Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham) (10 page)

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that." 

"You're not asking.  I'm offering."  Elaine stood up.  "Here, let me show you."  She pulled down the ingredients and spent the next two hours showing the other woman how to properly knead dough and how long to let it rise.  When they were finished, Rebekah had two perfect loaves of bread to take home with her and Elaine still had two for herself.

When Leah woke from her nap in a strange place, she cried for a minute before getting down from the bed and wandering into the main room with Elaine
and her mother.  Elaine gave her a piece of cake, which she ate quickly.  "More cake?" Leah asked.

Rebekah sighed.  "She never asks for more of my cake."

Elaine chuckled.  "The next time you come over, we'll bake a cake together.  That way you can learn that too."  She knew the other woman would need to leave soon, so she cut what was left of the cake in half, putting some on a plate with a bowl upside down over it to keep it fresh for herself and Colin.  She handed the cake pan to Rebekah.  "Take this home with you.  I have another cake pan, so if you return this on Sunday, it will be fine."

Rebekah seemed to go through an internal debate before she took it.  "I don't know how I'm going to get all these goodies home, but I'm going to do my best."

Elaine put the two loaves of bread in a basket after wrapping a towel around them.  "Here, this will help."  She looked at Leah.  "If you can carry the basket for your mama, then she can take the cake home.  Can you do that?"  She was pleased to be able to offer such a simple solution.

Leah's face lit up.  "More cake?"

"Yes, you can take cake with you if you can carry the basket."  Elaine was enchanted by the pretty little girl and her excitement over the cake.

Leah nodded solemnly.  "I carry."

"Good girl."  Elaine grinned at Rebekah.  "Problem solved."

"I'm going to see my sister for a few minutes tomorrow afternoon.  I'll tell her you want to hire someone to scrub your floors and have her come by to talk to you about it."  Rebekah helped her daughter down from the chair she was sitting on, padded by pillows to make her tall enough.  "Thank you so much for the baked goods and teaching me to make bread.  I'm going to really surprise Abel the next time I bake bread for him."

"I hope so," Elaine told her friend.  "I think it'll be a good surprise."  She knew that it was hard enough being a wife without worrying that you weren't doing something well enough.

"I know it will."  Rebekah took Leah's hand and the two of them left the house. 

Elaine watched them go for a moment before she went back in to wash the dishes they'd dirtied with their cake and tea.  She was so glad to have found a friend.  It had been years since she'd really been able to spend time with a friend.  Rebekah was going to be good for her, and she was thrilled to be able to say it.

*****

Colin looked sadly at what was left of the cake when he got in that afternoon.  "You ladies ate all of that cake?" he asked.

Elaine laughed.  "No, we didn't.  I sent half the cake home with Rebekah."
  She couldn't believe he looked so sad about the cake, like a little boy whose treat had been taken away from him.

He gave her a forlorn look, obviously not happy with that answer.  "Why would you do that to me?"
 

She walked to him and kissed him softly.  "Rebekah doesn't know how to bake.  I taught her to bake bread today, and I sent her home with half the cake.  I'll bake you another one tomorrow."  She frowned.  "Actually, I'm going to need to go into town again within the next couple of days for more supplies."
  Especially if she was going to be giving baking lessons, she would need to make sure she had extra flour and sugar and lard around.

"I'll take you tomorrow if you want."
  He wasn't about to let her run out of the ingredients she needed to make his sweets.

"That would be really nice if you don't mind."  She set dinner on the table in front of him, and he smiled. 

"I don't mind at all.  We'll go right after breakfast."  He waited until she was seated and prayed for them both.  "Did you have a good time with Rebekah today?" he asked.

She nodded.  "I had a really good time.  I enjoyed having something that I was good at that I could help her with, and she said her sister needs extra money and would probably be willing to scrub the floors for me."
  She was pleased to be able to offer him the solution she and Rebekah had come up with.

"Oh, good. 
That will take a load off your mind."  He was happy that she seemed happy about it.  He hated that she got so upset over little things that she couldn't help.

"Yes it will.  She helped me see that I'm not the only one who isn't a perfect wife, though."  She sighed, toying with her food for a moment.  "I felt like I was really lacking because I couldn't scrub the floor myself.  I was embarrassed to ask
her if she knew anyone, but then she admitted that she couldn't bake worth anything, and that made me feel better."  It had done a great deal for her confidence level to help the other woman with her baking as well.  If she was better at even one thing, then she was doing well.

"Trust me.  I'd rather have a woman who could cook and bake like you do any day than a woman who can scrub the floors.  The floor has nothing to do with how good my food tastes."

Elaine hadn't really thought of it that way.  "I'm glad you think that way." 

"Of course, I do!"

"She said she thinks I should stay away from John.  She is uncomfortable around him."  She was getting more and more nervous about John every day, but she just wasn't certain why.

Colin nodded as he thought about it.  He didn't like the idea of her being around him when he wasn't there.  "I agree with that.  If I'm not here, don't even go to the door if he comes over.  I don't want you to be alone with him at all. He's just not a good man."  He had nothing specific that had happened to make him feel that way, other than the way he'd seen the other man treat Elaine, but he knew he didn't trust him.

"I won't."  She would probably hide from him if he came, which wasn't the best solution, but he frightened her.

*****

She got a vase in town the next day and found the things she still needed for cooking.  She hadn't realized just how sparsely his kitchen was equipped, so she had a better idea what she needed now.  As she shopped, he talked to Mr. Judd.  She heard snatches of conversation floating back to her.  "She cooks like a dream.  It really was my lucky day when I found her in the restaurant."

"She's a pretty one and seems like a hard worker.  You could do worse."

Elaine smiled at the compliments, carefully choosing what she wanted for her home.  She wanted to make a new thicker winter quilt before the cold weather set in, so she purchased all the fabric she'd need for that.  The quilt he had was made by his mother and already starting to come apart after many years of usage.

She loved the idea of the two of them sharing a quilt she'd made with her own hands.
  She wanted to be able to do everything for him, not because he expected it of her, but because it pleased her to do so.

After shopping, he took her to the restaurant for lunch to give her a break from cooking.  When she protested she didn't need a break, he just smiled and led her into the restaurant.  As they ate, she watched the people around them.  She wished there were more people she recognized, but she knew that would come with time.  "I like Kansas City," she told him.  "It seems like a really nice place."
  She'd never felt as comfortable in Beckham as she did in Kansas.

"I do too.  I moved here for the land the government gave me, of course, but now that I've been here for a while, I couldn't be happier with the people.  Everyone is friendly and helpful."  He frowned.  "Well, most everyone."

John walked in then and caught Colin's eye.  He tried not to draw attention to the other man, hoping Elaine wouldn't notice him, but John walked to their table.  "Well if it isn't the lovebirds."

Elaine nodded to the man and continued eating, not wanting to have a full conversation with him. 

Colin met the other man's eyes.  "What do you want, John?"

"I'm just being friendly."  John looked at Elaine.  "I sent another letter to Miss Miller.  Told her that this time I want a girl who can cook and clean who isn't broken."

Colin got to his feet.  "I will not let you talk to my wife that way."  He couldn't believe that John was still trying to belittle Elaine even though there was no need for him to ever speak with her.

John glared at the other man before turning on his heel and leaving the restaurant without eating. 

"I sent Elizabeth a letter about what happened when I got here," she told Colin.  "I don't think she'll match him up with another bride."  She had been very honest about the way John had spoken to her and how he'd refused to marry her.  She knew Elizabeth wouldn't be happy at all to have one of her brides treated that way by the man she was supposed to marry.

"Who is Elizabeth?"
  He hadn't heard Elaine mention her before. 

Elaine explained quickly about the mail order bride service and how it was Elizabeth Miller who ran it an
d sent the brides out.  "She was really sweet, but I never got a chance to know her well."  She wished she'd been able to take the time to become friends with the other woman now that she was too far away to do it.  She'd been very kind to her.

"And you don't think she'll send another bride out to him?"

Elaine shook her head.  "Elizabeth feels really strongly about not sending women into bad situations.  She does a bit of a background check on every man, although I'm not certain how John passed."  She knew for a fact that Elizabeth wouldn't send another woman out to be mistreated by John.

Colin looked at her for a moment.  "Do you know how to use a shotgun?" he asked.
  He wasn't sure why, but he was worried she'd be in danger at the house if John found out he wouldn't be able to get a bride from the agency.  He was going to follow his gut, though, and make sure that she was safe.

"No.  My mother felt that guns were only for men's use, because women had no idea how to really use them safely."
  She'd never liked guns, but she wasn't afraid of them.  She liked the idea of being able to use one.

Colin sighed.  "Your mother has some ridiculous ideas.  Do you have any brothers?" 
He couldn't believe he'd never asked that of her before.  Why didn't he know more about his wife's past?

"No, just four sisters."
  She was certain if she'd had a brother her life would have been different.

"She should have had at least one boy."  He took a bite of his pot roast.  "I want to teach you how to shoot.  If John comes after you, and I'm not home, I won't leave you defenseless."
  He watched her for a reaction to his suggestion.

Elaine contemplated that for a moment.  "I could never point a gun at anyone."
   She knew she'd never be able to live with herself if she had to shoot someone, no matter how badly they'd treated her.

"You may need to.  We'll practice some and hope it never comes to that."  His tone of voice let her know that he wasn't going to accept any kind of argument on the matter.  He'd made his decision, and she needed to listen to him for a change.

She made a face and finally nodded.  "All right.  I'll learn."  She wouldn't be happy about it, though.

He started her lessons the following afternoon.  At first, she enjoyed them, because he stood behind her with his arms around her, helping her hold the gun steady as she learned to aim.  "With a shotgun a large number of pellets are shot at the same time, so you have a better chance of hitting your target.  With a rifle or a
pistol, it's only one bullet at a time."  He wanted her to use the shotgun to give her a better chance of hitting her target.

"I see," she said, snuggling back against him with her back pressed to his chest.  "Shooting lessons are fun."
  She rubbed her backside against him suggestively.

He let out a bark of laughter.  "You need to behave."  He helped her hold the gun steady.  "I want you to aim for that branch on the tree there."  He pointed to a tree that was not too far in front of them.

She closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger, and she would have stumbled backwards if he hadn't been pressed so close against her.  Her shoulder where the gun was pressed against it hurt a great deal.  "I don't like this."  The kick of the gun was too powerful.  She was certain if she ever tried to shoot without him standing behind her, she'd be knocked on her backside.

He sighed.  "I know it hurts, but you have to be able to do it.  I won't feel like I can work unless I know you know how to handle a gun."

She nodded.  "I'll learn.  I promise."

*****

As she got ready for bed that evening, she noticed a huge bruise on her right shoulder where she'd braced the shotgun.  She rubbed it, groaning at the ache.  After climbing into bed, she laid quietly under the covers, waiting for him to join her.  "My shoulder is all bruised," she told him as he undressed in the dark.