Love Rules

by Rita Hestand

  The fever was coming down, slowly. Jesse had been so tense when he first realized his baby was sick, especially with a fever. “It’s working. She’s feeling better already. Watch her eyes. When the fever gets up she looks like she doesn’t see, sometimes. That’s when we know we gotta do something.”

  “Let’s put her on the bed and see what’s botherin’ her.” Jesse eased the baby out of the water, dried her, and wrapped her in a soft blanket that Maggie handed him. Then he carried her to the bed and laid her in the middle. He spread the blanket away from her. Gently, he picked up her foot and examined it. She didn’t cry, and when he told her about the piggies, Maggie laughed.

  Then he examined Abby’s knees and she giggled when he tickled her. He stretched her arm over her head. Abby just watched his actions and cooed a bit.

  “Not the arms. Let’s look at her throat.”

  He pushed his finger in her mouth and pried it open, her tongue looked pink, no splotches or problems there. He looked up her nose and put his finger under it to feel the flow of air. Nothing wrong there, he decided. He looked at her eyes and put a finger in front of her to see if she would follow. She did, he was satisfied, but he still hadn’t found her problem.

  “That’s funny. She isn’t fussing about any of that. I thought I checked everything. No, wait. I didn’t.”

  Then he leaned over and blew in her ear and Abby twisted away and began to whimper.

  “It’s her ears. Get me a cigar out of the third drawer in the dresser, in a box.”

  He glanced at the worry on Maggie’s face.

  Maggie went to the dresser and found the box of cigars and brought him one.

  She watched him carefully light up and then he leaned over to blow smoke into the baby’s ear.

  “What are you doin’ that for?”

  “Saw a doc in the army do it once for a man. It helped.” Jesse shrugged. “Don’t know for sure what it does, but it is supposed to ease the pain of it.”

  “So, it is her ears.” Maggie looked at him and waited for his answer.

  “Looks like. I got to get some medicine from the doc though, or we’re liable to be up all night and day.”

  Maggie nodded. “Do you know any doctors about?”

  “Sure, Doc Mabanks. He’s been here as long as I can remember. I’ll find some medicine for us. Don’t you worry.”

  Maggie helped dress the baby again and held her against her as she moved about the room, and for once the three of them seemed brought together by sheer panic.

  The baby’s fever went back up, and Jesse put her in the water once more. He played with her while the water grew cold then he took her out and wrapped her up. “I’m gonna go over to the doc’s to get some medicine for her. If her fever goes up, just put her back in. All right? You may have to keep heating some water.”

  “All right.” Maggie touched his arm. “Please hurry, Jesse.”

  Jesse saw the worry on Maggie’s face and ran a finger down her cheek. “It’s gonna be all right. Just do like I said.”

  ***

  Even though Jesse insisted the baby would be fine, he rode hell bent for leather to the doctor’s house. It had been years since he’d been there. The doc’s buggy was out front as though ready to go. Doc Mabanks stayed busy with folks in the area and often drove long distances to help. He was the only doctor about.

  Jesse dismounted and walked swiftly to the door. The old white clapboard house needed new paint, but he seriously doubted the doctor had time to tend to such things. Maybe he’d get back over and paint it for him. If he could help, it would be the least he could do for him. He knocked loudly as the doctor was hard of hearing.

  After several bangs the doctor opened the door. He craned his skinny neck up to see who had woken him, his eyes squinty as he opened the door. “Jesse. Jesse Coleman, what in tarnation are you doing here this time of night?”

  “Got a sick baby, doc. I need some medicine,” Jesse explained in a no-nonsense voice.

  “Baby? You got a baby?” the doctor asked staring at him as though he’d grown two heads. “Why, I didn’t even know you was married. Must have done that while you was away, I reckon.”

  Jesse smiled slowly as he took the doc’s clothes in. He was wearing a nightshirt, and his skinny legs were bare except for a pair of socks. His thin head of hair tossed by a night of trying to sleep, Jesse guessed.

  “Yeah, I got a baby. I think she’s got some ear problems. We checked

  everything on her, and the only thing she reacted to was her ears, and her fever is very hot.” Jesse realized just how much he had come to care about his baby and hoped Maggie trusted him enough to know he’d get her taken care of.

  “Been playin’ outside in the wind, has she?” the doctor asked as he motioned Jesse inside.

  “Some, yes. She loves to play outside,” Jesse recalled with another smile.

  “She’s the most content baby you ever seen when she’s outside.”

  “Well, it’s healthy for her to play outside, but there are things you should do for her first. Okay, hold on a minute and I’ll get her some oil.” The doctor went into a back room and came out a few minutes later. “Warm it before you put two drops in her ears. Both of them. Keep her fever down and she’ll be fine. Put her in a bath and keep water on her till the fever goes down. If that don’t work, try a rubbing alcohol bath.” The doctor handed him a small bottle. “So when did you get married?”

  “Very soon, Doc. I’ll invite you to the wedding,” Jesse answered.

  “Uh-huh, put the cart before the horse, I’d say?” The doc scratched his chin.

  “Well, at least your gettin’ married. That’s good, Jesse. You give her that oil twice a day and put a hat or bonnet on her if she goes outside. And don’t forget because that’s very important. Ear infections can give the parents more fret than the child, but the fever can do a big damage if you don’t keep it down.”

  “Sure thing, doc. Thank you. Look, I’m short on cash, but if you got some paint I’d be more than happy to give your place a coat of it before winter sets in.” Jesse glanced about the farmhouse as he opened the door to leave and realized how bare things had gotten since the doc’s wife passed on. Dishes lay on the table, and his clothes decorated the furniture. The doctor was a busy man and no one could fault him for not picking up after himself.

  “That’d be right nice, Jesse, first chance you get. I’d appreciate that. Cain’t say when’s the last time it had paint on it. Guess it’s peeling bad. Say, that's right nice of you to invite me to the weddin’,” The doc said as he escorted him to the door.

  “If you want to come.”

  “What time?”

  “I’ll let you know. Don't have everything set up yet, doc, but I'll get word to ya if it’s not too late.” The doc hated to have a late supper.

  “You do that now and be sure and put a hat on that baby’s head.”

  “I will and thanks, doc,” Jesse called as he ran to mount and leave.

  Chapter Seven

  Jesse rode into the yard late that night. He gave the medicine to Maggie, who had continually bathed the baby, keeping the fever at bay.

  “Doc Mabanks sent us some oil to put in her ears, twice a day. Said to warm it first. And we got to find her a hat or bonnet.”

  “I’ll warm this and put some in her ears.” She grabbed the medicine as Jesse took his daughter into his arms and cuddled her close.

  His frown said he had worried as much as she had.

  Later, when Abby began to relax and fall asleep, Maggie put her to bed.

  She busied herself with cooking a big supper. Jesse seemed to appreciate it, but she felt awkward around him. Maggie’s mind drifted to the visitors they had had and she couldn’t take her mind off them. If she hadn’t come, maybe Jesse would have married that Constance woman and had many babies, and built an empire.

  Why had he told them about his plans to marry her? Why had he said

  anything? Why hadn’t he gone along w
ith the idea that she was his housekeeper?

  Maggie had seen the hurt flicker over Constance’s face. Jesse surely could have told her in a kinder manner than he did.

  She wondered if Constance had any reason to think she would wed Jesse or not. The way Jesse talked there was little between them. Still the flash in Constance’s eyes told Maggie it could be a one-sided love.

  She’d survived the first invasion of strangers into her home and she sighed heavily. It would be all over town. People would begin to stare and hate, and no telling what else. Yet maybe some would understand. She hoped. Maybe there wouldn’t be many more visitors until folks could adjust to them as a couple, if they could adjust.

  Being mad at him made it easier to get along; however, he had admitted his feelings for her and his plan to make her his wife. How could she stay mad? How could she defend herself against what she wanted more than anything—his love?

  In reality most wouldn’t recognize their marriage, maybe a few, but the thought was appealing to Maggie. To any woman. Especially since Abby had been born. At least their daughter would grow up knowing that her parents had tried to make it all come right for her. Maggie looked to the heavens. “Lord, help me.”

  The next morning Jesse came in the house like lightning. “I found one,” he exclaimed.

  “One what?” Maggie asked, her back to him.

  “A bonnet. It was my mother’s, and it is in need of repair, but it’s a bonnet. Can you use it as a pattern to make one for her?” Jesse held up the bonnet.

  Maggie stared at it and frowned. “What with? I don’t have no material to work with, Jesse.”

  “Ah, wait a minute. I got some old flower sacks around here. Couldn’t you use them?”

  Maggie thought about it. “I’d need a needle and thread.” She began thinking on supplies.

  “I got that, too. Ma kept a basket in the closet. I’m sure it’s still here. Want me to see if I can find it for you?”

  “That would be nice. Yes, see if you can find it.” Maggie nodded as she washed the dishes.

  Jesse rummaged through the closet and finally after nearly an hour of browsing through his folks’ stuff, he came back to Maggie’s side. “How’s this?” He handed her a small basket.

  Maggie went through it and began to smile. “I can make it work. Sure I can.”

  It was the first smile they’d shared, and Maggie almost went into his arms.

  The rest of the day, she worked on a bonnet and by supper, she had one whipped up. It wasn’t that pretty, but it covered Abby’s head and ears.

  “You’re pretty handy with a needle,” Jesse remarked as he put the bonnet on the baby’s head and pranced about the room with her.

  Abby laughed.

  ***

  That next afternoon, Jesse grabbed Maggie by the arm and hauled her outside.

  He’d built a little corral for Abby to play inside, and after tying her bonnet on her, he put her in it.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Gonna teach you to shoot.” He brought out the rifle and handguns and a shotgun. He loaded each of them and looked at Maggie.

  “Shouldn’t we put her inside?” Maggie fretted, reaching for their daughter.

  “Nope, she needs to know what a gun sounds like and not be scared of it. She’s a Texas kid, and she’ll learn about them soon enough. Especially around us.”

  “But Jesse, guns are dangerous, and she's just a baby yet.”

  “And even more so if you don’t know how to use them. You know that. Just because you can aim and shoot, doesn't mean you got a good education in guns.

  And out here, it pays to. Besides, I wasn't plannin' on teachin' her just yet, but I promise you, I want her to know how to defend herself. I don’t want her to be afraid of a gun and believe me, when she’s old enough to hold one, I’ll teach her.”

  Jesse smiled again.

  He put his arms around Maggie after making an appropriate target for her to shoot at. “Remember because of the weight of the gun, a woman ends up shooting lower than her target. So you want to raise the gun higher than what you are shooting at so you can actually hit the target better. Let’s start with the rifle. Put the butt of the rifle against your shoulder, watch the end of the barrel for your target, and pull up just a might. That’s good; pull the trigger steady like, so you don’t jerk it out of sights.”

  The butt thumped her in the arm and she grunted, but she nearly hit the target. “I almost got it!” She laughed. “I’ve shot a gun before, Jesse.”

  “Yeah, but that was probably point blank range. I want you to know how to handle one proper. And not just a handgun either.”

  Maggie nodded, gripping the barrel harder.

  “You did good. Now, I’m gonna back away, and you position the gun like I showed you and ease back on the trigger.”

  She did, barely grazing the bottle he had stood up on the post.

  “That’s much better. Try it again.”

  Maggie fired once more. She knocked the heavy bottle clean off the post, but the rifle hit her in the arm so hard she screeched.

  Jesse laid a hand on her shoulder, soothing her with a simple touch. “Easy, honey. You did great. Let’s try a handgun. It’s better you get used to the feel and weight of all the guns you can. All are different.”

  Triumph filled her despite the bruise forming on her bicep. He stepped behind her, his arms around her, helping her hold the gun up. His breath whispered over her cheek, and she went almost limp once more. Oh, how she wanted to kiss him.

  She made herself gain control. She couldn’t weaken, not now. She could hardly inhale, much less fire a gun. However, the need to know how made her pay attention to his commands.

  “Remember to raise the gun just a tad of where you want to hit. Use your sights.” His face was ultra close, and she was almost afraid to take a breath.

  She trembled, and he moved away. “Go ahead, try it.”

  She did, but it was still too low.

  “Okay, you see where you normally aim is way low. That means you gotta raise your sights more. If you don’t, you’ll miss every time. Try it again without my help.”

  She did and it was better, but she still hadn’t connected with the target.

  “We’ll have to practice every day till you get better with it. Let’s try the shotgun,” he suggested. He loaded it, showing her how, and then he moved away.

  She aimed high and shattered the target. She jumped up for joy. “I hit it.”

  He laughed. “You keep that up, and you might end up a sharpshooter.”

  “Where’d you learn to shoot?” She cast him a curious glance and lowered the shotgun.

  “My daddy taught me when I was knee high. We went hunting a lot.”

  “Up Dada!” Abby grinned at them.

  Jesse picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. “Someday I’ll teach her to shoot, too.”

  “Why would she need to know?”

  “Maggie, in this country, everyone needs to know how, and my little girl will, too. No one’s going to take advantage of her. There are varmints, and outlaws,

  and snakes and all kinds of misery out here. She needs to be prepared,” he insisted as he twirled her on his shoulders. Abby laughed.

  Maggie found it harder every day not to give into her own feelings for Jesse.

  He’d been so good with the baby, and he’d treated her like a lady since he’d come home. Her love seemed to grow for him day by day. A pride she’d never felt before surrounded her. She loved Jesse, and she was beginning to love his country, too.

  Maggie had made beans and cornbread and fried the potatoes that Jesse had brought from Mr. Jenkins. She added the onions and bell peppers he brought to the potatoes. Mr. Jenkins had loaded him with fresh eggs, a few vegetables, and some bacon, and then wouldn’t take his money for it. Maggie cleaned the vegetables and cooked a few carrots, making a sugar glaze her mother had taught her as a child. The sugar was hard as a rock, but she managed to sal
vage enough for the carrots.

  “Want to come with me to help paint the doc’s house?” Jesse asked.

  “When you goin’?” Maggie asked.

  “Tomorrow. Thought I’d get it done while the weather is good. I couldn’t pay him for the medicine, but I promised to paint his house for him. Sure could use your help.” Jesse winked at her.

  “All right, I’ll fry up some chicken, and we’ll have a picnic afterwards. Is this how you do business here in Texas? You trade everything out?” Maggie smiled.

  “As much as we can. Nobody has much money these days. And the picnic

  sounds good to me. Thanks for the supper. It was uncommonly good. Day after tomorrow, I start on the baby’s room,” Jesse said as he headed out the door once more.

  “Did you get all the supplies from town you needed?” she called over her shoulder as he opened the front door.

  “Nope, I’ll get more later. In a day or two. We got enough for that long. I want the whole town to know we are out here together, and we are a family. I don’t want to hide, Maggie. I want to live our life as normally as we can. It’s the only way. We will take our troubles in small doses. Nevertheless, we’ll take them.

  Tomorrow I’ll find a preacher. I have a couple of them in mind. No use going in and answering questions over and over when I can answer them all at once.”

  He left to check on the cow and his horse, make sure they had hay.

  Maggie fretted about the sleeping arrangements, since he insisted on sleeping in his own bed. She wasn’t ready to sleep with him again. Then, he hadn’t mentioned making love, so perhaps he was too tired for that anyway, since he’d been busy all day with repairs. Besides, Abby would be sleeping with them for a while, and that would give her protection from him. Problem was did she want the protection? Her mind said yes, but her body said otherwise.

  Sometime she closed her eyes and remembered how good it was to love Jesse.