Southern Discomfort by Rachel Burns Page A

hadn't
crossed paths. She was the winning party and the loser all in one.
The snake had lost its life and she had lost her pride. Or, better
said, she would every Wednesday. Would he use that leather strap
again? That had stung so.
    Emily wished that
he aunt and uncle had stayed a little longer. At least one more day.
    She felt like she
would burst out into tears. Knowing it was coming made it worse.
    She heard his
feet on the porch. The sound of his boots on the wooden boards were
so loud, because all else around her was so quiet.
    The door opened
and still she sat without moving. She couldn't turn and look at him.
Her stomach had been bothering her since this morning.
    Yesterday had
been such a nice day. They had gone for a long walk hand in hand
after breakfast. They had gotten along so well. Katie and Bessie had
made her a nice cake, that everyone had enjoyed. Emily had played the
piano. Her aunt and uncle had praised her every chance they got,
making her feel important. They were trying to tell her that she had
been right to come out here. Afterwards she and Nathaniel had gone up
to their room, where they had cuddled together and had made love. He
had once again promised to protect her for the rest of her life. She
had believed him but here she sat a day later feeling too sick to
turn and look at her husband.
    “Emily, come
with me.”
    She just couldn't
do it.
    Nathaniel looked
at his wife. He had yet to step into the house. “Emily, look at
me.”
    Emily peeked over
her shoulder and saw him standing in the door.
    “Come here,
darling.”
    Emily was a
little confused, but she pulled her courage together and went to him.
    Nathaniel held
out his hand and waited for her to take it. He smiled at her
surprised face as he pulled her outside again. He took her to the
stable.
    Emily hoped he
wouldn't want to spank her out there. She worried that someone could
drop by for a visit when they were in the house behind a closed door.
But out here would be even worse.
    The only thing
that was giving her hope was that the strap was still hanging in the
house.
    Nathaniel was
still holding her hand. He talked to her about going for a ride.
    Riding was
something that her aunt and uncle hadn't allowed her to do. They were
just too worried that something could happen to her.
    Nathaniel nodded
as he took in that information. “I think that a woman, living on
the range, needs to be able to ride a horse. I will be teaching you.
We should start right now.”
    Emily listened to
her husband explain this and that to her. She could so easily picture
him standing in front of a classroom and explaining things to the
children. He was a born teacher.
    “Are you sad
that you didn't get a chance to teach?”
    Nathaniel grinned
down at her. He must have sounded very teacher-like just now, or she
wouldn't have asked that. “Sometimes. I had to decide back then.
Either stay and be a teacher, or move west with my family. I decided
to stay with my brothers.”
    Charles had been
an army doctor in the war. He needed to get away from the memories.
    “I think family
is very important. Besides, now that I have you with me my family has
grown. Perhaps we will have a child.” He grinned at her. He really
wanted too have children with her.
    “I plan on
teaching in town once there are enough children. At the moment there
aren't that many women here, and thus not that many children. I will
take the teaching of our children in hand.”
    Emily was
thinking about that and nodding. “But I would be responsible for
their music training.”
    “Of course,
darling.” Nathaniel was staring at her and trying to picture her
with a few children gathered around her.
    He liked that. He
hoped that their daughters would look like her. Just seeing her smile
made him want to take her upstairs and give her children.
    He hoped that he
wouldn't have the same problems that his brothers had. They had been
married over a year now and there were no children on the way. Both
feared