To Have and To Hold by Ruth Ann Nordin Page B

it, she saw that Dave was cleaning out a stal while Isaac was playing with the
    dog. The dog bolted over to them and Rachel hugged him. Mary sighed. “You’re getting al
    dirty.”
    “It’s alright, Ma,” Isaac was quick to assure Mary. “She has another dress.”
    Maybe, but she thought her daughter could get away with wearing that same dress for another
    day. Oh wel . She pretty much asked for more laundry when she decided to go out to the barn
    with her. “Isaac, I want you to watch Rachel while I milk the cow.”
    “Do you remember how to do that?” Dave asked as he raked up more hay and manure from
    one of the stal s.
    “Wel , no,” Mary admitted as Isaac led Rachel and Jasper out of the barn. Turning to them,
    she yel ed, “Stay where I can see you!”
    “He’s good about watching her,” Dave said and set the rake against the stal door. “Here. I
    can help you.”
    She considered trying this task alone but then thought better of it. If she messed up, he’d be
    there to tel her. Nodding, she waited for him to bring her a stool. He opened the stal for her
    where the cow munched on its hay.
    “There won’t be as much milk as this morning, but there’l be enough for you to get used to it
    again,” he said, taking the pail from her and setting it under the cow’s udder.
    Mary took a deep breath and sat on the stool. If she didn’t feel comfortable with him, she
    would have felt awkward, but in a way, he seemed to be a part of her. She supposed the
    connection between them was due to the fact that they were married. Wiping her hands on the
    skirt of her dress, she said, “I saw you squeezing her teats the other day. Isn’t that al there is
    to it?”
    “Pretty much.” He knelt next to her and motioned for her to give it a try.
    With a nod, she leaned forward and reached for the teats. In her mind, she got a glimpse of a
    time when she did this for the first time and he had wrapped his hands around hers to help her.
    Glancing his way, she smiled. “You put your hands around mine the first time I did this, didn’t
    you?”
    Scooting closer to her, he placed his hands over hers. “Yes. Like this.”
    His hands were warm and strong, and her cheeks grew warm. She recal ed feeling shy and
    pleased the day they’d married because he’d taken such delight in her. As he squeezed her
    hands and moved them down to get the milk out, she said, “You wanted to be with me when
    you married me.”
    He chuckled. “Of course, I did. I wouldn’t have married you otherwise.” When he brought his
    lips to her neck to give her a kiss, tingles ran up and down her spine. “You’re so beautiful,
    Mary.”
    She giggled. “I don’t think you’re that interested in making sure I can milk the cow.”
    “Maybe not as much as reminding you how happy I was when you agreed to be my wife.”
    “I was happy to be your wife, Dave. I feel it. In fact, I get the feeling that I haven’t been
    happier than when I met you.”
    “I hope I can make you happier every day we’re together.”
    “I think you do. Do I make you happier every day?”
    “Yes. There’l never be anyone but you in my life.”
    She finished milking the cow and straightened on the stool. Glancing at the doorway of the
    barn, she saw Isaac and Rachel sitting on the grass with Jasper. “They found something of
    interest in the grass,” she told Dave.
    He looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Probably a frog. Isaac’s been fascinated with them
    recently. He’d bring one into the house to keep if you let him.”
    She grimaced. “I don’t like that idea at al .”
    “Don’t worry. No frog has lived in the house with us.”
    “That’s a relief.”
    He kissed her again, and this time, he brought his arms around her and pul ed her close to him.
    Content, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. It seemed to her that
    being here with Dave and their children was as close to heaven on earth as anyone could get.
    When he ended the