"You don't even look like sisters!"
Ruby laughed. "Opal is the pretty one."
Florence nodded. "Yes, she is. I bet you wish you had blond hair like Mama." She turned so her back was to Ruby. "See? Mama put my hair up today, so I could look more like her."
Opal winked at Ruby. "Doesn't she look beautiful?"
"Definitely!"
"Oh, you have to see the fabric we picked out to make her a new dress. It matches her eyes perfectly." Opal held up the pretty fabric for her sister to see.
Ruby smiled at Florence. "Oh, that's going to look beautiful on you!"
Florence beamed at the attention. "I could help you pick something that would make you look almost as pretty as Mama if you'd like."
Ruby laughed. "I will take you up on that very soon. For now, do you want to go in the parlor and see the boys' toys?"
"Boys?"
"I have two sons. Their names are Robert and James. They have some wooden trains they left in the parlor when they weren't supposed to. I haven't picked them up yet."
Florence ran off to find the parlor and the wooden trains. As soon as she was gone, Ruby looked at Opal. "How's married life?"
Opal blushed, but smiled. "It's good. Very good."
"Glad to hear it. Nothing to worry about, was there?"
"Nothing at all. I'm married to a good man." Opal thought about everything Nathaniel had told her on their wedding night, and decided to keep a secret from her twin for the first time ever. It wasn't anyone else's business what Nathaniel's first wife had been like.
"I thought that was the case. I'm glad you found someone kind and loving."
"I really did. Dr. Iris is having her baby today, so I won't be working any longer. Her sister-in-law, Tracy, will be helping until she's ready to do things on her own. She said that was plenty of time for them to find a replacement for me."
"Oh good! You need to be concentrating on your new family."
"I know I do. Which means I need to go home and do some laundry and bake bread today. I thought I was going to have to do it all after I got home from work, but I'm happy to say, I have more time now."
Ruby put the dough into a bowl and covered it with a thin towel. She washed her hands and then hugged her sister. "I'll see you soon. Come visit more often now that you're not working."
"I will!"
*****
Opal got the laundry on the line as soon as she got home, and then she fixed lunch for the three of them. She had just set the bread on the work table to rise when Nathaniel stepped into the house. "What are you two doing home? I thought you were working today."
Opal walked over and greeted him with a kiss. "Dr. Iris is having her baby today, and she doesn't need me any longer. I'm just a housewife and mother now. No job for me."
"I like that," he told her. "I never wanted you working anyway."
"I'm happy not to have to anymore. It will be nice to concentrate on our home."
"Mama got me fabric to make a new dress today!" Florence told him.
He scooped her up into his arms, holding her at eye level. "She did? Do you like the fabric?"
"Oh, yes. It's green and matches my eyes."
"It must be beautiful then!"
Florence giggled. "It is!"
After lunch, he headed back out to mend a broken fence while Opal finished baking. She let Florence help when she wanted to, but for the most part, she let the little girl play. There was plenty of time for her to learn to be a good wife.
Opal was putting supper on the table when there was a knock at the door. She hurried to open it, a tall blond cowboy standing at the door, his hat in his hands.
"May I help you?" she asked. She hadn't seen him around town, but that didn't mean he didn't live there. Most of the cowboys didn't make it to church on Sundays, and that was the primary place she met people.
"Howdy, ma'am. I'm lookin' for work and thought maybe you had some here. I was a ranch hand near Abilene 'til recently, but my ma is sick, and I wanted to be closer to home. I don't need a place to stay, just work."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know if my husband is looking to hire someone or not. He'll be home any minute, though. Why don't you wait out here and talk to him as he comes in?" Opal wouldn't normally be so skittish, but with Nathaniel's history, she wouldn't let another man into the house while he wasn't there.
"Yes'm."
Opal felt badly for doing it, but she closed the door in his face. After a moment's consideration, she got him a glass of water and took it to him. If she wouldn't let him wait inside, sitting down, it was the least she could do.
She opened the door. "Would you like some water, mister?"
"Yes, thank you!" He took the glass of water from her, a grin on his face. "I 'preciate it, ma'am."
*****
Nathaniel was tired but happy as he walked toward the house at the end of his long day. He had a bounce in his step that he was certain wasn't there for the entire time he'd been married to Stella. It was Opal. She brought out everything good in him. He had thought he loved Stella before they married, but he realized now that it had been a pale imitation of what love truly was.
Opal made him happy to wake up in the morning. Every minute all day while he worked in the fields, he was thinking of her. He wanted to be more and do more, and he wanted it for her. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he hadn't thought it was possible for him to trust someone enough to feel that way ever again.
He was almost on the house before he noticed the horse tied to a tree. Walking a few feet further, he saw him. A blond cowboy flirting with his wife, laughing as he took a glass of something from her.
Nathaniel closed his eyes, trying to beat down the fury that erupted inside him. They'd only been married forty-eight hours. Surely she wasn't already seeing another man!
He took a deep breath, determined that this time, he was going to fight. He wasn't going to give up the woman he loved, simply because there was another man who wanted her as well.
He walked to where the man stood and looked him in the eye. Opal had gone back into the house. He had no idea why she'd gone, but he was thankful for the opportunity to talk to the man alone.
"I don't know who you are, or what you want, but I want you off my property. I don't ever want to see you talking to my wife again."
The man took a step back, obviously warned by the feral look in Nathaniel's eyes. "Look, mister, I'm looking for work. Nothing else. Your wife didn't even invite me into the house. She brought me a glass of water and told me to wait here to talk to you."
Nathaniel felt shame come over him in waves. "She didn't invite you in?"
"No, sir. She said she didn't know if you were looking for a ranch hand, and I should talk to you, and she said you'd be home any minute. Then she shut the door in my face."
Nathaniel shook his head. He never should have mistrusted her. "I'm sorry. Tell me about yourself."
Five minutes later, Nathaniel walked into the house, his new ranch hand following behind him. "Opal, this is Gabriel Jensen. He's going to be working with me."
Opal turned to them both, smiling. She rushed over and kissed Nathaniel, not caring that they weren't private. She looked at Gabriel. "It's nice to meet you. Are you staying for supper?"
Nathaniel looked at the younger man, leaving it up to him.
Gabriel shook his head. "No thank you, ma'am. I need to get home." He shook hands with Nathaniel. "Thank you for the work, Mr. Reid. I'll be here right after breakfast." He hurried out the door.
Nathaniel looked at Opal, his eyes filled with all he'd been feeling for her all day. "Did you make him wait outside because you didn't want me to think you were doing something wrong?"
She nodded. "I felt like I was being terribly inhospitable, but I knew it would be best if I didn't invite him in. I don't want to give you any cause to worry."
He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek on top of her head. "I don't know what I've
done to deserve you, but I'm so glad God sent you my way. I love you, Opal."
Opal looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. "I love you, too. Thank you for not jumping to conclusions when you saw him."
Nathaniel closed his eyes, refusing to let her believe a lie. "I did jump to conclusions. I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again. You won't spend your life trying to make up for Stella. I promise."
"I don't blame you," she said softly. "Any man would have felt the same way with your history. I will do whatever I can to alleviate your worries, but I do need you to try to have faith in me."
"I do. I promise you. I do."
Epilogue
Opal rushed into town as quickly as she could. She had to see Ruby.
"Mama, slow down! I can't keep up." Florence was running as fast as she could, trying to keep up with her very pregnant step-mother.
Opal laughed, stroking her stomach. "I'm sorry. I'll slow down." She moved at a more sedate pace, knowing she shouldn't be walking as fast as she was in her third trimester anyway.
Ruby was behind the counter at the store. She was due any day. Opal still had two and a half months to go. "Why are you working? Lewis should be taking care of the store while you sit with your feet up!"
Ruby laughed. "Because that's what you'll be doing when it's close to your time?"
Opal shrugged. "Well, I can't, but that's what you should do."
"Of course. Because I have no responsibilities."
"I just had my visit with Dr. Iris," Opal said, changing the subject abruptly.
"Oh, is everything all right?" Ruby eyed her twin suspiciously.
"She heard two heartbeats. I told you we'd both have twins!"
Ruby laughed. "Edna Petunia is going to be so excited. I can hear her now. 'If only they were bastard twins...'"
"Well, they're not, but four new grandbabies in the space of three months should cheer her right up." Opal patted her belly. "I tell you what. I'll have boys and you have girls, and then we'll each have some of each."
"Sure. Because we can just choose to make that happen."
"If you pray hard enough. We're both having twins after all!"
Ruby smiled. "We are. No use worrying about it now. We'll know what I'm having within a few days. And you within a few months. Did you ever think we'd both be married and happy when we were forced to move to Texas two years ago?"
Opal shook her head. "No, I really didn't. But I'm so glad it worked out this way."
"Me, too!"
Opal didn't want to think of what her life would be like without her husband and daughter. Or what would have happened if Ruby had moved back to New York as she'd planned. God was certainly looking down on her and smiling. Life was good.
Want more books by Kirsten Osbourne? For a list of all her books, go here.
Opal (Orlan Orphans Book 3) Page 7
