The Wrong Brother's Bride (6 page)

The contact sent warmth spiraling through her. Loyal looked down at his hand, surprised that such a casual gesture made her feel weak-kneed when his quick peck on the cheek after Irwin’s pronouncement hadn’t.

“I’m trying,” she promised.

“I’m not asking for anything more.” His steel blue eyes bore into hers. He dropped his hand to his side. “The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get Irwin and Maud off the farm.”

The sooner they’d be alone. Loyal’s throat felt dry. She managed a nod. August didn’t expect anything from her. Not even the right to sleep in the big bedroom. She’d requested his friendship, not a lover. The only thing different since yesterday was her last name. They’d carry on as they had before.

“We should take this outside before it gets cold.” Breathless as though she’d run across the cornfield, she lifted the bowl of green beans. He reached out to snag another bean, but she shifted the bowl away.

For a moment, she thought she saw a twinkle similar to Jeremiah’s light in August’s eyes. He rubbed his hand over his mouth, unsuccessfully hiding a smile before he took a bowl in each hand and left the kitchen.

Loyal waited a moment before she took the remaining dishes, to let her heart stop racing.

* * * *

August made certain Loyal wasn’t left alone with Maud again. When the preacher and his wife left in the early evening, a weight dropped off his shoulders. He’d remained civil during the meal. False smiles and pleasantries wore on his patience. Being alone with his bride and unable to kiss or touch her left him frustrated. Unfortunately, he knew this was the first of many lonely nights.

Loyal washed the dishes, laying them on the sideboard to dry, all without speaking. He watched her from the corner of his eye while drinking cold coffee she’d made before they sliced into the simple cake she’d baked for the occasion. He wanted to find common ground that would make conversation easy. The best he could come up with was her horse.

“Walk with me to check on Molly?”

An easy request. The horse was more of a pet than Sorry, and Loyal had saved leftover cornbread for the mare.

She looked over her shoulder. “Let me dry my hands.”

He carried the coffee cup outside and dumped the remains on the ground. The short grass in the hayfield was dotted with bundles he’d pick up in the morning. There was plenty this cutting. A good start for the winter. He carried the cup inside and heard Loyal in her bedroom. She’d changed her dress after the preacher and his wife left. He couldn’t imagine what she was doing now.

She emerged and shut the door behind her. The simple gold band on her finger flashed. His ring, marking her as his wife. It was perhaps the one good thing he’d done with his life. That, and offering to help raise her child. The baby would know him as Uncle August, but he’d do everything in his power to make sure the kid had a good life. He and Jeremiah looked enough alike that people might assume the baby was his. He wondered if it would have chestnut hair or auburn. Blue eyes or brown? Hazel, perhaps?

“What are you looking at?” Loyal’s smile gave away her puzzlement. “Is my dress dirty?”

The plain brown dress was suitable for garden work, but didn’t flatter her features. In his eyes, she could still outshine the scrubbed copper pot hanging on the wall. It was far better than the black ones she’d worn up until today.

“It’s fine. We’re going out to see the horse, not impress a queen.”

Loyal laughed. “Molly’s queen of the barn.”

He gestured for her to lead the way. The early June weather was warm, though not too humid. It seemed the heavens had smiled down on them today with sunshine and a light breeze.

“What about Sunny?” The Guernsey milk cow had to be the bossiest bovine August had crossed paths with in years.

“Sunny thinks she’s the boss, but Molly has more poise and grace. You can see which one is the real queen.” Loyal looped her arm around his, a casual gesture. It made the fine hairs on his skin stand up. Her touch was inflaming. “If you let Sunny get away with one thing, she thinks she has the right to do whatever she likes.”

She was still going on about the cow. All he could think of was what it would be like to kiss her flower-petal soft skin.

“August?”

“Hmm?” He shook his head, clearing out the daydreams stuck like cobwebs in his mind.

“You had a strange look on your face.” She studied him. “You’re not still thinking about Maud, are you?”

“She’s the last person I’m thinking about.” The truth, without admitting the real issue.

“Alright.”

She took his hand, a gesture that surprised him, but he allowed her to pull him toward the barn. As they entered, she called, “Molly Mare, we have a treat for you.”

The mare answered with a grunt and Loyal frowned. “That’s unusual. She didn’t poke her head over the stall.”

August had been watching the horse the last few days, waiting for signs she was ready to foal. She was close. Maybe the time had come. “Stay back a minute and let me look at her.”

He approached the wide box stall. Within a few feet of the door, he saw the mare lying in the straw. Her glossy coat was damp with sweat and she nipped at her side as though flies attacked her.

“I think we’ll have a foal this evening.”

“Can I see?” Loyal sounded uncertain.

“Slowly. Don’t startle her.”

Loyal joined him and made a cooing sound. “She’s in pain. Isn’t there something you can do for her?”

“She’ll do most of it herself. I’ll keep an eye on her, make certain everything is progressing like it should. Is this her first?”

“Yes. She just turned four. Jeremiah had her bred last year.” Loyal curled her hand over the stall door. “Sunny had her calf overnight. We woke up and had two cows in the pen. Poor Molly, cooped up in this little stall.”

“She probably feels more comfortable here. There aren’t any predators to worry about inside. Guess I’ll make myself useful. Clean the tack and oil the tools. No sense in sitting idle.” It shouldn’t be long before Molly had the foal, but he wanted to remain close. There were plenty of things inside the barn to keep his mind occupied and off his new bride.

“Is there anything I can do? Get you more coffee, or bring you the
Farmer’s Journal
?”

“Not right now. Hopefully in a few hours she’ll be nursing a new colt and I’ll be in bed.” Alone. Per their agreement, he didn’t have the right to share her bed.

Loyal touched his shoulder. “Come check with me if something happens. I’d like to see her foal being born.”

He almost asked her to stay, but a dusty barn with only a couple of overturned buckets for seats wasn’t a place for a pregnant woman. She’d grow restless long before Molly’s foal made an appearance and Loyal might change moods faster than the weather. He didn’t want to talk about his brother, not when this was supposed to be a happy day for him.

He supposed he ought to thank Molly for getting him away from the house and giving him something else to think about besides his bride. Sorry stood at the barn entrance, wagging his tail as he eyed the cornbread in Loyal’s hand. She made him do tricks for little bites. She laughed as he sat up and begged, rolled over, and played dead on command. August smiled each time her laughter rang out.

“Don’t forget to come get me,” she reminded him.

“I promise.”

She gave him a wide smile before she left, her skirt swaying as she walked up the path. Molly grunted again. He didn’t look away from Loyal until she opened the door and went inside the house.

He could have gone after her, told her how he felt and kissed her. Taken the heavy weight of his suppressed love off his shoulders. It might frighten her, but she couldn’t run away from it. They were married now. Even Maud’s curled lip couldn’t spoil his happiness. The quick kiss after Irwin confirmed them married wasn’t enough. She’d given him her cheek rather than her lips. He knew if he’d been allowed her mouth, the kiss would’ve gone deeper than was appropriate.

Irwin and Maud both knew about Loyal’s pregnancy and her intentions to marry Jeremiah. They wouldn’t have approved if he’d kissed her harder. More fuel for their gossip fires, and he didn’t want to subject Loyal to that. They had enough to deal with.

He turned to Molly. “Once the baby is born, Loyal might like to take a trip. What do you think, girl?”

Molly rolled her eyes and whuffed.

“You’re right. She’s more likely to want to stay here.”

On Jeremiah’s slice of heaven. Right now it was giving August back pains and aching shoulders, but he couldn’t deny there was something satisfying about the work he’d accomplished over the last week. Watching Molly’s foal come into the world was one more thing he could take pride in. His first-born farm animal. Granted, he hadn’t arranged the breeding or picked the stud. Hadn’t planted any crops or plowed fields; nevertheless it was slowly becoming his farm. There was a heady feeling behind the notion. He gave Molly one more look and took a harness from its peg. His farm, a never-ending cumulus of work. The never-ending knowledge that he was doing something worthwhile for the woman he loved, whether she was aware of it or not.

5

Loyal carried a clay mug across the yard. A smattering of stars brightened the sky and a lantern burned inside the barn, guiding her way. About three hours had passed since she’d been outside. Surely there was some news.

Sorry wagged his tail, hoping for another treat. She instructed him to stay at the barn door with a hand motion. August stood peering into Molly’s stall.

The coffee sloshed against the cup rim. “Is something wrong?”

He started and turned. “She’s having trouble. Only one leg is out. The other must be folded under. She needs help.”

Fear for the horse welled up inside her chest. “Can you do that?”

She set the coffee cup on a barrel, and then approached the stall. Sweat drenched Molly’s coat and she made grunting noises, blowing hard through her nose.

“I think so. I’ve seen it done.” He didn’t move, seeming reluctant to try.

“Shouldn’t we do it now?”

His blue-gray gaze shifted from the mare. “I wish there was someone else here to help.”

“It won’t be pretty.” She didn’t have to ask. During the early spring she’d witnessed Jeremiah pull three lambs. Twice the mothers hadn’t survived and the lambs had to be nursed by other ewes. “Will Molly be alright?”

“I hope so. I wish there was another way, but you’ll have to hold her head. I’m not sure she’ll stay down long enough without another person helping.” August’s posture was rigid, his face grim.

“I can do it.” She pushed her shoulders back. “I’m not afraid of horses.”

His gaze dropped to her stomach. “Good. You’ve got to make sure she doesn’t thrash or get up. It could be dangerous.”

She looked at the horse’s heaving sides. August and Molly needed her assistance. “I can do it.”

“I’ll try to be quick.” August opened the stall door and held it for her. “Talk to her. It might keep her calm.”

Loyal approached the mare and kneeled by her head. “Poor Molly Mare. I know you’re in pain. Soon you’ll have a foal and you’ll forget about it.” She brushed her hand over the mare’s cheek and wrapped her fingers around her halter. With one hand on Molly’s neck and the halter firmly in her grip, she nodded at August.

He rolled his sleeve up and rested on his knees near Molly’s rump.

The mare lifted her head a fraction, eyeing August.

Loyal nudged her down.

“Still only one leg showing.” He shook his head. “Sometimes the problem corrects itself. We weren’t so lucky this time.”

Loyal kept her eyes on the horse and held tight when Molly’s body jerked. August swore under his breath.

“Sorry.” She risked a glance at him, noting the sweat on his forehead and the strain on his face.

“It’s not anything you did. She’s about to break my arm. I’m searching for a knee the size of a half dollar in a canal no bigger than my thigh. Shared with a decent-sized foal.” He winced. “Head, shoulder. There should be…” He fell silent except for a grunt. “A second leg.”

Molly let out a deep groan and August swore again.

Loyal pressed her weight against the mare’s neck. Molly didn’t try to rise, but her eyes rolled. Loyal’s heartbeat filled her ears as she watched August’s face. He relaxed a little and the worry constricting her chest loosened.

“I know, darlin’. It’s not the ideal place for a man’s hand.” He leaned back, shaking his fingers. “Got two hooves showing now. You can let her go.”

“Really? How long do you think it’ll be?” Loyal stroked Molly’s sweaty neck.

“Not long now. I need to wash up.” He held his arm away from his body. “Come on out and wait. She doesn’t want anyone watching too closely. It’s their instinct to be secretive when foals are born.”

Loyal gave Molly another pat. “You did good, girl.” She rose and followed August out of the stall. “You probably saved her life.”

He nodded. “She’s tired. It’s hard on them to wait. I hope the foal is alright. Maybe I should have tried to free it sooner.” Worry wrinkled his brow as they rounded the barn for the rain barrel they kept out back.