A warbler sings high in the trees, signaling a normal start to an ordinary day. Madison hears the cheerful noise ringing through her ears before she opens her eyes to see light filtering into the bedroom. The morning birds think today is an ordinary day, and it will end up being anything but.
She untangles herself from Ellis, who still sleeps deeply beside her in the feather bed. Madison places a kiss to his forehead and pulls back to take in his peaceful features. His mouth hangs open slightly and his arm is draped loosely around her shoulders. A light snore escapes his parted lips as she runs her fingers across his stubble.
She can’t bear to wake him yet, so she slips out of the bed as soundlessly as possible.
“Morning Gal.” The dog is waiting just outside the bedroom door. Madison gives her a pat on the way to the kitchen.
Madison begins to make biscuit dough to stick in the oven, and she uses the last of Ellis’ coffee grounds in the percolator on the stove. Gal bolts from the door when Madison steps out to grab some eggs from the root cellar.
“Be back in time for breakfast!” Madison yells after her. The hound seemingly understands because she turns back to give Madison a happy sideways look with her tongue out, before turning and bolting towards the barn.
By the time Madison has finished scrambling the eggs, Ellis is sauntering out of the bedroom.
“Good morning, handsome.”
His stomach sort of flutters at her greeting and he gives her a lazy smile. “Morning.”
“Want breakfast on the porch?”
Ellis helps her fill their plates and they make their way outside. The new rocking chairs are quickly becoming Ellis’ favorite place to be, especially with Madison by his side. Her face is bright with a smile for no reason as she sits down beside him.
The morning air heats up around them as they eat, and their happy chatter is enough to bring Gal from her digging spot beside the barn. The hound comes rushing up the porch steps and stops abruptly in front of Madison’s chair.
“Some breakfast for you.” She tosses the dog a biscuit and Gal takes it to the other side of the porch, her tail wagging incessantly.
“What would we do without you?” Ellis asks Madison. Though it comes out silly, he means it wholeheartedly. A pang enters his chest when he thinks of living without her. Now that he’s had her, he’s not sure it would even be possible.
“Well, I guess you’d still be a hermit,” Madison deadpans. Ellis is almost offended until an infectious giggle escapes her mouth. She looks so happy that Ellis can’t help but let out a chuckle of his own.
“You’re probably right.”
Madison shakes her head and grabs Ellis’ empty plate from his lap to sit it on the banister. “But I think you’re amazing. And if you weren’t such a hermit, someone else might’ve snatched you up already.” She grins as she leans over to kiss him.
“I appreciate how highly you think of me,” he smiles against her lips and brings his fingers up to brush her hair back. “I think pretty highly of you too.” He places a kiss against her forehead and Madison giggles.
“Am I interrupting something?”
The sudden voice that dissolves their bliss is so eerily familiar to Madison that she thinks it can’t possibly be real.
She finds that the voice is all too real when she turns in her chair to see her husband in front of them, sitting high on his horse. Her breath catches and she freezes, unable to come up with an appropriate reaction. Abner’s eyes are wide with surprise, but he almost appears amused as he watches them.
YOU ARE READING
In Wilderness Found
Historical FictionEven though that pistol is aimed on the space right between his eyes, his awe is outweighing his fright. His admiration for her strongly set jaw and her confident grip on the firearm is overpowering his common sense. Even with his life in her hands...
