Falling in Love With Her Husband (32 page)

Todd’s Point of View

The next month and a half passed by swiftly. Ann

and I fell into a very comfortable and pleasant routine. As

much as I enjoyed my work, I couldn"t wait to come home.

She would wait for me at the door and give me a big hug

and long kiss to let me know she missed me when I was

gone. We continued in our book readings, and I took her

out to the barn twice a week to practice shooting at bottles.

She was terrified when she first fired the gun, and it wasn"t

easy to get her over the discomfort of using the weapon.

But she pressed through her anxiety and became a good

shot. I mastered my own shooting skills and had no

problems shooting each bottle.

The puppy grew into a big hairy dog. We finally

decided to call him Patches since his brown and white

spotted fur reminded Ann of a mended garment. I built a

dog house for him in the front yard, and we gave him some

old blankets to help add to his comfort in the cold winter

months. January and February were the coldest months,

and we spent most of our time indoors whenever we had a

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snow storm. I liked these days the most because we would

spend all day in bed, enjoying each other. Farming couldn"t

compare to the joy of being with her.

***

One unusually warm day in mid-February, I took Ann

to town. Since enough snow melted, I was able to take the

wagon. She sat close to me and wrapped her arm around

mine. She rested her head on my shoulder. I smiled,

enjoying the moments I had with her before we went our

separate ways. She went to the Coley"s store to help Mrs.

Coley while I went to Mr. Fields" to work. Ann planned to go

to Barbara"s mother"s house during lunch, so I took that time

to purchase Ann"s gift. It was another idea I got from Calvin.

I smiled as I hid it in the back of the wagon. I loved to give

her things I knew she liked but wouldn"t buy for herself.

The rest of the day went by slowly as I waited for the

end of the work day. Finally, I got off of work and went to

Barbara"s mother"s house to pick Ann up. She was helping

Barbara with some last minute cooking. I watched Ann as

she took a pie out of the oven.

“Would you like a piece?” she asked me.

“There"s plenty,” Barbara added.

“No thanks.” I was eager to show Ann her gift.

“Can I have a piece?” Calvin and Molly asked as

they hovered around Barbara who was showing in her

pregnancy. Bruce was too busy chasing a cat to notice the

pie.

We said good-bye to them and left. As we strolled to

the stable, she put her arm through mine and whispered, “I

stopped menstruating.”

Had it been any other woman, this comment would

have repulsed me, but coming from Ann, I knew it meant

that we could be physically intimate that day. I grinned and

quickly pulled her into a small alley where we would be out

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of sight. I gave her a long kiss, my hands running down her

back. “Just you wait until I get you home,” I said.

“We"l see,” she slyly replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

She shrugged and left the alley. Glancing over her

shoulder, she said, “I don"t think you"l make it that long.”

I chuckled. She was shy in the beginning, but I liked

the way she grew more assertive as she got more

comfortable in our lovemaking.

We went to the stable and I paid the owner before

helping her into the wagon. As she hopped up into her seat,

she brushed her body against mine.
Did she do that on

purpose?
By the expression on her face, it was hard to tell.

She appeared to have nothing on her mind. The ride home,

however, soon proved that she did do it on purpose. She

sat close to me again, but as soon as we were out of town

and alone, her hands caressed parts of me that made it

difficult to properly lead the horses. Her kissing on my neck

didn"t help much either.

When I couldn"t take it anymore, I stopped the

horses and set the brake on the wagon. “I have a surprise

for you,” I told her.

“Are you going to show me?” She took my hand and

urged me to follow her into the back of the covered wagon.

She began to unbutton my pants. “I"ve been desiring you all

day.” She kissed me.

I almost forgot what the surprise was but suddenly

remembered it was breakable. “It"s right behind you. Watch

out or you"l sit on it,” I warned.

She turned around to see what I was talking about.

Two can play this game. You’re not the only one who can

catch the other one off guard.
She let out of shout of glee

when she saw the box. She opened it.

I enjoyed her excitement as she pulled out the

matching dish set decorated with various fruits. “How did

you know I wanted this?”

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I sat next to her. “I can read your mind.”

“You seem to do that, you know. It"s almost spooky

the way you know exactly what I want. Did Mrs. Coley or

Barbara tell you?”

“No and you can"t ask any more questions or I can"t

surprise you anymore.”

“Oh. I love your surprises. You are so thoughtful.”

“I like buying you things.”

She put the cups and dishes back into the box. “This

will go perfectly with the new kitchen towels you got me. I

think Mrs. Coley likes to see you. You"re a faithful customer.

How can you afford all of this? Don"t you need some money

for your farming supplies?”

“I knew you would ask me that question, so I brought

you a written account from the bank. This is what is in our

account. I keep your dowry money in the investment

account. You"l see that I take the interest we earn from the

dowry and use that to buy you gifts. Mrs. Coley gives me

discounts on anything I buy you. Apparently, you don"t take

enough food for the amount of work you do.”

“No, I don"t. I like being there so much that it doesn"t

seem like work. It almost seems like I"m taking advantage

of her.”

“She said the same thing about you. I think when I

buy you things at a discount, it makes her feel better.”

She examined the papers. “So, we have been doing

well all along.”

“That"s what I"ve been trying to tell you.”

She grinned. “I suppose I haven"t taken the time to

listen to you.”

“You wanted to help me. I love you for that, Ann.”

“You"re doing well. That"s a good thing. But why did

you spend so many nights last fall pacing the floors at night?

I thought you were worried about money.”

“You were in the room next to mine and I wanted to

be with you.”

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“Oh. Then you spent a lot of time desiring me and I

had no idea.”

I took off my hat and laid down. “Yes, but I wanted

to be sure you were ready. I didn"t want you to have sex

with me because you felt obligated to.”

She looked at me with her compassionate

expression. “You poor thing. What you must have gone

through.”

I was ready to reassure her that I was fine, but the

moment seemed too good to pass up. I loudly sighed. “It

was hard. A man has needs.”

“I want to meet those needs.” She leaned forward

and kissed me.

My thoughts shifted in another direction. “Ann, when

I was working at the bank, I overheard two women telling

each other that they considered sex a chore. You don"t

think that, do you?”

“I spent all day in anticipation for this moment and

you ask me a sil y question like that? Couldn"t you tell how

much I wanted you?” Her hand slid from my shirt and under

my pants until she caressed my erection.

I raised an eyebrow. “You do have your hands all

over me.”

She chuckled. “You are irresistible.” She paused

and grew thoughtful. “I suppose if a man doesn"t treat his

wife with respect and love, then it"s hard to get excited about

being intimate. I don"t have that problem with you. You"ve

always been good to me. How can I not desire you?” A

wicked grin crossed her face. “Can we stop talking and get

to the fun part? I"ve been waiting for this all week.”

“I"m all yours.” I pul ed her on top of me and let her

make love to me.

***

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We did have another snow storm in late February,

but the snow didn"t stay on the ground for long. In early

March, Ann received a letter from her parents. She told me

what was in it while we sat on the porch swing. She

seemed as sad as I felt when she informed me that my

father had forbidden Agnes to communicate with us. It was

apparent that he was determined to hold onto his anger,

though my mother was sympathetic and wished to talk to us.

“Onto better news,” Ann continued. “My parents are

moving to Jamestown in August. I do miss them. It will be

good to have them nearby.”

I nodded. I had always thought her parents were

good people.

“Also,” she went on, “Alex and Agnes seemed to get

along well when he came by for a quick visit during

Christmas vacation. They"re writing letters now, and it

appears that they are fond of each other. I hope this won"t

lead to where I think it"s leading.”

“You mean marriage? What"s wrong with that?”

“Alex will be related to me.”

I laughed. “It wil be good to have him as a brother.

Besides, Agnes seemed to think he was attractive, though

they didn"t take the time to talk. I suppose with me out of

the way, it gave them a chance to get to know each other.”

She groaned. “Maybe we should have stayed in

Virginia.”

“Then we wouldn"t have gotten to know each other

as we have.”

She sighed miserably. “I am trapped either way I

go.”

I kissed her. “Is it that bad? He won"t be living near

us. He"l be states away.”

“That does help ease the pain.”

I shook my head, unable to understand how two

people who had such a big impact on my life could be at

odds with one another. “You don"t have to worry about him.

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If he pul s any of his pranks on you, I"l slip a squirrel in his

shirt.”

Her face lit up. “You would do something like that for

me, wouldn"t you?”

“Of course. I can"t have him pul ing pranks on you.”

She snuggled against me. “I love you, Todd.”

“I love you, too.” I put my arm around her shoulders

and enjoyed the gentle breeze. “Did your mother say

anything else?”

“Yes, she did. You"l like this news. Once she and

my father got back to Virginia, he had a long discussion with

Kent"s father. Kent"s been warned not to see me again.

Mother said he won"t be a problem anymore.”

I sighed with relief. Thank goodness that was over.

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Ann’s Point of View

It was mid-March when most of the snow melted and

my trips to town with Barbara picked up to twice a week

again. Since Thanksgiving, I stopped going to town as

often. Barbara was six months pregnant by this time and

over our talks, I became adequately educated on the subject

of expecting and babies. I supposed that Todd was relieved

he wasn"t around for such talk. He would surely consider it

boring. Bruce had turned six and Molly had turned three in

January. Calvin was anxiously expecting his birthday in

April. Mrs. Carson came in to pick up food for Mrs.

Randolph who was still ill but steadily getting better. Mrs.

Carson signed up at the town"s church to clean and cook for

the elderly who didn"t have any relatives to care for them.

Rumor was that the elderly loved her stories of what good

things people were doing for others in the town. She was, in

a sense, the town angel. Even Mr. Carson couldn"t stop

praising his wife.

When Barbara stopped the carryall at my house, I

thanked her for taking me to town and got out of the

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