ROMANCE: Lion Protector (Paranormal Shifter BBW Military Romance) (Shapeshifter Alpha Male Short Stories Book 2) (91 page)

Kade appreciated her compliment, but realized that if she had lived a sheltered life, then she probably knew very little of art and what passed for good or bad. A flash of irritation overcame him as he considered that his new wife could be completely unaware of the trials he faced as an aspiring artist. He dropped her hand abruptly and motioned her to follow him.

He walked into the bedroom, and indicated a closet where she could put her belongings.

“When your luggage arrives, you can use that half of the closet. I will also make sure you have space in the bathroom. I know you have been traveling for several days. Do you wish to take a shower or a bath before we have to head in for dinner?”

Miriam placed her coat and purse on the unmade bed. She turned to her new husband and noted that he appeared to have withdrawn, his friendly welcome replaced with a barrier she could not explain.

She smiled at him, wanting to see the light come back to his face. “I would love a shower, as you say. A truly remarkable convenience. Is there a towel I can use in the bathroom?”

As she made her way, she tried not to step on the clutter that was strewn across the floor of the room. Kade also moved toward the bathroom and the pair stopped at the door. Kade moved to the side to allow Miriam ahead of him, and he pointed to a cabinet. “The towels are in there. Of course, you can use whatever you need. I will be out in the main room putting the finishing touches on one of my paintings.”

Miriam had begun undoing the buttons of her dress, aware of Kade’s gaze and fighting the nerves that made her bashful. She had no intention of being a blushing bride, so she bit her tongue as she took off her dress, revealing the light slip underneath. Kade found himself staring at Miriam as she bent to the knobs in the shower and turned them on. He could clearly see the outline of her body, and he found himself suddenly wanting to join her. He wondered if she would allow him to. Assuming she would not, after all they were complete strangers still, he averted his gaze and forced himself to leave the room.

Miriam noted Kade’s departure from the room and, with a sigh, removed her undergarments and stepped into the cascading water of the shower. She made a point of enjoying her new modern convenience, but then she got out of the shower and opened the cabinet to pull out a towel. When a whiff of mustiness met her sensitive nose, Miriam held up the towel, then another, and another. Every last one was ripe with the scent of having been stashed in the cabinet wet. She wrinkled her nose as she wrapped a towel around her body and stepped into the bedroom. She found her luggage set near the closet so she quickly put on her clean clothes before drying and combing out her hair.

After she tied her hair back with a simple lavender ribbon that matched her lavender dress, she caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror and smiled at it. She thought of how far away her past seemed now. Owen and her uncle seemed like a distant memory. However, she wondered how Ruth was doing. Was she already married? Was she as content as she thought she would be? Miriam sighed as she realized she missed her old friend, but she took a deep breath and decided to live in the moment, and at that moment she needed to get better acquainted with her new husband.

Miriam walked out to the main room and found Kade sitting on a tall stool with a paintbrush in his hand and a palette with a wide variety of colors in the other. He was deep in thought, so was startled when Miriam laid her hand tentatively on his shoulder.

“Oh! Sorry,” Miriam exclaimed as Kade abruptly jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over his painting.

Impatience coloring his face and creasing his brow, Kade looked down on Miriam. On one hand he was ready to yell at her, but her obvious remorse calmed him down. He realized he found her to be quite beautiful, her coloring unique, her very clear innocence pouring off her in waves.

“I, uh, am ready for dinner, I think. Is this attire acceptable?” Miriam showed off her dress and spun in a circle, careful not to knock anything over. Kade tipped his head to the side, a sudden twinkle in his eye as he considered that Miriam had not been raised in society, and therefore was ignorant of the formal customs and courtesies at even the most routine of meals.

“This should prove to be an interesting couple of weeks,” he thought to himself as he approvingly ran his eyes over the form of his new bride. To look at her, he could not see anything to be unhappy about. She was as pretty as a picture. However, living with someone filled him with dread, as it meant he would have to share the space, in this case with a stranger. Still, looking at her, he decided she just might be worth the hassle.

He moved toward her and removed the apron he had been wearing to protect his dinner attire. Still, there were smudges on the cuffs of his sleeves, and the faintest splatters on his pants, not that he cared one way or the other. His parents were used to his disdain for tedious social customs. As he laid the apron over the back of a chair, he took Miriam’s hand and looked into her face.

“You look stunning. I think you are perfect.”

Miriam blushed at the compliment and felt her face and neck grow hot. Her nerves suddenly went haywire, and she found herself almost breathless, but she found strength in Kade’s hand and she leaned into his grasp. Kade, seeing her emotions teetering, pulled her hand through his arm and whispered as he led her out of their home and into the main house that she had nothing to worry about, he would be right there beside her.

***

That first evening had been disastrous as far as Kade’s family was concerned. Miriam, though she tried hard to emulate the habits of the people surrounding her at the table, seemed to make one mistake after another. Not even into the main course, she was on the verge of tears. Kade, seeing her discomfort, made excuses for her about the long trip, and asked that they be excused. Geraldine had been gracious and sent plates after them, but all the meals afterward for two weeks, Kade made excuses for him and Miriam to eat in the studio. He did not let on to Miriam at first, but his father expressly demanded that he not see the young lady in his house again. Kade and Mister Walters had had a huge fight about it, unbeknownst to Miriam, and the result left little doubt in Kade’s mind that he needed to settle the plans he had started, which were to take on a painting job for a historical society in New York to paint landscapes of the West, starting in Colorado and ending in San Francisco.

During his preparations, Miriam had little to say. The couple had found that being married was both incredible and terrible. Kade had no problem expressing his expectations of Miriam, which was that she stay out of his way as much as possible. During the first couple of days together, Miriam had convinced Kade to at least allow her to clean the studio, since he would not allow the staff to enter. He showed her where everything was supposed to go, and after she spent three entire days cleaning the studio, he was reluctant to admit that he could actually paint better with less interruption. However, beyond their nights together, Kade paid very little outward attention to Miriam, and she grew frustrated with his wishy-washy attitude and his complete lack of cleanliness beyond his own personal hygiene.

During the days that Kade was planning their journey, Miriam found herself often wandering the gardens of the spacious home. She knew to steer clear of the main elements of Kade’s family, because she had no desire to come under the scrutiny she had experienced at that first dinner. She considered that many people would have been concerned about not eating with their in-laws, but Kade did not seem to care at all, so she adopted his attitude and had been content to eat their meals alone. Now, though, she craved attention and conversation.

As the day neared for their departure to Denver, Miriam came upon Kade talking to a young man as she returned to the studio from one of her walks. She overheard Kade tell the young man that they would need to hire someone to cook for them, someone to drive their wagon, and someone to help him haul his equipment to the places the wagon would not go. The young man protested that this meant they would need two wagons, and the expense for that kind of venture would be three times the cost of a single wagon of just Kade, Miriam, and one hired hand to help with the wagon, team, and as added protection while out there roughing it. Kade raised his voice to the young man, but Miriam stepped in.

“Kade, excuse me.” She raised apologetic eyes to the young man whom she did not recognize. “May I borrow my husband for just a moment, Mister..?”

The man tipped his hat. "Mister Brown, ma’am. Certainly. I will wait back in the house, Kade.”

Kade watched his friend and business partner walk away, and then he spun to Miriam. "Will you please tell me why you so rudely interrupted us?”

Miriam cowered a little under his intense stare, but she felt she needed to speak her mind.

“I overheard you, and I know bits and pieces, really, but I know your father is cutting your living allowance to half of what it is now. I know we cannot afford to take on so many people for this trip. Besides, I can cook. I can drive a wagon. I think I am even strong enough to help carry whatever equipment you can’t.”

Miriam stood with her hands on Kade’s broad chest, and she looked imploringly into his eyes. "I truly believe we only need one additional person with us, and we may find we won’t need him either.”

Kade grew impatient with Miriam. Of course, he knew she was used to hard work, but he felt she should not have to cook or pick up or help in any way. He also felt that the idea of her driving their wagon west was ludicrous and the basis for any myriad of jokes. What would his friends think if they ever found out his wife had worked like one of their servants? It was bad enough and infuriating to him when she insisted on picking up around the studio all the time. Still, she was right. His father was still so angry over his abrupt marriage that he had not just threatened to cut his allowance in half, he had done it already. As Kade considered this, and that he had not made Miriam aware of it, he suddenly felt like her idea might have merit after all.

He took a deep breath, and held her hands to his chest as he leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth, the same way he did that took her breath away and made her weak in the knees. When he pulled away, leaving her dazed and barely able to focus, he smiled at her.

“You may be right. We can at least begin the journey that way. It will be an adventure! Then when we get the first couple paintings paid for, we can hire on the extra hands and allow you to enjoy the trip without all that work.”

Miriam frowned inwardly, but realized it was only the second real concession he had made since they married, and she would take it. With any luck, along their journey maybe he would understand why she was so eager to help, and how much satisfaction she found in putting her hands to work.

She forced a smile and leaned her head against his chest. "Thank you, Kade.”

***

Less than a week later, the pair found themselves in Denver with a wagon waiting at the train station. Their hired hand, John, an elderly black man who had come highly recommended by friends of the family, met them and immediately helped load the luggage and equipment from the train onto the covered wagon. Once the wagon was loaded, while Miriam expected they would be right on their way into the mountains, Kade insisted they stay in town overnight to enjoy a hot meal and an actual bed. Miriam had her reservations, but she did not want to argue in front of John, so she indicated to John the two bags they would need and, after he set them back on the boardwalk, she went to pick them up.

Kade immediately intervened in a harsh whisper. "What do you think you are doing?”

Confused, Miriam looked up at him. "Just getting our bags, of course.”

Kade glanced around the platform and looked back at Miriam. “That is why we hired John. Now leave it!”

Miriam turned red at Kade’s rebuke, and turned apologetically to John, who acted like he had seen and heard nothing. He merely moved to the bags himself and then stood holding them waiting for Kade to lead the way. The entire way to the hotel, Miriam felt like she would die of embarrassment. There was no reason she and Kade could not have carried their own bags. It was completely ridiculous to have John following behind when surely he had other things more important to be doing with the team of horses or the wagon full of their costly belongings. The feeling of disappointment in Kade lasted through dinner and into the night when she crawled under the covers and, for the first time since their wedding night, she turned her back on Kade and forcefully ignored his attempts at love making.