she added a jar of pickles.
“If it is edible, I’ll eat it. I eat food that’s not edible all the time.”
Trudie sighed loudly, but she kept shopping. “What about curtains? And a tablecloth? Do I need to sew for this house of yours?”
Doug grinned at the question. “Depends on how important tablecloths and curtains are to you, I guess.” He’d never even thought of caring about curtains. Why would he? The sunshine lit the house during the day.
“Does that mean you don’t have those silly things in your home?” she asked, looking at the fabric display.
“Yup.” He was surprised to find himself liking this woman. He’d expected an older woman with buck teeth, but instead he’d gotten himself a beautiful little woman. And she said she could cook. He only hoped she was right.
When she had finished all the shopping she had to do, she had a small mountain in front of her on the counter. “He’s paying,” she said, jerking a thumb toward Doug.
He shook his head, walking to the counter and having his friend charge the amount. “I’ll pay you when we come to church Sunday. I didn’t think to bring that much into town with me today, and the bank is already closed.” Who knew having a wife could be so expensive? He tried not to care. She meant food.
“That’s no problem,” Hank replied, obviously trying to keep the grin from his face. “I hope you brought your wagon.”
Doug nodded. “I did. I was planning to try and cook again.”
Hank shook his head. “I’m glad we won’t need to be on constant alert for a fire at the ranch any longer.”
Trudie gave Doug a scathing look. “You hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.”
“I’m not cooking for you unless you stop to get my trunk on the way out of town.” Trudie wasn’t about to leave everything she’d worked on since childhood to take into marriage with her.
“No problem there. Do you keep aprons in there? I hear women like to wear aprons when they cook.”
Trudie sighed. “Yes, I do have aprons in my trunk. As well as other things that are dear to me.” Hopefully the man would eventually think about something other than his stomach.
Doug loaded his arms with the items he’d purchased and walked toward the door. “Am I going to be dear to you?”
“Depends on how demanding you are about your food. I’m a good cook, and I promise to feed you at regular intervals. As long as you don’t annoy me.”
He stopped walking and stared at her for a moment. “You’ll feed me anyway. That’s what wives do.” He knew there was no way he could avoid annoying her. He’d been told his entire life that he was annoying. Surely, he wouldn’t be able to hide it from her.
“We’ll see.”
He put all of their purchases in the wagon parked right in front of the store. “There, now let’s go get hitched.”
“You make it sound like I’m the other half of a team of oxen.” Trudie wasn’t sure what to make of Douglas now that they’d met. He seemed a little odder than she’d expected from his letter. His letter had been filled with humor, but now that she was with him, that humor seemed over the top.
“We’ll work together. I bet eventually we’ll even be good at it.” He held his arm out to her, and she took it, wondering if he was going to annoy her every day for the rest of her life.
“Mrs. Goldman says you’re a regular church-goer, but she suspects it’s because of the potluck they have after church every week.” Trudie wanted to know where he stood with God, and that seemed a good way to find out.
“Figured that out, did she?” Doug grinned. This little lady amused him more than he’d expected. “I go to church to worship God, but I happen to really love the food they serve as well. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“Not if you really are going for the right reasons, and not so you can get free food every week.” Surely he wasn’t so hungry that he would go to church just for a good meal.
“Free? I always slip money to whoever makes the best dish to pay for my share of the food.”
Trudie stopped walking and frowned at him. “Do you really?”
He nodded. “It inspires all the ladies in town to do their best cooking.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
“Oh, you’ll be glad of it if you’re the one with