Just then he heard a knocking sound. Felix got up and headed toward the front door. He unlocked it and opened it to find Izzy standing there looking more beautiful than ever. Felix stepped back to allow Izzy inside. After he shut the door, he leaned down to give her a kiss. "What kind of harebrained idea have you come up with now, Izzy Pettibone?" he said in a gentle tone.
She looked up at him surprised. "Harebrained idea? I didn't think it was that bad. Besides, I don't come up with harebrained ideas, Felix. You do."
"You've come up with one this time, Iz."
Izzy set her suitcase down by the front door and followed Felix into the parlor. "I take it you don't like the idea?"
Felix looked up at her. "I didn't say that, Izzy."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just that...well...what about your father?"
"What about him, Felix?"
"Izzy, he's totally against us getting married. What's going to happen once he finds out about this?"
"He'll change his mind."
"You're so sure about that?"
Izzy hesitated. "No, I'm not. Look, Felix. My father is stubborn, yes. No, he didn't approve of you quitting the military and giving up but deep down I know he likes you. But even if he doesn't accept you, Felix, that's not the point. The point is us. We love each other, and nobody including my father is going to keep us apart." She sat down next to him and gave him her puppy dog eyes that she knew he couldn't resist. "I love you, Felix. You know that. Please, Felix, marry me now."
Felix looked into those gorgeous eyes of the woman he loved and knew exactly what had to be done. He couldn't give up on Izzy just because her father didn't want them together. They had to be together and no one was going to be able to convince them differently. "Yes, Izzy," he finally answered. "You're absolutely right. Not even your father can keep us apart. Let's get married."
* * * * * * * * * *
As Felix and Izzy rode into Carmody in the dark of the night, the realization of what they were doing dawned on Felix. "Are you sure this preacher will marry us? We're going to be waking the guy up in the middle of the night."
"I'm sure he will. He promised me he would do anything to pay me back for the help I gave him taking care of his wife and son."
"Does that include marrying us in the middle of the night?"
"We'll soon find out," she said softly.
They stopped at the house of Pastor Anderson and walked up to the door. Izzy knocked hoping that her knocks would be heard inside the house this late at night. After about five minutes the front door opened. The man's eyes focused in on the couple at the front door. "Izzy Pettibone? Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Uh, come in, Izzy," James Anderson led Izzy and Felix inside the house and sat them down in the kitchen.
"James, who's here?" Abigail came walking into the kitchen while finishing tying up her bathrobe.
"It's Izzy, Abby."
"Izzy?? she looked over at the young woman sitting at the table. "Oh, hi, Izzy. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"That's what I was just about to ask her," James glared over at the couple. "Care to explain?"
"We want to get married," Izzy blurted out. The other three in the room were taken back with Izzy's straightforwardness.
"Maybe I'd better introduce myself first," Felix said. "I'm Felix King."
"Felix King?" Abigail looked over at Izzy. "You're Felix King? The one that was dead?"
"Yes," Izzy went on to explain. "I thought he was but he's not. He was only injured, but I didn't know that and neither did anyone else. He came back not too long ago."
"I see, but why do you want me to marry you now?" James questioned. "What's wrong with getting married at a decent hour of the day?"
"It's father. Father wants me to marry some military guy instead," Izzy told them.
"Aren't you in the military, though, Felix?"
"Not anymore. I quit. It wasn't worth it. The whole war thing isn't worth it."
"...And your father didn't approve of that," he said to Izzy.
"No," Izzy said sadly.
They continued to discuss things for the next twenty minutes when James finally decided to go ahead and marry them. "Eighteen is the legal age, and you are of age," he had said. "You don't need parent's permission."
Another twenty minutes later, with Pastor Anderson doing a quick wedding ceremony and Abigail Anderson standing beside them as witness, Felix and Izzy became Mr. and Mrs. Felix King.
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