A Bride's Agreement

by Elaine Bonner

  “I think I do.”

  “I can see a big white house. A pretty white house, with flowers all around. A big front porch. The perfect place to gather with the family. And for the grandkids to play later on.”

  He took Emily’s hand and started back toward the house. He spoke again, but this time in a much softer tone. “Emily, I have other dreams, too. I also picture that someday we’ll be a family, a real family. That my children will be proud to call me Dad. That Matt and I will work side by side, together in harmony, and that he’ll even enjoy it.”

  “Well, that dream seems to be getting very close to being a reality,” Emily observed.

  “Yeah. We’ve made progress, but we’ve still a ways to go.” He hesitated, then added, “In my dream, you’re a part of the family, too.”

  “That part may be a little farther away. At least as far as Matt and Mark are concerned. Luke, John, and Sarah all accept me and even love me. But Matt and Mark are different stories.”

  Steven squeezed her hand. “They’ll come around. It’ll just take a little more time.” Steven wanted to continue with his dream and tell Emily that his dream included her in the role of his wife, but he lost his nerve before the words would come out.

  As they ate dinner on Sunday, Sarah asked, “We are going to the social at the Spragues’, aren’t we? It’s a lot of fun. Last year was the first time I ever got to go. They have games and everything for the kids. And dancing for the grown-ups. We are going, aren’t we, Daddy?”

  “I hadn’t thought much about it,” Steven replied. “But I guess we can if everyone wants to.”

  “Oh boy! Emily, you want to go, don’t you?” Sarah asked.

  Music filled the air as Steven and the family arrived at the Spragues’ big red barn. The laughter echoed as the fiddle rang out with the beginning chords for a square dance. The wagon had barely come to a stop before the twins and Sarah were off to join their friends. As usual, Matt and Mark had refused to come with the family. Steven helped Emily down, and then with pride on his face, he escorted her inside.

  As the square dance ended and the first notes of a waltz came through the air, Steven took Emily in his arms and guided her across the floor; everyone else seemed to disappear; it seemed as though they were the only two people in the place. Sometime between the time Steven had asked Emily to marry him and now, they had fallen deeply in love.

  They shared dance after dance with one another, waltzes and square dances alike. Steven did manage to tear himself away from Emily long enough to dance with his young daughter, and Emily in turn shared a dance with both Luke and John. Matt and Mark were both in attendance having ridden their horses to get there, but they didn’t acknowledge that their dad and Emily were present.

  Steven was abruptly torn away from his wife for a few moments by some of the men who wanted to discuss the upcoming harvest. Rosemary found Emily sitting alone and joined her.

  “You and Steven look really happy,” Rosemary commented.

  “Yes, we are. I’m starting to feel like a wife. Well, almost. At least I’m starting to feel like someday soon I’ll be a wife.”

  “How are things with the boys?” Rosemary asked.

  “Things seem to be pretty good between them and Steven. But I’m still very much an outsider as far as they’re concerned. They only speak to me when they absolutely have to. I don’t know what else to try to win their friendship.”

  “I don’t have any advice for you. I’ve never been in that situation. All I can do is tell you to keep trying and continue to be patient. I’ll keep praying for all of you.”

  “Thanks. I need all the prayers I can get.”

  “And just why do you need so many prayers?” Steven asked as he walked up beside his wife.

  Smiling broadly, Emily replied, “Just because I’m married to you.”

  Steven took her teasing in stride and returned, “Just for that remark, you may need even more prayers. How about another dance?”

  The entire crowd was disappointed when the Spragues announced the final song of the evening. Steven pulled Emily into his arms and whirled her around the floor. He wished he could make this evening last forever. He wanted her in his arms always. As the music ended, he reluctantly released her and they bid farewell to their hosts and friends.

  A full moon lit their way home and cast a romantic glow on the evening. The children were fast asleep on some blankets in the back of the wagon before they had gone a mile down the road. Steven slowed the horses to a walk, then pulled Emily close to him.

  Softly he whispered, “You really looked beautiful this evening.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I really had a good time. It was wonderful to hear you laugh so much.” Steven stammered as he continued, “I wish I could make tonight last forever.”

  A lump as big as Texas filled Emily’s throat as tears of happiness began to trickle down her cheeks. She finally whispered, “So do I.”

  She laid her head on Steven’s shoulder and he lightly kissed her hair.

  “I know it’s late, but could we go out on the porch for just a few minutes?” Steven inquired after they had gotten the kids tucked in for the night.

  “Sure. I’m so happy I don’t think I could sleep anyway.”

  Matt and Mark arrived home just as they walked outside. “Did you boys have a good time?” Steven asked. “I sure did.”

  “Yeah, everyone could tell you had a good time. You made a fool of yourself with her all night,” Matt snarled as he went into the house.

  “Wait just a minute, young man,” Steven snapped.

  Emily grabbed his arm and said, “Let him go. Don’t let him ruin this evening, please.”

  “You’re right. I’ll have a talk with him tomorrow. I don’t want anything to spoil my mood tonight.”

  They sat in the swing and Steven held Emily in his arms. As they gently swayed back and forth, Steven confessed, “I guess it’s become pretty obvious how I feel about you. My son says I made a fool of myself over you. Well that’s fine with me. I plan on making a fool of myself on a regular basis from now on.” He pulled Emily closer and encircled her with his arms. “I love you, Emily.”

  He’d said it. He had finally put what was in his heart into words. “I love you,” Steven repeated. He then turned her face to his and kissed her gently.

  “I love you, too, Steven,” Emily whispered, and they shared another kiss.

  After she went inside, Steven walked back out into the night air and took deep breaths of the clean fresh air. Each night it got harder and harder to tell Emily good night at her door. And knowing that only a wall separated them made his heart beat out of control every night. Tonight he had to get control of himself before he did something he would regret later. He loved Emily; he didn’t doubt that for a minute, but he wanted to give that love time to grow before he took her as his wife. He prayed for God to give him the strength he needed, and he thanked God for the love that he had found with this very special lady.

  Emily leaned against the closed door of her empty bedroom. Never before had the room felt more empty or her heart more full. She longed to have Steven come through that door with her, but she knew they weren’t ready for that yet. Their love was young, and they had to give it time to grow before they could consummate it as husband and wife.

  As she lay in bed, Emily thanked God for the love she had found with Steven. She even thanked Him that she had been so lonely that she accepted Steven’s outrageous offer when he had made it.

  In the morning Emily was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when Steven came in and set the milk bucket on the cabinet. He walked up behind Emily and encircled her waist with his arms. He placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “Good morning to you. I slept very well, thank you. How about you?”

  Emily turned to face Steven as he informed her, “I had very pleasant dreams.”

  Steven and Emily were engaged in a warm good morni
ng kiss when Matt entered the room. “Don’t tell me we have to start putting up with this disgusting behavior?” he griped.

  Upset at being so rudely interrupted, Steven returned, “I don’t consider what I was just doing disgusting behavior. It’s perfectly normal for a man to kiss his wife good morning. And it’s not any of your concern in the first place.”

  “Well, if you have to do it, you could do it somewhere where the rest of us don’t have to watch,” Matt shot back.

  “Excuse me. But this is my home and I’ll kiss my wife wherever and whenever I please. You’d better get used to it because there’s gonna be a lot more of it from now on.”

  Matt gave the back door a slam as he left the kitchen. Emily had remained silent throughout the confrontation, and Steven noticed the bewildered look on her face.

  “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” He reached to take Emily in his arms.

  Emily pulled away. “I wish my presence didn’t cause such a problem for Matt. It made me very uncomfortable to have him catch us kissing and make such an issue out of it.”

  “Look, Matt will just have to learn to deal with it. Please don’t let his attitude cause you to pull away from me. I love you, Emily. We’re just getting our relationship on a solid footing. Don’t back off now. I don’t think I could take that.” He paused a moment, then continued. “I’ll slow down if I’m going too fast for you. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable about anything. I won’t demonstrate my feelings for you except in private if that’s the way you want it. I guess I was still just a little carried away from last night.”

  Emily could hear the sincerity in his voice and see something akin to panic in his eyes. “Emily, just tell me what you want,” Steven pleaded.

  “I want our relationship to grow. I like for you to kiss me. It just made me a little uncomfortable for Matt to make such a big deal out of it. He made me feel like a kid getting caught by a father.”

  “I’ll try to be more discreet from now on. It won’t be easy though. I’ve fallen deeply in love with you and I’d like to shout it from the rooftops. I want the whole world to know that I love Emily Barnes and she loves me. You do still love me, don’t you?”

  “Very much,” Emily answered.

  Steven took a look around the room, then gave Emily a quick kiss on the lips.

  CHAPTER 13

  One more day of logging and they would have enough wood to take them through the winter, Steven estimated. He and Clyde had carefully calculated what the two farms would use and had decided that if they did as well today as they had the past few days, they should have wood to spare.

  Matt and Clyde’s son Jacob were using a two-man saw to fell a tall pine tree. They had made their cut and thought they knew exactly which direction the tree would fall. As they cut, the tree cracked and started falling in the opposite direction from what they had anticipated. Matt cried, “Timber!” Steven looked up just in time to see the massive tree coming down on him. He turned to run but stumbled. The tree fell, pinning him underneath.

  Clyde dropped his ax and hurried to Steven’s aid. Matt was already there. “Steven, where are you hurt? Can you tell?” Clyde called.

  “It’s my left leg. I can’t move it at all.”

  Clyde began to shout instructions, and with his expertise, they skillfully cut the tree away and freed Steven’s leg. One look told Clyde that his friend’s leg was badly broken, but his first concern was to stop the bleeding. A branch from the tree had punctured Steven’s thigh and he was losing a lot of blood. Clyde used his bandanna for a tourniquet and tried to get the blood flow under control. He also put a splint on the lower part of Steven’s leg. Jacob and Matt unloaded the firewood from the wagon so Steven could be taken home.

  Emily saw the procession coming up the road, and her heart dropped to her feet. She ran down the road to meet them and saw Steven lying in the wagon covered with blood. “I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks,” Clyde tried to assure her. “I’ve already sent for the doctor.”

  Once at the house, Emily had them carry Steven into her room. After making him as comfortable as they could, Emily cut away what was left of Steven’s pants leg.

  Steven had remained conscious throughout the whole ordeal. The pain was excruciating, but he was obviously determined to be strong. He reached for her hand. “Kind of a mess, isn’t it?”

  She looked into his eyes. He couldn’t hide the pain from her, but she loved him for trying to make her feel better even now. “Yeah. You really did a good job. Now let me try and get this wound in your thigh cleaned and dressed.”

  “How about a little kiss first? A kiss would help the pain go away.”

  Emily smiled as she leaned over and gently kissed her husband. “I’m afraid my kisses aren’t that powerful, but if you think they help, I’ll be more than happy to oblige you.”

  She tenderly began to clean the wound in Steven’s thigh. The bleeding had almost stopped for the time being. Dr. Emerson arrived and examined the wounds, then sent Emily out of the room when he got ready to set the bone. She cringed when she heard Steven’s cry as the doctor pulled the bone into place.

  Clyde and the doctor emerged from the room. Dr. Emerson gave Emily instructions on how to care for Steven’s wounds and handed her some powder that would help ease his pain. “Be careful with that powder, but he’ll need it for a couple of days,” Dr. Emerson said. “Give him some now and he should sleep for a while. I’ll be by tomorrow. If you need me before that, send for me.”

  Emily pulled the rocking chair up next to the bed that evening and made herself comfortable. Steven was asleep. She had no intention of leaving Steven’s side this evening. She reached over and took his hand in hers and drifted off to sleep still holding his hand.

  She was abruptly awakened by Steven’s moaning and thrashing about. Quickly she spooned more of the medication into his mouth. When she did, she noticed his head was hot. The wound on his thigh had started bleeding again, she discovered, and she changed the dressing as the doctor had instructed. Then she began to bathe Steven’s face with a cool washcloth. Steven continued to toss and turn and started to mumble in his restless sleep.

  “Emily, where are you? Don’t leave me,” Steven cried.

  Tenderly, Emily whispered, “Steven, it’s okay. I’m right here.”

  She continued to bathe his face with the cool cloth. As she gently stroked his forehead, she spoke softly to him in a effort to calm his restless slumber. Steven would relax for brief intervals, but then the thrashing, moaning, and mumbling would start again. Emily couldn’t understand everything he said, but at times she knew he was telling Matt it was okay, he knew he didn’t mean to do it. She didn’t know what Matt didn’t mean to do, but it seemed very important to Steven that his son know he understood.

  Other times Steven called Becky’s name. He kept saying something about being a lousy husband and father. Once he told Rebecca that things had changed and he could be a good husband now to Emily.

  Then there were times that he cried for Emily. He continued to beg her not to leave. Emily did her best to comfort him. She had tried for what seemed like hours to get his fever to come down, but her efforts were in vain. The doctor had told her to expect him to run a temperature, but he was burning up, and it became evident that the medicine the doctor had prescribed was doing little to ease the pain.

  Emily quietly opened Matt’s door and walked over beside his bed. She softly called his name. “Matt. Wake up.”

  Sleepily, Matt opened his eyes and grunted, “What do you want?”

  “It’s your father. I think he’s getting worse. I need you to go get Doc Emerson.”

  Without another word, Matt jumped out of bed and grabbed his clothes. He was out of the house in no time and headed for the barn to saddle the horse.

  Emily continued with her futile efforts to comfort Steven and ease his pain. Time passed very slowly as she waited for Matt to return with the doctor. When they finally arrived,
Dr. Emerson once again cleaned Steven’s wounds. He pulled out several more fragments of tree bark. Then he poured something that smelled like whiskey into the wound. When he did, Steven screamed with pain. Emily quickly answered the cries of the children and offered comfort and explanations to them.

  “Will Daddy be okay?” the three younger siblings asked.

  “The doctor’s here now. Your daddy will be fine. Let’s all pray and ask God to make him well soon.” Emily was doing all she could to comfort the children and ease her own mind at the same time. After the little family group had asked God to pour out His healing blessings upon Steven, Emily left Matt and Mark in charge of the smaller children and went to be with her husband.

  “How is he, Doctor?” Emily asked as she entered the bedroom.

  “That leg’s got a pretty nasty infection, but he’s a strong fellow. He’ll be all right.”

  The doctor stayed until well after sunup. He cleaned and dressed Steven’s wound several times during the course of his visit. By the time he left, he was satisfied with the way the injury looked and Steven appeared to be resting comfortably.

  Emily was exhausted on her feet, but she was not leaving Steven’s side. Matt and Mark had fixed the children’s breakfast and had taken care of the morning chores. Clyde and Alice also came by early that morning.

  “Emily, I’m here to help,” Alice announced. “Just tell me what you want me to do first.”

  “That’s very sweet of you, but I know you have your own family to look after,” Emily returned.

  “We’ll get by. You need me right now, so here I am. That’s what friends are for. I’ll start lunch.” Alice finished her little speech, then left the room.

  Emily continued to sit in the rocker at Steven’s bedside. She would hold his hand and bathe his face whenever he became restless. Occasionally, during his quiet moments, Emily would drift off into a light sleep, but the slightest movement from Steven would awaken her.