike Clayton’s wounds.
Buckshot to the belly at close range,Doc Hansen had muttered while tending to the sheriff’s shoulder.If that Beaumont fellow lives until the circuit judge arrives, it’ll be a miracle. Course, won’t matter much either way—kidnapping two women, rape, shooting an officer of the law. Sheriff’s right that he’s racked up enough offenses to hang.
Enoch pushed thoughts of Clayton away as Mandie came to stand before him in the small parlor. Bea had managed to repair her gown, though a few stains darkened the ivory silk. Her rich brown hair had been re-pinned, with soft waves framing her exquisite face.
She looked radiant, despite everything they’d endured—more beautiful than any woman alive. But then, Mandie had always possessed a strength that went deeper than surface appearances.
“Dearly beloved.” Sheriff Hawkins’s voice came strong despite his injuries. “We are gathered here in the sight of God to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony.”
The familiar words washed over Enoch, and he drank in Mandie’s face. Her warm brown eyes held his with such trust, such certainty, that something deep in his chest finally unclenched completely.
“Marriage is not to be entered into lightly,” the sheriff continued, “but reverently, soberly, and in the love of God.”
Love of God.Yes, that was exactly what this was—a gift he’d never expected, never thought he wanted again. Yet here stood the woman who’d shattered every wall he’d built around his heart, who’d shown him that love didn’t have to mean loss. And if it did, the love would be worth the pain.
“Do you, Enoch Balfour, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?”
“I do.” He put every ounce of certainty he possessed into the words. “Before God and these witnesses, I do.”
Mandie’s eyes shimmered, her lips curving in the softest smile he’d ever seen.
“And do you, Amanda Beaumont, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, till death do you part?”
“I do.” Her voice rang clear and true, without hesitation. “With all my heart, I do.”
Sheriff Hawkins shifted in his chair, wincing as the movement pulled at his shoulder. “Then by the power vested inme by the Territory of Montana, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He looked up at Enoch with a knowing glint in his eyes. “You may kiss your bride.”
Husband and wife.The words struck him like lightning, and for a heartbeat, Enoch simply stared at her—his wife.
His wife.
The reality of it crashed through him in waves, and his chest pressed in that familiar tightness. Yet this time it wasn’t fear or the need to protect himself. It was overwhelming gratitude.
He cupped Mandie’s face in his hands, his thumbs tracing the delicate line of her cheekbones as he searched her eyes. The complete trust there…the unwavering love…the joy that illuminated her from within… They all nearly undid him.
He lowered his mouth to brush her lips, his insides heating with the connection. This woman. He pulled back before the kiss could get out of hand. But he let himself linger in her eyes once more, taking her hands between his own.
“Lady Balfour.” He couldn’t help teasing her with the title.
Her eyes twinkled, as he’d suspected. “Lord Balfour.”
Then the rest of the group was upon them, surrounding them with congratulations. Enoch gripped Mandie’s hand as they faced their family. Soaked in the excitement. The well-wishes.
Through it all, she stood with him, holding his hand, slipping quiet looks his way. His insides warmed, and he gripped her hand tighter.
With this woman by his side and God in the center of their lives, the future that had once terrified him now beckoned with promise.
EPILOGUE
"No peeking." Enoch's voice held a note of barely contained excitement that made Mandie's pulse quicken as his warm hands guided her down the familiar hallway. The floorboards creaked beneath their feet, and she could smell the lingering scent of pine from the logs that formed the walls of their home.
