Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) Page 4

  Caleb stood stock still in the doorway, awestruck at how beautiful his bride was. His vision narrowed to where Madeline was all he could see and the rest of the room faded from view. He couldn’t believe such a beautiful woman would soon be his wife. If only Ben could be there to see her! His jaw set as he thought of his brother and a tightness filled his throat.

  He nearly jumped from his skin when Reverend Young tugged at his sleeve to move him alongside his bride. He forced a smile for Madeline past the tears for his brother that threatened to fall.

  Hank and Ella took up positions alongside the groom and bride, the reverend opened his Bible, and the wedding ceremony commenced.

  Throughout the brief ceremony Madeline could tell that something was seriously wrong with her husband, but she could not imagine what it could be. He seemed genuinely upset about something, though, and she wondered if he was disappointed in her somehow. He certainly had not been in a hurry to meet her at the station, although his delay did allow her to enjoy a nice hot bath.

  At the end of the ceremony, Caleb gave his wife a chaste kiss on the lips. He felt awkward kissing a woman he had only just met, especially in front of other people. He wanted to enjoy the wedding, to enjoy being married, yet all he could think about was his brother’s murder and his poor little nephew back home. This was certainly not a great start to their marriage.

  Madeline could tell that Caleb was distracted by something. He barely even looked at her before the quick kiss he had bestowed on her. Her brow furrowed as she wondered what could be wrong. Her first instinct was to assume he had found fault with her, but she did her best to push those negative thoughts away. There had to be something else bothering him. He honestly was not paying enough attention to her for the problem to lie with her.

  Caleb took Madeline by the hand and headed toward the door just as soon as he had kissed her. Her trunk and carpet bag were sitting near the door, and he wanted to get them loaded into the buggy and get home to his nephew as soon as possible.

  “Wait! Mr. Stark…” Ella called out in an attempt to stop him. She was hoping that they would stay for dinner, so her new friend would not have to cook as soon as she arrived at her new home.

  Caleb stopped halfway to the door, a quizzical expression on his face. “Yes, Mrs. Young?”

  “I was hoping the three of you might stay for dinner. We always have plenty.”

  Everyone in the room looked from one to the other. The men knew the true urgency of Caleb, Madeline, and Hank getting home quickly, but the women just looked confused.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” Caleb said politely. “There’s something that needs seeing to back home.”

  Flustered, Ella would not be dissuaded. “Well…at least you can take some of the food back with you so your bride needn’t cook on her wedding night.” She turned and bustled into the kitchen to quickly pack up some of the food. “And don’t forget the box outside the door!” she called from the kitchen.

  Reverend Young, Caleb, and Hank looked at each other and shrugged. Sure enough, when they opened the door to take Madeline’s bags to the buggy, they found a crate sitting just outside the door. It was covered with a flour sack, so they had no idea what was inside.

  Hank and Caleb loaded the trunk, carpet bag, and crate into the back of the buggy. By the time Caleb returned to fetch his bride, Mrs. Young had a picnic basket packed with food and was handing it off to Madeline.

  “Thank you ever so much, for everything,” Madeline told Ella. She gave her friend a quick hug as she took the basket from her.

  Ella hugged her in return and whispered in her ear. “If you have any problems, you come right back here to me. Understood?”

  Madeline nodded and gave her friend a last squeeze before turning to her husband. She could not believe how rude he was being to their hosts, hurrying her home the way he was. She marched out the door and climbed into the waiting buggy, setting the basket of delicious smelling food in the center of the seat. She pointedly did not wait for her husband to help her up.

  Caleb and Hank put their hats on before stepping outside and bid their farewells with a tip of their hats to Reverend Young and his wife. Caleb climbed into the buggy and immediately set off for home, a grim look on his face. Hank followed alongside the buggy, his rifle at the ready.

  The ride home was a silent one. The sky was aglow with the last vestiges of a beautiful sunset. While fully aware of his beautiful bride beside him, Caleb kept his eyes on their surroundings, uncertain if the murderer were still around. Madeline tried to enjoy the sunset while it lasted, but was still irritated with Caleb for rushing her out the way he had.

  By the time they reached the ranch, the sunset had fully faded and stars were brightening the night sky. There was no moon and the road was barely visible. The barn, bunkhouse, and other outbuildings were just dark shapes against the horizon, details lost to the darkness of the night. The house itself was mostly dark, with light shining from only two windows.

  Caleb pulled up as close as he could to the back porch of the house. He hurried over to help his bride from the buggy, but by the time he got there she had already climbed down on her own and was retrieving the basket of food from the seat. He sighed, moved to the rear of the buggy, and grabbed the crate.

  Madeline looked up at her new home as she waited for Caleb. Most of the details were lost to the night, but it appeared to be a two-story wooden structure and was much larger than she had imagined. She had heard of the sod houses some people lived in on the prairie, and was thankful that her new home was made of wood like the houses back home. She could not wait to see it in the light of day.

  Caleb balanced the crate on one arm as he opened the back door of the lean-to for Madeline. He set the crate down on a bench and walked back to the buggy. Light spilled out through the open doorway and Madeline stepped inside, uncertain of what she would find.

  The lean-to itself was a small, windowless room. A bench ran along one wall and several wooden pegs ran along the wall above it. The other wall was a hodgepodge mix of tools, crates, a wash tub, and jumbled up pieces of firewood and scrap wood. The door to the house proper stood open and was clearly the source of the light.

  Madeline walked past the mess and into the kitchen. The room itself was a good size. A large cook stove sat along the outer wall, near the door she had just walked through. Between the cook stove and the door stood a wood box, partially filled with various sized logs that look as though they had been carelessly thrown into the box. Glass-paned windows flanked the cook stove on either side, and even in the dark of night Madeline could tell they were filthy.

  An adjacent wall held a sink complete with a pump for water. Madeline was pleased that she would not have to go outside during the winter to retrieve fresh water. The sink itself was full of dirty dishes.

  In the center of the room was a large table with a lit oil lamp resting in the center. Two long benches flanked the table, though one was pushed out as though someone had gotten up and had not bothered to push it back underneath.

  Across the room from the outside door stood a cupboard with multiple doors. Dishes were scattered haphazardly over the working surface of the cupboard itself. Madeline could only guess what the inside of the cupboard must look like.

  A fine layer of dust seemed to coat everything. It was clear that Mr. Stark desperately needed a wife around the house. It looked as though the place had not been cleaned in ages. She had not expected a bachelor to have a tidy home, but just what had she gotten herself into?

  At that moment, her husband and Mr. Sanders came in with her trunk and carried it across the room and through an open door without a word. Madeline set the basket of food down on the kitchen table and sighed. It was clear she would have to wash those dishes first if they were to have any supper tonight.

  Caleb walked back into the kitchen with Hank after they had deposited his wife’s trunk in their bedroom. He was momentarily shocked to find her washing dishes in the sink, then turned beet
red as he realized what the house must look like to her. He had stayed silent and on high alert during the drive home, which meant that she knew nothing of what had transpired that day.

  Shame filled him as he stood there, rooted to the spot. He barely heard his friend as Hank muttered something about bringing the crate and carpet bag into the kitchen. Caleb stared at his wife and wondered what she must be thinking. He normally had the dishes washed by the end of the day and had meant to spend the morning cleaning around the house. He certainly had not meant for her to have to get right to work the moment she arrived.

  That thought spurred him into action. He moved forward and tried to take over washing the dishes, but his beautiful wife would have none of it. She shook him off without a word, scrubbing the dishes with a vengeance.

  Hank came in, deposited the crate and carpet bag on the kitchen table, and made a hasty retreat. He needed to get the horses put up for the night and he could feel the tension in the kitchen. He certainly did not need to intrude on his boss’s wedding night, such as it was.

  Caleb watched Hank come and go, and then fetched a clean towel from the cupboard. He proceeded to dry the dishes as she finished them. “I’m sorry about the mess, Madeline,” he muttered shamefully as he took the first plate from her hands.

  Madeline, who had been working herself into a tizzy, glanced at her husband and saw how embarrassed he looked. She sighed softly and let the resentment that had been building inside her drain away. At least he was trying to help now. “That’s all right. I didn’t expect a clean house,” she admitted with a smile.

  Caleb smiled shyly back at her, still embarrassed at the state of the kitchen. He had gotten in so late the night before that he had not done his normal chores before bed. He had just eaten supper and left the mess for the morning, fully intending to wash the dishes when he woke. Then all hell had broken loose.

  He was trying to decide how to tell her what had happened that morning when Walter suddenly walked into the kitchen. Walter stopped walking when he saw a strange woman in his boss’s kitchen. He stood and stared at her with a shocked look on his face, his mouth wide open in shock.

  “Walter, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Mrs. Madeline Stark. Madeline, this is Walter Johnson, one of my ranch hands.” Caleb awkwardly made the introductions. It only now dawned on him that perhaps he should have mentioned his wife’s imminent arrival to all of his men and not just Hank.

  Walter quickly removed his hat from his head and bobbed a polite bow. “Howdy, ma’am.”

  Madeline turned her head in surprise to greet the newcomer. “Pleased to meet you, I’m sure,” she said politely. She had not heard anyone come in through the front door and wondered if he had been in the house all along.

  “Excuse us,” Caleb said to Madeline as he pulled Walter out of the house. He needed to find out how his nephew was doing, but still needed to break the news to Madeline.

  Madeline watched the men leave and shook her head. She hoped that there were no more strange men lurking in the house and went back to washing the dishes. Caleb had only been gone a minute when she heard a soft whimper behind her. She turned, not certain what to expect. It certainly was not the sight that greeted her.

  Standing just inside the doorway was a small child. He could not have been more than three years old. His blond hair was mussed from sleep and his nightshirt was askew. However, it was the haunted look in his big blue eyes that tugged at Madeline’s heart.

  She grabbed the towel Caleb had left on the edge of the sink and quickly dried her hands. As she knelt down on one knee to get closer to the boy’s level, she smiled at him. “Well, hello there,” she said softly in greeting.

  The boy stood stock still for a moment and stared at Madeline, as though staring hard enough might tell him who this strange woman was. Something flickered across his face, and for a moment Madeline thought that he might scream. Instead, he launched himself across the floor and into her arms.

  Madeline nearly fell over when the boy rushed at her. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him and was shocked to find him trembling. He burrowed his face into her neck and began to sob uncontrollably.

  Madeline stood, carried the boy over to the table, and sat on the corner of the bench with him. She had no idea who the boy was and had never been around children before, but at that moment it didn’t matter. He needed someone to hold him, so that is precisely what she did. She swayed him gently from side to side and hummed soothingly as she held him and stroked his back. She could not help but wonder if her husband had neglected to mention the fact that he had a son.

  Caleb came back inside as soon as he had gotten the full report on George from Walter. He found out that Walter had bathed George and had walked the floor with him for hours before the boy had finally fallen asleep. Every time Walter had tried to lay George down, George woke up and began to cry all over again, so Walter had given up and laid on the bed with him. He had finally managed to free himself of George’s vise-like grip just as Caleb returned home.

  Any hopes Caleb had held of telling Madeline about George before she met him were dashed the moment he walked inside. She looked up at Caleb and arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. She clearly wanted to know what was going on.

  Caleb sighed and sat next to his wife and nephew. This certainly was not how he had planned on spending his wedding night. He reached to take George from Madeline, but George held onto her with a death grip. “Georgie, it’s me. Uncle Caleb.”

  As soon as George heard Caleb’s voice, he immediately released Madeline and went to his uncle. His sobbing grew heavier and he began to mumble unintelligibly. Caleb held him close and rocked him. “I’m so sorry,” he mouthed to Madeline.

  Madeline dried her neck with the dish cloth she still held in one hand. Her heart ached for this sad little boy. She knew that something serious must have happened and in that moment, she forgave her husband for not being there to greet her at the train. Clearly he had had his hands full here at home.

  She shook her head at Caleb to indicate he did not need to apologize. She was curious as to what had happened, of course, but knew that he needed to take care of his nephew first.

  Caleb smiled his thanks at her. He stood and took George back upstairs in the hope of getting him back to sleep. His wife was being incredibly patient, but she deserved answers to her unspoken questions. He just hoped he would be able to give them to her soon.

  Madeline watched Caleb leave with the boy, then made her way back to the sink. By the time her husband had reappeared, she had the dishes cleaned and stacked neatly on the table, which she had also scrubbed clean. Two place settings were laid out neatly, and the roast beef dinner she had brought home with her from the reverend’s house was keeping warm in the oven.

  “Thank you for being so patient,” he said as he walked back into the kitchen. He watched various emotions flicker across her beautiful face before she suddenly and silently stood up and retrieved their dinner from the oven.

  Madeline set the platter of food down on the table, perhaps a little too loudly. She held her tongue, as she did not trust herself to speak at that moment. She was tired, cold, hungry, confused…so many emotions roiled through her at that moment that it was hard to even think straight.

  As soon as she set the food down, she took her seat at the table. Caleb followed suit and took his place across from her. They bowed their heads and he offered a quick prayer of thanksgiving. “Thank you, Lord, for this food we are about to eat, and for my beautiful wife. Amen.”

  Madeline looked up at him and cynically raised an eyebrow. She had never considered herself to be much of a beauty. Her first husband had made that abundantly clear years ago. Biting back a sharp retort, she reached out and began to serve herself some food. Maybe putting something in her stomach would improve her mood. She doubted it, but it was well worth a try.

  Caleb waited until they both had food on their plates before speaking. He was not certain where to begin, so he
started at the beginning. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to meet the train today.”

  Madeline nodded a reply, her mouth full of roast beef at the moment. She had not realized how hungry she was until that first morsel hit her tongue. Now it was all she could do to not inhale everything in front of her.

  Caleb chewed his lip for a moment before he continued. Losing his brother as he had was still quite a shock to him, and to have to say it out loud was almost more than he could bear. “I planned on spending the morning cleaning the house for you. I should’ve done it sooner, but I knew it would just get dirty again.”

  Madeline watched him fidget with his fork as he spoke. He stared at his food as he spoke, as though he were afraid to look at her. She thought of saying something to comfort him, but without knowing what was wrong, it was hard to think of what to say. She continued to eat instead.

  After a long pause, Caleb blurted out, “My brother and his wife were killed last night. Georgie walked all the way over here in the dark.” His voice broke with the admission. He struggled desperately to hold himself together, but it was a lost battle.

  Madeline stopped eating mid-chew. She stared at her husband and briefly wondered if she had heard what she thought she had heard. As she watched, his shoulders and hands began to shake and tears began to flow. She swallowed her half-chewed bite of food and immediately went to his side.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. The words sounded hollow to her own ears. She could only imagine what Caleb had been going through all day. No wonder he hadn’t met her at the train!

  Watching her own parents die had been hard, but they had been sick for quite some time before they had passed. Having her first husband die had been a relief, God have mercy on her soul for thinking so. She had never had a brother or a sister, but understood all too well the depth of Caleb’s grief. And poor little George!

  Caleb wrapped his arms around his wife’s midsection, buried his face in her chest, and gave himself over to his grief. He hadn’t truly let himself grieve until that moment. At first he had been in shock, unbelieving at what had happened. Then he had remained strong for George and put on a brave front for his men. Now, with his wife’s comforting arms around him, he let the tears flow.