Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
A tall man stood next to Maggie as they pulled up in front of the house. They were joined by two children and Maggie held a baby. All stood inside an area surrounded with a white picket fence.
The man must be Caleb Black, Maggie’s husband.
He stepped from behind the fence and came up to the buggy.
“Here, let me help you.”
Emily gave him her hand and had to admit if she hadn’t been smitten with her own husband, she could easily have been with the tall and very handsome man. He gave her Ben a run for the money, but in her mind, Ben still won. She’d never tell him that though. His head was big enough as it was.
“Hi Maggie. I’m so glad to see you again.”
Emily closed the distance to the woman and gave her a hug.
“And I you. What are you smiling about?” asked Maggie.
Emily shook her head.
“Just glad to be here. Sally and Mark are my best friends you know.”
“No. I didn’t. Sally told me what happened and how you came to be in the right place at the right time.”
“Yes, I feel incredibly lucky.”
“And you Ben,” said Maggie. “How are you feeling? Getting used to being a married man?”
Ben threw his arm around Emily’s shoulders.
“Oh, yes, ma’am. Getting used to it. Being married definitely has its benefits.”
Caleb laughed. “Yes, there definitely are.”
“Gentlemen, come inside,” said Maggie with a roll of her eyes.
“Maggie, may I hold your baby?” asked Emily. “How old is she?”
Maggie handed the baby to Emily.
“This is Anne. She’s three months old.”
“Oh, she’s such a sweetheart.”
The ladies walked into the house, Caleb held the door.
Before he could go inside, Ben grabbed his shoulder.
“Caleb, can I talk to you a minute?”
“Sure.” He called over his shoulder. “I’m taking Ben out to see the new colt. We’ll be back shortly.”
Caleb started toward the barn.
“So what can I do for you?”
“I need a married man’s opinion. Emily is talking about love and how she’ll get me to love her. I won’t but I really don’t want to hurt her.”
Caleb nodded.
“Let me tell you a little story. I pursued Maggie from the very first. She corresponded with me to find me a bride. Then we wrote letters back and forth that had nothing to do with her search. I didn’t know it then but I fell in love with Maggie through our letters before I’d ever set eyes on her.
She’d been married before to a man much older than she.
Maggie was in a loveless marriage. The man kept mistresses and only wanted Maggie for appearances. ”
“But—”
“Let me finish. She escorted a girl who was supposed to be my bride. The girl fell in love with someone on the train and left Maggie high and dry. I was thrilled. Maggie was not. She was determined not to love me and I was determined not to love her, but I had to have her. Long story short, Maggie left and went back to New York. She discovered on the journey that she was pregnant, something that wasn’t supposed to be possible, but she didn’t tell me.
And I was too stubborn to go after her, determined that I didn’t love her.
She was ready to raise our child alone rather than be in another loveless marriage.
It was almost too late when I got to New York to convince her I’d been a fool. Don’t you be a fool, too.”
“I’m not being a fool. I really don’t believe I’ll love Emily. I like her a lot and love some things about her, but that’s not the same thing.”
Caleb folded his arms over the top rail of the stall with the new colt in it.
“You’re right it’s not. And I’m not saying that you will fall in love with her. All I’m saying is you should be open to the possibility. Every woman is not like Melissa. If you ask me, you dodged the bullet with that one.”
Ben put his foot on the lowest rung of the stall gate and leaned his crossed arms over the top rail.
“Why does everyone say that? Am I the only one that didn’t see Melissa for what she was?”
“Yup. Pretty much.”
“Why didn’t someone tell me?”
“Maggie was told by Jane she tried to tell you about Melissa and so did Curt. If you think back you’ll remember what you told them.”
He straightened. “Yeah, I remember. I told them to mind their own business and keep their noses out of mine.”
“Yup and they were family, the only ones who could rightly say something to you.” He shrugged. “The rest of us knew, because we saw Melissa when she wasn’t with you.”
Ben turned around and leaned back against the gate.
“I’ve been the recipient of pitying looks, I know that. I don’t want to be again.”
Caleb stood perpendicular to the gate with his bent elbow resting on the top rung of the gate.
“You can’t be, with Emily. She appears to be a sweet little thing.
The total opposite of Melissa in every way, shape, and form.
And you’re already married to her, she can’t jilt you.
Look, all I’m saying is to keep your eyes open, keep your options open, and don’t shoot down your chance at true happiness. ”
“I’ll try. Thanks for the talk. Let’s go see the girls.”
“I should probably tell you about the colt. His name is Champion. His father is my big black, Agamemnon and his mother is Maggie’s mare, Cleopatra.”
“You have strange names for your horses, just as I do some of mine.”
“Katy gets to name the horses. She was reading a lot of history of Greece, Rome and Egypt.”
“Jane was doing the same thing when she named some of our horses.”
“Now when we get in and Emily asks you about the horse you can answer her.”
“You do think of everything.”
“I’ve been married twice. I learn something new with Maggie every day and I love her more than ever.”
“I just don’t see that for me.”
Caleb clapped Ben on the back.
“Wait and see what happens.”
Ben patted his full belly.
“Maggie that was a wonderful meal.”
Emily nodded.
“Yes. Absolutely wonderful.”
“Well, you can thank Francesca for that. The best thing I ever did was hire her. She’s amazing.”
“Thank you, Maggie,” said Francesca Weatherford. “You know I love to cook for our families. The best thing I did was accepting the job and marrying your foreman Tom.”
“Where is Tom? I expected to see him,” said Ben.
“He’s escorting a prize bull home from Kansas City. He bought it at the auction there last week,” answered Caleb.
Emily leaned over to Maggie. “Can I speak to you privately?”
“Certainly, dear. Come with me. It’s time for me to nurse Anne anyway.”
Maggie stood and said to everyone, “If you will excuse us.”
Carrying Anne, Emily followed Maggie. Emily so loved holding and playing with the baby she hadn’t wanted to put her down to eat dinner.
Maggie took them into Caleb’s study which was also Maggie’s office.
She grabbed a clean diaper from the pile on the leather sofa, unbuttoned her dress and reached for Anne.
Emily handed the baby to Maggie who had piled a couple of pillows on top of each other to rest her arm on while the baby fed.
She’d seen many of her employers or their wet nurses feeding their babies. She was not embarrassed by Maggie doing so.
Maggie and Emily sat on the leather sofa against the wall.
The room was fairly large and appeared to serve as the library, too.
One wall was floor to ceiling book shelves and filled to capacity.
In front of the sofa was a large braided rug.
A massive mahogany desk took up most of one side of the room.
Two leather chairs that matched the couch were in front of it.
On the wall above the couch was a painting by someone who knew the Indians of the area. The picture was of a warrior on a horse with a spear and a buffalo in his sights.
“This is a nice room.”
“Now what do you want to talk about?”
“Ben and I have only been married a week, but I think I’m falling in love with him. He says he’ll never love me because of the nastiness with Melissa Mills.”
“Yes, that was horribly embarrassing for Ben, but I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She was not the right person for him.”
The judge said something similar, had no one told Ben of their reservations about Melissa?
“Do you believe I am?”
“Yes, I believe you’re the right person for Ben. Do I believe you love him? No, not after a week. I believe you are in lust with him.”
“Yes, I do very much like that part of our marriage.”
“You’re lucky. I feel the same way about Caleb. My first husband, in twelve years of marriage, was never as good to me as Caleb is.”
“We probably shouldn’t be talking about this.”
“Nonsense. If we don’t talk about it, how are we to know as a gender to know anything.”
Maggie changed breasts and let Anne nurse again.
“I long for a child of my own. I keep hoping that I’m pregnant now. I’ll know in a couple of days. I’m due for my menses then, but I’ll wait to see what happens next month before I tell Ben. I don’t want to get his hopes up just to shatter them again. I won’t be another Melissa.”
“Good for you.”
After Anne finished nursing, Maggie handed the baby and the diaper she’d used to cover herself, to Emily.
“Burp her for me will you?”
“Of course. She put the diaper that Maggie had used to cover herself with, on her shoulder followed by the baby and patted her back. Anne dutifully spit up but did it quickly, and then she was a happy baby.
“She needs her diaper changed, too. Do you want to do that?”
Emily was no dummy. “I think I’ll pass on that one.”
Maggie quickly changed the baby’s diaper and handed Anne back to Emily. Together they walked back to the living room where the men were. Francesca was cleaning up the kitchen.
“Would anyone like some coffee?” asked Maggie.
“No, thank you,” said Ben. “I’m stuffed to the gills.”
“Me, too,” said Emily, though she could have eaten some of the blueberry cobbler that everyone but her husband was helping to devour.
Ben was sitting at the table fidgeting in his chair. He seemed, to Emily, anxious to leave.
Twenty minutes later they were in the buggy, had said thank you and goodbye and were on their way home.
“I had a good talk with Caleb.”
“I had a good one with Maggie.”
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I shouldn’t be so closed. Although I still don’t believe falling in love will happen.”
She didn’t like hearing that he still didn’t belief love was possible. “I’m sorry for pushing you. I should let it happen…or not.”
“Thank you.”
Emily closed her eyes and nodded. Sadness filled her, but she wouldn’t push him again. If what she was feeling was lust, as Maggie claimed, or love as she believed, she’d just let the feeling be, let the love be.
Friday, November 12, 1875
Two months had passed since they married, and Emily was determined not to mention love again, but every time she thought of Ben not loving her, her heart broke.
She had to find a way to get him to understand that what they had was more than lust. Especially now that she was expecting.
She was sure but wanted the doctor to confirm it before she told Ben.
The weather was unusually warm for November 12th but she always took her sheepskin coat with her. She hardly ever wore her black wool coat any more. Just for special occasions.
She told Ben she wanted to go see Maggie, but actually took the buggy into Golden and to Dr. Martin’s office, not Maggie’s.
“Well, Mrs. Logan, I wondered how long it would be before I saw you. I usually see the newly wedded women fairly quickly.”
“Hi, Dr. Martin, I’ve missed two menses, so I’m pretty sure I’m expecting, but want to be certain.”
“Have you always been regular in your cycle?”
“Yes, sir. Never missed one before.”
“Well, I’d say you can be fairly certain, but I’ll examine you nonetheless.”
Half an hour later, she walked out of the doctor’s office with a dazed smile. She was most certainly pregnant. Probably got that way on her wedding night. Now she couldn’t wait to get home to tell Ben.
“Well if it isn’t the new Mrs. Logan.”
The feminine voice came from the tall brunette she knew as Melissa Mills, who walked up to Emily as she approached the mercantile.
“Miss Mills.” I will not let this woman ruin my day.
“Coming from the doctor’s office. Don’t tell me you’re sick already.”
Emily, slowly put on her driving gloves, looked up at the sun shining down on them and said the first thing that came to mind. “No. Just a check-up. Ben wants to make sure I’m in good health before winter really sets in.”
“Why would he worry about your health? Are you a sickly person?”
“No. Why do you care?”
“Just curious. I’d hate to see Ben saddled with a sickly wife.”
“I’m not sickly and Ben isn’t saddled with me. It’s just that New York City is so different from Colorado Territory. The elevation here makes me run out of breath. Surely you noticed that when you came here.”
“No. I was born in Denver.”
“I see. Then what are you doing in Golden? Why didn’t you return to Denver when the man you ran away with left you?”
“I came here to marry Ben.”
Emily narrowed her eyes and clasped her hands demurely in front of her. “But you didn’t marry Ben, so what are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you have returned to your previous home? Or was that no longer an option?”
Melissa’s eyes widened and her face lost color.
“Well, I never.”
“Somehow I doubt that’s true. You just never with Ben. You jilted him, and now that he’s married to me, you want him back. I see you for what you are. Stay away from my husband.”
Emily walked past her and continued on to the mercantile. She wanted to look back to see what Melissa’s reaction had been but she didn’t.
What in the world had gotten into her? She’d never treated anyone that way before, but then again, she’d never had anyone to protect before.
She touched her stomach. Now she had two people who depended on her, that were a part of her. Maybe now that she was pregnant with his child, Ben would realize that he loved her.
Maybe.
When she reached the mercantile, she finally looked back and saw that Melissa was gone. She hadn’t followed her after all.
Inside, she bought some cinnamon that she had ordered a couple of weeks ago. She also picked up black strap molasses and ginger. She wanted to make a new cookie recipe she’d found. They were called gingerbread cookies and sounded really very good.
Trying the new cookies and doing something normal helped to keep her mind off of Melissa. But not entirely. In the back of her mind there were still thoughts of Melissa and the danger she presented to Emily’s family.
She would protect her husband at all costs.
Melissa had better watch out.