Page 58 of Wagon Train Melody
Alice sat on the chair beside the bed and continued to hold Rudy’s hand. “You have to wake up so I can tell you I love you. Rudy Powers, I love you so much my heart can’t hold it.”
He moaned.
She held her breath waiting, hoping, praying…
But he sank back into unresponsiveness.
“We all miss you so much. The little girls pray for you at every meal. Well, so do I and lots of times in between. The truth is you are constantly on my mind.”
The doctor came and went several times, checking on Rudy.
“He’s holding his own,” he informed her after each trip.
Someone slipped in with a tray of food for her. She looked up and remembered she needed to prepare food for her family. “My children?”
“Someone took them food.” The young woman patted her arm. “We’ll make sure they’re taken care of. You stay here with your man.”
Her man. But she supposed she’d made that pretty evident to everyone at the fort.
The doctor lit a lamp and set it nearby. “Miss, you need to rest.”
“I can’t. Not until he’s awake and well.”
The doctor patted her shoulder and slipped away.
“Rudy, you have to get better. You have my heart. I love you.” She whispered such words over and over, though at times she was tempted to shout them.
“I love you too.”
She stared at him. His eyes were closed. He didn’t seem to have stirred an inch and yet she knew what she’d heard.
“Did you just say you love me?”
“I love you.” The words were but a whisper, but they were the sweetest, most powerful words she’d ever heard.
EPILOGUE
Rudy spent three weeks convalescing. The doctor had wanted him to take longer, but Rudy had things to do. Mind you, he’d done many of them in the three weeks he was laid up.
After their confession of love, he and Alice had agreed to get married as soon as he was well enough. They’d shared many tender moments. He was both embarrassed and pleased that she’d discovered he’d arranged credit at the store. It proved his love for her existed before he was shot, and for some reason, that mattered to him.
The little girls wanted to climb all over him, and they’d had to learn to be careful. Sissy had turned into a real little nurse, providing him with a constant supply of fresh water.
Kitty almost wouldn’t leave his side.
“I not want you to leave ever again.”
“I’m not going to. Auntie Alice and I are going to get married. That means I stay forever.”
“We be a real family?”
He nodded. One of the things he’d confessed to Alice was how much he’d grown to value family. Thanks to her and the children.
The third Sunday after he was shot, he and Bo stood at the front of the church. Bo had insisted his arm was healed and the doctor agreed he could remove the splint as long as he was careful. He’d also warned Rudy to be careful of his shoulder. But all that mattered to Rudy was his arm was strong enough to hold Alice’s hand as they stood before the chaplain and exchanged their vows.
Many of the Mounties and several couples from the community witnessed their marriage and afterward partook of a feast prepared by the local ladies.
Later, a happy little family walked back to the house. He and Alice would have the bigger bedroom, the girls moved into the smaller one and for now, Bo had a cot in the lean-to entryway. Before winter, they would add on a room or two. The house belonged to Clint, and if he returned and wanted it back, they’d simply move. They’d both learned they could adjust to almost any situation.
