Bartered Bride Romance Collection (26 page)

“Well, I never woulda thunk it myself. I’m good at it, but it’s ‘cuz Ma made me learn to handle a needle and thread. With the three of us boys, we was goin’ through the elbows and knees of everything we wore. Your bride—she’s one dandy gal. She said you’re a right fine doc—and from the way she glowed, I ‘spect she’s a mite biased in her opinion; but I seen how you set that busted arm and pulled two of them kids through the cholera, and I know she’s not just boasting ’bout her man. Anyhow, in an emergency, your wife said she’d recommend my stitching to you iffen you needed help with suturing a body.”

Well, well. Maybe I am making progress with my wife
.

Unaware of Josh’s musings, Bert rambled on, “I almost had to sew on all my shirt buttons, ‘cuz they was in danger of all poppin’ off. Right there in front of all them wimmin—and that pretty little Katie Rose—your missus said she figgers a man who can sew could stitch the gal of his choosin’ right into his pocket.” He patted the pocket over his heart.

“So you’re carrying a torch for the Millbergs’ Irish maid?”

“She shore is a beauty, but my brother helped her with some of the wash yesterday, and we might could come to blows over her, so we figured we’d best resist temptation. Besides, I seen her and Trier eating together all the time. ‘Cuz I’m not a man to chase another’s gal, I resolved to put her clean outta my mind.”

Josh remembered those words late that night as he and Bethany snuggled under quilts beneath their wagon. They’d eaten a fine rabbit stew, thanks to the snares Bert set and Bethany’s cookbook. Bethany whispered, “Penny is mad at me. When I got off the bench, Bert sat next to her. She’s ordered me to protect her from his interest.”

Josh snorted with laughter.

Bethany poked him in the ribs. “Shh!” She muffled a giggle and whispered, “But the funny part is, not five minutes later, Megan yanked me aside and begged me not to let Bert near her, either. She was positive he’s sweet on her. The next time Papa wants someone to recite, I think Bert ought to do a selection as Romeo!”

“Bethany,” Penny grumbled from the wagon next to them, “if we were at school, Mrs. Throckmorton would make you do dishes for a week for talking after lights out.”

Bethany scooted closer to Josh and whispered against his lips, “Don’t ask what Mrs. Throckmorton would do if she caught us kissing.”

It was the first time his wife had alluded to their closeness. Josh gathered her tight. Finally, could she be falling in love?

Chapter 7

R
awhide ranks as the cagiest old coot I’ve ever met,” Bethany groused. Josh stared at her. “You’ve been around Penny too much. You’re starting to sound like her.”

“Can you deny my assessment? He gave us all a day off, and now he’s marching us twenty-two miles and over the Vermillion and the Black Vermillion, clear to the Big Blue all in one day.”

She looked down and brushed a smudge off of her skirt and hoped he hadn’t heard the way her voice cracked when she mentioned all three rivers.

Josh transferred the whip into his left hand and laced his right hand with hers. “You made it across the first with a verse.”

“Judges 6:23,” she quoted. “ ‘And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.’ ”

“So let’s have a verse for the next river. How about Psalm 46:2? ‘Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea—’ ”

Bethany squawked, “That’s a dreadful choice!”

“Oops. Sorry.”

“So am I. I shouldn’t have snapped. It’s horribly embarrassing to be such a baby.”

“You’re not a baby; you’re a sensitive woman for very understandable reasons. I’ll be by your side at each crossing. I’ll take care of you, sweetheart.” He paused then asked, “What about any other fears? Thunder? Lightning?”

She glanced off at a band of rapidly gathering clouds. “I’d better not have. That looks like a nasty storm brewing.”

Rawhide kept the overlanders going, even when it started to rain a bit. Finally, he called a grudging halt.

Granny Willodene toddled by. She grinned from beneath her umbrella. “Saw me a gopher divin’ into his hole, and two beetles follered right a-hind him. We’re in for a three-day gullywasher. Best you think to make extry fry bread right quick-like.”

Bethany and Penny took the old woman’s advice to heart. They quickly mixed the batter and huddled under umbrellas as they struggled to light a fire. Bethany finally used four of her beautifully embossed calling cards as kindling. Once the flames started, they worked constantly to keep a fire going long enough to brew coffee, make the bread, fry some side meat, and prepare corn mush.

Josh got into their wagon and rearranged things. He slid a sheet of waterproof gutta-percha between the ribs of the wagon and the canvas to try to keep the worst of the water from dripping on their heads. Bethany lifted the food in to him. “Josh, some of the families are pitching tents.”

“Rawhide suggested it for those who can’t spend a couple of days in a wagon. The families have no choice.” His voice dropped several notes. “And I’m not about to spend all of that time sharing you with Papa and Penny in a stinking tent.”

The possessive quality of his voice pleased her, but she didn’t have time at the moment to analyze just why.

“Rawhide said we’ll be stuck here due to mud for a day or two after the storm. I’m just as glad the Sawyers have a good tent. Babies have a habit of picking stormy nights to make an appearance, and Daisy is close to term.”

Bethany steeled herself with a deep breath. “I don’t know precisely what to do, but if you need my help with her …”

“Granny Willodene and Nettie Harris already offered to assist with the delivery. I have no doubt that I’ll need your help one of these days, but this birthing is covered.”

Bethany let out a relieved sigh.

“Hey, you just told me you’re not afraid of anything but water. Did the notion of tending a birth scare you?”

She bit her lip and shrugged. “I don’t know what is involved, Josh. I’m trying my best to learn how to cook out here and be a wife. I’ll do my best to fill in—you know that by now. You can’t ask more than that.” She fought tears as she turned away and tightened one of the ties holding the bonnet over the wagon’s hooped ribs.

Long arms came around either side of her and retied the bow. In a carefully modulated voice, Josh said, “I know there have been a lot of adjustments. I’m proud of how well you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing well at all,” she confessed in a choked tone. “The mush is lumpy and I singed my sleeve when I took the coffee off the fire.”

He turned her around. “Did you burn yourself?”

“No, but I’ve ruined this dress.”

“Dresses mend.” He calmly unbuttoned what was left of her cuff and turned back the sleeve. “Your arm looks a bit tender. A little salve will help. You sit tight while I finish tying everything down, then I’ll get some for you.”

The wind howled and rain came down in sheets. After eating the lumpy mush and sipping tepid coffee, they decided to bed down for the night. Josh had grouped the trunks and crates together; then Bethany put towels in the dips to even it out as best as she could. Together they spread their feather bed across the not-quite-level heap and exchanged a wry grin.

“It’s no worse than the rocky spot we slept on last night,” Bethany said.

Josh slipped his arm around her waist, brushed a stray lock from her cheek, and kissed her. “I’d offer to pitch a tent, but we’d have company as soon as the last stake went in the ground. I relish the notion of being crowded in here with you for a few days.”

A short while later, Bethany wiggled to find a less uncomfortable position, and Josh grunted. “Sorry. I can’t sleep.”

“Neither can I.”

Bethany sat up, curled one leg beneath herself, and yanked his black leather bag onto her lap. Embarrassed by her emotional outburst earlier, she tried to sound composed. “Instead of moaning, why don’t we make good use of our time?”

By the flickering light of a single candle, Bethany watched as he deftly pulled out each instrument, held it in his strong, capable hands, and identified it. She repeated the names of each item after him: scalpel, clamp, probe, retractor, lancet, tourniquet, burr, bone saw….

A long while later, as the rain turned to sleet, he opened her trunk and helped her put on a second dress. He donned another shirt. Then they huddled beneath a quilt and talked between the ear-splitting rumbles of thunder.

During that time, something deep inside Bethany shifted. Josh had fallen asleep with his chest pressed against her back, his arm wrapped about her, and his breath ruffling her hair. Even in his sleep, he managed to settle into one position and stay put, solid as an oak. For the first time ever, she felt like she truly belonged. Ever since Mama and Daddy died, she’d been so very alone. Here, beneath a linseed-coated, double-thick canopy that leaked, in the middle of a sleet storm, she felt safe and secure in her husband’s unyielding arms.

She’d started out with stars in her eyes and big hopes and plans for a perfect life as a good wife.
I was in love with the idea of being in love
. She nestled a tiny bit closer to Josh and felt an odd mixture of elation and serenity as she realized,
But now I’m in love with you, my dearest Joshua. Whatever battles lie ahead of us, I’ll march by your side and depend on God’s leading so we can make any obstacle crumble just as Joshua in the Bible did to Jericho
.

“Doc! Doc!”

“What is it?”

It took a moment for Bethany to realize that the light was a lantern, not lightning. Josh had already turned loose of her and was tucking a quilt back about her.

“Daisy—she’s needin’ you!” Zach Sawyer shouted at him. “It’s time for the babe to come.”

Groggily, Bethany sat up.

“I’ll be right there, Zach,” Josh said as he gently pushed her back down.

As the lantern light disappeared, Bethany shoved the quilts off and groped in the dark for his bag. “Can I get you anything?”

Josh yanked on his boots and muttered under his breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“My lace broke.”

“Pull on the other.” She hastily lit a candle and fumbled to tie the ragged ends of the leather thong together. “There.”

A streak of lightning illuminated his smile. “I’m set. You bundle up and go back to sleep, sweetheart. I don’t want you to catch a chill.”

“I’ll be fine. Do you want some bread? I can heat up more coffee—”

He gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve got all I need. Pleasant dreams.”

After Josh scrambled out into the rain, Bethany scooted under the covers, yawned, and smiled sleepily. They’d worked well together tonight. She hadn’t really done much, but he knew she was willing to do whatever would help.

The first days of their marriage, she’d let herself get swept up in her husband’s romantic ways and their fairy-tale adventure. In truth, that reflected honeymoon thinking. Really, this was a foretaste of what their marriage would be like—burned biscuits, blisters, and bad days all were part and parcel of a normal life. As a doctor, he’d get calls at all hours. She wanted to support him in every way possible—not just because that was what a good wife did, but because she loved him.

Chapter 8

J
osh looked at Bethany and felt a surge of pride. She was an absolute wreck. Her hair hung in damp straggles and her skirts drooped in soggy clumps around her ankles. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but she wore an angel’s smile as she cooed and bathed the babe.

He turned back and spooned into Daisy the small dose of ergot he’d calculated. “You folks have cause to praise the Lord. Zach, your strapping son is as healthy as they come. Mrs. Sawyer, you stay abed and do nothing but feed him.”

Bethany brought the baby over and tucked him in next to his mama. “He’s got his daddy’s husky build, but he favors you with his blond fuzz. I’ll bring supper as soon as it’s ready. I have some meat biscuits that turn into a rich stew when I boil them.”

“That’s right kind of you,” Zach beamed, “but the Crawfords already offered tonight’s viands. You folks did more than enough.”