Coral wanted to laugh at her sister’s lament. “I promise you haven’t forgotten how to dance. Even I remember how, and I never put those lessons to good use.”
“You should have allowed one of the young men back in Massachusetts to court you.”
“No one ever asked.”
“Because they were afraid of you! To keep a man, you have to show him that you’re not better at everything than he is.” Esther shook her head. “I’ve been telling you the same thing for years. You have to pretend to be inept at least once in a while, so a man won’t feel overwhelmed by you.”
“No, I really don’t have to do that,” Coral insisted. “Jack likes me just as I am.”
“Jack, is it? Brody always refers to him as Jackson.”
“He’s asked me to call him Jack.”
Esther took her sister’s hand. “He’s kind to you? He doesn’t hurt you?”
Coral’s face transformed into a grin. “He’s kinder to me than I ever dreamed imaginable. He’s a good, caring man. I needed him in my life.”
“I’ve been worried about you, and I wanted to go see you on Monday, but Brody told me not to interfere.”
“I promise you, he’s wonderful. He treats me like I’m someone very special.”
“You are someone special.” Esther stood up and walked to the work table. “I need to make lunch for Brody. Any suggestions?”
Coral smiled, shaking her head at her sister. “Do you want me to make lunch?”
“That would be wonderful, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.” While Esther watched, Coral fixed lunch for the couple.
“Are you sure you’re making enough?” Esther asked.
“It’s just the two of you.”
“But you can’t make lunch and then run off. I’ll feel guilty.”
“No need. I want to see if I can do a bit of hunting before dinner,” Coral explained. “It would be nice if I could make a good venison steak, and then I’d have meat to dry for the winter.”
“But how would you get the deer home if you were able to shoot it?” Esther asked practically.
“I’d gut it right there in the woods and make it lighter, and then I’d drag it back. Trust me, I’m capable.”
“There’s nothing you can’t do. Trust me. I remember.”
Coral shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of it anymore.”
“Why would you ever be ashamed of it?”
“You were telling me to hide it from a man just a short while ago. You must think I should be ashamed.”
Esther stared at her sister, astonishment clear on her face. “Oh no, Coral. That’s never what I meant at all. I was never meaning to tell you that you shouldn’t be so good at everything. Just that we all need to play these little games with men so they think they’re better than us. See the difference?”
“Not at all. It’s fine, though. I’m not ashamed, and I won’t be again. Jack has helped me to see that how I am is really a good thing. He calls me his marvel.”
“I’m so glad he’s giving you the confidence you should have always had.” Esther grabbed her sister in a spontaneous hug. “You deserve to be happy.”
Coral kept those words in mind as she walked home to get the rifle. She did deserve to be happy. She wasn’t at fault for her mother becoming a recluse. Her birth mother and her father had been at fault for that. She hadn’t caused her birth, and she couldn’t control the circumstances of them. So therefore, she shouldn’t be forced to spend the rest of her life repenting for other people’s actions.
*****
Jack was outside with the children for their lunch break when he heard the rifle. He smiled, wondering what fabulous meal Coral would be making that evening. Had she found the latest poem he’d left for her? She hadn’t commented on them, but the night before, she’d walked around the house with a dreamy look on her face, and when he’d pulled her to him to kiss her goodnight, she’d gone willingly into his arms.
He still couldn’t believe his luck. With as many bachelors as there were in the area, she’d chosen him. He didn’t deserve to have her, but he was glad he did. All he had to do was wait a little longer for her to turn eighteen. Every day since he’d made that deal with her, he’d regretted it. She was worth waiting for though.
As he walked home, he looked around for fresh flowers to replace the ones gracing their table. She deserved to always have something new and pretty around her.
Every day, she seemed to spend a little more time on her appearance, and she seemed to get prettier and prettier. He didn’t know if his feelings were just growing so she seemed prettier to him, but he didn’t think that was it at all.
She truly was doing something that made her prettier. He hadn’t been sure how he felt about her hair when he’d first seen her. He’d always liked a true deep red-head, but her hair was more the orange of a carrot. Now, every day she pulled her hair back in a becoming style, and he realized that her hair was a part of her beauty. She may not be beautiful to other men, but to him, she was one of the loveliest women he’d ever seen.
When he walked through the door, he saw her sitting at the table, carefully mending a tear in a pair of his pants. She was willing to work hard to make certain he didn’t have to waste a dime of his hard-earned money. She never asked him to buy her anything, except supplies, so she could make his meals.
He took the pants from her and set them on the table, and then he took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “I’ve missed you today,” he said, handing her the flowers he’d picked.
She took the flowers and buried her face in them. “They’re lovely.”
“Not half as lovely as you.” He pulled her to him, kissing her softly. “Did you have a good day?”
She nodded. “Esther had supper plans already, so they’re not coming tonight, but they’ll be at the dance tomorrow.”
“At least you’ll get to see her there.”
“She said something that made me wonder today.”
Jack pulled back, looking at her. “I hope she didn’t make you feel like you’re doing something wrong.” He barely knew Esther, but he felt like the majority of Coral’s insecurities came from her sister.
Coral shook her head. “No, not at all. But she told me that the reason none of the men in Massachusetts wanted to court me is because I am too good at everything. And that I should have pretended to be bad at things, so men could feel superior.”
He laughed. “A lot of men probably would have preferred if you did that.”
“But not you?”
“Not me. Why should you pretend to not be good at something? There’s no point. I have a woman who can conquer the world with one hand tied behind her back. What’s wrong with that?”
Coral buried her face in the front of his shirt. “Not one little thing.”
Chapter Eight
After supper, Jack looked at his wife with a look of pure admiration. “This meal was amazing.”
Coral smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She’d made venison steak and paired it with baked potatoes and fresh bread. “What do you think I should make for the dance tomorrow? I could do just some bread or biscuits and a cake? Or would you prefer I made a full meal?”
He grinned. “Truthfully, I’d rather never eat another person’s cooking as long as I live. Why didn’t you tell me you were such an amazing cook?”
She looked over her shoulder at him with a laugh. “Jack, I did! You told me no one can be good at everything. Remember?”
“I do remember. I really didn’t think it was possible.” He shook his head. “I guess I’ve been proven wrong.”
She laughed. “Well, at least I can safely say I wasn’t overstating how well I do things.”
“You truly are a marvel.” He got up and walked over to a small table where he’d put his papers to grade when he’d come in that afternoon. “I am still not entirely caught up on grading papers after taking the weekend off. I’m afraid I’ll be working all evening again.”
“Do you want my help again? I’m always willing.”
“You do so much! I hate to ask you to spend your time helping me with my work.”
Coral shrugged. “We’re married, and I truly believe a woman should be a helper to her man. I’m more than willing to do it.”
He finally nodded. “I’d like that.”
She smiled. “Let me just finish the dishes, and I’ll be ready.”
Fifteen minutes later, she brought over a big plate of cookies, two saucers, and two glasses of milk. “I thought we might enjoy a snack while we work on the papers.”
Jack took a cookie and placed it on the saucer. “Thank you. I appreciate you always thinking of me.”
Coral smiled. “I’m your wife. It’s my job to think of the little comforts.”
He shook his head at her. “I hope you know that you don’t have to. I do understand how busy you are during the day.”
She chuckled at that. “Perhaps I will be once the children start coming along, but for now, I’m not busy at all. I’ve caught up on the housework. I’m working on sewing some curtains, but once I’m done with that, I’ll have nothing to do but cook and keep things clean, which is easy now that the house is already there.”
“You weren’t raised for this kind of work. I’m always amazed at how you seem to have taken to it.”
“I may not have been raised for hard work, but I was never meant to sit around doing nothing. My parents accepted that early on, and they learned not to ask how I kept myself busy. They hated the time I spent in the kitchen, learning to cook and bake, but I enjoyed it so much. The cook was really like a second mother to me.”
“When I was young, before my father died, we had money. We lived in a fancy house, back in New York, and my mother sat around doing nothing but embroidering. She was miserable. My father was given to drink, and he wasn’t a kind man.” He took the math papers from the stack in front of him and put them in a pile in front of her. “She remarried soon after he died to a good man. She had a hard time getting used to doing the household chores, though. They were foreign to her. She had to learn to cook, and she hated it.”
“I see. So were you expecting me to be like your mother?”
He shrugged. “I really didn’t know what to expect, but I thought it was a possibility.”
Coral reached out and took his hand in hers. “I genuinely enjoy sewing. I’m not fond of scrubbing floors, but I don’t know of a single woman who is. I will do whatever is required of me as your wife, and I’ll do it with a smile on my face. I’ve chosen to marry you and to live this life with you. It’s up to me to choose to be happy in it.”
“Are you certain you’re only seventeen?” Truly, he had never expected that much wisdom from a girl of her age.
She nodded. “That’s what my parents tell me anyway.”
“When exactly is your birthday?” He tried to keep his voice casual with the question, but he was sure she’d understand why he was asking.
“November first.”
“So it’s not two months away. It’s more like four and a half weeks away. It’s already the end of September.”
She nodded, blushing as she pulled the papers toward her. “Yes.”
He changed the subject, seeing that the topic embarrassed her. He loved that she blushed, but he loved everything about her. A week before he’d have scoffed at the notion that he could fall in love with this young, headstrong woman, but there was something terribly special about her. He just hoped he could find a way to convince her to trust him with her heart.
*****
Coral took him at his word the next day, fixing venison stew to take to the dance, as well as bread, and two dozen cookies for dessert. She knew it was too much to take, but she didn’t care. If Jack only wanted to eat her cooking, then he had that right.
He spent the day at the table, finishing up the paper grading that needed to be done, while she first cooked, and then joined him at the table. “Do you want help grading papers?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m working on essays now. There’s really no way someone else could grade them.”
She pulled out one of her anatomy books instead. “I’ll just study then.” She flipped to the page she had last been working on back in Massachusetts, and pored over the book.
Jack watched her for a few minutes, noting how quickly she flipped the pages. It was as if she was looking at the pictures and turning to the next page without actually reading the words. There was no way she could possibly be retaining anything.
Coral looked up, realizing he was watching her. “What?”
“You’re not actually reading the words.”
She sighed. “Yes, I am.”
“How can you be? You’re spending mere seconds on each page.” He’d never seen anyone read with anything approaching the speed she was reading at.
She frowned. “I thought you were used to me.”
“What does that even mean?”
She turned the book back two pages before pushing it across the table to him. “Start reading in the top left hand corner of the page,” she instructed him.
He gave her a perplexed look before looking down at the page. Coral closed her eyes and recited the first paragraph to him—without missing a single word. “How?” It was one simple word, but there was a great deal of emotion in it.
She shrugged, taking the book back from him. “I don’t know. I wish I did. I’ve been able to do that since I was a little girl.” She looked down at her hands, wishing she had an explanation. “I showed my mother when I first started school. I thought it was a good thing.” She shook her head. “The look of horror on her face will stay with me forever. I’ve never shown anyone else, and I don’t think Mama ever really believed what she saw.”
“That’s incredible. I—I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I can do it with other things too. It’s like I can see something done once, and I will remember how to do it forever. I don’t tell people, because I don’t want them to think there’s something wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Jack took her hand in his. “Truly, you are an amazing woman. I knew it a week ago, but now, watching that—I don’t even know what to say.”
“I love being able to learn so much so quickly, but I hate not being able to show that I have knowledge. I have to hide, so people don’t lock me away somewhere.”
“Lock you away?”
She shrugged. “I’ve always had in my head that if people found out how easily and quickly I learned things, they would lock me in an asylum.”
Jack shook his head at her. “No, but they might lock you in a lab and study you.”
“I don’t want that either! I want to live a normal life. Well, I want to be a doctor, but I’d settle for being a midwife. I’d be a good one.”
“You would. There’s no doubt in my mind. Is that why you continue to study the medical books?”
She shrugged. “I need something to do. I go crazy just sitting around. I thought about adding on a room to the house, but I wasn’t sure what you’d think of that, so I will just study the medical textbooks I brought with me.”
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “Do you think you could add a room onto the house?”
She nodded. “I have no doubt. I read how to build a house in a book once. I’m sure adding a room on wouldn’t be much different.”
“I have science books, and literature books, and poetry books. They’re all in a trunk in the bedroom. Please feel free to read through it if you run out of other things to read.”
“You don’t mind?” She was still half-afraid he’d reject her, knowing her deepest darkest secret.
He shook his head. “I think it’s wonderful that you want to keep learning. I want to see you excel at everything, and you already do!”
She smiled at that. “Not at everything.”
“I thought you said you were good at everything,” he said wit
h a wink.
“I’m not good at people,” she admitted, her voice soft. “I don’t know how to relate. I even frighten my own sister sometimes. Oh, she doesn’t tell me that, but I can tell. It’s all over her face.”
“Esther has never seen you do what you just did for me? You’re sure?”
Coral nodded. “I’m positive. I’ve been so careful to hide it. But she’s still seen me shoot a gun into the center of a target the first time I picked one up. She’s seen me do so many things that seem impossible.”
“But they are possible. You do them.”
She nodded. “I just wish I knew why and how.”
“The why is because you’re brilliant. The how? I guess because you were born that way. As far as I’m concerned there need be no further explanation.” He sighed. “You probably shouldn’t let anyone else see it though. I’m afraid you’re right about how afraid people would be.”
“Because they’re afraid I’ll try to take over the world?”
“Not at all. Because they’re afraid you would succeed without trying.” He brought her hand to his lips. “I need to work on these essays now. Please, continue glancing at the pages so you can memorize them. I don’t think anyone would object to having a skilled healer in the community. Even one who didn’t have the formal training to go with it.”
“Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?”
“Because you’re accepting me for who I am. That means so much.”
He smiled. “I always will. Never be afraid to share your secrets with me.”
Chapter Nine
At the dance, Coral felt extremely shy. She’d never enjoyed being around huge crowds of people like her sister did. She stayed close to Jack’s side and met the parents of his students.
“Mrs. Sanford, this is my wife, Coral.”
Coral smiled, holding her hand out to the older woman. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanford.”
“We had no idea our dear teacher was even courting anyone, but we’re happy to welcome you to our community, Mrs. Smythe.”
Montana Sky: Mail Order Marvel (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 5
