Dulcina by Linda Carroll-Bradd

Author:Linda Carroll-Bradd [Carroll-Bradd, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940546254
Publisher: Inked Figments
Published: 2018-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

g

How could Gabriel be so calm? Dulcina flexed fingers that had started tingling from being clasped so tight. Of course, when she asked him to come, she knew that they would be involved in the ceremony. But she’d never actually pictured standing before an officiant with Gabriel by her side. Certainly, she’d never pictured a man who looked the way this Gabriel did. The gawky youth she’d left behind had been on the cusp of manhood. And he had developed into quite a specimen.

As they walked, she’d snuck sideways glances as he took in the buildings surrounding them. He was taller, broader, and darker than Stuart. His black hair shone in the afternoon sun, his skin radiated a healthy tan evidencing time spent outdoors, but his eyes were her favorite feature. In the span of a minute, they could change from lit with mischief to dull with disappointment or snap with anger. She remembered how his dark brown eyes also held little slivers of yellow. Amazing how she’d been in his presence for less than an hour and these details resurrected in her mind.

She stammered her way through the introductions, and then she stood opposite Judge Owen Vaile, who smiled at them both. The fortyish man had helped the widows with the legalities related to developing the hot springs created by the mine collapse. She’d heard him talking with Mayor Fugit, and he’d impressed her with his logical and eloquent manner.

“Are you both ready?” Owen flicked his blue-eyed gaze between them.

“We are, Judge.”

Gabriel’s voice rang deep and confident in the room. Dulcina just nodded. A fleeting thought surfaced of how different this ceremony was from the one she’d shared with Stuart—at the ornate church in Questa before the priest and surrounded by family and friends—then she pushed it aside. Gabriel was right—they had to look toward the future.

“Wonderful. I’ll collect the witnesses.” He stepped to a side door, opened it, and waved into the doorway.

Cordelia Wentz, the newly appointed marshal, and Hester slipped into place to one side of the office, smiling.

Dulcina returned the smile then faced front.

“My ceremony isn’t fancy, but it’s legally binding.” He reached behind him to the desktop for a small leather-bound book. “A marriage recognizes a lawful bond between a man and woman in which they promise to forge a life together with honor and love, cherishing and protecting that devotion, and keeping it only to themselves.”

When he looked her way with upraised eyebrows, Dulcina felt compelled to nod.

“Please clasp your right hands.” He leaned forward. “Tell me your name.”

She recited it and noticed when Gabriel stiffened at the last part.

Owen straightened. “Do you, Dulcina Angelique Miranda y Alameda viuda de Crass, promise to abide by the covenants of marriage as so described?”

Because she couldn’t resist, she turned and gazed at Gabriel’s somber face—his strong brow, straight nose, and solid jaw. With two simple words, she would tie herself to this man who she no longer knew like she once had. But he’d come in her time of peril, and that action spoke of someone who cared.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.