Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham) (11 page)

"Shotguns have a real kick.  I don't think you could do as well with a pistol, though."
  He was worried that she wouldn't have good enough aim for a pistol.  Aim didn't matter as much with a shot gun.

He gathered her to him, being careful of her sore shoulder.  "We'll take tomorrow off, and try again on Saturday after church."
  He hated that his lessons had hurt her, but he knew it was necessary.

She snuggled close, putting her head on his shoulder.  "I should feel well enough by then.  Do you really think all of this is necessary?" she asked.  She'd spent the day with the gun, already loaded, propped against the corner of the wall and work table.  Colin had said he needed to know she had it close so she could stay safe.

He was silent for a long time before answering, trying to think of the best way to say it.  "I really hope not."  But yes, he thought she'd need it.  He just couldn't say the words aloud.

Elaine sighed, her eyes closing.  "Me too."

*****

Rebekah's sister, Laura, was there Monday morning to scrub her floors.  Elaine thanked the other woman profusely for being willing to take the time to come out and help her.  She didn't feel like the woman asked for enough money for her time, but she didn't argue.  It took her less than an hour to do the entire job.  After she was finished, Elaine served them tea and cookies.

"Oh, these
are
good!  Rebekah told me you were really good at baking."  Laura took a second bite of the cookie and smiled down at it.  "I need to learn to bake like his."

"Well, I'm going to be giving Rebekah baking lessons every Wednesday afternoon for a while.  You're welcome to join us."  She nodded to the work table where there was a basket covered with a cloth.  "I did bake you a loaf of bread and some cookies to take home with you."
  She wanted to do something nice for the woman after the way she'd helped her.

Laura smiled and nodded.  "Thank you so much!  I'll talk to Rebekah and see if she'd mind sharing lessons with me.  I'd invite our ma as well, but I don't think that woman will ever learn."

"I don't think my mother has ever cooked a meal in her life, let alone baked a cake.  I used to sneak into the kitchen at home and get lessons from our cook, Mrs. Jenkins."  Elaine's face lit up just at the mention of her old mentor.  She missed her a great deal and decided she'd have to write her a letter the first chance she got.

"You had a cook?  You grew up very differently than I did."

Elaine smiled.  "Having a lot of wealth isn't always a good thing.  You think so until you have it, and you realize that you're not any happier than anyone else."  She knew most people were convinced that great wealth would make them happy, but she hadn't grown up very unhappy.

After they finished their tea, Laura helped with the dishes and took her bread and cookies with her.  "I'll talk to Rebekah and see if it's okay if I come back on Wednesday," she said.  "If not, I'll see you at church on Sunday."

Elaine was thrilled with the job the other woman had done, and when Colin came home for lunch he commented on how good everything looked.  "Laura came to do the floors today?" He needed to make certain Elaine hadn't hurt herself doing it.

She nodded.  "She did a great job, didn't she?"  She put the soup she'd made for their lunch onto the table and sat down with Colin.  "Do we have to do another shooting lesson today?"  She dreaded the lessons, because they always left her feeling so sore.

He shook his head. "If we were using a rifle I'd have to do several more lessons with you, but with a shotgun, I think you're fine.  I'll just make sure that I keep the shotgun loaded. Your aim is good enough that I'm not worried any longer."

She nodded, smiling.  "I'm so glad that's done.  I hope I never have to shoot another gun."
  She was happy to see it leaning against the wall, though, knowing it was loaded and ready to be used.

He smiled.  "So do I.  I'll feel better while I'm working knowing that you can shoot one, though."

*****

They settled into a routine after that.  Every Wednesday Laura and Rebekah came alone with little Leah for lunch.  While the little girl was sleeping the three women would bake.  She had both of them making basic breads and cakes by their second lesson.  "Why did Ma always say this was so difficult?" Laura asked Rebekah.

Rebekah shrugged.  "I have no idea.  I actually enjoy it."  She looked at her younger sister with a grin.  "We're going to have to start taking turns taking baked goods over for Pa you know."

Laura made a face.  "I know.  Pa says he likes her bread, but how could anyone like it?  It's always hard as a rock and usually burnt to boot."

"I'll take her some tomorrow morning, but you have to take something by on Saturday."  Rebekah gave Laura the 'older sister' look that Elaine had gotten many times from her older sisters, and she was sure she'd given it to her younger sisters as well.  The look was universal.

"I will."  Laura obviously wasn't looking forward to it, though.

"Do you want to work on cookies next week?" Elaine asked them.  She was surprised at just how much she was enjoying giving the other women baking lessons.  For once, she felt like she was better at doing something than other women, and it made her feel like she was competent.

"Sounds good," Rebekah said.  "I know that Leah loves your cookies."  She looked at the counter where there was a basket full of cookies waiting for each of the women to take home with them.  They each had a cake pan as well.

Laura lived in town, so she'd driven out to get Rebekah and Leah and drive them to Elaine's because it was getting colder.

"Are you going to have Thanksgiving with your mother?" Elaine asked.  She hated the idea of Thanksgiving with only two people.  She was used to her mother's house that was always bursting at the seams on the holiday.  It was the one holiday every year where all of the servants had brought their families, and her older sisters came home with their families for the special meal.  It would seem very quiet with just her and Colin.

"Yes, we always do," Rebekah replied.  "You and Colin should join us.  Mother won't mind.  There's plenty of room, and you could actually bring some pies that would be fit to eat."

Laura nodded emphatically.  "Oh, yes!  We'd love to have the two of you there."

Elaine thought about it for a moment.  She loved the idea of being with a big group for the holiday, but she wasn't sure how Colin would feel.  They hadn't talked about it at all.  "I'll ask Colin."  She hoped he'd agree to the special meal with the sisters' family, but she wasn't certain, and didn't feel like she should speak for him.

"Oh, you know he'll do anything to make you happy," Rebekah said.  "I've never seen a man more in love with his wife."

"What?  No.  He just married me because..."  Elaine let her voice trail off.  They thought she'd come out as a mail order bride for Colin, and she didn't want to disillusion either of them.

"Because you stepped off the train and he thought you were beautiful?" Laura asked.

"Because he loves you?" Rebekah suggested.

Elaine shook her head, looking back and forth between the two women.  "No, he doesn't love me."  She sat down at the table and sighed.  "He married me
because he felt sorry for me.  You see, I came out here to marry John Black, and John took one look at my limp, and he told me to go back where I came from."  She said the words quickly to get them out, hating that she still felt as if she'd done something wrong.

Rebekah shook her head.  "He did not!"

Elaine shrugged.  "He did.  Colin was sitting at the table next to us in the restaurant when I was talking to John about my injury, and he came over after John stormed out.  He asked me to marry him.  I know he really did want a wife who could cook.  Anyone can see that, but also, he just felt sorry for me after he saw the way John rejected me."  She felt better getting that off her chest.  She'd felt like she was deceiving her friends for a long time, and she didn't have to any longer.

Rebekah sat down across from Elaine, taking her hand in hers.  "I'm sure that's not what it was at all.  You're a beautiful woman, and I'm sure he looked at you and all he could think about was being your husband."
  She shook her head.  "I've seen the way he looks at you, Elaine.  That man is very much in love."

"He's just a good actor and doesn't want to embarrass me in front of the whole town."  Elaine wished there were more between her and Colin, but
she was certain he felt nothing for her, and she couldn't let her friends think otherwise.

Laura sat down beside Elaine.  "You can't really believe that.  His love shows clearly on his face.  Stop worrying about it.  I'm sure he'll tell you soon."

Elaine shrugged.  "Well, he's said that he fell in love with me at first sight, but no man would fall in love with a woman who walks like I do."  Why was she having to convince them of the truth.  Couldn't they see it with their own eyes?

Rebekah stared at Elaine in shock.  "You really believe that, don't you?"  At Elaine's nod, she continued.  "Elaine, he truly does love you.  Colin is not a liar.  Everything about him is admired by the entire town.  He's the most honest man I know."

"He's also the most kind-hearted and would never hurt a woman by telling her the truth about why he married her."  Elaine stood and walked to the sink to start the few dishes they'd dirtied during their baking lesson. 

Rebekah joined her at the sink, obviously not knowing what to say to Elaine any longer.  She dried the dishes as Elaine washed them while Laura tended to Leah who had woken up.  Before they left, Rebekah hugged Elaine tightly.  "Talk to Colin about Thanksgiving.  We'd love to have you there." 

Elaine nodded.  "I will.  I'd like to be there."  She would do her best to get Colin to agree, because it wouldn't really feel like they were celebrating the holiday with just the two of them.

*****

Colin took her into town for supplies the next day, and they stopped at the post office to see if any mail had arrived for either of them.  Colin had written home about marrying, and Elaine was still waiting to hear back from both Elizabeth and her parents.  Colin handed her two letters as they stepped out of the post office, and looking at the handwriting on both, she decided to wait until she got home to read them.  She was certain one was from Elizabeth, but the other was obviously from her mother.  She needed to be alone to read a letter from her mother.

After spending a few minutes in the general store, they drove home, eating the picnic lunch Elaine had packed for them beside the Missouri River.  Colin spread one of the quilts his mother had made him out on the ground, and she put the picnic basket on it, opening it to serve them both fried chicken and potato salad.  She also had a large flask filled with lemonade for them.

"It's so peaceful here," she said to Colin, smiling at the river as the waves lapped at the banks.  "I can see why you like it."  The waves were very calming for her.

He nodded.  "I could sit here all day, but then the fences wouldn't get mended and the cattle wouldn't be moved to a new pasture."

"And you wouldn't have anything to eat for supper."  She laughed at the look on his face at her words.  She'd never met a man who liked to eat quite as much as Colin did.

He looked at her in mock shock.  "You need to make sure you have enough time to feed me, woman!"

"I've heard the saying that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  I'm certain that's true in your case."  She couldn't help but tease him over his love for food.

He caught her hand in his and raised it to his lips.  "You already have my heart, but
please
don't stop cooking!"

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his words.  He couldn't joke about her having his heart, when they both knew he had no real feelings for her.  "I won't stop cooking.  I like how excited you get when you eat too much for that."
  She really did enjoy cooking for him, because he was so genuinely happy every time he came in the door and smelled dinner cooking.

"You're a good wife."

She shrugged. "I try to be, but I'm not sure how close I come to succeeding."  She wished she was a better wife with everything inside her.

"I can't believe you even worry about that.  You know that I think you're absolutely wonderful."  Colin toyed with the hand he still held in his lap, nodding toward the road.  "If we weren't in such a public place, I'd show you how wonderful I think you are."
  His eyes told her what was on his mind, and she blushed.

"I think you've shown me that once or twice." 

"Only once or twice?  I'll have to try harder."  He grinned with the same boyish grin that had caught her attention the day they'd met.  "Who were the letters from?"

She shrugged.  "One is from my mother, and the other is from Elizabeth, the one who runs the mail order bride agency."
  She was doing her best not to think about the contents of those letters.

"You're not going to read them?"
  He was surprised she hadn't torn into them as soon as they were in her hand, which is what he did when he got a letter from home.