The blue Arizona sky was darkening with each passing minute, but Isabel did not notice this as she sped her horse faster and faster towards the canyon. Perhaps Tony would be there, or her father. One of them could certainly talk some sense into her mother.

Within minutes, she had reached the edge of the canyon. Quickly dismounting, Isabel gathered the train of her wedding dress in her arms as large drops of rain began to fall on the hot desert sand, making muffled hissing sounds as steam rose up from the ground. After walking along the canyon’s edge for a few minutes, the entire ground was covered with a thick mist and the heavy rain was coming down so hard that she could barely see in front of her face. Only a little bit farther… the path to the bottom of the canyon had to be around here somewhere. Isabel tugged on the horse’s reins and took another step forward, calling out into the rain, "Father! Tony!"

When she didn’t hear a reply, Isabel took another step, one that she should not have taken. For that step, although intended to be placed on solid ground, set her flying head-over-heels down the wall of the canyon.

"Isabel!" Franz called out, riding through the blinding rain towards the canyon. He had passed Tony and Douglas McGregor on his way out, and neither of them had seen her. But her horse was missing from the stable, and a bit of advice from Tony told Franz that if Isabel had gone anywhere, she had probably gone to the canyon. Despite the warnings of his future in-laws, Franz had then mounted his horse and set out to search for Isabel, hopefully bringing her home in time.

"Isabel!" Franz called out again, and immediately after the words escaped his lips, he pulled on the horse’s reins. For there, just a short distance ahead of him, was Isabel’s horse, standing by the canyon edge. Quickly dismounting, Franz ran towards the edge and peered down through the thinning mist at his feet. "Isabel!"

Isabel McGregor stirred. A voice… she was hearing a voice. "Papa? Tony?" Slowly, she tried to pull herself up to a sitting position, but her head was throbbing and her leg… was it broken?

"Someone! Help me!" she called out to whoever was standing up there..

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called out all the louder, "Isabel! It’s me, Franz!"

"Franz?" Isabel muttered in confusion as her head began to clear. "Franz!"

"I’ll be right down!" Franz called after her, then went back to his horse to get the rope and small sack he had brought with him. After tying one end of the rope to a nearby tree, he fastened the other end around his waist. Then, taking a deep breath, he hesitantly leaped off the side of the cliff side and tried to rappel down, although it was more like a clumsy sliding than the graceful maneuver that Tony had shown him the other day. Soon he had set foot on the ledge where Isabel lay, and he quickly ran to her side.

"Isabel, are you hurt?" Franz said, visually examining her for any cuts or bruises. She had a large gash on her forehead, and he quickly removed a roll of gauze from his bag and wrapped it around her head to stop the bleeding.

"My leg," Isabel said, lifting her voluminous skirt to reveal the lower calve of her left leg, "I think… I think it’s broken."

Franz felt his cheeks redden as he turned away like an embarrassed schoolboy. If it had been anything else, a wrist, an arm, perhaps even an ankle, he wouldn’t have a problem with it. But this was her leg; seeing this much of her bare skin was hardly proper. "I… I think you’re right. Here… I have a splint in here… somewhere." Franz hunched forwards over the sack, using his hat as an umbrella to shield the contents of the bag from the torrential downpour. After rummaging nervously through the bag for a couple minutes, he produced two short sticks and some more gauze. Then, cautiously, he turned back to Isabel’s leg.

"Um… er…" Franz could feel the redness in his cheeks deepening as he attempted to place the sticks on either side of her leg without touching the leg itself. "Um… could you… eh… just lift your leg a little?"

"I can’t, Franz! It’s broken!"

"Well, I… uh…" Franz stammered as he blinked his eyes shut and attempted to lift her leg using the sticks. But that attempt proved futile and her leg thumped softly against the padding of the soft, muddy earth.

"Ouch!" Isabel yelped then took the sticks from Franz with a sigh of exasperation, "Goodness, Franz. It’s only a leg. Here, I’ll put the sticks by my leg and you can wrap the gauze around it."

Franz glanced sheepishly up at his bride-to-be while rainwater dripped off the rim of his hat. Just looking at her, he couldn't help but smile. Even in the rain, wearing this elaborate gown which was now ruined by the rain and her fall, Isabel looked beautiful to him. Clearing his throat, he went to work carefully but tightly wrapping the gauze around her leg until the splint was secure, taking care not to touch her skin any longer than was necessary. Finally done, he sighed and leaned backwards against the canyon wall.

Thankful, Isabel leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around Franz’s neck. "Oh, Franz, I’m so glad it’s you that came looking for me. Now that you’re here…"

"Yes, dear," Franz said, holding her against his chest and running his fingers through her drenched hair, "everything will be okay now. After this storm lets up, we’ll go back home. Your mother-"

Isabel pulled away from Franz. "My mother… I don’t ever want to see my mother again!"

Franz looked at Isabelle with an expression of genuine concern and lifted his hand to her cheek.

"It’s not fair!" Isabelle screamed into the pouring rain, pulling away as a clap of thunder echoed overhead, "this is my wedding! I just wanted a simple ceremony, a simple dress, but my mother… she has turned this entire event into a… a circus! Can’t she see? I don’t need all of this! All I need," Isabelle looked into Franz’s blue-green eyes as they suddenly became lit with a flash of lightning, "all I need is you! The rest of it doesn’t matter. We could be married right here, right now for all I care, because all I need…is you ."

Franz smiled as he pulled Isabelle close once more and kissed her forehead gently, "I know, Isabel. And so does your mother. I talked to her before I left, and she realizes now that she made a mistake. And she’s sorry."

Isabel lifted her head and looked questioningly into Franz’s eyes. Was this really true?

"But she… how could she forgive me after what I said?"

"She’ll forgive you," Franz explained, "because she loves you."

Isabel just sat there for a moment, taking it all in. Sheila understood her and was willing to forgive her horrible outburst. "Oh, you were right, Franz," Isabel sighed as she snuggled against his chest taking shelter underneath the meager shelter of the brim of his hat. "Everything is going to be all right. That is, if the rain lets up in time for us to get back."

"Well, let’s see if we can climb back up to the top of the canyon. Then we could take the horses back and…" Franz began in his logical way.

"I can’t Franz. My leg is still sore. The only way I could make it up there is if you carried me."

"Oh," Franz said, abandoning his idea. Not that Isabel was too heavy for him to carry, mind you. It was just those many folds of fabric in her dress…and the canyon wall was quite slippery, so the trip up could prove quite cumbersome.

"Well," Isabel said as she began to limp slowly across the ledge, "maybe there is a cave around here somewhere. My father told me the other day that he and Tony found a little cavern along the canyon wall. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to… here!" Isabel stopped and gestured with her scratched arms to the canyon wall.

"What’s here?"

"Can’t you see? It’s a cave!"

Franz strained his eyes to see through the blinding rain, but couldn’t see a single thing until another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, at which point he saw a small opening in the canyon wall. Clumsily, he crawled over to the small cavern, dragging the small bag behind him. Then Franz ambled through the narrow opening and pulled Isabel in after him. Instantly, they had relief from the torrential rains.

"Well, all we can so now is wait," Isabel said, leaning back against the cavern wall, "and hopefully, this storm will let up soon. Then we can go back to the ranch and get ready for the wedding tomorrow."

"If we can get back in time," Franz sighed, rolling his eyes skeptically.

Isabel sighed as well, but then her eyes lit up, as though a flash of lightning had illuminated them from within. "We can get married here!"

"Here?" Franz asked, "without a minister?"

"Who ever said you needed a minister to get married? People have been getting married since the beginning of time and there haven’t always been ministers. It’s like I said earlier, I don’t need all those fancy things. All I need is you." Then, taking Franz’s hands in her own, she straightened her back the best she could while sitting in this damp, low-ceilinged cave. Then, lowering her voice, she held one of her hands up as if holding a book and began to speak. "We are gathered here tonight to join together Isabel Sophia McGregor and Franz Josef Bhaer in holy matrimony."

Franz gave a wry chuckle at his fiance’s performance, then straightened his face as she continued.

"If there is anyone here who objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." In the far recesses of the cavern, all that could be heard was the howling of the wind, and outside, the rain continued to fall, making dull, pattering noises on the rocks below.

"All right then. The vows," Isabel cleared her throat and, setting down her imaginary Bible, took Franz’s hands in her own, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Franz Bhear, ever since the day I first met you, I knew my life would never be the same. When you came out here to Arizona, I knew how much you must love me to leave behind your family, your college education, and your home , all to be with me. You have filled my life with so much happiness and love, and I promise you that for the rest of our lives, I will do everything I can to make you as happy as you’ve made me. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and in bad, until death parts us." Smiling, Isabel mouthed, "your turn."

Franz cleared his own throat and smiled, looking into the eyes of his lovely bride. "Isabel McGregor, before you came into my life, I was nothing but a quiet, naive schoolteacher. But after I met you… you brought something into my life that had been missing for the past eighteen years. And that thing was life . You made me see the world in a completely different way, not just as I see it through textbooks and windows covered with chalkdust, but as a wide open place, full of adventures just waiting to happen. And I want to experience all of those adventures, Isabel, with you. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and in bad, ‘til death parts us."

Isabel sat there for a moment, unable to hear anything else besides Franz’s words. It stirred something inside her heart to hear these words from him. A while after he had finished his vows, a clap of thunder brought Isabel to her senses. "The ring. We need a ring."

"Right here," Franz said, pulling a small golden band off his little finger, "I’ve been keeping it here so it wouldn’t get lost."

Isabel smiled into his eyes once more and said, "Do you, Franz Bhaer, take me, Isabel McGregor, to be your wife?"

"I do," Franz replied. Then, holding Isabel’s now shaking hand, he gingerly slipped the ring on her finger. "Do you, Isabel McGregor, take me, Franz Bhaer, to be your husband?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the head of the Bhaer household, I now pronounce us man and wife."

"You may kiss the bride."

Releasing Isabel's hands, Franz placed on hand on each side of her damp face and leaning towards his wife, kissed her lightly on her cold lips. Isabel wrapped her shivering arms around his neck while he held her close, and, right then and there everything in the world was perfect. Even with the rain pouring outside, nothing could ruin this tender moment between the newlywed couple. After pulling back from their kiss, Franz and Isabel jumped, surprised, when a clap of thunder practically shook the cavern, sending tiny vibrations through the rocky floor. They looked at each other and smiled, for it was as if the Lord himself had just given His blessing on them; as if He had just said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Franz Bhaer."