“Probably not,” he said through his fourth bite of pancakes. He picked up his bacon and studied it. “There’s not one black spot. How do you do it?”
“I’m careful with the temperature and how long I leave the bacon on the stove. It’s really not that hard not to burn things.”
“I used to think that,” he said. “I either undercook everything or burn it to a crisp. There’s no in-between in my world.” He popped the bacon into his mouth and moaned aloud. “This food is all I need for the rest of my life. Will you make this for every meal?”
She took a sip of her milk, studying him over the top. “Do you have a spot cleared for the kitchen garden?” He was being ridiculous, and she wasn’t going to discuss the pancakes any longer. The praise was nice, but his praise was so lavish, she knew it couldn’t be true.
He shook his head. “I’ll plow a spot in the morning before I head out on the range. My foreman can tell the men what to do.”
“How many men do you have working for you?” Trudie asked.
“A dozen or so. My foreman hires them and manages them. He and I meet once a week, and we discuss how things need to be. I have a bunk house for them across the ranch from here.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “Will I be meeting these men?”
He shook his head adamantly. “Never. If you were old and ugly like I’d expected, I’d have let you meet them all, but you’re not, so you’ll have to be sequestered away in my home where no one can see you.”
Trudie didn’t bother to respond to that. The man was insane. She wasn’t sure Elizabeth had done a good thing by having her marry him, and she would soon write her sister a letter and tell her just that.
He sipped at his milk, watching her for a moment. “You’re sleeping with me tonight.”
She wanted to groan aloud. “I barely know you. How can you expect me to sleep with you? It’s simply not the way things should go between us.”
“Well, I still want to sleep with you. I won’t make love with you for a week, but you have to sleep with me every night, and I’ll be touching you some.” He hoped she wouldn’t notice if he started making love with her, but she was pretty bright. It might not work the way he wanted it to.
“You may touch me above the neck,” she said magnanimously. “There’s no need for you to touch anywhere else if we’re not making love yet.”
Doug frowned at her. “How about if I touch you only above the waist, and only on top of your nightgown? Since I want to make love tonight, and you don’t, I think we should compromise.”
Trudie was a bit disbelieving about the first supper conversation she was having with her husband. Her mother would be mortified. “Tonight, only above the neck. We’ll negotiate for where you can touch tomorrow night when the time comes.”
“So, we’re going to have to discuss my marital rights at every supper for a week? You choose to have odd meal-time conversations, Trudie.”
She was surprised he remembered her name and didn’t call her Meals. “I guess I do.”
She had finished eating, so she stood up and cleared everything but his plate from the table. She’d made as many pancakes as would have fed three of her teenage brothers, and they were gone.
Emptying the pot of boiling water into the sink, she pumped in just a bit of cold so it was cool enough she could put her hands in it, and she made quick work of the dishes. He brought her his plate and milk glass and then leaned against the counter, watching her work. “I think I’m going to like being married.”
“I’m glad,” she said, wondering what on earth she’d gotten herself into. “Are you all right with bacon and eggs for breakfast? I promise to not cook that every day, but it’ll be the easiest in the morning.” She’d not slept a great deal on the train, and she was exhausted. As soon as he was gone in the morning, she was going to heat water for a bath. She needed it more than she needed sleep, but she couldn’t trust him not to watch her bathe if he was in the house.
“Bacon and eggs are fine. And don’t worry if you drop a shell in. I’m used to crunchy eggs.”
Trudie wrinkled her nose. “I think I’ll do my best to avoid eggshells in the meal.”
“Oh, good. I was hoping you would. I mean, I can eat them that way, but I prefer them without the crunch.” He grinned at her. It was fun to tease his new wife. He’d have to do it more often.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe your mother let you out of her sight!”
“I never had a mother. I was raised in an orphanage in Orlan, New York.” He shrugged. “Now the orphanage matron told me that I would do well to survive a week without a keeper.”
“She was right, you know.” Trudie wasn’t sure how to react to the fact that he hadn’t had a mother. She had been raised in poverty, but she had always had parents who loved her. And siblings. More siblings than anyone should have to admit to having.
“Probably.” He watched as she wiped the dishes dry and then put them back in the cabinets where she’d found them. “You’re going to be a good wife, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to do my very best.” She smiled at him. “Just give me a little time to settle in.”
“I’ll try.” Doug could already tell that it wasn’t going to be easy. The woman absolutely captivated him. And she could cook. There was nothing he’d needed more in his life than a woman who
