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Elliot came back with Laird at his heels. He and Ellen worked separately until the end of the day, so she didn’t see Laird all day.
Inspired by her success in the morning, Ellen got the idea to impress Elliot by milking the cows on her own, without any help from him or Laird. She took her buckets to the barn and found both cows waiting for her.
But after a few lame attempts to milk, the first cow stamped and backed away from her. Ellen conceded defeat by hunting up Elliot where he occupied himself digging fencepost holes. She had to ask him to send Laird to the barn so she could finish the milking.
The dog complied willingly. He seemed to accept this job as part of his official duty. He performed his function as Ellen’s nursemaid with about as much enthusiasm as he would have shown escorting a brood of ducklings across a road.
As soon as she finished milking, Laird went back to Elliot with no improvement on his relationship with Ellen. He helped her because Elliot wanted him to. He didn’t think much of this new prize his master brought home.
That evening, they ate in the house at the table.
Ellen started the conversation. “What did you do with Clive today?”
“He’s shingling his house,” Elliot told her. “I’m helping him by cutting the shingles while he tacks them on. How ‘bout you?”
“After I finished cleaning the house,” she replied. “I sort of hunted around and stuck my nose into this corner and that. I found some of your secret hiding places where you keep different things.”
Elliot chuckled. “You only found the ones I wanted you to find. The ones I want to keep secret, you’ll never find.”
Ellen smiled. “I don’t mind. I’m sure we’ll both have our secrets.”
“That reminds me,” Elliot continued. “I forgot to tell you. I’m going to leave tomorrow and I won’t be back in the evening. You’ll be here alone.”
“Oh?” Ellen asked. “When will you be back?”
“I may be back the next day,” he told her. “But it isn’t likely. It may be two days before I get back.”
“Where are you going?” Ellen asked.
“Me and Clive are going down river to hunt a bunch of pigs that are rooting down there,” he replied. “You’ll have to handle things here while I’m gone.” He saw her wrinkle her brow. “Laird will stay here with you. He’ll protect you, just in case anything happens, and he’ll help you with the milking.”
“I don’t think I want him to stay with me,” Ellen argued. “I think I’d rather be alone.”
“It isn’t safe for you to stay alone,” Elliot replied. “There are all kinds of wild animals around here who would love to break into the house and eat all our food stores. Laird is the only thing keeping them away. I wouldn’t leave you alone without him.”
Ellen stroked her fingertips across her lips. “All right. If you say so.” She glanced across the room to where the wolf lay across the hearth. Alone with him, for three days? She didn’t like the idea of that at all. She worried about him more than bears or cougars or wolves or just about anything else in this wilderness. And here he was, sleeping in her house.
But she didn’t tell Elliot that. He’d made up his mind, and after the previous night, she didn’t dare stand against his dog.
She finished washing up the dishes and setting the room to rights. Only after she put everything away did she notice Elliot sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her.
Ellen smiled at him. She had to prove herself to him before he went away. She had to make him value her as a wife before this whole mail-order bride experiment fell apart around her ears. She sat down next to him on the bed.
She tried to breathe evenly but the harder she tried, the harder it became. She propped her hands against the bed on either side of her, and her shoulders hunched up around her ears. Elliot regarded her dismal efforts to approach him and smiled. .
He took her hand. “Here. Don’t worry about it. Just relax and be with me.”
Ellen gulped. “I’m trying to.”
“That’s the problem,” he told her. “You’re trying. Don’t try.”
“I want to be with you,” she replied. “I want to show you that I’m ready to be a wife.”
“I know you are.” Elliot raised her hand to his lips and kissed the backs of her fingers. “Everything’s going to be all right. You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”
“I thought, after last night,” Ellen stammered. “You weren’t so sure if you wanted me after all.”
“I want you,” Elliot assured her. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve waited for you long enough. I’m not going to send you away so easily.” He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.
“I’m sorry I made you mad last night,” Ellen told him. “I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t make me mad.” Elliot caught sight of her eyes widening. “Okay, I got mad. But I shouldn’t have. I should’ve been prepared for something like that. I should have known something like that would happen on our first night together.”
“I guess I was just a little bit nervous,” Ellen explained.
“I understand,” Elliot replied. “You had every reason to be, and I should have expected it. It’s to be expected when two people who don’t know each other get married.”
“So what do you want to do now?” Ellen asked. “Do you just want to go to sleep? I don’t mind if you want to...you know...do more.”
Elliot turned her toward him. “It doesn’t matter to me what we do. I mean, it matters to me, but we don’t have to force it right away. We can give it some time, if you want to.”
“But I want to,” Ellen replied. “I mean, I want....us to...at some point. I don’t want to leave it hanging there over our heads forever.”
Elliot laughed. “I didn’t mean forever. I meant a few days. We can take some time to get used to each other. And if there’s something that makes you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me. I shouldn’t get mad about that.”
“Okay,” Ellen replied. “Thank you.”
Elliot bent down and kissed her on the lips. His lips were soft and warm. She expected his whiskers to be sharp and prickly, but they were soft and comforting, like a child’s cuddly toy bear. Her body softened in his arms.
He surprised her by pulling away and standing up, leaving her sitting on the bed. He walked over to the door and opened it. He stood back and called, “Laird!” The dog’s head swung up from his paws. Elliot swept his hand toward the door. “Go out.”
Laird blinked at his master. Then he climbed to his feet and padded out of the house into the black night outside. Elliot shut the door and dropped the latch into place. He crossed the room and sat down next to Ellen again.
A blanket of isolation descended over the house. Ellen sensed the extraordinary difference the dog’s absence made to her peace of mind. He might be lying just outside the door, stretched across the doorstep.
Yet he was gone. She and Elliot were alone in the house at last. A gentle contentment settled over her. She turned to Elliot, and when he circled her shoulders again with his arm, she nestled into the hollow between his arm and his chest. She turned her face to him and welcomed his kiss.
Their lips lingered together, tasting and smelling each other in the fullness of discovery. Their breath mingled in a heady mixture of cozy excitement and serene affection.
When Elliot pulled her down onto the bed and her body stretched out next to his, she knew the passion of belonging to a man in the safety of their shared home.
