Read Online Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) by Mia Blackwood - Free Book Online Page B

ranch, but he made certain one of the ranch hands was always close to the house to guard his wife and little George. He knew he would not rest easy until the murderer had been caught and had told Madeline so.
    George himself had good days and bad days. His moods varied by the hour at times, but Madeline had been told that he had seen his parents get killed so she was extra patient with him. It took twice as long for her to accomplish most of her chores with him around, especially when he was extra clingy and needy, but Madeline knew the chores were not nearly as important as George feeling safe and loved.
    Attending church on Sunday had been an eye-opening experience for Madeline. She knew that women on the frontier were in short supply, but seeing it for herself really drove the point home. No wonder Caleb had sent for a mail order bride! Most of the women in church were either married already, elderly, or still children. And there were very few children.
    One day while she and George were making bread, she had what she thought was a brilliant idea. Two of them, in fact. The first would benefit the ranch, as it would free up all ranch hands to perform their jobs on the ranch as they had before the murders. The other would benefit the community as a whole. She could not wait to share her ideas with Caleb at lunch.
    Caleb returned home for lunch and was greeted by George, who ran to the door for his usual bear hug. After squeezing his nephew, Caleb took a deep breath and sniffed appreciatively. “Mmmm, that smells delicious!”
    Madeline smiled. “Thank you. George and I spent the morning baking. He’s a good helper.” She gave George a wink as she spoke. She loved giving him a little dough to play with while she worked and always pretended to add it to the bread before baking it. It made him feel like he was helping and his mess was fairly well contained to the table.
    Caleb took George to the sink and together they washed up for lunch. Caleb had already washed up in the barn, but he knew it was important for George to establish good habits like washing before a meal. They took their seat and Madeline served up the stew she had made with yesterday’s leftover roast.
    As they ate the stew and fresh bread, which was still warm from the oven, Madeline tried to think of a casual way of telling Caleb her idea. Not finding one, she decided to just say it and get it over with. She knew he would either love the idea or hate it.
    “I had an idea that I wanted to share with you,” she told Caleb thoughtfully.
    Caleb, who had been busy devouring his stew, looked up at his wife with a questioning look on his face.
    “I want you to teach me how to shoot.” At the surprised look on her husband’s face, Madeline pushed on with her reasoning before he could swallow and shoot her idea down. “If I knew how, you wouldn’t have to leave someone here to guard us every day. I could take care of that myself.”
    Caleb chewed his food thoughtfully before answering. He was surprised that Madeline had come up with the idea, though he probably should not have been. His wife was proving to be one resourceful woman.
    “Well, now…I agree that it’s a good idea for you to learn how, but I’m not sure about leaving you defenseless.” How on earth could she watch over George, get her work done, and still watch for the killer?
    Madeline furrowed her brow. “If I know how to shoot, I won’t be defenseless.”
    Caleb sighed. “You can’t possibly stay on guard, watch George, and get your work done.”
    Madeline bit back a sassy retort. She had forgotten how mule-headed men could be at times. Just because they couldn’t handle doing three things at once did not mean that she couldn’t!
    Caleb watched in amazement as his wife’s face transformed with unspoken anger. He had no idea what she was angry about. He had agreed to teach her how to shoot, after all. Isn’t that what she wanted? It wasn’t as though he thought his wife couldn’t