Her hands moved to the back of his neck and stroked the short hair there. She was downright pleased with herself for marrying him. And pleased with him for kissing her. At that moment, she was even a little bit pleased with Mrs. Abbot for forcing them to marry in the first place.
When he finally lifted his head, her lips were red and moist. “Happy now?” he asked softly.
She nodded, her eyes a bit dazed. “I do believe I am.” She rested her head against his shoulder when she heard the loud baaing of a goat. “I think Roscoe needs more water.”
“You can change his name if you want to,” he said, his arms still around her and his hands still stroking her back.
“That’s okay. I might name him after a girl I knew in school who was stubborn as a goat, but I’d have to change the spelling to Aaron for a boy.”
He laughed. “You can name the next critter in your life anything you want. For now, let’s keep him Roscoe.”
“I’d be thrilled with that,” Ernie told him. “Go back to work. I’ll have lunch ready in…” She trailed off as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “An hour. I’ll have lunch ready for you and Jake in an hour.”
“Sounds good.”
She smiled as he walked away from her toward the front door. “What’s Jake going to say when you tell him that we got married this morning?”
“He’ll ask me what took me so long!”
Ernie couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing as she hurried back to her bread. What was she going to make for lunch on such short notice?
For the next hour, she rushed around the kitchen, finishing up the rolls she was making and quickly chopping the vegetables for some soup. It was the quickest thing she could come up with. She needed to get to the store soon. She smiled to herself as she thought about it. If they said anything about her behavior, she could inform them that Cliff was her husband.
She sang softly to herself as she set the table and got ready to serve her husband and his friend a good hearty lunch. After lunch, she’d shop and move her new husband’s belongings to her bedroom. If he kept kissing her the way he had, she might not make him wait to consummate the marriage. He made her stomach flutter when he kissed her, and she couldn’t imagine that was a bad thing.
She’d also have to sit down and write a letter to her parents and her sister, Elizabeth. They’d need to know she was settled and married. She was supposed to write as soon as she got there, but she hadn’t known what to say. Now she had a lot to tell them.
Chapter Five
After supper that evening, Jake offered to find another place to live.
“Why would you do that?” Ernie asked. “I’m still running a boarding house!”
“But you don’t want me underfoot. You just got married.” Jake frowned at her, his eyes going over her head to Cliff. “Tell her you don’t want me here.”
Cliff shrugged. “I do want you here. It’s going to be easier to run a business together if we’re under one roof. At least in the beginning. Just don’t get in my way after supper, and all is good.”
“Get in your way how?” Jake asked.
“Well, don’t bring your guitar down and take all of her attention from me. I want her to look at me like I’m the hero, not you!”
Ernie rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help herself. “You two go into the parlor or something. I need to get these dishes washed.”
“I’ll wait with you,” Cliff told her.
“No, you won’t. I won’t have you underfoot while I’m doing the dishes. You’ll just get in my way.”
“Married for less than a day, and she’s already ordering me around and kicking me out of her kitchen.”
Jake shrugged. “You knew she would be. She was doing that the day we met her. I think it’s just in her nature to be bossy. At least you know she’ll be a good mother.”
The two men laughed together as they left the kitchen, and Ernie was left to her thoughts. As she cleaned up the leftover fried chicken and mashed potatoes—enough for lunch the next day—she couldn’t help but wonder what being married to such a tall, strong man would be like. He was really her dream come true at the moment. Her fiancé had died, but here she was, already happily married.
As soon as the dishes were put up, she walked into the parlor. Instead of finding the two men there together, it was just Cliff waiting for her. “Jake said he wasn’t going to be in the way on our wedding night, and he headed up to bed.”
Ernie sank down onto the sofa beside Cliff, sitting much closer to him than she had the night before. She rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m glad you were willing to marry me. I promised myself when I came here that I wouldn’t be the object of gossip again, and I think that’s what was about to happen.”
“It was already happening.” He sighed. “I think the pastor was going to have a talk with them, though. They were saying a lot of things that shouldn’t be said about you.”
“I wonder what I did to make them do that. I’ve never understood the need women have to say mean things about others for no apparent reason.”
“You didn’t do anything. Some women just feel the need to make up stories about others so they can have something to do. Ignore them. There’s no doubt you’re the better person.”
She smiled at him. “I think I like you.”
“I know I like you!” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “How’s Roscoe?”
She shook her head. “He ate through his rope this afternoon. I had to go searching for him, and I found him looking into the windows of the mercantile. The goat was window shopping!”
He laughed. “Maybe there’s something he wants to buy.”
“I have no idea. I tied him up again, but I really need a fence back there to keep him in.”
“Jake and I will do that after church on Sunday. Will that work for you?”
“That would be wonderful.” It was only Tuesday, but she could make do for the rest of the week. She sighed contentedly. “Before the two of you leave tomorrow, will you make sure you both put your dirty clothes out? I’ll get them washed while you’re working.”
“Will do.” He hid a yawn behind his hand. “Today’s been crazy, and I’m exhausted. Are you about ready to turn in?”
She nodded. “Would you give me ten minutes to get into my nightgown and into bed before you come in?”
“Ten minutes? It’s going to take you that long?”
She frowned at him. “I’m going to wash my face before I go into the bedroom. Ten minutes isn’t asking too much, is it?”
“I suppose not.” Cliff still looked put out, but he said nothing else.
“I’ll hurry.” Ernie rushed to the bathroom and washed up quickly before she went to the bedroom she’d share with Cliff and changed into the pretty white nightgown she’d bought for her wedding night with Bert. She tied the pink ribbon at the collar and climbed into bed to wait for him. Everything had only taken her about five minutes, but she felt better waiting for him beneath the covers.
She settled back and closed her eyes, yawning behind her hand. She was so tired. The day had been emotionally and physically exhausting.
Cliff let himself into the bedroom, hoping he could talk her into not waiting to consummate their marriage. She’d certainly enjoyed his kisses, so maybe she would be willing to not wait.
He shut and locked the door behind him and looked over at his beautiful bride, lying flat on her back and drooling slightly. The woman was asleep! She’d fallen asleep on their wedding night before he’d even had a chance to join her. What was wrong with him? More importantly, what was wrong with her?
He sighed and slowly stripped down to his drawers, sliding into the bed beside her. He looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes. He was almost as tired as she was. Hopefully they would be less tired soon, and they would make love. If not, he might slowly lose his mind.
*****
Ernie slowly came awake the next morning. She tried to turn her head, but realiz
ed she couldn’t. Her hair was pinned under something. She reached over to see what it was, and encountered a hairy arm. Her eyes flew open.
Right. She was married. Why didn’t she remember her husband joining her in bed, though? Wasn’t that something a woman should remember from her wedding night. She couldn’t have fallen asleep before he’d even joined her, could he?
She carefully freed her hair and sat on the side of the bed, looking for her robe. She shouldn’t be wearing so little in front of a man, even if he was her husband. The robe was on the edge of her dresser, and when she stood to get it, her hand was caught. She tumbled back into bed, falling across her husband.
“Hello,” Cliff said softly. He cupped her cheek with one hand. “Aren’t you going to kiss me good morning, wife? You were already asleep when I came in, so I missed my goodnight kiss.” She was as beautiful in the mornings as he’d expected her to be.
She sighed. “I’m sorry I fell asleep. Yesterday was a busy day.”
“Every day is busy for you, from what I can see.” He didn’t want to wait another minute, so he pulled her down for a long, leisurely kiss. “That’s better.”
She rested against him contentedly. “I need to get up and fix breakfast.”
He sighed. “Are we ever going to have enough time alone together?” he asked.
“I have no idea. Your friend is still living here, so I would think our time alone would be limited, at least for a while.”
“I’ll go kick him out right now!”
“No, I think we need the income from him living here.” She rolled to the side of the bed and got up for her robe, quickly wrapping it around her. “I’m going to go get dressed and start breakfast. Would you ask Jake to bring down his dirty clothes? I’ll get started on laundry right after breakfast.”
“Of course.” He yawned and rolled from the bed. When his naked shoulders emerged, she thought about turning away, but she was too curious to do so. She’d been around mostly naked men before, because she had brothers—brothers who thought clothes were a nuisance.
Ernie watched him as he emerged completely, trying to decide if she was disappointed that he was wearing his underwear or not. She told herself she wasn’t, but she had a feeling she was lying to herself.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed and in the kitchen. When Cliff joined her there, he immediately took the plates that she’d stacked on the counter and set the table for her. “You don’t have to do my work!” she protested.
“It’s no work to set the table. My mother made me do it more times than I can count. Jake is going to bring his laundry bag down and put it on the back porch. I presume you’ll do your laundry out back?”
She nodded. “I will. Thank you for your help.” She slipped a stack of pancakes onto a serving tray and set the tray on the table. “Coffee’s ready. I have syrup here as well.”
“Oh good.” Cliff sat down at the table and began fixing his plate, grabbing several pieces of bacon.
Jake hurried to the table. “Don’t take it all, Cliff. You get the beautiful wife, so you don’t get all the good food as well. That wouldn’t be fair at all.”
“Who said life is fair?” Cliff asked, taking a bite of the bacon.
Ernie sat down at the table, shaking her head at the two of them. “There’s plenty of food for all of us. Cliff, would you pray?”
Cliff nodded, reaching for her hand as he bowed his head. As part of his prayer, he thanked God for putting her into his life, and she felt a tear pop into her eye. She’d fallen asleep on their wedding night, and he was still thanking God for her.
After the breakfast dishes were done, Ernie went out back to start on the laundry, only to find Roscoe eating a sheet. “Roscoe! The grass is your food! Not the sheets!”
Her neighbor looked over at her. “Roscoe will eat anything. I’ve seen that critter eat an old tin can when no one was looking! How’d you get stuck with him?”
“My new husband thought he would be good for keeping the grass trimmed.” Ernie shook her head at the goat. “I’m Ernie Miller—err—Ernie Solomon. I got married yesterday.”
“I heard. I’m Katherine Scott. Call me Katie. And don’t worry about the gossips in this town. They have nothing better to do than to talk about you, so you must be a great deal more important to them than they are to you.”
Ernie smiled. “I like the way you think. Thanks for the kind words, Katie.” The woman looked to be close to her age, and she hadn’t made any friends in town yet, so she was thrilled to meet someone kind.
“I missed church on Sunday because the baby was sick,” Katie said with a sigh. “She seems to get sick a lot. I hope she grows out of it soon.”
“You only have the one?” Ernie asked. She wanted at least five children. She was pretty sure she didn’t want as many as her mother had, but five…that seemed like just the right number.
Katie nodded. “Her name is Abigail. She’s a sweetheart.”
“How old is she?” Ernie used the scrub board on the laundry as she talked to her new friend.
“Four months. She’s still so little.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Two years,” Katie said with a smile. “Wait until you meet my Ethan. He’s pretty wonderful.”
“What does he do?”
“He works at the bank. He and Bert were good friends.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, then.” Ernie was surprised how easily the words came to her. She’d heard them multiple times since coming to town, but she had never felt they applied to her. She didn’t feel as if she’d lost someone.
“Thank you. I hope you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong by marrying so fast. I may be making a mess of this, but I think I would feel strangely about marrying someone when I’d just lost a fiancé…however, I don’t think you should.”
Ernie nodded. “I understand what you mean. It does feel a little strange, but I didn’t know Bert. We’d never actually met, so I can’t feel guilty about a man who was a virtual stranger to me.”
“Good. I was hoping you wouldn’t.” Katie hung up her last bit of laundry. “I need to go check on the baby. It was nice talking to you.”
“You too! Thanks for introducing yourself.” Ernie watched her new friend go inside as she continued to scrub the laundry. It was nice to talk with her. She’d needed a friend in Montana, and now she had one.
After the laundry was finished, she went back into the house to start lunch. Now that she was feeding two men, her entire life seemed to revolve around cooking. She wasn’t sure if she should be upset with them, or thankful that she was no longer trying to figure out what to do to fill her time.
Late that afternoon, she went out to check the clothing she’d hung on the line, only to find Roscoe calmly grazing, wearing one of her bonnets. He’d obviously tried to get it off the line, and had ended up wearing it.
When she approached him to remove it, he made the loudest fuss she’d ever heard. Finally, Ernie shook her head. If the stupid goat wanted to run around in her pink gingham bonnet, he was welcome to it. She had two others anyway.
*****
That night she wasn’t as tired, and she was still wide awake when Cliff came into the bedroom to join her. She met him in the middle of the bed, immediately snuggling close. “I don’t know why it’s this cold out,” she protested. “It’s still September.”
“It gets cold early in the year here. It won’t snow yet, but you need to get used to the fact that it won’t be as warm as you’re used to.”
She sighed. “I guess so, but Massachusetts isn’t exactly a warm state. I don’t mind the cold, though. Do you want to know why?”
“Why?”
“Because it gives me an excuse to cuddle close to you.”
He smiled, pulling her closer. “I really like the way you think, wife of mine.”
Ernie pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. At least she knew he was wearing his drawers to bed. This morning she hadn’t known what sh
e’d see when he emerged from under the covers. “How’s the business going?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Do you really want to talk about business, or do you want to kiss?”
“I have choices?” she asked.
“Always.” He nodded. “What’s your choice?”
“I think I’d rather figure out what lovemaking is all about,” she said boldly. She was surprised at how calmly she’d been able to say the words, because inside she was shaking with fear.
“I was hoping you’d say that!” He pulled her closer, his hands going to her back under the covers. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”
She laughed. “I certainly hope it will. My mother told me she was a big fan, which is why she ended up with so many children. I just don’t want to have fourteen like she did, okay?”
He laughed. “How ’bout five?”
“Did you read my mind?” She turned sweetly into his arms and pressed her lips to his. She knew that was what she needed to do to start things. She’d let him figure it out from there.
Chapter Six
As it grew colder, Ernie’s job became more difficult. Within a month of marrying, she had five guests, not counting her new husband, and each man brought more work with him. She did laundry as an extra service, for more money, but she found she was spending a full day washing clothes and hanging them on the line.
She designated every Wednesday as wash day unless it rained, and then she adjusted to another day of the week. Sometimes she paid Katie to help her, and afterward they’d have tea and cookies and play with the baby together. The cold hard truth was that Ernie was exhausted.
When Cliff came home for lunch on a Friday in late October, he frowned at her. “You’re pale. You’re doing too much!” He told her to sit down while he served everyone lunch.
“I can’t sit! This is my job. You work hard all day.” His business was already becoming wildly popular. He and Jake had made one free saddle for one of the area ranchers, and the rancher had bragged about it to all of his men and his friends. Before long, there was a waiting list for saddles. She pushed him gently toward a chair, knowing the other five men would be along soon. She hadn’t expected so many to take her up on her offer to cook lunch, but they all loved her cooking.
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