Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) (10 page)

Chapter 9

Madeline was just putting the finishing touches on breakfast the next morning when Caleb came back from his morning chores. He hung up his hat and coat and walked into the kitchen with a deep, appreciative sniff and an exaggerated sigh of delight.

After he washed his hands, Caleb walked up behind his wife and gave her a peck on the cheek while his hand snaked forward in an attempt to snitch a sample of the fried potatoes she had just finished.

She laughed and slapped his hand away. “Go sit down and behave,” she chided him.

“Oooh, Uncle ‘Leb’s in trouble!” George squealed in delight and clapped. Normally he was the one being told to behave, and he enjoyed this turn-about immensely.

Caleb winked at George and moved to take his seat, but not before giving his wife a loving pat on her backside.

Madeline shook her head at him as she brought the food to the table. The man truly was incorrigible, but she was pleased to see him happy, even if only for a moment. His brother’s murder was still too fresh for happiness to chase it away for long. She knew that the familiar sadness would creep back into his eyes soon enough and was pleased to be a source of joy for him.

Once she sat down and they said grace, Caleb spoke. “I thought we could head into town right after breakfast, if that’s all right with you.”

Madeline looked up at him while George, who had a mouthful of food, did a happy dance in his seat. “Today?” she asked, a bit surprised. There were so many things that she needed to get, but she hadn’t found the time to make a list just yet. She thought it would be days, if not longer, before they went.

Caleb cocked his head and looked at her questioningly. “Today’s not good for you?”

She looked from Caleb to George, who was now pouting, and sighed. “Well, I guess today is fine, as long as you give me a few minutes to get a list together.”

“Take all the time you need, darlin’.” Caleb dug into his fried potatoes and sighed contentedly.

“Good, huh Uncle ‘Leb?” George chimed in between bites.

Madeline chuckled as she ate her own breakfast. The two of them acted like they had never eaten fried potatoes before.

The rest of the meal passed in near silence. Madeline used this quiet time to start mentally writing her list. She basically knew what she needed for everyday use, but with the holidays coming, she wanted to make certain she would have what she needed for gifts as well as food.

When they had finished their meal, Caleb surprised her once again.

“Why don’t you go and make that list? George and I can wash up the dishes.” He knew that today’s trip came as a surprise to her and felt bad that she didn’t have any time to prepare.

Madeline stared at him for a moment and blinked a few times in disbelief, stunned that he would do that for her. He certainly never failed to surprise her. “Are you sure? I don’t mind doing both.”

He nodded. “Go on. Who do you think did it before you came along?” he said with a wink.

“We got it, Auntie Maddy!” George chimed in happily.

Madeline smiled, got up, and went to the parlor to retrieve some paper and a pencil from the writing desk. She took a book off the shelf to use as a portable table and made her way around the house, jotting down things she thought she would need as she went.

By the time she had finished, Caleb and George were waiting for her in the kitchen, ready to go. George saw her and heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Thank goodness! I thought I was gonna melt!” He fanned himself for effect, though it was a bit awkward and comical.

Both Madeline and Caleb chuckled at his outburst.

She noticed that things were not put away where they belonged, but didn’t want to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth so she smiled her thanks and allowed her husband to help her into her cape. She could fix it later when they returned home.

“Hank has the wagon ready for us. He said he needs a few things as well, so he’ll be riding alongside us into town.”

Madeline nodded as she tied her bonnet on her head. She knew that Hank was riding along to provide added protection, not to shop at the mercantile, but kept quiet about it. “The more, the merrier!” she replied cheerfully as she reached for some empty baskets in the corner.

George led the way to the wagon, eager to be on his way. Caleb lifted him into the back of the wagon, then helped Madeline up to the seat. He climbed in next to her, snapped the reins, and they were off.

Madeline noticed the rifle near their feet. She set the baskets down on the floorboards and looked at Caleb questioningly as she reached for the reins. He handed her the reins and picked up the rifle.

George chattered happily the entire way into town, oblivious to any danger they might be in. Caleb, Madeline, and Hank were all on high alert. They paid little attention to George’s ramblings—just enough to be able to answer him on the rare occasion he actually wanted their input.

Once they reached the outskirts of town, Caleb laid the rifle back down on the floorboards and took the reins from Madeline. Hank rode closer to the wagon, still on alert. It seemed highly unlikely that the killer would attack where there could be witnesses, but the men stayed watchful regardless.

When Caleb pulled the team to a stop in front of Pearson’s Mercantile, he tied the reins to the brake and hopped down. He walked around and helped Madeline down, then playfully pulled George from the back of the wagon.

Hank rode up beside the wagon and dismounted. He tied his horse to the hitching post and took up a position near the door to the mercantile. His eyes scanned the street, obviously on the lookout for danger.

Caleb held the door to the mercantile open for Madeline, then he and George followed her inside. As they passed through the doors, George looked at Hank with a confused look on his face.

“I thought Mr. Hank was comin’ in too,” he said to his uncle.

“He’s going to watch the horses while we shop first, then he’ll come inside when we’re done,” Caleb reassured him.

Madeline looked around the mercantile to familiarize herself with its layout and spotted her friend Ella, who was looking at some bolts of cloth. A smile transformed her face. “If you’ll excuse me?” she said softly to Caleb.

Caleb nodded and lifted George onto his shoulders to keep the boy out of trouble. George squealed with delight over being so tall all of a sudden. Caleb wanted to ask Mr. Pearson
if he carried any cookbooks, so he was pleased that Madeline had found a distraction for herself.

Madeline walked over and gave her friend a quick hug. It was the first time she had seen Ella outside of church since the wedding.

“Madeline! What a nice surprise!” Ella exclaimed. “How is married life treating you? You look good.”

“Thank you. I’m good. We’re good.” Madeline couldn’t believe she was blushing like a school girl and was pleased that Ella didn’t press the issue further.

Ella lowered her voice and leaned closer to Madeline. “Did they catch that horrible man yet?”

Madeline sighed softly and shook her head. “Not yet. Hopefully soon.”

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Ella said reverently, then she cheered up and spoke louder once again. “Are you ready for Thanksgiving yet?”

“Not quite. You?”

Ella nodded. “It’s just me and the reverend, so we don’t need much.” She gestured to the bolts of cloth she had been looking at. “I’m going to make him a new shirt for Christmas. Thought I’d better get started soon.” She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “I hate sewing.”

Madeline chuckled. “I could help you, if you like. I’m pretty good with a needle.”

“Oh, I can do it. I just don’t like to,” Ella replied with a laugh. “I might take you up on the offer, though! We could have some tea, sew, visit…Little George could come along and play with the old toys at my house.”

“I’d like that! We’ll have to do it soon.”

“Yes, we will. Now, I see you have a list. Let me show you where things are in this store. It isn’t the most…logical…layout for a store. You can tell a man arranged things here,” Ella said with a wink and a chuckle.

The two of them wandered through the mercantile, chatting as they went. Madeline occasionally looked over at Caleb to see if he seemed impatient to leave, but he appeared to be talking with the owner. On the rare occasion she caught his eye, he would wink at her and smile.

Eventually the last items on Madeline’s list were located behind the counter. She wandered back over to the bolts of cloth with Ella, as though returning her friend to the spot she had found her. She had an ulterior motive, though.

Turning her back to her husband, Madeline pulled some money out of her reticule. “Ella, would you do me a huge favor?”

“Anything for you,” came Ella’s sweet reply.

Madeline smiled. “I wanted to make Caleb some new clothes for Christmas. I have a little money left from when I was working at the mill. If I point out which bolts I like, would you buy enough for two shirts from each after we leave?”

Ella grinned from ear to ear. “You know I will! You’ll be in church on Sunday, won’t you?” At Madeline’s nod, she continued. “I have some more canned goods I wanted to give you. I always have far too much. I’ll pack up a box and put the cloth underneath the jars. Your change, too. You can get it after service and he’ll be none the wiser.”

“Oh, that is a wonderful idea! Thank you!” Madeline pressed the money into Ella’s hand and gave her a warm hug. She quickly showed her the two bolts she was interested in, then calmly walked over to Caleb, both of her baskets full. She set the baskets on the counter and smiled up at George, who was still sitting on his uncle’s shoulders and happily licking a piece of stick candy.

Caleb smiled at his beautiful wife and made some introductions. “Bob, I’d like you to meet my wife, Madeline. Maddy, this is Mr. Pearson.”

Madeline shook Mr. Pearson’s proffered hand and looked him over. He could not have been much taller than Madeline herself, with wispy graying hair that was once a rich, dark brown, and a thick moustache. He was rather thin, as though he didn’t eat enough, and had brown eyes that twinkled when he laughed. His voice had a higher pitch to it than she expected.

“Such a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young woman,” Mr. Pearson gushed. “Stark, you are one lucky man.” He addressed Caleb with that comment, but his eyes remained on Madeline. He also kept hold of her hand.

A fact which Madeline quickly remedied. She pulled her hand from his, a bit uncomfortable with the attention he was lavishing on her. “I need a few things from the shelves behind you. Here, at the bottom of the list.”

Madeline pointed to the last three items on her shopping list. They were simple spices that were used in kitchens all the time. Why they were on the shelves behind the counter was beyond Madeline. Ella was right—there was no rhyme or reason to the placement of goods in the store.

Mr. Pearson nodded. “Oh, yes, yes…I have those right here.” He turned to retrieve the spices for her. “You’re a lucky man, Stark. Looks like your pretty little new wife knows how to cook!”

Madeline sidled closer to Caleb and gave him a nervous smile. He chuckled and gave her shoulders a squeeze.

“That she does, Bob. That she does.” He looked down at Madeline. “Is this all you needed, darlin’?”

“I need to get a sack of flour and a sack of cornmeal, too. I thought we could pay for them and you could get them on our way out, if that’s all right.”

Caleb nodded. “Hear that? We’ll take a
full
sack of each,” he told Mr. Pearson.

Mr. Pearson pretended indignation. “I beg your pardon, sir.
All
my sacks are full. No shortages here!”

The two men shared a good laugh. It was clear to Madeline that this was a regular thing they bantered about, so she smiled and took a step back.

Mr. Pearson began to ring up their order at the register while Caleb lifted George from his shoulders and set him on the floor. “You stay close to your aunt and don’t touch anything. You’ll get it all sticky,” he told the boy with a wink.

George just smiled and kept both hands on his stick of candy, happily licking and sucking away on it.

Madeline felt a familiar pang of guilt as she watched Caleb and George together. She wanted to give him a child of his own so badly that she could taste it. She hoped and prayed that the only reason she had never conceived before was that something was wrong with her first husband. After all, his first wife had never had a baby either. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t barren, though. Maybe he had bad luck and both of his wives were barren. Maybe…

A gentle hand on Madeline’s back startled her out of her musings. She jumped a little and looked up to see Caleb watching her with a worried look on his face.

“Everything all right, darlin’?” he whispered in her ear.

She smiled bravely for him and nodded, though she had to choke back a lump in her throat.

He gave her an assessing look that told her he did not believe her, but he kept quiet. This was not the time nor place to ask her what was bothering her, so he saved it for the ride home. It wasn’t the first time he had caught her with that haunted look in her eyes, and he was determined to find out what was bothering her so. He would fix it for her, if he could. If not, he felt that the least he could do was share the load.