Tori frowned. “What wedding?”
“Oh, Jesse said we should expect trouble. But we have everything ready. Hunter even gathered flowers for your bouquet.” Rachel took her other hand and they led her toward the kitchen.
“Mrs. Bonner has been cooking all day for the party.” Ellie twirled around the room. “I’m so excited! Jesse said he could not go another day without marrying you.” She sighed.
Tori glanced at the dress draped over a chair. Her wedding dress. Hmm. That dress might be a little snug.
Jesse’s smile flashed in her mind. He knew how to cast a web. He’d made all these arrangements, knowing she couldn’t back out without disgracing herself and disappointing her family. Drat the man.
Michael and Hunter weren’t home, most likely camped out with the enemy.
The girls had set up the tub and perfumed bath salts wafted in the air. Fresh undergarments, stockings, and her kid ankle boots waited. Someone had cleaned the soft leather.
She climbed into the tub, and her spectacles fogged up. Now if they stayed this way, she could watch the afternoon’s circus through a haze.
Rachel giggled as she rinsed soap out of Tori’s hair. “Jesse looks so handsome in his suit. Wait till you see him.”
Ha! I’d like to wait a year or two. Or more.
All scrubbed down and rinsed off, Tori climbed out of the tub and grabbed one of the towels. Ellie took her hand. The little girl’s face was flushed with eagerness.
“Sit by the window over there where the sun is so we can brush your hair dry. Jesse said to be at the church by five o’clock.”
“Jesse said, Jesse said. Jesse talks too much.”
Both girls gaped at her. Their eyes wide with excitement moments ago seemed to fade into an anxious frown. They were so happy, it would be a shame to spoil it. She needed to keep her comments to herself.
“You don’t want to be late for your own wedding.” Ellie’s eyes clouded, her voice soft. Tori reached out and gave the young girl a hug.
Tiny waves of panic edged up her throat, and her stomach clenched. Her two nieces chatted away, just bubbling over with joy, yet she couldn’t be more miserable than if she were next in line for the gallows. She liked Jesse and couldn’t deny the attraction, but she didn’t want a husband. And a charming husband scared her to death. They tended not to hang around.
Then her annoying conscience raised its righteous head. If she didn’t want a husband, charming or otherwise, she should have kept her knees locked firmly together.
What a mess!
Jesse spent the day preparing for his wedding. After he’d made the arrangements with Pastor Dave and Mrs. Bonner, he asked Rachel and Michael to invite a few friends and neighbors to their wedding. He hoped there would be a wedding anyway. His bride may not even show up. He slipped his finger into his vest pocket to touch the small gold band. That ring would adorn her finger a few minutes after five o’clock, no matter what.
A visit with Mick at the Silver Saloon would bolster his confidence. He pushed open the batwing doors and sniffed the odor of stale cigar smoke. Dim light cooled the building and stole Jesse’s vision for a minute.
“Hey, Jesse, two visits in one week. And you all dressed in your lawyerin’ clothes.” The bartender’s smile widened as he rested his palms on the bar.
Jesse nodded and placed a coin on the bar. “A beer, Mick?”
“Comin’ up.” The large Irishman poured the cold amber liquid into a glass and set it down. Elbows resting on the bar, he said, “So why the frippery and fuss?”
“Getting married today.”
“Hell and tarnation! Should I congratulate ya, or give ya a fast horse?” He guffawed at his own joke.
Jesse grinned. “No, no fast horse.” Sadness overtook him at the vision of Tori’s face when she’d spoken of her fiancé doing exactly that.
Mick ventured from behind the bar and cleared dirty glasses off a table. Dipping them into a bucket, he swirled them around, then wiped them with a grimy cloth. “So who’s the lucky lady? Or should I say unlucky lady?”
“Tori Henderson.”
“The teacher?”
Jesse nodded. “That’s the one. Got to go now.”