Hannah: Bride of Iowa (American Mail Order Bride 29) by P.A. Estelle Read Free Book Online

throat, seemingly both pleased and embarrassed by all the fuss. “I’ll take this box up to your room. I have a few more things to get done this morning, then we can look around.”
    Maddie took the dishes to the sink and stopped short when she saw a pump. She’d heard of them, just never seen one! Reverently, she ran her hand down its neck then took hold of the handle and slowly cranked it up and down. Water rushed out. She took time to actually look at the kitchen. It was large. A wood burning stove of white metal and three different compartments stood by the corner. Attached to the sink was a long wooden counter with cupboards underneath. A curtained off room was where the canned goods, containers of flour, sugar, and other spices lived and in the corner was a broom and mop.
    The kitchen itself was a much grander set up than she had at home. She only prayed there would be as much love.
    A squawk came from Lizzy letting everyone know she was ready to get down from her chair.
    “Now that was unlady like.” Maddie took a wet rag and washed the grits from her face, hands and even from her hair. There was hot water already on the stove, so Maddie washed the few dishes they’d used that morning. She then took a look at the living room.
    The couch was well used. There were two chairs around a table with a glass lamp on it. Across from the couch was a fireplace framed in rock that stood between two windows.
    “Are you about ready?”
    Samuel’s voice made her jump. “You scared me to death!” Her hand came up to her chest. “I was looking at your living room and didn’t hear you come down the stairs.”
    “What do you think of it so far?”
    “Samuel, it’s so very nice. A home that looks comfortable and lived in and filled with love.”
    He laughed, scratching his chin. “Oh, it’s been lived in alright. No need to tip-toe in this house for fear of spilling something on the furniture or floor.”
    “And a pump in the kitchen, a luxury I’ve never been able to have.”
    “Martha insisted, especially when she got in the family way. Let me think, how did she say it…I’m not hauling water from the well in this condition. So you can haul it, or I can pump it.” Samuel gave a lopsided smirk. “I knew better than not get it done.”
    “Thank you Martha for being...insistent.” Maddie laughed feeling not one ounce of a threat from a deceased wife. “I’m ready to see the rest of it.”
     
    Once outside, Maddie saw that there were chickens everywhere on one side of the barn. The coop was almost as long as the barn itself. They were out pecking and putting up quite a fuss.
    “They are noisy.” Maddie observed.
    “They’re hungry,” Samuel replied. Lizzy, who had been riding on her pa’s shoulders, was put down. “Get your job done, sugar plum!”
    She ran over and muscled the barn door open then returned with a bucket full of chicken mash. She threw hands full of mash to the ground. “Here chick! Chick! Chick! Come and get it!”
    Maddie couldn’t help but laugh at the picture of the chickens closing in around Lizzy. If they got too close, she’d kick out a chubby little leg to keep them back.
    There was a big corral off to the other side. At the moment, there were two milk cows, a calf, and the two horses that pulled the wagon. Behind the barn was a small sturdy fence that held some hogs. An enormous white sow basked in the sun while a black and white boar rooted in some mud in the corner. “Just last month we got rid of the babies and I believe, if Joco here did his job, Petunia will be real busy again, soon.”
    “This is the garden. I didn’t get anything in the ground, last year. Taking care of Lizzy and all this, I simply didn’t have time.”
    “We had a small garden at our place. Ma loved to can vegetables. If you can turn this dirt, I can try my hand at it.”
    “Fair enough.”
    Behind the garden was a group of trees. “Those are the fruit trees?” Maddie asked, eyes