Eddie’s Prize

by Maddy Barone

  “Okay,” said Bree, a young general regarding her single trooper with a bossy eye. “You set the table, and I’ll go get the clothes off the line. Set five places—Mom, Dad, me, you and Eddie.”

  After setting the dining room table, Lisa looked around the kitchen with a tired but proud eye. “I did it. Not by myself, but I cooked the pork chops and apples.”

  “And they look terrific,” said Bree enthusiastically.

  Lisa thought the pork chops overdone, but hopefully Bree’s gravy would help with that. The fried apples looked a little bit like potato chips, but they tasted heavenly with the little bit of cinnamon mixed with the sugar she’d sprinkled over them. She knew because Bree had snagged a half dozen of the curled chips for them to munch on, saying it was the cook’s prerogative to snack a teeny bit while cooking.

  “We don’t usually eat meat all the time,” Bree told her. “But tonight is kind of special. You’ll see why.”

  They could hear voices in the dining room now, Ray’s bluff loud tones drowning out his wife’s cool voice and the quiet bass of Eddie’s murmur. The sound of her husband’s voice quirked Lisa’s lips into a smile. She couldn’t wait to see if Eddie would like her cooking.

  Eddie’s smile as she carried the platter of pork chops into the dining room was as warm as it had been before he’d taken her to the library yesterday. Relief, wrapped in a big bow of happiness, bloomed warmly in her chest.

  “Well, now,” said Ray heartily. “That sure looks tasty.”

  Bree set the beans, potatoes, and biscuits down on the table. “Lisa made the chops and the fritters herself.”

  Lisa blushed as Eddie’s smile widened. She put the big platter down and took the smaller bowl of apples from the crook of her arm. “Really, I only did what Bree told me to.”

  Eddie stood up to seat her beside him. “That’s how everyone starts cooking.” His eyes looked deeply into hers before he kissed her cheek, and Lisa recognized it was the eye connection missing this morning. Eddie had avoided meeting her eyes, and that was what made her feel he was distant. “I’m proud of you, Lisa.”

  “Aw,” cooed Bree before her mother leveled a gimlet eye on her. Then she shut up abruptly and sat down opposite Eddie and Lisa.

  Ray, at the head of the table, filled his plate and sent the platters and bowls around the table for everyone else to take their portion. Lisa took the smallest of the chops, but it was still pretty big. Eddie must have agreed, because he didn’t say anything about her skimping. He took three of them himself, and Lisa understood why Bree insisted she cut so many chops. Lisa covertly eyed her husband’s narrow middle. Where did he put all that food?

  After everyone filled their plates, Ray cleared his throat. “Son, we invited you and your wife for supper for a reason. Not that we’re not glad to see you any time.” Ray paused to swallow some water. “Your mother and I have news.”

  Eddie looked from his father at the head of the table to his mother at the foot. Bree bounced in her chair. “Remember yesterday afternoon? I said you’d never guess—”

  “Brianna!” rapped her mother.

  “Sorry.”

  Ray cleared his throat one more time. Lisa thought the lamp light made his eyes gleam. Or was that from tears?

  “Your mother… That is, your mother and I…” Ray’s voice thickened and then died altogether.

  Mrs. Madison took over. “Sometime in March you will have a new brother. Or sister.”

  Eddie’s mouth fell open. He looked from his father to his mother and back. “That’s … that’s…”

  For the first time Lisa saw the resemblance between father and son. “That’s wonderful,” she cut in warmly. “Congratulations.”

  “Yeah. I mean, yes.” Eddie, like his father, cleared his throat. “How are you, Mom?”

  “I’m fine. Doctor Whitten says everything is going perfectly.”

  There was silence at the table while everyone ignored their food to stare at Mrs. Madison. Lisa wondered what their problem was.

  “Have you thought about names?” she asked.

  “Not yet, dear. It’s early days. Now, let’s all eat this wonderful food before it gets cold.”

  Conversation was limited while everyone ate. Lisa ate the food on her plate, consuming more fat, calories, and carbs at this one meal than she previously would have in an entire day. She told herself she needed it after the backbreaking work of laundry this afternoon.

  After supper was done, she burned off more calories washing the dishes. While her husband and in-laws settled into the living room, she and Bree cleared the table, put the leftovers away, and washed the dishes. As they worked, Lisa voiced her confusion in careful words.

  “It seems like no one is happy about the baby. Am I misunderstanding?”

  Bree gave a small sigh as she wiped a glass dry. “It’s not that we’re not happy. We’re just a little scared too. Mom is forty-four years old. That’s old for having a baby.”

  Not really, thought Lisa. She knew plenty of women who waited until then to start their families. Maybe a hundred years ago it was dangerous to give birth at that age, but modern medicine … “Oh.”

  “And Mom had two miscarriages between Eddie and me, and after I came along, she had another girl born dead. She was really sick for a long time afterward. So Dad is pretty worried, I think.”

  “I can see why.” Lisa wrung out the dishrag and slapped a cheerful smile on her face. “But your mom said the doctor thinks everything is fine.”

  “Right.” Bree made a strained effort to smile. “Just this last pan, Lisa. Then we can go out and play in the living room.”

  When Bree said play, she meant play. After the kitchen was cleaned and the last pan put away, the girls went out to the living room where Eddie had set up an ancient Monopoly game on the coffee table. The board was so faded it was almost colorless except where paint had been added to define the properties. Ray and Darlene pulled their arm chairs close to either end of the table, while Eddie and Bree sat cross-legged on the floor across from each other. Eddie reached a hand to Lisa with a smile to tug her down beside him. The fire on the hearth and Eddie’s arm slung over her shoulders made the room cheerful and cozy.

  Lisa hadn’t played Monopoly in twenty years. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed it. Or maybe it was watching her parents-in-law play with fierce concentration that made it so enjoyable. Ray was a cutthroat player, but his wife was just plain mean.

  “Ha! There goes that hotel!” she taunted her husband as she swooped in to take over one of his prime properties.

  Ray managed to stifle a curse by chewing on his mustache. Lisa hid a giggle behind a cough. She watched the older couple squabble over the lots and buildings in a make-believe town and saw they were having as much fun as the younger people. It was past nine o’clock when a rap came on the front door.

  “Eddie, answer the door,” instructed his mother.

  “Okay, but nobody touch my money. Lisa-love, guard my treasure until I get back.”

  “Just look how late it is!” said Bree, yawning as her brother left the room. “I’m losing, but I don’t want to quit yet.”

  “We’ll leave the game here until tomorrow night,” her mother decided. “Lisa, you and Eddie come over after supper, and we’ll finish the game then.”

  Lisa stretched to relieve the kink hard work had left in her lower back. “That sounds good. Bree, what time should I come over for another cooking lesson?”

  “Come over as early as you want. There’s lots of stuff I can show you besides cooking. Mom is the best cook. She should teach you that part.”

  Ray was gentle when he laid a hand on his wife’s cheek. “Don’t overdo, Dar.”

  I won’t.” Darlene’s voice was impatient, but the way she lifted her hand to cradle his against her cheek made Lisa feel like a voyeur. “Don’t fuss, Ray. Lisa will do all the heavy work for me.”

  Eddie came back in. “That was Doug Gray. Taye Wolfe’s wife is going to sing at the
library on Sunday. We’re all invited.”

  “Carla?” Lisa blurted.

  “Yes, your friend Carla. Will you enjoy that?”

  “Yes.” Lisa was pierced with a desperate longing to talk to someone who knew her old life. She wanted to find out how Carla handled marriage to a stranger. “I can’t wait.”

  Darlene stood up. “That sounds nice. I’ll enjoy that too.”

  “You’re not going!” snapped Ray.

  “Of course, I’m going, Ray. It’s not dangerous for me to walk to the library. It’s not Omaha.”

  Ray’s graying eyebrows beetled. “I’m surprised Wolfe will let his new mate leave his den so soon.”

  “Now, Ray, it’s none of our business. The wolves aren’t part of Kearney’s jurisdiction.” Darlene turned to pat Eddie’s arm. “Eddie, we’re stopping the game here. Tomorrow after supper you and Lisa come over, and we’ll finish it up.”

  For a second Lisa thought Eddie was going to pout. “But I’m winning,” he pointed out in the same tone as a four-year-old wanting ice cream.

  His mother folded her arms. “You most certainly are not! I am winning. I have one entire side of the board in my control.”

  “Yes, but I have four of the most lucrative places, with hotels!”

  Lisa’s giggle was swallowed in a huge yawn. Eddie stopped glaring at his mother to wrap an arm around Lisa. “You’re tired,” he said contritely. “We’ll come back tomorrow night.”

  The air was chilly in their little house. While Eddie went to check the fire in the kitchen stove, Lisa was reminded she had stripped the bed to wash the sheets. Bree had taken the laundry off the line while she had set the table. “Oh, damn,” she muttered softly, staring at the bare mattress and the blankets and quilt strewn over the floor.

  She felt Eddie’s warmth move behind her and his arm extend, balancing a pile of white on his forearm. “Where did you find those, Eddie?”

  “They were on the kitchen table, along with my two other pairs of jeans and some shirts.”

  Lisa took the sheets. “Bree must have brought them over before supper. Guess I better make the bed.”

  Eddie took a corner of a sheet. “I’ll help.” He held the sheet up to his nose to inhale. “Sheets smell so good when they first come off the line.”

  The sheet felt stiff to Lisa, but it did smell good. “Yeah. Eddie?”

  “Lisa-love?”

  He was back to calling her Lisa-love and smiling into her eyes. Had their spat blown over? She decided not to bring it up. “Did you like supper?”

  He neatly tucked the sheet under the mattress and looked up at her. Lamplight became him, gilding his sun-browned skin and burnishing his hair to gleaming gold. He was so handsome. Without any of the beauty products or artificial enhancements of the Times Before, he was more gorgeous than any movie star or model she’d ever known. And the small smile that curved his lips was completely natural, nothing false or forced about it.

  “Fishing for compliments?”

  Lisa felt her cheeks warm with a blush. “I want to be a good wife. I want to be able to cook your supper and wash your clothes and—”

  Eddie reached over the bed and touched the tips of his fingers to her lips to silence her. “Supper was delicious,” he whispered. “I loved it. You’re a wonderful wife. I’ll try to be a better husband.”

  She hesitated, wanting to bring up his jealousy but not wanting to ruin the moment. He apologized last night; would bringing it up again be nagging? He took the opportunity away when he whirled to snatch up a blanket.

  “Let’s hurry and make the bed so we can mess it up again.”

  They did, and they did. Ten minutes later, Lisa lay under Eddie, panting with the force of her release. “Lord have mercy,” she groaned. “Eddie, you have an animal inside you.”

  His weight, pressing her into the mattress, stilled. She couldn’t feel him breathe. She tried to see his face, but it was too dark.

  “Is that a problem?” he asked in a flat, toneless voice.

  “No,” she giggled. “I hope we do that a lot more.”

  His rib cage expanded against her as he took a deep breath. “I think I can manage it again sometime.” He rolled off her and pulled her back against his front. “Lisa, did you know Taye Wolfe is really a wolf?”

  His arm was warm and strong over her waist. She tucked her hand around it. “Wolf? You mean his last name?”

  “No, I mean a wolf. Four paws, furry ears, tail. You know—a wolf.”

  She twisted her head to try to look at him behind her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Taye Wolfe turns into a wolf.”

  “A werewolf?” Lisa fought the laugh back. “Seriously? My friend Carla is married to a werewolf?”

  There was a brief silence behind her. “Yes. What do you think about that?”

  “It’s crazy!” She squirmed until she faced him in the dark. “Are you joking?”

  The backs of his fingers ran slowly down her cheek. “No. It’s true. There are men who can turn into wolves and other animals. Some of them, I’m told, keep it secret because their neighbors might hunt them down to kill them. But Taye Wolfe and his Pack are open about it.”

  “Oh, my God!” He really was serious! “We have to do something! What if he eats her?”

  Eddie’s laugh calmed her speeding heart. “Lisa-love, those wolves worship women. I promise you, your friend is safe. Wouldn’t you like to be married to a tall, strong shape shifter who would lay down his life for you?”

  “God, no. That sounds awful.” She searched his face with her fingers and drew his lips to hers. “I’m so glad I have you.”

  His sigh stirred her hair. “Yeah.” His hands urged her to lie down again, smoothing over her bare shoulders to stroke her breasts. “You have me.”

  Chapter 14

  When Sunday came, Lisa was proud of the egg bake she’d made for breakfast all by herself. The other meals she’d made were created under her mother-in-law’s direction, but Sunday brunch was her first solo meal. Parts of the egg mixture were a little dry and other parts a little runny, but the biscuits, sausages, and gravy turned out just right.

  She and Eddie slept late and stayed in bed to make love. Eddie showered and dressed, kissed her, and left to check on his patients. When he came back, Lisa was glowing with pride and the heat of the stove, and the table was set for their late breakfast.

  Lisa smiled at Eddie. “Ready to eat?”

  “Sure am.” He hung his jacket up and moved to the table. “Smells great in here.”

  Lisa froze, struck by the uncomfortable notion she was fluttering over her man like a 1950’s housewife. When did she become June Cleaver? She pushed the casserole dish closer to his plate with impatient hands. He didn’t need her to put the food on his plate for him. “Well, sit down. Help yourself.”

  As always, Eddie was a single-minded eater. Except for a quick word of praise for the eggs, he ate in silence. Lisa ate her smaller portion of breakfast with a dreamy smile. These last couple days had been idyllic. She was enjoying learning to cook, and her in-laws were welcoming and helpful. Lisa chewed her biscuit, trying to pinpoint the source of her happiness. Was it the feeling she was part of a loving family? In only a few days, she had become Ray and Darlene’s daughter and Bree’s sister as well as Eddie’s wife. They finished the Monopoly game last night as planned, and Lisa had come in dead last. She didn’t mind. It was too much fun to see Darlene rub her husband’s nose in his second-place finish. Eddie enjoyed it too.

  “I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun playing a game,” he’d said, giving Lisa a little squeeze while Bree carefully put the game away. “We need to do this again.”

  “This time you had someone to keep you company at the bottom of the pack,” Bree taunted.

  Eddie had given his sister a smirk. “Just wait until next time.”

  Sitting on the floor with the warmth of the fireplace on her front and the warmth of Eddie’s arm along her
back while cold early November rain slapped against the windows made her feel cozy. This morning, sitting in her kitchen while her husband ate the breakfast she’d prepared, she felt a similar glow of contentment. This life was so different, and physically harder, than the one she left behind, but it had its good moments. The distance she’d felt in Eddie two mornings ago was gone now. His lovemaking was sometimes fast and furious, and sometimes slow and gentle, but always satisfying in its tenderness.

  Finished with his breakfast, Eddie wiped his mouth on his napkin and sat back in his chair to raise an eyebrow at her. “What are you thinking about, Lisa-love?”

  When she licked her lips and winked, he laughed. “Me too. But we can wait. We have a busy day today. Your friend will be singing at the library in about three hours. I thought we’d swing by and see Alexander, and then go to Nate Martin’s to pick up your new dress before heading over to the library.

  Lisa wavered between the delight of new clothes and confusion. “Who’s Alexander?”

  “The colt you named.”

  “Oh!” Lisa bounced in her chair. “He was so cute. I’d love to see him again.” She frowned at him. “You’re looking at me like I’m a silly five-year-old.”

  Eddie’s eyelids drooped as he slid a glance over her, from her face to her feet, lingering on her chest. “I don’t see a five-year-old.” He spoiled it with a grin. “You just sounded like a five-year-old for a second.”

  Lisa reached to knock a knuckle on the top of his head. “Be nice.”

  “I am being nice.” He caught her wrist and held it. “I got Mrs. Martin to finish your dress extra fast.”

  Lisa melted. “Thank you.”

  His lips against the inside of her wrist were tender. “I love you.”

  He paused, looking at her expectantly. Lisa’s mouth opened, ready to say she loved him too, but the glib words stuck in her throat. Instead she gave him a quick kiss. For a moment he looked hurt, but he returned the kiss.