The Unlikely Wife

by Debra Ullrick

  “What makes you think that?”

  “’Cause this pup raised an awful ruckus when I was helpin’ it, and the mama never did show up. Iffen she were alive, she would have protected that pup of hers.”

  Selina had a point. About a few things anyway. He was trying to change her. But he didn’t see that as a bad thing. Someone had to protect this stubborn, headstrong woman from herself. Still, he glanced at the pup and back at her. Determination and compassion drifted from her.

  What was he going to do?

  He couldn’t keep the wolf.

  And he didn’t want his wife moving out. That surprised him.

  “I’ll be gettin’ my things now.” She put the pup down and walked past him toward the stairs.

  He caught up with her and grasped her arm, stopping her. “You don’t have to do that, Selina.”

  “Yes, I do. I won’t live where I can’t be myself. For whatever reason the good Lord made me the way I am, and I won’t be a changin’ for you or anyone else. Iffen you’re worried about me breakin’ the vows we made before the Lord, don’t be. I’ll just bed down in the barn from now on.” She shook off his arm and darted up the stairs, taking them two at a time with her short legs.

  He hurried up the stairs after her. “You don’t have to sleep in the barn. There’s an old cage down in one of the sheds. I’ll run and get it. The pup can sleep in it. But just for tonight. Do I make myself clear?”

  She gave him that look. One he was coming to know well. That pup wasn’t going anywhere.

  “I’ll be back. I’m going to get that cage now.”

  He hurried downstairs, lit a lantern, then headed down to the shed, mumbling all the way that the woman was going to be the death of him.

  Chapter Six

  Selina bolted up in bed to the sound of a man’s scream. She tossed the covers aside, flew down the stairs into Michael’s room and stopped. She pressed her hand over her mouth to hold in her laugh at the sight of Michael shoved up against the wall, staring at the wolf pup as if it was something to be feared. The pup’s backside stood higher than its front and its tail was tucked between its legs. Selina hurried to the pup and gained its trust before picking it up and cradling it to her chest. “Poor baby. Did Michael scare you?”

  “Me? Scare her? How would you like to open your eyes and see that face just inches from yours?”

  “This face?” Using what little light there was in the dark room, she studied the gray wolf’s features. “Nothing scary about it. Why it’s as cute as two baby bunnies leapin’ in the air at one another.”

  “How did it get out anyway?”

  “I don’t rightly know.” Pup in hand, she scurried to the door.

  “Where you going?”

  “Iffen you must know, to put some clothes on.” She was wearing her thin nightgown. She still hadn’t gotten around to making a new one yet.

  She whirled and found herself face-to-face with Michael’s chest. Tucking the pup closer to her, she covered her threadbare gown best as she could.

  “Selina, we are married. You don’t have to be embarrassed.” His eyes held only kindness.

  She didn’t know what to say to that. They weren’t like a real married couple. Her ma and pa shared the same bed. She and Michael didn’t. The way he felt about her, she wasn’t sure they ever would, neither.

  “I know we don’t share the same bed and all…”

  Her attention flew to his face. Was the man a mind reader?

  “But we do live in the same house. We’re bound to see each other in, um, precarious situations now and then.”

  “Pre-care-ee-ous. What’s that mean?”

  “Delicate. Perplexing. Problematic.”

  “Probli what? Purple-lex-en what? You’re confusin’ me. Can’t you just tell me what you’re tryin’ to say without all them big words?”

  “Fine. Just remember you asked for it. So…brace yourself. There are bound to be times we’re going to find one another not fully dressed and see things we are not used to seeing. But, we are married so it’s perfectly proper and acceptable.”

  She glanced toward the ceiling and sighed, grateful he’d slept in his pants and not his britches. “I had to ask. Now. Iffen you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna get myself out of this pre-care-ee-an situation.” She raised her chin and headed toward the stairs, feeling Michael’s eyes on her and hearing his deep chuckle.

  Once again Michael had to admit, even to himself, that having Selina help with chores lightened the load for everyone. He stepped into the barn while Selina fed the chickens and collected the eggs. Horses crunched on grain and shuffled their hooves.

  Jesse turned from saddling his horse and did a double take. “You look terrible. Like you haven’t slept in a week.”

  “I haven’t.”

  “How come?”

  “Selina.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s going to be the death of me yet.”

  “What did she do now?” His brother pulled the cinch tight and removed the stirrup from the top of the saddle, letting it drop to the horse’s side before he faced Michael.

  “You won’t believe what she brought home.”

  “What?” Jesse’s lips quivered and his nostrils flared as he struggled to hold back his smile as Michael had seen him do so many times before.

  Michael glowered at him. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

  Jesse held up his hands. “No, honest. From the few things you’ve told me, there seems to never be a dull moment at your house, and Selina is very unique.”

  “She’s unique, all right.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m not sure. Sometimes she has me laughing at her backward ways and antics. Other times I want to find the nearest cave at Coeur d’Alene and hide out there the rest of my life.” Michael raised his hat, plowed his hand through his hair and replaced his hat. “Yesterday, on her way home from Sadie’s, she found a wolf pup and brought it home.”

  “A wolf? You’re kidding.”

  “No. In fact, when I woke up this morning, the wolf’s face was only inches from mine. It about scared the life out of me.”

  His brother laughed.

  “Glad you find this amusing. That thing scared ten years off of my life.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “I told her I didn’t want her bringing any more critters home but she told me the good Lord made her that way and she would rather bed down here in the barn than stop doing that. I have no idea what to expect next. Or any idea what she might bring home next.”

  “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a little bit, Michael? She only brought a cat and a wolf to your house.”

  “Only?” He dipped his head and hiked one brow toward Jesse. “The cat I could deal with. But the wolf?” He shook his head. “You know they can’t be fully trusted. I wonder what she plans on doing with it once it’s healed. She can’t take it back because she says its mama is dead, and I refuse to share my house with a wolf, no matter what my wife says. That woman is as unpredictable and stubborn as a mule.”

  “Hmm. Just like someone else I know who’s maybe not unpredictable but definitely stubborn.” Jesse laid his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Look, Michael, what’s done is done. You can’t go back and change the past. The way I see it, you have two choices here. You can start embracing Selina and her uniqueness and pay attention to her good qualities, or you can continue to be miserable. The choice is yours.”

  “How can I embrace her when she’s so different?”

  “Different isn’t always a bad thing. It can make for an interesting life.”

  “Interesting? That’s one way to put it. But I’m not sure I want my life that interesting.”

  Jesse looked like he was about to laugh again. Michael felt his own laughter rising up in him. He let it out and Jesse joined him.

  “Michael, have fun with it. See the humor in what she does. You’re always too serious. You need to lighten u
p. Maybe that’s why God sent Selina to you. To teach you to not take things so seriously all the time. To stop and enjoy life once in a while.”

  “That’s what Selina said. Only she said it was a shame I was too busy to stop and enjoy the dew drops on flowers or something like that.”

  “Maybe you should listen to her.” Jesse untied his horse. Dust motes kicked up from his horse’s hooves as his brother led the animal toward the barn door.

  “Whose side are you on, anyway?” Michael hollered after him. “Traitor.”

  The only response he got was laughter.

  He was glad his brother found it funny. He didn’t. Didn’t Jesse know how hard this was on him? How he beat himself up on a regular basis for being so stupid? How hard it was for him to have all his dreams ripped from him in one moment?

  That the person he had fallen in love with didn’t exist.

  Spotting a rock on the dirt floor of the barn, he took his frustration out by kicking it with all his might. It crashed into the wall and echoed throughout the barn.

  “You havin’ a fit this mornin’ or somethin’?”

  He closed his eyes and pulled himself together before turning around and facing Selina. “Something like that.”

  “Anythin’ I can help you with?”

  “No. You’ve done enough already.” Still put out with her over the pup and lack of sleep, he brushed past her and left the barn before he did or said something else he’d regret.

  Selina watched Michael walk away. That man was strung tighter than a clothesline. He needed to learn to relax.

  She looked around the barn. Chores were done here, so she decided to head over to Rainee’s.

  As she made her way across the large ranch yard, calves bawled for their mamas, hens balked and horses whinnied.

  Under her booted feet, the boards echoed her arrival at Rainee and Haydon’s. Selina knocked on the door.

  Wasn’t long before the door swung open. Rainee’s wide smile made Selina feel welcome.

  “Selina, I am so happy to see you.”

  “I ain’t botherin’ you or keepin’ you from anything, am I?”

  “No. Not at all. I was just knitting a blanket for the baby. Please, come in.” Rainee stepped aside of the doorway and Selina walked inside.

  She had expected to see fancy furniture and fine things, but there was no putting on airs here. Although the furnishings were nice, more than anything else they were downright homey.

  “Would you like some tea?”

  “Yes. That’d be mighty nice of you. Can I help?”

  “No, no. I just finished brewing some.” Rainee arranged five small plates on a wooden tray. She picked up a sugar bowl, pitcher and something that held cream in it that matched the rest of her well-used dishes. They sure were pretty with their pink and white roses, gold-colored handles, lids and spout. Chips and all.

  Rainee opened a drawer and added spoons and cloth napkins on the tray, too.

  Selina watched, wondering how she would ever fit in with these rich folks and their highfalutin ways. But Rainee wasn’t anything like she thought she’d be. From the way the woman talked and carried herself, Rainee had come from money, too. Yet she was as friendly as Selina’s neighbors back home.

  “How have you been, Selina?” Rainee raised the cloth off a basket sitting on a cabinet in the corner. She added four triangle-shaped biscuits and placed them onto the biggest plate.

  “Been fine as frog’s hair. Yourself?”

  “Quite well. Thank you.” She smiled. “Shall we head into the living room?”

  Selina took the tray and followed Rainee over to two wingback chairs with a small square table in between them. She set the tray on the table in front of the glass lamp and watched as Rainee picked up a small plate and placed a cup on it.

  “Do you take it plain, or would you like cream and sugar with it?”

  “Ain’t never had cream nor sugar in it before. I reckon I’ll just take it plain.”

  Rainee handed her a cup and started to put a biscuit on another plate.

  “No need to dirty another dish. I can put it right here.” She took it from Rainee and before she set it on the side of her cup, she took a bite. “This is right tasty. What is it?”

  “A strawberry scone. Would you like some cream on it?”

  “Thank you kindly, but it tastes mighty fine the way it is. Real buttery-like.”

  “Do you miss home?” Rainee asked.

  “I sure do. I miss my family and the easy way of life back home. Here everythin’ is rush, rush, rush. Why, you’d think a person was on fire with all that scurryin’ about.”

  “They do keep rather busy, do they not?” If Selina wasn’t mistaken that was sadness she saw in her sister-in-law’s eyes.

  “Do ya ever get lonely out here?” Steam rose toward Selina’s nose as she raised the cup and took a sip of the strong brew and another bite of the scone.

  “Only for my husband. He takes his leave early in the morning and does not arrive home until after the sun has set. So I scarcely see him. Before I became pregnant, the children and I went with him a lot, but as soon as he found I was with child again, he would not allow me to go with him anymore.” Rainee set her cup back in the saucer and turned toward her. “Have you met Kitty yet?”

  “I sure have. She introduced herself by buttin’ the back of my legs.”

  Rainee laughed. “That sounds like Kitty. She was a bridesmaid at my wedding, you know.”

  “Did I just hear you say you had a pig as your bridesmaid?”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Selina slapped her knee and guffawed. “I knew I liked you. I love animals, too. Why, Michael thinks I’m stubborn as an old mountain goat ’cause I’m always bringin’ critters home. Last night I was fixin’ to bed down in the barn ’cause…”

  “The barn?” Rainee interrupted her.

  “I brought home an injured wolf and you’d have thought it was a grizzly bear or somethin’ worse with the way Michael carried on.”

  “A wolf.” Rainee’s delicate brows rose. “You brought home a wolf?”

  “Yeah.”

  “May I see it?”

  Selina smiled. The woman didn’t make her feel crazy at all because she’d brought the animal home. She reckoned not everyone here was as set in their ways as Michael.

  “If you do not have any plans for today, perhaps we could have a lesson and then go see that wolf of yours.”

  “I’d like that. Thank you kindly, Rainee.”

  “No, thank you. You have quite rescued me from boredom. Haydon has Abby take the children to the neighbors with her so they do not overtax me. I assure you they do not, but he thinks they do. I rather enjoy them and miss them when they are gone.” Love for her children lit up her eyes. “Sometimes I feel as if I shall go mad cooped up inside all the time. I am used to keeping busy and not sitting around knitting all day.”

  “I ain’t one for sittin’ myself. Let’s get that lesson done then I’ll break ya outta here and take you to my place.” Her place. Sure didn’t feel like her place and she wondered if it ever would.

  Exhausted, sore and ready to fall into bed, Michael dragged his body home, terrified at what he might come home to this time. Another animal? Or something worse? He really didn’t want to find out, but he had no choice unless he wanted to sleep in the barn. Therefore, he forced one leg in front of the other and climbed the steps. Something smelled good. He opened the door and stepped inside.

  Selina stood in front of the stove, flipping something over in the large black skillet. She turned and smiled. “Evenin’, Michael.”

  “Good evening.” Now, if this had been a real marriage, he would have stepped up behind his wife, turned her around, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her thoroughly.

  But this wasn’t a real marriage. Legally it was, but not emotionally. Disappointment sighed through him.

  “Sit yourself down and I’ll fetch you some vittles.”

  Michael rem
oved his hat and hung it on a peg. “Thank you. I’ll wash up.”

  Selina buzzed around, smiling and humming, a real bundle of energy. Did the woman ever tire?

  He finished washing and sat down. As usual, Selina set the pans on the table, except for the one she’d fried the meat in. She put its contents on a platter.

  She sat down and settled her hand close to his plate. He no longer had to ask for her hand—she now offered it. That small gesture pleased him. Why, he had no idea, but it did.

  He clasped her hand in his. Warmth radiated through him as it did every time he touched her. “Selina, would you pray tonight? I’m tired.”

  “I’d be honored.” She closed her eyes. “Dear Lord, thank You for a husband who works hard to put a roof over our heads, clothes on our bodies and food on the table. Thank You for Your provision. I pray that these here vittles provide what our bodies need so we might better serve You in all we do. And, Lord. Thank You for Michael. Amen.”

  To know that all his hard work and efforts were not taken for granted and that she appreciated all he had done to provide her with a nice home and plenty of food warmed him like hot coals on a cold winter’s day. “Thank you, Selina.”

  She stopped dishing his plate and looked at him. “For what?”

  “For your thoughtful and kind prayer.”

  She nodded, then went back to filling his plate.

  “So, what did you do after chores today?” Michael took a long gulp of his milk.

  She pushed his overfilled plate in front of him.

  “Paid a visit to Rainee.”

  “How’s she feeling?”

  “Bored.”

  “I don’t doubt it, being cooped up inside all the time like that. She’s used to getting out and riding and helping Haydon.”

  “Before she got pregnant, did he ever mind her helpin’?” She raised the spoon from the bean pot.