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I’d just come in from the fields, from checking on my crops. The harvest would be bountiful this year, perhaps the best I’d ever had. Bridgewater soil was good for growing. The flourishing vegetable garden Emma had helped Elise establish behind the cabin was proof of that. Elise took great pride in preparing us simple dishes she had prepared, following Emma’s recipes, with food she had grown herself. And we enjoyed eating them.
Shane would be home soon, too. He was hard at work in the smithy we had rebuilt. His reputation as a blacksmith was known all over this part of the Montana Territory and business was brisk. He almost had more work than he could handle and would soon have to hire a boy to help him. But we liked to eat the midday meal together and it was almost noon so, as busy as he was, he would put it aside for a while.
My eyes were drawn to the pile of baby gowns stacked on a chair in the corner. Elise had been busy sewing, and so had some of the other ladies of Bridgewater. A baby was thought of as a blessing in this community, and our baby was no different. He or she would certainly be well loved.
Yesterday I’d brought Elise the news that Roger Yates was dead. She hadn’t wanted to know how he died. Just knowing that he was dead was enough, she said. She could breathe easy now: she was safe. She hadn’t asked about her brother. Maybe, in her mind, he was dead too.
The headline called him ‘one of Philadelphia’s wealthiest men’ but Shane and I were the rich ones. We had Elise. For an accidental bride, she was turning out to be an excellent wife. She had quickly learned all the skills she needed to survive, and thrive, out here, and she took care of Shane and I well, both physically and sexually. No matter how often we took her, she was always eager for more.
I entered the kitchen. Immediately, Elise turned, saw me, and smiled. Love shone in her eyes. She came to me, wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me full on the lips. She ground her pelvis against me, making it clear what she wanted.
“You are insatiable!” I pretended to scold, but I wasn’t cross. I could never be cross with such a willing woman.
“I can’t help it if you please me so,” she said, happiness and laughter clear in her voice.
Yes, I thought. Shane and I were definitely the rich ones. Elise had enriched our lives immeasurably.
* * *
The End.
