CantrellsBride

by Suzanne Ferrell

  “I’d heard they found his body a while back floating in the Potomac. Are they sure he was murdered?” Nathan asked.

  “An expert for the police said he’d had his throat cut or something like that,” Frank said. “Hey, Nathan, you’d better catch her quick.”

  Nathan called her name, but it sounded as though it was from a far distance. Then the room swirled black around Laura.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nathan turned around just in time to see Laura sliding off the bench toward the floor in a dead faint. Scooping her into his arms, he hurried outside into the cool evening air, followed by most of the people present. Sarah brought a cool cloth to press upon her head, while Frank and Zeke went in search of Doc Dawson.

  “Laura, Laura,” Nathan whispered into her ear, patting her on the face to revive her.

  “Bring her in the house, Nathan,” Mrs. Potter said as she followed the doctor out of the barn.

  Nathan carried her into the farmhouse to the back bedroom Mrs. Potter indicated. Against his protests, she, Sarah and the doctor sent him outside to wait. He paced the parlor, waiting for some word she’d be all right. Finally the door opened and Sarah motioned him to enter. She and Mrs. Potter smiled at him as they left the room.

  Puzzled, he shook his head at their peculiar behavior. What was wrong with these women? Didn’t they care that Laura was ill? He thought they were her friends.

  “Laura, are you okay, darlin’?” he asked as he rushed over to his now conscious wife.

  “I’m just fine, Nathan,” she said, not quite looking into his eyes.

  That was a sure sign she wasn’t telling him the whole story. “Is she okay, Doc? What made her faint like that?”

  “Calm down, Nathan,” the doctor patiently replied. “You have had relations with your wife, haven’t you?”

  “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but yes.”

  “Given the fact she’s missed two of her cycles, it’s not uncommon for women in Laura’s condition to faint, especially with the strain she’s been under lately.”

  “What condition is that?” He still had the notion he wasn’t being told everything.

  “How about I let her explain it to you?” The doctor smiled at both Nathan and Laura then let himself out of the room.

  “Laura?”

  “I’m all right, really. I just feel so silly.” She tried to get out of bed.

  “You will stay right there until I get some straight answers.” He gently pushed her back onto the covers. “Now tell me what the doctor had to say.”

  Laura sighed heavily, her hands nervously picking at the ribbon on her dress. “It seems you and I have a little problem.”

  “What little problem?” Nathan knelt down next to the bed, trying to see into her eyes. The fact that the doctor’s news had visibly upset her ate at his gut.

  “It seems…” She swallowed and a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Whatever it is, darlin’, we’ll face it together.” He reached out to pull her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “I promise.”

  “Nathan, I’m going to have a baby.” Laura blurted out the words, then squeezed her eyes closed.

  “A baby.” Nathan echoed her words with a whisper, letting go of her chin.

  Of all the things he’d been imagining since she’d collapsed, finding out she was carrying his child wasn’t one of them. He stood and walked over to the window, looking out into the dark night. God had given him another child and with a woman who swore she was leaving him. By damn he wasn’t going to let that happen. “Is everything all right with you and the baby?”

  “Doctor Dawson said everything is fine.”

  Her whisper drew his attention back from the window. She looked so fragile sitting there in the bed, her eyes still closed and tears running silently down her face, but he couldn’t comfort her here. He needed to get her home. Then he was going to make some changes.

  He opened the window and asked Tom to bring the wagon around to the back stoop. Then he gathered Laura up in his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her arms automatically going around his neck for support. “I’m capable of walking.”

  “Darlin’, I know that. But right now, I need to carry you. All right?”

  She simply nodded and let him carry her out to the wagon without further protest. Sarah stood there waiting for them with Rachel at her side. “I told everyone you two might need some time alone to get used to the news,” she said as she handed Rachel up to Laura.

  Laura thanked her and wrapped her arms around his daughter.

  With a worried frown, Sarah pulled Nathan aside to talk quietly to him. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but a baby is a blessing. That girl up there needs to know it’s going to be all right with you.”

  Nathan glanced up at the buckboard seat where Laura sat clutching Rachel to her as if she were armor. “I promise you, everything will be fine. I need to talk to Laura alone, not here in front of the whole town.”

  “Good. I knew you’d take care of her.” Sarah patted his arm.

  “I will, if she’ll let me.” He smiled for the first time since he’d heard the news about the baby.

  “She’ll let you. She just won’t make it easy on you.”

  It was a silent trio who traveled back to the farm.

  Nathan watched the road ahead, trying to concentrate on getting his family home and not on what would happen once he got them there. He heard Laura’s quiet sniffles and knew the news about the baby had upset her.

  When she’d first arrived, she’d told him she wanted a child of her own. He didn’t think that had changed. Maybe it was just his child she didn’t want? Glancing over, he saw the way he clutched Rachel to her chest. He doubted that was the problem either. She’d love their child just as much as she did Rachel. That he knew deep inside his soul.

  Maybe she thought he didn’t want the baby? His reaction hadn’t been one to inspire confidence. Despite what she must think, he wanted this child as much as she did. Because he wanted it and its mother as much as he did, he was willing to gamble everything when he got them home.

  He pulled the wagon to a stop outside the house, then lifted Rachel to the ground. Walking to Laura’s side, he grasped her around the waist. He lifted her off the seat and let her slide slowly against his body to stand next to him. Lifting her chin with one hand, he stared into her tear-filled eyes. With the other hand he wiped the tears off her cheeks, then leaned down to place a tender kiss to her lips.

  “Go ahead and get Rachel in bed, darlin’,” he instructed, stepping back to let her pass. “I’ll be up as soon as the animals are seen to. Then we’ll talk.”

  “Nathan—” she started to speak.

  He hushed her with a finger to her lips. “We’ll talk when I get inside. I don’t want anything to interrupt us.”

  Laura moved as if in a trance, washing Rachel’s face and hands, then sliding her gown over her head. She sat on the bed and brushed her hair out of the braid before tucking the covers around her. Stroking her face, she quietly sang a lullaby to her, then kissed her cheek when it was done.

  As she changed into her own nightgown, Laura lost herself in stunned thoughts. She’d never imagined being pregnant after being with Nathan only once. Now her plans would have to change drastically. She could never take a child away from Nathan. He’d suffered that cruelty once before. She couldn’t make him hunt another one. Besides, he had more to offer the child. Life on the farm would be better for a child than living in hiding with her.

  Several tears escaped, sliding down her cheeks. It was ironic and very sad. She finally had one of the things she’d always dreamed of, a child of her own. Now the reality of the situation was she’d have to give it up to protect its life. She just prayed that when the time came she’d be strong enough.

  She heard Nathan enter the house. Pulling her brush through her hair with shaky fingers, she tried not to think about how he’d looked on the ri
de home from the barn dance. His face had been as frozen as granite. He hadn’t looked excited or happy, but neither had he seemed angry. His lack of emotion made the waiting for him even more nerve-racking. She had no way to gauge what was to come. The only hopeful sign was the tender kiss he’d given her at the door. Whatever he had to say, she knew he meant to be gentle about it.

  When Nathan entered the room, Laura laid the hairbrush down on the table. He stood watching her for a moment. She looked so sad, seated there staring at her entwined fingers. He could tell she was prepared for the worst and expected him to deliver it.

  “Laura, we have to talk about the baby and this marriage of ours.” He sat on the large window seat, calmly removing his boots, trying to make his voice as casual as possible. “I’d say the baby changes the way things are between us, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes.” She still stared at her hands, her words barely a whisper.

  Nathan hated seeing her like this. He much preferred her angry and throwing barbed words or carpetbags at him. “I don’t think either one of us can go on pretending this marriage was never consummated, do you?” He unbuttoned his shirt, removing the paper collar and laying it on the seat next to him.

  “I never pretended that night never occurred.”

  Her voice was a little more confident now, her eyes following his movements. He smiled at her spirit. “This arrangement of our marriage being one in name only is a bit misplaced at this point, wouldn’t you say?” He stood and unfastened the button on the flap of his pants.

  She turned away to look in the mirror. “I just didn’t want to complicate things between us.”

  “Babies make things complicated, darlin’.”

  “I’m sorry, Nathan. I tried to keep my end of the bargain and I failed. I’ll understand if you never forgive me.”

  Tears spilled over her eyes and down onto her hands. He stepped out of his pants and underwear, then walked over to stand behind her. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head. Then, grasping her elbows from behind, he drew her up to stand, leaning her back against his chest. He slipped one arm around the front of her to rest just beneath her breasts. He slid the other hand down to where their child lay nestled inside her.

  “Look at us. This is our child. We created it in the most incredible night either of us has ever known. There’s nothing to forgive, but now I’d ask one thing of you.”

  “What?” Her gaze rose to meet his in the mirror.

  “Let me love you tonight. Let me remind you what it was that created this child of ours.” He held his breath, waiting for her reply.

  “You want to make this a real marriage?” A small frown of worry crossed her face.

  “For the sake of this child and Rachel, don’t you think we should?” He hated using the children as incentive to make their marriage permanent, but he had to have her as his wife in any and every way possible. She might not trust him now, but given time he knew she’d someday come to that point. If he had to force her with emotional blackmail, then he would.

  “I’d like that very much.”

  He watched her in the mirror. Instead of tears in her eyes he saw that passionate jade he hadn’t seen since the night they’d conceived their child. Holding her against him, their eyes locked in the mirror, he slowly drew his hands up to caress her breasts until the nipples pointed out at him against the gauzy white material of her gown. Breaking her gaze, he nibbled on her ear, his tongue lightly caressing her earlobe.

  “Let me show you how beautiful you are to me.”

  Transfixed by the scene in the mirror, Laura watched as Nathan’s long fingers pulled the string that held the top of her gown together, then slid the first button through its slit. His dark head bent and his lips traced the muscle from her ear to her collarbone, sending shivers of pleasure down her body. Her gaze followed the path his fingers made as they slipped one button after the other through their openings.

  When he reached the last button halfway down her abdomen, Laura rested her head back on his shoulder, spellbound as his hand parted the gown, slipping underneath to lift her swollen breasts out of the bodice. Her arms hung limply at her side while he kneaded and caressed her creamy, sensitive flesh. She licked her lips, watching him tease her nipples into erection. Tenderly he lifted her breasts so he could run his palms over the taut nipples, extracting a low moan from her then nibbling his way across her shoulder, lightly biting her exposed skin.

  Suddenly, her legs no longer able to support her, she leaned farther back against her husband—eyes closed, lost in the sensations he evoked from her body. Nathan continued to stroke one breast while his other hand slid down her belly to caress her between her legs. He held her tightly to him, her buttocks pressed firmly against his stiff erection, assaulting her nerves with his tender hands.

  When he could no longer support both their weights, Nathan guided her over to the bed, never breaking the rhythm of his hands on her body. Once they stood next to the bed, he again nibbled on her earlobe, whispering, “Laura, let me love you.”

  “Yes, Nathan. Love me tonight.” She moaned the words back to him, but it didn’t satisfy his need.

  “Laura, let me love you.” He repeated his desire in her ear.

  “Yes, I want you to love me tonight.”

  “Not just tonight, darlin’. I want to love you every night. Will you let me? Forget about our arrangement and share this bed with me the way it was meant to be between us?”

  “Yes.” Laura turned around in his arms, her jade eyes gazing up at him. “Love me, Nathan.”

  His hand sank into her thick mahogany hair, pulling her hard against his chest, his lips claiming hers in a deep, passionate kiss. His tongue slipped inside her mouth. Hers met his, thrust for thrust, her hand gripping his back and pulling him closer.

  Somehow her gown came off and they landed on the deep mattress. The wild fervor of their bodies couldn’t be stopped until Nathan was poised to enter her once again. He held himself at her entrance, looking deeply into her eyes.

  “I can’t go slow this time. I have to be inside you now. I promise to go slow the next time. Right now, I need you.”

  Still he waited. He was asking her permission and giving her time to change her mind.

  Staring deep into his eyes, she reached behind him and pulled him to her, forcing him to enter her—her decision made.

  Nathan tried to master his raging need, not wanting to hurt her or their child. All his good intentions flew out the window when Laura lifted her hips. Suddenly his blood pounded in his ears.

  His control snapped. He reached beneath her, grasped her bottom and buried himself deep inside. Lifting her up, he pumped his manhood in and out of her. His entire length filled her tight sheath over and over. Finally he stiffened against her and poured his seed into her. His body convulsed its fulfillment.

  He slumped down over her body, his head resting against her breasts. Softly her hands stroked through his hair and he relaxed. His heart slowed to a normal beat and once again he breathed easily.

  Leaning up on his elbows, he smiled at her. In the lamplight, the glaze of passion still filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, darlin. I couldn’t wait. It felt too good to be inside you again.” He leaned over and pulled one of her nipples into his mouth, suckling on it. She rewarded his efforts by arching her back to him.

  Nathan rolled the nipple with his tongue, alternately sucking and nipping at it. His hand slipped down between them to where their bodies joined. Finding her folds, he sank one finger inside to rub against the bud swollen with her desire. He began rocking back and forth, letting her set the pace. Her hips once again matched his in the dance of pleasure, taking over her own seduction.

  Laura reached over her head, grabbing onto the headboard’s spindles, her hips lifting her off the bed. Nathan sank deeper into her with each thrust, staring into her eyes as her body thrust against his, her lips parting and body picking up its pace.

  “Oh, oh…Nathan,” she moaned as she spasmed
beneath him, the muscles of her warm sheath clenching and releasing his manhood buried deep inside her.

  Nathan held her to him, waiting for her body to finish its last shudder of pleasure. He watched her face relax and her eyes flutter open. He smiled down at her, lightly kissing her lips, then rolled onto his side and drew her back against him. He wanted to tell her so many things, but knew she wasn’t ready to hear them yet. They’d crossed one obstacle tonight. He’d have to be content with having her in his bed as a real wife now.

  He continued to hold her until she drifted off to sleep, then climbed out of bed to turn out the light. Stopping at the window, he gazed out into the dark spring night and thanked God for the child he’d blessed them with. Whatever still bothered his wife, Nathan knew he’d never let her go now.

  * * * * *

  In the early summer heat, Nathan drove up to the barn with a wagon full of supplies from town. Before Laura could see that he’d returned, he unloaded several pieces of timber boards into the barn. It had been a month since the dance and they’d gotten used to the idea a baby was on the way. He planned to use the wood for a cradle as a surprise for Laura.

  After he hid the lumber in his tack room, he went in search of his wife, only to find her down on her knees scrubbing the kitchen floor when he entered. “Woman, what are you doing?

  “Cleaning the floor. Doesn’t it look like it?” Laura straightened and wiped the loose hairs off her face to look at him. “Rachel is taking a nap and I didn’t think you’d be back from town this soon.”

  “Obviously not.” He snorted then reached down to pull her to her feet. “I thought I told you to leave all the heavy work for me to do.”

  “I know what you said. You have so much to do with the farm already and there’s really no reason for me not to scrub the floors. The doctor said I was very healthy and that exercise was good for me and the baby.” She finished wiping her hand on her apron.

  “I know he said you were healthy. I just want to be sure you stay that way.” He pulled her into his arms for a long kiss.