Page 152 of Conveniently Wed
Miriam nodded, not seeming to mind the switch. “Mostly cattle, but we have three broodmares now. Gideon likes the horses best, even though they’re a lot of work to raise and train before they’re ready to sell.”
Leah hesitated to comment on the man, but finally said, “Gideon seems like a hard worker who can do most anything.”
Miriam looked up from her potato long enough to flash a proud smile. “He’s remarkable. A natural born leader. I think that’s why he and Abel always got along so well. Gideon was the leader and Abel the doer. They both had a sixth sense when it came to animals too. I think that’s why it was such a shock about the bear.” The tenor in Miriam’s voice dropped with her last few words.
“The bear?”
Miriam swallowed. “That’s how Abel died. He tangled with a grizzly, we think, but we never saw the bear. Gideon found him in the woods after his soul had already gone to be with Jesus.”
She had no idea what to say, no words to ease that pain, so she allowed silence to settle over them except for the scrape of knife against potato. She looked up to check on her friend a few times, and when a tear rolled off the end of Miriam’s button nose, Leah leaned over to stroke her shoulder.
A few minutes later, Miriam set the last of the peeled potatoes in the bowl and rolled her shoulders, reaching to massage her neck. Her lips curved into a timid smile through the mist in her eyes.
“Leah, in case I haven’t said it enough, I hope you know how excited I am you’re here. I haven’t sat and peeled potatoes with another woman in years. It’s good for the soul, I tell ya.”
Maybe she could ask one more question. “Don’t you have any female neighbors close by?”
“Nah, most of the spreads around here are 160 acres or more, so the houses aren’t very close together.” She began gathering the potato bag full of peelings and the knives. “To the east is John Stands-alone and his son. John’s half Sioux and they keep pretty well to themselves. On the other side is a trapper fellow we call Skeet. He comes over for dinner every now and then.” She flashed another smile, this one brighter than before. “If we’re lucky, he brings his fiddle.”
Miriam leaned over and dropped a kiss on Leah’s forehead. “I’ll bring you more willow bark tea in a minute, then you get some rest, all right?”
That sounded like an excellent idea, as Leah sank back against the pillows. Her leg didn’t hurt so much when she visited with Miriam, but it ached ever so much now. And she was so tired.
Everything hurt. Her head. Her underside from lying flat in this infernal bed for two days. And most especially her leg.
Leah reached for her Bible and riffled the pages without much direction. She needed to pull herself out of this mood, but it was hard to make herself do anything with the continuous throbbing in her leg.
If only there was a doctor anywhere in the vicinity. Gideon seemed to know what he was doing when it came to splinting her leg, but surely a doctor would have also given medicine for the pain. The willow bark tea helped, but it also put her to sleep. It seemed like she’d been asleep for a week now.
A thud sounded from the other room, and she glanced toward the door. What was Miriam doing in there?
She forced her eyes back to the pages and flipped to Psalm chapter twenty, one of her favorites. Before she’d read more than the first line, Miriam’s light knock sounded on the door.
“Come in, Miriam. You don’t have to knock, you know.”Bad Leah.She was a guest in their house and Miriam was doing everything possible to make her comfortable, including waiting on her hand and foot. She couldn’t take the misery from her own silly mistake out on that sweet girl. Leah forced out a small smile as Miriam almost skipped into the room.
“We have a surprise for you, Leah.”
Behind the little magpie came her brother, and Gideon’s tall frame seemed to shrink the room. His broad shoulders tapered down to a trim waist, and he exuded strength.
Miriam stared at her like a puppy eager to run outside and play, and even Gideon had a sparkle in his emerald eyes.
She couldn’t help but smile back. “What’s the surprise?”
“You’ll have to come in the other room to see it.” This from Gideon as he moved closer to the right side of the bed. “Do you think you can manage that?”
She regarded him, trying to keep the surprise from registering too strongly on her face. “I don’t think I can walk yet, if that’s what you mean.”
Was that a mischievous sparkle in his eyes? “No need. I can carry you, I reckon’.”
She shouldn’t allow it, but she did want to see the surprise. Since Miriam was there, maybe it would be acceptable for him to touch her. But only because she couldn’t walk herself.
Leah bit her lip as she nodded. “All right.”
As Gideon neared, his presence surrounded her. Good thing Miriam had helped her with a sponge bath that morning.
Gideon slipped a strong arm around her back, and another under her knees. The splint on her leg kept it sticking out at an awkward angle, and Leah bit her lower lip hard to keep from crying out at the fire in her bone. She forced herself to focus on Gideon’s arms. She’d never been so close to anyone this strong before. The men whose arms she’d daintily touched as they escorted her in the ballroom were like twigs beside Gideon’s massive trunks. And his chest was strong enough to shield her from anything.
From the shelter of Gideon’s protection, she took in the familiar surroundings of the sitting area and kitchen. He stopped for a moment while Miriam fussed with something, then he gently set Leah on a soft…bed? They had, indeed, brought a bed into the main room.
