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pull back, as if she had been just tolerating the kiss. Hank
kissed her face and neck then and Mandy’s head fell back a bit, giving him more
access to her.
    Hank kissed his way back up to her
lips, stroking her hair as he went, then pulled away. Best to take it slow, he
thought, as difficult as that would be for him. Every part of him wanted to pick
her up and take her right over to the bed. Every part of him wanted to have her
right now, wanted to claim her fully as his wife. He pulled himself back from
that precipice with great difficulty.
    “Tell me about what brought you to
getting on that train to come out west here,” Hank smiled at her, “and be my
bride.”
    Hank thought he may as well have
pulled a curtain down over her face by the way Mandy’s expression changed and
closed off. She tried to get up from his lap.
    Hank held her there firmly. “Sit
still, now, Amanda.”
    “But, I need to...” Mandy gestured
toward the back door of the cabin, the one that let out to the outhouse.
    Hank knew that it was really just
an excuse to get away from him and the question he had posed, but he decided to
let her off the hook, this time. It would be a long winter. She’d talk to him
eventually, he was sure.
    “All right, then, you see to your
business.” Hank helped her off his lap, then he stood also. “I just want to
check on things in the barn one last time before we turn in for the night.”
Hank followed Mandy to the back door and she opened it to the first snowfall of
the season.
    “Oh, Hank. Look!” Hank noticed that
Mandy eyes lit up like a child’s at the sight of the delicate white flakes
floating down. There was already a light cover of snow on everything. “It’s
beautiful, isn’t it?”
    Hank looked from the snow to Mandy,
then back again. He smiled. “It sure is, sweetheart. Just beautiful.”
    Hank walked Mandy to the outhouse
and waited for her to come out again. He felt better knowing he saw her to the
back door and she was safely indoors before he went to the barn. Once all the animals
were settled for the night, Hank stepped back into the cabin to find Mandy
already in her night dress and sitting on the edge of the bed, brushing her
hair.
    “Snow’s picked up quite a bit in a
short time,” he told her. “My guess is we’ll be getting a big fall.”
    “Is that unusual for the first
snowfall of the season?”
    “It happens every few years.” He
placed another log on the fire and noted the need for more wood. “I’m going to
bring more firewood inside, not just the usual for the night, but I’ll load up
just inside the back door, in case we can’t get at it in the morning.”
    “I want you under the covers right
now. That wind I’ll be letting in will be cold for you with only your night
clothes on.” Mandy obeyed immediately, pulling back the quilts and climbing
under. When Hank meant business and wanted her to just mind him without any
discussion or questions, he made sure to use a certain tone of voice with
Mandy. She had learned quickly that this tone demanded complete obedience to
his word. A long session over his knee one particular day, when Mandy was
proving to be especially ornery, had driven home the lesson.
    Hank looked over at Mandy sitting
on the bed with her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around them.
She was watching him cart armload after armload of wood into the cabin and it
was all Hank could do just to focus on his simple task.
    Taking care of his new wife this
way was stirring up mighty powerful feelings in him that he knew he couldn’t
act on right now. Mandy wasn’t ready. But this act of caring for her and seeing
to her safety, warmth and comfort was what Hank felt he was born to do. He was
grateful that he once again had someone to care for.
    Of course, he always took very good
care of his animals, but that still couldn’t compare to being the person his
wife relied upon. It brought out a primal need in Hank. He wanted nothing more
than to