Wagon Trail Bride Page 19

  From where he sat, his father chuckled. “You know, all that pacing isn’t going to make the child come out any sooner.”

  “It’s hard to sit while Amanda’s giving birth,” Richard replied, turning around and going toward the other end of the porch.

  “Just wait until you have a couple more children. You’ll be so busy keeping them occupied you won’t have time to worry. It was all I could do to keep Tom from getting into the food when Dave was born. I don’t know why, but girls are easier to keep busy than boys are.”

  “Tom’s always thinking about food.”

  “So did you when you were his age.”

  Maybe his father was right, but Richard had a hard time believing it since Tom nearly ate the entire turkey last Thanksgiving.

  A baby’s cry broke through Richard’s thoughts, and he stopped pacing. “You think it’s safe to go in there now?”

  His father shook his head. “I wouldn’t go in there until your mother tells you to. I love your mother more and more every day, but when she says to stay out of her way, I wouldn’t dare disobey unless the house was on fire.”

  Richard let out an anxious sigh and sat next to his father. It was probably just as well he waited. The women didn’t need him barging in on them while they were busy.

  “The baby’s crying,” his father said. “That’s always good. And from the sound of it, I’d say he’s healthy.”

  Richard relaxed. Good. His father had been through this six times. If there was anything wrong, he should know. He settled back into the chair and glanced at his father. “Got any advice about taking care of babies?”

  “When the baby sleeps, tell Amanda to sleep, too. She’s going to need all her energy.”

  “I meant any advice for me.”

  “Make life as easy on her as possible. Pick up after yourself and don’t make a mess for her to clean up.”

  Richard chuckled. “Is there anything I should do with the baby?” he clarified.

  His father shrugged. “I don’t know how much you can do with a child until he gets older. Babies seem to be more of a woman thing.”

  “That explains why you bolted out of the room whenever my brothers or sisters needed a diaper change,” Richard commented, unable to resist the urge to give his father a hard time.

  “I never got your diaper on well enough to satisfy your mother, so I didn’t bother when your brothers and sisters came along. The best things I did for your mother were stay out of her way and not make any more work for her to do. Besides, Sally came along soon enough and did things better than I could. I think girls are just born knowing how to best take care of babies.”

  Maybe, though Richard didn’t have time to dwell on it when he heard a second baby crying. He bolted up straight in the chair and looked at his father, whose eyes grew wide. “Two babies?” Richard asked.

  “You might have to learn how to change diapers if you got more than one,” his father said, “especially if they soil them at the same time.”

  Richard stood up, ready to go into the house when Sally came out with a baby swaddled up in a blanket. Smiling, Richard went over to his sister, staring at the baby, who was looking around with wide, dark blue eyes.

  “You have two boys, and they look exactly alike,” Sally told him. “Amanda named this one Anthony. He’s the oldest by two minutes. She said the other boy will be Mark.”

  Richard gingerly took his newborn son, who focused his eyes on him. He laughed and tucked the blanket closer around his face. “I had no idea they came out so tiny.”

  “I’m sure they didn’t seem tiny to Amanda when she was carrying them,” his father quipped.

  Sally shooed aside her father’s comment and led Richard into the house. “Ma said you can come up now. Pa will have to wait. We don’t want to overwhelm Amanda with too many people.”

  “How is Amanda doing?” Richard asked as he followed her up the stairs.

  “She’s fine. Tired, of course,” she replied. “I can already tell the boys take after you. They got the Larson nose and chin, and if I guess right, they’ll have the slight curl I have in my hair.”

  “Poor kids,” he joked. “They’ll take after you, too.”

  She glanced at him and gave a playful shake of her head. “You’re impossible to deal with sometimes, Richard. But since this is a special day, I’ll let that comment go.”

  As they reached the top of the steps, Anthony sneezed. Richard looked back down at his son, a feeling of pride swelling up inside him. The boy had just been born, but he was already a fine looking one.

  Sally knocked on the closed door of Richard and Amanda’s bedroom. “Is it safe to come in?”

  “Come in,” Mrs. Larson called out. “We’re all done.”

  Sally opened the door, and Richard peered around her in time to see his mother hand Mark to Amanda. Mrs. Larson looked over at him, a wide smile on her face. “Everyone’s doing well. I bet you didn’t think you’d have twins.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Richard replied, stepping around the bed until he was at Amanda’s side. “It’s perfect. Amanda couldn’t decide on whether to use the name Anthony or Mark. Having two boys works out perfectly.” He pulled up a chair and sat next to her. “You did wonderfully,” he told Amanda then leaned forward to kiss her.

  “Your mother and Sally helped,” Amanda said.

  “You can’t give us too much credit,” Mrs. Larson replied as she gathered the soiled linens. “I’m going to take this home and wash it. Sally, you will stay here and make dinner.”

  “I would much rather do that than go back home to Tom and Joel,” Sally added.

  “I know your pa is anxious to see his grandchildren, so I’ll let him come up for a couple minutes,” Richard’s mother told him. “But make sure he doesn’t spend too much time here. I want to get back out before it’s too late.”

  After Mrs. Larson left, Sally turned to the new parents. “Ma said I could stay here for a couple weeks and help you with Anthony and Mark, if you wouldn’t mind. I’d love to do it. It’d be a good chance to get to know my nephews, and it’d be nice to only have to cook for two people instead of an entire house.”

  Richard glanced at Amanda, who nodded it was fine with her if Sally stayed. “We’d love to have you,” Richard said. “And I’m sure the reprieve from our brothers will be nice, too. I remember what it was like when I was living at home.”

  “Thank you!” Sally gave him and Amanda a hug then ran for the door. “I’ll bring up more water.”

  While she hurried down the steps, Richard offered Amanda a wry grin. “I’m sure she’s looking forward to getting married so she can get her own place. Tom and Joel are a handful.”

  Amanda giggled. “I can’t blame her. I keep telling Tom if he’d ignore Joel, Joel would stop, but he doesn’t.”

  “To be fair, Tom does it to Joel, too. He just hides it better.”

  “Maybe, but it seems like Tom’s at a disadvantage.” She stroked Mark’s cheek. “You think our sons will fight like they do?”

  “I hope not,” Richard replied. “Regular fights between brothers are fine. Tom and Joel go above and beyond what you’d expect. God willing, our sons will show better manners.”

  “We’ll just have to make sure they avoid Tom and Joel as much as possible. We should let them be around Dave. Dave never causes any problems.”

  Amanda laughed again, and Richard gave her another kiss. “I’m looking forward to watching them grow up. You’ll make a terrific mother.”

  “I couldn’t have asked for a better father.”

  “From this moment forward,” he whispered, “the best is yet to come.” He gave her another kiss.

  Then, hearing his father coming up the stairs, he went to invite him in.

  Coming Next in the Pioneer Series:

  August 7, 2016!

  The Marriage Agreement

  Jesse Palmer headed to Omaha with his expectant wife and his mother-in-law. When his wife dies in childbirth, his mother-
in-law blames him. And worse, she refuses to let him take care of his son. In order to get his son back, he needs to marry someone–and fast. And who better than the one who makes the offer?

  Laura Rufus volunteers to marry Jesse so he can have his son, knowing full well he’s still mourning the loss of his first wife. The last thing she plans on is falling in love with him, but day by day, his tenderness toward his son makes her wish she hadn’t been so quick to propose a marriage of convenience. Will there ever be something more between them, or will she be stuck with the marriage agreement they made?

  Click Here Reserve Your Copy Today!

  (or you can use this link: http://booklaunch.io/ruthannnordin/themarriageagreement)

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