Maddie chuckled. “I rode our old mule. Sal never had a mind to move too fast but we could get up to gallop now and again.” She took another drink. “What about Lizzy? Do you have help with her?”
“She’s my ray of sunshine.” He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, unknowingly making her arm tingle. “My wife, Martha, was so excited about having our first child. We wanted a passel of them.” He took his eyes from hers. “Her delivery was hard and Ma couldn’t stop the bleeding. By the time the doc got there, it was too late. Martha was able to hold Lizzy. I remember her smiling the whole time. Her last words to me were, “You get our Lizzy a proper ma, ya hear?’”
The silence was deafening. Maddie’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, Samuel. Sometimes life is so unfair.”
Samuel stood and threw some money on the table. “That’s a fact. We’d best be headed to the house or Ma’ll have our hides.”
Chapter FOUR
Gus and Bessie lived in a home that was painted white with a covered porch running the entire length of the front of the house. Beautiful oaks and maples towered over the home. The changing of the leaves was breathtaking with blankets of yellow, green, and gold leaves covering the roof and the yard.
On the porch were potted planters full of colorful flowers. “These are lovely,” Maddie commented. “We didn’t see much of these in…I mean where I come from.” She hoped he didn’t catch her near slip.
“Ma gives all her plants, trees, and everything in her garden, tender loving care. Sometimes, I think she cares more for these things than she does Pa.”
“And many a times I do, especially when your pa has gotten under my skin.” A plump woman walked out the front door and took Maddie into her arms, giving her a hug. “I am just tickled to death to finally get to meet you.” She was about Maddie’s height and had brown and gray hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a simple long-sleeved beige wool dress, an apron tied at the waist and a small towel thrown over her shoulder.
She held Maddie at arm’s length. “You are a pretty little thing, Hannah Brown. My boy is plumb lucky to get someone like you.” Bessie took her hand and led her into the house. “Now I’m Bessie, Sam’s ma, and a course you’ve met Gus. If there is anything at all I can do for you, well, don’t hesitate one tiny minute.”
The inside of their home was clean, yet comfortable. An overstuffed couch was across from the stone fireplace. By the window was a small table with two chairs, one on each side. A checkerboard lived on the table. In the corner by the fireplace was a well-worn chair with a small round table next to it, a pair of spectacles sat on top.
The aroma coming from the kitchen made Maddie’s mouth water. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that had only been an apple. She almost died of embarrassment when her stomach started to rumble. She felt her face redden and she covered her cheeks with her hands. “I’m sorry. It just smells so good.”
Samuel laughed and put an arm around her shoulders. “I hope supper is about done because Hannah and I are ready to eat.”
“It sure enough is. I’m getting ready to serve it up. By the time you and Hannah go call the others, it’ll be setting on the table.”
“Are you sure I can’t help you with supper, Bessie?”
“Heavens, no. Now run along and find the rest.”
Samuel led Maddie out the back door. A garden, like she’d never seen was fenced and continued so far back she couldn’t see where it ended. On both sides of the garden were trees planted in rows. “Are those apple trees?”
“Yep,” Samuel replied, “and those over there are cherry trees. Ma sells what they can’t eat to the store in town.”
“How wonderful that would be,” Maddie said with breathless wonder.
He chuckled. “If you’re partial to apples and cherries, you’ll get your fill at our place. We have plenty of fruit trees.”
“Daddy! Daddy!” Sam looked to see his pa carrying Lizzy on his shoulders.
Maddie’s first thought when seeing Samuel’s daughter was that she looked like a little angelic cherub. Her hair was a tangle of long blonde curls, and the setting sun made the fly-away strands, shimmer. Blue eyes filled the girl’s face and her pudgy cheeks held her father’s dimples, but on both sides of her smile.
Samuel lifted his daughter off Gus’s shoulders, throwing her in the air. “Hi, sugar plum.”
He was rewarded with a torrent of giggles and giant-sized hug, her little arms squeezing his neck. “Hi daddy.” She turned in his arms, “Is she my new mama?”
Maddie’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t expect to hear that come out of the little girl’s mouth. Samuel came to her rescue. “Lizzy, this here is Hannah and grandma says it’s supper time.”
The little imp squirmed to be put down. Her brown dress only came to her pudgy little knees. Long socks, that were supposed to go past her knees, now gathered at her ankles and brown shoes adorned her feet. A coat, with more than one patch on it, finished the outfit.
Walking to Maddie, she reached up and took a finger. Maddie bent down. “Are you going to be my mama?”
Maddie ran a hand down Lizzy’s tangled curls. “I surely do hope so.”
Out came the dimples. “You can sit by me at the table.” Maddie straightened up and let the little girl lead her into the house.
* * * *
Maddie couldn’t remember the last time she enjoyed a meal so much. Supper consisted of roast pork, mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh green beans, biscuits with apple jelly and butter, and cherry pie for dessert. Ever since her father died, there had never been enough food to fill her stomach and when Jeb came into the family, they went without supper many times.
Not only was the food plentiful and delicious, there was laughter and pleasant conversation at the table. Gus and Bessie were always sure to include Maddie. At first, she only responded with one or two word answers, but by the end of supper, she was joining in, just like one of the family.
Maddie helped Bessie with the dishes when supper was over, while Samuel and Gus went outside to light up cigars, with Lizzy on their heels.
“Bessie, that dinner was so nice. I want you to know how much I appreciate you treating me like part of the family.”
“Well land sakes, you will be afore long.”
Maddie smiled. “I do hope it all works out. I’m not sure how this mail order bride thing actually works.”
Bessie took her hand and led her to the table. The older woman’s words were spoken with care. “It was such a hard time for Samuel when Martha died. She was a sweet, loving girl, but was always sickly. In the winters, Martha seemed to be in bed with one thing or another, most of the time.
When we all found out she was in a family way, Gus and I were plumb overjoyed, but we could tell Samuel didn’t share our enthusiasm. He would hardly let her out of bed. He was just plain scared and as it turned out, he was right to be. The pregnancy was hard on her. The delivery was normal, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.” Bessie’s eyes were full of pain when she looked up at Maddie. “I did everything I knew how to do.”
Maddie scooted her chair closer to grasp the woman’s hands. “Oh Bessie, I’m sure you did. I hope you don’t blame yourself.”
“Fact is, I did at first, but Samuel talked me out of it. He said if the doctor couldn’t save her then it was just God’s will and he was ready for Martha to come home.” Bessie sat up straighter. “Now let’s discuss this marriage. I told Samuel he would have to give you time. You just can’t rush things like this.”
She laughed when Maddie expelled a long breath of relief. “Don’t you worry none, Hannah. He understands. Tonight you can sleep in the room where Samuel normally sleeps and he can sleep on the old couch in the front room.”
“Oh Bessie, I can sleep on the couch. It’s hardly fair to kick him out of his own room.”
“Won’t hear of it. And to put your mind at ease, there’s a spare room at the farm. You can stay in there until you feel you are ready to b
e man and wife.”
Lizzy threw open the door and ran to the kitchen. “Hurry, mama, come and see the fireflies. They are everywhere.” She pulled Maddie by her hand toward the front door.
Maddie turned and mouthed the words thank you to the woman who would be her mother-in-law before being pulled out of the house.
The sun had gone down and the five of them sat on the porch. It was chilly but Samuel had brought a thin blanket for Maddie to put around her shoulders. He was drinking a cup of coffee and almost spit it out when Lizzy asked, “Can I sit on your lap mama?”
“Lizzy!” Samuel snapped. The little girl’s head whipped around to look at her father. Her bottom lip started to tremble. His voice dropped immediately. “Lizzy, I’m sorry, but…”
Lizzy looked to Maddie, her big blue eyes swimming in unshed tears. “Did I do something wrong?”
She pulled Lizzy up on her lap and covered her with the blanket. “Not that I know of.”
Samuel shook his head and said nothing else. It didn’t take more than another ten minutes before Lizzy was asleep. Maddie was yawning too. It had been a long and stressful day for her. She was ready for some sleep.
“I think I’m ready to turn in, too,” Maddie said.
“We all need to call it a night. We leave early tomorrow and travel all day.” Samuel picked up Lizzy and carried her to her room. Maddie watched from the door as he said a quick prayer and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
Samuel walked her to the next room over. “I wasn’t rightly sure how you would feel about Lizzy calling you mama.”
She smiled up at him. “Isn’t that one of the reasons I’m here?”
Samuel brought his head down and brushed her lips with his. “Only one of the reasons.”
****
Maddie put on a nightdress and lay down in the bed Samuel normally slept in. She knew, after only one day, she could love this man and his daughter. She wanted to be a part of this family. Would he love her? Would he be happy with her? What if he found out about her deception, would he despise her then? Would he make her leave? The last thing Maddie thought about was how she felt when his lips touched hers.
Chapter FIVE
The wagon was loaded while the stars still twinkled in the sky. Right behind the bench seat Samuel had made a bed out of straw so Lizzy could sleep a few hours more. Bessie had made a breakfast of ham and eggs, fruit and leftover biscuits. Plenty of food had been put in a basket for the trip home, so nobody would get hungry.
“Bessie, if I lived here I would be fat as an old bullfrog before too long.” Maddie gave the woman a hug goodbye. “Thank you for everything.”
“No need for thanks and you need to fatten up some. You are a slip of a thing.” She gave Samuel a hug too. “It’ll probably be Thanksgiving afore we see ya’ll again.” She looked at Maddie. “We usually come down at that time and stay through Christmas.”
Gus slapped his son on the back and gave Maddie a hug, then helped her up on the buckboard, “Perfect time for a wedding if you ask me.”
“Pa,” Samuel said, clicking the reins to get the horses moving, “that’s exactly what I was chewing on myself.”
“Are you warm enough?” Samuel asked after they had been on the road for a short while. Before they left his folk’s home, Bessie had noticed the thin wrap Maddie had on. She went inside for one of her coats, insisting she had more coats than she knew what to do with.
“Oh yes, I’m fine. It was so nice of your mother to allow me to take this.”
“That’s Ma for you. Always trying to help.” Samuel looked at her and grinned. “I believe she was more excited about you coming than I was. Truth be told, it was her that gave me the idea.” He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead, “and I’m grateful she did.”
Maddie felt her face flush and was a bit disappointed when he removed his arm. After a few minutes she said, “I was really surprised at how big Iowa City was. Not sure why, I just thought it would be a small town.”
“Iowa City was the state Capital until 1855. They decided to appoint Des Moines the capital because it was more in the center of the state.”
“What about West Liberty? Is that a big city also?”
With that question, Samuel threw his head back and laughed, quickly recovering so as not to wake his daughter. “Oh no. Now there is your small farming town, though it’s growing every day. It became a real town in 1868. When I was just a sprout, it was known as Wapsinonoc Township. The story goes there were many folks coming here from Liberty, Ohio. Everybody wanted to be closer to the railroad, so when the town was relocated, the name was changed to West Liberty. It’s still a small community, which is perfectly fine with me.”
The sky was turning from black to light gray and many of the stars were starting to fade. “Your pa said you have a sister. Where does she live?”
“Kate,” Samuel relied. “She’s younger than me by a few years. She’s married to Frank Evans, who has a farm just on the outskirts of town. He specializes in shorthorn cattle.”
The ride was slow going and the rocking of the wagon lulled her to sleep. When Maddie woke, her head was laying on Samuel’s shoulder, his arm wrapped around her, holding her close. The stars were gone and the sun was coming up. She raised herself up and Samuel rotated his shoulder. “Got me a few kinks.”
Maddie chucked. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t hear me complaining.” She stretched with a little groan of her own. “Lizzy will be waking up soon and up yonder a mile or so is a creek. We can stop there, water these horses, and stretch our legs.”
As if on cue, the little girl woke, arched her back and stretched one way and then the other, making all kinds of noises. Maddie and Samuel laughed.
Lizzy stood up, holding on to the back of the bench. “Daddy, I gotta pee.”
“Alright, sugar plum. See those few trees just ahead? That’s where we’re stopping.” Samuel unhitched the team and led them to the creek. The shallow water was ice cold, but the horses drank their fill. Samuel took Lizzy to do her business while Maddie took advantage of their absence, taking care of her own needs.
They spread out a blanket and Lizzy ate a breakfast of biscuits with jelly, some cut up cheese and fruit and a glass of buttermilk. The respite was short as they were a long way from home.
While Samuel hitched the team back up, Lizzy and Maddie, washed up in the creek and put things away. Before getting under way, Maddie grabbed her grandmother’s ivory brush and comb.
Lizzy’s hair was a tangled mess of curls. When she saw the brush she cried, “No, that hurts when you pull it.”
Maddie lifted her into the wagon and the trek home started once again. “Who brushes it at home?”
“Nobody, cause it pulls and hurts,” Lizzy answered.
The expression she cast Samuel’s way said volumes. Wait now,” he started, “I brush your hair…sometimes.”
“Hmmm,” was Maddie’s only reply. She looked at Lizzy and asked, “Have I ever brushed your hair?” The little girl shook her head. “I won’t hurt you. I’ll be very careful.”
Lizzy’s “okay” held a bite of disbelief but she tuned, giving Maddie access. Taking hold of parcels of hair up by the root, holding tight so not to pull, the tedious job of combing Lizzy’s mane, started. It would take a long time but that was okay. After all what else was there to do? The scenery didn’t change for miles at a time. Fenced acres of corn stalks, as far as they could see. Occasionally they would pass farmhouses with barns or a pasture with cows or horses.
When the taming of Lizzy’s hair was done, it was more fly away than ever. Static had popped as each strand was combed. Maddie decided on a braid, but when she was done she had nothing to tie the ends with.
Samuel stopped the wagon and grabbed a piece of cotton material that covered the basket of food. He ripped a long thin piece and handed it to Maddie who tied the end securely.
Lizzy brought it forward enough to see part of the braid. “Thank you
, mama. I like it.” Then Maddie was rewarded with a hug.
Samuel stopped for dinner, giving the horses a rest and letting Lizzy run off some steam. Bessie had pork, cheese, and fruit. A big jar of lemonade was also included. They didn’t stop long as they still had several hours to ride. Lizzy didn’t take a morning nap and it started showing when she began whining about the ride.
Maddie climbed over the bench and grabbed her guitar. “Lizzy, if you lay down on this straw, I’ll sing you a few songs.” Sitting on one of the boxes in the back of the buckboard, Maddie played and sang a few of the songs she remembered. It wasn’t long before Lizzy was asleep.
Slowly, she crawled back over the seat, Maddie pointed a finger at Samuel. “No unkind comments.”
“None,” he said. “You play very well and have a wonderful voice.”
She blushed at the compliment. “My pa taught me and I used to play quite often, but I am a bit rusty.”
He took her chin and pressed a soft kiss on her mouth. “Another gift my soon-to-be-wife brings to our home.”
She smiled and pretended to check on Lizzy. Maddie had only been kissed by one other boy. She was in grade school and she didn’t like it one bit. The few kisses she had already received from Samuel were wonderful, but shouldn’t there be more to a kiss than just a peck?
She knew things happened between a man and woman. One day, on her way home from school, Maddie heard giggling in some bushes off the road. When she snuck over to take a peek, she saw Cindy Sherman and one of the Baker boys with no clothes on and they seemed to be wrestling around on the ground. When she told her folks about it at supper, her pa had laughed so hard he choked on his food. Ma shooed him outside right then and there and told Maddie the whole “birds and bees” story.
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