by Debra Samms
He prayed for wisdom and went to talk to her.
“Laura, what are you doing?”
“I’m plucking the chicken so I can get dinner going.” She offered him a small smile and went back to her task.
He noticed she was doing most everything with her right hand and wondered how he’d not noticed that in previous days. Sighing, he squatted down in front of her, “Laura please look at me.” He waited until she looked up and then told her, “I appreciate the effort you’re making to handle the chores and adjusting to living out here. But I need to know that you’re going to tell me when you’re injured or ill.”
She looked at him and asked, “Would you tell me if you were injured or ill?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t want to be weak. If you plan to work when you’re sick or injured, I can too.”
Tom shook his head, “Not when doing so puts you in more danger. You have a cracked rib. I checked while you were passed out.”
“That’s what I heard,” she murmured, not realizing she’d spoken aloud.
“Yes, that’s what you heard. And if you break it further, you risk puncturing a lung and then you won’t be able to breathe. You have to take care of yourself. The nearest doctor is half a day’s ride away. He only comes to town once a month unless someone sends for him.”
“I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“I was angry that you thought I would want you to work while you were hurting. We are all each other has out here. We need to trust each other, but we also have to depend upon each other. I know this life is hard, but you’re doing a great job. Much better than I could have hoped for.”
Laura looked up at him, “Really?”
Tom nodded, “Really. Now, if you’re through with the chicken, why don’t I help you get dinner started and then I’ll bind your ribs for you. I have some horse liniment that will help them heal faster. It doesn’t smell all that great, but it works wonders.”
Laura looked at him aghast, “You want to put horse liniment on me?”
“Laura, please trust me, and please trust that the liniment will work. He added, “And it will keep the bugs away when I take you fishing this afternoon.”
“Fishing? I’ve never been fishing.”
“You’ll like it. I’ll even clean any fish we catch. There are a lot of things I can teach you.”
Laura smiled at him as he helped her up from the log she used as a stool. He pumped the water for her as she cleaned her hands and the plucked chicken. After she added the vegetables and spices, he expertly lifted the roasting pan into the oven.
He led her toward the barn where the horse liniment was stored. Along the way, she ask, “So you’ll teach me the things I don’t know?”
His eyes captured hers. Smiling, he said, “It will be my pleasure.”
“Good. I want to learn how to shoot your gun.”
Tom raised a brow at her and then nodded, “All right. It’ll give me peace knowing you can defend yourself when I’m gone.” He grabbed the liniment and then led her into an empty stall, “Put a liberal amount of the liniment on your bruises and then I’ll bind your ribs over your chemise.”
Laura blushed but took the jar of liniment and went into the stall. He kept up a conversation with her the entire time. When she emerged, with the sleeves of her dress around her waist, she was blushing but happy that her secret had finally come out. She wouldn’t have to hide her pain from him any longer. With his help, she would heal faster.
When he finished binding her ribs, he helped her back into the bodice of her dress. He took hold of her chin and tipped it up. With a flirtatious smile, he licked his lips and said, “Thank you for answering my ad.”
Laura smiled in return and whispered, “I’m glad I answered it too.”
Tom looked at her once more and then kissed her tenderly on the lips, smiling at the blush that darkened her cheeks. “I like that too.”
Laura blushed and as they headed for the small pond, she realized that she hadn’t failed after all. She’d proven she was strong and could handle living on the frontier, even while injured. What she hadn’t counted on was God giving her a husband that was kind and compassionate. A man that cared more for her health than whether or not the chores got done.
Today had been a revelation for her. When he reached out and took her hand in his, she knew that theirs would be a marriage that surpassed anything she could have ever dreamed of having. She couldn’t wait to write Miss Helen and tell her about the treasure she’d found in Montana. Her husband, a man she could trust with her life and most of all, her heart.
THE END
Matters of Trust
Miss Helen’s School for Western Mail Order Brides
Bonus Chapter: My Heart And Yours
CHAPTER ONE
Manchester, New Hampshire
January, 1877
As soon as the man turned around, Gertrude Mary Weiss could see the disappointment in his eyes. He had clearly not been expecting anyone who looked like her.
Gertrude stood in the winter darkness in front of the brick boarding house where she and her two friends lived, and tried to keep the big red sleigh and its pair of grey horses between herself and the three young men. Beside her were her friends Sally and Eliza, two of the prettiest and kindest girls who worked alongside Gertrude at the Merrimack Mill.
"Come on, Gertrude!" said Sally. "I'll introduce you."
"They've come all the way from Concord in the snow just to meet us," said Eliza. "And it's a beautiful night. Perfect for a little sleigh ride!"
Eliza was right. The cold night sky was clear and black and filled with stars. But Gertrude knew that this night had no chance of ending in anything except rejection. Not for her.
The other two girls skipped over to the sleigh. They were both small and slim with shining blonde hair and delicate features, and the three nice-looking young men smiled down at them in delight. The first man helped Sally up onto the driver's seat with him, while the other one got into the sleigh with Eliza.
The third one waited beside the sleigh and smiled politely at Gertrude as she walked slowly through the drifts. But instead of holding out his arm, he simply took a firm grip on hers and tried to boost her up into the sleigh. She made it on the second try and dropped heavily onto the bench seat across from Eliza and her suitor, moving over as far as she could and hoping there would be enough room for her companion.
But instead of getting in beside her, the third man walked around to the front of the sleigh. "Hey, sport! Let me drive tonight. The girls all want to sit together."
"But – "
"Go on! I'll drive."
And just that quickly, Gertrude's gentlemen climbed up alone to the driver's box while Sally and her friend got into the back. Gertrude could only close her eyes as the sleigh took off, and wait for the evening to be over.
***
Franklin, Idaho Territory
January, 1877
"Good evening, Mrs. Penney. Mr. Penney. Here's your firewood for tonight."
Thomas Clark walked inside the little cabin and set down the armload of firewood beside the hearth. The elderly couple who sat near the warm fireplace slowly got up as he walked in.
"Oh, thank you, Tom, as always," the man said.
"It's such a help to us, having a young man stop by each day," said the woman.
"Well, I don't know how much longer you can call me young." Thomas stood up, mindful of his head on the low beams of the cabin roof. "I'll be thirty years old before long."
"That's still far less than Mr. Penney and I," said Mrs. Penney.
"Is there anything else before I return home for the evening?"
The couple looked at each other. "Well . . . we know you must get home, since you'll have the store open again at dawn tomorrow," said Mr. Penney.
"And your store is always so clean and well organized," added Mrs. Penney. "We know how much time you spend at it."
Thomas glanced at the clean wooden bucket in the corner. "I thought so. Out of water again. I'll fetch that, too, while I'm here."
"Oh, now, there's no need for that! We can just open the door and fill it with snow."
"No, no. I'll get well water for you. Back in a moment."
Thomas took the bucket and walked outside. He approached the stone wall around the well, stepping through the snowdrifts and trying to avoid the thick patches of ice around the stone wall.
That was the last thing he remembered that night.
***
Manchester, New Hampshire
January, 1877
"Sally, how could you do that to me! Eliza! Both of you must have known!"
Gertrude, Eliza, and Sally all sat together in the small parlor of the boarding house they shared. "Gertrude, we were sure Abe would like you," Sally began. "He doesn't – I mean, he doesn't have any – "
"You mean he has no lady friend and you thought he'd be lonely enough to go sleigh riding with me."
The two other girls looked at each other. "No! No. Not at all," said Eliza. "It's always worth taking a chance – isn't it?"
"Not when you have my appearance," Gertrude said, turning away from them. "I'm barely five feet tall. I weigh at least one hundred fifty pounds. My face is round and plain and looks twice as old as my twenty-five years. We all know that's no way to get a husband."
Her friends were silent. "Unless I want to work seventy-five hours a week inside this woolens mill," Gertrude went on, "until my eyes and hands are ruined and I'm deaf as a fencepost from the hundreds of looms clattering at once, my only hope is to get married. But I don't see that happening, either. You saw what happened tonight. Again."
Her friends sat quietly again. Then Sally looked closely at her and seemed to be thinking. "Trudy," she said, with a little smile, "there might be another way. I think I know of someone who can help."
To Continue Reading My Heart And Yours
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A Word From The Author
Thank you so much for downloading my book.
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Debra
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Other Books by Debra Samms
Mail Order Brides of Oregon:
Orphanage Brides, Book 1, Catherine
Orphanage Brides, Book 2, Moira
Orphanage Brides, Book 3, Bridget Rose
Orphanage Brides, Book 4, Christmas at Clear Springs Ranch
Orphanage Brides, Box Set of 4
Mail Order Brides of California:
Book 1: A Steely Bride for the Steadfast Rancher
Book 2: The Persistent Bride for the Lucky Shopkeeper
Book 3: A Confused Bride for the Grieving Farmer
Box Set of 3
Miss Helen’s School for Western Mail Order Brides:
Matters of Trust
Matters of Survival
Matters of Desperation
Box Set of Books 1 - 3
Matters of Deception (December 2015 Multi-Author Book)
Matters of a Fresh Start (March 2016)
Matters of Family (March 2016)
19 Brides for 19 Cowboys (Multi-Author)
Matters of Deception (December 2015 Multi-Author Book)
Mail Order Brides of Sawyerville:
Book 1: Three Butterflies
Book 2: Place of the Butterflies
Book 3: Journey to Sawyerville
Box set of 4: Mail Order Brides of Sawyerville, Volume 1
Book 4: Maeve and the Shivaree
Book 5: Delilah and the Whitewater Wedding
Book 6: Clara and the Silent Groom
Book 7: Bridge to my Heart (March2016)
Box Set of 5: Mail Order Brides of Sawyerville, Volume 2
Book 8: Jessamine’s Garden (March 2016)
Book 9: Abraham’s Dove (March 2016)
Book 10: My Brave Irish Lass (April 2016)
Book 11: Winter Turns To Spring (April 2016)
Author Profile: Debra Samms
From the time Debra was a small child, she loved hearing the stories by her mother and grandmother about the 'olden times' when Oregon was first settled. Her great grandparents were among early settlers who forged the trail from Missouri to Oregon. They became ranchers, lumberjacks, and dairy farmers. Writing about the early days of Oregon has long been a passion of hers. Like most authors, she loves to read and write. On any given day, you might find her holed up in her writing room or skipping along a rain-drenched beach, thinking about the many stories yet to tell.