George looked from one adult to the other like they were both crazy. He began to reach for another flapjack, but then remembered his manners and pulled his hand back. “Hey, lady. More please!”
Both Madeline and Caleb looked at George with a shocked look on their faces, then glanced at each other and burst out laughing. George looked confused, but happily dug into the new flapjack his uncle gave him.
“George, this is your Aunt Madeline,” Caleb told his nephew. While hearing George call his wife “lady” had made them laugh, he didn’t want his nephew to make a habit of it.
George looked up from his meal, furrowed his brow as if in thought, then shrugged and kept eating. He clearly was not impressed.
After they finished their meal, Madeline stood up and began to clear the table. Caleb stopped her by reaching out and touching her wrist as she reached for his plate.
“Thank you,” he murmured sincerely.
Madeline nearly jumped when he touched her. She was surprised by the thank you, but even more surprised by the tingle his touch gave her. His hands were rough and callused, but gentle. “For the flapjacks?” she asked, confused as to what he was thanking her for.
Caleb nodded. “That too,” he acknowledged. “I meant for being so good to Georgie.”
Madeline looked to the little boy, who quietly sat next to his uncle and watched her with big eyes. She smiled at George, who smiled shyly back at her. “No thanks needed for that. He’s a sweet boy.”
Caleb and George got up from the table just as Madeline took the dirty dishes back to the sink to wash them. The moment Caleb stood up, George began to pull on his hand. He was clearly trying to get his uncle to leave the room with him.
Caleb glanced back at his wife. It felt strange for him to not be working out on the ranch, and he felt guilty at leaving her there to clean up the breakfast mess by herself when he was not going to be working. “Do you need my help cleaning up?” he asked Madeline, while George continued to try to pull him out of the kitchen.
Madeline glanced back at them, surprised. She certainly hadn’t expected the offer of help, but little George clearly wanted his uncle to do something with him. “No, that’s all right. Thank you for offering, though.”
As she watched the two of them leave, she thought about all the cleaning she needed to do. She sighed and got to work. The entire house needed a good scrubbing down, but she decided to start with the kitchen. The thought of preparing meals in a dirty kitchen made her skin crawl.
Chapter 5
It took Madeline a full week to clean the house from top to bottom, but when she had finished, it looked like a new home. There were still projects for her to do, like making new curtains for the windows, but the actual cleaning was now on a maintenance level.
Caleb was still sleeping in the extra bedroom with George, which was fine with Madeline. After spending the day cooking and cleaning, having to deal with the marriage bed was beyond her. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow each night and did not wake until the rooster crowed in the morning.
Madeline slowly began to think of this house as her home. She supposed cleaning every inch of it might have something to do with it, though the armed guard while hanging out the wash or using the outhouse was a bit much for her. She knew Caleb was concerned for her safety, but surely if his brother’s murderer were still around the sheriff would have found him by now.
Caleb was proving to be a thoughtful husband, though he was still a husband in name only. He had resumed his duties on the ranch, but he made certain one of the ranch hands was always close to the house to guard his wife and little George. He knew he would not rest easy until the murderer had been caught and had told Madeline so.
George himself had good days and bad days. His moods varied by the hour at times, but Madeline had been told that he had seen his parents get killed so she was extra patient with him. It took twice as long for her to accomplish most of her chores with him around, especially when he was extra clingy and needy, but Madeline knew the chores were not nearly as important as George feeling safe and loved.
Attending church on Sunday had been an eye-opening experience for Madeline. She knew that women on the frontier were in short supply, but seeing it for herself really drove the point home. No wonder Caleb had sent for a mail order bride! Most of the women in church were either married already, elderly, or still children. And there were very few children.
One day while she and George were making bread, she had what she thought was a brilliant idea. Two of them, in fact. The first would benefit the ranch, as it would free up all ranch hands to perform their jobs on the ranch as they had before the murders. The other would benefit the community as a whole. She could not wait to share her ideas with Caleb at lunch.
Caleb returned home for lunch and was greeted by George, who ran to the door for his usual bear hug. After squeezing his nephew, Caleb took a deep breath and sniffed appreciatively. “Mmmm, that smells delicious!”
Madeline smiled. “Thank you. George and I spent the morning baking. He’s a good helper.” She gave George a wink as she spoke. She loved giving him a little dough to play with while she worked and always pretended to add it to the bread before baking it. It made him feel like he was helping and his mess was fairly well contained to the table.
Caleb took George to the sink and together they washed up for lunch. Caleb had already washed up in the barn, but he knew it was important for George to establish good habits like washing before a meal. They took their seat and Madeline served up the stew she had made with yesterday’s leftover roast.
As they ate the stew and fresh bread, which was still warm from the oven, Madeline tried to think of a casual way of telling Caleb her idea. Not finding one, she decided to just say it and get it over with. She knew he would either love the idea or hate it.
“I had an idea that I wanted to share with you,” she told Caleb thoughtfully.
Caleb, who had been busy devouring his stew, looked up at his wife with a questioning look on his face.
“I want you to teach me how to shoot.” At the surprised look on her husband’s face, Madeline pushed on with her reasoning before he could swallow and shoot her idea down. “If I knew how, you wouldn’t have to leave someone here to guard us every day. I could take care of that myself.”
Caleb chewed his food thoughtfully before answering. He was surprised that Madeline had come up with the idea, though he probably should not have been. His wife was proving to be one resourceful woman.
“Well, now…I agree that it’s a good idea for you to learn how, but I’m not sure about leaving you defenseless.” How on earth could she watch over George, get her work done, and still watch for the killer?
Madeline furrowed her brow. “If I know how to shoot, I won’t be defenseless.”
Caleb sighed. “You can’t possibly stay on guard, watch George, and get your work done.”
Madeline bit back a sassy retort. She had forgotten how mule-headed men could be at times. Just because they couldn’t handle doing three things at once did not mean that she couldn’t!
Caleb watched in amazement as his wife’s face transformed with unspoken anger. He had no idea what she was angry about. He had agreed to teach her how to shoot, after all. Isn’t that what she wanted? It wasn’t as though he thought his wife couldn’t work and be on guard at the same time. He knew that little George could be quite a handful, though.
They ate in silence for some time before Caleb decided to speak up. “Did you want to learn to use a pistol or a rifle first?”
Madeline looked up from her stew. She was still angry that he didn’t think she could handle things around the house, but managed to calm her voice down to what she thought was an acceptable level. “Whichever you think is best.”
Caleb frowned. His sweet wife was being awfully snippy, though he loved the fact that she had both a sharp mind and spirit. He decided to ignore her sharp tone and gave the matter some thought before answering. “
Well, a pistol would be easier for you to hide on yourself. Rifles are nice for distance. Why don’t we try them both and see which you are more comfortable with? Once you’re doing good with the one, we’ll move on to the other.”
George, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly spoke up. “Auntie Maddy shoot bad man!” he said emphatically.
Both Madeline and Caleb jumped and stared at George in shock. He had not spoken about what he had seen since it had happened. He had cried and had begged for his mama and his papa, but had never once mentioned the murder itself. Until that very moment, Caleb had wondered if he had actually seen the murder happen or if he had found his parents after the fact. Now he knew that his nephew had seen the man who did it.
“Georgie, did you see the bad man?” he asked him softly.
George stared up at his uncle and simply nodded. His eyes were as round as saucers.
Madeline, worried that this talk would upset George, spoke up. “Caleb…” she said warningly.
Caleb made a shushing motion towards Madeline and continued questioning his nephew. The sheriff had nothing to go on at this point. They didn’t know who they were even looking for. If George knew who the killer was, they needed to find out.
“Is the bad man someone you know? Did you ever see him before?” Caleb pressed on, desperate to find the man and seek justice.
George shook his head as tears filled his eyes. He looked to Madeline pleadingly, as though she could make it all go away.
Madeline’s heart ached for the little boy. Couldn’t Caleb see what this was doing to his nephew? She stood up angrily. “That’s enough!”
Surprised, Caleb looked up at his wife. The sun was shining through the window behind her, wreathing her in a golden glow. She looked like an avenging angel. “I just needed to know…”
Suddenly George erupted in a wail. “I want my mama and papa!” Tears streamed down his face as he began to sob.
Madeline raced around the table and scooped George up in her arms before Caleb could even turn to try and comfort his nephew. “How could you?!?” she shouted at Caleb just before she stormed out with George and raced upstairs with him.
Caleb sat at the table and stared after his wife. He felt bad that he had made his nephew cry, but did she not understand that no one was safe until the killer was caught? He shook his head in disbelief. “Well, I suppose it’s a good sign that she’s bonded with Georgie,” he said with a shrug.
*****
Madeline sat on George’s bed with him on her lap and rocked him gently while he cried for his parents. She gently cooed to him and stroked his hair to settle him down. She desperately wanted to do something to take away his pain, but knew firsthand that nothing could. The best she could hope for was to help him through it and she prayed for the strength and guidance she would need to do so.
She vaguely heard her husband leave the house to head back to work. She knew that she had chores to do, but decided that they were not as important as loving this sad little boy. She had always wanted to have a child, but had always assumed that she would start out with a newborn and not a three year old. Nothing like being thrown into the fire!
She and her first husband had tried to have a baby, but had never conceived. Month after month, year after year, Madeline had prayed for God to send them the son her husband had so desperately wanted, the child she so desperately wanted, and each month she had been met with nothing but heartbreak. She personally did not care if she had a boy or a girl. She only wanted a healthy baby.
After their first year of marriage, her husband had begun drinking and gambling. He began to blame her for their lack of a child. Over time, he became downright abusive. It started verbally, but quickly escalated to the physical. Once it had, she decided that this was why she had never conceived. She certainly would not willingly bring a child into an environment like that. Yet her heart still ached to hold a baby in her arms.
Every time she saw a woman holding a baby, her heart wrenched. After a while, it felt as though they were taunting her with their ability to conceive while she only met with failure.
Now here she was, comforting and holding another woman’s child because he would never feel his mother’s arms around him again. She may have only known George for just over a week, yet she already loved him dearly and felt a desperate need to protect him. She knew that although she was technically his aunt by marriage, she and Caleb would be raising George as their son.
Madeline held him until he fell asleep, and then gently laid him down for a nap. She watched over him for a time, to make certain he settled into a deep sleep, then quietly returned to the kitchen to resume her duties. She did leave the bedroom door open, so that she could hear him if he called out or began to cry again.
As she cleaned up the breakfast mess, Madeline thought about what it would be like to have a baby of her own. She had given up all hope of having a baby after her first marriage had ended and had vowed she would never marry again, but then the factory had burned down and forced her hand. Was she truly a barren woman, as her first husband had called her, or had the fault been on his end? Only time would tell, and first she would need to make her new marriage one in more than just name only.
Chapter 6
As the days came and went, things settled into a smooth routine. George still had his moments of grief, but began to act more like a typical three year old and started to get into things around the house. Madeline did her best to keep him busy with toys near her or had him help her with her chores when she could. Granted, it always took ten times as long to complete said chore when he was helping, but she enjoyed spending that time with him and watching him learn.
Madeline took some time one afternoon while George was napping to pen a few letters. She had promised Miss Elizabeth Miller that she would let her know when she was settled, and she felt that she needed to do the same for her roommates, Kitty, Lessie, and Josie. She addressed the envelopes and set them aside to mail the next time someone went into town.
Caleb was still sleeping with his nephew, but noticed that George was sleeping through the night more often than not now. The thought of being able to sleep in his own bed again, and with his wife, both excited and terrified him. He found himself finding excuses to be near her more often, but little George was around during the day which made getting close to Madeline much harder.
The shooting lessons Madeline had asked for provided him the perfect opportunity to get close to her without his nephew around. Caleb spoke to Hank and Walter, who agreed to watch George at the house while Caleb gave Madeline her lessons.
Her first lessons were held in the house in the evenings. Caleb taught her as his father had taught him years before. He started with how to disassemble and clean the weapons, then put them back together again. They talked about the history of the pistol and the rifle, the differences between different types of guns, and which was better for what. Once she had all that well in hand, her lessons would take place outside after lunch, weather permitting.
One day, just as they finished eating lunch, Caleb looked at Madeline and smiled. “Would you like to go outside and start your shooting lessons?”
Madeline, who had begun to clear away the lunch dishes from the table, stopped dead in her tracks with a plate lifted halfway off the table. She raised her eyes to Caleb’s to see if he were teasing her or if he really meant it. He appeared to be serious. “I’d like that very much,” she said with a smile. After a moment, her smile faded. “I need to clean up this mess first, though.”
Caleb shook his head and stood up. “Leave it until later. It can wait.”
Madeline hovered over the table and chewed her lip, plate still in hand. She hated leaving dirty dishes sit around, yet had been looking forward to this moment since Caleb agreed to teach her. Indecision ate at her insides like a hungry bear.
A sudden knock on the back door startled Madeline and she nearly dropped the plate on the floor.
“Look, Walter’s her
e!” Caleb told George, who hurried to the door to let the ranch hand in.
George took Walter by the hand and began to pull him through the kitchen toward the stairs to his room, chattering on and on about some big battle they were going to have. Walter laughed at George’s antics. He quickly took off his hat and bowed a quick hello to Madeline on his way through the kitchen, with a polite, “Ma’am.”
Madeline watched them leave, then glanced at the table. “At least let me move the dishes to the sink for now,” she pleaded with Caleb. She wanted to ask him to just wait while she washed them. They didn’t take long. Yet she knew he needed to get back to his duties on the ranch, whatever they were. She would have to ask him about that one day.
Caleb smiled. His wife was so beautiful that it was hard for him to say no to her. “Whatever you want, darlin’. Here, let me help you.”
Together they quickly moved the dirty dishes from the table to the side of the sink. Madeline could barely contain her excitement as she put on her bonnet and her cape. She could not decide what was more exciting—learning to shoot or spending some time alone with her husband. She thought back to the quick kiss he had given her at their wedding and her lips began to tingle in anticipation. Would he kiss her again? Today, maybe?
Caleb watched his wife put on her bonnet and her cape. How he longed to wrap his arms around her, much like her cape was doing now. Soon, he told himself. Soon he would have his arms around her as he taught her how to hold the rifle. He grinned like a fool as he imagined holding her and quickly turned to open the door for her before she caught him doing so.
“Thank you,” she murmured politely as she preceded him out the door.
He picked up the rifle, a box of shells, and followed her outside. He nearly plowed her over when she stopped suddenly and turned to face him. He had been busy admiring the way her hips swung as she walked and had not been paying attention to where he was going.
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