by Sweet Annie
He didn’t say anything, so she hurried to make the idea as plausible as she could. “You’ll be gone every day at the livery, and I doubt that the house will take that much time to keep clean. Not that it’s too small, I didn’t mean that, I only meant that with just the two of us…”
Luke tapped the pencil against his cup. “Could you do that here? Or would you need a place to work?”
Annie’s jaw dropped. The suggestion hadn’t disturbed him in the least! She started to get excited about the idea. “I could do it here. There’s plenty of light and I could use the kitchen table for cutting!”
“What would you need?” he asked, the pencil once again hovering over the paper.
“I have scissors and thimbles and just about everything I can think of.”
“A comfortable chair,” he said. “You’d need a nice place to sit.”
Tears smarted behind her eyes. She scooted from her chair and wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing his ear and his brow. “Oh, Luke! You are the most incredible man!”
He dropped his writing tools and slid his chair back so he could pull her onto his lap.
She framed his face and kissed him. “Thank you, Luke.”
“For what?”
“You truly don’t know, do you?”
“No.”
“For letting me be a real person,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “For loving me.”
“It’s an easy thing loving you.” His hands moved up her sides to the swell of her breasts. “You don’t have anything on under here, do you?”
“Uh—a nightgown.”
He made a face. “One of those flannel contraptions that buttons up to your throat?”
“Not exactly.”
He parted her wrapper at the neck. “What, then?”
She flattened her palm over her chest to hold the robe shut. “Something Charmaine and Lizzy gave me. It was the first thing I found when I opened my trunk this morning.”
“Well, let’s see.”
He’d already seen her in the bright light of day and her abnormality hadn’t put a damper on his ardor or his desire for her. Feeling scandalous, but also eager to see his reaction, she got to her feet and slowly, watching his face the whole time, opened her wrapper.
His gaze touched every curve of her body through the sheer fabric and he swallowed. “Oh, my.”
The list didn’t get finished until after lunch.
“Did he like the nightgown?” Lizzy asked in a hushed voice as they washed the few dishes they’d used to eat the casserole and pie she’d brought.
Drying a plate, Annie felt herself blush. “Well, actually, he didn’t get to see it until this morning.”
“And?”
“And I thought he was going to melt on that chair.”
They shared a laugh.
“I told you he’d like it,” Lizzy said.
Later, after Guy and Lizzy had gone home, as Annie put away blankets and covered the bed with a brightly colored star quilt, she ruminated over the changes that had evolved in her life over the past months. Besides the miracle of Luke, the newly formed friendships and the acceptance she felt among the townspeople were like a dream come true. Her stifling existence had turned into the full life of a normal woman.
The sadness that her parents couldn’t enjoy her newfound abilities and confidence was the only dim spot in a bright future. She could only hope and pray that her mother would come around. Her father had seemed more willing to accept the changes and share in her happiness, but he wouldn’t be free to show his approval while his wife still bore such hostility.
The day passed too soon, and the night even more quickly.
On Monday Luke took her to town to order a chair, and while they were there, she posted notices on the walls at the telegraph office and mercantile. That first week she had orders for three dresses.
The work came as a blessing, filling her hands and her mind during the long hours that Luke spent at the livery.
Sunday arrived as a brisk morning with the scent of wood smoke in the air. Since Luke had early-morning work getting rigs ready for the churchgoers, he escorted her to the Renlows’ on his way into town.
Aunt Vera hugged her and served a cup of tea and a buttery cinnamon roll. Squealing when she saw Annie in their kitchen, Charmaine pulled a chair beside her to share her latest news about school and the other girls.
“I was beginning to feel as though I’d lost my best friend,” she told Annie with a pout.
“She’s a bride, Charmaine,” her mother scolded. “Newlyweds spend time getting to know each other.”
“What more is there to know? Luke’s perfect. Right?”
Annie nodded with a grin. That he was. “He said for me to ride along with you and he’ll find me in church.”
Later, during the hymns, he found her standing beside the Renlows and placed his hand at the small of her back. Annie smiled up, pleased as always to see him, smugly possessive and proud.
This was family-dinner Sunday, and Charmaine had told her that the Renlows would be joining the gathering. Annie hadn’t spoken to her parents since the wedding, and the prospect of their unpredictable welcome troubled her.
Her father greeted them after church, but her mother marched toward the Renlows’ buggy as though she hadn’t seen Annie.
“You’re coming for dinner,” her father stated.
“We’ll be there as soon as I have the livery under control,” Luke said with a nod. “After church a few rigs are returned and more are rented.”
“I never realized what a consuming occupation you have,” Eldon said with a frown.
“It’ll be better when I can afford some help,” Luke replied. “Until then, it’s just me. Burt puts in a few hours a week as a favor. He’s more of a friend than an employee.”
Annie joined Luke as he returned to the livery and handled the customers and the horses with his jacket removed and his shirtsleeves rolled back. She sat on a bench in her plaid shawl and watched him agilely reach and bend to harness animals and hook them to the buggies. He made the tasks look like a work of art, the symmetry and motion pleasing to the eye.
Studying the clean lines of his body and the suspenders that crossed his wide back, she allowed herself to think of the skin and muscle beneath the clothing, and before long she had to remove her shawl. At last he closed the wide double doors, leaving the two of them in shaded seclusion.
“I’ll be right back.” He returned in a clean shirt, his coat hung over his shoulder on one finger. “Glad I left a few shirts here. I’ll have to remember to keep one or two in the back. I’m sure your mother doesn’t appreciate the smell of horse the way you do.” A grin inched up one corner of his mouth.
Annie got to her feet and stepped forward to kiss him.
“Well,” he said when the passionate embrace ended and his eyes had darkened to a sultry blue. “I missed you, too.”
She pressed herself against his solid frame, gloried in the masculine feel of his body and his immediate response. Some days the happiness was more than she could contain, more than one person could hold in a lifetime, and she thanked her lucky stars.
Luke tossed his coat on the bench with her shawl, brought his hands up her back, caressed her through her clothing, slid to the front where the hard nubs of her nipples poked against her dress and made an impatient sound low in his throat.
“I wish we were at home,” she said, placing her hands over his and closing her eyes. The way he made her feel was like an opiate that made her blood run hot, and she couldn’t seem to get enough of that sweet indulgence. She’d discovered something she was graceful at, something that made her feel beautiful. Luke might have to compensate for her lack of agility on a dance floor, might have to carry her across a rutted street and give her balance when she climbed stairs, but there was nothing clumsy about the way she made love with him.
“There’s still a bed in the back,” he reminded her, his eager lips blazing a path
of keen sensation down her neck.
Her skin tingled and her breath caught. “We’ll be late.”
He touched his tongue to her ear. “They expect us to be late.”
She leaned back, gave him a sensual smile, and he swept her into his arms and strode toward the back of the building.
She unbuttoned her dress while he knelt at her feet and removed her shoes and stockings, kissing the bare skin of her revealed limbs. She let her dress fall and he helped her step out of the pool of fabric, then grazed the sensitive backs of her knees and her calves slowly, maddeningly. He ran his palms up, caressing flesh through her pantaloons. She untied the drawers quickly and he stripped them down, then kneaded her bottom.
Annie tugged her chemise over her head. “You still have your clothes on.”
He stood behind her and pressed his clothed body against her bare skin, cupped her breasts and teased the crests with his long strong fingers. “Observant of you.”
With disturbing slowness he rubbed her nipples while kissing the back of her neck, her shoulders, her ear, whispering love words and letting her feel his arousal through his clothing.
Annie’s senses were spiraling in ever mounting tension.
“How did I ever get such a beautiful wife?” he asked, nipping her ear.
Annie shivered and turned in his arms to face him. “I feel beautiful with you.”
He lowered his head until his hot moist mouth found her nipple, and he pulled her against his clothed body. How utterly amazing that she had this effect on a man like him. She slid her knee up between his thighs. Making a sound that sent a frisson of heat down her belly, he stroked her bare back and bottom, pulling her flush against him. He kissed her hard.
Annie pulled away and watched his reaction. His gaze smoldered and his breathing changed, gratifying Annie immeasurably. It was her he desired—her body and her touches that made him whisper her name and shudder with sensation.
She went to work on the buttons on his pants, and he cursed in his frustration to remove them quickly. Peeling open his shirt, she admired the strength and tone of his magnificent body, pressed him back upon the bed and took her fill of admiring and stroking until he clenched his jaw and grabbed her wrists.
With a minimum of words and the gentle coaxing of his work-roughened hands, he showed her she could sit astride him and freely control movement and cadence.
When her limbs trembled, he helped her with strong hands and arms, spoke energy and passion, bracketed her hips firmly and bore the last exerting efforts himself.
Annie lay upon his chest, his heart thudding beneath her breast, feeling as though she had no bones left in her body. The last thing she wanted to do was dress and go see her parents, but the obligation remained.
She sat and pulled together the open front of the shirt he still wore. “I think you’ll need another shirt. This one seems to be wrinkled.”
“I guess I’ll need to keep a larger supply,” he chuckled.
They dressed and he escorted her to the buggy he’d left waiting outside, all the while sharing sensual smiles and touches.
Her stomach quivered when they reached the Sweetwater home—her home for as long as she’d been alive, but it had never felt as warm and welcoming as the modest dwelling Luke had built for her.
Mort and Burdell and her father sat on the porch in their wool jackets, Will playing at their feet. When Will saw Annie making her way up the stairs with Luke’s assistance, he jumped up to greet her. She bent and scooped him into her arms for a hug.
“I’d better go see if they need help in the kitchen,” she said, placing the child on his feet.
“I think it’s ready,” her father replied. “We were just waiting for you.”
“Oh.” She turned aside, ignoring Luke’s eyes, and stepped into the house before she could blush.
Luke held open the screen and followed. Annie showed him where to hang his coat on the hall tree beside hers.
“You’re here!” Diana called from the dining room. “Just in time. I’ll tell Glenda to serve.”
Mildred and Aunt Vera’s table conversation ceased and Annie’s mother gave no indication that she’d noticed their arrival—shockingly poor manners from a woman who prided herself on social graces.
Vera, however, bridged the awkward moment by standing and hurrying forward to hug Annie. She included Luke in her warm welcome, and he seemed caught off guard, his tanned cheeks infused with color.
Charmaine and Glenda came from the kitchen wearing smiles and aprons and greeted them. Before long the family was seated around the table. Glenda served and Eldon carved the beef. Annie caught Luke staring at his arrangement of silverware, and she deliberately picked up a fork, indicating he should select the same one.
He raised a brow and widened his blue eyes comically as he picked up the utensil she’d suggested. She giggled and covered her mouth with her napkin.
Mort included Luke in the conversation, asking about feed prices and the completion of the house. Annie appreciated her uncle’s kindness, but then he’d always liked Luke, so his behavior was natural.
“I’d like to see it now that it’s finished,” Aunt Vera said, her expression animated.
“Oh, me, too!” Charmaine added.
“Well, I’m still making curtains,” Annie said. “We need a few rugs, too, I was hoping to find a pattern.”
“I can show you how to braid rugs,” Vera said.
“Don’t buy fabric,” Diana added. “I have boxes of scraps that were my mother’s in the attic.”
“Thank you, both of you!” Annie said, pleased at their generosity.
“Come see the place anytime,” Luke said to Mort. “How about next Sunday afternoon? You’re all welcome,” he said, including Annie’s parents and brother.
Charmaine met Annie’s gaze, grinned and clapped her hands like a little girl. “I can’t wait!”
“I have to meet with one of the Simpson brothers,” Burdell said. “And the only time he has to spare is on Sundays.”
“You’ve been putting that off for a month,” Diana said. “Another week won’t hurt anything.” She turned to Luke. “We’ll be there. After dinner?”
Luke confirmed the time.
“We don’t have chairs yet, but when we do—and when I learn to cook—” Annie began and her words were met by chuckles “—then we’ll have you to dinner.” She joined in their laughter good-naturedly.
“Tell us where you’ve placed all your lovely gifts,” Charmaine prodded.
Annie eagerly shared her excitement over their wedding gifts, though her mother stood and carried a few dishes to the kitchen instead of listening.
Annie watched her leave, her rejection a returning hurt. Beneath the edge of the linen tablecloth Luke took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.
Annie noticed Diana giving Burdell a compelling look, and he folded his napkin and placed it beside his plate, then leaned on his elbows and laced his fingers. “We have some exciting news ourselves.”
“What is it, Son?” Eldon asked.
“In the spring there will be another Sweetwater in the family,” Burdell announced proudly.
Dark eyes bright and her cheeks pink, Diana surveyed the reactions of the family members.
A chorus of congratulations went up around the table.
“Will, you’re going to have a baby brother or sister,” Annie said to her nephew, and he grinned, simply because she was speaking to him animatedly.
“This calls for a toast,” Eldon said and hurried toward the root cellar where he kept a supply of wines for special occasions.
Annie was happy for her brother and sister-in-law. They were wonderful parents and it would be good for Will to have a playmate. She’d always wished she’d had more siblings to keep her company. She tried to gauge her mother’s reaction, but the woman seemed indifferent to everything these days.
Sometime later, after the dishes were cleared away and the family members argued their plans for the
afternoon, Annie overheard Mort say in a low tone to her father, “Give the boy a chance, Eldon. He’s a fine young fella, and he makes your daughter happy. Even you can see that.”
Annie paused just inside the doorway to the hall and listened.
“It’s going to take some time,” her father replied. “I have to live with Mildred the rest of my life, you realize, and she has a blind spot where Annie is concerned.”
“I don’t understand it,” Mort said. “Sometimes she doesn’t seem like the same sister I grew up with. Back then she let her hair down once in a while.”
“Maybe you could speak with her.” Her father’s voice sounded hopeful.
“When’s the last time you remember her givin’ me the time of day? I decided to be a rancher, remember? Not a banker or an attorney or a statesman. As far as she’s concerned I threw our father’s inheritance away buying land.”
“You didn’t hesitate to say something to me.”
Mort was silent a moment. “You and I are different, Eldon, but we respect each other. Mildred doesn’t respect me.”
“She loves you, in her own way.”
“Maybe.”
They moved toward the outer door, and Annie returned to the kitchen. That evening, she told Luke what she’d overheard.
“I’m sorry,” he told her. He’d built a fire against the chill wind sweeping down off the mountains and they snuggled on a pile of blankets. “I know you’re hurt. But it doesn’t bother me. Really.”
“It bothers me. Why can’t she be happy for me?” she asked, aware of the tremor in her voice. “She just can’t see me as a—a normal person—or as a grown-up for that matter.”
Her mother’s treatment hurt, but as always, Luke’s caring touch brought her comfort.
The following Sunday, Annie prepared them a quick lunch after church, then baked two pies from dried fruit Aunt Vera had given her. When their company arrived, Annie scanned the Renlows’ wagon and found her mother absent.
“Your mother had a headache,” Eldon said, apologetically.