Western Kisses – Old West Christmas Romances (Boxed Set) (24 page)

There was a table that he’d obviously made himself and four chairs surrounding it. Dirty red and white checkered curtains hung at the windows, and she decided washing them would be one of the first things she did. The place needed a good fall cleaning soon.

She eyed the pile of dishes in the sink, wondering how long they’d been there. Would she be able to handle the amount of work that would come with just getting this house into shape? She sighed heavily, exhausted. Today, she couldn’t, but after a good night’s sleep, she was sure she’d be ready to put a dent in it.

She walked into the tiny bedroom as he was leaving, accidentally brushing up against him and jumping back, her cheeks turning bright red. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I need to go milk the cow.” He said nothing else as he hurried to the door to see to his evening chores.

She stared down at the dirty quilt and dirty sheets on the bed. She’d brought with her a quilt she’d pieced herself over the long years taking care of her mother. She also had a set of sheets, and she immediately stripped the bed and put her own clean things onto it. She wasn’t sleeping in filth if she didn’t have to.

She looked through the kitchen and sighed at the lack of food. How did he expect her to cook when the only things he had on hand were milk, eggs, and beans?

The door opened, and he brought her the milk. “I’ll get the rest of the supplies from the wagon.”

“Supplies? You bought supplies?”

He chuckled. “You think I’m going to get married just so I can keep eating beans and scrambled eggs for every meal? I got lots of supplies for you. Had a good harvest this year.”

He carried in barrels of food. And she peeked into each one as he set it down. She sighed with relief. There was sugar, brown sugar, lard, flour, and canned goods in a huge crate. He even had some different meats for her to use. “Wonderful. I’ll be able to feed us well on all this.”

He gave her a half smile. “I also enjoy hunting. As long as there’s food to be killed, we’ll have a steady supply of meat all summer.”

She looked through what she had to work with and mentally calculated the time. “Would you mind if I just did pancakes and bacon for supper, and tomorrow I’ll start cooking? I don’t really have time to do anything else tonight.”

He shook his head. “I still have some chores to do, but I knew you’d need food if you were going to cook.” He left without another word.

She ran to the door to call after him. “I’ll have supper ready in an hour!”

He raised a hand to indicate he’d heard her as he walked away. She turned to the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves. The dishes had to be done before she could even think about cooking.

As she worked, she quickly thanked God that he’d at least learned to soak the pots he used to cook with rather than letting everything cake on. It was the only thing he seemed to do to make the dishes easier, but she was pleased he did that.

She forced her mind to stay on the task at hand, rather than worrying about the wedding night to come. She really had no idea how that would be. Her mother had explained to her what happened on her wedding night, but she’d done it to tell her that she was better off when Joseph married another woman. It had been said sarcastically and cruelly.

She couldn’t imagine Edward hurting her, but she’d only met him a few hours before, and her mother’s words were ringing in her ears. “You must lay back and submit and allow him to force his way into your body.” She shuddered.

She refused to think about it. Instead she made a mental list of the things she wanted to accomplish the following day. She needed to wash the curtains and the bedding as well as the dirty clothes she’d seen strewn around the house. She wanted to get the windows washed, the floor scrubbed, bread baked, the stove blacked, the food put away, and the walls cleaned. She didn’t know if she could do it all in one day, but she was certainly going to try.

Once she was caught up, she’d be able to just do the things that needed to be done on a daily basis, rather than playing catch up with the things that had been neglected. Looking at the floor, she wasn’t certain if it had been cleaned since Edward’s first wife had died. She hadn’t expected much in the way of the house or its cleanliness, though, so she accepted the work as her role in life.

It took her thirty minutes to get the dishes washed and put away. She added reorganizing the kitchen to her mental list as she looked for the frying pan so she could make the bacon and pancakes. It was a quick, easy meal she’d made hundreds of times, but on the new stove it was different. She had to watch the fire more closely than she had on her stove at home.

When Edward returned from his chores, she was just putting the pancakes on the table along with a glass of milk for each of them. She would serve coffee in the mornings, because she’d noticed that he had some coffee beans and a grinder, but she was too tired to add anything that might keep her awake. Sleeping tonight would be necessary for getting her chores done the following day.

She took a seat and watched as he washed his hands before sitting down across from her. She didn’t know if he was one to pray before meals, so she waited a moment, and when he just stabbed some pancakes from the small pile on a plate, she asked, “Do you mind if we pray before eating?”

He chuckled. “I’ve gotten so used to praying silently that it never occurred to me you’d want me to pray aloud.” He bowed his head and said a quick prayer, thanking God for their food and for bringing her to him safely.

She echoed his “amen” before putting some pancakes and bacon onto her own plate. “How many animals do you have?” she asked.

“Four horses, two cows, one’s a bull, so leave them alone, and about twenty or so chickens. Some are roosters, but some aren’t. We have several laying hens. Five pigs, including four sows.” He shrugged. “Got a dog out there too. His name is Sam. He’ll come when he’s called and stay with you if you get nervous being alone out here like we are.”

She nodded her head. “I might need that for the first few days. It does seem very isolated out here.”

“Oh, it is. All my crops are in for the year, so I’ll be working on fences and repairing buildings for the next while. Got to plow the fields as well. I do have several acres of winter wheat growing as well, and I’ll be watching that as I need to.”

“What do you grow besides wheat?” She took a bite of bacon and closed her eyes as the flavor washed over her.

“I grow corn and wheat. Leah always kept a kitchen garden as well.”

Julia nodded. “It’s too late in the year now, but I’ll start one next year. I love working in a garden.”

He blinked at her in surprise. “You do? Leah always hated it, but said it was her duty as a farmer’s wife.”

“Oh, no. It will be a pleasure for me!”

He watched her for a moment before nodding. “I’m glad you’ll enjoy it.”

She smiled. “Honestly, I think I’ll enjoy most aspects of life here. I didn’t enjoy taking care of my mother, because she refused to let me leave the house unless I needed to go to the store, and she was very clear about how long each trip to the store should take, but I loved the housework and cooking.” She shrugged. “I feel like that’s what I should be doing.”

He nodded. “I hope you still feel that way in the spring after we’ve been trapped here in the house several times by the cold.”

She reached out and covered his hand with hers, surprising even herself. “I’m sure I will.”

After supper, she washed the few dishes they’d dirtied and put them away while he sat at the table and watched her work. When he’d first seen her in the train station, he’d been unsure how he felt about marrying a woman who was…well larger than he’d expected, but watching her work, he knew that he couldn’t complain. She was a hard worker, and the way she moved while she cleaned had a grace to it that he hadn’t expected.

When she was completely finished, she turned to see him watching her. She blushed. “It’s been several long days for me. I’m going to go change into my nightgown and get ready for bed.”

He nodded at her slowly. “I’ll give you five minutes and join you.” He watched her as she moved toward the bedroom. He’d missed this part of marriage. He knew he should really leave her alone with as tired as she obviously was, but it had been so long since he’d had a woman that he didn’t think he could lay beside her all night without touching her. Besides, it was his wedding night.

He gave her the promised five minutes, and then five more, before going into the bedroom. She was curled on one side of the bed, on her side, and her soft, even breathing filled the room.

Edward sighed. His bride had fallen asleep on their wedding night before he’d even had a chance to touch her. He pulled off his clothes and blew out the lantern. He’d just have to wake her in the morning and show her how good marriage relations could be.

Julia woke to the feel of something on her cheek. She went to push the offending object away, only to realize it was a hand. She came awake with a start to realize she was in bed with Edward…her new husband. Had she really fallen asleep before he’d joined her? She was mortified. No, she wasn’t looking forward to that part of marriage, but she knew he was.

She turned toward him in the bed. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. You should have woken me.”

He brushed a soft kiss against her lips. “I couldn’t wake you! Not when you’d been on a train for four days.” His hands moved against her neck and fluttered down to cup her breast through her nightgown.

She fought the urge to slap his hand away. It didn’t feel right to have him touch her there when they’d only just met. He stroked her gently, obviously trying to make her feel some of what he was feeling. She laid still and let him touch her, but wanted to run away.

Finally, he sighed heavily. “You’re not enjoying any of this, are you?”

Julia stroked his cheek with her hand. “I’ve only known you for one day. I want to make you happy, but this just doesn’t feel right.”

He rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling, obviously frustrated with her. “How much time do you need?” he asked, annoyance filling his voice.

“I really don’t know. I don’t know
you
.” Her mind raced as she tried to think up a solution. “I’m not going to deny you your rights.”

“I don’t want a woman who is simply ‘giving me my rights.’ I want a woman who wants me.”

She thought about that. “Why don’t we say two weeks? Two weeks of getting to know each other. At the end of those two weeks, I’m sure I’ll be comfortable with you.”

He turned toward her in the dark. He’d only known she’d existed for a little over two weeks. Surely he could wait that long. “During those two weeks, I can kiss you anytime I want, and try to convince you to shorten the time.”

She laughed softly. “I think I’d like that.”

He rolled to his side facing her, and pulled her into his arms, his lips pressed against hers. “I won’t hurt you.”

“Thank you for being so understanding with me.” She couldn’t believe he was actually giving her a reprieve. “I’ll do my best to make it up to you.”

He grunted in answer, obviously still slightly annoyed with her. “I knew my first wife for three years, and courted her for two. It makes sense that you’re not ready to just let me have my way with you. No matter how much I wish it were different.” He rolled out of bed, and dressed in the pre-dawn light. “Go ahead and get breakfast going while I milk the cow and collect eggs.”

“Is there anything you don’t want for breakfast?” she asked.

“I never want to eat a scrambled egg again in my life. It’s the only breakfast food I know how to make, and I’ve eaten more than my share of them in the past six years.”

“No scrambled eggs. I think I can handle that.”

She waited until he’d left the room before scrambling out of bed and putting on a simple work dress with an apron over it. She would make him the best breakfast she could this morning. How could she not? He’d shown her a great deal of compassion by deciding to wait.

She lit the stove before digging through the crates and barrels he’d brought in the day before. The simple answer would be to fix pancakes again, but she wanted him to see she knew how to cook more than one thing. She came up with a loaf of bread wrapped in a towel. He must have purchased it in town the previous day. That was perfect. She’d make French toast. It was the best way to use up day old bread.

She made her mixture of milk and eggs before heating up the skillet. She quickly fried up some bacon and had it cooling a bit while she dipped the bread and fried it as well. She wondered how many pieces he would eat, but had no way of knowing. He’d had an even dozen pancakes the night before, which had surprised her. He wasn’t fat, but he was solid.

She had just taken the last piece of toast off the skillet and put it onto a plate when he came back into the house, hanging his hat on the hook by the door. He carried in a bucket of milk and a basket full of fresh eggs. She was pleased to see how many eggs there were. “Do the hens give that many every day?”

He nodded. “Usually I mix some in with the pig slop, so none go to waste.”

She smiled. “Assuming you like sweets, I’ll make good use of all those eggs.”

He grinned slightly and nodded. “I love sweets.” He advanced toward her and washed his hands before catching her about the waist. She didn’t like him touching her there, because she felt like she was too big, but she didn’t say anything. He lowered his head and kissed her softly, his tongue going into her mouth to stroke against hers. “I love sweets almost as much as I love kissing my wife.”

He let her go abruptly and took his spot at the table while she blushed and smoothed her dress. Was that what he meant by kissing her whenever he wanted? She put the bacon and French toast on the table before pouring them each a cup of coffee. “Do you take milk or sugar in your coffee?” she asked, startled by the weak sound of her voice.

“I like it black.” She set the cup in front of him, and watched as he took a sip.

She added butter and maple syrup to the table before taking the spot across from him. He prayed for them, and he watched as she fixed her toast. “I haven’t had French toast since I was a little boy.”