Madeline: Bride of Nebraska (American Mail-Order Bride 37) by Mia Blackwood Page A

uncertainty of it all, but until she and Caleb sat down and worked out a schedule, she really had no idea what would be expected of her.
    “Nah,” Hank replied. “We got things out here. Tell Caleb to take care of the boy today and I’ll handle things around the ranch.”
    “I will. Thank you, Mr…”
    “Hank. Just call me Hank, ma’am,” he said with a smile.
    Madeline smiled back. “All right, I will.” She fiddled with the basket. “Could you point me in the direction of the chicken coop?”
    Hank nodded. “It’s just behind the barn. You can’t miss it. Oh, and the milk cow needs milking yet, too. Caleb usually takes care of it first thing.” At the uncertain look on her face, Hank smiled. “Want me to take care of it?”
    Embarrassed that he thought she didn’t know how to milk a cow, Madeline shook her head. “No, I can manage. Thank you.” She watched Hank walk away and whispered to herself, “How hard could it be?”
    *****
    Caleb woke to the sound of whimpering. He opened his eyes to find himself in his old bedroom with George asleep on his shoulder. The poor boy was whimpering in his sleep. For a moment, Caleb had thought the horrible events of yesterday had been nothing but a bad dream. He sighed and slowly extricated himself from his nephew’s grasp.
    He took one look out the window and knew he had overslept. The sun was higher than it should be. He needed to find Madeline so she could watch over George while he went out to milk the cow. Poor Bessie would be waiting for him to milk her by now.
    He checked his bedroom only to find the bed already made. Was Madeline down in the kitchen already? He thought she would have been exhausted from traveling on a train for days on end.
    When he checked in the kitchen, she was nowhere to be seen. He looked around the rest of the house and grew irritated as he went. Just where in tarnation was his wife? Had she left him already?
    At first the thought of her leaving irritated him even more, then a cold chill ran through him. If she had left him, she would be alone on the road. His brother’s killer was still at large and she would be alone and defenseless. What was the woman thinking?
    He stormed from the house, intent on finding her before something horrible happened to her. Just as he approached the door to the barn, it swung open slowly. Standing right there before him was his wife, with a pail of milk in one hand and a basket of eggs in the other. Strands of straw and bits of feathers were stuck in her hair at odd angles and her cheeks were flushed.
    Relief flooded through him at the sight of her safe and sound. Under normal circumstances, seeing her look like she had been rolling around in the barn and chicken coop would have made him laugh.  Worry gave a sharp edge to his words, though. “Just what on God’s green earth are you doing out here?” he demanded.
    He regretted his words the moment they left his mouth, but there was nothing he could do to take them back. He watched as her face shifted from what could only be described as elation to anger. Sparks flew from her eyes, and he knew he had overstepped his bounds.
    “What does it look like I’m doing?” she raged back at him, sloshing some milk from the pail as she attempted to gesture. “I’m trying to make breakfast!” She had been so pleased with herself that she had eventually managed to milk the cow and gather the eggs. Who did he think he was to shout at her like that?
    He watched her storm back to the house. Did his sweet little wife just snap back at him? After a moment’s pause, he followed her back into the house. “My brother’s killer is on the loose! You can’t just go waltzing around outside, alone and defenseless!”
    Madeline was glad she had already set the milk and eggs down on the table. If she hadn’t, she very well might have thrown them at Caleb at that moment. Her fists clenched in anger at her sides. “I did not go waltzing around! Hank was outside and I