Second Chance Suitor Page 5

  “What do you mean?”

  “My mother said that I barely spoke until I was five years old. She’s just taking her time, that’s all,” he said. “I bet some people don’t understand that, though.”

  “No, no they don’t,” Maddie said, and she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be sharp with you. I thought you were going to say something else.”

  Bill smiled at her. It might have been the firelight reflected in his eyes, but she saw nothing but warmth in his gaze just then. There was no judgment, nor anything of the kind.

  “She does seem fascinated by mustaches, though.”

  “That was one of the first words she learned, for some reason,” Maddie said. “She doesn’t like men with mustaches.” Matter of fact, maybe it’s better that I didn’t end up with Lawrence.

  “Well, I guess she’s got good taste, then.”

  “I guess so.” She held his gaze for only a moment more before she glanced away. Feels so warm all of a sudden, she thought. Feels…kind of nice. Must be the fire.

  Bill stood up and began collecting the plates.

  “You don’t need to do that,” Maddie said. “I’ll get to those in just a minute.”

  “Don’t worry about it. As long as that trip was, you deserve a little rest.” He took the stack of dirty dishes inside, and she could hear him scraping the remains into the kitchen’s slop bucket.

  Maddie turned to watch Tess playing near the fence and took a deep breath—a truly deep breath, for what seemed like the first time in ages. Things may not have turned out like I planned, but they could definitely be worse, she thought. When Bill returned, they didn’t talk much, but she didn’t mind. It was too pleasant sitting there by the fire, enjoying the fresh air and the quiet, knowing that for the time being, there was nothing to worry about.

  She glanced over at Bill, who was absentmindedly breaking a twig into pieces and tossing them into the fire. He was a man she never would have picked for herself—nor even noticed in the first place, most likely. But so far she couldn’t complain about anything, really. He seemed nice enough, the home was comfortable, and Tess had made hundreds of new feathered friends in the short time they’d been there. If this is the best I can do, then I guess that’ll be all right. For now. It was no love match, but she was beginning to think that those didn’t exist anyway.

  After an hour of watching chickens and chasing fireflies, Tess came to snuggle up alongside Maddie. She put her head on her mother’s lap and watched the fire through barely open eyes.

  “You’ve got one tired little girl, there,” Bill said.

  “She’s had a long day. I’ll go put her down.” Maddie stood up and carried Tess to the guest bedroom, where she undressed her and tucked her into bed. Tess was practically snoring as soon as her head hit the pillow, and when Maddie returned outside she found Bill poking the fire with a stick, coaxing out a few more flames.

  “Fire’s almost out. Just as well, I suppose,” he said, dropping the stick into the fire. He stretched and stifled a yawn. “Getting late anyway,” he murmured.

  Maddie felt a nervous quiver in her belly. Here we go, she thought. “Is that supposed to be a hint?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look, I know what you’re expecting tonight.”

  “You do?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tease,” she said. “Of course I know what you want; any man would on his wedding night.”

  Bill grinned at her. “I can’t deny it.”

  Maddie crossed her arms against the slight chill in the air. “I wanted to talk to you about something else first.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s about Tess,” Maddie said. “She’s actually my niece. By blood, I mean. Legally, she’s my daughter, but I’ve…I’ve never been with a man in that way. I thought you should know.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s good,” Bill said. “That’s real good.” His smile grew even brighter in the firelight.

  “And I can already see that Tess is going to like living here,” Maddie said. “I owe you.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. But you don’t owe me anything. We’re married now. This is your home too.’

  “About that…everything we said this morning at the justice of the peace…well, I want to explain what I was thinking,” she said.

  “Everything we said? You mean our vows?”

  “Yeah, the vows. When I said those words, I didn’t really mean them. Not with my heart, I mean. I don’t want you to be upset, I just want you to understand how I’m looking at things.”

  “Go on,” he said, though she could see that he would have preferred she didn’t.

  “It’s like a business arrangement. Like a contract.”

  “A contract.”

  “Right,” she said. “And I’m going to live up to my end of the deal, don’t worry about that. But I want to be clear on how things are between us.”

  He nodded, though his jaw was set and a cloud had entered his eyes. “Of course,” he murmured. “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings either.”

  “Anyway, I just wanted to say, legally you’re my husband now, and I understand what’s expected of a wife. But could we wait a while?”

  His gaze dropped down to the table. “Sure. We’ll wait as long as you want,” he mumbled.

  “You know, until we get to know each other a little better.”

  “Of course.”

  “All right, then,” she said, getting to her feet. “In that case, I’m going to turn in. It’s been a long day.” Then, with neither a kiss nor an embrace, she left her husband there and went to join Tess in the guest bedroom.

  Chapter 5

  The fire had been reduced to mere embers now, glowing in the twilight, pulsing almost like a living thing as the heat waxed and waned. Bill stared into the fire without really seeing it; he had plenty of other things to keep his mind occupied.

  That woman is one tough nut to crack, he thought, letting out a slow sigh. Up until today, when he’d been living in his fantasy world where Maddie was his and his alone—and always had been—he had imagined his wedding night plenty of times. Hell, any man would have had plenty to dream about with a wife that pretty. One thing he hadn’t imagined, however, was that he’d be spending his wedding night with only a pile of burning animal dung for companionship. Probably best not to mention that to anybody.

  Still, he surely wasn’t the only one whose day turned out differently than expected. Bill could only imagine what she was going through, after coming all this way and then finding herself shamed in the street by her own fiancé. If it makes my own blood boil just thinking about how he treated her, she’s got to have it even worse. And like she said, we hardly know each other. No surprise she wasn’t in the mood.

  Bill stood up and kicked dirt over the last few live embers, then went inside. He moved quietly once inside the house, so as not to wake them, and only paused briefly on his way to his empty bedroom. He had earlier placed Maddie’s tintype on the mantel—it was the only photo, and in fact the only decoration of any kind there now—and he raised the lamp to look at it again. The flickering light and shadow made it look as if her picture were alive, but her serious, severe expression refused to change. She seemed as guarded as ever.

  Bill lowered the lamp. This can all still work, he thought as he went to his room and closed the door. I just have to show her the kind of man that I am. The kind of man who deserves a wife like her. And more importantly, the kind of man she deserves as well. If I’m patient and kind, this could all come together just fine.

  ~

  The journey out to Nebraska had taken so long, and had her sleeping in so many places, that Maddie was entirely disoriented when she woke up in the morning. She was in a small but comfortable bed in a small but comfortable room, and it wasn’t for several seconds that she remembered where she was. Oh, that’s right. I’m home.

  The bed creaked slightly as she turned toward Tess, only
to find that the other half of the bed was entirely empty. She felt a tightness clench around her heart and was about to call out for her when she heard Tess laughing in the kitchen. There was Bill’s low voice and another giggle from Tess. Maddie relaxed for a moment and let her head fall back to the pillow. Guess I was more tired than I thought. I can’t remember the last time Tess was up before I was.

  It was tempting to stay there for a while; the bed was cozy and warm, and for the first time in a long time, she could think of nothing in particular that she needed to do today. Except cooking. Tess would want her breakfast; if she didn’t get her toast and egg almost immediately after getting up, she turned from a sweet little girl into a holy terror who would be cranky and crying until the afternoon. And Bill is probably going to want breakfast too, she thought. Wonder if he’s cranky too when he doesn’t get what he wants?

  Maddie rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed. As soon as she stepped out into the hall, however, the smell hit her. Coffee. And something…baked? She frowned. Whatever he’s trying to cook, Tess isn’t going to like that, she thought as she hurried down the short hallway.

  “Mama!” Tess shouted as soon as Maddie stepped into the kitchen. She had been sitting at the table, but hopped down from her chair and ran to hug her mother’s legs.

  “Good morning,” Bill said. He was standing at the stove with a spatula in one hand and his other hand on the frying pan. “How does a pancake sound?”

  “Uh, that’s nice, but I should have warned you,” Maddie said. “Tess doesn’t eat anything but eggs and toast in the morning. She has to have her special breakfast every day or she gets really hard to handle.”

  “Really? She seems fine so far, and she’s on her third pancake already.”

  “What?” Maddie turned and took another look at the table. Sure enough, right where Tess had been sitting, was a plate with a half-eaten flapjack.

  “Well, I…I don’t know what to say.” She looked down at Tess and stroked her hair. “You surprised me, honey.”

  Tess grinned and ran back to her chair. She stabbed another piece of pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, then smiled at her mother like a chipmunk with both cheeks full.

  “Well, at least let me finish up with breakfast,” Maddie said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Bill said. “You two had a heck of a long trip out here. Just relax and let me take care of things.” He flipped over the pancake in the skillet and nodded approvingly. “Almost ready. Here, let me pour you—”

  “Actually, I can’t stand coffee. Sorry. I should have mentioned it before.”

  “I know. Tess told me you drink tea.” He reached to the drainboard and lifted a neatly folded towel, which had been keeping a teapot warm underneath. “Do you take sugar?”

  Maddie could only nod dumbly. What’s going on? Tess skipped her normal breakfast and seems fine about it, while my new husband is bringing me tea and pancakes. Am I still asleep? She took a seat across from her daughter while Bill brought over the tea and sugar, then returned a moment later with her flapjack.

  “I don’t have any syrup,” he said, “but there’s a jar of honey right here if you’d like.”

  “I’m sure that’ll be fine.” She put a spoonful of sugar into her cup and stirred, then lifted it to her face to take in the aroma. It was a strong black tea, with a delightful fragrance that hinted at cinnamon and lemon. She sighed with pleasure, almost forgetting that Bill was still there. “I’ve missed this,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. Now, I hate to run off like this, but I’ve got chores,” he said. Bill waved at Tess. “See you later, sweetheart. Thanks for helping me.”

  “Chickens?”

  Maddie nearly choked on the sip she had just taken. “Did she say ‘chickens’?”

  “Yep, she did. We were practicing before you got up,” he said, then turned his attention to Tess. “You can go see the chickens after you finish eating, but ask your mother first.”

  “Chickens!”

  Bill laughed. “Looks like it should be a nice day,” he said. “I’ll be back in around noon. I’d like to give you two a little tour of the property then. How does that sound?”

  “That would be fine.”

  Bill nodded and stepped outside. Practically as soon as the door was closed, Maddie was on her feet. She went to the window and looked out while her brow furrowed. He had let her get a full night’s sleep, taught Tess a new word, and made her breakfast on top of it all. She watched through the window as he entered the near pen and started tossing feed while the chickens swarmed around his feet. It was all too suspicious. What is he up to?

  The answer came to her in a flash, just as she took another sip of tea. This is about last night. Thinks if he makes me a flapjack, I’ll hop into bed with him. Well, he’s in for a surprise if that’s what he’s thinking. She returned to her seat, took the honey dipper from the jar and drizzled honey over her pancake, which as it turned out was delicious. And figuring out her husband’s game made it all the sweeter.

  ~

  “Water, mama!” Tess was jumping up and down, she was so excited by the sight of the river as it glittered in the sun. “Trees!”

  “That there’s the Salt Creek,” Bill said. “That’s the edge of the property, as far as you can see in either direction.”

  That’s a lot of land, Maddie thought as she looked around. The slight hill that they were standing on gave them a nice view of the surrounding prairie; as she slowly turned around, she could see both of the south pens, the north pen and the house. Wagon ruts scarred the opposite hill, taking the trail up and away in one direction, and leading the other way back to Lancaster. The creek shimmered as it snaked along, hugging the slightly rising land, and the bank was lined with tall cottonwoods, like animals gathered at a watering hole.

  “Let’s go take a closer look,” Bill said.

  “Not too close, Tess; I don’t want you falling in.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Bill said. He took Tess by the hand as she ran down the hill, giggling as she went, and stopping just short of the water. Tess began to rip off dandelion heads and toss them into the creek.

  “It’s not too deep, is it?”

  “Hardly deep at all. I go wading in here sometimes.”

  “Really?”

  Bill grinned at her. “Let me show you.” He kicked off his boots and pulled off his socks, then rolled his pant legs up.

  “You don’t need to go in there on my account,” Maddie said. “I believe you.”

  “I just want to show you something.” He went over to one of the cottonwoods and dropped his boots at the base, then bent over and picked something up from the ground. When he stood, Maddie could see that he held an old flattened pan in his hand.

  “What’s that for?”

  “You’ll see.” Bill stepped into the creek, waded out a bit until the water was up to his calves, then bent low and dipped the pan into the water. When he straightened up, the pan was full of mud and rock, and he held it up for Maddie to see as if he were proud of it.

  “You found mud? At the bottom of a river? I’m impressed,” she called.

  “It’s not the mud, it’s what’s inside the mud. Watch.” He bent over and placed the lip of the pan just under the water’s surface, letting the pan fill while he slowly shook it back and forth. For a minute or two he stood just like that, gently sloshing the water around, then draining some out, then beginning again. The water swirled, splashing over the edge, and finally Bill stopped to examine his work. He lifted the pan close to his face and studied it, poking at the bottom with his free hand.

  “Ha! I got lucky!” he suddenly called out, and started for the riverbank.

  “What’d you find? More mud?”

  “Even better,” he said as he reached the bank and held out the pan for her to see. “Take a look yourself.”

  Maddie took Tess by the hand and carefully stepped to the edge of the creek. There in the bottom of the pan remained
a thin layer of silt and a few small pebbles. Then, quivering in the water, she saw two bright flakes reflecting the sunlight.

  That can’t be what I think it is. She reached for the pan and held it closer. “That looks like gold,” she said.

  “Exactly right.” He took back the pan and fished around for a second, pulling out both flakes on the tip of his finger. “Usually I go in there and come up with nothing, but once in a while I find a little bit.”

  Maddie eyed the mud that covered his feet. “Hmm…I’m not sure it’s worth it for two little pieces like that. I would stick to chickens if I were you.”

  “It’s just for fun,” Bill said. “There’s not much around, but if you stick with it, sometimes you find something worth hanging on to. Look at this.” Bill reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a glass bottle small enough to hold between his thumb and forefinger. It was nearly half full of shiny flakes.

  “Oh my word, is that all gold?”

  “Sure is,” he said. “I’ve been panning ever since I came out here, saving it up.” He held the bottle out to her. “Probably doesn’t seem like a lot for five years.”

  “Well, I guess it’s not bad for a hobby.” She gently shook the bottle, watching the flakes tumble against each other, shining like nothing she’d ever seen. “It’s really beautiful,” she said as she handed the bottle back.

  “Not bad, huh? But this was my best find.” He reached into his other pocket and took out a folded handkerchief, which he cradled in one hand as he unfolded it. Before she could see what was within, he scooped it up and held out his hand to her, palm down.

  “Take it.”

  “Tell me what it is first.”

  “Trust me.”

  Maddie hesitated only a moment, then stuck out her hand. Bill’s fingertips grazed her skin as he opened his fist, and what felt like a rock fell into her hand. As she stared at it, her jaw dropped. This was no rock. It was a lump of gold bigger than her thumbnail, shaped roughly like a butter bean. She could feel the warmth it had gained from sitting in Bill’s pocket, and it was heavy for its size. “This is amazing,” she murmured, as she held it out for Tess to see.