Courting in Custer

by Kari Trumbo

  He remained far from her. She couldn’t even feel his body heat. Daisy rolled onto her back and realized he hadn’t climbed under the covers. He’d grabbed a blanket from the end of the bed and was now lying with his back to her, draped in one cover, the wall of the coverlet between them.

  “Elias?” She bit her lip to keep her voice from wavering. He kept telling her that he wanted her to be his wife, yet when it came time to prove it, again and again he hurt her.

  “Yes, Daisy.” He sounded so far away with the hard length of his back to her.

  “Someday, I want you to love me. I need to know how. What can I do so that you will let me love you?” If he wanted her to stay, to be his wife, then there had to be hope, something she could do to make herself desirable to him.

  His voice was little more than a strained whisper. “I do love you, Daisy, and if I loved you any more, I’d go sleep in the other room to keep you safe from me.”

  She clenched her eyes shut tight. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She didn’t want to move him out of his room but forcing him to sleep on a sliver of the edge of the bed because he dare not touch her wasn’t love, either.

  Daisy turned her back to her husband and prayed. Lord, see my husband’s hurt. See the pain he carries. He won’t let me heal him. He won’t let me love him. Heal him Lord, so that we can be a family in Your eyes.

  Soft snores vibrated through the bed. At least he could sleep. Daisy clutched the blanket over her head so he wouldn’t hear her tears and wake up. This was now the second night that she was Mrs. Laury, and while he’d finally kissed her, and she was in his bed, she felt farther from him than she’d felt in her own room.

  Pretending sleep had been easy. Except when he felt the shudder of her body next to him as she hid her tears from him under the blanket. He’d prayed that she would want to marry him, but he’d never dreamed that she would want to be his wife in truth. As exciting as that could be, it could never be.

  His grandfather had been just as tall and broad as he was and was the reason his grandmother had made such an admonishing comment about his size in the first place. She knew from experience. It was the reason they had only had one child, Elias’s father. He’d grown up knowing that his grandparent’s, and his parents, slept in separate beds, and why. His father was also a very tall, hearty man. Though, he stood about four inches shorter than Elias. It didn’t matter. After one child, they had separated. His own mother had almost died in childbirth. He wouldn’t lose his tiny Daisy because he couldn’t control his lusts. She wouldn’t pay for his desires.

  As her quaking subsided and she fell into a fitful sleep, he laid there, thinking about how he could love her without the desire. What had his parents and grandparents done to show their love that he could now do with Daisy? He couldn’t really recall. They had just lived. They’d eaten together, talked for hours, sat on the porch, worked hand in hand. But his mother and grandmother had each bore one child and knew the consequences. Daisy needed to get to that point without ever having to go through what they did.

  The best way to accomplish that might be to invite his family to visit. That would also show Daisy that he was proud of his new bride. The tension released from his shoulders. Yes, now he could really consider sleeping. Though he’d never had trouble falling asleep on his side, facing the wall, all of a sudden it was the most uncomfortable place to be. He shifted and rolled over, facing Daisy, to move back a little closer to the middle of the bed.

  He’d just started to relax when Patches made a soft, almost purring noise in her throat and jumped up on his bed, curling up behind his knees. He couldn’t move, or the pest dug her claws into his calf. He grumbled and moved a little closer to the center until his knees were within inches of Daisy’s backside. He was far too close, but he couldn’t move more, or the cat would claw him. Patches stretched out farther, reaching out to him.

  Daisy mumbled in her sleep and turned to face him. Her light hair fanned around her head, and her face was so relaxed in sleep. If only she could be that happy all the time. He closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. Every time Daisy moved, he opened his eyes to make sure she was all right, hadn’t woken up, and they weren’t touching.

  When the morning light shown in through the window, he finally lifted his blanket quickly off the bed, sending Patches flying toward the door. The cat landed with a huff and a flick of her orange tail. Then Elias made the mistake of looking over at his bride in the golden light of the new day.

  During her fitful night of sleep, she’d stuck her leg out of the coverlet, and her nightgown had worked its way up to the middle of her thigh. His wife had lovely, shapely legs.

  He needed to leave his room. Even though he had every right to desire his wife, to look on her and be pleased, he couldn’t. Urges like that had to be doused. She would have to sleep back in the room he’d made for her. He pushed off the bed and Daisy sat up straight and squealed, clutching the covers up to her neck then hastily covering up that beautiful creamy leg he’d been admiring.

  “As much as I hope you had a good night’s sleep last night, you’ll have to go back to your own room. Your cat kept me up all night.” It was only half a lie. She’d kept him up all night, and he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her if she continued.

  “Patches?” Daisy blinked and rubbed her sleepy eyes. “I don’t see her.”

  Blast, he’d destroyed the evidence. “She clawed me every time I moved. I was trying so hard to let you have your space, and the cat had other ideas.”

  Daisy yawned, hiding it behind her hand and then stretched. He needed to close his eyes, but they wouldn’t. Mercy, her legs were not her only curves. Elias flung his legs off of his side of the bed and turned from his far too beautiful wife.

  “I’m not leaving, Elias. This is where I belong. With you.”

  He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. How had he managed to fall for such a wonderful, but stubborn woman?

  Chapter 12

  Saturday had always been the day Daisy had done laundry and her shopping. Elias had already gone to meet with Mr. Saunders at the jail, leaving her alone to do what she needed. She’d just set up the wash water on the stove when someone knocked on the front door.

  Daisy wiped her hands on her thick washing apron as she rushed to get it. She opened the door to find Alma standing on her front step.

  “Oh, Daisy. I had to ask all sorts of people where to find you. Judge Cornwall said you’d gone and gotten married.” The statement should’ve been one of excitement, but Alma was too careworn from her trouble with Martin to ever get excited about such things, giving her a continual sour expression.

  “Yes, it was rather … sudden.” She should’ve thought of some explanation for those who would want to know, like her church. She’d never asked Elias if he attended anywhere, but her friends at church were likely to wonder about what had happened.

  “I should say. I just spoke to you yesterday and you didn’t mention it.” Alma moved right to the kitchen without invitation and pulled out a chair. Anyone else would be indignant over Daisy’s omission, but not Alma. “Now, let’s get some coffee perking and we can talk. Martin never did show up last night. I need you to talk me through what might’ve happened, so I can go find him.”

  Her water for wash wouldn’t boil for a long time, but she’d hoped to get more cleaning done around the house while she waited. Then again, how many friends did she have who would just stop by for coffee and a chat? Daisy rummaged for the percolator and got it set up, then pulled up a chair.

  “I see I caught you on wash day. I won’t dawdle here too long, but I do appreciate your help.”

  “It isn’t a bother at all. It’s good to see you out, away from the court. Have you thought about my suggestion, of helping at the museum?” If the city approved it, Alma would be perfect for the job. She’d documented so much of Custer’s history anyway.

  “Well…” Alma hesitated, and she wrung her hands in her lap. She’d been
doing that almost every time Daisy saw her lately. “I did, but I really think I should continue working for the courthouse until they tell me they don’t need me anymore. It wouldn’t be right to just leave.”

  Fighting with Alma about her job would only make the visit last longer, but she’d broach it again another day. “So, tell me about Martin and what he was doing the last few days before he disappeared.” At least he wasn’t making trouble yet, they could be thankful for that. If he did, the sheriff would know for sure, and Alma’s refusal to warn him might cost her.

  Alma propped her elbow on the table and rested her head in her palm. “About five days ago now, he and his cousin, Harvey, went to visit Payton.”

  Daisy flinched. Payton was Harvey Saunders neighbor, who had bought a new car. Saunders was either jealous of the car or was truly irritated by the noise, making threats to destroy the vehicle, right about the same time Martin was with him.

  “He came home that night talking about Harvey, but that’s nothing new. Those two are as thick as thieves.”

  And twice as cunning. Daisy bit her lip to keep from speaking.

  “The next day, he was gone when I got home. He returned within an hour, before I could really set to worrying about him, and he didn’t say where he was. He came back all greasy. It’ll take me a week of soaking to get all the stains out of his clothes. Then the next day, he was gone.”

  Oily stains, perhaps like that from a car. And he’d been with Harvey, who was in jail for threats made to Payton, about his car. “I still think Saunders is the connection.”

  “Yes, but Martin hasn’t been into the jail. Where could he be?”

  Daisy stood and poured them each a cup of coffee to delay answering Alma. Martin had to be somewhere within Custer. The stage drivers knew that they shouldn’t take him anywhere, and he wouldn’t have had enough money for a train ticket.

  “Have you checked Saunders’ house?”

  Alma closed her eyes and sat back in her chair. “I can’t go over there. He’s got that dog, and the other man that lives there won’t even speak to a woman.”

  “But he could be there. Have you asked a policeman to go check on him?”

  A deep flush of anger tinted Alma’s cheeks. “You know I can’t. If I ask the police, the sheriff would find out. I’ve got no one else to turn to.”

  Daisy slid the cup of coffee to Alma and sat back down. Hadn’t she just wished for an adventure a few days before. Perhaps marriage wasn’t the adventure the Lord had meant for her, and this was.

  “All right. If you help me with this wash, we can get it done quickly and go look for Martin together. Elias won’t be home for a long time.” A twinge of guilt tightened her spine. He was her husband and might want to know what she was up to, but he’d not shown much interest in her work, other than trying to keep her from it.

  Alma took a sip of her coffee and smiled. “You got a spare apron? We can get this done lickity-split.”

  Elias had questioned Harvey Saunders for two hours and was nowhere closer to finding a compromise he could bring to the judge. Harvey wanted the car gone and he wasn’t budging. He’d even made threats to Elias, which didn’t help matters.

  At least he could go home to his lovely wife and relax in his chair to think more on the matter. If that didn’t get him thinking of a solution, nothing would. She’d had all day to consider moving back into her room and to get used to his house. He prayed she would see reason. He couldn’t take another sleepless night.

  It didn’t take long to walk in the warm sun from the jail back to his house. And it did wonders to clear the frustrated fog over him. As he shoved open the door, Gracie met him, wagging her tail. From the upstairs, Patches wailed. Daisy would never leave the cat up there if she was home. He scratched his dog behind her ear and stepped over her to get to the table. It was the logical place for Daisy to leave him a note.

  In the kitchen, the washtub was leaned against the stove to dry and the laundry was flapping in the breeze behind the house. He could just see the edge of the clothesline from the kitchen. But where was she? There was no note that he could see, and she hadn’t mentioned leaving that morning.

  The percolator sat on the back of the stove with two cups next to it. Who had Daisy let into his house, and where had she gone with them? He didn’t even know enough about his wife to speculate, but that didn’t stop the sick pit of worry from opening up within him.

  The only place that came to mind, outside of work, was Fitch and Willis’s general store. She might have gone there for a book. At the park, the night before their wedding, she’d said that she still loved to read. He shoved his hat back on his head and dashed out the door. The store was on the other side of town; he’d get there quicker in the car.

  It took only a few minutes to get it cranked, then he motored down the few blocks through town, avoiding the buggies and horses that still maneuvered slowly. She could also have gone to her apartment, and if he didn’t find her at the store, he’d check there. When he found her, he’d make sure to impress upon her that she wasn’t alone anymore. There was someone to care where she was and needed to know she was all right.

  He left the car running and ran into the store. A quick check with the same clerk who had delivered his cake, and he found she hadn’t been in to see them in days. That seemed to worry the merchant more than the fact that Daisy was currently missing, but Elias extracted a promise that the he would keep an eye out for her.

  Now, his heart pounded as he parked near the bank and ran across the street to her boarding house. As he raced up the stairs, someone banged on the wall, yelling at him to be quiet, but he wouldn’t, he was in too much of a hurry. The longer it took to find her, the more worried he became.

  Which was her door? He hadn’t paid enough attention when he’d been there two days before. He’d been too concerned with getting his new wife home than truly caring about her belongings. He should’ve made more of an effort the night before to get more of her things, but they had argued instead. She probably missed them. That had to be where she was, collecting her things.

  Elias stood at the top of the stairwell and stared down the dark hall with doors on either side and tried to remember. He was fairly certain it was the second door on the right. Nerves clenched within him. If he knocked on the wrong door, what would it matter? They might just tell him what he wanted to know… Yet, that didn’t make knocking on a stranger’s door any easier. He used his stature to intimidate in court, knowing it was different and frightening. That didn’t help when he needed information, though.

  He rapped, then waited. No one came. He knocked harder still and an old woman popped her head out of her door a little farther down.

  “You missed her. She moved out a few days ago. Heard she went and got herself married to a lawyer.” The woman smiled and most of her teeth were missing.

  “Thank you. Good day.” He tipped his hat and backed away, finally turning to leave when the old woman closed her door.

  If she wasn’t at the store, nor at her old home, where could she be? He drove the car toward the park where they’d had their chat. After parking in the street, he strode along the boulevard, searching for the tree where she’d first hinted she didn’t like the idea of a marriage of convenience.

  There, on the bench, sat the prettiest woman he’d ever seen, with gorgeous golden waves of hair, pinned so pretty, with a few tendrils down her back. Daisy. A man sat next to her, and he laughed an obnoxiously loud cackle, reaching for her hand. Elias froze, watching as she allowed the man to raise her hand to his lips and kiss her knuckles. Rage and jealousy, hot and fuming, took over as he stomped toward his bride. His size would finally come in handy this day.

  Daisy’s eyes grew as big as saucers and she yanked her hand from the man, sliding to the far end of the bench, but the damage was done. He hauled the man up by his coat front, off the bench and to his feet.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” the dandy said, as he tried to shrink back, b
ut Elias was too angry to let go.

  “That’s my wife you’re kissing.” He dragged the man to his full height. “I think you should find someone else to share a walk with.” He shoved the man away, and Elias waited as the stranger dashed off down the path.

  Daisy sat with her hands in her lap, head bent down. Guilty.

  She didn’t even try to apologize and that tore his wounded heart even deeper. “Get in the car. We’re going home.”

  Chapter 13

  If Daisy didn’t look at him, she’d never have to see that hurt in his eyes again. But that wasn’t right. She owed him an explanation. What must he think of her, sitting out there on that bench with Mr. Payton? Letting him kiss her hand? She’d silenced the voice in her head that had warned her the whole time she was with Payton, thinking she knew what she had to do, but she should’ve listened, and run.

  Payton had told her all about his trouble with Mr. Saunders and how Harvey and Martin had threatened him terribly. She’d only gone over to his home to see if he’d had any further trouble with Mr. Saunders or Martin Potters. He’d not seen them since the incident, nor had he tempted them further by starting his car. They had made threats to put sugar in his gas tank, which would prove disastrous to the auto.

  Mr. Payton had grown quite animated the more he’d spoken about the automobile. Then, he’d become interested in her, asking her all sorts of questions about herself. That’s when she should’ve left. She’d been just about ready to make her excuses when Elias had come and scared him away, probably for good. Elias had been so menacing… She’d never seen the like.

  She glanced over at him again, rigid in his seat as he drove them home. If she’d have found him sitting with another woman, she’d be furious too, but how to tell him that it was nothing, she was only looking into the disappearance of her friend’s husband?