Chapter 20

20

A fter 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. She didn'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 a true husband. 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.

"I didn't hear him."

"I don't think he was hungry." Her husband smiled down at Michael. "We had a good time last night, didn't we, Son?"

Confused, Lorinda shook her head.

Mrs. Oleson glanced at her. "I'm fixing your eggs right now."

"All right." She stared at Franklin. "What are you talking about?"

He lifted Michael onto his shoulder, and her son held his head high instead of resting it on the man. "I didn't see any sense in waking you if he wasn't hungry. So I got up and played with him. We even went outside and looked at the moon and stars."

This was almost too much for Lorinda to take in. Franklin had gotten up with Michael, played with him, and taken him outside?

"I didn't hear you unlock the front door."

He lifted one eyebrow and glanced at her. "I looked in on you, and you were sleeping so soundly, I didn't want to bother you." He kept his hand on her son's back while the baby wobbled in his arms. "If he'd have been hungry, I'd have awakened you."

What kind of crazy world had she walked into? She felt as if she had fallen down a rabbit hole and landed in Wonderland, like the Lewis Carroll book Mrs. Oleson had shared with her. Perhaps she was still asleep, dreaming all of this.

Dreaming? Suddenly, flashes of her night vision flitted in her head. Heat made its way up her body and into her cheeks. Why did she have to blush? She didn't want anyone to know about that dream. No telling what Franklin would think if he knew. Another secret to keep from the man.

Franklin had never seen Lorinda immediately after she awakened. Usually by the time he saw her, the rosiness of sleep had worn off, and the wrinkles from the linens had disappeared. And her hair was combed and styled. This messy braid with curls springing around her face hit the pit of his stomach. He'd always thought her pretty, but a new beauty shone through her today. He wished he had the right to tuck one long curl, that rested on her shoulder, behind her ears. If he hadn't been an idiot, he could exercise that right.

"Come sit down, Lorinda." Mrs. Oleson set a filled plate on the table.

"I need to feed Michael first." She glanced at the baby, but her gaze evaded Franklin's.

"He's happy right now." Franklin sat down in the chair across from her. "Your breakfast won't be as good after it sits a while."

Finally, her gaze met his. She looked as if she were trying to read something into what he said. Then she bowed her head for a moment. After she raised it, she concentrated on her food, only peeking sometimes at their son.

Franklin set him on his knee, being careful to hold him with fingers high enough to keep his head from wobbling. He lifted his heel from the floor just enough to gently rock the baby up and down. A soft laugh filled the silence in the room.

"Did you hear that?" Lorinda smiled at the boy. "I haven't heard him laugh before."

Franklin didn't want to upset her, so he didn't tell her Michael had laughed a little when they were outside during the night. Just letting her think this was his first time wouldn't hurt anything...would it?

"That was so sweet." Mrs. Oleson came over and bent over Franklin's shoulder so she could look the baby in the face. "You're such a happy boy, aren't you?"

Another laugh ended in a gurgle. Franklin took the folded diaper from his shoulder and wiped the drool from his son's face.

"He must be getting ready to cut a tooth." Mrs. Oleson straightened up and placed one hand on her arched back. "I'm getting too old to be leaning over like that."

Finally, Lorinda looked up from her half-eaten food. "You're not that old. Even I get aches and pains sometimes." She picked up her biscuit. "What kind of jelly is this? You made it before I came to live here."

"Plum. The thickets grow wild in some areas of the ranch." Mrs. Oleson dropped into the chair beside Franklin.

"It's delicious." Lorinda took a bite, and a drip of butter started down her chin. Quickly, her pink tongue flicked it away.

The memory of the kiss at the wedding rushed into his mind. That memory almost choked him, and he stopped bouncing the baby.

Lord, help me. Without being able to let her know how much he liked having her around, his life could turn into a misery. The only bright spot right now was this tiny boy who had captured him in all the right ways.

Franklin was responsible for so much. How could he take care of the worries he and Thomas discussed last night? What scared him most was his inability to guarantee the safety of the three people who shared the house with him.

The most important people in his world.