His face lit up. "I've been waiting for that offer all day."
*****
Elaine was surprised by how nervous she was about Rebekah and Leah coming over the following morning. Everything was cleaned as well as she could do it, and she planned to ask her friend if she knew of someone who would be willing to scrub her floors for her. She made a cake to go with the tea she planned to serve for an afternoon snack, and fixed a simple meal for the three of them.
When Rebekah arrived, she dried her hands nervously on her apron and looked around the room to make certain it was ready for her guests. Her curtains were hanging at the windows and the tablecloth looked good on the table. Colin had picked some flowers for her and they were in a glass in the center of the table. She made a mental note to buy a vase the next time they went to town. She liked the idea of having one, and Colin had said he didn't care what she spent her money on.
She opened the door to her new friend inviting her inside. "I'm so glad you were able to come for lunch today," Elaine told her.
Rebekah smiled, setting Leah on the floor. "Thank you for inviting us." She looked around the small house. "I was never here before, but I can see you've definitely put your touch on the place. I'm sure Colin didn't have curtains before you arrived."
Elaine smiled. "No, he had furniture and a stove, and that's about it." She laughed with her friend about the difference in how a man set up house and how a woman did.
"That sounds like how my husband was when we married." Rebekah hurried across the room and grabbed Leah's hand. "Don't pull the tablecloth off the table."
The two women chatted while they ate the simple meal Elaine had prepared. "I moved out here with my family when I was twelve. We lived back in the old states before that."
"Old states?" Elaine asked, never having hear the term.
Rebekah smiled. "That's a term you need to get used to living in the West. It means all the East Coast states."
Elaine grinned. "What state are you from?"
"My parents were factory workers in New York City when they heard about land grants here in Kansas, so they joined a wagon train. It was a tough journey, but I'm so glad we made it. I met Abel on the journey. He was a couple of years older than me, and he was part of the same wagon train."
"His family was from New York too?"
Rebekah shook her head. "No, they were from New Jersey." She shrugged. "Close enough, though. Our families remained close once we got here, and we ended up married."
"Did you have feelings for him right away?" Elaine asked, still trying to come to grips with what she felt for Colin. She knew she was falling in love with him, but she had no idea how he felt about her. Sure, he'd claimed to love her, but she knew he just felt sorry for her.
Rebekah seemed to think about that for a moment. "I thought he was annoying when I first met him. He kept trying to act like he knew everything to impress me. Once he stopped that nonsense, we became friends, and eventually, we fell in love." She gave Leah another piece of bread. "What about you? Did you look at Colin and know he was the one for you?"
Elaine shook her head. "Not immediately. I was attracted to him right away, but I don't think I knew that I had feelings for him for a while. Not until he kissed me in the alley in town." She blushed as soon as the words escaped her mouth.
"He kissed you in an alley? Do tell!"
Elaine laughed. "I tried to get him to shake on an agreement we made before we went to the pastor to marry. He refused to shake but dragged me off into an alley and kissed me instead. I'm not sure what he was thinking." She'd never been in a relationship with a man before Colin, so she didn't know if things like that were normal.
Rebekah laughed. "If he's like most men, he was thinking he didn't want to wait to get his hands on you. He's a nice man and well regarded around town."
Elaine took a sip of her water. "I also met John Black. What do you think of him?" She knew Colin's opinion of the man, but she'd love to hear what another woman thought of him.
"Just be glad you didn't come here to marry him. He told everyone he'd sent off for a mail order bride." Rebekah shuddered delicately. "You'd have had to turn tail and get back East as soon as possible. He's not a pleasant man."
"I got that impression. He likes to stop in here for a free meal whenever he feels like it." Elaine shook her head, debating telling the other woman about how she was supposed to be John's bride but he'd rejected her.
"I'd avoid him if you can. Can Colin tell him not to come by anymore?"
"Is he dangerous?" Elaine asked in surprise. She had gotten the impression he was not a pleasant person, but not that he was dangerous.
Rebekah frowned. "I don't know if dangerous is the right word, but he makes me very uncomfortable. I think he only bathes twice a year, and he acts as if he knows everything. I don't really know what to say except that I would keep my distance."
Elaine nodded. "Thanks for telling me what you think." She knew she'd be thinking a lot about what the other woman had told her about John. He made her very uncomfortable.
They changed the subject to easier topics as they finished eating and did the dishes together. After lunch, they sat at the table together to talk, each with a cup of tea and a piece of the cake Elaine had baked. "I have a question for you. I need to hire someone to scrub my floors once a week. It's something my bad leg just won't allow me to do on my own. Do you know of anyone who would be willing?"
Rebekah thought about it for a moment. "My younger sister, Laura, just got married last month, and they're having trouble making ends meet. I think she'd be thrilled for some extra money. Do you want me to ask her for you?"
"Oh, yes, please! I'm happy to pay a fair wage for it. I can do everything except that so far. I'm sure I'll run into more things that are hard for me as time goes by, though." Elaine shook her head. "I feel like I'm failing as a wife, because I can't do something as simple as scrub my floors." She knew the other woman would understand why she felt like a failure better than Colin did.
Rebekah shook her head. "I saw the way Colin was looking at you on Sunday. He certainly doesn't think you're failing as a wife. He's very happy with you."
Elaine smiled. "He overlooks my weaknesses. What more could a woman ask for in a husband?"
"All of us have weaknesses." Rebekah looked at her plate for a moment. "I can't bake for anything. My mother was a terrible baker, and she was never able to teach me to do it well. I burn the bread half the time, and my cakes are never worth eating."
Elaine was startled. "Oh, I'm certain that's not true. You probably cook like a dream." She couldn't imagine the woman sitting across from her not doing everything she attempted well.
"Oh I do. I just don't bake well. Not that Abel complains. He says he married me because he loves me, not because I bake bread well." Rebekah shrugged. "I hate it, but what can I do?"
"Would you like me to teach you? We could bake some bread this afternoon, and you could take some home with you. I was going to bake bread in the morning, and this will give me a head start." Elaine loved the idea of being able to do something nice for the other woman. She felt like she'd done so much for her by recommending someone to clean her floors and walking two miles with a child to have lunch with her.
"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that."
"You're not asking. I'm offering." Elaine stood up. "Here, let me show you." She pulled down the ingredients and spent the next two hours showing the other woman how to properly knead dough and how long to let it rise. When they were finished, Rebekah had two perfect loaves of bread to take home with her and Elaine still had two for herself.
When Leah woke from her nap in a strange place, she cried for a minute before getting down from the bed and wandering into the main room with Elaine and her mother. Elaine gave her a piece of cake, which she ate quickly. "More cake?" Leah asked.
Rebekah sighed. "She never asks for more of my cake."
Elaine chuckled. "The next time you come over, we'll bake a cake t
ogether. That way you can learn that too." She knew the other woman would need to leave soon, so she cut what was left of the cake in half, putting some on a plate with a bowl upside down over it to keep it fresh for herself and Colin. She handed the cake pan to Rebekah. "Take this home with you. I have another cake pan, so if you return this on Sunday, it will be fine."
Rebekah seemed to go through an internal debate before she took it. "I don't know how I'm going to get all these goodies home, but I'm going to do my best."
Elaine put the two loaves of bread in a basket after wrapping a towel around them. "Here, this will help." She looked at Leah. "If you can carry the basket for your mama, then she can take the cake home. Can you do that?" She was pleased to be able to offer such a simple solution.
Leah's face lit up. "More cake?"
"Yes, you can take cake with you if you can carry the basket." Elaine was enchanted by the pretty little girl and her excitement over the cake.
Leah nodded solemnly. "I carry."
"Good girl." Elaine grinned at Rebekah. "Problem solved."
"I'm going to see my sister for a few minutes tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell her you want to hire someone to scrub your floors and have her come by to talk to you about it." Rebekah helped her daughter down from the chair she was sitting on, padded by pillows to make her tall enough. "Thank you so much for the baked goods and teaching me to make bread. I'm going to really surprise Abel the next time I bake bread for him."
"I hope so," Elaine told her friend. "I think it'll be a good surprise." She knew that it was hard enough being a wife without worrying that you weren't doing something well enough.
"I know it will." Rebekah took Leah's hand and the two of them left the house.
Elaine watched them go for a moment before she went back in to wash the dishes they'd dirtied with their cake and tea. She was so glad to have found a friend. It had been years since she'd really been able to spend time with a friend. Rebekah was going to be good for her, and she was thrilled to be able to say it.
*****
Colin looked sadly at what was left of the cake when he got in that afternoon. "You ladies ate all of that cake?" he asked.
Elaine laughed. "No, we didn't. I sent half the cake home with Rebekah." She couldn't believe he looked so sad about the cake, like a little boy whose treat had been taken away from him.
He gave her a forlorn look, obviously not happy with that answer. "Why would you do that to me?"
She walked to him and kissed him softly. "Rebekah doesn't know how to bake. I taught her to bake bread today, and I sent her home with half the cake. I'll bake you another one tomorrow." She frowned. "Actually, I'm going to need to go into town again within the next couple of days for more supplies." Especially if she was going to be giving baking lessons, she would need to make sure she had extra flour and sugar and lard around.
"I'll take you tomorrow if you want." He wasn't about to let her run out of the ingredients she needed to make his sweets.
"That would be really nice if you don't mind." She set dinner on the table in front of him, and he smiled.
"I don't mind at all. We'll go right after breakfast." He waited until she was seated and prayed for them both. "Did you have a good time with Rebekah today?" he asked.
She nodded. "I had a really good time. I enjoyed having something that I was good at that I could help her with, and she said her sister needs extra money and would probably be willing to scrub the floors for me." She was pleased to be able to offer him the solution she and Rebekah had come up with.
"Oh, good. That will take a load off your mind." He was happy that she seemed happy about it. He hated that she got so upset over little things that she couldn't help.
"Yes it will. She helped me see that I'm not the only one who isn't a perfect wife, though." She sighed, toying with her food for a moment. "I felt like I was really lacking because I couldn't scrub the floor myself. I was embarrassed to ask her if she knew anyone, but then she admitted that she couldn't bake worth anything, and that made me feel better." It had done a great deal for her confidence level to help the other woman with her baking as well. If she was better at even one thing, then she was doing well.
"Trust me. I'd rather have a woman who could cook and bake like you do any day than a woman who can scrub the floors. The floor has nothing to do with how good my food tastes."
Elaine hadn't really thought of it that way. "I'm glad you think that way."
"Of course, I do!"
"She said she thinks I should stay away from John. She is uncomfortable around him." She was getting more and more nervous about John every day, but she just wasn't certain why.
Colin nodded as he thought about it. He didn't like the idea of her being around him when he wasn't there. "I agree with that. If I'm not here, don't even go to the door if he comes over. I don't want you to be alone with him at all. He's just not a good man." He had nothing specific that had happened to make him feel that way, other than the way he'd seen the other man treat Elaine, but he knew he didn't trust him.
"I won't." She would probably hide from him if he came, which wasn't the best solution, but he frightened her.
*****
She got a vase in town the next day and found the things she still needed for cooking. She hadn't realized just how sparsely his kitchen was equipped, so she had a better idea what she needed now. As she shopped, he talked to Mr. Judd. She heard snatches of conversation floating back to her. "She cooks like a dream. It really was my lucky day when I found her in the restaurant."
"She's a pretty one and seems like a hard worker. You could do worse."
Elaine smiled at the compliments, carefully choosing what she wanted for her home. She wanted to make a new thicker winter quilt before the cold weather set in, so she purchased all the fabric she'd need for that. The quilt he had was made by his mother and already starting to come apart after many years of usage.
She loved the idea of the two of them sharing a quilt she'd made with her own hands. She wanted to be able to do everything for him, not because he expected it of her, but because it pleased her to do so.
After shopping, he took her to the restaurant for lunch to give her a break from cooking. When she protested she didn't need a break, he just smiled and led her into the restaurant. As they ate, she watched the people around them. She wished there were more people she recognized, but she knew that would come with time. "I like Kansas City," she told him. "It seems like a really nice place." She'd never felt as comfortable in Beckham as she did in Kansas.
"I do too. I moved here for the land the government gave me, of course, but now that I've been here for a while, I couldn't be happier with the people. Everyone is friendly and helpful." He frowned. "Well, most everyone."
John walked in then and caught Colin's eye. He tried not to draw attention to the other man, hoping Elaine wouldn't notice him, but John walked to their table. "Well if it isn't the lovebirds."
Elaine nodded to the man and continued eating, not wanting to have a full conversation with him.
Colin met the other man's eyes. "What do you want, John?"
"I'm just being friendly." John looked at Elaine. "I sent another letter to Miss Miller. Told her that this time I want a girl who can cook and clean who isn't broken."
Colin got to his feet. "I will not let you talk to my wife that way." He couldn't believe that John was still trying to belittle Elaine even though there was no need for him to ever speak with her.
John glared at the other man before turning on his heel and leaving the restaurant without eating.
"I sent Elizabeth a letter about what happened when I got here," she told Colin. "I don't think she'll match him up with another bride." She had been very honest about the way John had spoken to her and how he'd refused to marry her. She knew Elizabeth wouldn't be happy at all to have one of her brides treated that way by the man she was supposed to marry.
"Who is Elizabeth?" He hadn't heard Elaine mention her before.
Elaine explained quickly about the mail order bride service and how it was Elizabeth Miller who ran it and sent the brides out. "She was really sweet, but I never got a chance to know her well." She wished she'd been able to take the time to become friends with the other woman now that she was too far away to do it. She'd been very kind to her.
"And you don't think she'll send another bride out to him?"
Elaine shook her head. "Elizabeth feels really strongly about not sending women into bad situations. She does a bit of a background check on every man, although I'm not certain how John passed." She knew for a fact that Elizabeth wouldn't send another woman out to be mistreated by John.
Colin looked at her for a moment. "Do you know how to use a shotgun?" he asked. He wasn't sure why, but he was worried she'd be in danger at the house if John found out he wouldn't be able to get a bride from the agency. He was going to follow his gut, though, and make sure that she was safe.
"No. My mother felt that guns were only for men's use, because women had no idea how to really use them safely." She'd never liked guns, but she wasn't afraid of them. She liked the idea of being able to use one.
Colin sighed. "Your mother has some ridiculous ideas. Do you have any brothers?" He couldn't believe he'd never asked that of her before. Why didn't he know more about his wife's past?
"No, just four sisters." She was certain if she'd had a brother her life would have been different.
"She should have had at least one boy." He took a bite of his pot roast. "I want to teach you how to shoot. If John comes after you, and I'm not home, I won't leave you defenseless." He watched her for a reaction to his suggestion.
Elaine contemplated that for a moment. "I could never point a gun at anyone." She knew she'd never be able to live with herself if she had to shoot someone, no matter how badly they'd treated her.
"You may need to. We'll practice some and hope it never comes to that." His tone of voice let her know that he wasn't going to accept any kind of argument on the matter. He'd made his decision, and she needed to listen to him for a change.
Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham) Page 8
