by Cassie Hayes
“I think Jess must have tidied up for you then, because the sheets smelled fresh from the clothesline, and not a dish was out of place. Even if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have minded. Duty called.”
He grinned down at her and enjoyed the way her cheeks pinked up. An urge to sweep her into his arms and kiss her again gripped him, but then he recalled the way she’d tensed in his arms when he’d kissed her in the wedding and he managed to control himself. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten his new wife.
Wife! The idea seemed preposterous and wonderful at the same time. But the fact that Tilly was indeed his wife…well, it staggered him. He’d always envied Theodore for snagging Jess as his bride, but Nolan had a sneaking suspicion Tilly would make all other women pale in comparison.
They stood there awkwardly for a moment longer, Nolan wondering if he should be so forward as to escort her back to his — their — cabin. He understood perfectly what the wedding night typically entailed, and he’d have been lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it a time or ten…but for some reason his palms wouldn’t stop sweating.
“Should we—“ he started.
“Do you want to—“ she said at the same time.
They laughed together and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“After you,” he said.
“Could we…go back to the cabin?” she asked, glancing up at him from under those long lashes of hers.
He knew instantly he would never be able to refuse her anything if she asked like that. “Of course.”
Neither spoke a word on the slow walk home. A few men gawked as they passed, and one grinned lasciviously. Nolan made a mental note to have a talk with the man later about appropriate behavior around a lady. His palms sweated the entire way.
After climbing the two steps to the small entry, Nolan stopped and turned to Tilly. “I believe it’s customary to carry the bride over the threshold.”
She seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. Bending low, he gently lifted her and took a few seconds to revel in the feel of her in his arms. Instead of weighing him down, the mere act of holding her lifted a heaviness from his heart he’d never known was there.
When he kicked open the door, Tilly tensed again, and he wondered if she was simply shy or truly afraid of him. He didn’t care for that idea at all, and vowed to let her take the lead in how their relationship developed. The moment he set her on her feet again, she backed away and smoothed her frilly white dress.
“Thank you,” she said, not meeting his gaze. “Could we, um…talk for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” He took a seat at the small table against the wall. A second chair had been added during his absence. He’d have to thank Jess for her thoughtfulness later.
Tilly sat across from him, then stood and paced around the room. It didn’t take long, and Nolan sat quietly, waiting for whatever she needed to say. He hoped it wasn’t that she’d made a mistake and would be leaving on the next train. Finally, she stopped a few paces away from him and took a deep breath.
“We’re married now, and I’m truly happy about that, Nolan.” Her voice seemed steady, but she kept wringing her hands. “But we’ve only known each other a few hours and I was hoping…”
She trailed off and resumed pacing, speaking as she walked. “Under normal circumstances, we’d have courted for months and become better acquainted before marrying. We’d know everything about each other. As it stands, we don’t know anything about each others’ past.”
Nolan thought he caught a blush in her cheeks before she turned away from him.
“That’s true,” he agreed, wondering and worrying where she was going with all of it.
Turning to face him from across the room, Tilly squared her shoulders and lifted her head, as if she was facing a firing squad. “I know it’s your prerogative as my groom, Nolan…but would you mind waiting to claim your right until we get to know each other better?”
Relief washed over him. As soon as the words had left her lips, he’d known in his heart he felt exactly same way. It explained all his nervousness. Leaping up from his chair, he moved to her, grabbed her fidgeting hands in his suddenly dry ones, and smiled.
“I think that’s the smartest idea I’ve ever heard. I would never want to rush you, Tilly. When you’re ready, you just let me know.”
The relief he’d felt a moment earlier spread across her face. Then he dropped her hands and gasped theatrically.
“Unless you’re talking about cooking for me. Because I’m afraid I can’t wait for that. Miss Hazel told me what a fine cook you are, and she went on and on about your pies. No, I’m afraid I cannot honor your request if it was about feeding me.”
Her laugh filled the room, and Nolan thought his little cabin had never felt like home before that very moment. Now that the pressure of the wedding night was off their shoulders, they were both relaxed enough to be themselves.
“Of course not!” Tilly said, smiling up at him in a way that set his heart pounding. “One thing you need to know about me, Mr. Wheeler, is that I love to cook more than just about anything in the world. As long as you keep my larder stocked, I will make it my mission in life to never let you go hungry again.”
“That’s the second best thing I’ve heard all day.”
She tilted her head. “What was the first best thing?”
Nolan slowly reached for her, not wanting to startle her, and wrapped his hands around her waist. She only stiffened for a moment, then relaxed into him. “When you said ‘I do’ so quickly.”
A blush crept up Tilly’s face, but she didn’t break eye contact. “Me too,” she replied, her breath coming in shallow little bursts.
Nolan brushed a lock of hair from her brow — not that it needed it, he just wanted to touch her skin. “May I kiss you again?”
She blinked up at him with those flashing green eyes, then dipped her head in the slightest of nods. Nolan slowly lowered his head, his gaze dropping from her eyes to her full, slightly parted lips. Her breath was hot against his mouth as his lips brushed against hers. Just as he began pressing them together someone pounded on the door.
“Oh!” Tilly cried, jumping in his embrace.
Nolan rolled his eyes. “Perfect timing!”
They both burst out laughing and held onto each other until the fit passed. Grinning, he said, “Shall we see who would dare knock on the newlyweds’ door, Mrs. Wheeler?”
“Indeed we should, Mr. Wheeler,” she said, snaking her arm through his.
But when Nolan swung the door open wide, ready to jokingly berate whoever disturbed what he had no doubt would have been the most perfect kiss in history, no one was there.
“What the…”
Crates of canned food, barrels of dry goods, and baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables sat piled in front of their doorstep. A note riffled in the light autumn breeze, held down by an apple.
“It’s from Silas,” he said, plucking the note from the top of a basket overflowing with apples. “‘May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head. May you be a hundred years in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead. Silas.’”
Tilly smiled. “I haven’t known him long, but that sounds exactly like him.”
Nolan stood back and wondered at all the supplies. “I think I know what we’ll be doing tonight. Figuring out where to put all of this.”
He bit into the apple that had been holding down Silas’ note as he watched his new bride poking through each crate and basket, obviously taking a mental inventory. “Hey, maybe you could use up these apples in one of your famous pies.”
Tilly stopped counting and turned to him, a slow, slightly wicked smile touching her lips. “I don’t think so. Not tonight.”
Nolan stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout. “Why not?”
Tilly sidled up close to him and trailed a single finger down the front of his red serge coat, then gazed up at him from under her lashes…again. Every nerve
in his body caught fire.
You’re a goner, son.
“I’ll bake you an apple pie when I’m…ready, Mr. Wheeler.”
Nolan’s eyes grew wide at the implication, then sweet anticipation set in. “I’m looking forward to it, Mrs. Wheeler.”
Chapter 4
“Congratulations, Joel,” Nolan said, slapping his superior on the back. “Took you long enough.”
“Yeah, it’s about time you came to your senses,” Elijah added, with his own back slap.
Joel laughed and shook his head. “What can I say? I’m an idiot.”
“You can say that again,” Kendall said with a chuckle. “I have no idea how you waited two weeks to marry that little spitfire. You had us worried there for a while.”
“Had myself worried, truth be told,” Joel replied with a shrug. “I’m just glad I found Pastor Wilson so quickly.”
“I bet,” said Theodore, winking at the new groom. “As much as I was against marrying Jess in the beginning, I can’t imagine life without her.”
They were all gathered in Walter Bishop’s small barn on the outskirts of town, where the Mounties stabled their horses. He’d cleaned it out and laid fresh straw down so the men and their brides could hold a joint wedding reception. Of course, the reception had been planned since before the four brides had arrived in Squirrel Ridge Junction, but it’d been put on hold until Joel and Evelyn came to their senses and finally wed.
The entire town had been invited, and they’d all shown up. Parties in Squirrel Ridge Junction were few and far between, after all. The horses had been led out to a small corral, and long tables had been laid out with food — most of it cooked by the Mounties’ brides, since there were so few ladies in town. But some of the bachelor men had brought kettles of baked beans, platters of smoked salmon, and one even set down the hardest-looking loaf of bread Nolan had ever seen. No one had dared cut into it for fear it would break the knife.
“This is the best venison stew I ever ate,” Walter mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Pride swelled in Nolan’s chest. “My wife, Tilly, made that.”
“Jess made the fried chicken,” Theodore said.
“Yeah, and JoAnn made the bread,” Kendall chimed in, quickly adding, “The good loaves!”
“Even though today was her wedding day, somehow Evelyn managed to whip up buttermilk biscuits,” Joel said, beaming at his new bride across the barn, where she stood chatting with her fellow brides.
Walter turned to Elijah. “What about yours? What’d she make?”
Elijah grimaced. “She volunteered to make a big cake…”
The rest of the Mounties did their best to hold back their laughter as Walter waited for the rest of Elijah’s answer. Finally, Elijah sighed.
“She dropped it taking it out of the oven, okay?”
Walter burst out laughing, spraying bits of stew all over the men’s dress uniforms. Nolan bit his tongue to keep himself from joining their host, as did the others. Even though it was the funniest thing they’d heard in a while, it came at the expense of Rose, possibly one of the sweetest women to walk the earth. They didn’t need her husband to tell them she was mortified over the ordeal, and none of them would purposely hurt her feelings. But it was pretty funny.
From the corner of his eye, Nolan saw Rose throw a worried look in their direction, so he concentrated hard to pull his face into a frown and latched onto Walter’s arm as if the man was stumbling drunk.
“Whoa, Mr. Bishop,” he said loudly, so Rose would hear. “Maybe you better sit down to eat the rest of that.”
When he returned after ‘helping’ Walter find a seat — help the man had actually needed considering how doubled-over with laughter he’d been — Elijah gave him a grateful nod and continued what he’d been saying.
“Actually, I didn’t really mind. It landed upside down, so most if it was fine. Of course, Rose wouldn’t hear of bringing it, so I get to eat all of it! I guess there’s an upside to her butterfingers after all.”
“Wait,” Nolan said, keeping his voice low. “You mean to tell me there’s no dessert at all?”
Theodore rolled his eyes. “You only think about that stomach of yours, don’t you, Nolan? Imagine how badly Rose feels about it.”
“I know,” Nolan said, feeling a little defensive. “But what kind of wedding reception doesn’t have a wedding cake?”
Elijah looked thoughtful, but stayed silent. Joel took over talking about all of Evelyn’s many talents. Then Theodore had to top him with stories of Jess’ homemaking skills — which they’d all experienced firsthand — and Kendall, of course, boasted of how much JoAnn had learned in such a short time. They all turned to Nolan expectantly.
“What can I say?” he said with a shrug. “Tilly’s pretty much perfect.”
He looked over at his wife and watched her talk animatedly with her friends. Her smile lit the room…until a local man bumped her as he passed by in the crowded barn. Fear replaced her smile, and she jerked away from the man, who didn’t even notice. The other ladies did; they all glanced at each other, but pretended not to see anything. After a moment, she rejoined the conversation, but even from across the barn, he could see her high spirits had been dampened.
The last couple of weeks had been wonderful, getting to know Tilly. Being a gentleman, Nolan had offered her the bedroom while he slept on a pallet in front of the fire. He’d laid his head in far worse places, so it didn’t bother him in the slightest.
To make up for his “discomfort,” Tilly had cooked all his favorite dishes and then introduced him to even more new favorites, such as cassoulet and beef bourguignon. The names were impossible for him to pronounce, but they tasted wonderful.
Beyond food, though, they’d taken time to get to know each other, and he’d found himself falling head over heels for her. Her dedication to keeping Silas well-fed showed her caring nature, and that she could put up with such a curmudgeon in the first place proved her even temper. Plus she laughed at all of Nolan’s stupid jokes. How could he not fall in love with such a prize?
Sitting by the fire after dinner, they’d discovered so many things about each other: they both came from very large and very loving families, she preferred vanilla while he loved chocolate — when he could get it — and they both wanted a large family of their own.
They’d even shared a few deep, dark secrets of their past, though Nolan was certain there was more to learn of Tilly’s story. The way she’d reacted to that man bumping into her was only one of a hundred clues her life hadn’t been perfect. Whose was? He just hoped it wasn’t something too traumatizing, for her sake. The thought renewed his commitment to giving her the space and time she needed.
He hadn’t minded waiting to consummate their marriage. The last two weeks had seemed like courting to him, and it wouldn’t bother him a bit to wait a little longer, as long as it meant her falling just as deeply in love with him.
“Aside from the fact she’s the prettiest one of the bunch,” he said, turning back to his friends, who all interrupted his comment by balking. Elijah even punched him in the shoulder.
“Aside from that,” he insisted, grinning at them all, “she’s turned my ratty cabin into a real home. She’s an even better housekeeper than my own Ma.”
Theodore laughed. “Well, with eight kids in the house, how could your poor ol’ Ma possibly keep it clean?”
They all laughed, but Nolan hoped with all his heart he and Tilly would have that many, at least. He imagined the two of them growing old, surrounded by dozens of grandchildren. That sounded fine to him.
“JoAnn, who’s actually the prettiest of them all, can’t stop going on about Tilly’s pies,” Kendall said. “Are they really as good as she claims?”
An unwanted blush rose up Nolan’s cheeks as he recalled Tilly’s promise to bake him an apple pie when she was ready to make theirs a full marriage. He coughed hard to cover it up, then smiled without meeting anyone’s eye. “I haven’t had the ho
nor yet…but you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to it.”
“Tilly, you must be exhausted with all the cooking you have to do for Nolan,” JoAnn said. “Does that man never get full?”
“He certainly never did when I was feeding him,” Jess said with a smile. “While it honestly didn’t bother me, I never could figure out where he put it all.”
“I like cooking for him,” Tilly said, a smile touching her lips. “I’ve always cooked for crowds — from my family to large parties — so it’s a nice change of pace to cook for just us. And Silas, of course.”
“How is Mr. MacGruder doing?” Rose asked, concern etched on her pretty face.
“See for yourself.” Tilly nodded toward the barn’s open door.
Silas stood a few paces away from a group of older men about his age, a dark scowl on his face. He had a single crutch jammed into his armpit and favored his injured leg a little, but the doctor had said he was healing nicely and could resume all his regular duties.
“Why does he always look so grouchy?” JoAnn wondered. “And why does he like you so much? I wanted to order a bolt of fabric so I could practice my sewing, and he seemed so put out by my request.”
“Of course he likes her,” Evelyn said. “She cooks for him. I know you’ve become accustomed to your own cooking, JoAnn, but don’t you remember the amazing dishes she whipped up at Miss Hazel’s? I still dream about that chocolate soufflé you made, Tilly.”
Tilly’s fellow brides sighed as they remembered the light, fluffy delicacy they’d said made them feel like princesses. Tilly chuckled.
“They’re really not that hard. The trickiest part is getting these wood-fire ovens to the correct temperature. I could teach you all in an afternoon. I’ve made Nolan three berry soufflés since I arrived. Plus a savory soufflé with cheese and some wild greens.”
“What are wild greens?” Rose asked, looking completely bewildered and a little afraid.
“Just leafy plants that grow wild. Sort of like lettuce, but their flavor is usually much stronger. I found a nice patch of bittercress the other day, and paired it with a little bacon. Nolan loved it.”
