The Preacher's Wife

by Brandi Boddie

  He shoved the towel in his pants pocket. “You are what I want, contract or not. I’ve been falling in love with you since we met. I hope you feel the same way in time.”

  She was reluctant to admit that she felt that way at present, believing that the love she had for him would not be strong enough to counter the ruin sure to follow in his life’s work. If Marissa had to deal with another person’s rejection, his was the one that would be her undoing, no matter how she tried to convince herself differently. Still, loving him as she did, she was willing to take a chance.

  “The answer is yes. I will marry you.” Saying the words made it real for her. Marissa went into his arms. He held her against the solidarity of his chest.

  “Marissa, I almost thought this day wouldn’t occur. I am so blessed to have you.” He pushed his fingers through her loose hair and tilted her head for a kiss. She sputtered, getting a taste of the bitter tang of shaving cream.

  “Pardon me.” He wiped his mouth a second time. “I thought I got it all. Let’s tell Nate the good news.”

  Rowe took her by the hand and led her to the study. Nathaniel sat at Rowe’s desk, tin mug in hand, reading last week’s newspaper.

  “Nathaniel, you asked me yesterday if I had a woman to help me around the house. Well, I will soon. Marissa has just agreed to marry me.”

  Nathaniel finished the article he was reading before he looked at them over the top page. He speculatively settled on Marissa and then his brother. “Congratulations.”

  “You don’t sound too excited.” Rowe walked Marissa to the settee and poured her a mug of coffee. “Aren’t you glad that someone here will be looking after me so the rest of our family won’t have to worry?”

  “I am glad. Does she know what she’s gotten herself into?” Nathaniel gave her a wink that wasn’t at all playful.

  Rowe’s younger brother couldn’t fool her with his false pleasantry or the melodic cadence of his voice. She sipped her coffee. It was a tad acidic, not unlike her new acquaintance.

  “You’ll have to get her a ring.”

  “I’ll look at wedding bands tomorrow. Do you want to help me choose, Marissa, or do you want to be surprised?”

  “I’m interested in seeing what you’ll choose.” Her stomach rumbled now that the initial excitement and anxiety were over. The hickory-smoked bacon sitting on the stove smelled good.

  “I need to get to church, even if it is with the makings of a beard.” Rowe scraped his fingers along the dark shadow of stubble on his chin. “I’ll see you there later, Marissa, if you choose to come. Are you coming, Nate?”

  “After I finish breakfast.”

  Rowe kissed Marissa’s cheek. “Good-bye, dear. Don’t frighten her with your stories about me, Nate.” He lifted the newspaper that Nathaniel folded haphazardly and uncovered his Bible. A definite jaunt peppered his gait as he left them.

  “Well, you’ve made my brother happy. Have you eaten yet this morning?” Nathaniel stood to go back to the stove.

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “I’ll bring you some food as well, then.”

  Marissa drank coffee at the kitchen table until he returned with two plates of bacon, biscuits, and a jar of molasses. “I’m not going to waste time. I just need to know. My brother says he likes it here, but is he telling the truth or trying to convince me?”

  “I see no reason for Rowe to lie to you, Mr. Winford. He’s done well for himself. He makes a good, steady living.” That is, until the people at church find out he’ll be marrying me after all.

  “He looks miserable, as though a hundred things weigh upon his mind.”

  Marissa bit into a thick strip of bacon, chewing quickly so she could talk. “It takes some adjusting to live in Assurance. He’s been getting to know people and learning how to minister to them.”

  “Is he liked?”

  “For the most part. But there are people who don’t take kindly to his decisions.”

  “I can imagine. When we were young, he was very spur-ofthe-moment. I don’t believe any of that has changed.”

  “Why?”

  Nathaniel positioned the molasses jar atop a biscuit and let the contents drizzle over the bread. “How shall I put this? He’s been in your town for how many weeks—six, seven? That’s hardly enough time to establish himself, let alone choose a wife. Don’t you find your courtship to have been a bit brief?”

  “I haven’t had too many courtships to tell you what would be the ideal length of time, Mr. Winford.” She drained the remaining half of her coffee.

  “Good answer.” Nathaniel laughed.

  His toying manner made her shift uncomfortably. Marissa watched him down the biscuit and catch the molasses drippings with his thumbs.

  “Has he told you about Josephine?”

  “Of course.”

  “And how guilt-ridden he was over her death?”

  “Yes, it’s terrible to lose both wife and child at once.”

  “She was quite a lady. She would teach Sunday school, host dinner parties, play piano, and sing. You will have big slippers to fill.”

  Marissa grew speechless as a sense of inadequacy swept over her, but she would not return to that old, useless way of thinking. She had a strong premonition about Rowe’s brother when he first opened the cabin door. Whatever his reasons for being harsh, she wasn’t about to let him get the better of her.

  “I have no intention of filling anyone’s shoes. Your brother loved his wife dearly. I wouldn’t think of trying to remove her from his heart, nor is there a need to. He…” She didn’t want to say love. “…accepts me for who I am.”

  “Just who are you? Has Rowe learned all there is to know about you in the span of a few weeks?”

  “Mr. Winford, I have the very distinct impression that you don’t like me very much.”

  The creases around his mouth deepened as he poured himself another mug of coffee. When she declined more, he shut the lid on the coffeepot. “It’s not that I dislike you. I want to know if you are all that compels my brother to stay out west. You see, the rest of us Winfords think he should return home and work on the farm.”

  “Rowe didn’t work on your tobacco farm when he was in Virginia. What makes you think he would leave the ministry now for it?”

  “Our tobacco crop has stabilized. The revenues have increased while many of the country’s industries suffered through the recession. He could be a rich man as a farmer.”

  “He’s not concerned with money.”

  “Every man is, especially if he hopes to marry and have a family.”

  “Have you considered that work for him may not involve the family farm? That there’s some other task that he was meant to fulfill?”

  “You won’t convince me because I see nothing here to support your statement. Weren’t you going to church?”

  Marissa was going to be a preacher’s wife. She could no longer stay away from the church on account of not wanting to be ridiculed by its members. Dusting crumbs from her lap, she left the biscuits untouched. Whether it was from the strong, bitter coffee or Nathaniel’s conversation, she couldn’t swallow another thing. “Are you coming?”

  He closed his eyes. “I may be behind you.”

  “You told Rowe you were going to church. You don’t want to hear him preach?”

  “I’ve heard him many times before. He won’t miss me. Good morning, Miss.” Nathaniel never called her by her name.

  Rowe didn’t see his brother in church. Not many people attended that day, whether because they disapproved of his engagement to Marissa or because Mr. Charlton may have repeated their conversation from the other day, he did not know. The front pew was empty where the Charlton clan normally sat. This did not bode well for his future as pastor.

  He did get a view of Marissa from the crowd, and she wore a troubled face throughout the service. The first day of their engagement, and she appeared more like it was her first day sailing at sea. He told Nathaniel not to frighten her. What inconsidera
te, crass remarks did that tobacco hound make once he was alone with her?

  It was a mistake to leave Marissa in the cabin with Nathaniel. Rowe thought it would be good for the two of them to become acquainted, but he should have told her to come to church with him instead.

  He came home after service to change his clothes before going to the Arthurs’ for dinner. Nathaniel sat outside in front of the door, writing a letter to his wife back home.

  “What happened to your coming to church after breakfast?”

  “Come now. Our mother rustled us up to get to Sunday school when we were boys. I don’t need you doing it.” Nathaniel didn’t look up from his letter.

  “What did you say to upset Marissa?”

  “Did she say anything?”

  “Her face did. She was smiling when I left her. At church her mouth was frozen in a straight line.”

  Nathaniel stopped writing. “I asked her about you. She implied that you have your heart set on being tied down to Assurance.”

  “I told you already, Nate. I’m not going back to Virginia to be a tobacco baron. My place is here.”

  “Our mother begged me to bring home her oldest son.”

  “I love her, but she’ll just have to accept that I live halfway across the country. Our mother knows this is God’s calling for my life. All of you do, so why try to persuade me to leave it?”

  “Is it God’s calling, or that of your new lady?”

  “Leave her out of a subject that we’ve been arguing over since the war ended.”

  “You’re the one that asked me if I upset her.”

  “See that you don’t do it again.” Rowe stepped over Nathaniel to get inside the cabin. Nathaniel twisted his neck to look up at him.

  “When is the wedding?”

  “Sometime this week before Thursday. I’m going to her home now to discuss the details.”

  Nathaniel hopped to his feet. “Thursday? Why are you flying down the aisle?”

  Rowe turned his back. “It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Did you get her with child?”

  “No! I said it doesn’t concern you.” He climbed the stairs two at a time to get away from his brother’s persistent prying. “You don’t need to know every detail of my life. You’re not my keeper.”

  Nathaniel barged into the house after him, shouting as though that would give greater effect to what he was saying. “There’s a reason you’re in a hurry to get married. I’m going to find out why. Be assured of that.”

  Chapter 23

  MONDAY MORNING ROWE left the general store, proudly patting the space over his chest where his newest purchase resided. He chose the best he could afford among the limited selection of jewelry: a thin, gold band containing three small garnet stones, their color a deep and rich red. Marissa would be elated.

  He left his fiancée home with the Arthurs after the two of them returned from Claywalk with the marriage license. No word of Jason arriving back in town yet, which left Rowe time to consider an elegant way to present the ring to Marissa. He would put it on her finger tonight, when he took her out to the open prairie in a schooner to watch the sunset. It could be a surprise, if the general store owner could keep from bragging to the town about the biggest sale of the day.

  Rowe rented a schooner for the evening from Timothy, packing it with a blanket in case Marissa got cold or if they wanted to sit on the ground. He also ordered a basket of sweets from McIntyre’s and placed it behind the cushioned bench. At half past six he drove the schooner to the Arthur home and knocked upon the door.

  Marissa answered, to his delight.

  “Have you had supper?”

  “We’re about to say grace,” she told him.

  “Go back and pray over the food, but come outside again when you’re done. I have an evening picnic for two planned.”

  Her lovely eyes twinkled. “But it’s nearly sunset.”

  “I know. I thought you might want to enjoy one last pleasant evening before the autumn chill sets in.”

  “I’ll tell them where I’m going.” She went indoors and came right back outside. “Uh, where am I going?”

  “To the hill just outside town. I’ll have you back by half past eight.”

  Marissa disappeared into the house again and emerged with her shawl. “Mr. Arthur warns against improper behavior toward me, else he will give you a rapping with his walking cane that he never uses.”

  “Were those his exact words?” Rowe walked her to the other side of the schooner and helped her up. He vaulted up beside her and assisted with draping her shawl around her shoulders.

  She held the front of the garment closed. “I edited them for propriety.”

  Rowe turned the horses for their destination. They took the schooner just outside the edge of town and off the worn, dirt road path toward the grassy hill overlooking the rolling sea of land. Marissa laughed and cooed over the mischievous prairie dogs that scampered in and out of their many holes. The animals communicated in a series of pips and chirps.

  “I’ve always wondered why they are called dogs,” Rowe said, as the bravest one of the colony emerged from its burrow near the horses’ hooves to see who disturbed his underground home. “They look like giant rodents.”

  “They are part of the rodent family. Sometimes they do make barking sounds.”

  As if to illustrate for Marissa, one of the animals produced a squeaky bark and sniffed the air before disappearing beneath the grass.

  Rowe and Marissa ate their meal while the prairie dogs entertained them with their antics. As the sky turned orange and the sun began its slow descent, Rowe took the ring box from his waistcoat.

  “You said you’ll marry me, but will you wear this ring?” He opened the box, and she gasped.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful. Yes, I will be proud to wear it.”

  His hand shaking, Rowe took it from the box. Marissa held out her left hand and he slid it on her finger.

  “I worried that it might not fit, but it looks like it was made for you.” He studied the glittering gems. The garnets twinkled and winked, catching the brilliant red fire of the remaining sun’s light. It couldn’t compare with half of the luminous joy that radiated from Marissa’s face.

  She touched his cheek and gave him a long kiss beneath the watercolor sky.

  He encircled her until she was in his arms completely. Her breath on his face was warm and sweet. He felt her rapid flutter heartbeat against his chest. By all accounts it was permissible and expected to say he loved her, but Marissa still didn’t seem ready to hear it. As much as he wanted to get the three words out that evening, he decided to wait until their wedding day. She couldn’t balk at him then.

  Rowe kissed the satin skin of her brow. She buried her face against his neck. Her neatly pinned hair was soft and sleek as it brushed his lips. “Will I get a cane rapping for this?”

  “Only if it’s considered to be improper behavior.” She made no effort to remove herself.

  He found her mouth and kissed it hard. “What of that?”

  Marissa opened her eyes slowly. “Most improper.” She returned his kiss with equal boldness and duration.

  He uttered some form of agreement, but his words were muffled. At that point Rowe didn’t know what he was trying to say anyhow. Nor did he care. Their closeness was wonderful. The exhilaration of it sang through his veins.

  Marissa broke away, breathless. “But it isn’t right. I mean, it is in a way, when we’re married. Now, though, we–I–I don’t know how to describe this.”

  “I know what you’re saying. We must get a hold of ourselves.” He released her, reluctantly. “We should go back to town. In a few days you’ll be my wife, and we can kiss all we want.”

  “In the sunset.”

  “In the sunset, in the moonlight, wherever it pleases you.”

  She hid her face. “I thought about what it would be like to be your wife. The women at the saloon sometimes talked to me about their…times with men. But it won’t
be cold or impersonal like that, will it?”

  Her question seemed naïve to him, especially with the saloon position she once held, where she was surrounded by men. “No. It’s a cold and impersonal act to them because they’re not honoring God with what they choose to do with their bodies. It’s different between husbands and wives who love each other.”

  She moved her hands about restlessly. “I can’t imagine such a union to be enjoyable.”

  Marissa had to know about relations. Didn’t she?

  “I really don’t know how to put it into words, Marissa. It’s something wonderful and indescribable that can only be experienced fully with the person God chooses for you.”

  Her face blushed. “I can believe that.” Tightly she drew her shawl about her shoulders and neck until only her head could be seen above the downy buttercream fabric. “I can’t wait to show Rebecca and Zachary the ring.”

  The evening dissolved of its passionate headiness and took on a much welcomed lighter tone. They ate the basket of sweets from McIntyre’s as the schooner’s wheels grated along the clear main streets of the town.

  “Rowe, what’s that?” Marissa pointed with a half-bitten pastry to a moving figure in the middle of the road. Rowe stopped the horses.

  The animals snorted in irritation at having their gait interrupted. The figure came closer.

  “How did your evening tryst go with the lady, brother?” Nathaniel stumbled into view. “I watched you prepare for it all day long.”

  Rowe scowled hard at him. “What’s that you’re holding?”

  Nathaniel extended his arm to showcase a bottle of Wild Rogue. “I got it from a fellow who came into town an hour ago. Courtesy of your friend, Mr. Garth, saloon keeper. Or should I say, friend of your fiancée?” Nathaniel uncorked the bottle and took a swig.

  “It’s illegal to drink spirits in the streets,” Marissa said.

  “She would know, wouldn’t she?” Nathaniel crossed over to Rowe’s side of the schooner, weaving slightly. “But I didn’t know until an hour ago that she’s little more than a common dancing girl, still under contract of employment. How did you convince Garth to let her have the evening off?”