Mail Order Matron (Brides of Beckham Book 9) Read online

  When Edward felt her relax beneath him, he took that as his cue to continue. He pulled out and pushed right back inside her, groaning at the pleasure the simple act brought him.

  She wasn’t surprised when he pulled from her, but when he pushed back in, she jerked with shock. It felt good, but…wasn’t he finished? Soon she understood as he began moving in and out of her in a slow steady rhythm. She felt something start to build inside her, uncertain of what it was, but she knew she liked it. His movements brought her something she hadn’t expected at all. Pleasure.

  He kept moving steadily and after a few minutes, he suddenly jerked sharply inside her a few times before stilling, catching his weight on his elbows. He groaned softly, pressing his forehead to hers, but saying nothing.

  Finally he moved to his side and gathered her close, pillowing her head against his shoulder. She wanted to ask him if she’d done okay, and if he was pleased with her, but instead she lay silently, feeling slightly bruised in her most private place.

  He kissed the top of her head as his eyes drifted closed. “Thank you,” he whispered softly.

  She smiled in the darkness. She must have done okay if he was thanking her. She needed no other words.

  Chapter Six

  Julia woke the following morning to Edward’s lips pressing sweetly to hers and his hands stroking her body. She opened her eyes to see that it was still dark, but he was purposefully arousing her. She had thought they’d do this maybe once a month, and was startled that he wanted her again so quickly. Was it normal to do this twice in one day?

  She lay beneath him enjoying his ministrations, and when he had finished she snuggled against him, not ready to get up and start her day. He kissed her one last time, and rolled from bed. “We’re starting our day later than usual.”

  She sighed. “I guess that means I’m not allowed to spend the whole day in bed while you work?”

  He laughed. “I know you better than that. You would be up doing something within a few minutes. You’re not one to sit idle.”

  “No, I’m not. I just wish the day started a little later.” She stifled a yawn as she sat up in the bed, holding the covers up under her arms. He leaned down to kiss her before leaving. “I’ll go do the milking.”

  Once he’d left the room, she got up, putting her clothes on while groaning at how sore her body felt. It wouldn’t be easy to do everything she wanted to do today if she was this sore. She shook her head adamantly. She’d do it all sore or not.

  After breakfast, she made the dough for several loaves of bread and left them to rise while she hurried back to the berry patch, picking as many berries as her two pails could hold. She took them home, rinsed them in the basin, and went back for more. By noon, she’d made four trips and had her kitchen filled with the smells of berries, both jam and pie filling.

  She made a simple lunch of the bread she’d baked with some of her fresh jam on it and served it with milk. He complimented her on her morning’s work and eyed the apples still leaning against the work table. “Are you planning on peeling and making pie filling out of the apples today as well?”

  She nodded, her eyes bright. “I’m so excited to get this much done.” She traced the tablecloth with one finger. “Would it be a problem if I took the wagon into town and got some fabric and yarn sometime soon? I have my own money, but I’ll need to have things to do this winter when I’m not canning and cleaning constantly.”

  He seemed to think about it for a moment. “I’d rather you didn’t drive that far by yourself. I’ll come with you.” He frowned. “We have a mercantile a little closer in a town south of here. I’ll take you there.”

  “That’s fine.” Something about what he’d said bothered her. “Why can’t I go alone?”

  His hand reached for hers across the table. “Because I’ve come to care about you. There are a lot of Indians in these parts, and I don’t want you to end up hurt or killed.”

  Her eyes widened with understanding. “Oh! I thought you didn’t trust me.”

  He shook his head. “I absolutely trust you. I don’t trust strangers you may meet on the road on the way there.” He settled back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Why don’t I take you tomorrow? Can you have a picnic lunch for us?”

  She nodded, her eyes filled with excitement. She was thinking forward to Christmas and wanted to be able to make him some new shirts. The ones he had were threadbare, and she liked the idea of making something special for him. “Did you get me a chicken?”

  He nodded. “It’s outside. I’ll bring it in after I finish lunch.” His eyes danced. “What are you going to do with it?”

  She smiled. “Well, I’d thought about chicken and dumplings, but if we want a picnic for tomorrow, I’ll make some fried chicken and we’ll take some bread with butter and a pie for dessert.”

  He patted his belly with a smile. “You know I’m not going to fit through the door if you keep feeding me this way, right?”

  She laughed. “It’s time someone spoiled you.” Her eyes met his, and she blushed as she thought about what had happened between them the night before. Ever since she’d met him, she’d felt the need to take care of him. She loved doing things for him. Did that mean she was falling in love with him? She frowned at the thought. Could she fall in love with a man she’d just known for a few days?

  He saw the emotions crossing her face and wondered at them, but didn’t say anything. Once he finished eating, he pushed away from the table and kissed her softly before going out to get the chicken. He’d already pulled the feathers off and had bled it out. She carefully chopped it into pieces and coated it, setting it aside to cook when it was time.

  She finished the jams and the pie filling, carefully labeling each jar, so she’d know what they were when she went to use them. The apples were a bigger job than she’d thought. She peeled them all carefully, putting the pieces she cut up into a bowl so she could make the pie filling and apple sauce. She had wanted to do some dried apples as well, but there just weren’t enough apples to do everything.

  She finished with the canning job with just enough time to cook supper. As she fried the chicken, she thought about how loving and sweet her husband was. The marital act had been nothing like her mother had described to her. She’d enjoyed it a great deal. She tried to picture Joseph, but his face just wasn’t there anymore. She’d moved on. She was in love with her husband. But how did he feel about her?

  The long drive the following day was pleasant, with her leaning against him as they drove, talking about the scenery and plans they each had. He enjoyed listening to her chat and talk about the things she’d enjoy doing to the house. She had plans to keep her occupied for the winter, which was a good thing.

  Every day he worried a little less about her suffering from the melancholy that had affected Leah. They’d been there for less than twenty-four hours when she’d first started worrying about how far from all their family they were. She’d worried about everything from how she was going to not go crazy in the winter to what they would do for entertainment. He looked down at his bride, and realized she was nothing like his first wife. Yes, he’d loved Leah, but she’d not been suited for the prairie life.

  Julia thrived there. He could see in her face every day how much she enjoyed having freedom to do what she wanted. She obviously enjoyed cooking and cleaning for him. She was what he needed for a wife. He sighed contentedly. He’d thought love could only come slowly, when you’d known someone forever. He could see now that sometimes it came in a blinding flash. His little bride had in just days become his everything.

  They bought the things they needed at the store in Levine and headed home. They stopped just outside of town for the picnic that Julia had packed. He pulled to the side of the road and helped her down, stopping next to a small pond. She unpacked their lunch and served them both. They both worked so hard on the farm that she was happy to have this interlude with her new husband when they didn’t have to worry about their responsibil
ities for a moment or two.

  When they were finished eating, she expected him to be ready to get back to the farm right away so she was surprised when he stretched out with his back against a tall tree and gestured her over.

  She walked over to sit beside him, and found herself lying on the blanket with her head in his lap. He stroked her hair away from her face. It had started out in a bun, as usual, but as they had driven, the wind had blown it all down. “It was the best day of my life when you got off that train and married me,” he told her.

  She looked up at him startled. “But you married for love the first time.”

  “Yes, I did, but the marriage didn’t end up being what I needed.” He stared off into space trying to find the words to explain. “She was unhappy back in New York. She told me that moving somewhere where she wouldn’t have to work in a factory all day and have neighbors surrounding her all the time would make her happy.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted, but I wanted my wife to be happy, so we sold everything and moved west. She was miserable as part of the wagon train. I had thought to go further, but she couldn’t bear it. So we stopped here, and she said she’d be happy. We hadn’t been here for two days when she was broken-hearted about how isolated we were. She cried all the time. She tried to keep up with the house and cooking, but it was always ‘too much.’ She was never happy…about anything. When she caught the fever, I think she was almost relieved to die.”

  She stared up at him. “That’s horrible. I had no idea.” She thought about the many things she wanted to do to make her house a home. She’d wondered why some of the simple things that would make it better were missing. Now she understood. “I think my mother was like that after she fell ill. Everything made her miserable. It was a blessing when she finally passed on.”

  “I knew you’d understand. You seem to understand everything. When you got off the train, I was so excited to see you, but I was also worried that you would be like her and hate it here. Every job you’ve done, though, you’ve done with a smile. You laugh with me. Everything you do seems to be to make me happy.” He struggled for the words he was looking for. “You do make me happy. I love you, Julia.”

  She felt tears spring into her eyes at his words. “I came here, not expecting to find love. I thought I’d just be happy to cook and clean and be happy if I found a man who would treat me decently. Instead, I got here and found a man who accepted me for who I am. You appreciate everything I do, and you treat me like I’m someone precious to you. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be here as your wife. There’s nowhere I’d rather be, and no one I’d rather be married to.” She sat up and faced him, leaning forward to brush her lips against his. “I love you, too.”

  Edward pulled her close, holding her tight. “I hope you know it’s not the things you do for me that I love. It’s you. It’s your smile and your warmth.”

  She nodded, burying her face against his neck. “I thank God every day that it was your letter I read. This is where I was meant to be.”

  Epilogue

  Julia and Edward had been married for over four months. She’d begun to worry that maybe she would never have a child. She knew it was premature for those worries to set in, but she wanted a houseful of children, and she wasn’t getting any younger.

  It was only a week before Christmas, and she had decorated her home in the happiest way she knew. She’d made tiny little decorations and had made preparations for a Christmas feast. Edward had promised to hunt for a turkey so she could make it perfect. They’d had new neighbors move in, a young couple just a mile away who had agreed to join them for the special day.

  While she was fixing the bacon for breakfast that morning, she’d had to run outside to vomit up what little was still in her stomach from the night before. She’d done some counting and realized her cycle was late. So she decided to make something special for Edward for Christmas. Something that would tell him that she was carrying the best possible gift of all.

  She worked every time he left the house on her gift. He would come back, and she would hide it under one of the cushions she’d made. It was hard, because he stayed closer to the house in the heavy snows that came with a Kansas winter.

  Finally, Christmas dawned, and she carefully hid the fact that she was losing her breakfast from him as she had every other day.

  When they exchanged gifts, he’d had to go to the barn for hers. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw what he’d made her. A beautiful rocking chair, perfect for rocking the child she was now certain of.

  She gave him the gifts she’d been working on for months first. Five brand new shirts, new socks, and new gloves. He’d been alone long enough that all his clothes were in disrepair.

  “Thank you. This is the perfect gift,” he’d said sweeping her into his arms and kissing her.

  “There’s one more,” she’d said with an impish grin. “I’ve just made it this week.”

  He’d blinked. “More? But you’ve already given me so much!” Truly just having her beside him and not spending another Christmas alone was gift enough for him. Knowing he had her love was everything. And she said there was more?

  She found the present that she’d wrapped in brown paper and brought it to him, sitting in her new rocking chair while he sat in one of the kitchen chairs facing her. He gave her a questioning look as he carefully untied the bow and spread the paper. He pulled out a tiny pink dress.

  He stared at it for a minute, his eyes meeting hers with a questioning look.

  She shrugged. “Well, I don’t have any way of knowing if it’s a boy or girl, but hopefully we’ll have at least one of each before we’re done,” she told him.

  He blinked back tears. “A baby? Really?”

  She nodded, tears filling her own eyes. It had been all she could do not to tell him, but she’d wanted to save it for Christmas. Their first Christmas together had to be special. “Are you happy?”

  He stood and pulled her to her feet, hugging her tightly. “I couldn’t be happier. There’s not a better gift you could have given me!”

  She rested her head against his shoulder. She’d been sure she’d be an old maid all her life. In the past six months, she’d found the love of her life, moved to a new place, and now she carried a new life inside her. The gift she’d been given of a new beginning was more than she’d ever hoped for.