B00BWX9H30 EBOK (10 page)

* * *

She kicked at the irritant. Something tickled her feet.

“Wake up, sleepy head.” His deep voice rolled over her and she felt just delicious.

She sighed. “Is is morning already?”

“Yup and you’ve got breakfast to make. Martha has already got the coffee going and is gathering the eggs as we speak. So get your beautiful ass out of bed.” He swatted said ass.

“Ow. All right. I’m up. I’m up.” She kicked off the covers and sat up. Thank goodness she’d gotten a nap yesterday because she didn’t get much sleep last night. The thought made her smile.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

He chuckled. “Well,
nothing
has you blushing right down to your toes. And
nothing
is going to happen again tonight.”

She was sure her cheeks and other naked parts were flaming. She grabbed the first thing she found, a black bombazine dress. Much too heavy for the work she had to to today, she hung it back in the closet and traded it for a light cotton dress in red with small white flowers. It was quite fitted showing off her figure.

Nathan gave her a wicked smile and said, “You look good enough to eat, but I’ll wait until tonight.”

“You have to stop saying those things; I’m in a perpetual state of embarrassment.”

“It becomes you.” He gave her a quick kiss and headed out to start his morning chores. There were horses, pigs and milk cows to be fed.

She finished dressing and doing her morning ablutions and then went to the kitchen. There she put three big cast iron skillets on the stove filled with bacon and sausage. After that she poured herself a cup of the coffee Martha made and started on the first batch of biscuits. Feeding fifteen hungry cowboys was a lot of work and when that was done there was still housework to do.

Except for some light cooking all of these were things she’d never done until now. She’d had maids and cooks for all of her twenty-four years. Her old nursemaid, Bridget, had taken care of her after the accident. That had been the hardest thing to do, saying goodbye to Bridget.

She’d thought of bringing her along, but didn’t want to subject the elderly woman to the hardships of the trip. It was for the best all around. Bridget would have tried to do all the work and Ella would have learned nothing.

In these last two months, her whole life had changed. She had a husband, a home of her own, not her father’s or her brother’s, but hers. She was going to have a baby soon, well in seven months, but that was soon enough. She’d have someone she could love unconditionally and who would love her back. Maybe when she gave Nathan a child he would fall in love with her, too. She knew she’d already fallen in love with her husband. He was strong yet kind and intelligent. He treated her gently. A powerful combination. He was all man. The best kind of man.

CHAPTER 6

Laundry day. The worst day of the week as far as Ella was concerned. She hated standing over the wash tub and stirring the clothes in boiling water with the long wooden paddle. Even when the water got cool enough for her to put her hands in, the harsh lye soap still ate at them. They were no longer the lily white, soft appendages she’d arrived in Golden City with. Now, more often than not, they were red and chapped and sometimes hurt like hell.

She chastised herself for her language. That was another thing she’d learned. How to cuss. Martha was good at it, her language often very colorful. Nathan tended to watch his language in front of her, but she heard him, when he didn’t think she could hear, cuss a blue streak more than once. Usually over something that one of the cowboys did. He never disciplined them in front of the other men, but they heard about whatever it was in private.

Laundry was almost done. All she had to do was hang it. She put it in the basket and carried it to the clothes line. She started to put the basket down when she saw it. A snake coiled right in front of her. She stopped, but not soon enough. It struck and caught her on the leg above her ankle.

She dropped the laundry basket. It landed on the snake, blocking it from striking again. “Nathan!”

Martha heard her and came running. “What in the world is wrong?”

Ella walked to her. “I got bit by a snake. Get Nathan. Hurry.”

She sat down on the porch steps and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Knowing that with every heartbeat the poison pushed its deadly way through her system. Her leg hurt like the dickens.

Nathan came running with Martha far behind. His long legs ate up the distance between the barn and the house.

“Ella. Honey. Show me the bite.”

She lifted her dress. There were two distinct marks on her leg.

“We have to get the poison out.” He took his knife and cut across the two bites. Then he put his mouth on her and sucked. He spit the blood out and repeated the procedure. “I know that some of the poison is still in your system, but you’re going to be fine.”

Ella nodded. “I don’t feel well, Nathan. I’m scared.”

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. There he undressed her and put her in her nightgown. “I’ll get you some water. I sent one of the boys for the doctor.”

Ella closed her eyes and the tears began to fall. “I’m going to die aren’t I?”

“No. You’re not. Snake bites aren’t usually fatal, but you’re going to be very sick for awhile. I’ll get you some water. You just lie here and rest.”

“Nathan. I don’t want to die. What about the baby?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know, Ella.” He sat on the bed and took her in his arms.

She cried harder clutching his shirt, holding him to her. “I can’t lose the baby. Oh, God, please don’t let me lose this baby.”

“We’ll get through this no matter what happens. I think I hear a buggy. That’s probably the doc. You just lie here for a bit. I’ll be right back.”

The tears fell faster after Nathan left and she was still crying when the doctor came in the room.

“Mrs. Ravenclaw, you must calm down. I’m going to give you a little bit of laudanum. I want you to drink it all down,” said the doctor.

Knowing she needed to relax and still unable to, she did as she was told.

“Did you kill the snake? I dropped the laundry basket on it. It’s probably still trapped.” She grabbed Nathan’s shirt. “You have to go kill it. I want to know it’s dead.”

“All right.” He unwound her hands from the front of his shirt. “I’ll go do that now while the doctor is here and can watch you. Now just relax and let the medicine take effect.”

She lay back and tried to calm herself. Tried to slow her racing heart. It was a lost cause. Worry for the baby made her cry again. “I can’t stop worrying about my baby,” she told the doctor.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but the most help you can give that little one is to calm yourself.”

A few minutes later Nathan came back in the room. He smiled at her and the doctor. “Well, I killed the snake you trapped with the basket. It wasn’t a rattler. Just a bull snake. An easy mistake to make. They look alike, but the bull snake doesn’t have the rattles…or the venom. You’re going to be fine.”

Ella burst into tears. Tears of relief.

Nathan came over and took her in his arms. “Shh. It’s okay.”

She shook her head. “I thought I was going to die, that our baby would die. I’m an idiot and my leg hurts.”

The doctor said, “I’ll clean the wound on your leg and bandage it. You’ve had quite a scare today and I’d like for you to remain in bed for the rest of the day and just relax. Let’s get you to feeling better and let that baby rest up from this scare, too.”

She sniffled and shook her head. “I still have to hang the laundry.”

“Martha will hang the clothes. She’s already started. You just relax.” Nathan put his hand on her tummy. “He needs you to.”

The doctor cleaned and wrapped Ella’s leg. He gave instructions for the bandage to be changed in the morning and every two days until it was healed.

“Even with a non-venomous bite, it’s still painful and can easily get infected. You need to keep it clean and dry.”

“I’ll see to it,” said Nathan. “Nothing’s going to happen to her.”

It almost sounded like he loved her. Ella was thrilled at the prospect then realized he was probably worried about the baby, not her.

Ella spent the rest of the day in bed. She didn’t know if it was the laudanum the doctor gave her or just the relief at not harming the baby, but she was tired. The stresses of the past hour were catching up to her. Her eyelids felt like they were made of lead and she let them fall closed.

Nathan came in with Ella’s supper tray. He’d checked on her several times during the day and each time she’d been asleep. Now though he decided she needed to eat more than she needed more sleep. She was never going to rest tonight if she didn’t wake up now. He put the tray on the top of the dresser and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Ella. Honey.” He ran his hand up her arm and back down again. “Wake up. You need to eat supper.”

She opened her eyes, blinking several times. “It’s time for supper? I lost the whole day,” she lamented.

“You needed the rest.” He’d worried when she’d slept so much, but convinced himself she was all right. “How’s your leg? Does it still hurt?

She thought about it for a moment. “No, actually it is better. You didn’t need to bring me supper. I could’ve come to the kitchen.”

“You’re fine where you are. Tomorrow will be soon enough for you to be up and around again.”

She sat up and smiled at him. “Tomorrow! The Atwoods are coming for dinner.” She stopped and closed her eyes willing herself to calm. “I am kind of hungry though. Thank you for the tray.”

He put the tray on her lap. She picked up her fork and dug into the mashed potatoes. He’d tried not to give her too much food, estimated that she’d eat about half what he did. It was still apparently more than she wanted.

“Did you get enough? You didn’t eat very much.”

“I got plenty.” She smiled at him. “
Your
eyes were bigger than
my
stomach.”

He chuckled. “Well, I guess the dog will be eating good tonight.”

“Are you coming to bed soon?”

“Probably. I’ve got some paperwork to do first. Do you want me to get you a book to read?”

“I can come get one. I need to get up. I’ve been in bed all day. I need to move.” She sat up on the side of the bed. “See no problem.”

“Let me walk with you…just in case.”

Sarah shook her head. “If you want, but there is really no need. It was just a little bite. Something a real western wife would just ignore and go back to work.”

“Whoa.” Nathan grabbed her by the shoulder and brought her to a halt. “What do you mean a real western wife? Ella you are my wife and you are doing great and learning at an alarming rate. You’re willing to try anything and you’re a quick study, getting “it” the first time. Don’t ever let me hear you disparaging yourself again.”

Sarah looked up into his face. He meant every word.

* * *

John and Sarah Atwood arrived with their children right at noon. It was perfect timing. Dinner would be served at one o’clock so there’d be time to visit before and after the meal.

Their two little girls, Katy and MaryAnn played with their baby brother, Samuel, on the parlor floor while their parents visited. Nathan and John went to Nathan’s office to discuss cattle and Sarah went to the kitchen with Ella to help with meal preparations.

“Alright, ladies,” said Ella to Sarah and Martha. “I need some advice.”

“What can we help you with?” asked Sarah.

“Well, Nathan and I get along pretty well, I think, but I want more. More than just a friendship. More than just his passion. I want his love.”

Sarah and Martha looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Ella put her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny?”

“You are,” said Sarah, once she finished laughing. She went over to Ella and put her arm around her shoulder. “Nathan is already in love with you. Don’t you see it? The way he looks at you? Touches you?”

“No. He looks at me with passion in his eyes and he’s gentle with me because of the baby.”

“So,” said Martha. “He was harsh with you before the baby? He treated you badly?”

“No, of course, not. He’s always been gentle and kind with me. Almost too much so. I keep telling him that I’m not breakable.”

“Does he always find a reason to touch you? Kiss you? Does he take off just to spend time with you? Does he hold you after you make love or fall right to sleep?”

Ella slumped down in the wooden chair at the end of the long oak table, her mind a whirl. Was it possible? When they’d first started making love he held her for a short time then turned his back to her and went to sleep. Now he held her in his arms all night. And he always managed to take the time from his work to take her to town when she needed something even though Martha could have done it easier.

“He loves me,” she said finally.

“He loves you,” said Sarah and Martha simultaneously.