Hannah: Bride of Iowa (American Mail Order Bride 29) by P.A. Estelle Page B

Wiggles out, and stoked the fire.
    She checked on Lizzy then peeked inside Samuel’s room. The covers were thrown off the bed and he was thrashing about and muttering. She tiptoed over and picked up the covers. She gasped when his hand shot out and took her arm. “Martha, I’m so cold.” His teeth were chattering but his hand was hot. Maddie touched his head, then his cheek. He was burning up.
    There was a pitcher of water in her room. She tried to remove his hand but it only tightened. “Samuel, I need to get a wet cloth. Please let me go.”
    “Martha,” his eyes were glassy when he looked at her, “please lay down by me and help me get warm.”
    “I will,” Maddie told him, “but I need to grab something and I’ll be right back, I promise.”
    Reluctantly, he let her go, still muttering things she couldn’t understand. She took a wet towel and laid it across his head but he grabbed at it and knocked it to the floor. His chattering seemed worse. When she tried to wipe his brow, he kept knocking it away.
    “Samuel, please, let me do this.”
    He continued to ramble. “Please, Martha…”
    Maddie made a decision. She took off her skirt and blouse. With her underclothes and a chemise still on, she laid down beside him. He scooped her up next to him. His thrashing stopped immediately, but his muttering continued. She talked softly, cooing to him while rubbing the hands that held her against him. “Shhhh, Samuel. Go to sleep.” His body, through his own clothes and hers, radiated heat.
    Maddie flushed with guilt. She liked this feeling. She wanted to lie by him at night. Samuel had mentioned a Thanksgiving wedding. That day seemed like a year away instead of only a few weeks.
    * * * *
    Maddie smiled and would have stretched but something heavy seemed to be holding her legs down. She squinted one eye open and saw light through the curtain.
    How had she slept so late? Soft breathing permeated her foggy mind. Her eyes shot open and she slowly turned her head to look into the chest of her soon-to-be-husband.
    Events of the night before came flooding back. She rolled out of bed, praying he wouldn’t wake up. She donned her skirt and blouse and gently touched his forehead. Not near as hot as the night before, but still warm.
    Maddie ran down the stairs to get the stove going. She groaned when she saw the mess Mr. Wiggles had made but took him outside and said a quick prayer for the clear sky above.
    “Don’t you go far,” she told the pup. Then went back inside to clean up the mess, hurrying back out to milk the cows.
    Once she was back in the house, she put on a pan of water for coffee. Mr. Wiggles was jumping up and down trying for some attention when a scream came from Lizzy’s room. With her heart in her throat, Maddie ran up the stairs. The girl was sitting up, her eyes filled with fear. Maddie reached gently for her and set her on her lap, holding her tight. “Lizzy, what’s the matter?”
    “You were leaving. You pushed me away and said you couldn’t be my mama.”
    Maddie rocked her back and forth. “Sweet girl, I would never do that. It was a bad dream.”
    “I don’t want you to go”
    “Don’t you cry. I’m staying right here.” Maddie felt the little girl relax and after a while, she fell back to sleep. Maddie laid the child down and covered her up. She jumped, startled, when she saw Samuel standing at the door, an odd expression on his face. Maddie closed the door. “Lizzy had a bad dream.”
    “I saw.” He leaned against his door jamb. “I’m going to get dressed and will be down shortly.” His voice was still raspy and the color in his cheeks still red.
    She put her palm to his face then stepped back with her hands on her hips. “You most certainly are not. What you are doing is getting right back in bed. I didn’t travel all this way to find the man I am going to marry, buried six feet under.” Maddie gave him no option.
    When he was covered up, he grabbed her hand before she