Hank's Runaway Bride (Brides of Chimney Rock Book 1)
Page 16
She hung her head once the words had flown from her lips and stared at the rocks and dirt beneath her feet. She was afraid to see disappointment in his eyes. Her step-father had hated her so much for this, that she could not believe that Hank would not be horrified.
The words spilled out of her mouth so fast that it took a moment for what she had said to register in Hank’s brain. As soon as they did, he gently grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking any further. “And…?”
Josephine’s eyes flew to his in surprise. She found no anger there, no resentment…only love. Tears welled in her eyes against her wishes, and she fought to control them. “You…you don’t mind?”
Hank smiled, reached up, and gently stroked her cheek. “Josie, I wouldn’t care if you said she came from the moon. Which tribe?”
“Menominee.” The word came out as a whimper, and she threw her arms around him as the tears flowed free.
Hank had never heard of the Menominee tribe, so he assumed they were not from anywhere around Nebraska, but that was not really important. What was important was that his Josie had confided in him. He knew that she had been holding something back from him and if this was the worst of her secrets, he could die a happy man. Not that he planned on dying any time soon, mind you.
He stood there and held her in a tight embrace for a while before he remembered that she said she had a couple of things to tell him. He pulled back just enough that he could look into her beautiful face, then kissed her softly on the tip of her nose and smiled. “Now, what was this other thing you wanted to tell me?”
Josephine furrowed her brow for a moment while she gathered her thoughts. She had gotten so caught up in the feel of Hank’s body pressed close to her own that all rational thought had fled from her mind. She smiled nervously, then jumped right in.
“You know that I want to marry you as soon as possible, don’t you?”
A sinking feeling began in the pit of Hank’s stomach. “Yes…?”
“Well, I got to thinking last night…I know that you and Caleb want to increase the acreage on the ranch. Your homestead will bring in another hundred and sixty acres, but if I took a homestead and lived on it for six months, then paid the dollar and a quarter an acre to purchase it, we could expand the ranch by three-hundred and twenty acres. Just think of it! We could double the amount we’re adding! Not to mention you’d have more time to get the house done before we get married.”
Hank took a deep breath and wished that he had a place to sit down. Just last night, he had thought that they might marry in a week or two. To say he was excited at that prospect would be an understatement. He barely got any sleep at all. Now she wanted them to wait another six months?
He took his time thinking about it. He released her and began to pace around as he thought. He knew that what she was offering made sense and was perfectly reasonable. Now that her step-father was gone, she did not need to get married right away. No one could stop their wedding now, though she wanted to delay it—for completely practical reasons, of course. If his Josie was anything, it was practical.
Josephine watched as varied emotions played across Hank’s face. She knew that he would not be immediately enamored of the idea. She was not either, when it came down to it, but she knew that in the long run, this would pay off for them all. She let him take the time he needed to think about it and waited patiently with her hands stuffed in her apron pockets.
After what felt like an eternity, Hank turned back to his fiancé with a defeated look on his face. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I don’t like it, but I know it. We’ll wait. But we’re going to the land office today! You can get the acres to the north of mine, and we’ll just slap up two small soddies quick to get our claims held, if that’s all right with you. The sooner we do, the better. Then I’ll just start building our main house.”
Josephine smiled and ran to his side. She gave him a tender kiss on the cheek, pleased that he saw the practicality of her plan. “Let’s go tell the others. They’ll be so happy for us! And now we can do some courting, proper like.”
Epilogue
In the end, Josephine and Hank went to the land office along with Elijah and Lydia. It was the most practical thing to do, as Josephine pointed out, since both she and the Washingtons had to file their claim and each knew which parcels they wanted to claim.
Simple sod houses were built on each of the three homesteads. They were simple, but well-constructed homes made with straight, equal-sized bricks of sod. If it was not for the color of the dirt, you might have mistaken them for a brick house back east. The Washingtons had a much larger house made, as it needed to hold more people, but Hank and Josephine each had a tiny one made, just big enough for a small stove, a bed, and a table.
As soon as the soddies were complete, construction began on the house proper. With the help of the neighbors, the house was nearly complete by the time Josephine and Hank went back to the land office to pay off their contracts and get the deed to each of their acreage.
The summer stayed hot and dry. Hank and Caleb had sold off a large portion of their stock in the spring, in anticipation of a repeat of the year prior’s drought. With Josephine’s inheritance, they were able to purchase enough silage for the remaining animals to get them through.
Madeline had her baby on June twenty-eighth, a beautiful baby girl with a head full of hair. After such a difficult pregnancy, everyone was relieved that the delivery went smoothly. Caleb was the proudest man around, right up there with Elijah.
They expanded the gardens around the Stark’s house in order to grow enough food for everyone, to hopefully get them through the next winter. With Josephine’s gardening techniques that she learned from her grandmother, they were able to sufficiently water the plants enough to produce a decent harvest. The crops in the field were not as fortunate, but with Caleb’s rainy day money and Josephine’s inheritance, they were able to purchase what they needed.
Finally, in early October, Hank and Josephine were married by Reverend Young at the little church in Chimney Rock. Madeline stood in as matron of honor and Caleb as best man. The whole town came out to witness and celebrate. A picnic was held after the ceremony at the Stark’s house, and each of the local families contributed a dish. They had music and games for the children. It was a nice break from the worries of the drought.
Hank and Josephine snuck back to their house mid-afternoon. He carried Josephine over the threshold and up the stairs to their new bedroom. He himself had not moved into the house until now, preferring to wait until they could move in together, although their things had already been in place for a week.
As they lay arm in arm after they made love for the first time, they talked and dreamed about the children they would have and their plans for their homestead. Although they had not yet built a summer kitchen for Josephine, Hank promised to build one the following spring so it would be ready for her to start canning in the summer.
They were also going to have a barn raising the following week, and as soon as theirs was done, the Washingtons were having one as well. Elijah was grateful to Caleb for letting him keep his oxen and horses at the ranch in the meantime, but Josephine knew that it was a matter of pride for him to be able to take care of his family on his own.
“I love you, Josie-darlin’,” Hank whispered as he drifted off to sleep, his wife cradled in his arms.
Josephine kissed his hand, which she held in her own beneath her chin. “I love you, too.”
Dear Reader,
As an author, I sometimes take a few liberties with historical facts to move the story along. I do it sparingly and spend many hours researching materials to make certain my fictional novels and novellas are as accurate as possible. For instance, I made certain that septic tanks were indeed in use in the American West in the early 1890s. Did you know that the first patent was issued in England in 1881 and had gained wide acceptance on both sides of the Pond by 1883? We have John Mouras to thank for that one!
&n
bsp; In this book, I took the liberty of moving up the timeline for the railroad to extend into Bayard, Nebraska. In actuality, it did not happen until 1900. They moved the entire town to be closer to the railroad. There was indeed a drought in Nebraska in the early 1890s. The storm in the story is my own invention, as is the small town of Chimney Rock, which first appeared in my American Mail-Order Bride book, Madeline: Bride of Nebraska.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Hank and Josephine, as well as seeing Madeline and Caleb again! Don’t worry—they’ll all still be around for the rest of the series.
Sincerely yours,
Mia Blackwood
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