Page 532 of Conveniently Wed
After nursing him, Lorinda finished rocking Michael to sleep and placed him in his cradle. She had put him down before she, Franklin, and Mrs. Oleson had supper, but when Franklin left the house, the baby awoke and started fussing.
Even though her husband had told her not to wait up for him, she hoped he would come back in before she went to sleep. She wondered what had gone wrong. And she didn’t intend to go to sleep until she knew he was in the house...and safe.
Besides, they’d only been married less than two days. Would this be the way their marriage went? Him going out to do things without telling her why or where he went. Not much different from her father or Mike. Once more, a man was controlling things in her life without her input.
Lorinda plaited her hair into a loose braid and tied the end with a thin strip of fabric. She donned the white dimity gown with all the colorful embroidered flowers across the top and around the cuffs. How silly dressing like this for bed when no one would see her, except maybe Michael when he awoke during the night.
Completely ready to lie down, she paced the room instead, her slippers not making any sound on the wooden floor. Shedidn’t want Mrs. Oleson to know what she was doing. The sooner they got the woman’s new quarters ready for her, the better. Then Lorinda wouldn’t need to worry about what their housekeeper heard.
By the time she’d made more passes across the bedroom than she wanted to count, she heard the front door open, then close again with a click.Franklin locked the door. She didn’t remember him doing that before. There had to be a reason. What might endanger them?
She jumped into the large bed in the room that had been his. Pulling up the covers, she lay as still as she could, closing her eyes in case he checked on her.
The door between the hallway and the room where Michael slept opened, and Lorinda was aware of her new husband tiptoeing toward the cradle. He stopped and stayed beside it for several minutes. Whispered words sounded in a loving tone, but she couldn’t understand what he said. Her husband was pouring all his love into her...their son.
Tears slipped from under her closed eyelids and trickled toward her pillow. She needed love as much as Michael did. But her agreement with Franklin ensured she would never again experience physical love from a husband. She longed for the genuine love of atruehusband. She gritted her teeth to keep from sobbing. It would never do for him to hear that.
When Franklin came through the open door of Michael’s room into the dressing room, she felt his presence through her doorway. The aroma of heat, horse, Bay Rum Oil, and the unique masculine fragrance that was his alone circled around her, making her feel her barren life all the more. What a bleak future.
Desires for more than he was willing to give awakened deep in her belly. She was glad she lay in bed. If she’d been standing, her legs might just give out, the yearning was so strong and powerful.
He stepped into the room and stopped beside the bed. She was glad she faced the other direction. The tracks of her tears on her cheeks would surely give her away.
Franklin released a deep sigh, then returned to the dressing room. When he settled in the narrow bed, she was ashamed of herself for not insisting he let her sleep in there. This bed was more than wide enough and plenty long for the tall, strong man.
He quickly fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t snore exactly, but the even rhythm of his breathing filled the silence with his presence.
Finally, she succumbed to slumber.
A dream captured her thoughts.
Strong arms embraced her, and she loved the safety of them clasping her close. Lips touched hers tentatively. She returned the kiss with abandon. Soon they were enmeshed in the rhythm of marital love, giving and receiving a love so strong and so sure. She relished it, soaking up the emotions like a sponge left out in the summer sun to dry.
They exchanged murmurs of love, their hands exploring the curves and planes of each other. Breathless, she glanced into Mike’s face. Except, it wasn’t Mike! Instead, Franklin’s hooded gaze bored into her inner being.
She relaxed with his arms cradling her.
Her dream disappeared in a mist, and she rested in contentment.
Awakening with a start, Lorinda wondered where she was. Glancing around the room, she noticed the sun was fairly high in the sky.I overslept!
Something felt off kilter. Why was she alone in this big bed?
Why hadn’t Michael stirred? Had something happened to him? Finally recognizing the large bedroom that had been Franklin’s before their wedding, she jumped up and ran into the room she and her son had always shared. Peering through the spindles along the side of the cradle, she found the covers disturbed...and no baby. Her heartbeat accelerated. Had he been kidnapped?
While she frantically threw on her clothes, she remembered Franklin locking the front door. If anyone had broken in, someone should have heard it. She stopped and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as she buttoned the front of her dress.God, please don’t let anything be wrong with Michael.
She didn’t even take time to put on her shoes before she thrust open the door and rushed toward the kitchen. When she was three steps down the hallway, laughter rang out from that direction.
Franklin and Mrs. Oleson were there, and as the laughter slowed, she heard her son gurgling. Then he emitted a soft coo. Her heart melted.
As she stopped in the doorway, Franklin looked up at her. “Good morning, Sunshine.” His smile went straight to her jittery heart. Her pulse throbbed erratically.
Why did he call her that? He’d always been more formal.I think I like being called Sunshine.
“I don’t understand why Michael didn’t wake up during the night.” She wanted to reach for him, but he was happy resting in her husband’s arms.
“Who said he didn’t wake during the night?” A twinkle resided in Franklin’s eyes.
