Free Daisy (Suitors of Seattle) by Kirsten Osbourne Page B

spend thirty minutes with you every day after lunch.”  He stood and walked to the door , putting on his coat and hat. 
    She watched him go, noting the annoyance in his step.  Why didn’t he want her going anywhere without him?  The real reason?  He didn’t want to be with her, but he didn’t want her to be with anyone else either?  What had changed yesterday?
    She did the laundry and baked bread that day, keeping her mind off her moody husband.  She sat down and wrote a letter to her mother and then to Amaryllis.  In her letter to her mother, she wrote about how happy she was and how wonderful Eli was treating her.
    Her letter to Amaryllis was a plea for help.  “Please don’t show Mama this letter, but I have to know how to handle him.  He doesn’t want me to go anywhere without him, but he obviously doesn’t want to spend time with me either.  I’m not sure what to do.  We were fine, and then suddenly he stopped talking to me.  I’m not sure how to go back to how we were.  I want to go talk to the wife of his friend, but he won’t let me go anywhere without him.  What have I gotten myself into?”
    She folded both letters and got them ready to mail the next time they went into town before she got to her feet to take the bread out of the oven.  She went about her day as usual, looking for projects to work on.  The next time she was in town she could get some fabric to sew him some new shirts, but for now, she needed to work with what she had.
    She found a skein of red yarn in one of her trunks and set about making a scarf.  She didn’t enjoy knitting nearly as much as she enjoyed sewing, but she would do anything at this point to keep herself busy.  It wouldn’t be long before she started going insane from boredom.  There just wasn’t enough work for her to do.
     
    *****
     
    The shooting lessons went well, and she was able to hit the target within the first day or two.  Daisy wanted to be able to hit the bulls eye every time, because she knew that when she got to that point, Eli would have no reason not to let her take the wagon to do what she wanted.  She really didn’t think his problem was her safety, but she couldn’t prove anything until she could shoot straight and true.
    He took her to town to mail her letters on Friday.  “I think I’m close to being ready to come on my own so I won’t have to keep you from your work.  Don’t you?” she asked.
    “I don’t mind bringing you to town on occasion.”  His face was hard, though, and he no longer held her close when they drove.  He only seemed to touch her when she initiated it or when they were in bed at night.  He still turned to her over and over during the night.  Sometimes they were both too tired to work the following day, but they both kept going.
    She mailed her letters and picked out some cloth for new shirts for Eli.  They bought the supplies they needed and checked for letters from home.  There was one from Amaryllis , and she clutched it to her chest.  She would wait until they were at home to read it, though.  While she was with Eli, she tried to give him her full attention.
    When they were finished at the mercantile, he looked down at her for a moment.  “Would you like to eat at the restaurant?  We can’t do it every time we come to town, but I thought you might like to eat some food you haven’t cooked for a change.”
    Daisy nodded, her eyes lighting up at the treat.  She didn’t mind cooking all the time, and she enjoyed the food she made, but sometimes it was nice to be served by someone else.  They found a small table in the corner, and he took her hand while they waited for their food. 
    She looked down at their hands and smiled.  Why was he suddenly holding her hand again?  “I’ve missed this,” she said simply.
    “Missed what?” he asked.
    “For the first few days I was here, you touched me every chance you got.  You were always taking my hand , or kissing me, or hugging