The Mountain Cowboy Appeared Once Every Winter—Until One Woman Followed Him Home
Chapter 13
A year after their first meeting, the chapel bell rang again.
This time there was no warning.
No danger.
It was a wedding.
Bellmere gathered beneath the warm summer sun.
Anna wore a simple ivory dress sewn from cloth her father had purchased years earlier.
Elias wore his dark coat.
His old hat sat beside him.
When Anna walked toward him, he looked as though the entire world had gone silent.
The minister smiled.
“Do you come willingly?”
Anna looked at Elias.
“I do.”
“And you?”
Elias took her hand.
“I’ve been waiting seven years.”
The minister laughed softly.
“That was not the question.”
Elias smiled.
“Then yes.”
They married before the town.
Thomas cried and denied it.
The blacksmith pretended he had dust in his eyes.
Even the sternest farmers smiled.
After the ceremony, Anna and Elias stood beneath an oak tree.
“You know,” she said, “you still owe me a proper courtship.”
He looked at her.
“I’ve been courting you all year.”
“Poorly.”
“I’ll improve.”
“You’d better.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I have the rest of my life.”
