The Widow's Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides) (4 page)

They walked down the hall to the bedroom Tom had previously identified as theirs. “Mary, would you like to sleep in another bedroom?” he asked.

“Will you be in there?” she asked. Looking at him, she said, “Then to answer your question, no. If this is our bedroom, then here I’ll sleep. They walked into the bedroom, and Tom closed the door behind him.

“Well, here we are,” he said.

“
Indeed,” Mary said.

“I put your trunk in the corner,” he said needlessly, since there was no way she could have missed seeing it.;

“I see it,” she said.

“This is uncomfortable for both of us. Let’s just get ready, and get into bed,” she said.

“Sounds like a plan,” he said. He turned his back and began doffing his clothes, folding them neatly, and placing them on the chair.

Mary did the same, and the silence became deafening. She decided to take the first step. “Tom, could you help me with this, please?” and lifted her arms over her head. He pulled the chemise over her head, and before he could put it down, she turned into his arms, intertwined her arms around his neck, and tilted her head for a kiss. He pressed his roughened lips against hers, and found them soft and inviting. He pulled her tighter, crushing her bare breasts against his chest. As he moved his lips, she deftly slid her tongue between them and traced his teeth. His mouth opened a little wider and their tongues met. Electricity shot from them, down her neck past her neck and in the unexplored areas of her body.

Taking his hands, she slid them down her body until they were covering her breasts. “I’ll bet you think I’m some sort of fast woman, don’t you?”

“No, no,” he protested, “I don’t.”

“Well, I’m not,” she said.. “There’s been no one since Joshua went back to the war. That’s been thirteen years. Do you know how long thirteen years is, Tom? It’s a lifetime. A lifetime of lonely nights and lonely days. I have been waiting for you a long time. I just didn’t know it.”

“Would you like to get in bed now?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He removed his shirt and drawers, then turned out the lantern. He climbed into bed alongside her. Once in bed, they lay facing each other, she was idly running her fingers over his face, memorizing every inch of it, tracing the outline of his lips with her finger. He moved his hands until they found the soft, smooth mounds that were her breasts. He began rolling the nipples between his fingers, feeling the tissues tighten and firm up.

“You know what I would like?” she asked.

“What would that be?” he countered.

“I would like for my brand new husband to make love to me,” she answered.

“I think that might be arranged,” he said, as he moved one hand down past her navel, and through the wiry hair guarding the entrance to her vault. At the entrance, he found she was wet, and ready. He sheathed himself and lubricated his staff with the juices from her body. Instead of entering the inner chamber, he moved a finger inside and began probing the surfaces inside. He passed lightly over the magic spot and heard the soft groan. Moving his finger back and forth over the spot, her moans became louder. Then she was caught in the throes of her first climax in nearly fourteen years. She was pushing, thrashing and thrusting upward until she went limp.

He was not limp. She took him in hand and moved his staff around the edges, and then inside. “Push it in, Tom. Push it in all the way,” she urged. He did, feeling her tense as she approached another climax. He began and in and out motion, with her pushing her hips up as he came down. Then, in perfect
sync, they rode the wave of passion all the way to the top and over the edge. He was pumping hard, as he emptied himself. Spent, he lay on top of her. “Mrs. Hartness, you were nothing short of magnificent,” he said.

“You weren’t so bad yourself. It has been so long, I had forgotten what I had been missing,” she said.

“I’m glad I was able to satisfy you,” he said.

“That you did, my good man. That you did.”

The newly married couple fell asleep in each others arms, and slept through the night. Mary was awakened by a noise in the room. Startled, she sat up in bed, “Where are you going so early? It’s still dark outside.”

“A cattleman’s day begins early.” Tom said. “When I get through with my chores, I’ll come back for breakfast.”

Mary asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Tom laughed at the idea. “Not unless you know how to milk and feed the cows. You finish out your sleep and I’ll see you later,” he said.

“You could teach me. I’m a fast learner,” she said.

“Maybe some day, but not now. You just get acquainted with Emily, Rosa, and the house. I need to get going. The hands will poke fun at me if I’m late. Thanks for asking though. I appreciate it.” He kissed her on the cheek and left the room.

Mary got up, dressed and went to the kitchen. She found Rosa putting biscuits in the oven. She offered Mary a cup of the coffee she had prepared for Tom before he went to the stable.

“Good morning, Rosa. How are you this morning? Tom certainly gets out and to work early doesn’t he?”

“Yes, he does, Senora. There is much work to be done.” Rosa answered.

“Do you normally get Emily up and dressed? Mary asked.

“She will get up and dress herself, and have breakfast with the senor when he returns. I lay her clothes out the night before,” Rosa answered.

“I would like to help with Emily,” Mary said. “Is she normally talkative? Last night, she didn’t speak one word to me. Not even a grunt.”

“The senorita doesn’t talk much. I think she’s still angry about her mother leaving her. She doesn’t know who to be angry with, so it's everybody. She will talk to me some, but not a lot,” Rosa said.

“Well, I would like to earn her trust, and get to know her. Being a school teacher, I’m fairly accustomed to the ways of children. I’ll find a way to get through to her, sooner or later.”

“Emily, do you like fairy tales,” Mary asked. Emily shook her head. “At least she responded,” Mary thought. “Back where I lived in Maryland, I was a school teacher,” Mary said. “I read books all of the time and I brought a few of them with me. I’m going to go into my room and read one of them. You may come in and listen, if you like.”

There was no response. “I’ll leave the door open in case you change your mind.” She went into the room, and took out one of the children’s books she had brought with her. She adapted the story as she
read, trying to draw Emily into the room.

She began reading. “ Thumbelina is the story of a tiny girl about the size of a thumb. All of the normal sized children made fun of Thumbelina so she decided to run away from home. She ran into the forest and hid in the bushes. A giant bug found Thumbelina and was going to eat her for lunch. He changed his mind, and decided to eat some leaves instead. Thumbelina was afraid of all of the creatures in the forest and didn’t know what to do. A small mouse found her crying. “There, there, little girl. Don’t cry. You can come live in my house if you want.”

Mary looked up and caught a glimpse of Emily standing outside the door, peeking in. She continued reading. “One night, after Thumbelina fell asleep in her tiny bed, A hoppy toad came along and needed a bed, so he decided to take the bed and the tiny girl. “I’ll just give this tiny girl to my son and she can marry him.” Not knowing what to do, Thumbelina began to cry. A butterfly came fluttering past where the toad had put the bed. “I’ll help you little girl,” the butterfly said. Thumblelina climbed on the back of the butterfly and they flew off to a faraway place where she would be safe.

“That’s enough reading tonight. Maybe I’ll read some more tomorrow,” Mary said aloud. She put the book away and went to the kitchen where she helped Rosa with some of the cooking for the dinner that night. She sat at the table with a cup of coffee. Emily came into the kitchen and Rosa got her a glass of milk and some cookies.

“A mouse can’t talk,” she said in a small voice.

“You could play like they can talk. The same way you talk to your doll when you’re playing. Do you ever talk to your doll? Does she talk back to you?” Mary asked.

“Sometimes,” Emily said. “You can’t ride on a butterfly’s back either,” she said.

“Did you ever sit outside and watch the birds and think about flying with them? Can you imagine flying with a bird?”

“I saw a bird catch a ground hog, one day,” she said.

“You did? I would really like for you to tell me about it. If you tell me about it, I’ll read the rest of Thumbelina to you. Would you like to do that?” Mary asked.

Emily nodded. “Okay, it’s a deal. After your Papa has his breakfast and goes back to work, we’ll do that. Would you like to read in your room or in our bedroom?” Mary said, choosing her words carefully, letting the little girl know she was here to stay.

They heard the stomping of feet on the porch, as Tom tried to prevent dragging dirt into the house from the corral. “Good morning, everyone,” he said cheerfully. “What have you been doing this morning?”

“Emily’s going to tell me about the time she saw a bird get a groundhog, and I’m going to read Thumbelina to her.” He bent over Emily and hugged her, then he kissed Mary on the cheek. “Sounds interesting. I wish I could stay, but after breakfast, we have to fix the fence where some strays got out. Maybe you could tell me about it later.”

After eating, he said, “I have to get back to work and see if any more of the fence is broken. I’ll see you folks later. Thank you for the breakfast, Rosa, the
huevos ranchero
s were delicious as usual.” He left the ladies in the kitchen and went back to work.

“He works hard, doesn’t he?” Mary asked, as she began clearing the table to help Rosa.

“
Si,
he always works hard. He is a good man,
Senor
Tom,” Rosa said.

“Emily, are you ready to tell me about the bird?” Mary asked.

Emily nodded, “Well, this bird was sitting way high up in the tree, then he flew down and grabbed the groundhog in his hands.”

“My goodness,” Mary said, “I’ll bet the ground hog was frightened by that. What did the bird do?”

Emily said, “It started to fly back to the tree, but he dropped the ground hog and it got away,”

“Were you glad it got away,” Mary asked. Emily nodded her head. “I’m glad too,” Mary said. “Are you ready for some more of Thumbelina?” Emily nodded, and she led the way upstairs to her room, while Mary retrieved the book from her bedroom.

Back in Emily’s room, Mary sat in the rocking chair and opened the book. “Would you like to sit in my lap while I read?” she asked. Emily shook her head and climbed onto her bed. Mary said, “Maybe another time.” She continued the story of Thumbelina and how she found the small prince, who was just her size and then fell in love and got married, and lived happily ever after. “I have more books with lots of stories,” she said. “Would you like for me to read you a story before you go to bed?”

Emily nodded her head, and Mary said, “Okay, we’ll do that, starting tonight.”

When Tom came in that evening after a long day with the cattle, he said, “Some big, black clouds are building from the west. I think we are in for a storm before the nights over. I hope it doesn’t spook the cattle and scatter them all over the prairie.”

“I guess Mother Nature is a major source of trouble for you?”

“Yes, but she’s also the source of our bounties. When it rains, the grass grows and the cattle can graze longer before we have to move them. It’s a trade off.”

“I don’t want to take you away from the things you need to be doing, but I would like for you to explain what you do and show me around. I’m totally ignorant of the entire ranching business. If I’m to be part of your life, and I want to be, then I need to know what you do,” she said..

He reached over and took her hand. “Thank you for that. It is just about the nicest, most thoughtful thing you could have said. I appreciate it. I appreciate what you’re doing with Emily. She needs someone.”

“She does, and it’s going to take some time. She may be afraid I’m going to leave her. She doesn’t understand death, she just knows her mother is gone, so she’s built barriers to protect herself. It’s only natural, but maybe I can break some of them down.”