Michael flew after her, chased her through the woods, dodging pine trees and their prickly needles. Syringa bushes slapped his legs. Pine needles and broken branches crunched under his feet on the uneven ground as he pursued Selina through the woods.
Around the curve, he lost sight of her. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.
Where could she have gone?
He stopped and panned the area but still caught no sight of her.
Stealthily he made his way through the pine and cottonwood trees and the thick underbrush. He held up the biscuit like a weapon, armed and ready. Each tree he approached with caution, quickly looking behind it before trudging onward.
He leaned forward to look behind another tree.
The next thing he knew, his body slammed on the grassy forest floor, mashing the biscuit he held into the side of his face. Selina’s body straddled his shoulders, then bolted upward.
He shot out his hand, grabbed her pant leg and yanked on it.
She tugged and jerked to free herself, but he tossed his body onto his back and pulled her down on top of him.
Holding her tight with one hand he scraped some of the biscuits and butter from his face, pulled her down closer to him and raised his hand to smear it onto hers.
“No!” She yanked her head from one side to the other, giggling.
Her laugher was melodious, like a running brook.
He pulled her even closer. Their faces inches apart.
Their eyes connected, peering deeply into the other’s.
Neither moved, as if they were frozen in that position.
His attention slid to her mouth. The temptation to kiss her lured him in, but he knew kissing her would be a huge mistake. He blinked, breaking the contact, and slowly released his hold on her shirt. “Yes, well—” he cleared his throat “—I guess we’d better get back to supper before it gets cold.”
She leaned back, sitting on his belly, having no clue of the urges raging inside him. “You give then?”
“I give.” Boy did he ever.
She crossed her arms. “I knew you would.” Her smile spoke of her untamed spirit.
“Oh, yeah?” No way would he let her think he was that easy. He pressed his fingers around her waist and started tickling her.
“Ahh. No, no.” She squirmed, giggling as she tried to get away. But she was no match for his firm grip. He tickled her more insistently, careful to keep his touch from hurting her.
“How’s about we call it even?” she said between bouts of laughter and drawing in breaths.
“Will you behave?”
“I’ll behave as best as I can.” She smiled, then broke free of his grasp and darted back to the house.
He sat up and brushed the leaves and pine cones off of him. One thing he had to give Selina credit for: he never knew what she would do next. And that both frightened and excited him.
Selina rose before the sun and the roosters again. After a breakfast of flapjacks, fried taters and ham slices, she followed Michael from the hog pen as he headed toward the barn. Something butted her knee, almost knocking it out from under her. “What do you think—” She whirled and looked down, smiling. “Why, you little cutie. You wantin’ some attention?” She knelt down on one knee and scratched the pink pig behind the ear with a small chunk out of it.
“That’s Kitty,” Michael said.
“Kitty?”
“Don’t ask. Abby named her years ago.”
“Y’all got a lotta animals with weird names. A cat named Miss Piggy. A pig named Kitty, and a horse named Lambie. Abby name them, too?” She played with the tip of Kitty’s nose.
“Yes. None of us had the heart to say anything so we let her name them. But we were sure glad when she outgrew that stage. Having a horse named Raven and a bull named Taxt were…” He left the sentence hanging.
“Taxt? What’s that?” She shifted her attention from Kitty onto Michael.
“A taxt is a mule deer fawn.”
“Abby gave a bull a cute critter’s name like that?” She stood, and Kitty leaned into her leg.
“Remind me to tell you a few of her other names sometime. Right now I need to go and check on the orchards.”
“What kind of orchards?”
“Apple, plums and pears.”
“Oh. I’d love to see them. Would ya mind iffen I tagged along? And after I’ve seen them, would you mind directin’ me toward Sadie’s house? I told her I’d come in a couple a days to help do her cannin’.”
“Sadie lives on the other side of our orchards so that’ll be fine. I’ll saddle up Macy for you.”
“That’s mighty nice of you, but I don’t use a saddle. And I can get Macy ready myself. All you have to do is show me which bridle to use.”
“You don’t use a saddle?” His eyebrows shifted above his blue eyes.
“No. Ain’t never had one before. Never could afford one. We were lucky to have a horse. It was given to us by Mr. Clark. He couldn’t take her with him when he moved so Pa ended up with her. Was right neighborly of Mr. Clark to think of us.”
They stepped inside the barn and Kitty scooted on past the door.
Michael grabbed two halters from a room filled with tack. “I’ll get the horses.”
“No need to get mine. I can do it.”
He looked at her as if questioning whether he should let her or not, then he nodded and handed her a halter.
He led Selina to one of the stalls. She stepped inside and closed the door. “Mornin’, Macy. You wanna break outta this here cell and go for a ride?”
Michael stopped on his way to fetch his horse. “You act like she’s in jail.”
“She is. How would you like to be holed up here day after day?”
“Well, it’s not like she can’t go outside when she wants.”
“Yeah, but it ain’t the same. She can’t up and leave whenever she wants to.”
“Most horses can’t.”
“I know. I sure am glad I ain’t a horse. Couldn’t stand bein’ cooped up all day. I gotta get out and go for a walk and enjoy all of God’s creation. Why, did you know that there are a million different types of bugs alone? Some of them even prettier than a coon’s face.”
“A coon’s face?”
“I guess y’all call them raccoons here.”
That dip in his cheek made an appearance again even though his smile wasn’t any bigger than a minute. “Never thought about all the different kind of bugs there are.” Humor trickled through his voice and sparked his eyes.
“My mama used to say that beauty could be found anywhere and that the most beautiful things were often hidden. A person just had to look for them.” She glanced over at Michael. “Ain’t you never taken the time to notice how many different type of bugs there are? Or how the mornin’ dew drops on flowers twinkle in the sun like night stars? Or how the stripes in the hundreds of kind of leaves are different? Why, there’s a whole world out there with all kinds of beauty in it to see.”
“Can’t say that I have. I’ve usually got too much going on to take time for things like that.”
She tsked. “That’s a right shame, ya know. You don’t know what you’re missin’.”
“That might be so, but right now what I’m missing is checking on our orchards. I’d better hurry and get to it.”
“Mighty shame that you have to rush around here, there and yonder all the time.”
“I’m sure it is. But I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
They readied their horses and led them out of the barn into the warm sun. A light breeze brushed across Michael’s face.
He turned to help Selina mount but never got the chance. She grabbed a hunk of mane and swung her small form onto the horse’s back. How she did it as small as she was, he wasn’t quite sure, and he would have never believed it if he hadn’t witnessed it for himself.
He shook his head, amazed, then mounted his own horse.
They rode through willows, white pine, cott
onwood and fir trees. One thing was for sure—she hadn’t been kidding him when she said she took time to enjoy God’s creation.
Although he thought it was cute how her face lit up and her eyes sparkled when she stopped to study yellow buttercup flowers, white daisies, wild pink roses and even a few syringa bushes that weren’t even blooming, did she have to do it now? At the pace they were going he would have to work twice as hard and twice as fast to get his work finished.
Not only did she point out every little detail, she had to stop and smell them all, too, closing her eyes as she did. Even placed a few under his nose. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed the pleasant scent of roses or the sweet smell of a syringa bush. Someday he’d have to take the time to do it again, but right now he really needed to get back to work.
And yet, isn’t that what had gotten him into this mess in the first place? Not taking time from work to check things out? Even now though, he still couldn’t. There was too much to do and too little time to get it all done. So as much as he wanted to enjoy the things she was enjoying, he couldn’t. He needed to hurry her along.
Finally, they reached the orchards. To his dismay, she did the same thing there. He gave up trying to hurry her and resigned himself to having to work late again. Riding to one of the pear trees, he plucked a nice ripe one, reined his horse close to Selina’s and handed the fruit to her. “Ever had a pear right from the tree?”
“No, can’t say that I have. Don’t know that I’ve ever had a pear before at all.”
“Never?” That shocked him. “Well, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. Here, try one.”
She took it from him and studied it first. He should have known she would. She closed her eyes, her chest expanding as she breathed in its scent, and then she took a small, hesitant bite and chewed. Her eyes darted open. Her mouth parted and a big chunk disappeared out of the pear. Juice ran down her chin.
He reached over to wipe it away. When his fingers touched her, he noticed how smooth and soft and warm her skin felt under his fingers.
Their gazes connected, then hers dropped to where his fingers still lingered. He yanked his hand away, wishing he didn’t have to, wishing he could run his finger over her cheeks and neck to see if they were as soft as the rest of her skin. A quick frown from her and he cast his urge aside and sat back straight in the saddle. “Well, this is where we part ways. Enjoy your pear. Eat as many as you’d like.”
“What do ya mean ‘this is where we part ways’?” From the fear that flashed through her eyes, he wondered if she had taken it the wrong way and forgotten she had asked him to point her toward Tom and Sadie’s house.
He shifted in his saddle, and leather creaked under him. “Remember you wanted me to show you the way to Sadie’s?”
Her mouth formed an O and the fear dissipated. He’d been right. She had misconstrued what he had said. Relieved to put her fears at rest, he pointed the direction she needed to go and said, “You need to follow the dirt path over the hill and through the trees. It’ll take you straight to their house. But be careful. Out there in Idaho Territory, you may run into wild animals.” His sisters traveled alone all the time, but they were skilled in dealing with wild animals. He battled with what to do.
“What kind of wild animals?”
“Bears, coyotes, wolves.”
Her eyes brightened. Not a trace of fear showed on her face. In fact, intrigue fluttered across it and that made him nervous. The woman had no idea what dangers lurked out there.
“I wish I would have thought to tell you to bring your rifle.” This was one time he was glad the woman had one and knew how to use it.
“You think I’ll need it?” Still no fear.
“Probably not. But it’s always good to take one with you when you’re traveling through the forest. Just be careful, okay?”
She nodded.
“Think you can find your way back home?”
“Yep. I can find my way back from just about anywhere. Now my brother, Jacob, he gets lost worse than a goose in a fog.”
He chuckled at her analogy. “You’re sure?” What if she didn’t? Would he regret not taking her to Sadie’s? He seemed to have a lot of those kinds of regrets lately.
Her deep sigh reached his ears. “Wouldn’t have said so iffen I couldn’t.”
“What time you think you’ll be home?”
“I reckon not till supper time. I didn’t forget about your lunch iffen that’s what you’re worried about. I sliced some ham and put a fresh loaf of bread on the table for you.”
“I wasn’t worried about that. But thank you.”
She waved him away. “You’re welcome. Well, I’d better get iffen I’m going help Sadie with her cannin’. See you later, Michael. And thanks for showing me the orchards and for this here pear.” She heeled Macy’s sides and the mare started walking away.
Poor-decision regret snuck up on him again. The idea of her going alone tore at his conscience, making him rethink his plans for the day. He wanted, no needed to know that she got there and back safely. After all, he was the one who had brought her here to be his wife. She was his responsibility now. “Selina, wait!” He spurred his horse forward and caught up with her. “I’m going with you.”
She reined her horse to a stop. “Michael, I know what you’re thinkin’. But I really can take care of myself. Been doin’ it all my life. I ain’t scared of wild animals.”
“I know. That’s what worries me.”
Her lips curled into a smile. “Well, it’s sweet of you to worry about me, but I’ll be just fine. You go tend to them orchards of yours, and I’ll see you later.” She kicked Macy into a trot. Her braid swished like a horse’s tail as she headed up the hill and out of sight.
Hearing the confidence in her voice, he felt better about letting her go. “Lord, watch over Selina and keep her safe.” The woman was starting to grow on him, and that made him nervous.
Toward dark, Michael’s stomach growled. The sun was setting, leaving behind a sky painted orange with a few streaks of yellow. At the barn he unsaddled his horse and pitched him some hay, then walked toward his house.
Exhausted from a hard day of work, he couldn’t wait to get home, clean up, eat and sit down on the sofa and read first his Bible, then start on A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
The steps groaned under his weight as he climbed them. He opened the door and stopped short. His eyes all but popped out of their sockets at the sight. Curled up next to Selina on the sofa was a wolf pup.
“Selina! What are you doing?” he barked.
Selina bolted upward. Her eyes blinked rapidly and her gaze darted about the room wildly before landing on him. The pup stirred next to her.
“What are you thinking bringing a wolf into this house?”
“Jumpin’ crickets. That’s what all the hollerin’s about? The pup?”
“That just isn’t any pup. That’s a wolf.”
“I know that. But there ain’t no way I was gonna just leave the little varmint there.”
“Leave it where? What are you talking about, woman?”
“Poor little thing had its paw caught in a small animal trap. Ain’t no way I was gonna leave it there to fend for itself and to keep on sufferin’ like it was so I brought it home and doctored it.”
“Se-li-na.” He drew out her name and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Don’t you know how dangerous that is?”
“’Course I do. I ain’t stupid, but I was born and raised in the hills of Kentucky and we got all sorta wild animals there, and I ain’t never left one to die yet, and I ain’t gonna start now. I’ve been tendin’ to them ever since I was eight and found that baby coon without a mama.”
“That—” he pointed to the pup still asleep on the sofa “—isn’t a raccoon. Those things are dangerous. You’re lucky its mama didn’t attack you.”
“I looked around for its mama. Besides, don’t you know nothin’? Iffen I were in danger Macy would have warned me by
gettin’ all antsy, and the hair on the back of my head never rose so I knew I was safe.”
“You can’t go by Macy or the hair on your head rising.”
“Sure I can. Been doin’ it all my life and it’s worked so far. I trust my instincts and the good Lord to keep me safe.”
“You can’t go by instincts, Selina. You have to use common sense. And saying you trust God to protect you when you’re doing something ludicrous is ridiculous. It wouldn’t be any different than me jumping out of a fifty-foot tree and saying that God will keep me safe because I trust Him. I’m either going to end up hurt really badly or killed. And most likely it will be the latter.”
“Someone would have to be gone in the head to do somethin’ that stupid.”
He tilted his head and hiked a brow.
She slammed her hands on her hips. “You callin’ me stupid?”
“No, I’m not calling you stupid, but what you did was stupid.”
“You know, Michael, the way I see it is, the good Lord put me on this earth to help save them poor critters. Iffen He didn’t, then He wouldn’t have given me the knack for doctorin’ them or the desire to.”
“So now you’re saying God is in this?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
“Don’t rightly know what you mean by unbelievable, but I know what’s in my heart.” She pressed her hand to her chest.
“There’s no talking to you. No getting through to you, is there?”
She frowned. “Don’t understand. Ain’t that what we’ve been a doin’ the last ten minutes? Talking? At least where I come from it is.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I want that pup out of here tomorrow. I’ll ride with you to put it back where you got it. And from now on, I don’t want you bringing any more animals into this house. You understand me?” He kept his voice firm and hard, hoping she would get the message.
She stepped right up to him, leaving mere inches between them. Her head tilted back and she hooked his gaze and held it. “I understand you, but it don’t mean I’m gonna do it. I’d rather move outta this here house than have someone tryin’ to change who I am. What I live for. And that’s doctorin’ animals and helpin’ people. Aside from all of that, I can’t return it.” She turned and sat down on the sofa and pulled the sleeping pup onto her lap and started stroking its fur. “I think her mama is dead.”
The Unlikely Wife Page 8
