Claimed on the Frontier (9 page)

“I just wanted to wish you luck.” She pulled me closer and kissed my cheek in a way that was a bit awkward, given that my husband taking it all in and I hardly knew her.

My husband.

The very thought caused my heart to dance.

Mary’s eyes went to Aaron, pleading. “May I speak alone with her a minute? Please, sir?”

“Aye,” Aaron grunted, reluctantly letting my hand go. “See to it you’re only a minute, Pearl. I’m eager to meet up with my relations, and expect Matthew soon.”

I nodded and went with Mary as she pulled me to the side of the wagon.

“Are you alright?” Mary asked, her eyes deep with concern.

“Well, yes,” I insisted. What did she mean?

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’ve no mother or sister here,” she said. Little did she know I had no mother or sister
anywhere.
“No one to speak to you of your…” she paused, looking discreetly from side to side, as if to make sure we truly were alone, and her voice dropped so low I could barely hear her, “…your
wedding night
.”

Oh,
crickets and cattails
.

What had I gotten myself into? All I knew was the primal pulse Aaron had, on occasion, made me feel, and my desire to feel his hands in a way that was more intentional than a casual holding of my hand. And I didn’t know what made me squirm more—the thought of Aaron having his way with me, or discussing it with a stranger while standing beside the wagon, our husbands within earshot.

Mary clasped my hand and pulled me close so she could whisper in my ear. “Just do what he says, girl,” she urged. “Follow his lead. Try to please him. And if he… well, he’s been alone a long time. He may have urges.”

“Oh, heavens above! I’ll be fine!” I wanted her to stop discussing this
now.

“Of course you will, dear,” she said, patting my arm in a motherly way though she was likely no more than a year or two my senior.

My heart softened a bit at her kind gesture and I nodded. “Thank you,” I said.

She nodded, pleased with herself, thankfully ignorant to my internal pleading for the ground to open me up and swallow me whole.

“Girls!” Aaron’s deep voice made us start. I peeked around the wagon wheel and he stood a few yards away with his arms across his chest. He looked stern, and I had a momentary questioning as to what exactly I’d gotten myself into with him.

“Yes, sir?” I asked.

“Come, now,” he said, with an impatient gesture of his hand.

“See, the man wants to stake his claim in more ways than one,” Mary said with an impish grin.

“Mary!” I hissed, but she merely chuckled and rushed to meet her husband. The men shook hands, and before I knew it, we were off.

Samuel and Matthew had returned. Samuel looked eager, his eyes bright as he went straight to Aaron.

“We’ve found them,” he said. “And ma’s about bustin’ her buttons to see you. Make haste, Aaron. You’ll not believe what they’ve waiting for us.” His eyes flicked to me. “I didn’t tell her about Pearl. There was no time.”

Aaron picked up the reins and flicked them. It may have been my imagination, but it seemed he sat taller and his shoulders straightened. “I’ll introduce her to my wife myself,” he said.

My wife.

Matthew’s mouth dropped open.

“Close your mouth, Matthew, or you’ll catch flies,” Aaron said. Matthew clamped his mouth shut.

“Aaron?” Samuel asked. Aaron gave a quick nod and jerk of his head, indicating the chapel. Samuel’s eyes warmed with understanding. Matthew looked from one to the other, and Samuel whispered into Matthew’s ear. Matthew’s eyes widened.

“Pearl?” he said, his eyes brightening with a smile that lit up his whole face.

“Yes, Matthew,” I said as I held my husband’s hand and repeatedly said to myself,
my husband, my husband, my husband.

“Can’t think of another I’d choose as a sister better’n you,” Matthew said, and if he hadn’t been walking beside the wagon, I’d have thrown my arms around his neck. I loved that rascal of a boy.

“And I’m thrilled I’ve two brothers,” I said with a smile.

“Three,” Aaron amended. I started. I’d completely forgotten he had another brother, and a sister-in-law. My fears began to resurface. Would his family be as welcoming with me as his other brothers had been?

“I’m not sure what livin’ arrangements lie ahead,” he said. “We’ve gotten our land, by all rights, and we have Phillip to thank for that. He, ma, and Geraldine have secured our land. But it may take some time before we have a house of our own. That said, I’ll see to it we have privacy when we need it.”

At that, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. What would happen when we had the privacy we both needed? I merely nodded, and we drove that way in silence for a few more miles. Though he’d done his best to reassure me, and I was ever so grateful my job was to follow his lead, my mind teemed with questions as we journeyed on. There were log cabins sparsely spread throughout the countryside, some with neatly built barns and wells, plowed fields and livestock out to pasture. Some were more haphazard structures, and one looked as if it had been completely devastated in fire and vacated. Aaron gave a low whistle.

“Almost there,” Matthew said. “We found them by asking at the general store, and the lady there knew ma.”

“Very good,” Aaron said, and I knew he was as lost in his own thoughts as I was mine. Unlike me, he didn’t have a leader to follow but would have to provide now on his own land, with a wife to take care of. We came to a bend in the dusty road, and Aaron expertly steered our wagon and livestock along the path. Ahead of us lay not one, but three log cabins, each set apart from one another at a great distance, but still, the only three cabins in our vision. Aaron sat straighter.

“That’s Phillip’s wagon,” he stated, and Matthew leaped up and down with excitement.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “That’s because that’s Phillip’s home! And the one to the left, that’s for ma, me, and Samuel, and the neat little one to the right over there, that’s yours!”

“Phillip had only claimed the smaller bit of land,” Samuel explained. “But he intentionally had your cabin built such so that when you took a wife your acreage would easily expand. Good thing it was soon, though, as he says settlers are arrivin’ daily, and he was nervous about your land.”

“Aye,” Aaron replied, as I feasted my eyes on our house.

Ours. A place where Aaron and I would be alone. The thought both thrilled and terrified me, even as my heart pounded within my chest knowing momentarily I would meet my new family. As we drew closer, the door to the cabin swung open, and a very short, very portly woman with gray hair piled atop her head, wringing an apron in her hands, came at a run to us. Aaron chuckled.

“Ma’s glad to see us.”

He pulled the wagon to a halt and leapt down from his seat, gathering the woman up in his arms and kissing her atop her head.

“Oh, how good it is to see you,” she crooned. Her eyes were shut tight as she held him, but I saw a tear escape and roll down her ruddy cheek. Her silver hair was curly, and though it was tucked back in a bun at the nape of her neck, rebellious little curls adorned her temples, making her look altogether fetching. She opened her eyes and looked up at her son. Her eyes were warm and honey-colored, like Aaron’s, but with ample laugh lines and wrinkles. She had high cheekbones, flushed pink, and a full mouth. Her dress was impeccable save the floury apron she wore, and she looked at once matronly, but playful, and I longed to put my arms around her. I didn’t have to wait long.

Aaron strode purposefully to my side of the wagon. I’d stayed obediently up on my seat, knowing he’d want to fetch me himself. He wordlessly took my hand, meeting my eyes before I descended. He merely nodded, his eyes reassuring me, and as soon as he could, both hands grasped my waist and I squealed as he swung me down to the ground.

“Ma, meet Pearl. My wife.” His speech was proud, and it almost made me feel worthy of the honor of being married to Aaron as he introduced me. The woman’s eyes rounded and her mouth formed a perfect ‘o,’ but she wasted no time in grasping me in a fierce hug and planting a solid kiss upon my cheek.

“Pearl,” she murmured. “A name as lovely as the woman who bears it. Oh, the heavens look favorably upon me this day! And to think, I was cursin’ my bread dough for not risin’, when the Lord knew what blessings would come to me this day!”

Something in me gave way and a lump rose in my throat, thanksgiving for the loving welcome Aaron’s mother gave me. “Come, now,” she chortled. “Let the menfolk tend to the livestock, and you come in and have a cup of tea with me. Did your ma teach you to make sourdough biscuits, Pearl? I’ve run out of yeast and would dearly love to try my hand at making those biscuits.”

“Yes’m,” I said, then corrected myself. “I mean, well, no. I’ve no ma. But I do know how to make sourdough biscuits.”

She paused as we entered the threshold of her house, just the two of us.

“No ma?” she whispered, and I shook my head. Her eyes damp but still jovial, and I marveled that someone with wrinkled skin and graying hair, and hands with skin that seemed papery thin and stretched upon bones, could have eyes so young and childlike.

“Will you call me ma?” she said. I swallowed and nodded.

“With pleasure,” I said. I already thought of my husband’s mother as my own. Her eyes beamed at me as she welcomed me inside. I truly had arrived home.

I wasn’t expecting there to be people inside. My momentary joy and feelings of being welcomed and wanted quickly evaporated.

* * *

Inside the cozy cabin stood a woman whose eyes were every bit as shrewd as ma’s were kind. She stood by the stove, a wooden spoon in hand, and her arms were crossed upon her chest. With the exception of her fierce eyes and proud chin, she was lovely. Her figure was full but not too full, perfectly shaped and feminine. Her gleaming chestnut hair was pulled back and knotted neatly, unlike my unruly tresses, and her skin was as smooth as porcelain. Her lips were full and her cheeks flushed.

“Geraldine, dear,” ma said with what seemed forced cheerfulness. “Meet Pearl. Pearl is Aaron’s wife.” She bustled me over to the frigid woman. I nearly dug in my heels. I’d no wish to be any nearer her than I did to be thrown into the fire that crackled nearby, but I knew I had to be polite.

“Ma’am,” I said with a clumsy curtsy. Geraldine’s lip twisted up in a sneer. She nodded.

“Pleased to meet you,” she said, though I knew it was merely a pleasantry. She was certainly pleased at nothing.

“Pearl, is it?” she said haughtily, turning to stir the stew that bubbled and simmered on the stove. “Were your parents heathens, then?”

“Geraldine!” scolded ma, seemingly too shocked to say much more.

“I—I don’t know,” I stammered. “I never knew my parents.” It felt odd discussing my history with someone I barely knew, and unsettling to be judged on something I had no control over.

“Oh, I mean no harm,” the woman lied smoothly, turning her back to me. “I’m merely wondering why she wasn’t given a Christian or family name.”

“I’ve no idea,” I said, wishing with all my might that Aaron would come in. It gave me no small pleasure to imagine the fierce look he’d give Geraldine. I’d no doubt she’d behave around him. Everyone did.

“Now, let’s not waste our time discussing such silliness,” ma said, bustling around and placing plates upon the roughly hewn table. She placed a small dish with churned butter, and a loaf of freshly baked bread.

“May I help you?” I asked, and again, I caught a sneer from Geraldine. I wondered why she was so openly hostile to me when she hardly knew me.

“Please, Pearl,” ma said. “It’s good you came when you did. We’ve just prepared the noon meal, and the good Lord knew you were coming because this morning I just
knew
to cook enough food to feed my boys, all of them, though I had no idea you’d come today. We’ve beans and bacon, bread and butter, and as much as you’d want to fill your stomach. You take the knife and cut the bread, child.”

The way she said it wasn’t belittling, but endearing, and I nodded, eager to obey. But I found my hands shook and my slices were clumsy and uneven. Ma had gone to fetch some water, and to my chagrin, I found myself alone in the cabin with Geraldine.

“Have you never held a knife before? You’re hacking it to pieces. Give that to me,” she scolded and I froze. Temper flared in my chest and I turned to face her, but before I could say a word, a deep voice came from behind me.

“You’ll speak civilly to my wife, or answer to me.”

Aaron loomed in the doorway, his large frame blocking the sun, and his eyes simmered at the woman. My heart swelled with pride. I was his wife. And no one would speak ill to Aaron’s wife. I looked to Geraldine to see how she would respond. To my surprise, her eyes had gentled, and she fairly simpered at him.

“Welcome home, Aaron,” she said smoothly. “And I wasn’t speaking ill to your wife. You must’ve misheard me, having just come in from outside. I was merely offering to show her how to use the knife. A sisterly gesture, mind you.”

“She knows how to use a knife,” he said, striding in and removing his wide-brimmed hat. “Seems you’ve not yet learned how to use your tongue.”

Geraldine’s eyes flashed, but she seemed to quickly quell her temper.

“Now, Aaron,” she said. “No need to scold. You always were so serious.” I wondered at her transformation. How dare she speak to him so? I watched their interaction with wide eyes, then suddenly remembered I had bread to slice. I returned to my task, willing my hands to stop shaking, as I sliced the bread.

We heard others outside the cabin, and it was with pleasure I felt Aaron come up behind me, his large hands upon my waist, and at his touch, my shaking hands stilled. He leaned in and whispered in my ear as Geraldine returned to the stove.

“You pay her no heed, girl,” he whispered, and his whiskers tickled my ear. The sound of his deep, low voice speaking so intimately and the touch of his strong hands at my waist made my insides warm, and I clasped my thighs together. My mouth had suddenly gone dry. “She’s ornery and mean, and speaks out of turn. I’ll not allow her venom to spoil this day of ours.”