Hannah_Bride of Iowa

by P. A. Estelle

  Kate finished and turned to face Maddie. “I love my brother, but it’s only fair you are happy. Do you want this marriage, Hannah?”

  Maddie opened her mouth but nothing came out. Even though she was Samuel’s sister, Kate seemed like a person she could talk to. Tell her! Tell her now! Maddie swallowed and tried again. “I do, Kate, truly I do. In just a few days, I have developed feelings towards your brother and Lizzy. But I…I…” Maddie just couldn’t say the words. “I don’t have any kind of a dress to wear. I did not have much money so I couldn’t get one made before coming, and even if I were able to get material, I might not be able to get it finished.”

  A smile spread across Kate’s face and her blue eyes watered. “I’m so glad to hear that. The dress is no problem. I have many dresses that would work for a wedding. You can look at them and make a decision. I realize I’m a bit more endowed than yourself, but we can alter them.” Kate hugged her again. “Come on. Everyone’s waiting for cobbler.”

  By the time their wagon pulled out of Kate and Frank’s yard, the temperature had dropped and the sun had disappeared behind looming thunder clouds. Not only was Lizzy huddled between Maddie and her father, but the newest member of the Morrison family, a black and white, pudgy little puppy, was in the back of the wagon, crying for his mother.

  Samuel looked at Maddie, nodding his head toward the puppy. “This could be a long ride home.”

  Maddie stuck her lower lip out. “Poor little thing wants his mama. He’ll settle down.”

  They were halfway home when two riders approached. Maddie’s eyes went wide when, out of nowhere, a rifle appeared on Samuel’s lap. “Just being cautious,” he muttered.

  The two men pulled their horses up short when they reached the wagon. “Morrison,” said the rider who looked oldest. His hat sat low on his head covering his eyes, giving Maddie an uneasy feeling.

  “Carl.” Samuel’s voice was low. “How’s your pa?”

  “Sits in his chair all day not doing a dang thing. Don’t eat much and don’t talk, which is fine with me.”

  “Who’s this purty thing you got there, Morrison?” Maddie shivered at the sight of the younger rider. His hair was long and dirty and stuck to the side of his face. He spit a stream of tobacco, a bit stayed behind to make its way down his chin. When he smiled, rotten teeth filled his mouth.

  Samuel stiffened, saying nothing to the man. The puppy threw his head back and began to cry and yelp. “I don’t like being not talked to, Morrison, like I’m some sort of white trash. Maybe you couldn’t hear me none cause of this here mutt.” He drew a gun from his holster. “And maybe I should take care of it so you could hear me.”

  In a flash, Samuel had the rifle cocked and trained on the man’s heart.

  “No!” Lizzy cried, turning to try to get into the back of the wagon. Maddie grabbed her and struggled to hold the screaming little girl on her lap while watching Samuel. She had no doubt he’d kill the man without blinking an eye if he needed to.

  “Put your gun away, Chad,” the other rider growled, disgust evident in his tone. “Sometimes you ain’t got no sense at all.”

  “There be two of us,” Chad argued loudly.

  “I said, put it away.” Carl’s tone was dangerous and Chad did as he was told.

  Carl’s horse took a few steps then stopped as he eyed Maddie from head to toe. He touched the brim of his hat. “Miss.” Glancing at Samuel, he smiled and the two rode off.

  Maddie helped Lizzy back onto the bench and then turned and grabbed the puppy, putting him in the girl’s lap. “See, your puppy’s fine.”

  Once Lizzy was busy with her new dog, Maddie asked Samuel who those men were.

  “Carl and Chad Skinner. They live about five miles from here. Their pa leased land from Tom Garst and did okay. One day he collapsed and since then, just sits. Doc says it’s a stroke of some kind. Mrs. Skinner was already sickly and the boys did nothing to keep the farm going. Tom felt bad and let them stay in the little house, but took the land back. Mrs. Skinner died soon after that and, well, since then the boys have run wild and don’t care a lick about anything or anybody. They’re useless, lazy, and I don’t trust them one bit.”

  They were almost home when the wind picked up it started raining. By the time they reached the house, it was bitter cold and the rain had turned to sleet.

  Chapter EIGHT

  The next morning, Maddie slipped out of her bedroom, stopping when she heard coughing. She peeked into Lizzy’s room. The little girl was sleeping peacefully, snuggled deep under the covers.

  She put her ear next to Samuel’s closed door and heard the coughing again. Hurrying downstairs, Maddie started a fire in the stove. It was cold in the house and she needed to warm things up. The puppy, who Lizzy named Mr. Wiggles because he wiggled everywhere, was sleeping soundly in a corner in the kitchen. Maddie smiled, thinking the poor little thing had probably cried itself to sleep.

  When she put water on to boil for coffee, a yip from the corner alerted her to the fact Mr. Wiggles was awake. Maddie picked him up and took him outside. It was cold, drizzling rain and the sky was still black; not a star to be seen. “Hurry up, Mr. Wiggles. It’s freezing out here.” The pup came running around the corner and the two hurried back into the house.

  Samuel came down the stairs later than usual. “Morning.” His voice was raspy.

  “I heard you coughing earlier. Are you feeling okay?”

  “Throat feels a bit raw but I’m fine.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m going to milk the cow.”

  “Samuel, let me go do that. You stay in here where it’s warm. It’s cold and rainy outside.”

  He buttoned up his coat. “I won’t be long.”

  She could hear him coughing as he walked to the barn.

  That afternoon Maddie insisted Samuel go to bed. He was feverish and his cough had gone down to his chest. She made him chicken soup for supper. He woke up when the bedroom opened. “I have some chicken soup and biscuits for you.”

  He groaned, as if it were a painful chore to sit up. “I can’t believe this, Hannah. I am never sick.” He groaned when he swallowed a bite of the biscuit. He handed it back to her. “I’m sorry, Hannah. My throat hurts like blazes.”

  “Samuel, you need to eat something to keep your strength up. At least try some soup.” She sat on the side of his bed and fed him a few spoonsful until he’d had enough. Maddie helped Samuel lie back down and made sure he was covered up.

  He mumbled something she didn’t understand before falling to sleep. She placed her hand on his face. His fever had not subsided at all.

  Maddie bundled Lizzy up and, along with Mr. Wiggles, the three of them went to the barn to feed, milk, and gather some eggs. Lizzy’s favorite meal was flapjacks and since Samuel wasn’t eating that’s what they had for supper.

  Once Lizzy was put to bed, Maddie made sure there was plenty of wood inside, took Mr. Wiggles out, and stoked the fire.

  She checked on Lizzy then peeked inside Samuel’s room. The covers were thrown off the bed and he was thrashing about and muttering. She tiptoed over and picked up the covers. She gasped when his hand shot out and took her arm. “Martha, I’m so cold.” His teeth were chattering but his hand was hot. Maddie touched his head, then his cheek. He was burning up.

  There was a pitcher of water in her room. She tried to remove his hand but it only tightened. “Samuel, I need to get a wet cloth. Please let me go.”

  “Martha,” his eyes were glassy when he looked at her, “please lay down by me and help me get warm.”

  “I will,” Maddie told him, “but I need to grab something and I’ll be right back, I promise.”

  Reluctantly, he let her go, still muttering things she couldn’t understand. She took a wet towel and laid it across his head but he grabbed at it and knocked it to the floor. His chattering seemed worse. When she tried to wipe his brow, he kept knocking it away.

  “Samuel, please, let me do this.”

  He continued to ram
ble. “Please, Martha…”

  Maddie made a decision. She took off her skirt and blouse. With her underclothes and a chemise still on, she laid down beside him. He scooped her up next to him. His thrashing stopped immediately, but his muttering continued. She talked softly, cooing to him while rubbing the hands that held her against him. “Shhhh, Samuel. Go to sleep.” His body, through his own clothes and hers, radiated heat.

  Maddie flushed with guilt. She liked this feeling. She wanted to lie by him at night. Samuel had mentioned a Thanksgiving wedding. That day seemed like a year away instead of only a few weeks.

  * * * *

  Maddie smiled and would have stretched but something heavy seemed to be holding her legs down. She squinted one eye open and saw light through the curtain.

  How had she slept so late? Soft breathing permeated her foggy mind. Her eyes shot open and she slowly turned her head to look into the chest of her soon-to-be-husband.

  Events of the night before came flooding back. She rolled out of bed, praying he wouldn’t wake up. She donned her skirt and blouse and gently touched his forehead. Not near as hot as the night before, but still warm.

  Maddie ran down the stairs to get the stove going. She groaned when she saw the mess Mr. Wiggles had made but took him outside and said a quick prayer for the clear sky above.

  “Don’t you go far,” she told the pup. Then went back inside to clean up the mess, hurrying back out to milk the cows.

  Once she was back in the house, she put on a pan of water for coffee. Mr. Wiggles was jumping up and down trying for some attention when a scream came from Lizzy’s room. With her heart in her throat, Maddie ran up the stairs. The girl was sitting up, her eyes filled with fear. Maddie reached gently for her and set her on her lap, holding her tight. “Lizzy, what’s the matter?”

  “You were leaving. You pushed me away and said you couldn’t be my mama.”

  Maddie rocked her back and forth. “Sweet girl, I would never do that. It was a bad dream.”

  “I don’t want you to go”

  “Don’t you cry. I’m staying right here.” Maddie felt the little girl relax and after a while, she fell back to sleep. Maddie laid the child down and covered her up. She jumped, startled, when she saw Samuel standing at the door, an odd expression on his face. Maddie closed the door. “Lizzy had a bad dream.”

  “I saw.” He leaned against his door jamb. “I’m going to get dressed and will be down shortly.” His voice was still raspy and the color in his cheeks still red.

  She put her palm to his face then stepped back with her hands on her hips. “You most certainly are not. What you are doing is getting right back in bed. I didn’t travel all this way to find the man I am going to marry, buried six feet under.” Maddie gave him no option.

  When he was covered up, he grabbed her hand before she could leave. “I saw what you did with Lizzy. We are lucky you answered my ad. Lizzy deserves somebody like you and I’m going to work on it to be just as deserving.”

  She swallowed a lump of emotion. “Now don’t you be trying to get on my good side. You are still staying in bed.”

  He kissed her hand before letting her go. Her stomach was doing flip-flops and she was sure she was going to fall down the steps. His touch, alone, did strange things to her. She sat down at the table to calm her nerves. This was everything she wanted, so why did she have this feeling of doom?

  * * * *

  That afternoon Maddie decided to take a look at the garden area Samuel’s wife had prepared. It needed to be re-plowed before any kind of seeding could be done. Lizzy and her dog were playing in the dirt. Maddie stopped what she was doing and cocked her head. What was that? All she heard was the pup yipping. An odd feeling hit the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Was she being watched?

  “Lizzy, let’s take Mr. Wig—” A tap on her shoulder released a small scream. She whirled around and heaved a sigh of relief when Dr. Charles Page stood there with a grin from one ear to the other.

  “Did I scare you, Hannah?”

  “Out of several year’s growth!”

  “Well I’m sure sorry. I was out at Roy Turner’s place. Elsie, his wife, is expecting their fourth child. Roy has her popping one out almost every year.” He chuckled. “Anyway, I was on my home and my house is dark and lonely so I thought I could talk some sweet young lady out of a cup of nice hot coffee to warm these bones.”

  “You need to find yourself a wife, Doctor.”

  “I’d do exactly that if there was another one out there like you.”

  Maddie blushed. “Quit trying to feed me that hogwash, Doctor.” Maddie’s tone turned anxious. “I’m truly glad you’re here, Charles. Samuel is really sick and I would appreciate you taking a look. I know if I’d have suggested going into town to see you, he would have poo-pooed it.”

  Instantly, all joking was gone and the doctor turned serious. “Of course. What’s the problem?”

  “He’s got a bad cough and he was very feverish last night. It scared me. He thought I was Martha.” She wrung her hands together and her eyes burned with tears. “The cough seems to have gone down into his chest. I tried to bring the fever down and he does seem a bit better this morning, but other than that I didn’t know what to do.”

  Charles patted her shoulder. “Don’t you worry. I’ll go take a look right now.”

  Chapter NINE

  The doctor’s words made Maddie’s blood run cold.

  “Sam, stay in bed for another week,” he ordered.

  Samuel complained, but Charles was having none of it. “That cough is ready to go into your lungs and if you wind up with pneumonia, you just may not get up again!”

  The doctor’s tone brooked no argument. He took out a small bottle of quinine powder, put a bit on Samuel’s tongue where it dissolved. “That will help with the cough. Another thing you might try is a tablespoon of honey, lemon, and whiskey.” He winked and continued, “he just might not complain as much with that concoction.”

  That had been three days ago and in that time, Maddie got used to doing the few chores around the farm. Milking the cow, feeding the horses, hogs, and chickens, gathering the eggs, preparing meals, cleaning up and gathering wood. She also made sure to spend time with Lizzy.

  That afternoon, Maddie was trying to chop the bigger pieces of wood into kindling. When there was enough to be gathered up, Lizzy would put the wood in a basket. All of a sudden, the hair on the back of Maddie’s neck stood straight up and shivers ran down her spine. It was that same feeling she’d when Dr. Page had stopped by. She set the ax down and slowly surveyed the yard.

  Between the barn and the cornfield, she spotted a horse and rider. The man nudged his horse forward and stopped a few feet in front of her — Chad Skinner. He looked just like he did the other day, same clothes, same dirty face and hair. She glanced behind him but saw no sign of his older brother. He leered at her, licking his lips. It made her stomach crawl.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Skinner?”

  He smirked. “I figured you’d remember me.”

  “Yes, I remember you. Why are you here?”

  Chad looked around. “I don’t see Morrison around anywheres. You here all by yourself? This could be my lucky day.”

  “Samuel is in the house. Do you have business with him, Mr. Skinner?”

  His smile was replaced with a sneer. “No, I don’t have business with him, but I surely could have some with you.”

  He began to dismount when Mr. Wiggles started barking and nipping at the horse’s hooves, causing it to rear up. Chad Skinner would have fallen off he hadn’t been able to grab the saddle horn. As it was, it was still a struggle for him to get upright.

  His eyes held a murderous gleam and he pulled his gun. “That worthless cur. I’m going to finish what I started on the road!” Chad snarled.

  Maddie picked up the ax and approached the horse, making it rear again, only this time Chad did fall off. The gun was now on the ground and Maddie picked it up and poin
ted it at him, growling. “Get on your horse and get off our land.”

  “I need my gun,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “You can pick it up at the Marshal’s office in town. Now,” she said advancing on him with his own gun pointed at his chest, “if you value your worthless hide don’t come back here, ever!”

  “This ain’t the end, lady. You’re gonna be right sorry.” He got on his horse and galloped away.

  * * * *

  Samuel was able to come down for dinner. His fever was gone and his cough had almost disappeared. His cheeks were gaunt but his color was back to normal. Dinner was stewed chicken with potatoes and peas.

  After not being able to speak to her daddy for a few days, Lizzy talked non-stop. “Mama taught me hopscotch and Ring Around the Rosie. Wait till you see me play!”

  “Your mama is wonderful, sugar plum.” Her cheeks reddened at the look he threw her way.

  “I know and you should have seen when she chased that bad man away. He wanted to shoot Mr. Wiggles.”

  Maddie cringed and closed her eyes. It wasn’t her intention for Samuel to find out about Chad’s visit.

  “Hannah?”

  “Samuel, it was nothing.”

  “Mama scared his horse with an ax and he bucked him off. Then Mama got his gun.”

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing to me.”

  “Please, Samuel, can’t we discuss this later.” Maddie’s eyes lit on Lizzy.

  “Okay, but we will most definitely…discuss it.”

  The rest of the evening was spent with Samuel telling stories of when he was a young boy while Maddie cleaned up and brought in more firewood. It was cold out so Maddie had a strong blaze snapping and crackling in the fireplace.