“I hope we’re able to keep the extra men around once the railroad heads west.”
“I think we will do all right. More people are coming here every day. Good people but a bigger population, nevertheless. We’ll need those deputies, and I think the founding fathers understand that. After all, they’re the ones who are hoping to reach about ten thousand people by 1880.”
“That’s a lot of folks. Seems like hoping we’d have that by 1900 would be more realistic,” Edward replied. Not that he really cared either way. He still wasn’t sure what to do about Marybeth and Carrie. He’d even considered giving his notice and taking them south to Denver. Fred would be disappointed, however, and Edward really wanted to be of use to the man who’d been such an amazing leader in the war.
Edward pulled on his coat. The coat Marybeth had made him for Christmas. Every time he did up the buttons, he couldn’t help but think of her. They were hardly speaking. She was kind and kept the house and meals, but now Marybethfocused her time on laundry, sewing, and Carrie. She had even taken to doing her work in the little washroom they’d built off the kitchen. She had a place set up for Carrie to play with her blocks or dolls and an area for her sewing. She would go there with Carrie when they first got up each morning so as to let Edward sleep as undisturbed as possible. A couple of times, he had watched her even though she thought he was asleep. She and Carrie would take a cold breakfast with them and disappear into the room where she could work on mending clothes or washing them. Sometimes she’d put on a roast to cook or a ham. The succulent aroma would often wake Edward in the afternoon. He’d get up, and Marybeth would prepare things for them to share a meal before he went to work.
Edward both dreaded and enjoyed their late lunch together. He would usually read from the Bible at Marybeth’s request as she set the food out. Then they’d pray and eat. Before his announcement that he wanted to send her and Carrie to his sister, they had wonderful conversations about a variety of topics. Sometimes Edward would tell her about things that had happened during his time at work. Sometimes Marybeth would share things from her day. Now there was mostly silence, except for Carrie’s babbling.
“I suppose you’re gonna be moping again this evening,” Fred said as they exited the jail.
“Can I ask you something?” Edward posed, ignoring Fred’s comment.
“Of course.”
Edward shoved his hands in his pockets. Even though it was March, the temperatures were still quite cold at night.
“Did you know Cheyenne and the other towns along the rail would be so bad when you decided to bring Eve and the boys with you?”
“I figured it would be rough, but the alternative wasn’t acceptable. I wasn’t going to live without my family.”
“Even though their safety is put in question every minute of every day?”
Fred looked at Edward and shook his head. “Is this still about when Marybeth didn’t get home because she was helping Dr. Scott?”
“I was terrified for her. I was sick to my stomach thinkin’ that someone might have taken her. I told her I wanted her to go stay with my sister until I could figure out what to do.”
“Something tells me there’s more to this than that. Why don’t you just explain to me what’s going on?”
Fred had always been good at telling when a soldier was lying to him. He seemed to have a sixth sense about such things. Still, how could Edward talk to another man about his marriage? That was way too personal, wasn’t it?
But Edward’s father wasn’t around to talk to, and he did need advice. Before coming to Cheyenne he might have even talked to a pastor, but Dr. Scott was the reason Marybeth had been late to get home. Edward knew he would feel the doctor was to blame for them having problems. Of course, Edward knew that wasn’t the case. He was the only reason they were having problems.
“When Janey and the boy died, I vowed I’d never marry again because I didn’t want to risk losing another wife in childbirth. I thought I’d be safe with Marybeth. We loved each other as friends and cared deeply about each other, but there was nothing romantic. I didn’t feel like there ever would be because I was so guarded with my heart.”
“But there are romantic feelings now. Aren’t there?”
Edward felt almost like a chastised child. “Yes, sir.” He barely muttered the words.
“Don’t call me sir. I’m your friend, Ed. We’re like brothers. I can see that your feelings for Marybeth have changed. What’s wrong, doesn’t she reciprocate?”
“Oh, she does. She definitely feels it, same as me. We neither one expected to fall in love, but we have.”
“That seems like really good news,” Fred said, pausing to try the door to the jewelry shop. It held fast, and he moved on. “Now you can have a complete marriage. It seems more like a blessing than a problem.”
“The problem is that I ... I can’t let that happen. I can’t make Marybeth my wife. She might conceive, and then we’d be back to facing the possibility of her dying.”
“Just listen to yourself. You sure don’t sound like that young sergeant who used to volunteer to take the worst of the missions during the war. That man wasn’t afraid of anything.”
“That man hadn’t watched his wife suffer and struggle to give birth only to die. It wasn’t hard to risk my own life, but I can’t risk Marybeth’s.”
Fred said nothing and kept walking and trying door handles. When they crossed into the more questionable part of town, Edward saw him undo the buttons on his coat. This would allow easier access to his pistol.
“Well, don’t you have any advice?”
“Would you take it if I did? Seems to me you’ve pretty well made up your mind. What difference will my words make?”
“I don’t know,” Edward replied, his frustration evident in his tone. “I just thought maybe you’d be able to tell me what to do.”
