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Heather felt like she was a bug in a jar, being watched at everything she did. “I think we’re both determined to make our marriage work,” Heather said, wishing her mother-in-law would drop the subject.
“I certainly hope so,” Sally said. “I want at least a dozen grandbabies, unless your hips are too narrow, and then I don’t know what we’ll do.”
Patrick barely looked up from his plate to see Heather looking uncomfortable. “Leave her alone, Ma.”
It was the first time Heather had really heard him say anything that wasn’t in direct answer to something else. And he was defending her. It was a good thing.
Sally sighed, looking a bit deflated. “All right. This really is good, Heather. I would love the receipt when you have the time to write it out for me.”
Heather smiled. “I’ll do that later.” She was getting tired. “Would it be a problem if I took a bath after I finished up the dishes tonight?”
Sally shook her head. “Of course not. You take your bath while I do the dishes. You’ve traveled a long way to give me grandbabies.”
“Ma.” It was only one word, but it was said with a great deal of emotion.
“All right. Yes, take a bath tonight. I will see to the dishes. I know you’re tired.”
“Thank you,” Heather said, thrilled that her husband was trying to shut down his mother’s talk of them reproducing. Her own mother had never once mentioned such a thing to her, and her mother-in-law had more times in one day than Heather could count.
For the rest of the meal, the talk was about how the ranch was doing, and if Patrick thought they’d lost any of the cattle to the Applegates.
“I don’t think so, Ma. And if the Applegates find our cattle in among theirs, they’ll make sure to get them back to me. That’s the kind of people they are.”
“That’s true. How’s old man Applegate doing? Is his son still running the ranch?” Sally asked.
Patrick nodded. “He’s having trouble with his arthritis but seems okay.”
“I’ll have to talk to him about it in church this week,” Sally said. “I wonder if he’s seen Dr. Bentley?”
“I don’t know, Ma.”
“I can ask him myself. You are not very good at asking the questions I want answers to anyway.”
He never gets a chance to speak. Heather kept her thoughts to herself. She was enjoying watching how Patrick and his mother got on together. It was very different than how she and her mother had been.
For an instant, but only an instant, Heather felt guilty for the way she’d left Beckham. Yes, it had been the only way she would ever escape from her controlling mother, but it hadn’t been particularly kind.
After supper, Heather cleared the table while Sally boiled the water for the dishes. As soon as the table had been wiped clean, Heather was sent into the bathroom.
After staring at the real bathtub for a moment, she decided she didn’t want to take the time to learn to use the contraption. Instead, she wet a washcloth and gave herself a sponge bath, planning to ask Sally how to use the tub the following day. Her hair would need to be washed then, but for tonight, she could just braid it.
After cleaning herself up as best she could, she went into the kitchen. “I think I need to turn in,” she said. “I’m just too tired to stay awake.”
Sally nodded. “Patrick will be up in a minute. He goes to bed early.”
Heather nodded, hoping against hope that Patrick would let her wait a day or two before performing her wifely duties. She was just too tired.
At the top of the stairs, she went into his room, quickly changing into her nightgown and climbing into the oversized bed. She was sure Patrick had built the bed himself based on the sheer size of it. No one else needed a bed quite that big. Well, not that she knew of anyway.
By the time Patrick reached the top of the stairs, Heather was already asleep. He looked at her sleeping so soundly on one side, facing the wall. Instead of waking her, he silently got undressed and joined her in the bed. He lay on his own side, wrapping himself around his pretty little wife.
As he closed his eyes, he thought about just how much he would like to be doing something with her other than sleeping that night, but he wasn’t about to wake her. No, she’d made a long journey, and then worked with his mother all day. He could see that the work done could never have been managed by his mother alone.
Resting his head on the pillow with hers, her hair tickling his cheek, he fell asleep, thinking about how wonderful this marriage was going to be. If only his ma would keep her nose where it belonged.
Heather woke when he rested his head on the pillow with hers. She half expected him to wake her and at least try to have a wedding night, but he didn’t. She could hear his even breathing and it seemed that he’d gone to sleep.
He was sleeping holding her, as if she was something precious he’d just found. Almost like a child held a doll or another object that was special. It felt good to be someone’s special object.
