In the same room still stinking of Charlotte’s blood, they spent the night showing Tommy Kennedy the true face of pain.
Before he died, things had been done to him that were ungodly, meted out by two men with absolutely no remorse.
And then it was over.
No word was spoken. Matthew simply left the old man to clean up the mess.
When he arrived at the hospital, he found Charlotte smiling to see him. “See, you needed good rest and a decent meal, Matthew. You look refreshed.”
Matthew nodded in agreement and went back to his customary seat, shooing Nathaniel off with a dangerous glare. When her hand was in his, he took a deep breath, and told her he loved her, no care for who was listening.
Chapter 19
“For Christ’s sake, Matthew. Knock it off!” Exasperation magnified Charlie’s complaints, the train ride back to Monroe having jarred her broken ribs, leaving her surly as a sober sailor.
Accustomed to her protests after the woman’s two complaint-ridden hospital stays, Matthew ignored it and continued to bear her weight up the steps. Eli followed with their bags.
Once inside, Matthew sat her down in her chair, went to fetch her damn cat, and plopped Gus in her lap with a warning that she better behave and rest.
Nathaniel came and sat at her elbow to keep her company. “I have seen a lot of crazy things… but watching you run through that gunfire, eyes like the devil while you mowed down those bastards… that tops it all. I’m damn proud you’re gonna be my sister.”
Before he was allowed to speak another word, her hands came to his scruffy face. Nathaniel’s wild hair was tamed by loving fingers. “You utterly adorable jackass. You’ve been my brother from the first day.”
He cleared his throat, the bear nodding. “You’re an Emerson through and through.”
There was a loud grunt of approval from the grill where Matthew was preparing her tea.
But she wasn’t, not yet. “I’m not gonna be an Emerson until I can walk down the aisle without limping.”
Matthew heard her and approached with a scowl. Their wedding was already planned to take place in one week. “What do you mean?”
She met his eyes, knowing she looked like hell. Harboring no intention of celebrating her wedding day covered in sickly bruises, Charlie said, “Our wedding might have been planned for next week, but I won’t marry you until I’m healed up.”
He was not happy. “How long’s that gonna take?”
It was moments like these that Charlie felt precious to him. She knew that the stormy expression he was leveling her way only had to do with him wanting to make her his. “The last time I had a broken rib it took six weeks to mend. That was one broken rib.” Talking so much was uncomfortable; standing at an altar would have been unbearable. She wanted the moment to be special, memorable. “I’ve got three broken ribs this time.”
Matthew’s lips went into a tight line. “I’m taking you to the courthouse tomorrow.”
“No, sir. I have a perfectly beautiful gown upstairs and I intend to wear it.” With the cat purring loudly on her lap, Charlie cuddled the beast and simpered. “You’ll just have to wait.” Muttering under her breath she added, “And we’ll see how you like it this time…”
Nathaniel stood from his chair, pressing an extended kiss to her unkempt hair, ruffling her mop until it resembled his own.
It was not the early April wedding they had planned, but mid-June was just as beautiful. With healing ribs, it had been some weeks before Charlie could really move without pain, but that glorious summer morning she felt nothing but joy.
After her face had been plastered all over the newspapers from the Radcliffe Bridal Shower, Monroe had begun to look at Charlotte Elliot in a far different light. Those who had talked down to the strange blonde were suddenly quiet. She became a marvel to the locals, an exotic phenomenon.
The morning of her wedding, after Ruth helped her dress, Martha clucking orders from the side, Charlie wanted to run to the church. When the time came for her to walk down the aisle, the entirety of Creekside Methodist was packed to the rafters with uninvited Monroe residents gathered to gawk at the glamorous niece of Beaumont Radcliffe. Half the congregation practically fell over themselves when the infamous gangster himself marched in with the smiling bride on his arm.
Charlie didn’t see the masses of people, the ridiculous flowers Martha had arranged, or how dapper Nathaniel and Eli looked in their fine new suits. Her eyes were on the man waiting for her by the preacher.
Matthew Emerson stood tall, eyes shining at the beauty of the woman he loved in her fine dress and long lace veil.
Not a bruise marred her skin and there was no more pain in her eyes.
Charlotte was whole and beautiful—and going to be his wife.
The ceremony was simple, nothing flowery—just a boy marrying a girl. When the time came to seal the vows, there was nothing shy in the kiss he gave her. In fact, he hadn’t been allowed to kiss her in so long, one might say it was a little scandalous for the country folk in attendance.