RNWMP_Bride for Robert Read online

  Mr. Harper smiled at that. “I have a toboggan you can load down and pull. You could even put your little girl in it. I bet she’d love the ride.”

  Robert nodded. “We’d appreciate that.” He gave Olivia to Minnie, and the two of them watched while the men got the toboggan out and filled it. Then Robert took Olivia and put her at the front, showing her how to hang on.

  “Are you ready?” Robert asked her.

  Olivia nodded, her eyes filled with excitement. It was the only part of her face visible with the way Minnie had her scarf covering her.

  Robert looked at Mr. Harper. “Much obliged. I’ll bring the toboggan back as soon as we’re done with it.”

  Mr. Harper looked up at the sky and shook his head. “No, you keep it for now. Bring it back after the storm passes.”

  That told Minnie they were in for a heavy storm. She knew that Robert had mentioned a storm, but she wasn’t ready for what they were discussing. Robert pulled Olivia and their purchases while Minnie walked beside him, fretting a little. “Do we have enough wood to keep warm through a bad storm?”

  “I plan to chop some more wood as soon as we get everything into the cabin. I’m not going to let anything happen to our little family.”

  She nodded, still a bit nervous. “Make sure you chop the wood as close to home as you can. I don’t want you lost in it.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I finally found people worth living for, so I’m not going to ruin that. Just so you know.”

  She flushed at the compliment. He already cared about her and Olivia more than David ever had. She was still wondering how she’d been so fortunate to have married him.

  When they got to the house, he picked Olivia up and handed her to Minnie before carrying in all of their purchases. “Why don’t you make a hot stew while I chop the wood? And I wouldn’t say no to some hot coffee when I get back.”

  Minnie nodded, immediately getting to work. She put Olivia at the table to watch her cook, giving her some slivers of carrot to eat. “Daddy is chopping wood for our fire,” she told the little girl as she peeled carrots and potatoes for the stew. She had lots of salt pork she’d use for the stew as well.

  While the stew was cooking, she mixed up dough for a few loaves of bread, and gave Olivia a small piece to play with. It was one of her daughter’s favorite things to do. She made all sorts of shapes and rolled it around until it was disgusting.

  Minnie kept glancing out the window as she worked, worried that Robert wouldn’t make it back before the snow hit hard. It had already started, but was just gentle flurries. Hopefully it would stay that way long enough for him to get back with the wood.

  The stew was ready and the bread was in the oven when Robert opened the door, revealing the toboggan that he’d filled with wood. He carefully stacked it inside the door so they would be able to use it, and then he set the toboggan up against the side of the house, ready to return after the storm.

  He shut the door behind him and stomped his feet, sending snow in every direction. “That should hold us for a few days,” he said, looking over at her. “Do you have that coffee ready?”

  Minnie’s face lost all its color. “I forgot. I’m so sorry! I’ll do it right now.” She hurried to get the coffee ready, mortified she’d forgotten he asked for it. She hoped he wouldn’t get too angry with her.

  Robert walked slowly across the room, and she flinched away from him, bracing herself for the blow she knew was to come. Instead, he took her shoulders and pulled her to him. “You’ve been busy making lunch. I understand why you forgot.”

  Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I won’t forget again. I promise!” She said a silent prayer that if he was going to hit her, he wouldn’t do it in front of Olivia.

  “Did David hit you when you forgot to do what you were told?”

  She nodded, embarrassed to admit it. What kind of woman was she that she needed to be hit to remember to do what she was told? “Sometimes. Sometimes he just hit me because he liked to.”

  He closed his eyes, feeling rage fill his body. “I will never hit you. Ever. And if I ever hear about someone else hitting you, I will deal with them. Do you understand me?”

  She nodded, her face buried against his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  “For being afraid. Deep inside, I think I knew you’d never hurt me, but I still jumped to conclusions when I forgot to do something for you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  He cupped her cheeks in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes. “If you do make that mistake again, I still won’t hit you. You’re my wife, and I promised to cherish you. How can I cherish you if I’m hitting you?”

  Looking into his eyes, she could see that he told her the truth. He wouldn’t hurt her, and he wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it either. “I’ll get your coffee now.”

  He let her go and sat down at the table across from Olivia while she worked. “That bread smells really good.”

  “It should be ready in a minute or two.” She peeked in the oven to be sure it wasn’t time to take it out. “Olivia’s been making animals out of the bread dough.” She had to lighten the mood. She was still frightened, even though she knew she needn’t be.

  “You have?” he asked, looking at the little girl.

  She nodded, showing him the creature she’d just finished. “Bunny!” she said.

  He looked at it, trying to see why it was a bunny, and then he noticed the long ears. “That’s a good bunny,” he told her, not really believing it. He believed that all children deserved praise when they worked hard, though, and he was going to see to it his new daughter got it. As he sat with her, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been the object of her father’s wrath. He would ask Minnie later. He needed to know.

  He had his coffee in front of him a few minutes later, and he thanked her for getting it. She stirred the stew, tasting a small bit to see if it was perfect. Taking the bread out of the oven, she put a small amount of butter on the middle of the table. “We don’t have a lot of butter, and I didn’t see that we could buy cream at the store. Do you know where I can get some? There’s a butter churn, and I’m happy to make it.”

  He grinned. “It never occurred to me you’d know how to churn butter, but you were a farm girl. Of course you can. You could probably milk the cow, skim off the cream, and then churn it as well.”

  “Sure could. Just show me the cow.” Minnie knew he was teasing her, but she was proud of her accomplishments. Despite his teasing, he seemed to be as well.

  A few minutes later, she had the stew on the table in front of him, and Olivia—seeing they were about to eat—got down from the chair she was in and went to sit on her daddy. He immediately scooped her up, saying a silent prayer that her father had never hit her. He wasn’t sure he could bear it.

  After lunch, Olivia was ready for her nap, and she once again insisted that Robert be the one to put her down. Minnie could hear him singing as she did the dishes, and she had to stifle a giggle. The man couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, and she was sure he knew it. Olivia was thrilled to hear his voice, though. Minnie hadn’t realized what the little girl was missing with her father.

  As soon as Olivia was asleep, Robert went into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he looked at Minnie. “I have a question for you.”

  Minnie looked over at him. His stance was relaxed, but she could see his entire body was tense, as if he was afraid of what her answer would be to his question. “Yes?”

  “Did David hit Olivia?”

  Minnie’s eyes widened as she realized why he was tense. She immediately shook her head. “No, he didn’t. He mostly ignored her. He wanted nothing to do with a child, especially a girl. She was completely my responsibility.”

  He let out a whoosh of air. “I’m glad.”

  “Me too. Honestly, I think it was easy for her when he died, because she didn’t have a connection to him. You could die tomorrow, and she would mourn you deeply, becaus
e she’s already closer to you than she ever was to David.” She couldn’t force herself to call David Olivia’s father, because Robert was already more of a father to her little girl than David had ever been.

  “I already love her,” he said softly. “There’s something special about that little girl that makes me feel like I can walk on air.”

  Minnie smiled. “She thinks so much of you. Sometimes it makes me jealous, how excited she is to see you and how quickly she’s bonded with you. I’ve been the only important person in her life since she was born.” She knew her parents would have been close to Olivia if they’d lived.

  “What about Miss Hazel?”

  Minnie shrugged. “She got close to Miss Hazel during the couple of weeks we lived with her, but she didn’t really know her before that. She was just a woman who went to our church.”

  “I didn’t realize that. I thought you’d been close to her for a long time.”

  “You’d think we had, but Miss Hazel just has a way of worming her way into people’s hearts. I was very close to her by the time we left, but not at all before we moved in there. She saved us from certain doom, but she was little more than a stranger to me when I talked to her at the church.” She quickly related the story of how she’d come to live with Miss Hazel. “Up until you walked into the room where Olivia and I were sitting, I was sure no one would even want to talk to me. Why would anyone be willing to take on a wife who already had a little girl and was pregnant with someone else’s child?”

  “Because you’re a special woman, Minnie. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You have been strong and courageous through this whole thing, being willing to go on a long journey via sled dog when you were expecting. I don’t know what I’ve done in my life to deserve having you for a wife, but I’m so thankful I did it. Whatever it was.”

  She smiled, dried her hands, and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. “You’re a pretty special man, Robert. I’m so thankful it was you who walked into that room.”

  He grinned, tilting her chin up for a kiss. “Me too. I would have been heartbroken if you’d married one of the others.”

  “You’re silly,” she said, starting to wipe the dishes dry. “What do you plan to do for the rest of the day?”

  He grinned, amused at how quickly she changed the subject when she became a little uncomfortable with the emotions he was showing. “I brought some wood with me. I thought I’d sand it and make a stool for Olivia for the table.”

  “She’s going to be so disappointed if you don’t let her keep sitting in your lap for meals,” Minnie said with a grin.

  “This way she’ll have a choice. She can sit with me as long as she wants to.” He wasn’t sure he was ready to give her up yet.

  “That girl would be fifteen and still sitting on your lap for meals. I’m not sure that’s exactly healthy…”

  He laughed. “Maybe not.”

  7

  While Robert worked on the stool, Minnie baked a cake and worked on the blanket she was making for the baby. The wind howled outside, making Minnie shiver in reaction. She laughed at herself. “I’m shivering listening to the wind, but it’s toasty inside our cabin.” He kept the fire stoked to keep them warm.

  “It’s a natural reaction. It’s cold outside, so you feel cold, even though you’re plenty warm.” He shrugged. “I think everyone is the same.”

  “Do you like the cold?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Honestly, I hate it. I’m one of those people who would prefer to live in the tropics somewhere. I never get too hot. I don’t know what I’m doing being a Canadian Mountie and volunteering for assignments up north.”

  She laughed. “I’ve always liked winter. When I was a girl, we would try to build houses from snow like the Eskimos. It was fun.”

  “You and your sisters?”

  “No, my sisters were eight years younger than me. I would play with a neighbor girl. Her name was Stella.”

  “When was the last time you saw Stella?” he asked.

  She sighed. “The day I married. She was already married and living in town when my parents died. I had decided not to marry, you see, so I’d rejected every suitor who came calling. I was going to be a famous artist. I don’t know why my parents ever encouraged me. Mama always said that her girls would be farmers’ wives.”

  “I think they encouraged you because they should have. You have a remarkable talent.”

  His words made her fingers itch to get out her pencils and paper, and she resisted for a few more minutes, forcing herself to finish the row she was knitting before she went to the trunk where her things were kept.

  She settled back at the table, her fingers moving rapidly over the paper, capturing the look on his face as he sanded the wood to make Olivia’s stool. It didn’t take her long to finish the drawing, and when she was finished, she smiled, setting it to the side and picking up her knitting again. She kept up a steady stream of conversation the whole time, and he never realized she’d picked up a pencil to draw him.

  She’d left the stew on the stove, knowing it would just get better the longer it cooked, and by the time Olivia woke up from her nap, it was almost perfect. The little girl rushed out to the kitchen to see what was happening, hating to be left out of anything. When she got there, she looked at her daddy for a moment, realizing he was too busy to be bothered, so she held her hands up for her mother.

  Minnie put down her knitting and lifted her daughter, settling Olivia on her lap. “Did you sleep well?” she asked softly.

  Olivia nodded, resting her head against her mother’s shoulder. “Hungry.”

  Minnie looked at Robert. “Are you hungry too? I can serve supper now, or I can give her a piece of bread as a snack.”

  “Just give her a snack for now. I’d rather finish this part of the stool before supper.”

  While Minnie was getting the bread and butter for Olivia, the little girl picked up the picture Minnie had drawn. “Daddy.”

  Robert smiled, not looking up. “Yes, Olivia?”

  “It’s Daddy.”

  “Yes, I’m Daddy.”

  Olivia shook her head, seeming frustrated. “No, this Daddy.”

  Robert looked up, glancing at the paper in Olivia’s hands. He put down the wood he was sanding and looked at the picture. “That is me.” He took it from her studying it, surprised at how good the likeness was. She’d even captured the shadow of his beard, because he hadn’t shaved that morning. “What are you going to do with this?” he asked Minnie.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just watched you work for a little while, and I suddenly had to draw you. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I was thinking…my mother’s birthday is next month. Would you mind if I sent this to her?”

  “I can do a better one for that. I was just playing around.” Besides, that one was for her. It showed him doing things for their daughter within a week of meeting them both. It would always remind her of what a wonderful man she’d married.

  “Better?” he asked, astonished that she didn’t realize what an incredible likeness she’d made of him. “How could you improve on this? It looks just like me!”

  “It does, but wouldn’t you rather I did one with you in your uniform, looking all official?” She loved how he looked in his uniform, but she was strangely attracted to him as he was now—in casual pants, button-down shirt, and suspenders. His hair was slightly mussed, and his beard wasn’t freshly shaved. Why she found him so attractive this way, she’d never know. He was handsome in his Mountie uniform, but she was always afraid she’d muss him. Like this? This was her Robert.

  He shook his head. “No, Mom will like this one. It’s me being me, not a Canadian Mountie. She might like a picture of Robert the Mountie, but I think she’d prefer this one of her son, Bob.”

  “Bob? People call you Bob? I didn’t realize. Would you prefer if I called you Bob?” It hadn’t occurred to her he’d prefer the informal name. She hadn’t
heard anyone else call him anything but Robert.

  He shrugged. “No one has really called me that for years, but my mother still does. I honestly think she’d like both, if you’d be willing to do another.”

  “Of course. Just let me know when you want to do it and I’ll be ready. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes or so.” She grinned. “I could even draw you atop your horse, but you don’t seem to have one here!”

  “I have a horse in the stable. One of the other Mounties left him. It’s just easier to get around here by sled dog in the winter.”

  “It seems strange to have a Mountie who doesn’t ride a horse…it’s got to be sacrilege or something!”

  He shrugged. “I think it’s more important for me to do my job efficiently than to ride a horse.”

  “Yeah, probably. Just seems strange.” She picked up Olivia and held her in her lap so she could eat the bread she’d brought her. “How’s the stool coming?”

  He held up the mostly sanded seat that looked smooth and polished. “I have the legs done. I’ll need to make holes for the legs to go into and glue them in. Should have it done by supper tomorrow if the weather doesn’t break.”

  Which of course meant if the weather broke he’d have other duties to see to. “I’m kind of glad we had this storm.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “Why would you be glad of a storm?” To him a storm just meant more work.

  “It gave us a chance to spend the afternoon together. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

  He smiled. “I find that the more time I spend with you, the more time I want to spend with you. You’re an awfully special woman, Minnie.”

  She tilted her head to one side and contemplated him for a moment. “I think the same about you. Well, a special man, not a special woman.”

  The storm was still going strong the following evening. Robert had finished Olivia’s stool, and to her parents’ surprise, she loved it, refusing to sit anywhere else to eat.

  “I’ve lost my meal buddy,” Robert said woefully.