“I know; I was standing next to you when you were talking to him. What does the note say?” she asked.
Riley hadn’t even noticed the note before. “It says ‘Happy New You.’” His brother may have been on to something, since he always called him an old stick in the mud.
Nothing more was said about the items that Riley put on the back of the shelf in the kitchen.
She knew where they were.
He knew where they were.
When the time came, and it would, both had access to get to it. But for right now, after a dinner of fried chicken and baked sweet potatoes, they set about making popcorn to string for the tree. It took nearly two whole nights, but it was worth it.
It was a quiet Christmas Eve night as he pulled his presents from under the couch and placed them around the tree. She also came back in the room with her presents for him that she placed under the poor little tree that looked as if it were hanging on for dear life. It was a nice moment. Nothing monumental but an acknowledgement from the other that each had taken time to create something special. That by itself made it an extra special Christmas.
Amanda felt shy when she asked, “I know we don’t have any mistletoe, but I was wondering if you would like to teach me how to kiss, Riley?”
He sputtered on the cider he was drinking, eyeing her over the rim of the cup as he wiped his mouth. “Baby, there are a lot of things I would like to teach you. Kissing is just the start.”
Her eyebrows arched. “Really? Like what? I know how to ski, skin fish, even skin big game...what do you have in your bag of tricks to teach me?”
His eyes were soft and full of something that called to her as he said, “I want to teach you how to make love.”
Riley set the cup on the table. His movements towards her were tentative as his hand touched her cheek. His fingers moved across her skin to the nape of her neck and he gently pulled her into his arms. Their lips touched while his free hand moved to her waist, holding her steady, but not allowing their bodies to touch. Riley knew he could not do that part yet. Just a day or so to go...
As his lips moved over hers, he used his thumb to tug at her chin to open her mouth. His tongue darted inside. “Oh,” she mumbled into his mouth. It took only a few tries for her to understand and match the movements of his tongue. She played with his by flicking her own.
“You are a quick study,” he told her as he pulled his face away.
“If I like what I am learning, I can usually master techniques pretty quickly,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
Shit. His body told on him again.
“Would you like me to watch you self-service again, Riley?”
He shook his head no and stepped away from her, but she called after him. “Riley, what if I helped? I could kiss you like you just taught me.”
That was all he needed to hear.
As much as he had wanted to climb in the bed with her, he did not when she told him good night. This morning he would change everything between them. He was up early, searing sausages, boiling them each an egg, and making crusty cheesy bread. Food storage in the winter was easy. His father had placed a large metal box in a cut out hole by the sink in the kitchen. Jacob Bishop had hinged a door on it. In the winter, the snow covered the box outside keeping it cold, so fresh meats that were caught like rabbit, could be placed in there, like a freezer. The bigger one was for large meats. The smaller one was for everyday items. In the summer months, you had to smoke or cook what you caught.
Two and a half months they had been locked in here and he had been patient. Today would be their day. He was going to get things cooking because Amanda Perkins was caught in his line and he had no intention of ever letting her go. Ever.
“Good Morning,” she said as she happily came into the kitchen. “Merry Christmas!” She smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.
He kissed her back and grinned. “Merry Christmas, baby. Breakfast first, then presents?”
“I would rather open presents first, then eat, but I don’t want the food to get cold,” she told him as she took a seat at the table. Furtive glances went back and forth between them as they made quick work of eating and clearing the table.
“You first, Riley,” she said as she gave him the first box.
He opened it with genuine surprise. “You made me slippers?” She grinned with pride as he opened each box, fussing and fawning over every item. The last box was an ornament that she made out of paper. She used a leftover hook, and she watched him hang it on the tree.
“Your turn, Amanda,” he told her as he handed her a really heavy box that was not wrapped. She opened the box to find what looked like a fur.
“What is this? A piece of fur?” She pulled it out and it kept going. The more she pulled, the more fur it was. Her eyes met his. “Is this that bear I killed?” Her face was contorted in confusion. What in the name of all that was holy?
He was proud of whatever logic had formed in his head to think this was a great Christmas present. It was another reminder of her faulty thinking. She didn’t want it. His chance of getting some loving just dwindled by thirty percent.
Riley moved the coffee table and laid the fur on the floor in front of the fireplace. “I have been working on it at night after you went to bed,” he told her with pride. Her face remained stoic.
“I have always wanted to have a bear skin rug. Also, I wanted it to be a reminder to you of a positive experience,” he said with a huge smile.
Fail. Fail. Fail. The rug would only remind her of death. At this rate, it might also include Riley’s.
“I plan to make love to you on it in front of the fire,” he told her.
Amanda held up her hands and told him, “I have allowed you far too many liberties as is, Riley Bishop. I told you, I am saving myself for my husband.”
He took out a smaller box and handed it to her, taking to one knee, “I am ready to be that man for you, Amanda. Will you marry me?”
Chapter 12. A Christmas Wedding...
What? This was a ploy to get her naked. She was not falling for this.
“Riley, funny. Really funny,” she told him, and she plopped down on the rug that seemed to cover half of the cabin. That was a really big frigging bear.
“I’m serious Amanda. Will you marry me?”
She shook her head no and wiped away the tears that had started to fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks. This was painful and mean. Riley was being cruel. “Why would you do this to me?”
“What? Ask to marry you?”
“Yes?”
“Because you love me and we are good together. Plus, you came here to marry me,” he told her.
She jumped to her feet. “And how do you figure that?”
It was his turn to look confused, “You fell in love with the man that wrote the letters. You got on a plane and headed north to Alaska to marry the man who wrote you the love letters. I wrote the letters. You fell in love with my words and you traveled here to marry the man who wrote the letters. I am that man. I am asking you to make it official and be my wife.” He kept emphasizing the letters.
“How, Riley? We are snowed in for several more months,” she told him.
“Actually, I am planning to marry you today,” he said with the same enthusiasm of ‘We got a Christmas tree!’
She was not understanding. “Open the box,” he told her.
Inside she found two rings carved out of wood and polished smooth. Engraved in them were a bear and a wolf cub. Their wedding rings. “I had to sneak into your jewelry box when you went to the bathroom to get a ring to measure and get the right size,” he said as he handed it to her.
“Riley, these are gorgeous,” she said through the fog of tears.
Her eyes went to the last box. He stepped in front of her when he said, “You can’t open that one until you give me an answer to my question. If you say no, then I am going to be truly embarrassed.”
“Yes, I will marry you,” she said in a low voice c
overed in shame. She wanted to marry him so she could make love with him.
“Great, here is the veil my mother sent, along with some plastic flowers. Sorry,” he told her as he pulled the items from under the couch. The couch had served as a great hiding place. Last night was going to be the final time he slept on it, too.
“So what are we doing here? Just saying the vows to each other?” She said with a bit of a sad smile.
“Amanda, even if you are in a church, we are only saying the vows to each other. Up here, it is you and I. Marriage is a covenant between a man, woman and God. You are a woman, I am a man, and Lord knows we can’t get any closer to God that we already are,” he told her.
“I know, but it just feels weird. Like we are doing it at face value, so we can get to that bearskin rug,” she said as she looked at the rug, hoping it was free of lice and ticks.
“No, we are going to make it official,” he said. Down on his knees, he pulled a folder from under the couch. Amanda was curious and got down on the floor to see what else he’d hidden under there.
There were official papers from the county records office. It was a marriage license that had her full name, Amanda Joan Perkins, and his whole name, Riley John Bishop. It had today’s date and two empty blanks for their signature. There were also two copies.
“One for you and one for me. So in case you thought I would burn them or something when the snow melted,” he said.
“You have learned how I think,” she told him.
“Yes. I have also learned to appreciate and love you, Amanda Joan Perkins. Now get that veil on and grab those flowers; they are waiting for us at the church,” he said as he drug her into the bedroom. Riley even put on a tie.
The CB radio was hooked to the battery, and he keyed the mike “Deputy Bishop to Sheriff Bishop, over...”
There was static. “Sheriff Bishop, go head, over.”
“We are ready,” he said then let go of the mike. She could hear music starting in the background as an organist played “Here Comes the Bride.” It sounded like at least 20 people were standing at the same time. Riley pushed her to the door. “Walk over to me,” he told her.
She took the steps she had practiced in her bedroom for eight months, walking down a fake aisle to join her husband to be at the dresser, which was now their alter. The music stopped as a voice came over the radio, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and woman in holy matrimony. Who gives this woman?”
Sheriff Bishop spoke, “I do.”
Riley linked her arm into his. The pastor started, “Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man, a woman, and God, not to be entered into lightly.” Amanda had started to cry. I am actually getting married. The ceremony continued as Riley placed the ring on her finger, “...with this ring, I thee wed.”
She said her vows and repeated after the pastor. “...with this ring, I thee wed.”
“You may kiss the bride,” the pastor informed them.
Amanda was elated. “I think I have learned how to kiss pretty well.”
“Yes, you do baby!” They kissed briefly, hearing the cheers of people she didn’t even know, celebrating a wedding they had not really witnessed.
The pastor came back over the radio, “I present to you Mr. & Mrs. Riley Bishop.” There were shouts and whistles and what sounded like a cowbell.
Harriet got on the radio, “Congrats you two, but a big storm is coming through tonight. Get the firewood inside and bundle up.”
Amanda took the mike, “Thank you Harriet, Sheriff, Pastor, everyone for making this day truly special for us. I look forward to seeing you at our place for the reception in March.”
Riley said a few words into the mike, coordinated the drop for next month, and disconnected. “Survival before love, sweetheart,” he told her as they bundled up and headed out the back door for more wood. She took turns helping him clear a path to the barn for more supplies. It took several trips, but the shelves were loaded with staples and the tub was brought inside. Their barn guest was resting soundly although it was evident he wasn’t actually sleep. Scientists had lied. His little brown bear eye was watching her. It made her uneasy. She sped up collecting the items they needed.
“It may be a week before we can get back out.” His arms were loaded with the last pile of firewood that he had brought inside. “We will have to conserve these loads this week. Only cook when we have to, keep the fireplace going low, and live in this room for the next week.”
Amanda was concerned when she asked, “Will we have enough to make it through the winter?”
“Yes, but we have to make smart decisions. There is usually a big dump of snow in mid-January then an ice storm in February. About the second week of March, we will be able to get out of here,” he told her.
“Okay,” she said.
He looked at her with amazement. No argument. No freak out. Just cool and calm as they put away their outer wear.
“Now that we are married, Riley, what is in the last box?”
“Open it and see,” he told her.
Initially, she didn’t understand as she opened the box to find five pieces of painted wood. He worked quickly as she watch him interlocked the sides to the middle and snapped in the bottom. “Is that a cradle?”
“Yes,” he said sheepishly.
It was absolutely the most perfect thing she had ever seen in her life. It was white with painted daisies on one end and sunflowers on the other. There were two large knobs for a hand to hold to rock a sleeping child. Riley was silent as he watched his wife drop to her knees and run her fingers across the wood. She understood the significance of the gift.
“Amanda, I am ready to grant your heart’s desire. We can start a family as soon as you give the word,” he told her. “I want you to know that I am not a rich man, but I work hard. I am fair and loving. I make enough to support a family, and when your novel takes off and becomes a best-seller...”
She said nothing as she went to the kitchen to grab some of the gifts his brother had sent and a pillow and blanket from the bedroom before she added another log to the fire. The makeshift coffee table was moved to the kitchen as she rolled out all of her Christmas present of the huge bearskin rug.
His words to her were the sexiest thing anyone had ever said; he told her that he believed in her. He believed in her novel and her dream of becoming a writer. She had found herself a husband and man to start a family with; a good man. An honest man. She had also found a friend.
She was ready.
Yeap.
Ready.
“I have been waiting for you all of my life, Riley Bishop,” she said as she kicked off her boots and took a seat on the rug.
“You were worth the wait as well, my beautiful wife,” he said as he joined her on the floor.
The words that drew her to Alaska were from a man that had more love in him than he knew what to do with. He found the perfect wife in a woman who was happy to be the recipient. A woman who was going to be the mother of his children. First, he had to introduce her to the ways of love.
Chapter 13. Whoa...wait...wow...
His hands were shaking as he reached to touch her beautiful honey brown skin. Beautiful. So beautiful. No matter which way this came out, it was not going to be a loving, sweet connection. It had been a while for him and she had his nose wide open and his junk harder than translating Arabic. “Amanda, I will try to make this tender, but I want to be inside of you more than anything.” Anxious fingers tugged at the long skirt, pulling it down over the long legs, across those fantastic thighs, over her knees, and into the air. It almost landed in the fireplace as she yelled, “Whoa, grab my skirt!”
Quick hands grabbed the skirt and moved it to the side. His eyes, full of hunger, took her in. Get those panties off Riley. He was grabby and her eyes were getting wide. I am scaring her. Shit, she should be, I am going to wear her ass out .... “I am sorry what did you say, Amanda?”
“Riley, would you like me t
o undress you?”
“Hell no! I don’t have the time or patience for that! What part of ‘I want you so bad’ did you not understand?”
Amanda reached for her skirt to cover her breasts. Had he done all of that to get me to agree to this? This was not the man who wrote the letters. This was not the patient man she had been locked up with for two months.
The look on her face made him stop. “Baby, I won’t lie to you, it is going to hurt. At first,” he said as he sat next to her. “I will try not to hurt you more than need be. I want to make it good for you, but I only know one way to do this. I am hot. I make you hotter, and we keep going until one of us passes or taps out.” His eyebrows were up and his pants were coming down, and she was sad that she understood her husband. Flowery words didn’t mean a thing to man in need. He wanted what he wanted. What her husband wanted was her. He wasn’t going to stop or slow down until he was inside of her, calming the fire that was burning through him.
“Even for my first time, Riley?” she asked as she held onto the material she was clutching to her breast.
“I am going to make you so hot for me you will forget you have never done this before,” he said as he kicked off his boots and his other pants leg. He added two more logs to the fire before he lowered his completely nude body to the bearskin rug. “No need to be shy. I have seen you naked,” he said while pulling away the material.
He unfastened her bra, freeing her breast. His hand went to the cotton undies and in one motion ripped them off. Amanda’s breath caught. “Come here, baby,” he said with hungry eyes.
His hand went to the nape of her neck and he kissed her, lightly at first. His breath was coming fast. “Touch me, Amanda. Let me know you want me as well.”
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