Wyoming Mail Order Brides Boxed Set 1- 4 Page 6

  "I can't take this anymore," she sobbed but there were no tears in her eyes. The pain was almost driving her insane. Where was her husband when she needed him. "Richard should be here," she screamed.

  "We are almost done," Cora rinsed a cotton cloth and wiped Annie's sweating brow. "In a few minutes you will have your baby and all this pain will be forgotten."

  "Cora, help me please," Annie begged. She felt a strong contraction and heeded her midwife's voice and pushed with all her might.

  "Good girl," Cora said with tears in her eyes as she received the baby who slithered out of Annie's body. "You have done us all proud Annie, you have a lovely son."

  And as if to announce his arrival in the world the baby opened his mouth and gave a bellow that had the two women laughing joyously.

  "This one has a mighty fine pair of lungs on him," Cora did the necessary and soon mother and son were warm and tucked up in bed. Annie had refused to lie on Richard's bed and have her child, saying she did not want to soil more clothing than was necessary. When Cora was done tidying her, she helped Annie into the bed and set the baby in her arms. He immediately began sucking his fingers and she smiled, a proud and grateful look taking over her face. Cora watched the scene for a while, a deep longing within her. She turned away quickly and busied herself before Annie could see her expression.

  Annie was lost in the love that overwhelmed her when she held her son for the first time.

  "What will you call him?" Cora asked from the doorway, the soiled clothing in her hands and a bucket containing other remnants of the birth in the other.

  "I'll let Richard name him, but for now I'll call him Alexander. That's Richard's middle name."

  Cora nodded in approval. "Wise choice. We have no idea when your husband will be back and it will be silly to call the child boy or baby. At least he now has a name."

  Once left alone with Alexander, she thought about the days leading up to todays blessed event and smiled. Her labor had apparently begun days before, but since she'd never had a child before, didn't know that the lower back and abdominal pains were the result of her son wanting to make his appearance in the world. According to her reckoning, she shouldn't have had the baby for another three weeks or so, but when her labor started in full force, Cora informed her it was likely early because of the amount of work she'd been pushing herself to do.

  "You seem to have over-strained your body and now the baby is here. But not to worry, we are ready for any eventualities."

  "Have you ever delivered any babies before?" Annie had been worried. She'd never seen a woman give birth, and the only maternal experience she had was when her hens laid eggs. Her cows had all had their calves before she arrived on the farm, so she was quite ignorant and inexperienced.

  "A number of them, yes," Cora had told her confidently. "Not only humans, but calves and foals as well. That's the work of a farmer's wife. I did a lot of it back in Ireland and of course me Mam has a new baby every other year or so. With one thing and another, I've had plenty of practice. Truth be told, it's why I decided to marry out West. There's too many babies and children in Mam's house."

  Now Annie was glad she had Cora with her. The woman was worth her weight in gold and Annie was praying that here in Tipton, her friend would find a man worthy of her love and affection. She had a good heart and Annie felt sad that she'd lost her husband so early and was now penniless as she'd been herself when her first husband had died.

  ~#~#~#~

  Chapter Ten

  "And you're sure this is the same man?" Sheriff Edward Williams asked Richard, who had immediately come to the jail house to report the activities of Charles Thornton, as soon as he'd jumped from the train.

  "Yes Sheriff," Richard produced a letter from the Deputy in Plymouth who'd arrested Roger Bright. Edward skimmed through the contents, nodded and then placed it face down on his desk. "Would you know where we can find this criminal?"

  "I have no idea sir, he only said he would contact my wife when three weeks were up, which is any day now."

  "No worries, my deputies will be on the lookout and you can be sure that we will not allow such scum to roam this town and cause trouble for any of our citizens."

  "Thank you Sheriff," Richard put his hat back on his head. "I need to get back home to my wife as I have been away for almost three weeks now. She must be very worried."

  "My regards to the missus."

  Richard whistled as he stepped out of the Sheriff's office. He had one more stop to make before heading home, and Joe was glad to see him. He paid what he owed for the crib, added a few additional items and put it all together with the things he'd brought back from Plymouth. Seeing the bulky load, he hired a one horse wagon to convey him home.

  Immediately he arrived, he tethered the horse, thinking he'd take it back to the owner later. The front door was locked and he could see animals in the sitting room, obviously keeping out of the cold. He walked to the back of the house and stopped in his tracks. There was a strange woman doing laundry in his yard, even though it was near to freezing. Apart from that he saw a beautiful appaloosa tied to the barn. It was exceptional horseflesh and he wondered if it belonged to the woman.

  Cora looked up and saw the stranger who she immediately guessed to be Richard, Annie's husband.

  "Good day to you sir," she greeted, moving towards the kitchen door. "Welcome back home."

  "Who are you?" Richard said gruffly and then remembering his manners, quickly apologized. "I was surprised to find a stranger in my yard, forgive my rudeness."

  "That's alright, I'm Cora O'Malley, Annie's friend."

  "Where is Annie, where's my wife?" He made as if to move towards the door but she blocked him, shaking her head.

  "I can't allow you to go in there right now."

  "Why?" He demanded, considering the possibility of lifting the small woman and placing her to the side and opening his door. Violence against women, children and animals had never been his thing and he decided to find out what was going on. "Why can't I get into my own house?"

  "Annie gave me strict instructions not to allow anyone into the house today. She needs the rest."

  "This is my house woman, why am I not being allowed into my own home?" He tried to move to the door again. Richard could not understand why his wife would not allow him into the house. He wanted to speak with her and tell her the good news, that she was not a murderer, and that Roger Bright would never bother her again. He knew that Sheriff Edwards would do everything in his power to apprehend Charles Thornton and the man would never interfere in their lives again. Besides that, he wanted to tell her that he forgave her and that he loved her, and wanted to be her husband for real, and a father to their child. But all he said was, "I'm sure if Annie knows that it's me she'll allow me to come in."

  "No sir," Cora shook her head. "Annie just had the baby and she is exhausted. She needs to rest now because her labor was long, and she doesn't intend to lie in bed for days since there is so much to do around here. She insisted that if she gets her rest today then tomorrow she will be up and about and able to do what needs to be done."

  Richard's heart almost skipped a beat. Annie had already given birth. He turned a surprised face to Cora. "I thought she was not due for several weeks yet."

  "The baby came early because of all the strain she has been under," there was an underlying accusatory tone which Richard chose to ignore for the moment. "She had a baby boy. You have a son now," Cora dared him to challenge her words but he was so happy that he gave a wallop of joy.

  "Shhhh!" She hissed at him. "You'll wake Annie and the baby."

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he put a hand over his mouth. "Wait here," he rushed to the front of the house, and much to Cora's surprise, returned a few minutes later carrying the crib and all the things he'd bought. "Where can I put these things?"

  "In the barn for now," she pointed and he obediently carried them over there, careful to place them where the ani
mals couldn't get at them.

  "Where will I sleep tonight?" he asked.

  "In the barn," Cora decided that Annie could stay in Richard's bedroom for tonight, and then tomorrow they'd make other sleeping arrangements. The poor girl did not need to be disturbed in any way.

  Richard sighed tiredly, he had come home in a hurry to see his wife but the watchdog would not give him the time of day. He took the wagon back to town to fill in time, returning it to its owner. Having just returned, he decided to set up his main purchase. If he was going to have to sleep in the barn, there was no way he was going to freeze to death.

  When he'd collected the crib for Annie, he'd decided to spend some of the money he earned in Plymouth on a pot belly stove. While he admired Annie's solution for protecting the young animals from the cold, he didn't want them living in his house. So he set up the stove away from the walls of the barn and fitted the stove pipe through the roof before lighting a fire in it to test it out. Before long the belly of the stove was putting out heat and he knew at that moment he'd made the right decision to use sod to build the new barn. It held the heat way better than timber. The stove had been Annie's idea and he couldn't wait to show her how snug it would be for the young animals. When he was done, he arranged some hay in front of the stove where he would sleep tonight. It'd be comfortable enough.

  He smiled deep in his heart, happy that Annie had such a loyal friend to watch her while he'd been away. As he was musing he heard a footfall outside the barn and sat up quickly from the hay on which he had been lying. It was Cora and she was carrying a dish and jug in which he knew was some milk.

  "I made supper. Annie will have hers later when she wakes up, but I thought since you have been traveling for a long time you would need something substantial sooner rather than later. Saints be praised, what have you done here?" She indicated the stove which was begging for a pot of coffee to be placed upon it. "Give me a minute and I'll be back with the coffee pot." She ran back into the house.

  The supper was good. "I'm grateful to you Cora and I also want to thank you for taking care of Annie while I was gone."

  Cora nodded, and then sat down on a pile of hay. "Immediately you left, Annie wrote to me and I got the letter two days later. Since I had nothing else to do I came over as soon as I could. I rode Thunder all the way from Granger."

  "Must have been quite a journey," he attacked the steaming potatoes and beef in the dish. There were accompanying vegetables too. "Thank you for such a great tasting meal."

  "You have your wife to thank for everything. When I arrived she had everything ready for when the baby would come, as though she had a premonition that it would be sooner than expected."

  "She is a very resourceful and hardworking woman."

  "Agreed, and one who should be treasured," Cora sent a piercing glance in his direction. "That woman worked herself to the bone to make sure this place is as it should be, not a single thing out of place. She didn't have to do it, especially given the way you left," Richard looked up quickly. "Yes Richard, Annie told me all about the fight you had before you left, with you locking your door at night as if she were a murderer. How could you treat such a wonderful woman that way?"

  Richard didn't know what to say.

  "The poor woman has been living in fear of you returning."

  "Why?"

  "Because she thinks you don't want her as a wife anymore, and that once you got to Plymouth and found out the truth you'd turn her over to the Sheriff, and she and her child would end up in jail."

  "I would never do something like that," Richard realized just how deeply his actions must have affected his wife. "Annie is my wife."

  "Then you should have treated her as such, not leaving in a huff, with only a note on the kitchen table. What was she supposed to think?" Cora indicated the barn. "This place has been clean and the animals fed and taken care of, all because Annie believes she has to kill herself with work to regain your trust. It's her greatest wish to present you with a working farm in good order when you returned, so, are you pleased?"

  "Not at the expense of my wife's health."

  "Well, what's done is done and thankfully she and the baby are alright. If I hadn't come when I did, I'm not sure what would have happened to Annie. Her labor was long and she couldn't have done it alone."

  "I'm so sorry," Richard had stopped eating, the food now tasted like gravel in his mouth. He now realized just how much danger he'd put his wife in. What if the blackmailer had come to the farm while he was away, what defense would she have had?

  "From here on you need to appreciate that God sent a good woman your way. Annie told me the whole story about her life and what it was that made her kill that man."

  "He isn't dead. It was just a ploy so he and his friend could blackmail Annie and I."

  Cora put her hands to her mouth and let out a soft laugh. "Thank goodness, Annie will be so happy her name has been cleared."

  "I hope your husband doesn't mind that you've been here for a while," Richard said, and silence greeted his words. He looked up to see Cora wiping her eyes.

  "Bartholomew my husband died a few weeks ago, it was all so sudden and his family turned me out of the farm especially since I have no child to carry on his name."

  "I am very sorry to hear that."

  "That's alright," she stood up. "I need to go and check on Annie and the baby. Good night."

  "Good night."

  ~#~#~#~

  Annie woke up early, and was sure she'd heard voices but then pushed the thought out of her head. Must have been dreaming, she thought. She looked at her son who was sleeping, his round cherub face already taking on its features. He was a big baby, and would grow up to be as tall as his father had been. Tears filled her eyes. If only James had lived to see his son, he would have been so proud of the little mite. She had long made her peace with her dead husband and now had the future to look forward to, or did she have a future at all?

  She hurriedly got out of bed. This was no time to lie around. Women through the ages had babies all the time and got right back to work. Besides, she didn't want to strain Cora who was doing so much already. Annie knew that by now her friend would have gone to the barn to milk the cows, so she readied herself to go and start preparing breakfast.

  Knowing that Alexander would sleep for a long while after a substantial feeding earlier that morning, she tucked him into the bed and stood up. Her body was still sore but she had to be strong, for herself, her son and for Richard when he returned.

  Richard had already done the milking when Cora got to the barn. "The cows just need to be taken out for a while so the barn can be cleaned. They of course cannot stay outside too long because of the cold."

  "I will do that," Cora began herding the three cows and two calves out. One of the cows was already beginning to show signs of wanting a mate and Richard decided that later in the day he'd take it to visit the bull on Jeremy's farm.

  "It's time I went in to see my wife and son. Do you think they are awake?"

  "I heard Annie waking up earlier to feed the baby, and knowing her I don't think she'll want to lie in bed. "

  "Let me stop her from hurting herself," he picked up the crib with all the unwrapped items and strode purposefully to the house. Annie was not in the kitchen and when he stepped into the corridor he heard movement coming from his room. He placed the crib on the floor and knocked.

  "Come in Cora, you don't have to knock," Annie said in light voice. "I'm ready to come and prepare breakfast." She was bending over the bed, ensuring that Alexander was alright.

  The door opened slowly but there was silence for a moment and she turned around. "Oh," she put a hand to her mouth. But Richard didn't notice her because his attention was caught by the child who was tucked up in his bed and fast asleep. The boy was so beautiful that Richard felt the tears welling in his eyes. He'd picked up the crib and was still holding it in his hands, so gently placed it against the opposite
wall from the bed. He approached the bed and stood looking down at the baby for a long while. Annie let him, she had never seen such an enraptured expression on her husband's face and she knew that he was affected by the sight of the sleeping baby.

  "I should have been here," he said, finally turning to look at her. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here to help you through it all."

  "It's alright, Cora was here and we're fine."

  He nodded. "Please, can we talk?" He sat down at the foot of the bed and patted the space beside him. "You shouldn't be on your feet so soon."

  "Really, I'm alright," Annie protested but sat down, leaving some space between them. She wasn't sure what her husband wanted to tell her. Fear held her in a vice like grip but she struggled to hide her vulnerability from her husband.

  "Annie, I'm back now to look after you and the baby." She nodded. "Your name has been cleared," he said and she looked up, her mouth falling open in astonishment. He laughed - a brief happy sound. "That man, Roger Bright did not die. Actually he was not even badly injured."

  "Then why ...?"

  "He's a wicked man and together with his friend, decided to find you and blackmail you or me for that matter since I'm your husband. But the law has finally caught up with them and no one will ever harm you again Annie while I'm here to take care of you."

  She put her face in her hands and wept tears of relief. However, her ordeal was not yet over. She wasn't sure what else her husband had found out about her because he'd made no move to show her any affection. Perhaps he didn't want her, even though she was not a murderer.

  "Annie," she didn't realize that he'd moved closer to her until he gently pulled her hands away from her face. "You are the bravest woman I've ever known and now I know you're an honorable woman. I realize you were only trying to protect your virtue from that wicked man and that's why you acted the way you did. You need never be afraid again."

  "Thank you," she whispered, looking down at their intertwined hands. Dare she hope?