The Marriage Cure by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

slept.
    He did not wake until deep into the reaches of the night and found her curled beside him, tucked into the curve of his arm . He kissed her awake . When she roused enough to listen, he spoke.
    â€œWife, I love ye . I’ll not say it every day but I will love ye till I die.”
    â€œ Mo chroi , ‘tis enough ye’re here.”
    â€œMy old life is dead, ” Johnny said . “Ye’ll build a new one with me, woman.”
    â€œI will, ” Sabetha whispered. “Are ye well?”
    â€œAye, I am,” h e told her . Although still weak in body, he felt strong . His heart brimmed full with joy and his body longed to do again what they had just done . He wasn’t sure if he had the stamina but he was willing to try . “Would ye ever want to love me again?”
    Her body shook with laughter, merry peals that he liked.
    â€œI would but can ye?”
    He could and he did.
    That time, he finished lovemaking weak but happy . Johnny slept, one arm around his woman, and did not wake until after daylight.

    ****

    Sabetha Mahoney Devaney

    When she awakened, her body felt wonderful, both sated and rested . Henry’s clumsy efforts had never made her feel so alive or so delicious . She lay beside Johnny, half-asleep, lingering because it felt so nice to be beside him . Asleep and happy, he looked so young with the lines in his face relaxed more than she had ever seen them . She had never thought about his age before but watching him now, she thought he must not be much older than she was, younger than she might have guessed . Sabetha felt giddy as a girl and until now, when she was not alone, she had not realized just how heavy loneliness weighed upon her.
    Rising, she found her dress, buttoned back into it, and then combed out her hair, tangled and knotted . Then she braided it and found the few wooden hairpins she owned so that she could put it up . She slipped out to bring fresh water from the spring and when she returned, he was awake.
    â€œ Conas atu tu, mo chroi ?” s he asked.
    Johnny stretched out his hand to her with a smile and she came to the bed, wrapping her fingers around his.
    â€œ Ta me go maith ,” h e said, kissing her fingers . “I’m grand but I’m hungry.”
    â€œThen I’ll feed ye, ” Sabetha said . “It is food ye’re wanting?”
    He laughed. “It is, for now . But I’ll never be done hungering for ye, woman.”
    She felt the warmth of the blush in her face but she smiled back at him.
    â€œI have fresh eggs,” s he said . “I can scramble them if ye like.”
    He released her hand so he could stretch and rise.
    â€œI would . Ye wouldn’t have a few rashers of bacon to go with it?”
    She hoped he was teasing because she had none, no pork at all . “I would not.”
    â€œThen the eggs will do, Sabetha.”
    Their first meal together as man and wife was a simple one but enough . After breakfast, they went together about the chores and finished in the corn just after noon . Working in tandem made everything easier , and she could see a future, something to hope for, stretching ahead instead of just a chain of days, one like the other . Until he came, her life had been empty; now it was full.
    Today marked a beginning, she thought with a smile, and celebrated a love that would last for the rest of the ir lives or beyond.

About the Author

    Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy was born in the old frontier city of St. Joseph, Missouri, a descendant of both some of the earliest settlers and immigrant stock. She began scribbling her stories early and grew up into a writer. She holds degrees from both Crowder College and Missouri Southern State University, spent a number of years working in radio broadcasting and currently has eight other novels and novellas available to the public.
    She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Missouri Writers Guild, and the Ozark Writers League. Her