Laurey
Laurey instinctively grabbed her basket when she heard him approach. She didn't mean it to be rude most times, just couldn't help the knot in her stomach or the goosebumps on her arm whenever he was near. So she usually did her best to avoid him, the man who took everything from her, who forced his way into her home and into her bed, who'd prevented her from making any other choice. No matter what, though he was still her husband, and she couldn't forget that.
She dropped her hand and managed a smile in his direction. There had been happiness because of him, that hadn't been completely fabricated, and her life had been so much better when she loved him. Maybe if she could recapture that, even the tiniest bit, she wouldn't feel like the walls were about to close in on her all the time.
"Forgot to tell you, the apples are lookin' awful nice. Hard to resist eatin' them all."
"Oh, well, I'm glad. Never, uh, never worked on a place with apples before. Got the hang of it, though, I guess."
"Where'd you work before you came here?" She realized she'd never asked him, didn't know the first thing about his life before he arrived at the farm, dirty and glowering, and utterly terrifying, but still…well, she never denied there was something thrillingly masculine about him.
"All over the Territory. Lived in the panhandle, Cimarron, right before comin' here."
"The panhandle?" She found herself more intrigued than she wanted to be at the thought of his living in that No Man's Land. "Thought the panhandle was just criminals."
"Yeah, it was rough. Lot nicer livin' here."
"So, it's true? There's no law and order or nothin'?"
He shrugged, a gesture she remembered from before. The gesture that meant he was trying to impress her with his nonchalance. "None. Just had to be quick with a Colt .45, only way to survive out there. Probably different now, but that's how it was when I was there."
"Where else've you lived?"
"All over. Santa Fe, Galveston, worked on a little ranch in Marfa, that's also in Texas, even lived in Canada, in Saskatchewan, a little while. Born in Missouri, though, just like you."
"Is that right?" It was easy to slip into the role of a girl being courted, easier than facing the fact that he was her husband. "We lived near Jefferson City."
"'Round Sedalia. 'S far from Jefferson City."
"Funny; if we'd both stayed, we might not've ever met."
"Yeah, I reckon not. Why'd you leave?"
"My pa decided we should come here when I was around nine. Wanted to start a farm in the open spaces, that were 'untouched by man', or somethin' like that. He liked that idea, seemed sad he was born too late to really explore the country when it was brand-new, so he figured livin' in the Territory would be the next best thing."
"That right?"
She smiled at his attempt at conversation. "Yeah, him, me, my mama, and Aunt Eller all came out here. It was real hard times at first. Wish you'd been there to tend the farm. We almost went back home a couple times. Once it even looked like we'd have to go to Boston with my mama's family. Then I guess we really never would've met." Her voice trailed off, letting him decide whether their never meeting would have been a good thing or not. "How about you? Why'd you leave Sedalia?"
He shrugged. "Just got into some trouble there."
"Oh." She rubbed at the back of her neck, not wanting to think about what kind of trouble he'd been in. "D'you want me to get some gooseberries? Make you that tart I promised you a while back?"
"I'd like that, of course."
She took her basket and headed for the door.
"Can I come with you? If you want, I know you don't…"
"I'd like for you to come with me" she made herself smile again, and took his arm. "I wanna hear more about livin' in the panhandle."