Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) (7 page)

Chapter 6

As the days came and went, things settled into a smooth routine. George still had his moments of grief, but began to act more like a typical three year old and started to get into things around the house. Madeline did her best to keep him busy with toys near her or had him help her with her chores when she could. Granted, it always took ten times as long to complete said chore when he was helping, but she enjoyed spending that time with him and watching him learn.

Madeline took some time one afternoon while George was napping to pen a few letters. She had promised Miss Elizabeth Miller that she would let her know when she was settled, and she felt that she needed to do the same for her roommates, Kitty, Lessie, and Josie. She addressed the envelopes and set them aside to mail the next time someone went into town.

Caleb was still sleeping with his nephew, but noticed that George was sleeping through the night more often than not now. The thought of being able to sleep in his own bed again, and with his wife, both excited and terrified him. He found himself finding excuses to be near her more often, but little George was around during the day which made getting close to Madeline much harder.

The shooting lessons Madeline had asked for provided him the perfect opportunity to get close to her without his nephew around. Caleb spoke to Hank and Walter, who agreed to watch George at the house while Caleb gave Madeline her lessons.

Her first lessons were held in the house in the evenings. Caleb taught her as his father had taught him years before. He started with how to disassemble and clean the weapons, then put them back together again. They talked about the history of the pistol and the rifle, the differences between different types of guns, and which was better for what. Once she had all that well in hand, her lessons would take place outside after lunch, weather permitting.

One day, just as they finished eating lunch, Caleb looked at Madeline and smiled. “Would you like to go outside and start your shooting lessons?”

Madeline, who had begun to clear away the lunch dishes from the table, stopped dead in her tracks with a plate lifted halfway off the table. She raised her eyes to Caleb’s to see if he were teasing her or if he really meant it. He appeared to be serious. “I’d like that very much,” she said with a smile. After a moment, her smile faded. “I need to clean up this mess first, though.”

Caleb shook his head and stood up. “Leave it until later. It can wait.”

Madeline hovered over the table and chewed her lip, plate still in hand. She hated leaving dirty dishes sit around, yet had been looking forward to this moment since Caleb agreed to teach her. Indecision ate at her insides like a hungry bear.

A sudden knock on the back door startled Madeline and she nearly dropped the plate on the floor.

“Look, Walter’s here!” Caleb told George, who hurried to the door to let the ranch hand in.

George took Walter by the hand and began to pull him through the kitchen toward the stairs to his room, chattering on and on about some big battle they were going to have. Walter laughed at George’s antics. He quickly took off his hat and bowed a quick hello to Madeline on his way through the kitchen, with a polite, “Ma’am.”

Madeline watched them leave, then glanced at the table. “At least let me move the dishes to the sink for now,” she pleaded with Caleb. She wanted to ask him to just wait while she washed them. They didn’t take long. Yet she knew he needed to get back to his duties on the ranch, whatever they were. She would have to ask him about that one day.

Caleb smiled. His wife was so beautiful that it was hard for him to say no to her. “Whatever you want, darlin’. Here, let me help you.”

Together they quickly moved the dirty dishes from the table to the side of the sink. Madeline could barely contain her excitement as she put on her bonnet and her cape. She could not decide what was more exciting—learning to shoot or spending some time alone with her husband. She thought back to the quick kiss he had given her at their wedding and her lips began to tingle in anticipation. Would he kiss her again? Today, maybe?

Caleb watched his wife put on her bonnet and her cape. How he longed to wrap his arms around her, much like her cape was doing now. Soon, he told himself. Soon he would have his arms around her as he taught her how to hold the rifle. He grinned like a fool as he imagined holding her and quickly turned to open the door for her before she caught him doing so.

“Thank you,” she murmured politely as she preceded him out the door.

He picked up the rifle, a box of shells, and followed her outside. He nearly plowed her over when she stopped suddenly and turned to face him. He had been busy admiring the way her hips swung as she walked and had not been paying attention to where he was going.

Madeline laughed as Caleb literally ran into her. The sound of her laughter was like music to his ears and pulled a boyish grin from him.

The sight of that grin nearly took Madeline’s breath away. She had found Caleb handsome the moment she laid eyes on him, but that grin transformed his face. “Someone needs to watch where they’re walking,” she teased.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Caleb instinctively replied, though a slow blush crept up his face. He wondered if she knew that he had been admiring the view, though he could have sworn she had been doing much the same thing just the other day.

Madeline smiled broadly. “I realized I was leading the way, but I have no idea where we’re headed.”

Caleb grinned and offered her his arm. She took it gladly and they set off for the fence line near the creek, arm in arm.

When they arrived at his pre-chosen location, she saw he had targets already set up across the creek and along the fence. Some were merely clumps of dirt, while others were broken bottles and jars.

“This is where my pa taught both my brother and me. Figured it’s a family tradition now,” he told her with a wink.

Madeline smiled. “I’m honored to be part of that tradition. Did your pa teach your ma to shoot, too?”

Caleb shook his head. “Ma already knew how before they met. Her pa had taught her. Now, let’s see what you remember about loading the pistol and how to hold it,” Caleb told her as he pulled his gun from his holster. He reached into his pocket and held out some bullets for her to use.

Madeline took the gun and carefully held it pointed toward the ground, away from Caleb. She slowly popped the cylinder open, loaded the bullets, and cautiously closed the cylinder. She looked up at Caleb when she had finished, eager to see if she had managed to load it properly.

Caleb smiled, pleased that she remembered to leave one chamber empty and that she had made sure that was the chamber at the top when she closed the cylinder. His pa always said it was wise to keep one chamber empty when carrying your pistol or you might accidentally shoot yourself in the foot or worse, if the hammer got caught on something.

He pointed to the first clump of dirt on the fence post to their left. “All right, now carefully take aim at your target. Don’t pull back on the hammer and fire yet, just take aim.”

Madeline carefully did as he instructed and held the pistol up the way he had taught her back at the house.

Caleb watched his wife raise the pistol up and sight her target, but saw that she needed some correction as to how she was holding it. He moved in close behind her and corrected her posture a bit, happy to use this as an excuse to stand close to her.

Madeline smiled, pleased that her ploy to have her husband get closer to her had worked. He smelled of leather and horse and man. The combination was intoxicating, and she had to focus extra hard on her lessons.

“That’s it,” Caleb whispered in her ear, pleased that she was following instructions so well. He inhaled deeply and was distracted by her scent. She smelled of soap and bread and woman. It took him a moment to compose himself. “Now pull back the hammer and fire when you’re ready.”

She pulled back the hammer, adjusted her aim, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and fired. She thought she was prepared for the recoil of the gun and the loud noise of the shot, but she still jumped when it went off. Clumps of dirt flew as her bullet found its mark.

She jumped back and nearly knocked Caleb over. He laughed and caught her around the middle, pleased to see that she had actually hit the target. “Very good, Maddy!”

Madeline’s stomach flipped a bit at hearing her husband use her nickname for the first time. She smiled broadly, pleased she managed to hit on her first try. “I did it!” She turned to face him and found herself a mere inch from his nose. She looked up into his deep green eyes and her heart began to beat faster. Her gaze traveled from his eyes to his mouth and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She didn’t wonder for long.

Never one to waste a moment when it presented itself, Caleb pulled his wife tight against him and stared into her deep blue eyes for a moment. When her eyes traveled to his lips, he took it as an invitation, leaned in, and began to kiss her properly for the first time.

The moment their lips met, the world around them melted away. The kiss started out slow and gentle, but quickly grew more heated. Other than the quick, chaste kiss he had given Madeline at their wedding ceremony, Caleb had only ever kissed his mother on the cheek. He had dreamed about kissing a woman like a lover would, but this kiss exceeded all his expectations. He took his time, lost in the sensations her kiss was stirring in him.

Madeline was more experienced in the ways between a man and a woman, but her first husband’s kisses had never excited her like this. When their lips first met, Madeline had felt a fire begin deep inside. She took the lead and the fire quickly spread through her veins like a raging wildfire.

When the kiss finally ended, they were both breathing heavy. They stood for a moment, forehead to forehead, and took deep breaths of the cool air in an attempt to slow their hearts.

Madeline’s lips tingled and her blood sang in a way it never had before. She hoped it was a sign that all would be well with this marriage, a sign that she was finally with the man she was meant to be with.  She smiled at the thought, which brought a smile to Caleb’s lips as well.

Caleb stood still as he tried to regain his composure. He tried to think of something to say, something sweet, but nothing came to mind. His heart was pounding so hard, he could barely think. His hand moved from behind her neck to caress her cheek lovingly as his eyes caressed her lips.

“If I get a kiss like that every time I hit a target, I think I might give Annie Oakley a run for her money!” Madeline exclaimed with a laugh.

Caleb laughed with her. “Darlin’, you keep kissing me like that and you won’t be shooting at any more targets today,” he teased her.

Madeline’s breath caught in her throat as she realized that she had completely forgotten the pistol in her hand. She looked down and was amazed to see that not only was it still in her hand, she had managed to keep it pointed down towards the ground the entire time.

Caleb’s eyes followed hers to the pistol and he grinned. “See? You’re a natural. Now, let’s get back to it,” he said reluctantly. He would have liked nothing more than to stand there and kiss his wife all day, or better yet, take her home and make love to her, but Hank had taken special care to be on the opposite end of the ranch for the next few hours with the men and little George was back at home, wide awake. No, it was best to focus on the lessons and just dream about the day he would make her his wife in more than name only.

They slowly stepped apart and Madeline resumed her lessons. Caleb was pleased that Madeline’s first shot had been more than just beginner’s luck--she truly had natural marksmanship in those lovely, slender hands of hers. While she didn’t hit with every shot, she hit more often than not, whether she was using the pistol or the rifle. Annie Oakley had better hope his wife never got a chance to audition for Buffalo Bill or she might just be out of a job!

*****

After they had finished for the day, they walked back to the house hand in hand. Being with Caleb made Madeline feel like a school girl again, and by the bounce in his step, she was pretty certain her husband felt about ten years younger as well.

Caleb wished he could spend more time with Madeline, but he knew he needed to get back to work. He was still amazed that his wife was such a good shot, but now he felt better leaving her at the house during the day. He still planned on leaving a guard nearby until his brother’s murderer had been caught, but just knowing she could grab the rifle and defend herself and little George did his heart good.

When they got back to the house, George was racing around the table in the kitchen making whooping noises while poor Walter sat on the bench with a rope loosely wrapped around him. He looked very relieved to see Madeline walk through the door.

George’s war cries turned to shrieks of joy when he saw Madeline and Caleb walk back into the house. He launched himself at Madeline’s skirts before she could even hang her cape back up on its peg.

“Ready to go?” Caleb asked Walter as he pulled George off Madeline.

“Am I ever!” came Walter’s eager reply, as he easily removed the rope from around his waist. He loved playing with little George, but today the boy was in rare form.

Caleb grinned at Madeline as he waited for Walter to grab his coat. He held the door open for Walter and then turned and kissed Madeline on the cheek before he followed him outside.