Matthew: The Circle Eight by Emma Lang Read Free Book Online Page A

plenty of those around the ranch.” He put his hat back on his head and held out his arm.
    Matt might be a cowboy but he was a gentleman. Hannah nestled her arm in his and took the first step toward her new life.
    Matt had never felt so out of control in his life. Hannah and her grandmother weren’t making him nervous; his stomach was. He was about to marry someone and spend the rest of his life with her, and he didn’t even know her middle name. It was loco and the stupidest thing he’d ever done, yet he wasn’t going to stop now. He’d made sure she was still going to go through with it and that reassurance was all he needed. It was too important to his family that he go through with this quick marriage.
    Too bad nobody had told his stomach. He hoped he didn’t embarrass himself and vomit all over his intended.
    The preacher appeared through the back door, scowling at all of them. They were being loud, as always, but most of them were crowded around Mrs. Dolan as she spun a yarn about a chicken and a full moon.
    “This is a house of God, children. You must show the proper respect.” Reverend Beechum was not his favorite person. In fact, Matt had never liked him, and neither had his father. They didn’t go to church much because of the gray-haired bible-thumper. He made children feel like sinners if they lied about sneaking a cookie, but he was the only preacher in town. That left Matt with no choice.
    The children hushed up, frightened by the preacher’s surly visage. Matt felt Hannah tighten up beside him and he didn’t blame her a whit. This church was not a happy place.
    “Mr. Graham, do you have my fee?” Another reason Matt didn’t want to be here. They were paying the man five dollars to perform a marriage ceremony. It stuck in Matt’s craw to even give the man the time of day, much less a chunk of their money. However, he handed it over, albeit grudgingly.
    “Excellent.” The money disappeared into the voluminous trousers the preacher wore. “Now, are we ready to begin?”
    Matt swallowed the huge lump in his throat. “Yes, we are.”
    He stepped forward with Hannah at his side and knew the course of his life had just taken a sharp right turn. He was stepping into his future.
    The preacher spoke his words quickly, a simple ceremony that could have been done by a judge. The only time the man showed a glimmer of emotion was when Matt told him he didn’t have a ring.
    “No ring?” His disapproval was almost palpable.
    “No, sir. I didn’t have money for one.” He turned to Hannah. “I promise I’ll get you one someday.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t mind waiting. It’s okay.”
    Matt was lying to both his new wife and the obnoxious minister marrying them. He had a ring—his mother’s. She’d hardly worn it because she did so much work with her hands that she was always afraid of losing it. The ring sat in a small pouch in the chest of drawers her husband had made for her, beneath the clothes she’d never wear again. Matt had found it when he had cleaned their room.
    He had stared at the ring in his palm, knowing he should give it to Hannah. It was what his mother would have wanted, but he couldn’t do it. The ring was now safely tucked away beneath his own clothes in the chest of drawers in his parents’ room, the room that was now his.
    “It’s not proper, but I understand the need to conserve funds with so many children in the family.” The preacher made it sound as if having children was a bad idea. Didn’t the church promote being fruitful?
    “Ain’t nothing wrong with lots of young’uns,” Granny piped up. Matt decided he really liked Martha. If she were a man, he’d say she had brass balls.
    With a disapproving look at the older woman, the preacher finished the ceremony within a minute or two. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
    Without preamble, he led them to a table in the corner to sign the marriage certificate. Matt had forgotten to ask Hannah if she could