If Wishes Were Kisses: Six Beloved Americana Romances, a Collection (Small Town Swains)

by Pamela Morsi

  Hannah resigned herself to being pushed around in the awful wheelbarrow and began to direct Henry Lee around the church. Unfortunately, from inside the wheelbarrow it was impossible to see the ruts in the yard and twice he spilled her out. The men quickly grabbed her and put her back into the barrow with jokes about the bridegroom's clumsiness and the inability of women to give directions.

  Finally they made it back to the porch of the house with much shouting and celebration. Henry Lee tore off his blindfold and before Hannah could climb out of the wheelbarrow he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins that he scattered behind him then pushed the wheelbarrow, with Hannah in it, onto the porch, through the front door, and into her bedroom. He slammed the door behind him and dumped Hannah on the floor, wedging the barrow into the door frame so that the door couldn't be opened. Then racing across the room to the window, he quickly slammed the shutters closed and secured the wooden bar to hold them. Almost immediately, the sounds of banging pans and shouting jests commenced both at the door and the window.

  Hannah, still sitting on the floor, put her hands on her ears.

  "Hopkins! You're no friend of mine!" Henry Lee shouted through the door. This statement was met by hoots of laughter. "Now get away from our door, you've had your fun."

  "Don't mind us, Henry Lee," Hopkins called back. "Go on about your business, the racket is meant to keep us all from hearing the bedsprings rattle!"

  Henry Lee shot a look at Hannah, her eyes widened in shock and her face blazed crimson. She averted her eyes from Henry Lee and helped herself off the floor.

  "Just ignore them," Henry Lee told her. "It's late and everybody is tired. They'll stop in a little bit."

  "I can't imagine why my father didn't put a stop to this," Hannah said angrily.

  "Because you are not his responsibility anymore, you're mine."

  Hannah looked at him, startled at the truth of that statement. He was right. She was his wife now, for better or worse, and her father no longer had any say over her. It was a frightening thought. She hardly knew this man, and suddenly he had complete control over her. Wasn't she just planning yesterday to take control of her own life?

  Hannah turned away from him, but found that there wasn't really any place much to turn. The small bedroom that she shared with Myrtie seemed dwarfed by the huge man now occupying it. The tight space and the closed window served to make the room uncomfortably warm. Hannah wanted to take off the beautiful silk dress that now felt more like a sticky blanket.

  She glanced up at Henry Lee, who leaned indolently against the wall. The sounds had died down and now they were singing "Oh Promise Me." Hannah was surprised at the blending of female voices with the male. She wished that they would all just go home. At least with the women with them, they were not likely to do any more nasty tricks.

  “It's so hot," Hannah said, hoping that Henry Lee would take the hint.

  "Yes, ma'am, it surely is," he answered, wondering if talk of the weather was typical of wedding night conversation. He wanted to take off his coat, but he was afraid it would frighten her. He certainly didn't want her screaming with people just outside the window. He decided that the best thing to do would be to try to relax her with a little conversation. He'd always been told that he had the gift of gab and could talk pretty near any woman right off her feet. But for some reason, he couldn't think of one light, amusing story to entertain a nervous bride.

  "At my place we have a big red oak that shades the roof, it helps to keep the heat off the house. And makes it a bit more tolerable in the summertime."

  "Yes, well," Hannah murmured, "it's too bad we don't have some of that shade here." She looked around as if trying to find her courage in the walls or the furniture. "Do you think you could leave now?"

  "What?"

  "Do you think you could leave now? I know they are still singing, but perhaps they wouldn't bother you if you left," Hannah said.

  Henry Lee's expression was condescending. "Where exactly am I supposed to go, ma'am?"

  "Why, I don't know," Hannah answered uncertainly "but surely you can find some place to spend some time so that I might have some privacy."

  Henry Lee roused himself from the wall and running a hand impatiently through his hair he came over and sat down on the bed. Unconsciously Hannah moved away from him. He rubbed his temples as if to soothe a pain.

  "I can't go anywhere tonight, I have to spend the night with you. It's expected. You do understand that married people sleep together?"

  "Well, of course I understand that." Hannah's face flamed red. Did this man think that she was totally ignorant? “Could you just go somewhere for a while, this dress is so hot, I've just got to take it off."

  "I can turn my back."

  "No, I'll have to have help, my mother or my sister."

  "Hannah, I can't leave, and your mother or sister can't come in, that's why they are singing out there, this is our wedding night." Henry Lee cursed silently. How had he become stuck with such a naive girl? "We aren't supposed to have any privacy, this is how married people get to know each other."

  Hannah, who prided herself on her usual maturity and bravery, found herself feeling very young and afraid.

  "Couldn't we start getting to know each other tomorrow?"

  Her request sounded like a plea. Henry Lee, looking around at the closeness of the room, could not help but commiserate with her. It was an impossible arrangement. Half the territory was standing just outside their window, and they just total strangers. Nothing good could ever come of such a wedding night.

  "Turn around, I'll unbutton you."

  "You can't!"

  "Of course I can. Turn around or you'll have to wear this dress all night." Shaking his head in exasperation, he added, "You were wearing less out by the wellhouse this morning."

  Blushing at the truth, Hannah bravely offered her back to him and Henry Lee, still sitting on the bed, pulled Hannah between his spread thighs facing her away from him and commenced undoing the buttons on the wedding dress. Hannah cringed at the close contact. She could smell the clean male scent of him and his big hands gently touching the silk of her mother’s gown. It gave her a curious light-headed sensation. It must be even hotter in this room than she thought.

  "This thing sure has a lot of buttons," he said.

  "Fifty-two," Hannah answered. "One for each week that my parents were engaged."

  "That's a pretty long engagement."

  "Long engagements allow people to really get to know each other and to make sure that they can make the other person happy," Hannah unthinkingly repeated the position that she frequently had explained to Myrtie.

  "You like long engagements?" he asked teasing her. "I wouldn't have known. Ours wasn't even fifty-two hours!"

  "But ours was a . . ." Hannah's voice trailed off.

  "A what?" he asked, completely stopping his progress with the buttons and concentrating on what she was about to say. He wanted to know, what she had thought she was doing forcing him to marry her.

  Hannah wanted to say that theirs was a mistake, but she knew that she couldn't say that. She didn't really know this man, and she wasn't sure what his reaction would be. Suppose he got violent?

  "It was," she answered lamely, "an unusual engagement."

  Henry Lee gave a kind of half laugh, half shrug and resumed his work on the buttons. "Yes, I guess you could say that. Unusual. A very good word for it."

  His progress on the buttons had reached almost to her waist. The lower his fingers moved, the more uncomfortable and exposed she felt. Henry Lee was concentrating on the buttons, trying not to think how long it had been since he'd undone a woman's dress.

  When he got past the waist he could see the laces of her corset and ties for her underskirt. His mind conjured up the image of firm young flesh underneath these layers and his body responded accordingly. He squirmed slightly adjusting his posture to accommodate the change in his anatomy. His thigh, now resting comfortably against
Hannah's hip, had a disquieting effect on her.

  Hannah's mother had never talked to her about the duties of the wedding night. But being a farm girl, she had a fairly basic idea about what was involved in mating. She had witnessed the birth of many animals and she had even gone along to help when Greta Snyder's last baby was born, although she was sent to the kitchen just before the miraculous event occurred. However, she had never chanced to witness the mating of any animals in the wild, and because Reverend Farnam believed that the propagation of God's creatures was not a fit sight for his innocent young daughters, her father had never allowed either of his daughters around the stock during breeding.

  Hannah's main source of information on sexuality was Bessie Tumball. Although Bessie was more Myrtie's contemporary than she was Hannah's, she seemed to know a great deal about the subject of men and women and never hesitated to explain it to whoever would listen.

  To Hannah, the whole thing sounded a bit untidy, embarrassing at best, but she was sure that she could survive. What she was not too sure of, however, was what these flustery, warm feelings were all about. She wanted to move away from him at the same time she felt the need to ease up more closely.

  Henry Lee undid the last button and gently pushed her away.

  “You'd best change into your night clothes and get into bed," he told her. "We'll have a very busy day tomorrow."

  She looked at him with anxious confusion. Fortunately Henry Lee was sensitive enough that she needn't express her hesitation.

  "Don't fret now, Miss Hannah, I'll turn my back." Which he proceeded to do, staring at the door, his hands jammed into his trouser pockets. Hannah was held frozen in place for a moment and then with incredible haste, but almost total silence, she went to the hook in the far corner that held her nightgown. She changed her clothes without taking her eyes off Henry Lee for one moment. She tried to be very quiet, thinking that not drawing attention to herself somehow made her safer. As if he were a wild animal that might not know that she was there if she didn't disturb the leaves or grass.

  Even as quiet as she was, Henry Lee was very aware of what was happening behind his back and was busy trying to drown out the telling silence with his own silent admonitions. She was a virgin, an overripe spinster who undoubtedly was horrified at the idea of sex. And even if she weren't so terrified, she did, after all, seek this marriage in a very desperate manner. She was so anxious he would surely hurt her, and he certainly didn't want her screaming or crying with her parents and most of the community right outside the door.

  No, he told himself, he would wait a few days until they got a little more used to each other and he would start out slowly, a few kisses tomorrow, some serious hugging the day after until she was more used to him. If there was one thing he had learned about women it was that patience has its rewards. Tonight he would be patient.

  Hannah, dressed in her flour-sack cotton nightdress, stood uncertainly beside the bed. She couldn't decide what her next move should be. If she just stood there, he would turn around and see her, but if she were to hide herself in the bed, it would seem as if she were anxious to couple with him. Finally she gave up the effort of making a decision, and turned the problem over to Henry Lee.

  "Should I get in bed now?"

  "Yes, go ahead," Henry Lee answered as he waited for the sounds of her movement into the bed. After he was sure she had settled herself, he turned without looking at her and lowered the wick in the lamp, and then blew it out completely. Normally, on these hot summer nights, he slept naked, but he wasn't ready to do that with Miss Hannah. He stripped down to his small clothes and decided it was enough.

  Carefully he moved over to the bed and eased himself in beside her. Even without touching her he could sense how stiff and frightened she was. He congratulated himself on his superior judgment and control in not breaking her tonight in her parents' home. He made himself as comfortable as possible and waited for sleep.

  Hannah lay tense and wary. She wasn't sure what was to happen next. She remembered overhearing Nettie Haskell saying once that the carnal needs of men were disgusting, but that a Christian woman had to tolerate them so that her man would not be tempted into sin.

  Hannah felt that she would gladly allow Henry Lee to be tempted into sin, if he would just not do anything disgusting to her. It felt so strange to have him beside her in the bed. She had shared this bed with Myrtie, and for years it had always seemed a reasonable size. Now with Henry Lee lying in it, it seemed miniscule. It was hard to imagine how a man could be so broad and so long. Even though she knew herself to be a robust, country girl, he made her feel small and vulnerable. She was still fearfully waiting for something to happen when she fell asleep.

  The sun was well up when Henry Lee drowsily awakened, realizing that a warm female body lay in his arms. Actions born of memory and instinct led him to pull the woman more closely to his body. Her hair brushed his face and the warm clean smell drew his lips to her neck and collar. He felt her breasts against his chest, so soft, but with hard points, and it encouraged him to run his hand along the length of her back. She was smooth and soft and warm. His hand found her firm buttocks and he could not suppress his need to press her against his erection. It felt so good that he gave a small moan of pleasure as he continued to move himself against her.

  Hannah awakened to a strange sensation of heat rushing through her body. She felt the hand that caressed her behind and felt the hardness of him pushing up against her. It answered a need inside her and instinctively she pressed back. Her heart seemed to have dropped to that warm place between her legs and it was pulsing and throbbing as if she had just run half a mile. She opened her legs instinctively to bring relief and he pressed against her so strongly it caused her to gasp. The sound brought her fully awake and Hannah suddenly realized where she was, and what she was doing.

  It was her sharp intake of breath that brought Henry Lee back into reality. Reality being a new wife who was not ready for him and a stiff member that was ready for anything. He released the pressure on her backside, but moved his hand only as far away as her hip. It felt too good to let her go completely.

  "Good morning," he whispered, his voice gravelly from sleep. "Remember me? I'm your new husband."

  Hannah gazed into his languid blue eyes, as his handsome face softened and smiled at her lazily. The enticing fire still sparked through her veins as she felt the firm, possessive hand on her hip. His long brown arms were corded with muscle, but held her with the strength of tenderness. Marriage to Henry Lee Watson abruptly, seemed not such a punishment, more a prize.

  Chapter Four

  Henry Lee was securing the harness on his team on the first day of his married life, feeling almost light-headed. He was encouraged by Hannah's behavior this morning. Maybe she wasn't as starchy as he'd thought.

  She was obviously quite taken with him, enough to risk her reputation, and that always made a woman more malleable. And it certainly wouldn't hurt his business, either. Becoming a member of Preacher Farnam's family could be

  a real boon.

  With these pleasant thoughts, Henry Lee joked easily with the last of the campers heading out and laughed off the most raucous jokes about his wedding night. He seemed, to himself and to all those who spoke to him that morning, a man content with his life.

  Henry Lee ate his breakfast with enthusiasm, complimenting Mrs. Bunch until he had her giggling. When Violet assured him that Hannah could make biscuits just as light, he gave his new bride a warm smile and an agreeable nod.

  Hannah was also strangely cheerful and content. It was apparently true that things always seem better in the morning. Yesterday, the idea of marrying Henry Lee Watson had seemed the height of idiocy, but today it seemed no more strange than marrying Will Sample. After all, she could be a good wife and helpmate to either man. Making a quick perusal of her new husband through lowered lashes, she also admitted that, if the truth were told,

  Henry Lee Watson was a good deal more handsome than Wil
l Sample.

  Yesterday that handsomeness had seemed almost threatening. But today she was no longer afraid. Certainly, he was a man who was going to need a good deal of churching and would have to be schooled in good manners, but with the confidence of the new day, Hannah felt up to the challenge.

  After breakfast, Myrtie volunteered to help Hannah sort her things and finish packing up.

  "Anxious to have the room all to yourself?" Hannah asked her curiously as they walked to the room.

  Myrtie giggled nervously. "I'll really miss you a lot, Hannah, but I'm so excited for you."

  Myrtie gave her sister a quick hug, dropping the sheet and towels that she had clutched.

  "Now look what I've done!" she exclaimed in exasperation, dropping to her knees. "Violet wanted you to have this extra bedding and towels." She lifted an armful, shaking it clean as she deposited it in Hannah's outstretched hands, then rose to her feet with her own bundle clutched firmly.

  As the two began folding Hannah's clothes into her trunk, they giggled like young girls. Now that they were starting separate lives, the differences between them seemed to have disappeared.

  Flushed, Myrtie looked slyly at her sister. "You've got to tell me what it was like," she said, gesturing dramatically as she threw herself across the bed like a fainting heroine, scattering linen in her wake. "I want to know every romantic detail!"

  Hannah shook her head comically at her sister's antics, but couldn't conceal her involuntary blush. "Myrtie, you know it's none of your business."

  "Of course, it's my business!" she insisted indignantly. "I'm your baby sister and you've always been willing to give me the benefit of your knowledge."

  Hannah scooped a pillowcase from underneath Myrtie's shoulder and folded it, thinking of all the things she had shared with her sister. She'd taught her to read, and quilt, and turn the seams on a dress, but, being her sister and not her mother, there were some facts in life for which she had not been able to offer instruction.