Sammy's Story Read online

  She frowned. “It’s not who I am. I’ve never . . . not before marriage.”

  “That’s what I thought. So, let’s get married. Tomorrow. What’s the waiting period in Wyoming?” Barry looked so serious, Sammy almost believed he meant it.

  “If you’d lived here more than a few months, you’d know the answer. There is no waiting period. Everyone is running around getting married in three hours around here. It’s absolutely crazy.” She stirred the thickening into the soup and brought it to a boil, turning down the heat. Walking to the fridge, she removed the grated cheese and put some bacon on a microwave bacon tray, covering it with a paper towel. “Do you want butter and sour cream?”

  “Yes, but listen to me. I’m not kidding. Marry me. Tomorrow!”

  “We can’t get married just because we can’t keep our hands off each other. That would be crazy. Where would we be in six months after the passion wore off?” Sammy tried to talk sense into him, but she wasn’t sure if she was convincing him or herself. She so badly just wanted to agree and let the chips fall where they may.

  “The passion isn’t going to wear off. I guarantee it.”

  “You can’t! After five days’ acquaintance, you’re that certain we should be married? Really?”

  He nodded. “I am that certain. Please, Sammy, marry me.”

  She frowned. “I have appointments all day. There’s no time to plan a wedding.”

  “Sure, there is. You can get all the women whose babies you’ve delivered involved. I’m sure there are dresses for the borrowing. Come on. It won’t hurt anything. And you said you wanted me to see a wedding performed by Brother Anthony? What better wedding than our own?”

  She laughed. He had no idea what he was getting into there. “If I said yes, you’d freak out.”

  “No, I wouldn’t.” Barry shook his head. “Look, I’ve lived the wild nomadic life. I came here to Culpepper to settle down. I wanted to own my own store and hopefully find a woman to marry and have children with. You are my destiny. I closed my eyes and pointed on a map, and Culpepper is the place that I pointed to. This is where providence brought me.”

  “So you’re saying we’re fated to marry, because this is the town you poked on a map with your eyes closed?” Sammy wondered if she shouldn’t call in a psychiatrist. The man sounded like he was losing his mind.

  He shook his head. “That’s not all there is to it, and you know it. I believe we’re meant to be together. Marry me, Sammy.”

  She stared at him for a moment, thinking about it. Finally, she nodded. “All right. I’ll marry you.”

  “Tomorrow?” he pushed.

  “You really can’t quit while you’re ahead, can you?” She bit her lip, thinking. “I do think it would be a good idea for me to wait until after Tabby’s baby is born. I’m going to be the only one on call in town for babies for a little while.”

  “Tomorrow. Before her baby is born. Please don’t make me wait.”

  “You’re beginning to remind me of a toddler who has to get his own way.”

  “I’m determined to get my way. Come on. Brother Anthony sounds like he’s always ready to perform a wedding.”

  She finally nodded. “All right. I’ll make calls during my lunch tomorrow, but that means you need to bring me food for lunch. I’m not going to be running all over town making calls while I get my taco burger.”

  “I’ll bring you a taco burger and cheese curds.”

  She used a ladle to put food in two bowls, handing one to him. “I really think this is a weird arrangement, but I’ll go with it.” She wasn’t sure what else to do, and she longed to spend the night in his arms. Surely that meant it would work out between them.

  While they ate, she made a list of all the people to call. She decided not to invite either parent. If she invited her dad and Adam, her mother would be uncomfortable around them. If she invited her mother, then her dad and Adam would be angry. No, she’d just get married without either of them. As long as Tabby was there, everything would be just fine.

  As soon as she put her pencil down, he took her hand in his. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive today.”

  “You’ve made me a nervous wreck. I hope we can meet in the middle somewhere.”

  He laughed. “I’m sure that’s absolutely possible. It’ll just take a little time.”

  “Yeah. Time.” She sighed, picking the pencil back up. How could she forget to invite Linda and Roy? The older couple had finally tied the knot, leaving the Culpepper house to Karlan and Hope as they settled into Roy’s house in town.

  She needed to find a dress, call Brother Anthony—or maybe she’d call Lovee—and figure out flowers and a cake. Thankfully, Grace knew to keep a wedding cake made up at all times. All she had to do was decorate it. It was Culpepper, after all.

  The following day was absolutely crazy. Sammy made calls between patients, and again during her lunch. At noon on the dot, Barry showed up with her lunch from Bob’s. He had brought a taco burger of his own, and he sat and watched her make phone calls as he ate it. The half of the conversation he heard with Brother Anthony fascinated him more than a little.

  “Brother Anthony? I was hoping to get Lovee . . .” Pause. “Yes, I really need you, but she’s easier to talk to about these things than you are.” Pause. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to ask you.” Sammy held the phone away from her ear. “Yes, I know it’s ridiculous.” Pause. “Seven tonight?” Pause. “That sounds great. Thanks, Brother Anthony. Oh, in case you didn’t know, this is Sammy Ross.” Pause. “See you this evening. Thanks.”

  He stared at her in confusion. “That was not your typical conversation with a clergyman.”

  “No, but it was a pretty typical Brother Anthony conversation.”

  “I really cannot wait to meet this man. It’s going to be amazing.” She looked at the next person on her list. Dallas. She’d text her instead of calling.

  As she worked her way down the list, Barry sat quietly, amazed at all she was able to accomplish with just her phone. So many people were banding together to make their wedding a reality.

  “Felicity? May I borrow your wedding dress?” Pause. “Oh, well do you think she’d mind if I borrowed it?” Pause. “Oh, she borrowed it, too? Do you know whose wedding dress it was originally?” Pause. “Great, I’ll call her! The wedding is at seven this evening. Bring a covered dish, because . . .”

  “There’s no time for a caterer!” Then there was hysterical laughter. Barry had to assume it was Felicity on the other end of the line, but the woman sounded positively deranged.

  Finally, Sammy shut the ringer on her phone off and tucked the phone back into her pocket. “I have an appointment in five minutes, so I need to get back.” She walked him to the door, leaning into him and kissing him. “See you in a few hours. I’ll be the one in white. Unless, the dress has been dyed and made into a prom dress, and no one was really sure about that.”

  He chuckled. “You need to talk to people other than Felicity.”

  “I know. I like her, but she confuses the snot out of me.” She kissed him once more and closed the door right in his face as she ran for the clinic. If she made it through the day, it would be a miracle, and everything would be better. She just knew it.

  All of her afternoon patients had already heard when they came in. “Yes, of course you’re invited to the wedding,” she said over and over to the good ladies of Culpepper. They would have two hundred people there on less than twenty-four–hour notice, and she didn’t even care. They were all bringing covered dishes, and that was what really mattered.

  Finally, she turned the closed sign on the door and went into her house. The wedding dress had been delivered, as she requested, and she opened the box, saying a silent prayer it wasn’t pink. She didn’t have time to start calling around for another dress. She’d wear her sister’s, but she was pretty sure that had been borrowed as well.

  The dress was white. She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked behind he
r to see Tabby joining her. “I’m here to help the bride get ready for her big day.”

  “Who has a matron of honor dress for a pregnant woman?” Sammy asked, slightly worried.

  “Already taken care of. It’s in my old room, and as soon as I get you dressed, I’m going to dress myself.” Tabby frowned. “I think you made the right decision not inviting Mom or Dad. They never act right when they’re around each other. The divorce may have been amicable, but the past few years have not.”

  “As long as you’re by my side, I think I’ll have all the family I’ll need.”

  Thirty minutes later, they were headed to the church. The church lot was full, and they had to park on the street. “You’d think they could leave a spot for the bride and her very pregnant sister,” Tabby said with a frown.

  “They probably figured we were already there.” Sammy lifted the skirt of her wedding gown high to keep it from trailing through a huge snow drift.

  “Don’t fall! I can’t help you up, and there’s no way you’d be able to get to your feet in that get up!”

  A man who looked vaguely familiar to Sammy stopped beside her and offered his arm. “I would love to escort my future sister-in-law into the church. Then you won’t fall.”

  “Help my sister, too, would you? You’ve got two arms!” She grinned at him as he offered his other arm to Tabby. “It’s nice to meet you, Bart. Are you going to move to town and help Barry with the bookstore?”

  “I’m considering.” He had a gouge above one eye, and his pupils looked a little dilated to Sammy.

  “Have you seen a doctor for that concussion yet?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No time.”

  “I’d like you to meet my sister, Dr. Tabitha O’Donnell. She can look at it before the wedding if you are willing.”

  He grinned. “I see Barry found the right family to marry into. I’d love it if you’d look at my concussion, Dr. O’Donnell.”

  Tabby narrowed her eyes. “Did you drive here with a concussion? Do you have a death wish?”

  He shrugged. “Not really, but you have to have at least a bit of a death wish to do the rodeo circuit.”

  “As soon as we get into the church, you’re going to sit down and let me look at that. The church has a first aid kit that will have to be good enough for the circumstances.”

  Bart looked at Sammy. “Is she always this bossy?”

  Sammy shrugged. “She’s the older sister, and she’s a doctor. I think the two things combined mess with her head.”

  Tabby ignored them as they made their way to the church like some sort of three-headed monster, fighting their way through the snow. As soon as they were inside, Tabby sent Sammy for the first aid kit, and while everyone else watched and waited, Bart was given the most thorough exam possible under the circumstances.

  When she was done, Tabby crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t suppose I can talk you into going to the hospital in Laramie.”

  “I have to be the best man.”

  Tabby sighed. “And I’m the matron of honor. Walk me down the aisle, so I can watch you and make sure you don’t fall over.”

  “You have the best ideas, doc.”

  As they walked to the front, Sammy took deep breaths and pretended everyone was seeing her in her wedding gown for the first time instead of watching her play nurse to her sister’s doctor for the past ten minutes. She slowly walked down the aisle to the music Lovee was playing on the church’s organ.

  When she reached the front, Brother Anthony sighed. “You always were one for making grand entrances, Samantha Ross. I remember the time you brought a kitten to church hidden in your dress. No one could figure out why you did such a thing, but you were so proud of yourself. Well, until the kitten got away and jumped from pew to pew, scaring all the old ladies in the whole church.”

  “Who’re you calling an old lady?” Lovee yelled out the question.

  “Not you, my beautiful bride!” Brother Anthony cleared his throat. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today for another one of those quick weddings this town has become so very fond of. I think it all started the day those Quinlans came into town, and no one was willing to hurt their feelings and do things differently, so it kept—”

  “Tony! Back to the service!” Lovee called.

  “Oh, that’s right.” He cleared his throat again. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join little Samantha Ross and this random bookshop owner whose name I don’t know in holy matrimony.”

  At that, Barry couldn’t help it as a loud laugh just boomed out of him. This was the special wedding Sammy had said Brother Anthony would perform? Really? “It’s Barry, sir.”

  “Oh, don’t bother telling me. I’ll forget again later. I only remember Samantha because I’ve known her since before she could walk.” Brother Anthony shook his head. “Now, marriage is a bond that is meant to join a man and a woman forever. Do you, bookselling man, take Samantha here to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor, and furnish her with books for the rest of her days?”

  “I do,” Barry answered. He couldn’t help but wonder if the marriage could possibly be legal without his name being used, but no one seemed surprised, so this was probably just how he did weddings. He could see Bart laughing like a hyena, and he grinned happily. This was his new reality.

  “Do you, Samantha, take this bookman to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and make babies with for the rest of your natural life?”

  “I sure do, Brother Anthony.” Sammy stole a peek at Barry and was thrilled to see how terribly amused he looked. He obviously now understood what was so special about Brother Anthony’s weddings.

  “Well, then by the power vested in me by God and the glorious state of Wyoming, I do hereby declare you two husband and wife. Go ahead and kiss her, and it’ll all be done but the signatures.”

  Barry turned to Sammy and kissed the giggle right off her lips. “You could have warned me,” he whispered.

  “Why? It was more fun this way, don’t you think?”

  He shook his head and turned to face everyone. He glanced over at Bart and saw the butterfly bandages Tabby had used on him. “What’s wrong with my brother?”

  “Concussion. He didn’t have time to see a doctor, so Tabby examined him at the back of the church before the wedding.”

  “Didn’t anyone think that was odd?” he asked.

  “People around here are used to Brother Anthony’s special weddings. Why would a medical exam phase anyone?”

  “Good point.” He looked at her in confusion. “Do we walk to the back now?”

  “We’ll just head over to the fellowship hall and see what food is there. Everyone else will follow us. They know where the food is!”

  He shrugged, holding her hand as they walked back down the aisle and toward the fellowship hall. “Is this our reception?”

  “Yeah. There won’t be any drinking or dancing, but we’ll have some time to thank everyone for coming and eat. Cut the cake. All that good stuff.”

  “Works for me. It’s like everyone in town has done a wedding like this before.’

  “It seemed like we had them every three weeks like clockwork for a while!” Sammy said, hurrying over to look at the cake. “Grace makes the most amazing cakes. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “It sure is. I can’t believe she made it so fast.”

  “I’ll teach you more about Culpepper as soon as I have some time. For now, just know she’s got lots of experience in shotgun weddings.”

  Bart joined them then, holding his hand out to shake Barry’s. “I found your bride and her sister and assisted them inside, then the sister got all bossy.”

  Barry grinned. “I see she did a good job on your concussion. Don’t ever drive with a concussion again. Better yet, stay here and don’t ever get a concussion again. You don’t need that rodeo.”

  “Maybe the rodeo needs me.”

  “The rodeo will go on with or without you. My bookstore
needs you, though . . .”

  Bart shook his head. “You just keep trying, big brother.”

  “Don’t worry. I will!”

  Seven

  Hours later, Samantha grinned at Barry. “I think we can sneak away from this now.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that soon!” He took her hand and ran from the church, heading straight to his truck. “Is your truck here?”

  “No, I rode over with Tabby. I figured we’d want to leave together.” She hadn’t been sure about taking her car, but it just seemed to make sense.

  “You figured right.” He got in and drove to her place. “We never talked about where we’d live, but I figured you’d want to stay with the clinic.”

  “You figured right. Where do you live anyway?” She couldn’t believe she’d just married a man, and she had no idea where he lived.

  He grinned. “There’s a small apartment above the bookstore. Seemed to be the perfect place for me. Of course, now I’ll have to rent it out.” It wasn’t much, but it was a good place for someone who needed a temporary home as he had.

  “To Bart?”

  “Maybe. What did you think of him?”

  “Other than thinking he was reckless to drive with a concussion, I really liked him. He sat quietly while Tabby poked at him, and that’s definitely a mark in his favor.” She grinned as she remembered how grumpy he’d been while her sister had insisted on bandaging him up.

  “I can see where it would be. He loves books as much as I do. Always wanted to be a mystery writer. We used to sit and write together when we were at the same rodeo. We weren’t always, but it was nice. We’ve always been super close.”

  “Well, then whoever is working can write between customers! Or you can take turns working, and whoever is home can write. It sounds like the perfect situation if the store makes enough.” She was very excited at the idea of him making his dream come true by writing a novel.

  Barry frowned. “That’s the problem. I doubt it will make enough for both of us to survive.”