“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hart. I’m Tillie, and I’ll be looking after you. Can I get you some coffee or tea? Maybe a slice of apple pie?” She handed a menu to Elise with a smile. “Sure am glad to make your acquaintance, and I’m glad Bowie found himself such a pretty bride. He deserves a little happiness.”
Miss Spanner sniffed and stalked away to join the two women near the window, and Tillie leaned close. “Don’t you mind Evelyn and Hattie over there by the window. Spiteful cats. They both wanted a Hart brother to propose to them, and they’re jealous. And Miss Spanner and her airs. She’s just a frustrated old woman who set her cap for Harley Burton, the lawyer here in town, and he isn’t exactly coming up to the mark, shall we say? She gets spleeny because he runs away every time he sees her coming.”
Elise nodded, but her heart hurt. No wonder Bowie avoided town. She had a feeling that given the choice, she’d avoid the place, too.
Chapter Five
Within a week, the papering and painting were finished, and Elise found herself at loose ends until the rest of the furnishings arrived. Josefina and Carlos did their best to ensure she didn’t lift a finger inside the house or out, and her husband was absent much more than he was present. Bowie worked from dawn until dusk on the new barn and with training his horses and dogs, ate his meals with barely a word spoken, and every night, at the head of the stairs, she turned to go into her bedroom and he into his across the hall. And every night she felt more isolated and lonely. They coexisted amiably enough, but Elise found herself wanting more.
She wanted Bowie to let her into his life.
But how could she get him to open up to her? How could she get to the man she knew existed behind the walls he’d erected? She had glimpsed behind that protective barrier when they’d first met, when he was helpless in the hospital, out of his mind with fever, begging her not to leave him, refusing treatment unless it was by her hand.
She’d seen it again when they had kissed in front of his family, when he’d received the deed to his land. She was sure he had felt something. Not to mention the joy of waking up in his arms. What would it be like to awaken that way every morning? To be desired and cherished like that for the rest of your life? To be able to spend all the love she had been storing up in her heart on someone who would love her back?
Elise wanted that. And she wanted that with Bowie.
But how did she reach the man’s heart?
What she needed was a plan to at least get her husband to spend time with her. That would be a good start. Then she could work on getting past his defenses. And the sooner she started, the better.
She waited supper that evening until well after the regular time, but Bowie didn’t come inside. Finally, she sent Josefina home, saying she would clear up. Bowie had been late before, but not this late, and Elise found herself looking out the window and listening for his footsteps on the porch. Eventually, she went in search of him. She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders against the mid-November chill and headed toward the new barn. Bowie spent his days training a crop of young colts how to be cow ponies. Perhaps one of them had fallen ill. She’d check the corral behind the barn first.
But Bowie wasn’t there. Six sturdy horses stood together, munching hay, swishing their tails, but her husband wasn’t to be seen. Elise turned and started for the barn, but as she rounded the corner, she collided with Bowie. He put his hands out and grabbed her shoulders to keep her from stumbling.
“Something wrong?” His deep voice brushed against her hair before he set her back, sending a tremor through her.
“You didn’t come in for supper.”
“I was with Clara. It’s her time. I was coming in to get you, if you wanted to see the pups born.”
She smiled. He’d thought of her, wanting to include her. That was something, wasn’t it?
Taking her hand, he led her into the barn and into a stall piled with hay. Under the manger on an old blanket, Clara lay on her side, panting and grunting softly. Bowie had lit a lantern, and a bucket of water and a pile of rags waited nearby.
“How long does it take?” Elise sat on some bags of grain he’d piled along one wall.
“This is her first litter, and it depends on how many pups are in there. She’s bigger than I thought she’d be, so there might be quite a few, which is just as well, considering all the folks that want one.” Bowie squatted on his heels, reaching out and running his hand down Clara’s distended side. She turned her head and lapped his fingers. “Good girl. You’re doing fine.”
When the first puppy was born, Bowie handed it to Elise along with a piece of toweling. She rubbed the wet, trembling creature. “It’s been a long time since I was a nurse.”
He took the puppy, laying it alongside Clara. “You haven’t lost the knack.”
She swallowed and gathered her courage. “I was scared the whole time I worked at Fort Slocum. I think the most scared I ever was though, was when I took your bandages off.”
Bowie went still, his lips flattening. “Because you were afraid of how I looked?”
“Of course not. How could you even think that?”