“You care about him and the twins, don't you?” Wolf paced beside the bed with a finger in the air, obviously his vision of a great orator.
“Well, yes, but I'm not the kind of woman he'd want in a wife.” Karlee had to put an end to this idea before Daniel did. Better that she said no, than hear it from him.
“Do you care about the man?” Wolf frowned like an angry father and brought his finger down to point at Daniel. “You must know. You've been living under the same roof for near a week now.”
“Well, yes, I care about him. He's a fine man.”
“You figure some better man will ask you? Some man with no children to raise that ain't your own? Some man with more to offer?”
“No!” Karlee resented his statement. “I love the girls. I want to help raise them. No better man would ever ask me, but don't you see… he deserves better than me.” There, she said it. That should put an end to Wolf's idea.
She didn't want to have to list all her shortcomings; she'd heard others list them all her life. Daniel was an intelligent, brave man who could have his pick of women. He didn't need to be saddled with her. She was too big, too clumsy, too…
As she pulled away, a bandaged hand caught hers.
He didn't try to argue or reason. He only held her hand and pulled her slowly back to the side of the bed. She tugged, trying to break free. Then she saw the bloodstains along the cotton covering his knuckles. The effort to hold her was costing him dearly.
She stopped struggling and moved close, allowing him to guide her.
“You said,” he took his time with each word. “You said you'd stay with me until the dawn.”
Karlee straightened, her pride keeping her silent. She didn't have to tell him what a poor wife she'd make. He could probably guess. To marry him with no love between them was crazy, by far the most half-baked scheme she'd ever been part of.
“You don't have to worry about better or worse, it can't get much worse than this,” Wolf mumbled. “He hasn't got much money so the poorer is a sure bet. And in sickness has already fallen.”
“Shut up, Wolf, I can talk her into it without your help.” Daniel's voice sounded forced, drawing all his energy. “Marry me, Spinster Whitworth.”
Talk her into it-she almost laughed. Never would she have guessed that anyone would try to talk her into getting married. She never thought the question would come up, but now and then she'd allowed herself to dream. And in her dreams the only answer was yes.
Daniel cleared his throat. “But one thing. I'll have no make-believe marriage, even to keep my girls. If you say yes, you'll stay by my side until death separates us. A real marriage, a forever marriage or no marriage at all.”
“Until death separates us,” she repeated his words. What a fine way to end a promise.
An hour later they were married by the Methodist preacher from a church across town. The bride wore her best faded dress. The groom slept through most of the service. There were no rings, no flowers and no wedding night in one another's arms.
… but there was forever.
TWELVE
IF KARLEE HAD EXPECTED A HUSBAND TO BE MORE talkative than an employer, she was greatly disappointed. Daniel didn't say a word when she brought breakfast on the first morning of their marriage. She made no attempt to feed him, but when she returned an hour later with the twins, the food had disappeared.
She sat beside the bed, her sewing spread across her lap while the girls played on the floor between Daniel and the windows. As she'd expected, one twin, the one she'd sprinkled with cinnamon at breakfast, leaned close and kissed Daniel.
“Ah, cinnamon,” Daniel whispered.
“Yes, Papa,” she answered. “That's me.”
The chubby hand of the other daughter patted his arm. “Karlee says I'm Starlett, Papa. 'Cause I ask too many questions to count, like the stars. When you going to take that thing off your eyes?”
“Starlett,” Daniel nodded. “It fits you. I couldn't have chosen better names myself.”
He cleared his throat. “Girls, I married Karlee last night.”
“We married Karlee?” they both squealed.
“Does that mean she's going to stay?”
“Will she get big and fat and have a baby inside her like Willow?”
“Yes, she'll stay, and no, she won't have a baby.” Daniel said the words as if they were final, telling Karlee just what kind of marriage they would have. He wanted no more children.
She tried to keep her hands moving across the material though she knew he couldn't see her. What had she expected? That he suddenly loved her just because he married her? That he'd take her in his arms and to his bed?
Only a fool would think such a thing. She told him she didn't want a husband when she'd arrived, and he made it plain he didn't want a wife. What they'd done last night had been for the twins' sake. The forever part had just been said because he was a man of honor. They both knew, no matter the reason, there would be no turning back. A divorced preacher would never lead a church, and a divorced woman would be looked down on in any community.
Like it or not, they were tied together until death. Without love.
About mid-morning, Valerie arrived and offered to take the twins to the porch for a picnic. As soon as the girls were gone, Karlee collected all she needed to redo the bandages on Daniel's hands. She thought of asking if she could care for his leg as well, for the wrappings needed cleaning, but she decide to wait at least until they'd been married a full day. Changing bandages on his hands was one thing, on his leg would be quite another.
He didn't say a word as she soaked the stained bandage and slowly pulled the cotton away from dried blood along his knuckles.
“I'm sorry.” Newly hardened scabs came away with the cloth. “I'm trying not to hurt you.”
“It doesn't matter,” he answered blandly.
He didn't move as she washed his wounds and spread salve over his fingers. The strength of his hands fascinated her. She gently rubbed the soothing medicine in far longer than was necessary.
After she'd wrapped the wounds with clean cloth, she hurried to the kitchen and returned with a pan of hot water and a razor she'd found in a drawer.
“I thought I'd shave you, Daniel.” She called him by name for the first time. “In case we have company. I'll be careful of the cuts.”
A brow lifted above his bandaged eyes, but he didn't comment.
Karlee had seen men shave a few times. She'd even watched the barber shave a man while she was waiting for him to pull one of her teeth. He did a fine job of shaving the customer, but she felt sure he pulled the wrong tooth in her mouth. And to add to the injustice, he'd charged her two bits for the crime.
From that day on, she brushed her teeth religiously with baking soda and elm twigs gnawed on one end. She never planned to have another barber put his hand in her mouth, again, and any teeth she lost would have to fall out on their own.
Karlee lathered up Daniel's strong jawline with the flare she remembered the barber used.
The first swipe of the blade was perfect. The second disastrous. Blood dotted his chin as if he had a bad case of the measles.
Daniel jerked away. “Did you ever shave a man before?” he snapped.
“No,” she admitted. “I never had a man to shave, before you.”
“Well, I won't be around long if you keep spilling my blood so freely.”
His voice was hard, but she thought she saw a hint of a smile beneath the lather.
“I'll try again.”
Two strokes later, he jerked and grumbled again. “My jaw curves, the blade doesn't. Please leave some hide, Madam.”
“Your skin is sensitive from the fire's heat.” She leaned close to work on his throat. For a man of few words he spared none in criticism. “I'm not cutting you that deeply. I've no wish to make myself a widow after one day of marriage, but you are starting to look like you're related to Wolf.”