Kissing in Kansas Read online

  Chapter Six

  Samara woke to Henry's hands on her, kissing her awake. "Sami. Time to wake up, sweetheart."

  "Just five more minutes," she groaned. She was sore in places no one should ever be sore.

  "We don't have five minutes. I let you sleep a bit later than I should have already. You promised the girls no more cereal."

  "I'm getting up." She threw her legs over the side of the bed, feeling more than a bit grumpy. "I hate mornings, you know." Especially when they started so early. The sun was never up when she had to wake. "I'll be down in five minutes."

  Henry watched her pad to the bathroom with a grin on his face. His sweet bride was beautiful. And naked. He wonder if she realized just how naked she was.

  When Samara caught her own reflection in the bathroom mirror, she let out a gasp. She'd forgotten she was naked. Lovely. Now Henry would think she was an absolutely shameless hussy. A slow smile settled over her face as she thought about their night together. He probably wasn't wrong.

  *****

  The things Samara had ordered online came on Tuesday, and she washed the girls' new clothes and put them in their drawers. She found a large plastic container for the new bath toys and put them into the tub before going to pick up the girls in the afternoon.

  Hopefully with toys to play with, they would be less likely to get into mischief and she could read while they bathed.

  The girls were excited to see her, hugging her and acting as if they'd been apart for weeks instead of hours. She wished there were a way to keep them home with her all day, but she wouldn't be able to get any work done. She loved her job and really didn't want to quit to be a stay at home aunt. Was a stay at home aunt even a thing?

  She and the girls played some learning games at the table while supper cooked. Candyland had never been a favorite, even when she was young, so she played a matching game with letters and numbers, trying to help the girls learn all their letters and numbers before starting Kindergarten. They had a year, and she was determined that her girls would be the smartest in the class.

  She heard the door open, indicating that Henry was home, and her heart started beating a bit faster. Just as she was about to clean off the table to put dinner on, Avy asked, "Will you teach us to read, Aunt Sami? Mama was working with us before she died, but we never got to learn. Uncle Henry doesn't have time, and Grandma says she doesn't have the patience."

  "Of course, I'll teach you to read! Reading is one of the most wonderful things in the world. If I'd known you two were interested, we'd have started already!" Samara couldn't believe how excited she was at the prospect of teaching the girls to read. Her degree was in business administration, but she'd wanted to be a teacher with everything inside her. She'd been told over and over that the pay was too low for the hours, so she hadn't bothered.

  Henry walked into the kitchen, ignoring the girls, and grabbed Samara dipping her over his arm and kissing her. The girls clapped excitedly.

  "Do I have time to shower before dinner?"

  "Of course. We'll get dinner on the table, and it'll be ready when you come back down." Samara liked being able to provide him with what he needed when he came in at the end of the day.

  Henry took the stairs two at a time to go up to shower. When he walked into the bathroom, he stopped short. There was a big bucket of bath toys, including boats. When the girls had moved in with him, he had thrown all their boats away. He didn't want them remembering that it was a boat that had killed their parents. He carefully removed the boats from the bin, and left the rest of the toys there. He'd talk to Samara later and let her know why he had done it.

  When he walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later, the girls were sitting at the table, their plates fixed. Samara was filling drinks for everyone. He took a seat at the table, and waited for Samara. Once she was seated, they all held hands, and he prayed for them.

  Tonight's dinner was a simple casserole, but it was still so much better than he could've made, that he was thrilled to have her there.

  While Samara was filling the tub for the girls a short while later, she noticed that all the boats had been taken out of the bath toys. She dumped the rest of the toys into the tub and then carefully lifted the girls in. She'd ask Henry about the boats later.

  She read while the girls bathed, watching them out of the corner of her eye, but the toys kept them occupied. They were obviously very excited to be able to play, and they took some of the small animal squirt toys she'd purchased and shot each other with them. There was much squealing and excitement, but bath time went much better than it had the last couple of nights.

  Once she'd read the girls their books, she went back into the room she shared with Henry, stifling a yawn. He was waiting for her in bed, and she brushed her teeth before stripping down to nothing and climbing into bed with him. What was the point in wearing something to bed when he'd just take it back off anyway?

  "What happened to the boats?" she asked softly.

  Henry shrugged, obviously embarrassed about something. "The toy boats?"

  "Yeah. The girls told me they wanted bath toys, including boats so I bought them a bunch. When I gave the girls a bath a little while ago, all of the boats were missing. Why were the boats missing?"

  "I don't want the girls to get upset by seeing the boats."

  Samara blinked. "You think seeing toy boats will upset them because their parents were killed in a boat?"

  "Yeah. Don't you?"

  "No, I really don't. I'm not a child psychologist, but I think if they play with toy boats, it will make things go more smoothly for them when they see real boats later in life. I think if we completely remove them from their lives, they'll think that boats are somehow bad. They're not. What happened to their parents was bad."

  "Maybe you're right." Henry didn't know how to deal with young girls. He'd never been around kids in his life.

  "So I can put the boats back into the bathroom?" she asked.

  He nodded. "Yeah. I'm not trying to make them afraid of anything. I just want to make sure they don't get upset over any silly things that I can prevent."

  "So did you notice I came to bed naked?" she asked.

  He laughed. "You sure do know how to change a subject, wife."

  "It's one of my skills. Wanna see another one?" she asked.

  He nodded. "I'd love to."

  She moved into his arms, kissing him. "I've got skills that will knock your socks off."

  "I'm not wearing any."

  "Even better."

  *****

  The followings days fell into a pattern. Samara got up early and cooked, got the twins ready, walked them next door, worked all day, picked up the girls, worked with them on their reading lessons while she cooked dinner, bathed them, read to them, and then she went back to her honeymoon suite, and she and Henry learned a lot together.

  By the time Saturday rolled around, she was exhausted and ready for the weekend. Thankfully everyone slept a little later than usual. It was seven when she woke up to the twins excitedly climbing into bed with her. She wrapped the sheet tightly around herself, because she hadn't dressed yet.

  Henry brought her a cup of coffee in bed and handed it to her.

  "Thank you!" She looked at the twins, wondering what they wanted from her.

  "Are we going to read today?" Avy asked with a grin.

  "We can read for a while if you want."

  Abby jumped up. "We do want. I want to learn to read fast!"

  Samara smiled, pulling to a sitting position with her back against a pillow on the headboard so she could sip her coffee. "Why are you in a hurry?"

  "We want to read all the time like you do!" Avy told her.

  "Well, I don't read all the time." What she needed more than anything was the time to read a full book beginning to end. She couldn't help but wonder if Henry would be able to make that happen for her. Looking at Henry, she asked, "Would you be willing to watch the girls while I hit the grocery store today? I could
make better meals if I could pick stuff out for myself." She frowned. "I'm going to assume there's no grocery delivery in Teaville."

  He laughed. "There's barely pizza delivery in Teaville!"

  "Well, then I'd better go. You'll watch the girls?"

  "Of course, I will. You run away and get groceries. Will you fix us breakfast first?"

  Samara laughed. "I'm not going to let my favorite girls starve!"

  Henry frowned. "What about me?"

  "Maybe the girls will let you eat scraps from their plates!"

  "Nice to see where I rank..."

  "Let me shower, and I'll run down and fix breakfast. I'll go to the grocery store right after we eat."

  He nodded. "I'm going to need to do a bit of paperwork today, but it shouldn't take more than forty minutes or so."

  "That's fine. I'm going to need to lounge in my bed and read an entire book today. That shouldn't take more than three or four hours."

  He frowned. "Seriously?"

  "If I can make it happen, it would make me happier than anything else in the world."

  "Then we'll make sure you get to do some reading." He leaned over the bed and kissed her softly. "I want to keep my wife happy."

  "That's because you're a very smart man. Now if you three will just skedaddle, I'll shower so I can make breakfast happen."

  Henry picked up both girls, carrying them from the room, and shutting the door behind him. "See you later!"

  Twenty minutes later, Samara was downstairs, and all three of them were sitting at the table waiting for her to cook something for them. They really needed to learn to feed themselves. "What do you want to eat this morning?"

  "We voted while you were showering. We want scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast."

  "With orange juice," Avy added.

  "All right. I can do that." Samara quickly set to work on breakfast while the other three continued to talk.

  Thirty minutes later, Henry promised that he and the girls would do the breakfast dishes, and she hurried out the door to go to the store. Really, it wasn't so much of a hurry to shop as a hurry to be alone and do what she wanted for a short while. She hadn't yet taken time to get to know the new town she lived in. She felt like she was starting to lose Samara under all of the duties of being a new wife and aunt.

  Once she reached the store, she got a cart, determined to walk up and down every single aisle in the store. It was a small town, and people would stop and talk constantly, blocking the aisles to others. It was obviously the place to be on a Saturday morning in Teaville.

  A couple of people recognized her from her wedding, which was a surprise to her. She definitely didn't have her hair fixed as nicely as she had that day. She never recognized someone from one minute to the next unless she'd had a significant conversation with them, and then she still sometimes didn't recognize them!

  "Oh, you married Henry Crider! His two nieces are just beautiful girls. Will you keep them and mother them?"

  Samara blinked at the older woman who had asked the question. "What else would I do with them? They're part of the package, and I already love them as if they were my own."

  "You can say that, but you don't have any of your own, do you? When you and Henry do have your own, you'll want to find some place to ship them off to. There must be a boarding school somewhere that would take the little hellions." The woman had white hair and blue eyes, and Samara wanted nothing more than to stab her with a fork.

  "How dare you say that to me! I will always love those girls, and they will definitely not be shipped off somewhere, to a boarding school or anywhere else."

  The woman shrugged. "I'd certainly be shipping them off. No one should be burdened with other people's children as newlyweds." She walked off, obviously sensing Samara's anger. Stabbing that woman in the eye with a fork would be too good for her. Maybe she should be boiled in acid.

  She was stopped five minutes later. "Oh, you're Henry's new wife." This woman was more her age. "None of us ever thought he'd marry, and he probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been for the twins. Adorable girls, but no one wants to have to deal with them all the time."

  "Why do you say that? I love his girls!"

  "Yeah, but you don't really want to raise other people's kids. I feel bad for you being stuck with them."

  "I don't feel stuck," Samara told her. "I truly care about them, and I don't care who gave birth to them."

  "I bet you'll feel differently when you have children of your own."

  Samara was glad to see her walk off. Why did no one seem to think she could just care for the girls for themselves? Many people around the world adopted children. Was this really different?

  Fortunately, she was able to complete her shopping with no more run-ins with busy-bodied women. When it was that bad in the grocery store, she was not looking forward to church the next day. Every woman there would be giving her advice and telling her how to be a better 'mother' to the girls. She was a Christian, but meddling women sometimes made her want to avoid church entirely.

  When she got home, Henry was sprawled in the family room with the girls, and they were watching The Lion King. He jumped up to help her carry the groceries in.

  She got everything put away, and rearranged the kitchen to suit her tastes better while she was doing it. There were so many things around the house that she felt she should be changing and making better, but she just didn't have the energy to do any of it. Maybe after a day of reading, she would feel up to making the changes on Sunday.

  Pulling the crock pot out of the pantry, she put in the ingredients for supper, and pushed start. That done, she went to the family room. "I'm going to go upstairs and read for a while," she told Henry. "Come get me when you guys start getting hungry and I'll fix something."

  "How 'bout I go get something fast foodish for lunch? That way you don't have to feed us."

  She considered that for a moment before nodding. "I'd like that a lot if you don't mind."

  "I don't mind at all. I'll even take your van and take the girls with me, so you can just laze about and read for as long as you want."

  She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him softly. "Thank you. This means the world to me."

  "You're welcome!" Henry walked back into the family room to sit and watch movies with the girls. He didn't mind, because he always did it with a lap top on his lap, and he played computer games. Sometimes he needed to do something mindless as well.

  Samara rushed upstairs and grabbed her Kindle. She sat in the chair beside the bed first, and she chose the next book in the series by one of her favorite authors. It had been out for days, and she hadn't yet had a chance to devour it. Life had sure taken a strange turn.

  She was just starting the last chapter when Henry came into the bedroom. "The girls and I are about to get lunch. Want me to surprise you?"

  Samara didn't bother looking up from her Kindle. "Sure. Whatever."

  Henry frowned. He knew she hadn't really heard him, but he'd asked. When they got home, she couldn't complain if she didn't like what he'd brought.

  When Samara finished the book, she checked Facebook for her favorite author-reader group, Pioneer Hearts. All of the books mentioned were historical Western romances, and that made her very happy. She'd even built up personal friendships with many of the authors.

  She skimmed through the group, not looking for any of the silly chat, or jokes about Bob. No, she was looking to see if any of her favorite writers had any new books out. Ah! Amelia Adams had put out another book in her Kansas Crossroads series. She followed the link and one-clicked it, immediately opening it to the first page. There was no need to even read the blurb with her favorite writers. Their books were always worth buying.

  She heard the front door slam just as she opened the book, and with a great effort, set her Kindle down. She needed to go eat with her new family, not get involved in another book.

  She reluctantly went down the stairs and into the kitchen, seating herself at the table. H
enry passed food around to everyone. Samara had never heard of the restaurant whose name emblazoned the sack, but she was certain it was probably a small town thing. There were few of those in Manhattan.

  After the prayer, she took her first bite of the cheeseburger, and she wanted to moan with pleasure. Burgers were usually nasty in her opinion, but this one was good. It made her wonder something. "Do you know how to grill?"

  Henry nodded. "Of course, I do. It's a manly task that my father made certain I was a master of before he and my mother moved back to Scotland."

  "I may buy some steaks and have you grill out tomorrow night."

  "Hot dogs!" Abby shouted.

  "Steaks and hot dogs," Samara amended. "I don't know what I was thinking!"

  "Me neither," Avy said, a grin on her face.

  "Do you girls want your reading lesson after lunch, and then you can take your nap?"

  "No nap! Just the reading lesson!" Avy said.

  "Both or neither."

  The girls looked at each other. They'd never been told they were allowed to skip nap time before, but they really wanted the reading lesson. "Both," Abby finally said.

  "I think that's a very wise decision," Samara told them.

  Henry watched the whole exchange with a grin on his face. He needed to call Lachele and thank her. Not only had she found the perfect wife for him, but the perfect mother-figure for the girls. Everything was working out the way he needed it to, and he couldn't be happier.

  Samara cleaned off the table as soon as lunch was over, and brought out the cards she was using to help the girls learn to read. She'd made them herself, and they were working very well so far.

  "I'm going to go and do that paperwork I told you about," Henry said, excusing himself.

  "Oh, that's fine. I'm going to do the reading lesson, and put the girls down for their nap. I'll probably read myself after. One of my favorite authors just put out a new book in a series I'm reading."

  He nodded, wishing she wasn't so involved in her reading. She'd put it on hold all week, as far as he could tell, but she was making up for lost time this weekend.