Page 22 of Mail-Order Brides Wishes (Montana Mail-Order Brides #7)

Chapter Twelve

“ A untie Bryn.”

Bryn sat upright. Early morning sunlight filled the room with gray shadows. Oh no. She’d fallen asleep with Susie. This was not what she’d planned. How long had Flint lain awake waiting for her? Would he be upset?

“My kitty sleeped with you and me.”

The kitten curled up in Susie’s arms, purring loudly.

“Susie, honey, stay in bed with your kitten.” Bryn had to fix things.

She slipped from the room running her hands over her dress hoping to smooth out some of the wrinkles.

Her efforts made little difference. Her hair would certainly be untidy, and she finger-combed it back from her face.

Having done her best, she twisted her hands together and breathed deeply hoping in vain to still the hammering of her pulse in her jaw.

Could she make him understand her failure to go to his bed last night wasn’t intentional?

Before she reached the door to the other bedroom it creaked open.

Flint looked at her, his eyes shadowed by the gray light.

“I’m sorry.” The words rushed out. “I fell asleep with Susie.”

“She needed ya.”

She couldn’t tell if he was disappointed in her. Of course, he was. But did it lead to anger? Rejection?

“I’ll get breakfast started.”

“I’ve chores to do.” He patted her shoulder as he passed. “We have the rest of our lives together. Susie will be young and fearful for only a short time.” The door clicked shut behind him.

Bryn stared at the worn wood. If he was disappointed, he didn’t show it. Yet a familiar sense of falling short through no fault of her own, pressed to her chest like a heavy weight had descended on her.

She shook her shoulders. She wasn’t going to think that way.

Flint had given her no reason to put him in the same judgmental category as her father and Susie’s father had.

This was a new land. A place of opportunity and she would prove her worth in every way.

With no thought but that of doing her best at what lay ahead, she dashed into the bedroom, changed her dress to a dark skirt and blue-flowered shirtwaist, brushed her hair into submission, and hurried to the kitchen.

Her heart continued to hammer an erratic beat brought on by her worries and accelerated by her rush.

The wood box was full. She gathered up kindling and larger pieces, started the fire, put the coffee pot on, and then measured out the ingredients for pancakes.

Thankfully, they had a good supply of eggs and a full pantry.

Knowing Flint would be gone the rest of the day, she put biscuits to bake.

They’d make a good lunch for him. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she remembered their picnic and the tiny biscuits.

Her hands grew idle as she stared out the window.

Yesterday had been pleasant. There was no reason she should think the future would be different.

Her insides uncoiled, and she hummed as she finished food preparation.

While she waited for Flint to return, she got Susie up. They took the kitten outside and laughed as she chased a feather through the grass.

“Get your kitten. We need to get back to the house.”

When Susie reached for her pet, the kitten bounced away on all fours.

Bryn laughed. “She thinks it’s a game.” She picked up the kitten who hissed playfully. Bryn rubbed her back and the hiss instantly turned to a purr.

Flint was at the door when they reached it and he waved them ahead.

“I’ll have the food ready in a few minutes.” She hurried to the stove. The biscuits cooled on the cupboard. The frying pans clattered as she put them over hot burners. She put eggs in one and dollops of pancake batter in the other.

The coffee smelled good, and she put a cupful before Flint. “You’ll be leaving soon?”

“Right after breakfast. Got the horses ready.” He sipped on the hot liquid. “Hate ta leave ya again.”

“Not to worry. We have the rest of our lives together.” Would he recognize she’d spoken the same words he had earlier?

He lowered his cup to the table with a click and raised his eyes to her, pale blue yet not cold. Warm as the flames of a coal fire.

“’Tis a good thing for us both ta remember.”

It took several heartbeats before she remembered how to move her muscles and she hurried back to the stove to rescue the food before it burned.

All too soon the meal was over. She wished Flint would linger and tell her more about his work.

How they let the cows roam on open pasture as he called it.

How they’d two hired cowboys— Jeff and Joe— to keep them from going too far.

“Just boys.” He worried they might have trouble if those rustlers returned.

Knowing his concern was justified made it easier for her to watch him go, though not without a thread of worry that he might be in danger.

Dismissing her worry with a reminder that he’d managed to avoid disaster until she came, she handed him the lunch she’d prepared and waved him goodbye.

She remained at the doorway until he and Jayce rode out of sight then her shoulders suddenly grew so heavy that she couldn’t keep them from falling forward. She turned to the kitchen to clean up after breakfast. He’d be gone all day. And she missed him already.

Susie played happily in her bedroom with the kitten.

The dishwater grew cold as Bryn contemplated the day ahead of her.

Her gaze was unfocused on the distance. She’d stared so long, her eyes stung.

She blinked several times and lowered her gaze to the nearby surroundings.

From the window, she could see the brown, prepared soil of the garden reminding her that she had something to pass the time.

And Addie had offered to help. She finished the dishes in a hurry.

Just in time as Addie came to the door with a basket holding gloves and little trowels. In the other arm, she held a rake, a hoe, and a shovel.

“Have I come too early?” she asked.

“No. Perfect timing.” She caught up her own basket that held the seeds Addie had given her. “Susie, come along.” The child joined them, her cat in her arms.

Bryn took the gardening tools from Addie. She squared her shoulders making her acutely aware of the tingling inside her chest as she anticipated planting her first-ever garden. She meant to learn everything she could in order to be a good farm housewife.

Addie showed Bryn how to level the soil and then how to mark the rows.

“I’ve never before planted a garden.”

“Then I’d have to say you were raised a lot differently than I was.” Addie continued to work as she talked. “We depended on a garden to feed us. If not our tiny patch, then what others shared with us.”

“My grandmother taught me housekeeping. But didn’t care for the mess of cooking or preserving food for the winter.

Our next-door neighbor, Mrs. Blake, taught me some of those skills.

She had a garden, but I seldom spent time helping in it.

Grandmother always knew when I did and complained about the dirt I dragged home. So, I’m glad of your expertise.”

Addie showed Bryn how deep to dig the trenches and how far apart to space the seeds. “Most of these seeds came from the Shannons who generously shared them.”

“They seem like good people.” Bryn’s conscience pricked her. Good people deserved the truth. But she was only protecting Susie. Ensuring the child had a good home here and didn’t face rejection because of who her mother was.

“Carrots we sprinkle because the seeds are so tiny.” Addie’s words brought Bryn’s attention back to the task at hand.

Daisy had followed Addie over and after a few minutes of the two cats circling each other on tiptoe with raised hackles they became friends chasing each other through the grass and then attacking and wrestling.

“Auntie Bryn. They’s fighting.” Susie’s face wrinkled up, prepared to cry.

Bryn squatted beside Susie. “They’re playing.

Like this.” She grabbed Susie and tickled the child, laughing along with her.

“You need to think of a name for your cat.

" She set Susie aside and returned to the garden where Addie leaned over, putting seeds in the ground. Bryn should not be neglecting her duties while Addie did them. “You don’t need to do my work.”

Addie straightened and smiled. “I like to keep busy.”

“Then thank you.” Bryn returned to planting the row of beans next to Addie.

The sun was high in the sky and burning with heat when they finished. The least she could do to thank Addie was invite her to join them for dinner. Bryn thought of what she had that would do. There were still biscuits and a hunk of cheese. Some canned apricots.

“Will you join us for dinner?”

Addie tucked the garden things into her basket while Bryn carried the longer tools. “I’d love to. Can I run back to the house and get some things to contribute?”

Bryn considered the offer. “It’s very kind of you, but I’d like to give you what I have on my own. After all, you did all this.” She waved her hand to indicate the garden that was now neat rows marked with sticks at each end.

Addie’s laughed. “It’s always more fun to work together.”

As Bryn prepared and served the simple meal, she learned more about Addie.

How she’d been responsible for tending to her younger siblings for much of her life.

How her mother had taken a job with a well-off man.

“He was the one responsible for sending me west under false pretenses. Making me think I would be working for the preacher’s wife while all the time he planned for me to marry.

” She spoke without any trace of bitterness.

Then chuckled. “I’ve wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t lost part of my memory.

I would have been in the west without a job or anyplace to live though I’m sure the preacher would have helped me. ”

“You ended up in the right place for you.”