The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,99

rope, I’m told.”

Joe grinned. The residents of Lizard Flats were getting a giant dose of Caitie’s blarney. They had no way of knowing that the Bolins were safe in a territorial prison. For the time being, well out of Caitie O’Shea’s way.

But Caitie wasn’t through. She glared at the fancy dressed preacher and the woman beside him, daring them to add to Matt Goslin’s remarks.

“Now… as for the marryin’. Are ye about performin’ the ceremony, or are ye of a mind to stand with your jaw to your knees, tryin’ to swallow yerself whole?”

Eulis shut his mouth. It was the least he could do in the face of such fury.

“I’d be pleased to marry you, Miss… Miss…”

“Caitlin O’Shea, late of Dublin, Ireland, now residin’ wherever this man chooses to take me.”

“I hope you ain’t livin’ here,” Matt muttered. “People ain’t gonna feel right with a gunslinger in town. And they won’t take kindly to no white woman marryin’ up with an injun… even if he is half white.”

It was the insult to Caitie that Joe couldn’t ignore. His hand was on the hilt of his gun and Matt Goslin was wishing he’d kept his big mouth shut when Caitie stepped between them and poked her finger sharply in the middle of Matt’s belly.

“Joe Redhawk and meself will not be lingerin’ long in this hole of a town, so don’t concern yerself where we be layin’ our heads.”

Faced with the fury of such a tiny female, Matt decided that a retreat was in his best interest. No one seemed to care, and he’d never been happier for being snubbed. He disappeared into his store.

“Where do you want me to hold the sermon?” Eulis asked.

Joe had no answer. Where had not been an issue. Asking Caitie to marry him had taken all the guts that he had. The actual ceremony was an afterthought. In his heart, she was already his.

But Caitie had other issues. “I’m seein’ that ye’re not a priest.”

Eulis sighed. He wasn’t even a preacher, but at this point, that fact was redundant. He shook his head.

She frowned. “I’m supposin’ it hardly matters. I haven’t been to confession since I was seven years of age.” Then she glanced at Joe, gauging his patience before turning to Eulis again. “I don’t suppose ye’d be havin’ a church here, either?”

Since everyone else had been running their mouths, Letty decided it was time she tossed her opinions around.

“We have an arbor. It’s new. Brand new.”

Caitie frowned. “An arbor? I’m not knowin’ the name.”

“It’s sort of an outdoor church. We built it special, for the preacher’s arrival,” Letty said. “He’s giving a revival sermon in it tonight, but you could have the use of it first if you wanted.”

“Is it far?” Caitie asked.

“At the edge of town. Up on the hill opposite the cemetery.”

Joe lifted Caitie back into the saddle. For him, the decision had already been made.

“Just a little further, girl. Are you with me?”

Caitie nodded. “Aye, Joe. All the way.”

He sighed. The sound of his name on her lips made him weak inside. He wondered if this was what it felt like to love. If it was, it was both the best and the worst thing he’d ever experienced. He swung up behind her and rode out of town without looking to see if the preacher was following.

By the time they reached the arbor, word had spread through town that the Breed had come to get married. Most of the town, including the newlyweds, Alfonso and Sophie Worthy, came to bear witness. Sophie had a prance in her step and a smile on her face that hadn’t been there since her dearly beloved Nardin had passed. Alfonso swaggered.

For Eulis, it would be his fourth illegal ceremony in a single day, not counting the two men that he and Letty had buried. For a drunk, it was a hell of a way to get a glow.

As he took his place at the pulpit, he realized he was beginning to enjoy the power with which his words were being received. He opened his book to the same place he’d used when marrying Alfonso and Sophie.

“Dearly beloved, we meet here beneath this roof to join these two people in the bonds of wedlock.” Eulis couldn’t bring himself to say the word, holy. He gazed out across the assembly with what he hoped was benign interest. “So we begin. Do you—”

Caitie interrupted. “I, Caitie, am takin’ thee Joseph, as me lawfully wedded husband.”

Caitie’s words rang in