Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) (8 page)

Madeline watched him leave with a smile plastered across her face. It took her a moment to realize that George was tugging at her skirt, trying to get her attention. “Yes, George?” she asked absentmindedly, still staring at the closed door.

“Why did Uncle ‘Leb kiss Auntie Maddy?” he asked her, his face scrunched up as if deep in thought.

“Hmmm?” Madeline turned her attention to her nephew by marriage. “Well, we are married.”

George appeared to think about that for a moment before nodding thoughtfully. “Pa kissed Ma lots and lots,” he said quietly, then started to cry.

Madeline scooped him up and held his sweaty little body close. She knew he was overtired and it was well past his usual naptime. “Ssh, now. It’s all right.” She comforted him as she walked slowly upstairs to his room. He wrapped his arms around her neck and held on for dear life.  Madeline’s heart ached for all the pain little George was dealing with. She knew that she would never replace his mother, but she was determined to do her best by him and be the best mother she could be for him.

Chapter 7

Sunday afternoon found Caleb and Madeline with some alone time together. Hank knew the newlyweds needed some time alone, so he and Walter took George for the afternoon.

Once Madeline had put away the dishes they had used during brunch, she joined Caleb in the parlor. She was about to take her usual seat in the rocking chair when he held out his hand to her. She smiled and took his hand, pleased when he pulled her onto his lap.

He cradled his wife tenderly, rested her head on his shoulder, and sighed deeply. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to sit here and hold you like this?” he murmured softly.

Madeline shook her head without lifting it to look at him. She loved being close to him like this, loved the sound of his deep voice, and loved the feeling of being protected. The last time she had felt safe like this was back when she was just a small child and her father had held her.

Caleb smiled into her hair. “Years, darlin’. I waited years for you.”

At hearing that, Madeline lifted her head just enough to look into his eyes.  “I wish I’d waited for you,” she confessed. A day didn’t go by that she didn’t regret her first choice in a husband. She was alone, young, and desperate to have a roof above her head and food to eat after her parents died when Roland
had approached her with an offer of marriage. She accepted out of need, not out of love.

Roland
was much older than Madeline, nearly her father’s age, and had been married before. He told Madeline that his first wife had died without giving him any children, so he wanted a younger wife this time around. He and her father had worked together in the factory, so Madeline thought he was a secure match. She thought he would treat her right, like her father had treated her mother. She had been so wrong.

Caleb’s heart ached as he saw the pained emotions rolling in his wife’s eyes. He brushed her lips tenderly with his thumb. “Ssh. Everything that happened to you before brought you here to me, now. Let the past stay in the past.”

“But…if only I had…”

He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her to stop her protest. The kiss started off slow and gentle, but it didn’t take long for passion to take over.

This is what was missing in my first marriage
, Madeline thought as she rode the wave of passion that burst forth the moment their lips touched. She hadn’t really known either man before she married them, but Caleb was kind and gentle where her first husband wasn’t. She prayed his kindness and their shared passion would last all the days of their lives together as she broke off the kiss and led him upstairs to their bed.

*****

As they dressed in anticipation of George coming home for dinner, Madeline brought up a subject that she had been avoiding for days now. She knew that talking about his brother upset Caleb, but George needed her to speak up for him.

“Would it be all right if I went to your brother’s house to get a few things for George?” Madeline asked as she buttoned her blouse.

Caleb suddenly stopped tucking his shirt into his pants. “I brought all his clothes and a few of his toys over. What else does he need?”

Madeline smiled softly. “He needs a few things around him from home. He keeps talking about a quilt his mother made him, for instance.”

“I don’t want you going alone,” he admonished. He hated going to that house now. Whenever he went, all he could see were his brother and sister-in-law lying on the ground outside the house in a pool of blood.

“I thought maybe Hank could come with me, or Walter. You and George could have a little alone time together.”

Caleb finished tucking in his shirt while he thought about it. He kept his eyes averted, so his wife wouldn’t see how hard this was for him. “I suppose that’d be all right. When do you want to go?”

Madeline glanced at the clock. They still had a few hours until dinner would need to be ready, and she planned on merely reheating the leftover stew and a loaf of bread she had baked yesterday. “I’d like to go when they bring George back, if that’s all right.”

Caleb sighed. “I reckon it is. Want me to saddle up a horse for you?”

“I was thinking I would take the buggy. I…I’ve never ridden a horse before,” she confessed.

Caleb blinked, dumbfounded. “What do you mean, you’ve never ridden before?” He was stunned. Even his mother rode a horse from the time she was a little girl. Surely, Madeline must be joking.

“Well, I lived in an apartment in Lawrence my whole life, until now,” she said with a shrug. “We never had a horse, so I never learned how.”

“It’s never too late to learn,” he said with a smile. He was looking forward to spending even more time alone with her and it showed on his face.

Madeline forced a smile. Truth be told, she was terrified of getting on a horse. It wasn’t the horse itself—she thought they were magnificent creatures. Her husband and his men looked at home in the saddle, but to her, the thought of sitting so far off the ground on the back of an animal with a mind of its own was simply terrifying. Yet she didn’t want to disappoint Caleb.

Movement outside caught Caleb’s eye and he saw Hank heading back with George. “Let me go ask Hank and see if he’s free to go with you now. If he is, I’ll hitch up the buggy for you.” He quickly kissed Madeline on the cheek and headed out.

Madeline sat on the bed and began to lace up her shoes. She had promised Caleb in her letter that she would learn whatever she needed to learn about being a rancher’s wife. She just never expected that she would need to learn how to ride a horse. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

*****

When Madeline reached the kitchen, George burst through the door and launched himself at her.

“Auntie Maddy, Auntie Maddy! Look what I make!” he shouted as he hugged her leg with one arm. In his other hand, he held what looked like a small chunk of wood with four sticks tied to it with twine.

Madeline smiled at his exuberance. She crouched down to his level to get a better look at it. “Oh, my! That’s lovely!” She could not decide if it was a horse, or a cow, or a dog for that matter, but it didn’t really matter what it was. He was happy about it and that was all that mattered.

George beamed up at his uncle, who had followed him into the house. “See? It’s lovely!” he repeated back, proud as could be.

Madeline stood up and sidled alongside Caleb as George sat at the table and began to play with his newly made toy. She leaned in and whispered quietly, “What is it?”

Caleb grinned and whispered back, “I was hoping you could tell me. I have no idea.” He pulled away a bit and spoke in a normal tone. “Wait inside here with George. I’ll go get the buggy ready for you. Hank said he’ll go along with you.”

“Thank you,” Madeline called after him as he left.

George stopped playing for a moment and looked up at her with a puzzled look on his face. “You goin’ to church again?” he asked innocently.

“No, sweetie. Just going to get a few things. I won’t be long.”

“Good. I hungry,” George said in all seriousness and then went back to playing.

Madeline watched him play for a moment and smiled when she realized that he had made a horse. She walked over to the cupboard, opened it, took a molasses cookie she had made earlier from a plate, and set it on the table next to George.

George looked down at the cookie and his face lit up with delight. “For me?” he asked incredulously.

Madeline nodded. “I know it’s early for dessert, but you have to wait a bit for dinner yet. It’ll be our secret,” she told him conspiratorially and winked for further emphasis.

George needed no more encouragement than that. He picked up the cookie and began to devour it.

Madeline looked out the window and saw Caleb pull the buggy out of the barn, all hitched up and ready to go. She gave George a kiss on the top of his head, then pulled her cape on. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised George, who watched her put her bonnet on and head outside.

When she walked up to the buggy, Caleb held his hand out to help her up. She took it, leaned in, and said in a stage whisper, “It’s a horse.”

They grinned at each other, then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before helping her into the buggy. If Hank saw the kiss, he gave no indication as he climbed up and took the reins.

Caleb caught Madeline’s eye and winked. “Don’t be gone too long,” he teased.

Hank smiled at his boss and friend. “I’ll have her back in one piece in plenty of time before supper.” With that, they were off.

On the way to Ben’s house, Madeline suddenly turned to Hank and asked, “Could you teach me how to handle the reins?”

Hank looked at her, surprised. “You don’t know how?”

She blushed a little in embarrassment and shook her head. “I lived in the city. We didn’t have horses, just walked everywhere.”

Hank shrugged. “Sure thing. It’s not that hard.” He proceeded to show Madeline all the ins and outs of steering the buggy. By the time they had reached Ben’s house, she had the horse well under control.

When they pulled up to the house, Madeline looked around. It was a nice house, similar in design to the one at the ranch. The barn was smaller, but it was still a good size. Although it hadn’t been long since the murders, the homestead had an abandoned feel to it already.

Hank pulled back on the break, looped the reins around it, hopped down, and hurried around to her side to help her out. “Stay close to me,” he warned her quietly as he picked up the rifle that had been sitting on the floorboards near their feet.

Madeline nodded. “Do you really think the killer is still around?” she asked quietly as they walked up to the front door.

“May be that he is. No one knows why he killed Ben and his wife. Stick with me and we’ll make sure the house is safe first.”

Madeline nodded and followed him through the house. Once they were certain they were alone, she headed upstairs while Hank stood watch near a window in the parlor.

She picked up a few more of George’s belongings that she thought the boy would want and set them on the bed. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, then made her way to his parent’s room. Looking around, she noticed a framed photograph of who she assumed were Ben and Lily Stark. It appeared to be a wedding photograph. She was certain that little George would want to be able to see his parents from time to time, so she picked it up.

She glanced at the wardrobe and peered inside. It felt strange to be going through a dead person’s house this way, especially since she never knew them, but George had been crying about missing his parents. She saw several dresses hanging there and nearly closed the door when a package in the corner caught her eye.

It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. Madeline pulled the package out and set it on the bed. She didn’t know why she was drawn to it, but she felt compelled to see what was inside the box. She opened it, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Nestled inside the box was a little toy drum and a toy bugle. Tears welled into Madeline’s eyes as she realized it was the last Christmas gift George’s parents would ever buy for him. Her heart ached once again for the little boy she had come to love in such a short amount of time, and she resolved that he would indeed get this last gift from his parents.

She carefully rewrapped the box, took it and the photograph back to George’s room, and lay them on the quilt with the other items she had picked out. She then carefully pulled the corners of the quilt together and tied it in a bundle.

Once she had regained her composure, she picked up the rather large bundle and made her way downstairs. She found Hank at the window in the parlor, staring out at the barn.

“Is everything all right?” she asked him quietly. Something about his demeanor made her feel the need to whisper.

Hank made a non-committal sound in his throat. “I just can’t shake the feeling that we’re being watched,” he admitted quietly.

Madeline chewed her lip nervously. Perhaps coming here today was not a good idea after all. She held her bundle closer to her, as though it might ward off any evil that was outside.

Hank glanced at her and saw how nervous she was. “Set that bundle down and take this,” he said as he offered her the rifle. “Caleb says you’re a good shot. I’ll go check the barn, make sure there’s no one there. You cover me. If you see anyone, break the window and shoot him.”

Madeline set the bundle down and took the rifle nervously. She watched Hank pull a pistol from his belt and stopped him as he began to head toward the back door. “Be careful,” she whispered, frightened, yet determined to help him in any way she could.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I know what I’m doing,” he said as he silently walked away.

Once he had gone, she turned her attention back to the barn. Holding the rifle at the ready, she watched for sign of any movement whatsoever, but saw nothing until Hank himself emerged from the barn.

Hank made his way back to the house, his eyes scanning the homestead for unexplained movement. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He could not shake the feeling that they were being watched. He opened the front door and silently motioned for Madeline to follow.

Madeline handed the rifle back to Hank and, without a word, picked up her bundle and walked quickly to the buggy. She set the bundle on the floor and effortlessly climbed aboard.