The Lassoed by Marriage Romance Collection

by Bell, Angela; Breidenbach, Angela; Carter, Lisa

  Burton dropped his hold as his face stiffened. “A pastor’s wife does not attend a different church. We may sleep separately, but it’s not an option to worship separately. Beyond my calling, we have to find a way to handle the practical matters in our lives.”

  Practical? The breath whooshed out of her. The pain turned to anger. Like remembering the name of the woman standing right in front of him? Oh no. Maila stared at the buttons on Burton’s vest. Lord, I cannot do this on my own. He doesn’t see me. He sees an employee existing to do his bidding. No, Lord, I can’t do this.

  She refocused on the issue and ticked off the arguments in her head. Yes, he was right for the pulpit. No denying that. Burton was as good a man as she’d ever known. One so loyal it surpassed death itself. Her own vows said till death do us part. But would he ever part with Rose? A man needed time to grieve. But Burton’s grief seemed too powerful a force.

  Yes, they should worship together as a couple. She understood both the logic and his new station. But could she embrace a church she really knew nothing about in order to be a supportive wife?

  Tears prickled Maila’s eyelids. What happened? A month ago she’d anticipated a proposal from Benjamin, a future in nursing, and a completely different direction toward a loving marriage with children.

  The rest of Burton’s statement popped through her heart like canning lids sealing. Did he plan to keep separate rooms permanently? Surely he meant to become man and wife physically one day as they continued to grow closer. Eventually this would have to become a real marriage, or there’d be no children.

  Maila raised her eyes to meet Burton’s. “Do you want children?” Life would be so empty without the fullness of intimacy and family.

  Burton’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. And closed. His jaw pulsated as if he fought to keep his mouth shut. He turned and walked away.

  No children, then. Maila dropped into her chair and buried her face in her hands. If they divorced… Could they be roommates for the rest of their lives while Burton mourned? Should they keep fighting for a marriage that didn’t have a prayer? Please, Lord, I’ve made a huge mistake. Either help me get this right or help me get out of this marriage.

  Burton left quietly, before breakfast. No practiced kiss or treasured words. What had she expected? A few weeks of pretense did not a loving marriage make. Maila pushed away her plate. The food tasted like tree bark anyway. She tucked the bread back in the bread box.

  Maybe a jaunt over to the hospital would be smart today. If she submitted an application, they’d likely appreciate an employee willing to work those hours when other nurses wanted to be with their families. Burton would have his dream and she would cope with some semblance of hers. But they wouldn’t have to see each other. They’d simply be the roommates Burton expected. Maila missed the warmth of his lips. Not just this morning’s kiss. She missed all the kisses that might have been.

  Trudging to unlock the front door, Maila squared her shoulders. She could see a shadow cast by the bright morning sun against the drawn shade. A customer already waited outside. The last thing she needed first thing this morning, store finances or not. Well, no need to air their troubles for more gossip. She plastered a bright smile on her face. No one had to know how empty she felt.

  She tugged the cord to retract the shade for the day’s business. The gentleman stood with his back to her. At the sound of the banging bells when Maila opened the door, her customer turned around.

  “Benjamin!” Her smile flashed from polite to deep and genuine. “How wonderful to see you!”

  He grinned at her surprised greeting. “I couldn’t stay away. I’ve been waiting a long time to have that talk with you.”

  “Did you get my letter?”

  “Every one of them.” He took off his hat and used it to point inside. “May I?”

  She swept backward, let him enter, and stopped short as she noticed the passersby. No, no, no, no! Did those ladies ever walk anywhere else?

  She closed the door on the gawking Mrs. Keller and Mrs. Berndt. It didn’t help that Mrs. Berndt’s husband handled the mail. The lady had likely seen the letters exchanged between Maila and Benjamin. Had they heard everything? Maila shivered. What did it matter? It was innocent enough…wasn’t it?

  “Are you all right, Maila?”

  She turned back to Benjamin, a little tickle in her heart at the sight of him after so long. “Yes, fine.” I hope. She shook off the impending gossip. Listening to what others thought of her had started this spiraling disaster in the first place. There’d be no more of that! From this moment on, she’d make her own decisions, based on what she knew to be right. Not on the pressure from any outside source. If only she’d done that in the beginning. Sadness washed over her even as curiosity propelled an invitation. “Come, have a cup of coffee.” Why was he here?

  Benjamin followed Maila through the store and into the sitting area of the kitchen. “I know you’ve been helping out, but can you leave the store?”

  “Yes, trust me, I’d hear those bells regardless. I think they’ve created permanent tinnitus.”

  “Is that possible?”

  “No.” She giggled. “They give me a headache.” She wrinkled her nose in the direction of the door. “I’d love to take them out to the cows they belong on. But I believe they’d drive the poor bovines crazy.” She grinned. “But those noisemakers might find their way into the nearest pond.”

  Benjamin tipped his head back in a laugh. “I’ve missed you mightily, Maila.” He dug in his coat pocket and pulled out a closed fist, turned upward. “I brought you something.” He opened his hand.

  Maila gasped. There lay the pretty grape cluster earbobs she had worked so hard to afford. “Oh Benjamin! You don’t know how much they mean to me.” The celebration of graduating nursing school. Her new job as a nurse. The very pair she’d stared at in the jewelry case walking home after work each night. She raised her eyes from his hand and saw the love shining in his eyes.

  Her heart crumbled. She knew his love wasn’t to be for a woman who’d already taken her vows. But she also knew the last letter couldn’t have reached him, or he wouldn’t be here, now, with such a lighthearted countenance.

  Maila set down the coffeepot and cups. Then before speaking, she wiped her hands down the white apron she wore each day in the store. “Benjamin, I need to ask you if my last letter—”

  “That’s why I came, dear Maila.” He scooted back his chair and, in a quick motion, stood and then dropped to his knee. “I wanted to ask you, Miss Maila Holmes,” he said as he held out his hand again, “if you’d marry me?” His palm held more than her earbobs.

  Maila gaped. “Oh!” He’d managed to drop a ring right in between them. “Benjamin, I—”

  “That’s Mrs. Rutherford to you, sir,” Burton announced from the back door in awe-inspiring authority. “Kindly refrain from stealing my wife.” He took deep, controlled breaths.

  If Mrs. Berndt hadn’t run into him at the post office, Burton wouldn’t have known this fox had entered his den. If it were her, she said, she’d hightail it over to the general store before his wife ran away with another man.

  His stomach had plunged. He fingered the envelope in his pocket. He hadn’t known, right up until the moment Mrs. Berndt handed him the evidence, that Maila meant so much to him. God had given him a second chance to have children. A second chance to love a unique woman. His chest heaved at the exertion to get home before the cunning fox outsmarted him and left ruin behind. Now he fought to control the desperate need for air and for his breathing to return to normal.

  “Stealing your what?” Benjamin leaped to his feet. “Maila? What is he talking about?”

  She stepped forward to touch his arm, but he backed away. “Benjamin, I’m so sorry. It happened so fast.”

  He looked utterly betrayed.

  Maila let her arm drop.

  He swiveled his head between Burton and Maila. “Then, it’s true.” He jammed his hand into his pocket
. “Sir, you have my deepest apology. I would not stoop so low—had I only known.”

  Burton nodded an acceptance, though his jaw could be granite.

  “Good-bye, Maila.” Benjamin left so quickly dust spun off his shoes.

  The triumph tasted sweet. Burton reached for his wife, but Maila’s eyes filled with panic.

  She lifted her skirts and rushed out of the room, following the wife thief. “Wait!” she yelled. “Benjamin, wait!”

  Burton let her go and hung his head. He’d failed to claim his bride when he had the chance. He’d failed Maila, not the other way around. Maybe he’d been the bride thief all along, stealing another man’s blessing right out from under his nose.

  He took the letter Mrs. Berndt gave him out of his pocket. After dropping it on the table, he walked upstairs to his room. The fox had won because Burton had left the coop wide open.

  Chapter 6

  Was it in poor taste to ask for her jewelry back under the circumstances? She heard the cowbells bellow his exit. It didn’t matter whether it was poor taste or not—she’d worked too long for those earbobs. They represented all of her achievements after Mama sent her off into the world. All her efforts to become someone of value. If she hurried, she could catch him before he boarded the train back to Saint Paul.

  But as she shut the door behind her, Maila saw Benjamin drive away in a carriage. It would’ve been so romantic to be whisked away because he loved her. Now what? She looked over her shoulder at the storefront. Did that jewelry still represent what she wanted? Or did Burton’s impassioned pronouncement mean they had a chance?

  Maila crossed her arms against the brisk breeze and watched the empty corner where Benjamin had been. Go or stay? She stood at a crossroad, searching her heart. Which is the good way, God? Is this You giving me a way out? Or did You set me on a new path I couldn’t see on my own?

  She took a step forward as if testing a rickety old bridge.

  “My, but your guest left in quite the hurry.” Mrs. Keller meandered up the sidewalk behind Maila. “Is everything all right?”

  Pinching the insides of her elbows, Maila pivoted. “Yes, thank you for asking.” The woman wasn’t getting the satisfaction of one more maligning morsel.

  “Well, good then. We wouldn’t want any more ills to befall your family.” Mrs. Keller scrutinized Maila’s face like a tomcat watching a seed-seeking sparrow. “I’d like a bag of sugar for my baking.”

  And that’s the excuse. This little sparrow is flying away. “Mrs. Keller, you go right on home and start that baking. Unfortunately, we’re closed this afternoon. But I’ll have that sugar delivered as quickly as possible so you won’t be held up. Shall I put it on your account?” Maila wanted to hoot at the woman’s stunned expression, but she kept up an impassive facade with a will of iron.

  “Well, I suppose that will have to do.”

  “Yes, we do aim for good customer service.” The delivery boy down the street would get an extra nickel just so Mrs. Keller didn’t have a chance to snoop one iota further. “What time do you require your delivery?”

  “Any time before two will be fine.”

  “You shall have it.” With that, Maila gave a perfunctory tip of her head and went back to the store.

  She slowly twisted the knob, not willing to hear the bells jangle and bang against the door anymore. She reached around and captured the rope, stopping the swing. Once inside, she untied the infernal noisemakers and set them behind the counter. Burton would have to find some other way to announce customers’ arrivals.

  The sunlight streamed in, basting the floor like a turkey. Maila stopped herself short of yanking down the shade, and gently lowered it. She’d work extra hard to make up for the closure, if he wanted her to stay. But Burton and she had some talking to do. Right now!

  “Burton?”

  He lifted his head from prayer. Maila? His heart sped up, sending thunderous rumblings through his blood like a summer storm.

  “Are you in there?” She tapped on the door. “We need to talk right this minute.”

  The floor squeaked as he pushed himself off his knees.

  “Burton? I’m serious. Right this minute.”

  A quick smoothing of his hair, and Burton opened the door to see his lovely wife planted in the hall, hands on hips, eyes more green than he’d noticed before.

  Burton raised his eyebrows. “Why did you come back?” He blinked, trying to believe she hadn’t run to Benjamin.

  “Why what?” she sputtered. “Who do you think you are?” She flung the same unopened letter at him that he’d left on the table.

  He jerked away from the spinning envelope. “Hey! Hold on.” And then he saw it. He had a spitting wildcat for a wife. One with a mind of her own and a heart that just might belong with him. A grin spread across his face. They had one interesting future ahead of them. “You came back.” He made a mental note to pay attention, if given the chance. Would her eyes turn more green when angry?

  “I almost didn’t, you know.” She tapped a foot and pointed down the stairway. “And I almost walked right out that door down there when I found out you’d stopped my letter. How dare you! I wrote to Benjamin to tell him we’d married. Then through no fault of his own”—she waggled a finger at him—“and in good faith, mind you, that poor man came to honor me. You—” She sucked in a lungful of air.

  As she started to speak, Burton grabbed the chance to get a word in. “You did?”

  “I did what?”

  “Wrote and told him you were married.”

  “Of course I did.” She cocked her head and squinted. “Are you listening to me?”

  “I’m listening, Maila. But hold on.” He raised his hand. “I didn’t stop your letter. Mrs. Berndt gave it to me this morning at the post office. It was missing proper postage. I was going to go back to send it when I collected some change from the house.”

  “She did?”

  “She did.”

  “You were?”

  “I was.”

  “Then that would explain Mrs. Keller just happening to be here when—”

  “Mrs. Keller was here?”

  “Outside, yes. She ordered sugar.”

  “Sugar.” Burton rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Burton. She wanted more gossip. The sugar was a ruse.”

  “Of course.” He nodded matter-of-factly. Women were definitely harder to comprehend than Swedish. But it looked like he might have his very own translator.

  “Ooh, those two women! They’ve caused all of this. If they hadn’t—”

  “Hadn’t what, Maila?” Burton spoke so softly Maila had to lean in to hear him. He leaned across the threshold and tipped her chin up so she looked him in the eyes.

  Silence. An electric silence held them in a visual embrace.

  Burton leaned in and touched her lips with his. A whisper of a kiss. When he lifted his head away, Maila’s eyes were peacefully closed and a light smile tickled across her lips.

  Yes, there was hope. His prayer, the one he’d started on the run from the post office to the store. The one he’d desperately begged God to fulfill as he raced to protect the woman he’d nearly driven away. The one he continued on his knees as she ran after another man. That prayer was answered. He could see it all over his wife’s face.

  “Maila, I love you.”

  Her lashes fluttered open. “You do?”

  “I do.”

  “And I do want children.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes but didn’t fall. “You do?”

  “I do.” He circled his arms around her waist. “And I want them with you.”

  Maila’s eyes traced his face as she looped her arms around his neck. But then she caught sight of something behind him and locked on to it. She stiffened in his embrace.

  Burton swiveled to see what had such a hold over her attention. Rose.

  In less time than it takes a cow to kick over a milk pai
l, Maila broke out of his arms.

  “I can’t compete with her.” She pressed back into the hall wall as if it kept her from falling. “I’ll never be as beautiful, talented, or beloved by the town. I’ll never be able to be as wonderful to you as she was.”

  Burton moved out of his room and into the hall. He took her face in his hands, threading his fingers into her hair. “Maila, you are so lovely. You’re beautiful in such a different way to me.”

  She tried to pry his hands away, but he wouldn’t let go. He held her fast, but tenderly. “No. I’ll never measure up to who she was.”

  “I don’t want you to be like her. You know I loved Rose. She was sweet and kind and very, very stable.”

  “I loved her, too.” Maila lowered her eyes.

  “She was a reflection of me. She reflected back the man she saw. I loved what she saw in me.” His thumbs gently caressed Maila’s temples. “I believed that man didn’t need to change. She thought he was the perfect husband.”

  “I’m sure you were…” Maila’s voice hitched. “…to Rose.”

  “We had a very good marriage I’ll always feel blessed to have experienced.” He bent down to force Maila to look at him. “But when I see myself through your eyes, I’m challenged to be a better man and a better husband.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her lips trembled.

  “For what? You’ve shown me life is about growing as a person and into a marriage. Marriage isn’t a woman reflecting a man.” Burton tucked his chin and bent his knees, trying to catch her attention. “Marriage is about both people, not one. I’ve been given a second chance to have a family and a loving wife. A second chance to be a better man. Don’t take that away from me.”

  “You really love me? The me me?”

  “I really do. You. Because you’re so smart and accomplished. Because you challenge me. Maila, you’re funny, fascinating, and full of surprises. I love who you are. Please don’t be someone else.” He released her cheeks and began pulling pins from her hair. “I also love this amazing mane of yours.”