He had worried, the night before that she wasn’t ready to be his wife in every way, but together they had gotten through those first awkward moments of intimacy, and he felt more connected to Amanda than ever before.
“You look lovely,” Teddy grinned, admiring the violet dress his new wife wore. “You sure have a powerful number of pretty things.”
Amanda blushed, tying the ribbon of her matching bonnet. Teddy had been accommodating all morning and had even buttoned her dress. Now she was hungry and thinking of nothing more than breakfast.
“You’re sure Rosa won’t mind if we join everyone for breakfast?”
“No, she’ll expect us. Besides, this way you’ll get to meet the crew, and they’ll keep an eye out for you. I’m sure in no time you’ll be fast friends with Rosa and little Christina. We’d better hurry though, we’re already running late.”
“Late?” Amanda gaped, the sun had barely reached the top of the low hills as a half globe, and she was dressed and ready to leave.
Teddy placed his hand at the young woman’s back and opened the door, ushering her out into the light of a new day.
“Theo-dore!” Rosa spat as Teddy walked into the main house. “How come you not tell us that you are getting married?” The fiery woman shook the spatula she had been flipping pancakes with at Teddy. “We could have made a big party.”
“I didn’t know,” Teddy pleaded. “We just kind of decided, and it happened.”
“With half the town turnin’ out to watch,” Cookie snapped as he walked an empty platter from the table.
Amanda shrank back from the old man, but Teddy’s soft laugh in her ear steadied her. “Don’t worry, Cookie’s bark is far worse than his bite.”
“Come, eat,” Rosa said, carrying the platter of pancakes to the waiting cowhands. “Cookie will bring more bacon.”
Amanda took the seat that Theo offered, gazing around her at the curious faces of the other men. She recognized Mayor Dan, from her first encounter on the ranch, but everyone else was strangers.
“I’d like you all to meet my wife, Amanda.” Teddy beamed with pride. “Amanda, this here is Rosa, and that’s little Christina, you met them before.” He blushed, pointing at the little girl sitting next to Dan in a tall, highchair.
The men around the table each greeted Amanda putting her more at ease, though she was sure she would never remember their names. She had thought this initial meeting would be awkward, but so far, everyone seemed happy to see her there.
“Your dress is beautiful,” Rosa said, taking a seat and offering a smile. “Come now, we eat.”
An hour later, Amanda settled on the seat of the buckboard with Theodore, feeling nervous but happy. So far, this married life wasn’t too bad, and she seemed to be handling each challenge well enough.
Theo squeezed her hand as they set out, and she scooted a little closer to him.
“We’ll drop the buckboard off at the livery this morning,” Teddy spoke. “You’ll ride back with Rosa and Christina.”
“What about you?” Amanda blanched. “Aren’t you coming home?”
“I’ll ride Pepper.” He turned slightly to look at his placid pony trotting behind the wagon. “Can you ride?”
“Yes, of course.” Amanda turned, looking at the horse then down at her dress. It was not the kind of thing one wore riding.
“I don’t mean today, but if you’re of a mind to ride sometime, I can organize a quiet horse for you. I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck at home while I’m out workin’ all the time.”
“I don’t have a saddle,” Amanda protested.
“Well, we’ll see what we can do about that. Dan has plenty of saddles. I’m sure one of them will suit.”
Amanda felt her cheeks flame, she didn’t want to be a problem for Theodore, but she needed to explain. “I ride sidesaddle.” The words tumbled out and Amanda dropped her eyes as Theo’s brows rose.
“Oh, of course.” Teddy sat in silence for several moments, contemplating the issue. “I’ll talk to Darwin when I drop off the wagon,” he finally said. “I don’t know if he has a sidesaddle, but maybe he can help me get one.”
Amanda relaxed a little at Theo’s words. The thought of riding astride was simply too indecent to consider. “I would appreciate that.”
“If you need anything else while I’m workin’, you can always walk up to the house and ask Rosa. She goes to town fairly often, and you can always ride along.”
Though quaint, Amanda enjoyed the church service in Needful and was surprised at the number of people who took the time to greet and congratulate her and Theo. It would be a long time before she remembered all of the names of the people who stopped to shake her hand, but they made her feel welcome.
“I see you survived your first night as a wife,” Ellen teased, making Amanda’s face flush. “Teddy’s a good man,” the other woman grinned. “You chose well.”
Teddy smiled, shaking hands with friends and acquaintances as they greeted him, but his face froze when the saloon owner paused, his eyes roaming over Amanda critically.
“If I’d known you were such a pretty thing,” Mr. Alder spoke, a hard glint in his eye, “I’d have come callin’ myself. Why, with the money I make in the saloon, you’d have lived the kind of life a lady like yourself deserves.”
Teddy stepped closer to Amanda, wrapping an arm around her possessively. “I’m not sure life as the wife of a saloon owner is what one might call fit for a lady.”
Mr. Alder chuckled, walking away with a quick retort. “If you ever get tired of this country bumpkin, you come see me.” His dark eyes lit on Amanda again, and she sank into Teddy’s embrace, offering a haughty look for the rude man.
“I’m starting to think I was fortunate to meet you first,” Amanda admitted looking at
