Because whether he wanted to admit it or not, he cared very much.
He got up and went into the kitchen and warmed up some of the leftover stew.
For days he’d thought about Madelyn learning to cook. Now the only thing that mattered was her getting well.
Cooking would come later.
Everything would come later.
If only she’d get well.
He bent his head and prayed, talking to the Lord like he hadn’t in a long time. War did that to you sometimes. Made you lean on yourself instead of the One who controlled all of life in His hands.
“I am sorry, God. It is time I give all back to You. Lead me, Lord. Help me help Madelyn. She has lost her connection to you, Lord. Sounds like she may have had it once. I am not really sure about that yet. She is another casualty of war. Just not in the physical sense. Help her, Lord. Bring her through this sickness so I can assure her how much You love her. Let her feel Your peace once again.”
He leaned his head on his arms on the table and finished his prayer silently. Tears streamed down his face. He hadn’t cried in a long time. Not since John died. He hadn’t even cried when he heard Pa died. Now his tears came.
They were a catharsis for his soul.
~ Chapter Eight ~
Days passed. Doctor Turner came daily to check on Madelyn. Kat came for a few hours each day to give Luke time to rest. And the aunts came when they heard he was home and had a sick wife. He’d planned to talk to them when he and Madelyn went in to get supplies, but that hadn’t been possible yet. He should have known Doc would tell them.
They took over running the house. Good thing, since he had no energy to cook anything and wouldn’t have made an effort to eat. First thing they made was chicken broth for Madelyn. Though she fought him at first when he tried to spoon some into her mouth, with the aunts help he was finally able to get some into her.
Other than that, he either sat next to her on the bed or in the rocking chair he’d pulled right beside the bed. She just lay there, motionless, barely breathing.
Occasionally he slept, but never for long, even though his aunts insisted he needed to sleep longer.
He didn’t have time to sleep. His wife needed him.
After what seemed like forever, but was less than a week, she woke and looked around. She seemed surprised to see him sitting in the rocking chair beside the bed. Luke leaned forward and felt her forehead.
Her fever had broken!
Thank You, God!
Kat walked through the door. “Well, good morning! You are awake.”
Madelyn frowned. “Did I oversleep? I am sorry. I will get up right away.” She looked down at her hand. Luke held it. She tried to pull it away, but he refused to release it. Two strange women stood near the door.
“Why is everyone in my bedroom? It is…indecent.”
Kat laughed. “Nothing indecent about it. You have been sick. Doc should be here in a little while to check on you.” She told Luke, “Since she is feeling better, why don’t you fetch a bath for her before Doc Turner gets here? I am sure it will make her feel better. The rain barrel out back likely’s full after last night’s downpour. Tub is in the same place.”
She turned toward the door, but Aunt Mary held up her hand. “You stay here. I will heat the water. I won’t let it get too hot.”
Luke nodded. He squeezed Madelyn’s hand. “Good mornin’, darlin’. It is good to see you awake. When I come back, I will give you your medicine before you get into the tub.” He rose from the rocker and headed for the door.
Madelyn’s eyes widened as he left the room. Medicine? What was he talking about? And had he just called her darlin’? She’d heard that in her sleep.
Why in the world had he called her that?
“Thank the good Lord, she is gonna be just fine.” The doctor offered a warm smile as he looked up at Luke. Then he told Madelyn, “Nice to meet you, young lady. I am Doctor Turner. Though I have seen you every day, we have not had a chance to be properly introduced. You had us all mighty scared. Next time you start feelin’ that poorly, I suggest you tell your husband early on so something can be done before you get to death’s door. I hear your pa was a physician. You shoulda already known that.”
“I did not want to be a bother.” She looked around the room. Her husband and Kat and two women who had been introduced as the captain’s aunts had insisted on staying while the doctor examined her.
How embarrassing!
“How long did you say I was sick? Seems like I just laid down.”
“You ran a high fever to go with the cough you had. Been ill right at a week.”
“A week! But how—”
His hand motioned to the captain. “Your husband took care of you—sponged you, put poultices on your chest that Lola and Mary prepared in case it was pneumonia. Thank goodness, it never progressed to that.”
Her eyes shot to Luke.
“I imagine he is due for a long rest himself,” the doctor said. “He has barely left this room since he put you to bed the first night you took ill. I do not want to have to come back and take care of him next.”
“I am fine, Doc,” her husband groused.
The physician shook his head. “Spoken like the stubborn man you have always been.” The smile on his face tempered his words.
He put her to bed? That meant he changed her into her nightgown? Oh, if the floor would open up and swallow her right then she would have been most appreciative.
“I believe you will do just fine. Luke mentioned he needs to go to town soon for supplies. When you go, be sure you come see me so I can check to make sure all is well.”
Luke nodded. “Can travel tomorrow, or should I wait a few more days? I really do need supplies from the mercantile. Thankfully, Aunt Mary and Aunt Lola brought a few things out to stock the larder when they came to help. Otherwise we would not have a thing to eat except for what Kat’s been bringin’ over.”
The doctor rubbed his mouth with his fingers while he thought. “I think she will be all right to travel tomorrow. Watch her closely today and see how she does. If there is no setback, a trip in the fresh air will probably do her some good. As long as you do not stay long.”
Luke stepped forward and shook the elderly gentleman’s hand. “Thank you, Doc. I appreciate you drivin’ out here to check on her every day.”
Kat moved closer to the bed. “And now you need to eat. You need to build your strength back up. You are probably as weak as a kitten. Do you feel good enough to come out to the kitchen table, or should I bring something in here for you?”
Madelyn started to scoot to a sitting position. The heavier of the two elderly women rushed to her side to help her sit. Madelyn couldn’t remember if she’d been introduced as Aunt Mary or Aunt Lola. “I would definitely like to come out to the kitchen. I am tired of being in bed, and clearly I did not even know about most of it. I am so sorry I have been such a burden.”
The doctor, who’d been walking out the bedroom door into the rest of the house, stopped short. He turned back to face her. “Young woman, I will hear no such talk. You were certainly no burden to anyone. All of us are here because we care.”
He canted his head toward Luke. “Him most of all.”
The next day dawned bright and sunny. A perfect day for a wagon ride into town.
Luke walked from his bedroom into Madelyn’s room since the door was ajar and he saw her struggling with the buttons on the back of her dress. He hurried over to help her. She’d never been so embarrassed. One of the aunts must have left the door open when they left the room earlier after checking on her. She’d definitely have to figure out some way to redo some of her dresses so they buttoned up the front instead of the back. She tried to turn away from him, but he insisted helping until a knock sounded on the doorjamb.
“Need any help, dear?” Aunt Mary called.
“Yes, please,” Madelyn called at the same time Luke said, “No, thank you.”
The door opened f
arther and Aunt Mary peeked inside. “Ah, you need help with your dress.” She hurried to Madelyn and shooed the captain aside. “I have got this now, Luke. You go outside and make sure the wagon is hitched so you can head out as soon as I finish these tiny buttons. We will be through in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
She patted Madelyn’s shoulder. “Do not mind me popping inside your room, dearie. We do not stand on ceremony in these here parts.” She stood back to assess Madelyn, then started fastening the round pearl buttons. “This is a lovely dress, but we probably need to change your clothes to easier to reach buttons. Don’t know how you would grasp them otherwise. Lola and I will not always be here. And Kat will have to be home with Aaron. Plus, our dear Luke will definitely want alone time with you. It is what newly wedded couples do, dontcha know? They like being alone.” She stepped back. “There, now that is done.”
“Thank you.”
“Weren’t no trouble a’tall. Although tiny buttons can be challengin’ for me on days when my rheumatiz acts up.” She gave Madelyn an encouraging smile. “Do you know how to sew?”
Madelyn’s spirits fell as she shook her head. “I know needlework, but nothing about working on clothes. I…”
The elderly woman bustled about the room, tidying things. “More’s the pity, but no problem. If you can do that fancy needlework stuff like Lola used to do, between Kat, Lola, and me, you will learn to sew everyday stuff lickety-split. Just you wait and see. You will sew clothes like a fancy modiste, I think they are called. I will make sure Luke adds a few notions to the list he has prepared for the mercantile. Swede or his wife can help you find whatever you need if you don’t see what you are looking for. Birgit keeps a great notions department. She loves helping the ladies hereabouts find just what they want to help brighten up their clothes.” She looked down at her own plain dress. “Sometimes our dresses tend to be a bit drab. But who wants to get gussied up to milk the cow, gather eggs, bake bread, beat a filthy rug with a broom…and the list goes on. But I digress.”
She giggled. “Which is normal for me. I do tend to ramble sometimes. Anyhow, for today, if I were you, I would probably stick with things like new buttons and thread in several different colors so we can work on some of those dresses you brought with you.” She stepped back to survey Madelyn. “Oh my.” Her hand covered her mouth before she continued. “Did not realize how downright beautiful you are. You were so peaked before and we were just so worried about you. That light blue color looks lovely on you. Then again, with your dark hair and eyes, yet your light complexion, I believe you can wear just about any color well. You are blessed, my dear. No wonder my nephew is so taken with you.”
Madelyn’s eyes shot open wide.
“Now do not you go getting all tongue-tied because of what I jes’ said. We have to get you ready. However, truth is truth, and that is that. I have eyes in this old head you know. I may be old, but I ain’t addled. Although Lola has taken to calling me addle-headed lately.” Aunt Mary giggled like a school girl. “You do not think she really means it though, do you?”
Madelyn shook her head quickly, hid a repressed smile. “No, no, of course not.”
Mary beamed. “Didn’t think so either.”
Aunt Mary’s words floated around Madelyn. The captain taken with her? She wanted to laugh. She could only imagine he wished he could ship her back to St. Louis—or all the way back to Atlanta for that matter. After having had to tend her for almost a week, when he needed to be out and about on his ranch, he’d want nothing more to do with her and bemoaned having to marry her in the first place. Although he probably regretted that the moment they said their ‘I dos’ in the church her father forced them to go to.
Aunt Mary tipped her gray-haired head to the side. “That dress is certainly lovely, but it will not be very functional out here, I fear. We will just tear some of your dresses apart and alter them.” She motioned toward the wardrobe. “Lola and I hung some of your dresses in there for you while you were ill, but there was not room for all of them. What did you possibly do with all those clothes before you moved here, dear? I cannot imagine anyone going enough places that they would need such an extensive wardrobe.”
Madelyn was sure she was blushing. She took in the elderly woman’s plain yellow and brown gingham dress. She thought the pattern might look better on the more slender Aunt Lola than Mary’s stouter form, but the woman seemed happy with it and that’s all that mattered. And Madelyn remembered how plain Kat’s dresses were, too. To them Madelyn probably looked like a floozy, albeit one appropriately covered. Theirs were plain and functional and she looked like she was stepping out for an important event. Although this light blue dimity really was one of her simpler day dresses. What would they think if they saw her formal gowns? Then again, they had if they’d opened all her trunks.
Aunt Mary kept talking. Madelyn’s head ached, trying to absorb all she was hearing in rapid succession.
What a difference between the two women. Aunt Mary warm and flighty while Aunt Lola had a quiet, efficient manner.
“I know things seem a mite strange to you right now since this is all new to you.” Mary waved a hand around the room. “But you will adjust. Why, when my dear departed Leonard was killed, I was as lost as a ship tossed about at sea.”
Madelyn gasped. “Your husband was murdered?”
Aunt Mary nodded. “Why yes, dear. We live in the West. It is what happens. I told Leonard not to go chasing after those dadblamed cattle rustlers, but would he listen to me? Of course not. He was a man! Next thing I knew—blam! My husband had a hole in him big as the size of Texas. Weren’t a thing anyone could do for him.” She scrunched her mouth and shook her head. “Lola asking me to come stay with her after her man was killed was probably my saving grace.”
Madelyn’s eyes widened. “Her husband was killed, too?”
“Yes, dear.”
Madelyn nodded sagely. “Because they lived in the West.”
“Yes, dear.” Aunt Mary stopped cold. “Wait. What? No, they lived back East. That is where her husband was from. Why would you think they lived out West?”
Madelyn shrugged, not understanding a word Mary was talking about.
“Anyhow, when Sister asked me to join her, I packed up and went right away. It was the best thing that happened to me, not having to be all alone, but I hated it in the East. Far too proper. Too uppity, in truth. It just was not me. And then that blasted war of Southern Rebellion broke out.” She waved a hand in the air. “Now do not go taking offense, dear, since that is where you are from.” She hardly took a breath between her words. “Anyhow, Sister and I simply could not live there anymore. So, when our brother invited us both to move back out here with him after Luke’s dear departed mother died, we thought about it. But, the decision was not that easy. If you have a brother you know exactly what I mean. Brothers can be a pain.” She glanced intently at Madelyn. “Do you have a brother, dearie?”
Madelyn shook her head, and right now her head was spinning. She’d never known a woman that talked as much as Aunt Mary. Aunt Agatha had always been such a refined lady—prim and proper at all times. Tones in modulation, proper bearings.
It was difficult to keep up with the change in Aunt Mary’s topics.
“No?” Worry creased the elderly woman’s brow. “Well, that can be either a blessing or a curse—depending on the brother. Nevertheless, Lola and I did not want to live here with him even though this is a lovely house. We decided to move back to the area, but bought our house in town. We are close enough to everyone to be part of the family, but still on our own to be independent. That is very important at our age, dontcha know. But now I am rambling again. You will see, dearie, you will feel the same way we all do about living out here soon enough. You will love it. You just wait and realize if I am not right.”
“Mary!” Lola called from the kitchen. “Saints alive, woman, leave the poor girl alone. You do not have to talk her ear off in one morning. Luke is waiting outside.”
>
“Of course. Of course.” Aunt Mary stopped talking and gave Madelyn a quick hug, then stood there looking at her.
“Well, why are you just standing there, dearie? Luke is gonna wonder what is taking you so long. I promised him you would be right out. Get a move on now.”
Oblivious to Madelyn’s current addled senses after the onslaught of constant talking, Aunt Mary moved out of the bedroom to the front room and took a shawl from a peg beside the door. “Take this with you so you do not catch a chill. It is mine, but we do not want you getting sick again. And it goes well enough with your dress.” She draped the crème colored shawl over Madelyn’s shoulders. “Do not dawdle now. Your handsome husband is outside waiting for you.”
Madelyn moved outside, her dress rustling with her movements. The captain stood beside the wagon, watching her.
“Sorry I am late,” she murmured as she moved toward him. “Aunt Mary was talking.”
He chuckled. “Say no more. That explains the delay.” His eyes seemed to light with pleasure when he saw her.
Tough and rugged described the captain. But handsome? It took her less than a heartbeat to acknowledge the truth. Oh my, yes! She’d known it since the moment she saw him in the St. Louis restaurant.
She shifted her head away before he could see the tell-tale blush no doubt spreading across her face.
While they traveled into town, the wagon lumbering along the rutted road, Luke talked about his plans for the ranch. “You have not been outside to actually see the ranch yet. I will have to drive you around one day soon so you can see all of your new home. We have a goodly number of cattle now, but I would like to increase the size of the herd in the next few months. Double it if I could. I really want to get a good price for them when we drive them to market. I will talk to Aaron and Matthew about it to get their input.”
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