Page 16 of Her Gentle Protector
Annamae was correct.
He’d take a ride to visit Ma and Marmee, as they were the perfect pair to provide guidance and maybe even additional help. As he peeled off his damp clothing, he knew the first thing to do was to change into dry clothes.
Chapter Five
Midge hadn’t seen Baxter since Olive ruined his clothes a few days prior. She remembered how his grip tightened around the child, and the fear in his eyes as he looked at Olive for a moment before quickly holding her away from his body. If it wasn’t so horrific, she might have found it rather amusing.
Stirring the pot of boiling water containing Olive’s damp cloth diapers, Midge sighed heavily. Her younger siblings had said they were going to collect some firewood earlier in the day, and Petunia had wanted to try out her newly crafted slingshot to hunt a few squirrels. The ham and salt pork that Baxter had brought was already gone, so she had been rationing the beans just to keep them all fed.
Baxter was right. The children wanted every scrap of food consumed in one sitting. With great care, Midge had to distribute the food, ensuring there was just the right amount for each meal, while also saving some for the next day.
As she stood at the fire, her eyes glazed over as she stirred the post thoughtlessly.Why should she care about diapers when her handsome neighbor consumed her thoughts?His tall frame, which seemed like he could carry anything on his shoulders, made her want to swoon. His arms were muscular and protective when he had pulled her from the forest floor to safety. He had dark brown hair that curled around his ears in a dashing way, framing a face with deep brown eyes like liquid acorns.
She wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
His lips looked soft.When he wasn’t scowling.Midge wondered what made him so grumpy, and if she could make him smile. Shaking herself out of her thoughts and blushing at the direction her mind was going, she concentrated on pushing the diapers back under the water. She couldn’t let herself indulge in those kinds of fantasies when she had so much responsibility on her shoulders. A man like Baxter Hartman would never be interested in her, she was sure of it. She was just a simple girl with nothing to offer, but ...nothing.
“Midge! Midge!” Josiah came running up the hill, followed by Peter, Berry, and Jenny. “Someone’s coming!”
“Someone’s coming,” Jenny repeated, her voice heavy with worry as she pointed towards the road. A buggy was kicking up clumps of mud, the horse racing towards the house.
Midge squinted in the bright midday sun, trying to make out the features of the two people in the buggy. Unfortunately, all she could see were their faceless silhouettes.
“Ira!” she called, dropping the paddle against the large kettle and racing to the porch.
“What is it?” he said, appearing in the doorway. Midge had put him in charge of watching Abilene and Olive while she did laundry.
“Go into Pa’s bedroom and get the rifle from behind the dresser. We got company.”
“We don’t have any cartridges. Pa didn’t buy any.”
“Makes no mind, just run and get it. Make haste, boy.” Turning to Josiah and the others, she shooed them inside. “I want you to be quiet as mice. You understand?”
“Who is it, Midge?” Berry asked.
“I don’t know, darling. Go inside now.”
Ira came back with the rifle and Midge sat it in the porch’s corner, hoping she wouldn’t need to pick it up. Pulling the door closed, she stepped off the rickety porch and waited for the buggy to reach the house.
Relief washed over her features when she recognized Ingrid Chapman and another woman in the buggy. The Chapmans owned one of the largest ranches in Flat River. Ingrid, his wife, demanded that she be addressed as Marmee, positioning herself as the matriarch of the town. Midge’s interactions with the woman were limited, but she knew of Mrs. Chapman’s reputation.
You didn’t disobey her, and you didn’t cross her.
Midge wondered if she was more afraid of her pa or the woman that was climbing out of the buggy with a frown on her face.
“This will never do, Verna. What say you?” Marmee asked, tugging off her riding gloves.
The woman named Verna scrambled out of the buggy from the other side and reached in to grab a basket. “It is not at all what I was expecting. Not at all how he described it to me.”
“That,” Marmee said, pointing with her glove toward the barn, “appears to be in better shape than this thing. I don’t know why they don’t move in there.”
“Maybe there aren’t enough rooms?” Verna walked behind the buggy, pulling her shawl over one shoulder as she tried to juggle the basket in her hand.
“As if this house has enough rooms to house all these babies.”
Midge’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she bit her lip to keep from stammering. She squared her shoulders and took a step forward, her hands clasped together in a tight ball to hide their trembling. “May I help you?”
“You must be Midge,” Verna said.
