Boot Hill Bride (31 page)

fireplace in the entranceway. She glanced to Howard.

"What—"

"You'll see," he said, tugging her through the group.

Eva stood near the hearth, a large canvas covered shape

rested beside her.

"Oh," Randi said. "You've finished the picture." A wave of

apprehension showered her shoulders, and Howard wrapped

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an arm around her as if he'd seen her shudder. She twisted

and looked up at him.

"Surely you don't mean to hang it down here," she

whispered.

"Of course I do." He nodded to Eva.

Heat flushed Randi's face, but she squared her shoulders.

She thought the painting would hang upstairs where just

family would look at it. The thought of her likeness set out for

everyone to view made butterflies take flight in her stomach.

She'd never had a likeness taken, had really only seen a few,

and found the idea of a replica a bit disconcerting.

Her mind was still twirling with thought when oohs and

ahhs escaped from the crowd. She twisted and her gaze

landed on the picture Eva had uncovered.

Her heart stopped beating.

The painting wasn't of just her. It was the two of them.

She and Howard. They stood on the large front porch of the

hotel. She took a step forward, had to touch his likeness

because it was so vivid, looked so real, she wondered if he'd

moved—had somehow jumped right onto the canvas. He was

dressed in his black suit and looked extremely handsome, but

it was his eyes that held her attention. Somehow, painted

there on that canvas was the exact way he looked at her after

they'd made love in their big bed upstairs. A sweet flood

rushed over her system.

Her throat grew thick as her gaze went to her likeness. Her

image, dressed in the black gown had her head tilted

upwards, looking at her husband. It was indescribable, the

emotion filling her chest at that moment, because her painted

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gaze was exactly what she knew he saw when she looked at

him. It was there, as plain as the nose on her face, the deep,

undying love she felt for him.

He brushed a soft kiss against her ear lobe. "What do you

think?"

She opened her mouth, sucked in air. "It's—it's—" Turning

to Eva she struggled to catch her breath. "It's the most

beautiful thing I've ever seen. I—how—" She stopped trying

to talk. It was useless since there were no words to describe

how she felt.

"Thank you, Eva. Thank you."

After giving the girl a hug, she turned to her husband,

tears stung her eyes. He stepped forward, wrapped her with

both arms, and settled his lips on hers.

Sometime later, when the kiss ended and she floated back

to earth, Randi glanced around. "Where did everyone go?"

He shrugged, and then nodded toward the picture. "So,

you like it?"

She twisted, once again in awe by the likenesses.

"Yes, I like it."

"I wasn't sure what to have her paint. Other than us, I

mean." He stepped closer. "I told her I wanted the hotel and

the fish pond."

Randi looked at the picture again, and this time forced her

eyes to scan the rest of the painting. Sure enough, off to one

side of the hotel was the fish pond, complete with cascading

water. She squinted, moved closer to see what was in the

background behind the pond. The images were faint, but she

recognized the symbols.

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"Is that a cemetery?" she asked, completely confused.

He laughed. "Yes, that's Boot Hill."

"Boot Hill?" She glanced his way, took in his smiling face.

"Why did you want the cemetery in our picture?"

He took her by the elbows, drew her to stand before him.

"Well," he said, "Kid calls Jessie his shotgun bride, because

she shot some cattle rustlers with Ma's big gun not long after

they were married, and Skeeter calls Lila his badland bride

'cause she blew up half the Kansas badlands shortly after

they were married. And I," his cheeks took on a pink hue,

"call you my Boot Hill bride."

"Why?"

"Because the morning we got married, I remember

thinking if I didn't marry you, I'd most likely end up in Boot

Hill."

"Oh," she said, having no clue as to how that made her

feel—knowing he either had to marry her or die. A little gasp

escaped her lips.

"I can have Eva change it. I shouldn't have asked her to

paint it."

"No." She glanced back to the painting. "No. I like it just

as it is."

With one finger, he tugged her face about. "I wouldn't

change a thing."

She shook her head, but in agreement. "It's a beautiful

painting."

"I mean about you and our marriage. I wouldn't change a

thing." His hands slid to her waist, gently squeezed. "I'd

marry you a million times over."

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A nagging touch of doubt, mingled in her mind. "Even if,"

she glanced at the floor, "Boot Hill wasn't in the deal? I mean,

even if you didn't have to?"

He pulled her tighter. "Yes."

She glanced up, looking to see if he told the truth.

His sincere gaze met her questioning one. "I love thinking

of you as my Boot Hill bride. It's like I fought destiny and

won." He cupped her cheek. "Think about it. If we hadn't

been forced to wed, I may have let you go. And that"—he

kissed her forehead—"would have been a tragedy. I can't

bear the thought of living my life without you. I love you,

Randilynn Quinter. And I always will."

She had to blink in order to see past the blur of tears. "I

love you, too," she said, almost sobbing at the intensity

flooding her system. "And I'd marry you all over again."

Tilting her head upwards, an invitation to kiss, she added, "I

love being your Boot Hill bride."

He accepted her invitation. It was several minutes before

they separated and realized Kid, hammer in hand, waited to

hang their painting.

Well over three feet square and framed with the same dark

wood that decorated the rest of the hotel, the painting looked

absolutely fabulous hanging above the huge fireplace. Randi,

unable to control her gaze, caught herself stopping to stare at

it every time she walked through the hotel foyer. And today

was no different. The entire building buzzed with workers,

dressed in their blue and maroon uniforms sewn by Ma.

Servers, cooks, cleaning girls, and bell hops skittered and

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scattered, completing all the last minute tasks before the

evening's grand ball would begin.

The hotel hosted over thirty guests, besides the Quinter

families, and many more bustled in, expecting to book rooms.

They were sorely disappointed, for all fifteen rooms were

booked. Skeeter and Kid's families, as well as Willamina and

Eva, had been moved from their rooms into the extra

bedrooms above her and Howard's apartment to assure all of

the guest rooms were available. Most of them had filled up

yesterday. The two rooms left open were spoken for—one for

the governor of Kansas, the other the governor of Colorado,

both personally invited by Kid, and expected to arrive at any

moment.

A gentle hand patted her back. "You're going to get

trampled standing here staring at that painting," Jessie said.

Randi smiled. "I just can't help myself. Eva is so talented."

Jessie agreed with a nod. "I'm going to have to find a way

for Willamina to let Kid add on to the soddy. Eva will need the

space with the amount of requests she's getting."

"Aunt Corrine said Danny J is having her paint one for

him."

"Yes, him and half of Dodge." Jessie's face twisted with a

frown. "Perhaps I can tell Willamina the soddy has to be

upgraded or I'll lose it."

"What?" Randi asked, "You'll lose it?"

"I know it's a white lie, but she's so insistent Kid and I not

help her. She even pays rent on a regular basis. Kid of course

finds a way to give it back one way or another as a payment

of sorts, he says to flat out give it back would hurt

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Willamina's pride." Jessie clapped her hands together. "That's

it! We'll say it has to be fixed up, and tell her we're using her

rent money. That way she can't refuse us, especially if she

thinks the government says I have to fix it up, and Eva will

have room to paint."

The word government hit Randi like a ball of lead shot into

her stomach. She almost doubled over between that and the

heavy weight of dread that formed when her thoughts

instantly went to Thurston Fulton. He and Belinda hadn't

returned to Dodge, but Randi had a niggling suspicion they'd

appear for the open house.

Trying to hide her fears, she continued Jessie's

conversation, "Wouldn't the government tell Willamina she

had to fix it up?"

"No. It's my soddy. I claimed it before I married Kid, but

Willamina and Eva have lived there for the past five years."

"It's yours?"

Jessie nodded, but didn't have time to answer because Lila

walked up just then.

"What are you two doing? Besides gawking at that

gorgeous painting." She let out a long sigh. "There are days

when I swear I do nothing but stare at the one Eva painted

for us. She is so talented. Kodak would never believe it's a

painting and not a picture."

"Who?" Randi asked.

"Oh, no one," Lila answered, flipping her red curls over her

shoulder. "So are you two about ready to go upstairs and

start dressing? I still need to press my dress."

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"Oh, yes, let's go up," Jessie said, excitement dancing in

her blue eyes. "Randi will you show me how to put up my hair

like you do? It looks so elegant."

Randi raised a hand, patting her hair. No one had ever said

she looked elegant. Her hair was so thick, it was the only way

she could keep it all in a bun.

"Oh, yes, and maybe between the two of you, you can help

me figure out what to do with my unruly curls. I'll never get

the hang of pinning it up," Lila said.

Randi glanced between the two women, and all of sudden,

as if someone had just drilled a hole and hit an underground

spring, water gushed out of her eyes.

"Oh, goodness. What did I say? I'm sorry, Randi. You don't

have to help me. Skeeter likes when I leave my hair hanging

down," Lila apologized, draping one arm over her shoulder.

The woman's touch, as well as the concern filling her green

eyes, made the tears flow faster. Randi tried to quell them,

but it was as if they had a will of their own, and that will was

to fall down her face as fast as possible.

"Come on," Jessie said, looping their arms together.

With Lila on one side and Jessie on the other, they led her

up the wide staircase and down the long hall to the end door

that opened into her and Howard's rooms. Randi gave up

trying to wipe away the steady steam flowing over her

cheeks. Once settled on the divan she bowed her head and

sobbed into her palms.

The girls, again, one on each side, patted her back.

"Randi, what's the matter? You can tell us," Jessie said,

handing her a kerchief.

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"I don't know," Randi sobbed. She really had no idea what

had overcome her.

"It has to be something," Lila offered, "besides the thought

of my hair."

Randi had to smile, even though the tears still trickled.

She wiped at both cheeks with the handkerchief. "I—I guess

it's the thought that you two both brought so much to your

marriage. I didn't bring anything to Hog except trouble."

Jessie and Lila both started to laugh. Not giggle, but all out

laugh. Randi buried her face in her hands again.

Jessie, tugging Randi's hands aside, said, "Oh, goodness,

Randi. You can't honestly believe that."

Randi nodded. It was true, she offered Hog nothing. She

had nothing to offer any man. Belinda had told her so many

times, but most recently when the marriage to Edward Keyes

had been announced.

"I've been nothing but a problem since I arrived in Dodge.

Before then even. Since I was born," she sobbed.

Jessie took the kerchief and dried both of Randi's cheeks.

"You want to talk about bringing trouble to a marriage? Kid

had to marry me to keep my brother from hanging for horse

theft. Believe me, a wife, who couldn't even cook was the last

thing he wanted."

Randi felt her jaw drop. "He did? Horse theft?"

Jessie nodded. "And there was a gunslinger after me."

Randi gaped.

"How about me?" Lila asked. "Skeeter had to marry me

because I was pregnant when we met. And I had a mad man

stalking me, too. Talk about trouble."