Wyoming Nights (9 page)

T
he one thing Daniel was unable to give Darlene was a wedding night.  He was too sick to really do much of anything. Since Krysten had been unwilling to attend the wedding, as a gift to the couple she booked a suite for their wedding night at the Ritz Carlton.  A hot shower and two antihistamine tablets later, her six foot tall groom was out for the count.  His face was rather peaceful as he rested in the bed.  The covers haphazardly thrown across his abdomen showing off his hairy chest.  One muscled leg was uncovered and she could not help herself, she had to take a peek.  She moved closer to the bed and gently tugged at the covers until she was able to see his feet.

Thank God!

His feet were neatly groomed.  His toe nails were clipped and there wasn’t a year’s worth of boot callouses with layers of dry crusted skin around his ankles or heels. A sly smiled crept to the corners of her mouth as she covered his foot and went into the other room to undress. Had he possessed bear claws for feet, she was going to make an appointment for him in the spa before they hit the road in the morning. There were many things she could tolerate, but having her legs scratched up by Yeti feet wasn’t one of them. Another was having to vacuum dead cells and flaky skin out of the bed each morning. She shuddered at the thought.

A slight shiver ran down her back as she grabbed a room key and headed to the business center. In her vehicle she had maps, a GPS, and other things she wanted to see as they made the 23 hour drive to Wyoming. One thing she definitely wanted was to stop and shop was in Paducah, Kentucky.  The vehicle was lightly loaded with a small suitcase for each of them so plenty of room was available in the vehicle for what she intended to buy.  After she emptied the house, she really didn’t want anything from it other than the little bowl Daniel had spotted in the living room.  It took nearly a month and a half to get rid of all the stuff, but her brothers had taken a good amount of the furniture and art work.  Other pieces she put on loan to the local museum in George’s name. She made a point of returning anything that belonged to George’s family to his brother and sister.  Both of whom were very happy to see her out but shocked, if not dismayed that she was remarrying and moving so far away.

“Are you sure about this?” Caroline Patterson Mulroney, George’s sister wanted to know.

“Very sure,” she told her as she handed her the silver platters which belonged Grandmother Patterson. His brother, Thomas asked the same question when she took him all of George’s tools. Yet as she returned from the business center of the hotel with maps and points of interest in her hands, she wasn’t very sure if she was really ready to share Daniel’s bed. This became evident when she put on her wedding night gown and pulled back the covers to slide into the bed with him. He slept soundly, didn’t snore or snort from what she had seen.

Gently, she placed her right hip on the mattress, her eyes on him, afraid to poke the sleeping bear because it would wake up and want to poke her back.  Her palms were sweaty as she slipped her right leg onto the bed laying back staring at the dark ceiling.  Daniel exhaled loudly as he turned over, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her as she pulled the covers up over her body until they rested under her chin.

This is silly.  He is my husband
.

Lying next to him a bout of fear ran through her. 

What was I thinking? This giant man will split me into.

She flung back the covers and ran into the living room, grabbing the extra blanket and pillow from the cabinet.  Darlene rolled her body in the light weight covering and in time, with some effort, she fell asleep.

In the other room, Daniel had awakened the moment she came back into the hotel room.  His body craved the warmth of his wife, but her movements were too tentative for him to reach for her.  A simple satisfaction of holding her while she slept would have worked for him as well, but she wasn’t ready to be intimate with him.

I will wait for a little while; give her a chance to get moved in and get settled. Let her come to me...when she thinks she is ready.

I just hope it isn’t too long.

A
t 7:15 sharp, a knock was heard at the hotel door.  Daniel was up and dressed making his way to the door, glancing over to ensure she was covered. He peered through the peephole to see a room service attendant.

“Good morning,” the attendant said.  “I have your breakfast order.”

“Come on in and put it on the table,” he told the young man as he located his wallet to give him a tip.  “Thank you,” he said to the bellhop who tapped the brim of his hat and left quietly.

Darlene had struggled to sit up on the couch, her hair plastered to the side of her face.  “Morning Mrs. Wilstrom,” he said as he walked past her into the bedroom.  He returned seconds later with the robe that matched her night gown.

“Would you care for some coffee?” he asked with his back to her to give her some privacy as she covered the revealing gown.

“Good morning Daniel,” she said as she donned the robe.

“We have to make tracks today.  It is every bit of 22 or 23 hours of drive time to get home.  I am going to roll it hard all the way through St. Louis, and maybe on the outskirts we grab a room to  slap about some shut eye, then I thunder it into Laramie so we can make it to the house by Sunday night,” he told her.

She sipped at the orange juice as she stood by the table eyeing the breakfast spread; she was famished.  He pulled out her seat and adjusted it once she was seated. “Thank you,” she said as she made eye contact with him.
Dang he is handsome. Rugged.  Manly
.  She crossed her legs as she thought about what she missed with him last night.

“I was kind of hoping, we could roll it in real soft and gentle like, maybe stop in Paducah so I can pick up a few things, have a sumptuous dinner in St. Louis, rest peacefully at a sweet bed & breakfast, then playfully ease our way into Laramie, pick up Sheila D, then mosey it on home,” she said with eyebrows arched.

He was looking at her with an intensity that made her swallow hard. “You will find Darlene, that I am pretty flexible. It doesn’t matter if we go hard, soft or approach it playfully, either way, I am going to get you there,” said to her.

“Okay, watch yourself there park ranger,” she said as she licked her bottom lip.

This was as good of time as any to open the subject he asked, “Will you tell me why you slept on the couch?”

The toast she was about to bite into stopped midair before reaching her lips. “I don’t know.  I suddenly was overwhelmed with all of these fears...I didn’t...”

His hand reached out and touched hers. “Darlene,” he said as softly as a caress. “I would not hurt you and most definitely will not force you, even if you are my wife.”

“I know that, Daniel.  I just...I don’t know how to explain it,” she mumbled.

He held up his hand. “Are you telling me the great litigator, the great voice of the planet and downtrodden, can’t find the words to tell me you are not ready to make love with me?”

She exhaled trying to gather the right words. “I was ready for our wedding night, but when things changed and I went to lie down beside you...and there is a lot of you, I felt overwhelmed...”

“I will never hurt you in any way,” he assured her.

“I know, but you are a lot of man,” she told him, her eyes cast down at the table

“Darlene, look at me.  I will never harm you, intentionally or otherwise,” he told her. He cleared his throat as if he were physically shifting gears and changing lanes.  “You peeked under the covers to see my feet, you didn’t take a peek at anything else?”

Her cheeks warmed as her hands came up to her face. “No. I wouldn’t dare!”

Daniel leaned back in the chair extending his hands, “All of this is your playground. I want you to get to know every inch of me. Lovingly bend me to your will, train my body to respond to your every whim, I am yours to command,” he told her.

Her hands were over her mouth when she spoke nervously. “What if I want to be with you in the middle of the day, or late at night,” she asked him.

“If I am home, of course,” he told her.  “Why do you ask that?”

She hated to bring up her life with George because it wasn’t fair but this was important to her. “George and I only...on Wednesday’s and Saturday mornings,” she told him.

His eyes sparked with something mischievous. “I am not the kind of man you schedule. If I walk in the front door and you are looking good enough to eat...well,” he started. He leaned forward onto the table, the hairs on his forearms lying smoothly against his skin.

“Well what?” she wanted to know, her eyes wide in anticipation of his words.

“Shit, you’re gonna to get eaten!”  He said with a burst of laughter.

Darlene laughed with him.  “Okay then Mr. Wilstrom, taking out the kindling, making a note to stay fresh before the park ranger checks into the campsite.”

“Damn skippy; only you can prevent forest fires,” he told her.  “Now eat up, we need to get this southern heat behind us Mrs. Wilstrom and get home to start living our life.”

Darlene suddenly felt much better about a very delicate subject she was always uncomfortable to discuss with George. Instead of expressing to him what she wanted sexually, she allowed him to dictate the terms and she followed along.  She didn’t want that kind of life with Daniel. 

She wanted an equal partnership in life, in the upcoming business and definitely in the bedroom.  There was no doubts in her mind that he would not hold up his half of the deal.

D
aniel was surprised at how little Darlene had brought with her to take to Wyoming.  There was only a purse sized overnight bag for toiletries and one suitcase.  He had an overnight bag and his sister Camellia, one of the twins, had taken back his tuxedo.  Overall, even with the disaster of peeing on himself and having a wedding outside in a tent in the middle of summer in Georgia, he was proud of his sisters.  He had given them a specific budget, sent the money ahead and they had done him proud.  His bride looked amazing. All of his family and friends had shown up to celebrate him finally tying the knot and life was good. The drive home to Wyoming would give his bride a chance to get comfortable being in close quarters with him.

Roosevelt and James had her vehicle serviced. James even drove down from Virginia with her to ensure she made it safely. Moreover, Daniel knew he was given a special gift in her as wife to take care of and nurture.  He glanced over at the blushing bride with all of her notes and pieces of paper as they chugged up through Chattanooga, needling their way through Nashville.

“You are mighty quiet,” he said to her.

“I’m just thinking,” she said as she scribbled on the paper.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

She looked over at him with a huge smile on her face, “Nope, I am $500 per hour, keep you penny mister, and pull out the wallet.”

He glanced over at her briefly as he maneuvered through the traffic. “Are you going to miss that portion of your life?”

Her answer was swift, “Not at all.  I am going to be too busy creating a new life with you, but I was wondering can we talk about a few things?”

“Shoot,” he said.

Darlene opened the discussion about the store, inventory and partnerships. “I want to be an equal partner and be responsible for a certain amount of the business.”

“No problem,” he said quickly as he signaled to change lanes.  He was enjoying driving the powerful Range Rover.

“Just like that?  No problem?”

“No problem.  You have more experience with businesses than I do.  I learn pretty fast and I am a quick study.  I have a good idea of what I would like in the store besides my handmade furniture pieces,” he said.

“I was thinking with the furniture, there needs to be smaller pieces that can fit on the back seat of a car or in the back of an SUV, that way people can buy, load and keep rolling,” she told him. “I also like the idea of shelves, wall curios, and jewelry boxes, you know, gift ideas.”

Daniel arched his eyebrows, curling his lips downward and bobbing his head.  He asked her, “And what would you like to put in the store besides jams and soaps?”

“I have to learn to make those things first, but I also want to learn to quilt, so I want to stop in Paducah and pick up a sewing machine, fabric and supplies to get me started with a crib, a lap size and one for the guest bedroom to begin. Once I get the basics down on those, I will make some for the store.  I mean I have two years to perfect all of it and create some inventory.  We will need decent storage space to put up two years’ worth of merchandise and product before we open the store,” she told him.

His only response was a wide grin. The idea of the country store he’d shared with a couple of potential spouses over the years and none of them could see the vision.  None wanted to work with him to build something longstanding. None but Darlene.

“Awesome,” he said.  “I can make that happen.”

Little did she know, in the past two months of preparation for her arrival, he’d done just that; he prepared.

D
aniel had not been lying when he said he was going to roll hard. They arrived in Paducah in plenty of time and he patiently drove by fabric stores until Darlene found the one on her bits of paper.  He located a seat in the fabric store designated for husbands and grabbed a magazine.  The shop owner brought him coffee and snacks while he waited for his wife to complete her purchases.  She selected a state of the art sewing machine, four pre-cut quilt projects, three quilting kits, a rotary cutter, mats, rulers, and bag of fabric scraps.  Since they lived in a cold climate. The sales lady suggested a bolt of heavy batting. Daniel had no idea what any of that stuff was but his wife was ecstatic.  She even bought a long arm quilting machine that he was uncertain was going to fit in the vehicle with Sheila D still needing to be picked up.  He met her at the register and reached for his wallet to pay for her purchases.

“No, I got this.  This is my portion of our business,” she told him.  She pulled her credit card from her purse and paid for all the products.  It only took a few buttons pushed in the savvy vehicle and everything fit compactly and neatly with more than enough room for Sheila D on the back seat. Darlene was all smiles as she slid into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll take us on into St. Louis,” she said.  She handed him a slip of paper.  “This is the bed and breakfast we are staying in when we get there.”

He took over navigation and guided them to the bed and breakfast.  They checked in and parked the vehicle. It was a cozy place full of old charm.  Even the clerk looked like a throwback to a time long forgotten.

“Would you like a king bed or two doubles?” the clerk asked.

Daniel spoke up first, “The two doubles please.  I am having some back issues so I have to stretch out.”

Darlene played along. “Baby are you sure?”

“Yeah, we still have a drive ahead of us, so better safe than sorry,” he said to her.

No comments were made over dinner at a little out of the way spot with perfect St. Louis ribs and awesome bar-b-que sauce.  Daniel only ate the chicken since he didn’t eat pork, but he purchased six bottles of the finger licking sauce.  He showered after Darlene and said goodnight, kissing her only on her forehead before climbing into the second bed and tried drifting off to sleep.

Darlene was disappointed that he didn’t at least try to seduce her. She lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling.
Why didn’t he try?

“Because when you are ready, you will come and join me.  Until that time, I will not push the issue.  Now, try to get some sleep,” he told her.

“How did you know what I was thinking?” she asked in the darkness.

“Because I want more than anything to try, but I would rather have you come to me when you want me instead,” he told her.

“But what if I...”

“No,” he said flatly. “If you want me, come and get what’s yours.  Other than that, I don’t want to feel as if you are giving in because as my wife it is what is expected of you. When I make love to you I want you more than ready and telling me so,” he said.

She wanted to say more.

She wanted to go to him.

Her legs would not move.

Neither would her courage.

So different.

So manly.

She smiled in the darkness. 

I am falling in love with this man.

For Daniel, there was no doubting in his mind. He had fallen in love with her the moment she wrapped her arms around him at the side of the river.  He had waited his entire life to marry the right woman.  She was the right woman.  He only had to wait a bit longer until she understood how right he was as her man.