Chase, p.18
Chase, page 18
Jessamine darted a glance at Chase, who stared at her. "Well, Jess? What do you say?"
"I don't have a dress." She plucked at her dirty too long trousers bunched up around her slim waist and the baggy shirt that covered it all.
"Think what a story it will make to tell your grandchildren," Cynara said.
Gage gave a belly laugh. "Sure won't be like anyone else's."
All Jessamine could do was keep looking at Chase. He took her hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing the back. "Jess, darlin', we'll do whatever you want. Just say the word. I don't care what you're wearing. I'm not marrying your clothes."
She laughed. "No, you're not. Oh, Chase, I'm torn. I want to, but I'm afraid."
He drew her closer, whispering, "Just because we say I do doesn't mean we have to consummate the marriage tonight. Or tomorrow. Or next week. It can be whenever you're ready."
A fresh batch of grateful tears surged through her. With one arm around his neck, she said, "Yes, then. I want to be Mrs. Chase Givens, and I don't want to risk anything happening to stop that."
"Good." Chase kissed her.
The others hooted and whistled.
"Hell, but you people are noisy," Dirk snarled from his bed.
His complaint only brought more laughter.
"All right." Gage signaled for silence. "Do you want the wedding now or in the morning? Who knows where the nearest town is?"
No sooner had he asked than he waved his question away. "Doesn't matter. Probably wouldn't have a city hall with marriage licenses anyway."
"How about when the sun rises in the morning and turns the sky orange and yellow and pink?" Jessamine asked.
"Perfect," Cynara said.
"Sounds good." Barclay offered Chase his hand.
Accepting, Chase said, "Can’t think of anything better, although I wish Ma could be here, and Jared and Healy."
"And Oysters, Annie, Slim, and Roy, Canada and…" Barclay said. "And on and on."
"You're right. Better with just us five." Chase nodded. "Now, let's go to bed. I can’t wait for dawn."
Chapter Ninteen
T he sun edged into the sky with the laziness of a summer cloud, murky gold fading into blue. To Jessamine, it promised everything she'd ever wanted—stability, safety, love, joy, hope. She thought of years ago when her babies slowly grew inside her. For the first time, she realized what a phenomenal experience it had been, and she regretted the resentment and bitterness she'd allowed to rob her of the bliss it could have brought.
She glanced at Chase, sitting beside her on a small, grassy, insignificant knoll that looked out over a rugged terrain stretching into infinity to blend with the sky.
Chase appeared relaxed. Only his smile measured the contentment he felt, and it spread clear across his handsome face.
"I love you," Jessamine whispered.
He turned to her. "I love you too. Today begins a new life for us. The years ahead will be as beautiful and spectacular as this sunrise."
She leaned closer and kissed him.
Gage stepped in front of them; his hands folded solemnly in front of him. "Are you ready?"
Jessamine and Chase rose to face him.
"We're ready," they said at the same time. Jessamine laughed and stared up at Chase, who smiled down at her.
Cynara handed Jessamine a daisy she'd found somewhere. She and Barclay, arms linked, took their places a little to the side of the bride and groom.
Gage cleared his throat. Behind him, the amber sun sat upon the earth, a golden crown on the world. Pinks and oranges colored the sky like the sweep of an artist's brush.
"My only knowledge of how a marriage ceremony goes comes from the one or two weddings I've attended in my life. But my words come from my heart. The sunrise behind me appropriately represents the new beginning that will come from the joining of Jessamine Styles and Chase Givens. May they cleave only to each other, always be honest, always be fair."
He cleared his throat. "Chase Givens, do you vow to treat Jessamine Styles with love, respect, and honor?"
"I do." Chase squeezed her hand.
"Do you promise to forever provide for her, care for her, and abide by her?"
"I do."
"Jessamine Styles, do you vow to treat Chase Givens with love, respect, and honor?"
"I do." Her smile eclipsed the beauty of the sunrise witnessing their oaths.
"Do you promise to raise his daughter, Vella, forever abide by him, and obey him?"
Jessamine cocked her head, glanced at Chase, and frowned at Gage.
Chuckling, Gage revised his words; "Do you promise to abide with him through sickness and prosperity, attend to his needs, raise Vella, and be fair and honest with him?"
Jessamine smiled. "I do."
"Chase, do you have a ring for Jessamine?" Gage asked.
For a moment, Chase appeared stricken.
"Tie a blade of grass around her finger," Barclay whispered.
"No." Chase smiled. "I have something better." From his pocket, he took his worry stone, a blue Montana sapphire, and held it out on his palm. "This is no longer a worry stone. That's in the past. This is a dream stone for the future. When we get home, I'll have it made into a ring for you."
Gage's smile expressed his approval of the substitution.
Her mouth open in a silent gasp, Jessamine held out a trembling hand, as Chase placed the precious stone on her palm.
She closed her fingers around it. "Oh, Chase. It's perfect. I love you."
"I love you too."
"Wait," she said, digging into her pants pocket to pull out her own stone, the yellow sapphire he gave her when the triplets were born. "Let this be your ring."
Chase grinned. "Even more perfect."
Overwhelmed with emotion, she went up on her toes to kiss him.
Gage cleared his throat, and she dropped back down again, looking chagrinned.
"As a duly appointed Justice of the Peace for Montana Territory," Gage said, "I pronounce you man and wife. Now, you may kiss."
Jessamine and Chase turned to each other, smiling. Moisture glinted in her eyes as they joined their lips in a kiss that bound them together for a lifetime of love.
Barclay put two fingers to his mouth and gave a loud whistle, breaking the newlyweds apart, while Cynara clapped and hurrahed, spooking birds in the trees.
Over in the shadows, Dirk Shindler grumbled grumpily to himself.
One Year Later
Thunderation. How did women get through this ordeal? Barclay would never be able to see an expectant mother again without pitying her. He couldn't imagine why any woman on the planet would allow men near them, knowing what the result might be, though he was damned glad Cynara did.
Sitting on the bed beside Jessamine, Chase wiped her damp brow with a dry cloth and sang an old lullaby, the same one he'd sung when she was about to give birth before. Jared paced the floor.
"The baby's coming," Jessamine cried. "I gotta push. Where's Cynara?"
"She isn't back yet." Barclay glanced out the window to be sure he told the truth. "You know she went to town to fetch Ma."
"I'll go out front and wait for them," Jared volunteered and escaped.
"Why didn't you send one of the men for Ma?" Jessamine asked, panting. "I need Cynara."
"We didn't know then that you would go into labor the minute she and Healy left, honey," Chase said, squeezing her hand. "It'll be all right. It's not the first time we've done this together."
"I know, but that doesn't make me feel better." A tear slipped over her lower eyelid and left tracks down her cheek. "This hurts. Where's Healy?"
"With Cynara," Chase said. "Do you want your dream stone?"
"Yes. Give it to me." She held out a trembling left hand. On her ring finger, she wore a wedding band set with a blue sapphire.
Chase deposited the yellow sapphire in her palm, smaller now than when she gave it to him at the wedding, and she closed her fingers over it with a sigh.
"Don't forget," he said, "you have to give it back to me."
Peering up at her husband, she said, "I promise. I'll be all right now. Just don't leave me."
"Cynara's here with Ma," Barclay announced, looking out the window again.
"Get her," Jessamine cried. "I can’t hold off any longer. Oh, I wish Vella could be here. Where are the children?"
"Gage is taking care of Vella, Connor, little Gage, and Jenetta at his house. Remember?"
"Oh, yes. Owww…"
Barclay dashed out of the bedroom, through Chase and Jessamine's new home to the porch outside that matched Jared's.
Seconds later, Cynara, Healy, and Ma burst into the bedroom.
"How far apart are her pains?" Ma yanked off her gloves and tossed them aside. Her hat met the same fate. Cynara and Healy did the same rushing to opposite sides of the bed.
"Three minutes," Chase said.
"Never mind that," Jessamine cried, bending forward and grunting through the pain. "It's here."
"All right." Ma washed her hands in the basin and positioned herself at the foot of the bed. "Just give me a second."
"I have to push." Panting, Jessamine relaxed a moment, then bent forward again, gritting her teeth as she tried to push the baby inside her into his new world.
"Here's the head." Ma spoke over her shoulder, "Cynara, hand me a towel. Barclay, you get out of here. Chase—"
"I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly. Barclay said nothing but didn't leave either. Jared ducked outside.
Ma took the towel from Cynara and, barely in time, caught the baby as it emerged. "It's a boy, Chase. You have a son."
She cleaned the baby's mouth with her finger, turned him over, and patted his back until he let out a healthy wail.
Jessamine wiped sweat and tears from her eyes and reached for her son. As she accepted the small blanket-wrapped bundle from Ma, Chase and Barclay exchanged a grin. Both had harbored fears that this birth would be a repeat of four years ago when Jessamine had rejected her newborn children. Chase knew in his heart, it wouldn't be, but his brain kept saying, What if?
"Look, Chase." Jessamine drew the blanket away from her squalling son's red face. "Isn't he beautiful?"
"You're beautiful." He kissed her. "My son is handsome."
About the Author
Charlene Raddon fell in love with the wild west as a child, listening to western music with her dad and sitting in his lap while he read Zane Gray books. She never intended to become a writer. Charlene was an artist. She majored in fine art in college.
In 1971, she moved to Utah, excited for the opportunity to paint landscapes. Then her sister introduced her to romance novels. She never picked up a paintbrush again. One morning she awoke to a vivid dream she knew must go into a book, so she took out a typewriter and began writing. She’s been writing ever since.
Instead of painting pictures with a brush, Charlene uses words.
Thank you for reading Chase, Bachelors and Babies Book 12. If you enjoyed the story, please tell your friends. The kindest thing you can do for an author (other than buying her book) is to leave a kind but honest review on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads. While you're on those sites, be sure to follow her. To sign up for her newsletter, go to https://charleneraddon.com.
Books in the Bachelors and Babies Series
Trace
Book 1 ~ Pam Crooks ~ June 1
Logan
Book 2 ~ Margaret Tanner ~ July 1
Carter
Book 3 ~ Cynthia Woolf ~ August 1
Barclay
Book 4 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ September 1
Dallas
Book 5 ~ Cyndi Raye ~ October 1
Sawyer
Book 6 ~ Winnie Griggs ~ November 1
Jared
Book 7 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ December 1
Grayson
Book 8 ~ Linda Carroll-Bradd ~ January 1
Kendrick
Book 9 ~ Zina Abbott ~ February 1
Stuart
Book 10 ~ Caroline Clemmons ~ March 1
Zach
Book 11 ~ Hebby Roman ~ April 1
Chase
Book 12 ~ Charlene Raddon ~ May 1
James
Book 13 ~ Tracy Garrett ~ June 1
Tanner
Book 14 ~ Cheryl St.John ~ July 1
Gilbert
Book 15 ~ Carra Copelin ~ August 1
See all the Bachelors & Babies Books on our Amazon Series Page:
https://amzn.to/31ks9XC
Visit Charlene on Social Media
Website
https://charleneraddon.com
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Book Cover Site
https://silversagebookcovers.com.
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Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Charlene-Raddon/e/B000APG1P8
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http://www.goodreads.com/
author/show/1232154.Charlene_Raddon
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Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/charlene-raddon
Other Books by Charlene Raddon
Steamy:
Forever Mine
Tender Touch
Taming Jenna
To Have and To Hold
The Scent of Roses
Sensual:
Maisy's Gamble
Sweet:
A Ride Through Time
Sierra's Tumble
Ride for a Bride
Priscilla, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge #1
Thalia, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge #7
Cadence, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge #13
Ophelia, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge #16
Barclay, Bachelors & Babies Book #4
Jared, Bachelors & Babies Book #7
Chase, Bachelors & Babies Book #12
Short Stories:
Christmas Seduction
The Reckoning (published in The Posse)
Raddon, Charlene, Chase
