Lone Star Bride, page 20
“Do you remember more of it than you’ve told me?” he asked anxiously. “I’d hoped that the memory was buried while you were unconscious.”
“I remember him pushing me to the ground and stripping off my clothing, and then when he fell on me, I…” She trembled again and laughed softly. “I’m so thankful that I hit my head on the ground. I don’t know whether that was what made me faint or whether the shock of him and the vile smell of the man did me in. I only know that the rest of it is a blur, and for that I’m thankful.”
“Probably not nearly as thankful as I,” Jamie whispered fervently. “You might never have let me near you again if you remembered the whole mess.”
“I couldn’t have borne it much longer, being so separate from you.”
“I know, sweetheart. I was going mad without your loving. I needed you so badly, but more than that, I wanted your healing to take place, so that you could accept me as your husband again.”
She wrinkled her nose then, pushing at him in a futile effort to rise from the bed. “I need to get washed up,” she said in a whisper. “I’m a mess.”
“So you are,” he told her, grinning wickedly. “And since I made the mess, I’d say it’s up to me to clean it up.” He rose from the bed, looking down at her from dark eyes that seemed to look within her soul. “Is the baby all right? I didn’t hurt him, did I?”
Alexis shook her head. “No, of course not. He likes to have his daddy around.”
“Well, I told him last night how lucky he was going to be, what with having the prettiest mother in the state of Texas.”
“When did you tell him that?” she asked.
“When I was kissing your belly and saying good-night to my son.”
“I wonder if he can hear us when we talk to him.” Her smile was winsome, he thought, her face glowing in the moonlight, and he felt the luckiest of men as he looked down at the woman he loved.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her, walking to the basin where a pitcher of warm water awaited him. The washcloth was dipped in the basin and wrung out, and then he brought it to her and tenderly washed the evidence of his loving from her body. “Feel better?” he asked, drying her with the towel.
“I was on the verge of going to sleep, and then I caught a glimpse of that look in your eyes,” she teased.
“No, not now. You’re not ready for more tonight,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve had quite a day, and you need to sleep on your husband’s shoulder and let him rub your back for a while.”
“I knew there was a good reason to marry you, James Webster,” she announced, “and I think I’ve discovered what it is.”
Jamie carried the linens to the dry sink where her basin and pitcher rested and then turned back to her. “Did you need a good reason?” he asked.
She nodded and scanned his naked form, as if she enjoyed the sight of him. “I had several, actually. I loved you beyond reason, and you made me feel like a woman. Then, too, my father liked you, and that was a bonus. And on top of that, you’re handsome and tall and your muscles are very impressive.”
“All of that?” he asked, one eyebrow wiggling as he returned her survey. “And how about you? Like the way your nice little fanny entices me.” She giggled and he went on, his look pensive as he thought of that which would amuse her.
“Your bottom wiggles when you walk, and the way your hair shines like pure gold in the sunlight makes me feel rich. And then there’s the way your eyes glitter when you get mad at me.”
“I don’t get mad at you,” she denied ferociously.
He placated her easily. “Once in a while,” he said, returning to the bed, lying beside her and drawing her into his arms. The sheet and quilt were pulled up to cover them and he slid his hands against her skin, one broad palm below her waist as he massaged the tired muscles there. “Feel good?” he asked, and she nodded.
“You bet it does. This is another reason I married you, Jamie.”
“You didn’t know I’d rub your back before we got married.”
“I knew you’d do anything you could to make me happy.”
“Yeah. There is that,” he conceded.
“Including giving me your child.”
He laughed softly. “My son, you mean.”
“Maybe. But it could be a girl. And then what will you do?”
His laughter faded and his words were solemn, a vow spoken from his depths. “I’ll love her with all my heart.” He lifted his head and sought her mouth, bending over her as he kissed her without passion, with only the sure and certain touches that reminded her of his constant, abiding affection for her. And yet, that was too mild a word, he thought.
Affection was what a man felt for his dog or horse, or even his father-in-law. For Alexis, there was a bone-deep, eternal rush of love that penetrated his heart and offered it to her as her own.
Chapter Twelve
July 1904
Alexis was heavy with pregnancy. No longer able to ride as was her custom, she chose instead to walk. And walk she did. The colts and fillies in the pasture were not strangers, and they welcomed her daily pacing from one group to another, seeking out the treats she hid in her pockets, nudging her for the caresses they had come to expect from her hand. She grew to know them on a basis she’d never explored before, spending time with each, making them familiar to the touch of human hands on their bodies, holding up their hooves for inspection and brushing their manes and tails with long strokes as she whispered words of affection.
“Alexis loves those young ones, don’t she?” Stephen asked, leaning with Jamie on the top rail of the corral. He’d found a stump to stand on and the added height brought them eye level. Now he pondered the pasture before him with satisfaction and finally turned to Jamie with a wide grin.
“It makes me feel rich, way inside, when I think that one day this will all be mine, and I’ll be a real rancher.”
“You’ve got a lot of learning to do first, Stephen,” Jamie said bluntly, “but as bright as you are, I don’t see you having any trouble picking up all the skills and knowledge you’ll need to do the job.”
“My pa has faith in me. He told me so.” Stephen seemed to blossom as he spoke the words Brace had offered him. “He said one day I’d do a fine job of running this place. And he said if there was a man on earth to help me grow into the job, it was you, Jamie.”
Jamie felt a blush climb his cheeks at the words of praise, offered so offhandedly by the boy. “He said that?”
“Yeah, he did. But I think he already did his part, don’t you? I mean, he taught me how to ride and how to take care of my horse and all the equipment and how to have a sense of responsibility.”
“Responsibility is a big part of life,” Jamie told him. “It begins when you’re too young to understand it, and just keeps on growing as you gain years and knowledge. Some of us take longer than others to learn responsibility, but you’ve got a good start already, son.”
“Well, I just know that Aunt Sarah told me I should make them proud of me, and that’s what I want to do, more than anything else.”
“A fine aim, I’d say.” Jamie nodded agreeably, his eyes never leaving the woman who paced the meadow, colts and fillies alike in her wake. One young colt butted her chest, seeking attention, and Jamie heard his breath catch as he watched, fearful of her being caught off balance.
Instead, he heard her amused laughter peal through the still morning air and knew a moment of thanksgiving that this woman was his. In all of her pregnant glory, she appealed to him as no other female had in his life. Her very existence was like a beacon to him, leading him to her side wherever she went. Which was why he’d chosen to halt his work this morning to watch her as she took her daily stroll through the pasture.
Now she raised one hand at them and Stephen waved excitedly in return. “I sure wish the horses liked me as well as they do Alexis. I want to walk with her someday and hear all the things she says to them. Do you think she could teach me how to make friends with them like she does?”
“It’s worth a shot,” Jamie said. And it would offer some small amount of protection to Alexis should the boy accompany her, keeping an eye out for her. An additional lesson in responsibility.
Now, Alexis turned, making her way at almost a snail’s pace across the meadow, the yearlings at her back and sides, almost as if they formed a guard around her. As she approached the fence, they fell back a bit, and she turned to them, offering pats and caresses, speaking to them in low tones.
“Well, how many did you name today?” Jamie asked.
“Just two. See the spotted filly? The one with three black legs? She’s going to be called Stephen’s Sally, and don’t ask me why. She just is. The name suits her. And she’ll be a good horse for Stephen to ride one day. He can train her and break her to saddle himself in a couple of years. She’s feisty and sassy but she’s sweet natured.”
“She’ll be mine?” Stephen asked unbelievingly. “Just like that? She’ll be my horse?”
“They’re all yours, Stephen,” Alexis said readily. “But Sally will be special to you. She’s going to be one of your own riding horses. You’ll need two, and she’ll be a good choice to take to town and show off to the townspeople. She’ll prance and skedaddle around and act like a princess. You’ll love her.”
“I think I do already,” he said, watching with awe as the newly named filly approached him tentatively. He held out a hand and she nudged it with her muzzle.
“Here, give her this,” Alexis said, holding out a bit of apple to him.
Stephen fed it to the filly, holding it on the flat of his palm so she could take it with gentle movements of her lips. His hand moved to her neck and he patted her, smoothing her mane and removing the tangles from it.
“All right,” Jamie said. “Who else did you name out there today?”
“The chestnut filly, the one with white stockings on her forelegs. She’s going to be Red Rose, and I’m going to train her myself. She’ll be our first gift to our child.”
“Why that one?” Jamie asked with a tender smile that only his wife could see.
“She’s gentle and easy to handle. She’ll be a fine first ride for a child. And we’ll spend extra time with her so that when the baby is three or so, we can put her up in the saddle and the filly will be placid and easygoing.”
Jamie reached over the fence rail and tugged Alexis closer, snatching a kiss from her rosy mouth, then thinking better of it and turning the affectionate caress into a longer, demanding blending of lips.
“Aw, come on,” Stephen said from beside him. “Aunt Sarah and my pa are always doin’ that kind of stuff at home. I guess all married folks act that way, don’t they?”
“I don’t know about all married folks, but I know about this one,” Jamie said with a chuckle. “Kissing Alexis is one of the things I like best in the whole world.” He grasped her hand and walked toward the corral gate, opening it and towing her from the pasture and into his arms.
“You’ve walked long enough for this morning,” he said firmly. “I think you need to go in the house and have Ellen fix you a cup of tea. You feel kinda shaky to me.”
For indeed her legs were trembling beneath her as he held her close. “I was fine till just this minute,” she said in a low voice. “But I think you’re right. I’ll go sit with Ellen in the kitchen for a while.”
“Let’s walk up to the house together,” he said, and then shot a look at Stephen. “I’ll be back in a bit and we’ll take a look at the three-year-olds, Stephen. All right?”
“Can I go in the meadow and walk with the colts and fillies like you did?” Stephen asked Alexis. “I’ll be careful and I won’t scare them.”
“Of course you can,” she said. “Just talk to them as if they were your friends, and pretty soon, they will be.”
With a long, strong arm about her waist, Jamie led Alexis to the house. Their path led through the barn, in the back door and out the front, and midway down the long aisle, he stopped her and turned her to face him.
“You’re not getting ready to have the baby yet, are you?”
She shook her head, but he thought her look was dubious. “I don’t know how to tell. I don’t have any pains or anything.”
He dipped his head and kissed her, longing to draw her into himself, take all the aches and cramps she suffered as his own to bear. “Have I told you how grateful I am to you for having my child?” he asked, his mouth whispering in her ear. He kissed her throat and then returned to the lure of her mouth, taking sustenance there as though he were a man thirsting in the desert and her mouth offered the only life-giving source.
“I love you, Alexis Webster,” he said, feeling a rush of emotion he could not explain.
She curled into him, her belly a wedge between them as the child within her pushed in protest at being so confined.
“He kicked me,” Jamie said, looking down in wonder at the rounded form of his child. “He actually kicked me.” And then his lips twisted in a grin of good humor as he patted Alexis’s belly. “Sorry, fella. Didn’t mean to squash you that way.”
Alexis looked up with a pout on her lips. “You have no idea what it’s like to have those kicks and proddings going on all day and night. I don’t believe this child sleeps more than six hours a day. And the middle of the night is his favorite time to give me reminders that he’s there.”
“Wake me up next time and I’ll talk to him about it,” Jamie said, his expression cunning, as if his thoughts were running on a different level.
“Fat chance. I’m not taking a chance on waking you during the night. You take too long to go back to sleep.”
They turned then to the far door and continued the trek to the house, Jamie’s arm holding her to his side even more firmly. Above her head, he spoke, and she shivered at his words.
“Just you wait till that baby is born and you’re all healed up and ready for me, sweetheart. I’m saving up all sorts of good stuff to try.”
“Well, don’t get all hot to trot, James. You’ve got a while to wait.”
“James, is it?” He squeezed her a bit and she squealed.
“You’ll have me wetting all over the ground if you keep that up,” she said, laughing as she spoke. “In fact, I should make a stop at the outhouse before I go in.”
“I’ll tell Ellen to fix your tea, then,” Jamie said, halting and waiting as she walked to the vine-covered building near the corn crib.
Fixing tea and warming a cinnamon bun for Alexis was a simple task, Ellen told him, and she set about doing just that as Jamie poured himself a cup of coffee leftover from breakfast. He’d just settled down at the table with it when he heard a wagon pull into the yard and up to the hitching rail.
“Sounds like company,” he said and reversed his movements, rising to open the back screened door.
Minna climbed down from the wagon and walked toward the steps. “Hi there,” she called out. “Thought I’d take a chance on finding y’all home this morning.”
“Come on in,” Jamie said. “Alexis will be here right shortly, and I’ll be going back to find Stephen in a minute or two.”
“Actually, Stephen is one of the reasons I stopped by,” Minna said.
“You want to see him?” Jamie asked.
“I thought he might come and spend a day with us. The children are excited to have a cousin, and they’ve got all sorts of games figured out to play if he can come for a day.”
“I don’t know why not,” Jamie said. “But in the meantime, I’ll go round him up and sound him out about it.”
Alexis came in the door and halted. “Minna.” She walked to the sink and washed quickly and then returned to the table, bending to place a quick kiss on the woman’s cheek. “I’m so glad you stopped by. Maybe Ellen could fix you a cup of tea and we’ll have a good gab fest.”
“I’m leavin’,” Jamie said with vehemence. “Three women in one kitchen is more than I can deal with.” With a general salute to all and a significant look at Alexis, he left the house, and Ellen brought the hot teapot to the table.
“We’ll just let it steep for a few minutes,” she said. “I’ll put another cinnamon roll in the oven to heat for you, Minna, and then we’ll enjoy our tea.”
“Are you feeling all right?” Minna asked Alexis. “When is the baby due?”
Alexis looked up at Ellen. “We think maybe the end of the month or early August. I’m not sure what to look for. I’m real good with horses, but having a baby of my own is a different story altogether.”
“So it is,” Minna said. “But you’d be surprised how alike we are to the animals in the barn. Same aches and pains, same symptoms of imminent birth and the very same sort of labor pains.” She sighed. “Makes me weary to think about it.”
“You’ve got four?” Ellen asked.
“And that’s enough for anyone,” Minna said. “I’m happy to just sit back and give advice like an old lady these days. Sure beats having more young’uns of my own.”
“Do you know of any midwives in the area?” Alexis asked. “I know I can send someone after the doctor, but I’ve heard that midwives are preferred by a lot of women.”
“I’ve been delivering babies for a number of years,” Minna said. “Right after my first one was born, I got called to a neighbor’s place and his wife was set to have her first, and so I just pitched in and between us we managed to have a nice baby boy. If she’d waited for the doc to come from town, she’d have had that baby all by herself.”
“So you’ve delivered lots of babies?” Alexis asked hopefully.
“A whole string of ’em. Doc has been threatening to train me, turn me into a doctor myself. But I don’t want to do all the broken legs and such. I’ll leave that up to him. I can do most any healing needs to be done, but babies are my first love.”
“If I send for you when the time comes, will you be available?” Alexis asked.
“You bet, honey. I’ll be here, quick as a minute.”
“That makes me feel better,” Alexis said, drinking her tea and looking up with anticipation as Ellen brought the warm cinnamon rolls from the oven. “This may ruin my dinner, but I don’t care,” she said stoutly. “This baby needs to be fed right now.”
