Authors: Aisha Brooks
“Alright. I’ll see you tonight then.” He tipped his hat to her.
“Until tonight.”
She walked across the street and into the general store. Thirty minutes later, she stepped back out into the sun with two rolls of material for dresses under her arms and the hopes that Em would be able to teach her how to sew it the material into a dress or two. She had heard that women did such things, but she had never seen it done herself.
Chapter 5: A Walk In The Moonlight
For the next week, Belle brought food to the jailhouse for Matt at noon every day. The rest of the time, and she had plenty of it, she spent learning how to sew from Em and working in the garden with the flowers. By the end of the week, she had the flowerbeds and garden patch looking good, though the sun had started to add some color to her face. Em had also taught her much about sewing and she had two simple dresses of her own that she had made. Em had made her another while she learned.
As she lay down, she thought of the next day. It would be Saturday and that was Matt’s day off. He let the deputy take over for the day and puttered around the house so he could relax. She hoped to cook him a big meal and even make a cake to show him how grateful she was for his hospitality. All she had needed to do was find a way to get him out of the house for a couple of hours.
To that end she had bribed Em’s husband with a batch of biscuits and some honey in return for asking Matt’s help on a project for a few hours.
She was excited as she lay down for bed that night. The new dress that she had finished just that evening sat on the dresser. She planned on wearing it when she presented Matt with the cake.
Saturday afternoon, Tom stopped by the house and asked Matt if he could help him with a wagon wheel that he was having problems with. When they had left, Belle went to work in the kitchen. By the time Matt returned a couple hours later, it was nearly dark and she had the food on the table with the cake baking in the oven. He opened the door and stepped into the house.
“Something smells delicious,” he commented as he put his hat on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and sat down.
“It’s a cake,” she explained. “Have some food and by the time we finish eating it should be done.”
“A cake. I haven’t had a cake in a long time.”
She watched with a swelling sense of pride as he ate her food with gusto. After he had eaten a second helping, he pushed his plate back and rubbed his stomach.
“That was some good eats.”
“Thank you. Let me see if the cake is ready.” Finding it satisfactory, she pulled it out of the oven and sat it in front of the window to cool. “It will be ready to eat in just a while. How about another cup of coffee while you wait?”
“I believe I will.”
She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t noticed or said anything about her new dress.
Em said that men aren’t likely to notice such things
, she told herself.
With a finger, she checked the cake and decided that it was cool enough to cut and eat. She laid it on the table and cut a big slice for Matt. He held out his plate for her to lay it on and for a moment it all seemed right to her. She felt like this was where she was meant to be and her old life seemed like a distant dream that has faded from her memory.
Matt ate the slice of cake and another one besides. She ate a small slice and pushed her plate aside. As she sipped her coffee, she watched him eat with pride.
I made that. He likes the food that I made.
With a sigh he sat back in his seat and rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his mustache.
“That was a real treat, Belle. I don’t know what made you do it, but I’m grateful for it.”
“I just thought I would thank you for letting me into your home and being so understanding with me. I know I’m supposed to be your wife, but this is all so sudden and...” She stopped short.
“Listen.” He took one of her hands in his. She was surprised by how gentle his hands were despite their rough feel. “I know that this is new for you. It’s new for me too. I figure that we could do this just like we would if we were courting. Take it slow and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, I ain’t gonna send you packing. Now how about we take a little walk by the moonlight. It’s a nice evening for it.”
“That sounds lovely.”
As they stepped out onto the street in the moonlit night, Matt offered Belle his arm and she took it. She took the arm not only for her sake, as she was a little scared being outside after dark so far from a big city, but also because she had begun to develop a tenderness for him.
They walked along in silence for a while. Each of them enjoying the moonlit night and the land around them. She didn’t know if his choice to walk up the street toward town had been a deliberate one or not, but she was glad either way.
A lone coyote howled out in the night and she pulled a little closer to him. She liked the way he smelled. He smelled of sweat mixed with leather and a hint of cologne. Right then and there, she decided that was the smell of a man. Although his hands were rough and calloused from years of hard work, they were gentle with her delicate skin.
As they neared the end of the street, she feared that they would keep walking out into the night, but he pulled up short and stared out over the desert for a moment. He turned to her and took both her hands in his.
“You look beautiful in your new dress out here in the moonlight, Belle.”
Her face blushed red at the compliment and she hoped that he couldn’t make it out. She looked up into his face and grinned. “Thank you. I thought maybe you hadn’t noticed.”
“It’d take a fool to not notice a beauty like you. I just have problems with words sometimes is all. I don’t rightly know how to express what I’m feeling.”
“I understand.”
“I do have to say that those lips of yours look mighty kissable in the moonlight.”
“They do?” She blushed even harder than before.
“They sure do.”
Matt wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Belle was a little hesitant, but when their lip met something went off inside of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. For a moment, they were almost one. He pulled back and smiled down at her.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time now.”
“In the future, go ahead and do what you want to do sooner.” She smiled and together they walked arm in arm back to their house. To Belle it wasn’t quite her home yet, but it was getting close.
For the next three nights, they walked by the moonlight and at the end of the walk each night they would share a kiss. Each kiss was more passionate than the last and by the end of the third evening the both pulled back from the embrace panting and flushed.
The next morning, she woke late to find that Matt was already gone. When she went into the kitchen there was a note on the table. She picked it up and smiled as she read what was written on it.
Last night was the best night I’ve had in a long time. I hope that I wasn’t too forward. I have to go into work early today, so I’ll see you around noon. I made coffee, but it might be cold by now.
Love,
Matt
She carefully folded the note and placed it in the pocket of her dress. She knew that it was still early days, but she felt that she was falling in love with the long, tall sheriff. Something about him made her feel safe. It was as if nothing could ever hurt her when she was in his arms.
Although she was young, her mother had talked to her about things that went on in the bedroom between a man and a woman, enough that she was afraid. With no one else to turn to she decided to go to Em’s.
Em opened her door on the second knock and ushered her inside with a smile. She led Belle to the sitting room while she fetched them some tea and a few lemon cakes she had made. She sat a tray down on the table in front of her guest and took a seat for herself.
“So.” The older woman grinned sheepishly and took a drink of her tea.
“So . . . what?” Belle asked, confused.
“So how was it sleeping with him for the first time, silly girl? I’ve seen you two on your moonlight walks and believe me I know when tension is building between two people. You both are acting like a couple of love birds. So how was it?”
“I haven’t… I mean… we haven’t actually… done that yet.” Belle flushed red behind her tea cup.
“You haven’t… my goodness girl, what in the world do you two do when you get back to the house?”
“We say goodnight and each of us sleeps in a different room.”
“You mean to tell me that you’re still not sleeping in the same room? Why not?” Em leaned forward in her seat. “You don’t like him?”
“No, I like him very much. It’s just. I never… I’ve never known a man.”
“Oh.” Em sat back in her chair as a smile spread across her face. “That’s all. I was afraid that you two weren’t hitting it off.”
“That’s all?” Belle looked at her like she was crazy. “What do you mean that’s all? I’ve never been with a man and I’m scared to death. Mother told me that it hurt and even after the first time, it was unpleasant.”
“I know it’s ill to talk of the dead, but if you don’t mind me saying your mother was a fool. Sure it hurts a little the first time, but no worse than pricking your finger on a rose bush or lightly stubbing your toe in the dark. Then after that it’s all fun. Relations can be a pleasure for both people if the man knows what he’s doing and is willing to think about the woman’s feelings as well.”
For an hour, Belle sat and listened to Em tell her various things that went on in the bedroom between a man and woman. She told her ways to please a man with only her hand and mouth. By the end, Belle felt a little shocked but much less scared and there was something else she couldn’t quite describe. Something seemed to burn in the pit of her stomach. A fiery itch that she had a feeling had only one cure. Before noon, she got up and thanked Em for the tea and the advice.
A while later, she walked into the jailhouse with a meal for her and Matt in a basket. Today, she had fried chicken, cornbread, and potatoes. He sat up at his desk and flashed her a smile under his walrus mustache.
“Smells good.”
They ate in relative quiet, Matt’s mind is on the inventorying and organizing of documents he needed to have done by the next day, Belle’s on something else entirely. She can’t get the thought of making love to Matt out of her head. In her mind, she thinks that maybe it would be alright, but then her body chills and she gets scared again.
“Something wrong?” Matt asked her.
“No, I was just thinking about our walk tonight. Maybe we could take a blanket and set out under the stars for a while.”
“I’m all for it.” He pushed his plate back and rubbed his mustache with his thumb and forefinger. “I hate to eat and go back to work, but I need to get some filing done before tomorrow. You can stick around if you want.”
“I think I will get home and cook us up something nice for our late night picnic. Do you like doughnuts?”
“Bear sign? My lord yes. I haven’t had bear si… I mean doughnuts in years. You know how to make ‘em?”
“I sure do.” She smiled and gathered up the basket to leave. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Chapter 6: A Promise of Love
As she walked back to the house, she realized that she had called it home for the first time while she was speaking to Matt.
I suppose life could be a lot worse,
she tells herself.
I could still be living in the city with no food and no money. By now, I suspect I would be a beggar or worse.
She mounted the steps and disappeared inside to cook up the doughnuts Em had taught her to make. She hoped that they would taste as good as Matt hoped.
When Matt arrived home hours later, she had their supper spread out on the table. He told her that he was starving and they dug into the meal. She placed a plate of two dozen doughnuts on the table after the meal and he ate nearly half of them by himself. She laughed as she finished his eleventh one and a burp escaped his mouth. He cupped a hand and looked embarrassed for a moment, but her laughter made him laugh as well. Afterwards, he asked her if she would still like to take that walk they had talked about at lunch.
“I most certainly would.” She grabbed up a blanket which he immediately took from her.
“I’ll carry that.” He opened the door for her.
Outside, he started up the street toward town, but she stopped him. “How about tonight we walk the other way?”
“Outside of town? I thought you were scared of the wild. That’s why I’ve been going the other way.”
“I am, but not while I’m with you.”
They walked into the desert with the moon shining down on them amidst a sea of twinkling stars. A few hundred yards from the house, she pulled him to a halt and took the blanket from him. She found a spot that is relatively flat and spread the blanket out. They sat down together and she snuggled up close to him. She smiled as he put an arm around her.
“I want you to know that these last few days have been some of the best days of my life.” Matt’s voice was solemn, sincere.
Belle started to tell him that she appreciated that, but before she could speak he hooked a finger under her chin, tilted her head back, and kissed her square on the lips. She could taste the doughnuts and the stale cigarette smoke on his breath as she kissed him back. With a tentative hand, she reached out, placed it on his crotch, and gave a gentle squeeze. He pulled back from the kiss with a surprised look on his face.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
She didn’t have to ask what he was talking about. She nodded her head and gave him another squeeze. As he moved in to kiss her again, she felt him grow hard beneath her hand and let out a gasp. Nerves got the best of her as she tried to undo his pants. She fumbled for a moment before he helped her. Then he was free of his jeans. She looked his member over in the moonlight and decided that it wasn’t so scary after all.
Matt slid her dress off of her shoulders and exposed her breasts. The urge to cover up nagged at her in the back of her mind. Instead, she used her hands on him. He gave a small groan and placed his hands on her breasts. As his thumbs moved over her nipples, she gasped again. That same fiery itch that she had felt early came back, but this time it came back tenfold.
Her back arched and she let out a moan as he placed his mouth over her breast, his mustache tickling her skin. Meanwhile, his hands worked on her dress and slipped it off. She had never been naked outside, but she liked the way it felt. It made her feel free. He had swelled in her hands to nearly twice the size he was when she first saw it. She ran a free hand up under his shirt and felt his hard stomach and chest.
For an older man he was still well-muscled from years of hard work. She frantically worked the buttons on his shirt and peeled it off. As he knelt between her legs, she ran her hands over his body. Her heart raced and somewhere in the back of her mind she didn’t think she was ready, but it was too late for that. She was a slave to her body now and her body wanted him badly.
A gasp of pain mixed with pleasure escaped her lips as he entered her. Em had been right about the first time. It was a little painful, but there was another feeling buried just beneath the pain that spoke of something much better. He moved slowly at first so as not to hurt her and she was grateful for it. Soon her body relaxed and he picked up his pace. The pain subsided and another sensation took its place. That fiery itch in her belly began to grow as he quickened his pace even more until she thought it would consume her. Then a wall broke and sweet pleasure rolled through her body. She arched her back and let out a small scream as the wave of pleasure and ecstasy washed over her.
For a moment, it was so intense that she felt that her heart might explode, but then it subsided and she lay there panting and trying to catch her breath. Matt let out a grunt and moved away from her.
Belle leaned up on her elbow and smiled at him. He grinned back. She could see the sweat that covered his body and made it glisten in the moonlight. Right then and there she decided that she loved this man and loved the life they had begun to build together.
“I’m sorry that I took so long to come around to you. I was scared,” she admitted.
“I’m not. It was worth the wait and now I know that you did it because you wanted to. Not because you felt obliged to.”
“I love you.” she said.
“I love you too, Belle.”
“Can we make this official? I mean have a wedding in a church and everything?”
“Anything you want.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” He placed an arm around her and pulled her close in the moonlight. Somewhere in the night, a lone coyote let out a long, lonesome howl. Belle rested her head against the chest of her man and let out a sigh.