CHAPTER SIX

 

 

 

 

Colten woke early the next morning and quietly dressed and left the room. He wanted to be sure Annabelle had the privacy she needed and there was lots of work to be done. He made sure the chores with the animals were taken care of so he could get over to the boarding house as soon as possible. Sharing a room with Annabelle last night had been interesting. But he wanted his own home.

He wanted the freedom to talk to her in the middle of the night without worrying about waking his parents. He wanted to make sure she felt safe and comfortable. And if accidentally touching her as he slept caused her to wake up in panic and fear, it would be important to get a larger bed. Though holding her close last night as she cried and then when she eventually calmed down enough to fall asleep was incredible. There was something so intimate and almost soul connecting to sleep side by side.

He hoped she would feel comfortable soon enough that she wouldn’t have nightmares about being with him. She must be incredibly worried about being married and the intimacy that entailed. But their kisses had made her happy. He would have to take more opportunities to kiss his wife. And that was something he was completely willing to do.

But before he could do that, he had to get the work done and get her alone. Maybe once he had worked on the boarding house with Michael for a few hours, he could invite Annabelle to go for a ride to the grove of cottonwoods behind where the boarding house was being built. He could show her more of the area, and they could have some quiet time together.

He jumped into his chores and projects with more energy all the while hoping the morning would pass quickly.

Colten had already been at the boarding house over an hour, working on the floors and staircase when Michael arrived.

“You’re here early,” Michael said.

“Thought I’d help you get finished as soon as possible. Annabelle and I would like to take you up on your offer of your cabin when this is done.”

“Ah, I see.” Michael picked up his tools and joined Colten. “That works fine with me. I do have some smithy work I need to get done today. Jessie is at the forge heating the coals and getting the iron hot. I’ll have to go soon. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Colten said. “I wanted to take Annabelle for a drive around the area. Maybe do a picnic. So I’ll keep working till then. Anything new on the plans, or should I keep going as before?”

“Same as before.” Michael walked to the other side of the room and began laying out the wood needed for the wall. Colten looked at the staircase. It would only need a little more work, then they could continue with the upper floor. But the ground floor needed to be completed first. That way, Susan and Michael could move in.

At least the water pump had already been installed, and Colten knew they had ordered a cooking stove that had yet to arrive on the train. The place would be nice. Much nicer than even his parents’ home which had a lot of the finer things because of their access to ordering materials as desired.

Susan had a lot of specific ideas and at first, when Michael had told Colten the types of things she wanted in the building, he had thought it odd, but the more the building progressed, the more he realized Susan’s requests would be good additions.

The two men worked tirelessly for close to an hour before Jessie, Michael’s apprentice, arrived to let him know the forge was ready to be worked by the town’s only blacksmith. Michael waved goodbye, leaving Colten alone to continue on, but he wasn’t alone for long.

“Colten?” Annabelle’s soft voice spoke from somewhere behind him.

“Hello,” Colten said, putting the tools down and moving through the building to the front doorway to see her standing in the light of the late morning sun.

“I wanted to check on how you were. Your mother asked me to find out if you were going to be home for lunch, or if you’d like it brought here?”

Colten joined her and took her hand, then leaned down slowly to kiss her cheek. She accepted it calmly and Colten was happy to know she wasn’t nervous with him in the daylight.

“I had a different idea,” Colten said. “Would you like to join me for a ride to the grove of cottonwoods? I could show you a little more of the town, and we could have a picnic in the trees, then I’ll show you where we would all go swimming as kids. There is one place along the creek that has been hollowed out a little more to make a bigger pond.”

“I’d like that.” Annabelle smiled up at him.

“I’ll finish up what I’m working on here, and join you at the store.”

“Sounds good.” Annabelle turned as if to leave, but Colten kept hold of her hand.

“Before you go…” he let the words trail off to help build the tension as he lowered his lips to hers. She lifted her lips to his and kissed him back, letting one hand rest on his shoulder as he pulled her closer to him. She let out a sound, and Colten eased up, not wanting to frighten her, but when she moved closer and kissed him more, he realized she wasn’t scared. She’d enjoyed the kiss. He set himself to work, nibbling at her lips, and then trailing kisses along her jaw and down to her neck, being stopped by the collar of her dress. He returned to her lips and whispered, “I don’t want to stop, but if we’re ever going to get lunch, I probably should.”

Annabelle laughed. “Who needs food?”

Colten looked at her in surprise and kissed her again for a minute then said, “I completely agree. But since this isn’t our house, and it’s the middle of the day, I think maybe we should put an end to the kisses. Of course, we are free to re-engage at lunch. I have just the spot in mind for a few more kisses.”

“Oh, all right then,” Annabelle said, stepping back. “I’ll see you soon. I suppose your mother will tell me what kinds of things to pack for the picnic?”

“Yes, and I’m sure even some of them will be things I’ll like.” He squeezed her hand then let her go completely. “But like you said, we won’t be worried over much about eating.”

Annabelle’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink and she turned away to slip outside the door, but before she began descending the few steps she turned and looked at him. The expression in her eyes made his heart beat faster and he couldn’t wait to see her again. Maybe that’s what people meant when they talked about how good marriage could be.

So far, he found he didn’t mind being married at all. This mail order bride he hadn’t wanted might be just what he needed.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Annabelle walked briskly back to the store and after slipping inside the door to find it empty of customers, she worked her way into the back room to find her mother-in-law.

“Oh good, you’re back. What did he say?” Mrs. Howard asked.

“He had a plan to take me for a drive to the creek and show me some of the town. Thought we should take a picnic lunch with us.” Annabelle studied the woman, hoping the different plans wouldn’t bother her.

“What an excellent idea. Let me put the note in the window to tell people we’re at the house. Then I’ll help you gather some food for lunch. Is he coming back here? I suppose he’ll have to if he’s going to take the wagon. Unless he means for you to ride horseback. Can you ride a horse, Annabelle?”

“No. I haven’t ever been on a horse. Not sure if I would dare.”

“It’s not that bad. Especially if you have a good mount. But no rush there. There will be plenty of time to learn if you’d like. And most of your traveling can be by wagon or on foot. Come on.” Mrs. Howard waved Annabelle toward the door leading to the house while she went in the store to put the sign in the window.

Inside the kitchen, Mrs. Howard chatted happily as she gathered the things for the meal. There was some bread and cheese and some dried apples. She put in a bottle of cider and a small crock of preserves. The wicker basket she pulled from a shelf was quickly packed and a blanket was placed on the top.

“I’m not sure if he’ll have you eat it in the wagon or on the ground. So the blanket will come in handy. Now that that’s ready, we can just leave it here until Colten comes back. So now, let’s return to the store. We can look through those catalogs again and get more ideas on some of the dresses. I’ll need to know what kinds of fabric you’ll want so you can get started.”

Annabelle followed the woman into the storage room that connected the house to the store and wondered if she was actually going to need to respond. It didn’t seem so as Mrs. Howard continued.

“Susan told me she wanted some quilts made for the boarding house. I’ve got a few bolts I put aside for her since she didn’t have the money to get it all right away. But she told me about your arrangement to trade your sewing skills for use of her machine. And since we’re family now, and we need to make sure you have the materials you need, I figured it would be good to get started on the blankets now.”

She pulled a step ladder over to a wall where some brown paper packages were tucked away near the top shelf. “You do know how to make quilts, don’t you?” Mrs. Howard asked. “Most of the time we’ve done it all by hand, but if you can put all the pieces together with that machine, it could be finished so much sooner. Think of how wonderful it will be.”

Annabelle smiled at the woman’s enthusiasm. “I haven’t done much on quilting,” she admitted. “But if you tell me how the pieces should go together, I can use the machine to sew them.”

“Perfect,” Mrs. Howard said. “Tonight, after your picnic we should bring Susan over here to get the ideas started. While Colten is working on the boarding house, if you help me here at the store, then when no one comes in, we can work on putting the pieces together. We could have a few quilts ready for our monthly quilting bee.”

“Why do you call it a quilting bee?” Annabelle asked.

Mrs. Howard laughed. “Because when everyone is sitting together talking as they stitch, the humming and buzzing sounds like a hive of bees.”

Annabelle smiled. “That sounds so much nicer than all the work in the factory. There was just the sound of the sewing machines going up and down. We weren’t allowed to talk to each other.”

“That’s too bad,” Mrs. Howard said. “We all think it’s so much more productive to have fun while you work. Though maybe there are times when we didn’t get as much done as we could have. But we sure enjoyed ourselves. We’ll have to do another one soon. I think I’ll have you pick out what fabrics you want for your own quilt. You and Colten should have a wedding quilt.”

The two spent the next little while going through the fabric and deciding what to use. There were sections that didn’t have very much yardage since they were the scraps and ends of the bolts of cloth the mercantile had sold over the years. Mrs. Howard took out a paper and sketched some patterns. A few looked like stars, others looked like flowers or circles, and some were just simple checkered patterns. As Annabelle looked at the colors of cloth and the different patterns, ideas began to flow and she thought maybe, just maybe she might be able to come up with something worth making.

And if it turned out poorly, then it would be the one she kept to keep her warm at night.

The door to the store opened, hitting the little bell that was placed over it and the two women looked up to see Colten enter the store.

“Hello, ladies. What are you working on?”

“We’re going to make a quilt,” Annabelle said. “What kind of pattern would you like?”

Colten smiled. “I don’t care what the top looks like. I just want it to be soft and warm.”

“Never ask a man’s opinion on beauty my dear. They just don’t have the same understanding we do.”

Colten shook his head. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I find I appreciate beauty for what it is.”

Annabelle knew with the way he was looking at her that he liked what he saw. Warmth flooded her cheeks again, and he smiled even wider. Without taking his eyes off her, he spoke to his mother. “Am I free to take my lovely wife now, or is she still needed here?”

“We can stop any time,” Mrs. Howard said. “Please, go enjoy your outing. I’ll keep looking at the fabric and send someone to see if Susan can stop by later today. How long will you be?”

Colten shrugged. “Not sure. Depends on how much touring Annabelle wants to do. But unless you packed enough for dinner, we’ll be back in time to eat.”

Colten took a few steps and offered Annabelle his hand. “Would you join me? I’ve got the horse hooked up to the wagon. I also grabbed the axe and thought I’d get a few of the fallen trees for firewood.”

“Good idea,” Mrs. Howard said. “The lunch is packed and in the house. Have a wonderful afternoon you two. Don’t hurry back on my account.”

Annabelle looked at her mother-in-law, wondering at the expression she gave her son. It was still too soon to know the woman well, but Annabelle almost thought his mother was encouraging him to do something.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Colten helped Annabelle into the wagon and then walked around and climbed up into the driver’s seat. He took the reins and clicked his tongue as he flicked his wrists and the horses moved forward. Though not too quickly to throw Annabelle off balance this time.

As they worked their way past the different buildings and toward the larger creek where the cottonwood and birch trees grew in abundance, Colten gave her a little of the history of the town. How it was settled around forty years before by people coming through the area toward California for the gold rush in the 1840s.

The establishment of the railroad and building a train station for a stop here had made it grow a lot in the last five years. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it continues to grow rapidly. Susan insists it will, and Michael seems to believe her. That’s why they’re building the boarding house.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Annabelle said. “In New York, I lived in a boarding house. The woman there took in a lot of money. People need a place to stay and not everyone is able to put up permanent roots right away.”

“Makes sense,” Colten said. “I know there have been a few more homesteaders coming here lately. It takes time to clear the land and get it ready to grow crops on. That’s why there have been a lot of men come alone to do the work it takes to prepare the land. But then once they get the crops in, they need a partner to help them run the house and animals and harvest the crops.”

“Susan said she wanted to maybe send for more women to come out for reasons like that. But she wanted to make sure there was a safe place for them. Just in case some of them find themselves coming out for a man like Lester, but not having a man like you to step up right away.”

Colten took her hand, but didn’t say anything. Before long, they reached the shade of the trees and he guided the horses into the grove. The path was wide enough the wagon could maneuver through the trees for quite a while.

“Do I hear water?” Annabelle asked.

“We’re almost there.”

They pulled up near a group of birch trees, their white bark with black spots always made him think of shadows through the leaves.

Annabelle looked around. “This is a lovely area.”

“It is,” Colten agreed. He hopped off the wagon and tied the horse’s reins to a tree then moved over to help her down. He kept hold of her hand and picked up the basket in his free hand. “This way.”

They walked quietly through the trees and Colten pointed out to Annabelle how the birds slowly began to make noise again. “They know we’re here and are checking to see if we’re a threat. If we stay quiet enough, they’ll start singing again.” The creek ahead of them wasn’t huge, but the water flowed strong still.

“It’s bigger than I thought.” Annabelle looked up and down the creek.

“We had a good winter this year,” Colten said. “The water has been flowing nicely. There was a poor winter a couple years ago and this creek was down to a trickle. A few of the other creeks stopped running all together. Made for a hard growing season, but thankfully everyone made it through.”

“I never really thought about how much everything out here depended on the weather and the water. It will take a little getting used to.”

“You seem to be adjusting well.” Colten squeezed her hand again, then released it and set the basket down on a rock nearby. “Let’s eat, then there’s something I’d like to show you.”

She helped him unpack the picnic basket and the two sat side by side with their backs against the trunk of a tree. They ate and talked about simple things, and more about Birch Creek, but he kept thinking about last night and her dream. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable with him, because after holding her close last night, he realized he had enjoyed that immensely and wanted to help ease any worry she had about the two of them.

But bringing up her fears would only remind her of them so he decided to keep the conversation light and easy, sharing the types of things he did as a young boy and how the town children would come to the grove of trees to play while the adults filled barrels of water from the creek before the water pumps were installed in most of the houses. Then when he was a bit older and could come out here without his parents, he and Michael would come to the creek to fish or swim.

“You fished?”

“All the time,” Colten said. “If you’d like, I could teach you.”

“I would like to try it I suppose. Though I wouldn’t know what to do with a fish if you caught it. I don’t know what to do with any kind of meat besides chicken.”

“Most of the meat work is done by the men when they get the deer, or if it comes time to butcher a cow. I heard talk that there’s a butcher in another town that has a couple sons. Someone said they asked him about sending one boy up here to start a shop. Might be something nice after a while.”

Annabelle laughed. “Well, if he doesn’t bring a wife with him, I’m sure Susan will do her best to help him get one.”

Colten laughed. “You know, I think you might be right. She kept telling me I needed to send for one. I don’t know why she thinks all the men out here need a mail order bride, but even though I didn’t send for you myself, I’m right pleased you’re here.”

Annabelle leaned against his shoulder and her head rested against his chin. “I am too.”

He put the mug he’d used for his drink down to the side and turned to face her. She shifted as well, and turned in toward him, lifting her lips to accept his kiss.

More. That was what he wanted and she gave it willingly. Colten reached for her and somehow, without losing touch of her kisses, he moved her onto his lap in order to hold her close. “Annabelle,” he whispered against her lips after a moment.

“Hmm?” she replied.

“I want…” he paused, not even sure what he wanted. “I want things to be good between us.”

Annabelle placed her forehead against his. Her eyes were closed but she nodded. “I do too.”

“Did I scare you last night?” he asked.

“No,” Annabelle said softly. “It wasn’t you.”

His chest tightened. “Did someone else hurt you?”

“They tried to,” Annabelle said. “But I got away.”

“I’m sorry that happened. Is that what you dreamed of?” Colten asked.

She nodded once more. “Those dreams don’t happen as often anymore. I’m not sure why last night it came back.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” he asked.

Annabelle looked into his eyes and smiled. “Exactly what you’re doing already. Taking things slow and showing me how good a man can be.”

“I’ll do my best,” Colten said. “But I find myself in a bit of trouble.”

Annabelle tilted her head to the side. “What kind of trouble?”

Colten touched her lips with his own and whispered his answer. “You are so incredibly beautiful and tempting that if we keep doing what we’re doing, it will be difficult to keep moving slow.”

Annabelle slid off his lap and adjusted her skirts to allow her to kneel to the side of him. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh sweetheart, don’t be sorry. I just wanted to be up front with you. But I have an idea. How about we only kiss when we’re not in my room. That will help, I’m sure.”

“But we aren’t in your room right now.” Annabelle said, looking up at the trees.

“I know. And maybe we ought to only kiss when we’re standing.”

Annabelle smiled and a playful look filled her eyes. She stood slowly and reached for his hand. “That is a good idea.”

When he stood up, she looked at him. “We’re standing. Maybe we should try out a kiss and see how it goes.”

Colten couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up inside. She was incredible. And she was his.

“How did I get so lucky?”

 

 

 

***

 

 

Annabelle wondered if her legs would still work when he let go of her. She wanted to just lean against him, but she knew it was time to pull back. Otherwise, they’d have to make a rule against kissing while standing as well. And that would never do.

He had somehow taken the thought of being with a man from a terrifying ordeal to something she thought she might actually tolerate. If it was anything like his kisses, she would be all right.

Colten picked up the picnic basket and returned it to the wagon, then took her hand and led her to the edge of the creek. They walked along the creek bed and he showed her where the best place to put a fishing line would be.

“They like to hide in those little spots where the edge of the ground hangs over a little. So when we come fishing, I’ll show you how to do it.”

“Could we come tomorrow?” Annabelle asked, thrilled at the thought of being alone with him out here again.

“I think we could manage that. Depends on if Michael needs more help on his building. In fact, we probably should head back to town. The sooner we can get that boarding house finished, the sooner we could get started on something of our own. And we’ll be in our own little place at Michael’s cabin.”

“I can get started on the quilt your mom has planned.”

Colten squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry too much on the patterns and things. All I want is it to be soft and warm. But I’m sure you’ll make it lovely anyway.”

Annabelle shrugged. “I’ll do my best.”

But the blanket itself wasn’t what occupied her thoughts. The blanket on Colten’s bed was warm and soft, but nothing like the way he had held her. She didn’t care anything about the blanket.

They left the grove of trees and made it back to the store in time for Annabelle to see Susan enter it. She moved slowly as if the baby was making her uncomfortable. Annabelle didn’t know much about birthing babies, but she doubted it would be much longer.

“I’ll let you get out here in front, then I’ll take the wagon around back to unhook it before going to the boarding house. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Thank you, Colten. I really enjoyed this today.”

Colten tipped his hat and smiled. “I did too.” He kissed her softly, then helped her down so she could enter the store. When she walked inside, both Susan and Mrs. Howard looked at her and the two burst into twin smiles.

“Looks like you had a lovely time.”

Annabelle smiled again but didn’t answer. She would keep her happy secrets. They were so much nicer than the frightful ones. Annabelle moved over to Susan and gave her a hug. “You ready to talk quilts?”