A Bride for Deke

by Marianne Spitzer

  Clint met the stage with the ranch wagon, and Deke noticed that Faith had a small, battered carpetbag, just like the one Amalie had carried when she’d arrived in town.

  Deke stopped Amalie before she could climb into the wagon and said, “As soon as you’re up to shopping, take Faith into town to buy her everything she needs, the way you did for yourself when you arrived in town. That orphanage certainly didn’t send you off with much.”

  Amalie touched Deke’s cheek and said, “You’re a good man, Deke Sperling.”

  Deke shook his head and answered, “No. I’m only doing what any person would do.”

  Amalie disagreed. “That’s where you’re wrong. Not everyone is as kindhearted as you. I love you.”

  Deke kissed his wife gently in front of the mercantile and the entire town and said, “I love you, too.”

  When he heard his name being called, Deke thought that someone was about to criticize him for kissing Amalie in public, but then he saw his former father-in-law waving at him.

  “Just a minute,” Deke told Amalie. “I’ll go see what he needs.”

  When Deke returned a few minutes later, he explained that Laura’s father and the pastor had both thought it best to send Laura to live with her uncle in Ohio until she could better deal with her anger.

  “They have a big farm,” Deke said. “She’ll have a lot to keep her busy.”

  “But,” Amalie said, “she grew up in town. Do you think she’ll do well on a farm?”

  Deke shrugged. “I think Laura can deal with whatever she needs to, and maybe this will help her learn that life isn’t always easy. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but it’s a necessary one.”

  “Who’s Laura?” Faith asked.

  “That’s a long story,” Amalie answered. “We can talk about it over tea tomorrow when the men are busy working hard.”

  Deke laughed. “I had a feeling we worked harder than you did. Now, is everyone ready to go home?”

  With a resounding “yes from his three traveling companions, Deke told Clint he could head the wagon toward home.

  Epilogue

  Ten months later:

  Amalie hurried into the kitchen to find Deke sitting at the table, holding a cup of coffee. He did his best to hide his smile when he asked, “Wife, where is my supper?”

  “It’s too early for supper. I’ve been helping Faith hang curtains in Nate’s house. We’re having steak and fried potatoes. It won’t take long to make, and if you behave, I’ll make you fresh biscuits.”

  “You and Faith have been spending a lot of time working on that house. When Nate had it built, I thought you’d be happy with the way it was,” Deke said. He took a sip of his coffee.

  Amalie shook her head slowly. “The house is lovely. Faith loves it, but it needs things—curtains, rugs, linens, pictures on the wall—and we had to unpack all the things she and Nate ordered. They have less than a week until the wedding, and Faith wants the house perfect by then.”

  “Maybe when they’re married, you’ll spend more time here with me,” Deke said, winking at his wife.

  “We spend a lot of time together,” Amalie countered.

  “Maybe, but we seldom have time completely alone. When we came back from St. Louis, Faith moved into the guest room, and Nate was still living here. It gets a bit crowded,” Deke complained.

  “Nate did move out once his house was completed,” Amalie said as she began peeling potatoes.

  “Yeah, but his house is just on the other side of the creek. I think they’ll come visiting a lot.”

  “Not for a while. I’m sure they’ll want to spend a lot of time alone,” Amalie said.

  Deke set his coffee cup in the sink, slipped his arms around Amalie, and nuzzled her neck.

  “Let’s hope they do. I want to have this house and you all to myself. I’m tired of sharing you with others. You’re mine, all mine,” Deke whispered in her ear.

  Amalie turned in his arms and looked into his eyes. “Yes, we’ll have the house all to ourselves for several months, at least.”

  “What? Why? You didn’t invite more people to live in the house, did you? I know you don’t have any family, so who is it?”

  Amalie shrugged. “I’m not sure, but they’re your family.”

  “Mine? The only family I have is Nate.”

  Amalie giggled.

  Understanding slowly crossed Deke’s face, and he grinned. “Are you saying?”

  Amalie nodded.

  Deke picked her up and set her on a chair. “You need to rest. You can’t work here or at Nate’s. I want you to stay in bed a lot. I’ll hire a housekeeper or ask Faith to work for us.”

  Amalie cupped Deke’s face in her hands. “I love you, but I’m going to be all right. I saw the doctor when Faith and I went to town last week, and he said that I’m healthy and not to worry.”

  “You went to town knowing? In that wagon of ours? I’m buying a new, comfortable buggy for you to ride in tomorrow. You’ll only ride to church if the doctor allows it,” Deke insisted, pacing the kitchen.

  Amalie stood, made her way back to the bowl of potatoes, and continued to peel. “Deke, please stop pacing and worrying. Women have babies all the time.”

  “Yes, but Sarah…” Deke started.

  Amalie took a deep breath, praying for the words to assure her husband that she and the baby would be all right. “The doctor and I discussed that. He said that Sarah was sickly from the start, and I haven’t been ill at all. She wasn’t strong enough. It wasn’t her fault or yours—it happens sometimes. I’m strong, and I’ll follow the doctor’s orders, I promise.”

  Deke nodded and dropped into a chair. “I will agree to let you do whatever the doctor says you can, but nothing more.”

  Amalie kissed him and said, “I agree to that.”

  Their discussion was interrupted when Nate and Faith burst through the back door, talking and laughing.

  “You should see what Faith has done to the house, Deke,” Nate said as he looked around the kitchen. “What’s for supper?” he added.

  “Nothing unless you cook it,” Deke stated. “I’m not allowing Amalie to cook until I speak to the doctor.”

  “Why? Are you ill?” Nate asked.

  “No, only with child.” Amalie smiled.

  Faith squealed, and Nate shook Deke’s hand until his shoulder hurt.

  “Oh, my,” Faith said, “will you still be able to stand with me at my wedding on Saturday?”

  “Nothing could keep me away,” Amalie promised. “Remember—I bought a new dress, and I intend to wear it and dance.”

  Deke began to disagree, but Amalie’s stare quieted him. He mumbled, “We’ll see what the doc says.”

  Deke kept his word and purchased a comfortable buggy for Amalie after he had spoken with the doctor to ensure that Amalie could ride in it safely. The doctor also assured Deke that Amalie could dance at Nate and Faith’s wedding, but Deke made her rest between dances and kept plying her with food and punch to keep up her energy.

  Amalie felt loved and protected, even when Deke was overprotective and questioned most things she did, right up until the night she told him the baby was on the way.

  Deke dragged the kindly doctor out of bed much sooner than he was needed, and he paced the parlor, getting on Nate’s nerves with his constant questions as to why things were taking so long until he heard the baby’s cry.

  He bolted into the bedroom, as soon as the doctor told him he could, to find Amalie sitting up in bed and holding a small bundle in her arms.

  “Come and meet your daughter,” Amalie said.

  Deke embraced them both, tears of happiness and relief running down his cheeks.

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  The End

  Thank you for reading A Bride for Deke. A new book in the series will be released every two weeks by various talented authors. If you have a free moment, I would love it if you could leave me a review. If helps me know what you liked or didn’t and how to improve my s
tories. You can find me on My Amazon Author Page, my website at mariannespitzer.com, and my Facebook author page. Join all of the authors at The Proxy Brides Readers Group on Facebook Thanks, and God bless.