Isabel looked through the window as the sun’s first rays showed through. She stifled a yawn as she glanced over at Timmy, playing quietly with his toys. Sighing heavily, she thought she would have loved another hour of sleep, but having a six-month-old baby didn’t allow for much sleep.
He had already been given his bottle and was wearing a fresh diaper. When it was ready, she would give him a little bit of egg.
Her hands moved automatically as she cracked open eggs and whisked them in a bowl. She stares out the window at the endless expanse of the prairie as she turns the bacon and pours the eggs into another pan.
Being in New Mexico, a married woman, still seemed so surreal to her. Isabel was sure that any minute, she would wake up in the small boarding house room in New York to get ready for another grueling day at the sewing shop.
As she worked, she thought about Theodore. He was her husband in name only but still her husband.
I’m married to a complete stranger who treats me like I’m the enemy.
The smell of bacon filled the air, making Isabel’s stomach rumble. She checked the biscuits to see if they were about done. Once everything was ready, she set the table just as Theodore came out of his room.
“Good morning. Breakfast is ready, and I’ve poured you a cup of coffee.” Isabel tried to sound bright and cheery, hoping to elicit some kind of response from him besides a gruff answer or a growl.
He nodded, but instead of sitting down, he grabbed his plate and coffee and headed for the door. “I’ll just take it with me. I’ve got to get to work.”
Isabel felt her hopes for a meal together crumble. “Surely, you can spare a few minutes to sit down and eat with me.”
He frowned at her. “I told you that I need to get to work.”
Something inside of her snapped, and frustration washed over her. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “How long are we going to be strangers living in the same house?”
A flicker of surprise crossed his face before his face hardened, and he squinted his eyes at her. “We discussed this when you first got here. This is a marriage of convenience. Nothing more.”
“Convenience?” Isabel felt her temper rising, and she worked very hard to tamp it down. “This isn’t a marriage of convenience. You aren’t even civil to me. You refuse to growl more than a couple of words at me, and you refuse to share a meal with me. I’m not expecting you to love me, but I would like you to show a little bit of respect and decency instead of like a mortal enemy.”
His jaw clenched as he glared at her, and his cheeks reddened. “I’ve provided you with a home. You have food and a safe place to raise Timmy. What more do you want?”
“Like I said, to be treated with some decency. This isn’t even a business partnership. This is you treating me like I’m some kind of slug you have to put up with. We don’t have to act like husband and wife, but we could be friends.” Isabel could feel the tears threatening to spill, and she bit her lip to keep it from quivering.
“I told you not to expect anything. You knew what you were getting into.”
Fury flashed through Isabel, all of her tumultuous emotions culminating, and she worked hard to control her voice so she wouldn’t upset the baby.
Her entire body shook at his complete indifference to his treatment of her.
“Did I really know what I was getting into?” she snapped, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. “I don’t remember agreeing to be treated like a ghost or pariah, having to tiptoe around my home, being ignored and avoided by you unless you have to speak to me. I came here to build a life, but how can I do that when you treat me this way, and you won’t even look at me?”
Theodore opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jacob’s voice called out, “Theodore, are you ready?”
Jacob walked in and saw breakfast on the table. The tall, burly man ran his fingers through his long salt and pepper hair. It was obvious that Isabel and Theodore were squaring off about something, and he could clearly tell. Instead of fleeing like Isabel might have expected, he sat and motioned for Isabel and Theodore to sit as well. Begrudgingly, they obliged him.
“Smells good.” Jacob reached for a biscuit and buttered it before helping himself to some of the bacon and eggs.
“Pass the butter,” Theodore said tersely, not looking at Isabel.
She’d had enough. She was not brought here to serve as his housemaid or to be disrespected. They might be married in name only, but he was going to treat her with common courtesy. Years of tiptoeing around her father had trained her to bite her tongue, but she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life enduring abuse.
She put the butter dish in front of him and laid the knife next to it. “Here. Try not to strain yourself reaching for it.”
Isabel felt some sense of satisfaction when she saw the vein in Theodore’s neck throb. At least she was getting some kind of reaction out of him.
He was aggressively buttering the biscuit as though it had been the one to make the comment.
Jacob cleared his throat and looked at Theodore and then Isabel. “It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day.”
“Unlike some people’s manners.” Isabel made the comment just loud enough for everyone to hear it.
Theodore turned sharply toward her. “I didn’t know that breakfast came with a bunch of sarcastic comments.”
“It’s free with the meal that you’re barely touching.” She attempted a sweet smile but wasn’t sure she succeeded.
“The eggs are great,” Jacob said. He shifted in his chair, clearly regretting the fact that he’d had them sit together. “They’re cooked really well.”
Theodore shot Jacob a dirty look. “You’re so very observant.”
Isabel raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to one side. “You might notice the food, too, if you spent more time eating at the table.”
Theodore’s grip on his fork tightened so much that his knuckles turned white. “I guess I prefer to eat my meals in peace.”
“Ah, yes. You enjoy eating outside, preferring to eat with the cattle instead of your wife and son.”
“At least cattle don’t talk back,” Theodore said, his eyes narrowing.
“They might if they had something interesting to say or if you knew how to carry on a decent conversation.”
Isabel walked over to the corner and picked up the baby, carrying him back to the table. She pinched off the tiniest pieces of egg and put it in his mouth. Theodore watched as the baby ate.
Jacob shifted in his chair again. “These biscuits are really good.”
“Thank you, Jacob. At least someone appreciates the effort.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jacob said.
Theodore finished eating and started to get up. Timmy began babbling as though he was having an earnest conversation. His little arm pointed at Theodore and then back at Isabel. His face was scrunched up as he concentrated on what he wanted to say.
Everyone laughed. Isabel was surprised to see that both Jacob and Theodore could smile.
“I guess he has something to say about the situation,” Jacob said.
Timmy enjoyed the attention and let out another stream of words as he reached out toward Theodore.
Isabel watched her husband, surprised to see his face and eyes had softened. The hardness had been replaced by something she hadn’t seen—a mixture of wonder and tenderness. It was almost as if he hadn’t really noticed Timmy before.
Clearing his throat, Theodore looked at the baby and then at Isabel. “Can I hold him?” His voice was surprisingly gentle.
Isabel’s eyes opened wide, and she was left momentarily speechless. Eventually, she nodded, gently lifted Timmy from her lap, and passed him to Theodore. The big man held the baby with a gentleness that Isabel didn’t know he was capable of.
Theodore looked at Timmy, the hint of a smile playing around his lips. “Good morning, little guy. Aren’t you a talkative fellow this morning?”
He gently bounced Timmy on his knee. The baby responded with another round of babble, his tiny hand reaching up to grab Theodore’s beard. Theodore grinned. “Is that so? Tell me all about it.”
Theodore ran his hand over Timmy’s dark brown curls, looking into his bright blue eyes as Timmy continued with his baby talk.
Isabel watched the two of them together, her heart swelling with emotion.
At least Theodore is capable of some kind of positive emotions. He might not open his heart to me, but it looks like he might be a decent father to Timmy.
Theodore and Timmy continued their conversation for a few more minutes, his usual gruff manner completely replaced by tenderness. Timmy talked away, giggling at whatever joke he was telling, eliciting smiles and chuckles from Theodore.
After several minutes, Theodore touched the baby’s soft hair again. “Alright, little guy. I’ve got to get back to work.”
Theodore’s cheeks flushed as he realized Isabel had been watching the entire scene. Carefully, he handed the baby back to her. “Thank you,” he said softly. “He’s a good baby.”
Isabel nodded and cradled Timmy close to her. “Yes, he is.”
Theodore cleared his throat, and the hard look returned to his face. He pushed the front door open almost aggressively and stepped onto the porch.
Jacob’s eyes briefly met hers for a moment, and he nodded, following Theodore.
As the door closed behind the two men, Isabel looked down at Timmy, who was busy chewing on one of his fists. “Well, that was completely unexpected. There is a human buried somewhere under that tough exterior.”
Timmy said something else before grinning widely at her and grabbing a loose tendril of hair.
“Maybe there’s hope for something decent for our little family, after all, even if it isn’t a real marriage for the two of us.”