Tame a Wild Bride, a Western Romance (6 page)

“It’s always so good to have another woman in the valley.
 
We are few and far between.
 
Now come on in and of course, you’ll stay for dinner.
 
We’ve plenty and I’ve got so many questions for you, Rosie,” said Catherine.

Rosie laughed.
 
“Tom said you would.
 
I’m somewhat of an oddity.
 
I guess there aren’t too many mail order brides in 1890.
 
Not like thirty years ago.”

Catherine ushered them all into the kitchen where some of their dinner was already on the table.
 
Wonderful smells wafted under Rosie’s nose.
 
Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy sat on the stove on the warming shelf.
 
Her mouth watered.
 
She hadn’t realized until she’d seen all the food how hungry she was.
 
Normally a good eater, she’d picked at her breakfast at Mary’s.
 
Nerves.
 
Anxious about meeting Tom’s children she was sure.

“Is there anything I can do?” asked Rosie.

“Not a thing.
 
You just sit and relax.
 
It’s probably been a stressful few weeks for you.
 
Leaving everything you know, traveling to a new place and marrying a virtual stranger.
 
That would take a lot out of anybody.
 
Would you care to freshen up?” Catherine said while she put the food on the table, looking over Rosie’s travel weary attire.

“I’d love it.
 
It was a difficult trip.
 
Sleeping in a bed last night was a luxury after sleeping sitting up for the last five nights.”

“That’s a long trip.
 
There’s a basin with water and towels right there at the sink.”
 

“It definitely is not a trip for the timid.
 
I had to wait for the train at several different depots and, in Denver, I had to stay overnight in the station in order to catch the train coming here.
 
I changed trains again in Alamosa to get the one to Creede.
 
This place is sort of out of the way,” Rosie said as she walked to the kitchen sink.

“I hadn’t realized the trip would be so difficult.
 
You’re probably exhausted.
 
I’m sorry, I should have let you rest another day at the boarding house,” said Tom as he sat at the table with Duncan.

“Don’t be ridiculous.
 
I’m anxious to see my new home and couldn’t wait to meet the children.”

“Why’d you want to meet us, Mama?” asked Suzie.

Rosie’s heart clenched when Suzie called her Mama.
 
Somehow having the child say it made it all that much sweeter. She finished drying her hands and walked over to Suzie, who sat on her daddy’s lap.
 
Bending down so she was eye level with Suzie, she said, “Well, if I’m going to be your Mama and help your Papa take care of you I wanted to know who you are.”

“So you gonna care for us now?”

“Yes, Sugar, I’m going to care for you now.”

“I’m not sugar.
 
I’m Suzie.”

“So you are.
 
You’re just so sweet, I thought for a minute you were sugar,” laughed Rosie.

Suzie smiled and buried her face in her father’s neck.
 
Though still shy, Rosie thought she’d made a friend in Suzie.
 
Ben was a different matter.
 
He was polite but reserved.
 
He didn’t join in any of the conversation but rather stared at Rosie.

Finally, she looked over at Ben.
 
“You’re awfully quiet, Master Ben.
 
What’s on your mind?”

“Nuttin’”

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you said nuttin’, which is not a word.”

He looked over at his father, fury on his face.
 
“May I be excused?”

“After you say it correctly, then you may be excused.”

“Nothing.”
 
Ben stood and ran from the room.

“I’m afraid I blundered,” said Rosie.
 
Embarrassed as much as Ben must have been.
 
“I shouldn’t have corrected him.”

“No, he needs to be corrected when he is wrong.
 
Perhaps, it was the wrong time, since we’re not at home.”

Rosie blushed.
 
“You’re absolutely right.
 
Excuse me, I need to find Ben and apologize.”

“He’s probably out in the barn.
 
One of the cats had a litter of kittens about three weeks ago.
 
The kids have terrorized the poor things with their enthusiasm,” said Duncan.

She went out to the barn.
 
Sure enough, Ben was there sitting on the ground with several kittens crawling all over him.

“Ben, may I sit?”
 
She didn’t really want to, the barn smelled and she was sure there were all kinds of feces in the straw, but she needed to win him over and it wasn’t like it would be at all noticeable on her grimy travel clothes.

“Do what you want.”

She sat down and picked up one of the kittens to keep her hands busy.
 
It immediately mewled at her.
 
“Ben, I’m sorry.
 
I should never have corrected you in front of your friends.”

“You embarrassed me,” he blurted.

“I know and I’m sorry.
 
Will you forgive me?”

He rolled one of the kittens over onto its back and tickled its belly.
 
It fought back, biting and bucking the hand that held it.
 
If she hadn’t been there she was sure he’d be laughing at the little tiger’s antics.

“I guess so,” he said still sullen.
 

Rosie almost laughed.
 
His pout was so pronounced and she could tell he was having a hard time maintaining it.

“Thank you.
 
I understand you like to read.
 
I have some books with me that you might like.
 
They’re by Jules Verne and are wonderful stories of adventure.”

Ben’s eyes lit up.

“They’re some of my favorites.
 
I have Around the World in Eighty Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
 
Do you like adventure stories?”

“More than anything.
 
Could I read one of them tonight?”

“If it’s all right with your father, it’s fine with me.
 
Which one would you like first?”

“I think Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
 
I’ve never seen the ocean.”

“All right.
 
Remind me after we get home and I’ll dig it out of my traveling bags.”

Ben beamed.
 
Rosie thought she might have made some headway.
 
At least for tonight.

CHAPTER 4

Tom was right.
 
According to her pin watch it was four-fifteen when they arrived at the ranch.
 
He pulled the buckboard to a stop along the front of the house.
 
Around the side she saw what she thought was probably the kitchen.
 
Laundry tubs and a small table with a bucket and basin on it sat on the large covered porch just outside the side door.

Painted white, the two story house had another covered porch off the front.
 
She pictured Tom and herself sitting in the rocking chairs and watching the sun set.
 
Or sitting in the swing and quietly talking after the children were in bed.

Large picture windows faced the mountains.
 
It must have cost a fortune to ship in that much glass.
 
Rosie guessed they were in the parlor.
 
She would open the curtains to let in the natural light and have indoor plants in front of the windows.
 
Maybe some of the wild flowers from the fields they’d passed.
 
Assuming that Tom let her make any changes to the décor.

Behind the main house stood the rest of the buildings.
 
First the pump house with a small windmill turning in the light and welcome breeze.
 
Followed by the ice house and chicken coop, then the bunkhouse and a privy.
 
If that was the only privy, it would be a long walk to get to it.
 
Quite a distance beyond the bunkhouse was the barn where, presumably, the milk cows were kept.
 
Rosie was not looking forward to tomorrow.
 
It would be a long day, learning how to milk a cow and gather eggs besides cooking all the meals.
 
Oh, for the conveniences of Philadelphia!

Ben scrambled down from the wagon as soon as it stopped and reached up to get his sister.
 
Tom came around to Rosie’s side to help her.
 
She placed her hands on his broad shoulders while he gripped her waist and lifted her easily to the ground.
 
Her heart sped up when he touched her and she noticed her breathing was a little labored.
 
All from one simple touch.
 
What in the world would she do if…no
when
…he made love to her?

Tom grabbed her valises from the back of the wagon and went up the stairs into the house.
 
Rosie picked up her skirts and scrambled after him.
 
When she entered the house, the stairway was right in front of her with a hallway to the right.
 
She would have to explore those rooms later.
 
Tom took the stairs two at a time and Rosie ran to catch up.
 
At the top of the stairs he stopped and waited for her.

“Sorry.
 
I forgot you were behind me.
 
Down this hall are the bedrooms and the bathroom.”

Rosie stopped.
 
“Did you say bathroom?
 
With running water and everything?”
 
She envisioned a hot bath.
 
A long, hot soak.

“Yes.
 
We’re the first in the valley to have indoor plumbing.
 
It was something I did to make Sarah happy.
 
At least I thought she was happy.”
 
He stopped at a door on the right side at the end of the hall, opened it and stepped back, letting her look in.
 
It was the bathroom.
 
With a large, claw-footed tub, a toilet with tank hanging on the wall above the bowl and a small sink.
 
She was in heaven.

“There’s a boiler outside.
 
That’s one of your jobs, to make sure that boiler has coal.
 
Coal runs hotter and lasts longer than wood, although we use wood when we run out of coal.
 
I get a wagon load once a month and put it in the coal shed next to the boiler.
 
You’ll have to stoke it every morning.
 
We use wood in the fireplaces and coal in the cook stove.”

 
“Am I expected to chop the wood?”
 
The more she learned about all the chores she was expected to do, the more she decided he wanted a slave, not a wife.

He looked her up and down, apparently finding her lacking, thank goodness, before he answered.
 
“No, I’ll chop the wood for you.
 
You’re going to be plenty busy as it is.”

“Speaking of which, I’m sure the children are hungry.
 
I should start supper.
 
Can you show me to the kitchen?”

“Right.
 
The kitchen is directly below us and also has hot and cold running water.
 
Couldn’t see the point of putting it in the bathroom and not the kitchen.
 
Might as well do it all at once.
 
Took nearly six months to install everything, but it was worth it to see Sarah’s face when it was done.”