Daughtry hurried into the kitchen to find her husband sitting comfortably at the small table. She pulled her apron from a hook near the door and tied it around her trim waist. Nicholas watched all of this in complete silence, surprised at the control Daughtry seemed to have managed to regain in her few minutes alone.
He watched her as she put wood in the stove and got the fire going. He was more than a little impressed at what he’d found upon his return. Truth be told, he nearly walked back out the door, fearing that he’d entered the wrong house. A double take confirmed that he was indeed in the right house but that a transformation of tremendous proportions had taken place. Now looking at the petite and delicate woman he’d married, Nicholas was even more surprised.
Daughtry put a pot of coffee on the stove and turned to question her husband.
“What would you like for breakfast?”
Nicholas smiled to himself. He hadn’t had someone to wait on him since leaving home and that seemed a million years ago. “Whatever you’re having,” he replied and leaned back against the chair.
Daughtry looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I have fresh bread and of course there are the canned foods. I wasn’t able to locate any eggs or potatoes, so I can’t really do you justice with anything grand. I could make tortillas and heat up some of the meat from the pantry.” She fell silent and shrugged her shoulders. “I was just going to have toasted bread and jam.”
“Sounds fine for me as well.”
Daughtry nodded and went back to work, while Nicholas continued his silent study. He figured she was about five feet, four inches tall. Surely no taller, and she couldn’t weigh more than one hundred pounds. She had pulled her hair up into a loose bun of rich copper. He liked the shade, never even imagining from her photograph what color her hair might be. She had a sweet face. Almost angelic, he thought. In fact, she looked so childlike that Nicholas suddenly sat up with a start.
“How old are you?”
“A lady should never reveal her age, Mr. Dawson.” Her smile was brief and Nicholas caught her teasing tone. “However, because you are my husband and entitled to know full well what you’ve saddled yourself with, I will admit that I’m quite old.”
Nicholas laughed at this, and the amusement lingered in his eyes. “How old?”
“I’m twenty-three. I’ll be twenty-four in January,” Daughtry said with something akin to regret in her voice.
“A mere baby,” he chided and was rewarded with a look of sincere appreciation in his wife’s eyes. Had someone honestly told this slip of girl that she was old?
Daughtry brought the toast and coffee to the table, then retrieved two mugs, a knife, and the jam before sitting opposite Nicholas.
“Would you ask the blessing?” she asked rather timidly.
“Certainly,” he said without a second thought and bowed his head. “Father, thank You for this food and the hard labors of this industrious young woman. I ask that You would bless this house and this union between Daughtry and me and let us live our days devoted to You, Amen.”
Daughtry looked up filled with wonder. “That was a beautiful prayer. Especially asking God to bless our marriage.” She paused for a moment, then jumped right into the matter. “We do have a rather strange arrangement here, don’t we?”
Amused, Nicholas reached out and took several pieces of toast. He liberally slathered jam across each piece and handed two to Daughtry before replying. “Strange doesn’t half seem to explain it.”
Daughtry poured the coffee and began to feel at ease. “I’ve always been a very straightforward kind of woman, Mr. Dawson.”
“Please don’t call me Mr. Dawson. Call me Nicholas or Nick, but not that.”
Daughtry smiled. “All right. As I was saying, I like to be honest about things and I don’t like to play games, at least not people games. Do you know what I mean?”
“I think so,” he said with a gentleness in his expression that further dispelled Daughtry’s anxieties.
“I’ve never been the kind of person to jump into things without real regard to the consequences, but this time seems to be an exception. I’m not sure I did the right thing in marrying you, but it is done and I don’t believe in divorce or annulments. I just wanted you to know that I take our marriage very seriously.” Nicholas stared at her soberly while she continued. “I intend to make you a good wife. I will work hard, and I know a great deal about ranching. I’m not weak or fragile, and I’ve spent most all of my life working outdoors alongside …” Daughtry stopped abruptly. “Well,” she continued hesitantly, “I’ve spent a lot of time working at the kind of things that will build this place into a respectable and profitable ranch.”
A smile played at the corners of Nicholas’s lips. “Anything else?”
Daughtry put her coffee down and took a deep breath. “I suppose I should say that I’m a Christian. I believe in walking close with the Lord and reading the Word every day. I like to go to church and fellowship with other believers, and I will never do anything willingly that goes against the laws of God.”
“I see.”
Daughtry pressed on lest she lose her nerve. “I’m a very devoted person to those I love and care for. I will endeavor to be whatever you need me to be.” She was blushing profusely at this point. “And, while I know very little about you, I am very teachable and happy to learn.”
Nicholas reached out and put his hand over hers. “What about children?”
Daughtry’s eyes flashed up to meet his. “I love children.”
Nicholas patted her hand and smiled. “Good, because I do too and hope that we can fill this house with a dozen or more.”
Daughtry’s eyes widened at his boldness. “Well, I don’t know if I love them that much.” Her teasing was clearly evident and Nicholas laughed.
“I think I’m going to enjoy being married to you, Daughtry. I, too, have had my misgivings about marrying a person of which I knew nothing more about than the fact that she had beautiful penmanship and took a lovely picture.”
Daughtry started to thank him for the compliment, but he continued to speak. “I did, however, pray about this matter and felt that God’s answer was found in your letter. I worried that perhaps my desire to rush the marriage would put you off, but again I prayed and asked God to intercede and bring the event about. And, well, here you are, and I must say that I am more than a little bit impressed with the answer God’s given. Not only are you the loveliest woman I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, but you’re intelligent, witty, and very charming. Not to mention that you’ve accomplished in a few short days what I believe would have taken most men weeks to do.”
Daughtry remembered the paint and grimaced. “I used your paint,” she said, still not sure why it upset her so much. “I saw it with the supplies in the barn and, while I was cleaning the kitchen, I thought it looked like it could use a good coat. I hope you aren’t upset with me. I didn’t mean to use something without permission.”
Nicholas stared at her rather sternly for a moment before replying. “What I have is yours, Daughtry. How could I possibly fault you for benefiting us both? That’s just another thing I like about you. You’re willing to just get in there and do what needs to be done. That’s to your credit. You aren’t one of those sad little women who sit around all lost and doeeyed, waiting for their husband to instruct them in what they should do next. I like what you’ve done here, so stop fretting.” Daughtry relaxed, realizing he was completely sincere.
“I do have some questions, though,” Nicholas said, surprising her. Daughtry nodded to show her willingness to answer but was even more surprised with the topic of his question. “Have you ever been in love?”
Daughtry thought back through her life, especially the years before Julie had died. She’d found more than one cowboy fascinating company, but only on friendly terms. She couldn’t honestly remember feeling anything akin to what she was feeling for Nicholas, however, and that gave her reason to believe that she’d actually fallen in love with her husband.
“No,” she answered softly.
“Me neither,” he offered. “I just wondered if there were any ghosts that needed to be laid to rest. You know, broken hearts, lost loves, that kind of thing.”
Daughtry shook her head. “I can honestly say there was no one.”
“Why were you inclined to answer my advertisement?” he continued.
“I guess,” she began, “that your advertisement intrigued me. I thought the whole notion sounded, well, rather,” she hesitated and looked away, “romantic.”
“I’ve never been called romantic before.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Daughtry replied without thinking.
“Why’s that?” Nicholas questioned, honestly wanting to know what was going through his young wife’s mind.
Daughtry shifted uncomfortably. “Do I have to answer that?”
Nicholas laughed. “I’d sure like it if you did.”
“Very well,” she murmured and tried to reason out her words before speaking. “You strike me as a very considerate man,” she began, “a man who would be most sought after by the ladies of his community. You are very …” She swallowed several times, then took a drink of coffee.
“I am very what?” He sensed her discomfort but was completely captivated with what she had to say.
“You are very handsome,” she said. “I was very taken with your photograph and the way you signed your letter.”
“The way I signed my letter?”
Nicholas leaned back in his chair and waited for her to explain. If she took all day, he wanted to hear exactly what she had to say.
Daughtry blushed and confusion filled her mind. “Forever yours,” she whispered. “You signed your letter, ‘Forever yours.’ ”
Nicholas smiled. He’d purposefully chosen that very ending after remembering it from one of his father’s letters to his mother. His mother had told Nicholas once that the phrase was more than mere words, it was a pledge of sorts, and she had cherished it greatly. Now his own wife seemed to savor the words for the exact same reason.
“Something I learned from my father,” he explained.
Daughtry used that introduction to Nicholas’s past to question him further. “Tell me about yourself.”
Nicholas shrugged. “Not much to tell. Nobody ever baked me bread as good as this, that’s for sure.”
“I’m serious,” Daughtry said, pouring more coffee into her empty cup. “What about your family?”
“What about yours?”
“I’m alone,” Daughtry replied.
“Me too,” her husband replied and furthered her frustration.
“How am I to get to know you, if you won’t tell me about yourself?” questioned Daughtry softly.
Nicholas leaned forward and smiled, revealing gleaming white teeth and eyes that fairly danced. “We have a lifetime to get to know one another,” he answered. “I just don’t think we need to do it all at one time. I’m going to enjoy getting to know you, little by little.”
Without another word, Daughtry got to her feet, left the room for a moment, and returned with papers in hand.
“These are the marriage documents,” she said, handing them to Nicholas.
Nicholas read them over and cast a glance upward to meet Daughtry’s eyes. “Our wedding day was the twenty-first of September?”
Daughtry nodded.
“Wish I could have been there. I’ll bet you were something to behold.” Daughtry laughed at this, and Nicholas smiled broadly at her. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just that I look a whole sight better now than I did that day. Later, I’ll show you what I was wearing.”
Nicholas got up and went to the front sitting room where he retrieved a lock box, which he promptly brought back with him to the table. Taking a key from his vest pocket, he unlocked the box and carefully put the papers inside. Daughtry noticed when he did that her picture and letter were also inside the box, along with a large amount of money.
“They should be safe here,” he announced and held up the key. “If you need anything, money or such, or you want to put something in here, just holler.”
Daughtry nodded. “Just a minute, please,” she said and went to the bedroom.
When she walked back into the kitchen, she thrust some money into Nicholas’s hands. “I’d like to add this to your savings,” she whispered. “It’s all I had left after the trip.”
Nicholas took the money and met Daughtry’s eyes. He knew what she was doing and felt what she was trying to say without even hearing the words. He nodded, placed the money with his own, and shut the box. “Our savings,” he said, locking the box and handing Daughtry the key. It was his way of meeting her trust with his own.
Daughtry reached up, but instead of taking the key, she simply closed her hand around Nicholas’s and smiled. “I’m content for you to have control.”