Angel's Peak (Virgin River #10)(67)

“Noah! What about George? Don’t you think George would want to marry us?”

“I just hope he can get away on short notice so he can be my best man. Let’s do it, Ellie.”

“So fast?” she asked. “Is that what you want to do? It won’t be much of a wedding,” she said, concerned. “You’re the town pastor. You should probably put more effort into it.”

“We’ll have a nice little ceremony and a potluck in the basement—”

“The basement? But we don’t have tables and chairs yet. The kitchen might be ready for a potluck, but I don’t feel right about rounding up volunteers to clean up for our wedding. We’ve only known these people a few months. I don’t want to take advantage of them. If we only have ten guests, we don’t want them working for their supper.”

“Then let’s ask Jack. I hear that’s where most town parties happen.”

“I guess we could do that,” she said. “Do we pay Jack for that?”

“I’ll talk to him about it. It works for me if it works for Jack,” he said. “But how about you, Ellie? Do you want more time to plan? To make it fancier? I know you’ve never had a real wedding.”

Nor had she ever expected one. Oh, every young girl dreams of that special event when she’s gowned in splendor and is queen for a day, but Ellie knew that in her case it was only a dream. She was a poor girl, marrying a simple minister; she had no family but her children. Her life right now was better than it had ever been; she wasn’t going to get greedy. “Marrying you is the best thing that could ever happen to me. I’m very happy, Noah. Will you wear your wedding-funeral suit?”

He nodded. “Are you going to wear a huge white dress?” he asked with a grin.

“No. I’m about the most unlikely virgin in Virgin River. Vanessa is way ahead of us—she said she has a dress that’s perfect for me, with just enough cle**age to make it look like I bought it for myself.”

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a ring. “Will you wear this?”

The diamond wasn’t large as diamonds go, but from Ellie’s perspective it was enormous. She never in her wildest dreams expected jewelry. “Is it real?” she asked in a breath. When he nodded, she asked, “Can we afford this?”

“Ellie, we can’t afford anything!” He laughed.

“Noah, have you lost your mind? I don’t need something like this! I’d rather have a washing machine!”

He took her chin in his big hand, tilted her face up and said, “Ellie, I love you. I want you to have something special. I wish it was more special—you’re a nine-carat woman.” He shrugged. “It’s a speck. You can hardly see it with the na**d eye.”

“It’s incredible.”

He gave her a kiss. “I don’t know how you manage to be so grateful for such simple things, but I want you to know I’ll never take that for granted. It’s priceless. You’re the jewel!”

She put her arms around his neck and held him close, kissing him back. “You’re one crazy preacher,” she said. And then she smiled. “Okay, then. If Harry’s available, I’ll do it. But until we can get that lean-to in shape, we’re going to be spending the night over the Fitches’ garage.”

“I don’t care where I sleep as long as it’s next to you,” he said.

Virgin River was especially good at things like last-minute weddings and impromptu parties at the bar. Harry Shipton didn’t have enough of a social life to prevent him from performing a wedding on Friday night and was glad to do it. When Ellie asked Preacher if he could come up with some kind of a small wedding cake for them, his grin was so big she was afraid his face would crack.

Noah announced it at Sunday service, which had grown by a few people each week so that now it wasn’t unusual to have as many as fifty people in church. Jack put a notice on the front door of the bar saying they’d be closed Friday night to celebrate the marriage of Ellie Baldwin and Pastor Noah Kincaid, and the price of admission was a covered dish. Right next to that, Noah put up a for-sale notice for the RV.

“And where are you two lovebirds going on your honeymoon?” Jack asked.

“Down the street with a hammer and bucket of nails,” Noah said. “First of all, Ellie won’t even consider a honeymoon that doesn’t include the kids…”

“Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?” Jack asked.

“That was my question,” Noah said.

Jack clapped a strong hand on Noah’s shoulder. “After you’re married, I’ll explain about the reason for cartoons. There are side effects, but it’s worth it.” Noah’s brow crinkled in confusion. “You said, ‘first of all’…Was there a second thing?” Jack asked.

“Ellie is so excited about that old house, she can’t wait to get in there and start cleaning and fixing. To tell the truth, I’m a little excited about it, too.”

“Haven’t you had enough fixing for a while?” Jack asked. “You threw yourself into that old church.”

“I had a lot of help,” he said, “but I’m proud of it now. Doesn’t she just shine? You don’t have to be embarrassed to walk in that church. Not that I couldn’t be every bit as profound in a dump, but that church shines!”