The children all eyed her curiously. “Good morning, children.” She had no idea what he wanted her to say, but she was certain that would be appropriate regardless.
The children all chorused back, “Good morning, Mrs. Smythe.”
She was startled to hear his last name applied to her, and she looked over at Jackson who looked like he was pleased to hear it. She gave a quick wave to the students, and hurried down the aisle to walk back home.
As she walked, she smiled to herself. He certainly wasn’t ashamed of her if he’d introduce his students to her that way. She stepped into the house and grabbed the rifle she had spotted leaning against a corner.
She was back home forty-five minutes later with two rabbits strung over one shoulder. She quickly hung them in the tree to bleed out, her stomach already growling at the notion of rabbit stew for supper.
She buttered a slice of bread for her lunch and sat down for long enough to eat it with a glass of milk, before getting up to scrub the floors. The house would be in perfect shape before the weekend or her name wasn’t Coral—Smythe. Her name was Coral Smythe. Why that brought a smile to her lips, she didn’t know.
By the time Jack was home from school—and it was hard to think of him as Jack still, but she was determined to do it—she had accomplished everything she’d had on the agenda for the day and then some.
Rabbit stew was simmering on the stove, and she’d baked a spice cake for dessert. She was sitting in a chair beside the table, working on mending the clothes she’d found needed it when she’d done the laundry.
Jack took one step into the house and stopped in his tracks, inhaling deeply. “Something smells delicious.”
She smiled. “It’s either the rabbit stew I’m cooking, the bread I baked earlier, or the cake I made for dessert.”
He sighed happily. “A man could get used to being treated this way!” He looked around the house and noticed all the little things she’d done that day to make it shine. It hadn’t been that clean when he’d moved in. “House looks great.”
She smiled. “There are still several things I want to get done to it this week, but I’m happy with how it’s taking shape.”
He put the books, papers, and lunch pail in his hands on the table before sitting down beside her. He waited until she looked up at him before he took the pants she was mending from her hands and put them on the table. Then he took both her hands in his.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, but I thank God every day for putting you in my life. I hope you know how much you’re already coming to mean to me.”
Coral smiled, a distant look in her eyes. “I think you’re going to be a much better husband than I thought on that first night.”
He grinned. “And I know you’ll be a much better wife than I thought that first night.”
In response, she stood and got him a small slice of the cake she’d baked with a glass of milk. “I’m sure you’re hungry after your long day of work.” She sat down and resumed her sewing, her heart sad.
Chapter Six
While Jack graded papers that evening, Coral worked diligently at the mending, knowing she could double his wardrobe in a few short hours by fixing a few things. They worked together in companionable silence.
A short while before bed, Jack pushed the papers away. “Would you like to walk with me?”
She looked at him with surprise. “It’s almost bedtime.”
“Almost, but not yet. Please?”
Coral nodded. “I’d be happy to.” She put her mending back into the basket she had appropriated for the task, and placed it in a corner where it wouldn’t be in the way. “Let me just grab a shawl. It’s getting cool in the evenings.”
He waited while she went to their bedroom for her shawl. When she came out, he took it from her and wrapped it around her shoulders before offering her his arm. She took it, surprised that he was acting so cordial with her. She’d expected a lifetime of working together, not a life of courtly manners and gentlemanliness.
Once they were outside, she sighed at the sight of the stars spread overhead. “Why do the stars seem so much brighter in Montana than they did in Massachusetts?”
He grinned. “It’s because there’s less pollution here. The lower pollution levels make it so we can see the stars better.”
“Is that it?” She really hadn’t meant for him to answer her question, but having a logical answer was certainly nice. “I’m not as good with astronomy as I am with biology.”
“How much do you know about anatomy?” he asked, intrigued.
She smiled. “I was apprenticing under a midwife in Massachusetts without my parents’ knowledge. I helped her attend births for several summers before I finished school, and then for the past year.”
“Your parents wouldn’t have liked that?”
She shook her head. “They didn’t like it that I finished school early, either. They felt like a woman’s one job in life was to attract a wealthy man to be her husband. I didn’t feel called to spend all of my time going to cotillions to try to find someone who would only find fault with me.”
“Why would a man have found fault with you?” he asked, surprised by her words.
“Because I overwhelm everyone,” she said, her voice small. “What man wants a woman who can do most things better than he can? I’m afraid I can’t bring myself to pretend that I can’t do a math problem or shoot a rifle, simply to appease the male ego.”
He shook his head. “How shallow you make all men out to be.”
“Not shallow exactly. Maybe—their egos are easily hurt?”
“Maybe. I’ll have you know I’m proud of everything you do so well. I’m amazed by you, Coral.”
She shrugged. “Many women can cook. It’s not such a wonderful thing.”
He nodded. “You’re right. Many women can cook. But not many can go out and kill their supper, skin it, and then cook it as if it’s nothing. Not many women can do advanced mathematics in their heads without a second thought. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
“Are you silently thanking God there’s only one of me?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“Well, no, but I’m thanking Him that he gave me the only one of you.” He stopped walking on the edge of the wooded area not far from his house. “I didn’t bring the rifle, so we should probably stay in the open.”
She nodded, and turned back toward the house, but his hand on her arm stopped her. “What is it?” she asked.
“Coral, I know you have it in your head that I am only coming to care for you because of your cooking, but I want you to know it’s not true. I care for you because of who you are. You are an intelligent, beautiful woman.”
“Beautiful? Have you confused me with my sister?” She believed the intelligent part, because she knew she was smart. Beautiful? Not likely.
He shook his head. “Esther’s pretty in a different way than you are. To me, Esther is the kind of pretty you look at and walk away from. But you—” He caught her upper arms and pulled her to him. “You’re the kind of beauty I want to have in my life and my bed for the rest of my days.”
She blushed, happy he couldn’t see her clearly in the darkness. She shook her head. “You don’t have to say those things to me. I know what I am. I know what I’m not.”
“You don’t see yourself through my eyes, and I wish for just one moment, you could.” His hand stroked her cheek, his thumb coming to rest on her bottom lip and he moved it back and forth, enjoying her soft skin. “May I kiss you, Coral?”
She nodded, her eyes wide. “I’m your wife. You don’t even have to ask me that.”
“You’re my wife, but you’re not my love—yet. I want you to be, so I’ll ask permission.” He lowered his head to hers, kissing her softly, just a touch of his lips against hers. His hands stroked up and down her arms.
Coral gasped against his lips, moving even closer to him. She liked kissing more than a proper woman should, she feared. “Oh, Jac
k.” Her lips parted under his, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, getting as close to him as she could.
After a moment he lifted his head, staring down into her eyes. “I know our marriage started out oddly, but I want your permission to court you. Properly.”
She swallowed hard. “To court me? How can you court me when we’re already married?”
“I can pay you the same kind of attention I would have done to get to know you better if you’d had the time. May I?”
She nodded, feeling a bit bemused at the prospect. “No one’s ever courted me.”
“To be quite honest with you, I’ve never courted anyone either. We’ll learn how to do it together.”
“You’ve never courted anyone?” she asked, surprised by his words. “You seem to know what you’re doing.”
He raised an eyebrow, grinning at her. “I do?”
She shrugged. “Well, I guess you could be fooling me into thinking you know what you’re doing, and it would work, because I have no earthly idea how to court someone or to be courted.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and walked her back toward the house. “There’s a dance at the school on Saturday night.”
“There is?”
“Yes. One of my student’s father plays the fiddle, and he promised he would play. I’d love to have the honor of your company for the dance, Mrs. Smythe.”
She nodded. “Yes, I’d be happy to go with you.”
“Good. It’s a potluck, so we’ll have to take something with us. If you don’t mind, I think it would be best if you were the one to see to that and not me.”
“Absolutely. I’ll make something for it. Do you know if they need items for the actual meal or desserts more?”
“No idea.”
“Maybe I’ll do one of each.” As embarrassed as she was that she was so good at everything, she felt the need to show off her skills as a wife. She always had.
Jack smiled, keeping his arm firmly around her. “Whatever you think is best.”
“I wonder if Esther and Brody know about the dance?”
“If they don’t, it might be nice if you told them.”
“I’ll do that. I should be able to go see her on Friday without a problem.”
“Good. I really am impressed with all you’ve gotten done so quickly at home.”
“I’m glad you’re pleased with it.” When they arrived at the house, she stepped inside, while he stayed back. “I’ll stay out here for twenty minutes to give you time to get ready.”
Coral looked at Jack and stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips across his. “Thank you for caring about my feelings so much. I appreciate it.”
He smiled, stroking his hand down her back. “You’re special, Coral.”
She turned and hurried to get ready, not answering him. She was starting to believe that he truly thought she was special. She didn’t know how, and she didn’t know why, but maybe if she was special in his eyes, he really would keep her forever.
She was already under the covers when he came into bed a short while later. She normally fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, but for some reason she was restless that night, thinking about their walk and his desire to court her.
She kept her eyes closed until she felt the mattress dip beside her. “Why have you never courted a girl?”
Jack turned on his side facing her, something he’d never done before. Usually as soon as they were in bed together, they would lay stiff as boards, pretending the other wasn’t there. “There was a girl I wanted to court when I was still living on my step-dad’s farm. She was the daughter of a neighboring farmer, and she was pretty as a picture.”
When he said the girl was pretty, Coral’s heart drooped. So he wanted a pretty girl. “Did you ask if you could court her?”
“I did. I went to her pa to ask him first, knowing it was proper. And then I went to her and asked.”
“What did she say?”
“She told me that she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life tied to a farmer. She’d seen the hardship her parents went through, relying on the seasons and the rainfall as they did. She wouldn’t be any part of it.” He sighed. “So I went off to school to be a teacher, thinking that she would be happier with that.”
“What happened then?”
“When I came home with my new teaching certificate, ready to teach in the school we’d both attended, I found out she’d married a local farmer.”
Coral turned to face him on the bed, taking one of his hands that rested atop the covers in hers. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not. If she hadn’t done that, maybe you’d have married her. And where would I be?”
He smiled at that, bringing the hand in is to his lips. “I really don’t know, but I’m sure the answer would not be in my bed. And that would be truly dreadful, wouldn’t it?”
Coral blushed, glad the room was dark. “I don’t think a man should be talking to the woman he’s courting that way.”
“Oh, but when we’re in bed together, we’re no longer just courting, Coral. When we’re in bed together, we’re husband and wife.”
“Do you regret promising to wait until I turn eighteen?”
“Sometimes,” he answered honestly. “But I do think it’s smart for both of us. We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other and know our own hearts if we wait.” He kissed her softly before rolling onto his back. “Now go to sleep.”
Coral grinned, rolling to her side facing away from him so he wouldn’t see how happy he had made her with his words. “G’night, Jack.”
“Good night, Coral.”
Chapter Seven
It wasn’t long before Coral had the house exactly as she wanted it. All the windows had been scrubbed clean, and there were new curtains hanging from them. On Friday morning, she made lunch for Jack and sent him off to school, and then she did the breakfast dishes before walking over to see Esther.
It was a longer walk than she’d realized, and it made her wish she’d ridden over, but she didn’t mind too terribly much. It gave her time to think about her marriage and Jack’s proposition to her.
The night before he’d come home with flowers in his hand, a sweet gesture. She had fussed over the flowers and tucked them into a glass to put in the center of the table. She had found poems written out in his hand throughout the house. Not poems he had written, of course, but poems he had taken the time to copy from some of the great poets. She was starting to feel like he really might care for her.
When she finally reached her sister’s house, she knocked on the door, hoping Esther hadn’t left for the day. Her sister opened the door wide and cried out as she grabbed her in a hug. “You’re just the person I needed to see today!”
Coral smiled. “What can I help you with?”
“It’s not just that I need help with something, you know. I’m genuinely happy to see you.” Esther waved her hand toward the table. “Sit! Sit!”
Coral took a seat, and smiled at her sister, who looked slightly frazzled. “Is marriage easier with me gone?” she asked softly.
Esther sighed, sitting down across from her sister. “I hope we didn’t make you feel unwelcome.”
Coral shrugged. “I understood why you didn’t want me here. I don’t know how my marriage would be if you were living with me.” She smiled, letting Esther know she really did understand the problems she’d caused.
“How is marriage for you? Is he a good man?”
Coral nodded emphatically. “A very good man. He actually seems to like my—strangeness.”
“Your strangeness? Don’t speak in riddles, Coral. I always get confused when you do that.”
Coral wanted to laugh. She hadn’t seen Esther in a week and it was as if they’d only been apart five minutes. “I’m sorry. He likes it that I’m good at—so many things.”
Esther rolled her eyes. “That you’re good at everything, you mean? You scare me sometimes. I’m glad you’ve always been on my side, because I reall
y wouldn’t want you for an enemy.”
Coral bit her lip to keep from laughing at her sister’s words. Jack’s easy acceptance of what she considered her greatest weakness helped her see the humor in other people’s fear of her. “Why were you so glad to see me this morning?”
Esther sighed. “I was trying to bake a cake. I’ve thrown out four already. I’m going to go through all the sugar and flour we have trying to make one dessert for my husband.”
“I can help you with that. You should have just come over to get help.”
Esther nodded. “I had decided to try once more, and if that didn’t work, I was going to march right down to that house of yours and beg for your help.”
“I came to invite you and Brody for supper tonight,” Coral said as she walked to the work table.
Esther seemed to consider for a moment, but then she shook her head. “I do appreciate the offer, Coral, but not tonight. I want to cook a special meal for Brody tonight.”
Coral shrugged. “All right. What kind of cake are you trying to make?” Esther pointed to the recipe on the counter, and Coral walked over to look at it. “Let’s do it then.”
Coral spent the next hour showing her sister how to make a cake step-by-step. When they removed it from the oven, Esther’s face lit up. “It’s beautiful! Will it taste good?”
“Of course, it will. Best cake you’ve ever eaten. I promise.”
“I believe you!”
“Are you and Brody going to the dance at the schoolhouse tomorrow night?” Coral asked.
“I didn’t realize there was a dance. Oh, that sounds wonderful!”
“So you’ll go?” Coral was almost desperate for her sister to be there, so she’d know at least one person other than Jack. Her husband will be called away from her to say the prayer over the meal and do other host-type things, and she wanted to have someone there she could talk to comfortably.
Esther nodded. “I don’t know if Brody knows about it, but I promise you, we’ll be there. I couldn’t pass up the chance to go to a dance. I haven’t done anything social at all since we left Massachusetts. I feel like I may have forgotten how to waltz already!”
Montana Sky: Mail Order Marvel (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 4