A Bride for Adam

Greta reached out and grabbed his arm. “Wait—didn’t you say you’d try your hand at braiding my hair?”
Adam smiled. He knew she was still afraid. He could spare her a few more minutes. “Sure.”
“If I sleep with my hair down it gets all snarly and I’ll never get them out.”
“Can you sit on my desk?”
“I’ll try.”
Adam held her about her small waist and helped her onto the desk. He sat in the chair behind it and removed the rawhide he’d placed there earlier. The feel of her silky hair made him want to bury his face in it. He shook off the feeling and split the hair into three sections. He’d braided with rope a million times before and was able to plait a neat braid in her hair, but when he got to the bottom, he noticed the braid reached below her waist. He tried to tie the rawhide without touching her cute backside.
When he was done, he patted her shoulders. “There you go.”
“I didn’t expect you to do it so fast,” she said, reaching behind her to feel the braid. “It’s perfect.”
“Sometimes, if I need a really strong rope, I braid it.” He laughed. “So, you think I could work as a lady’s maid in Fort Worth?”
Greta was still feeling the braid. “It’s better than any Sadie ever did.”
Adam came around to the front of the desk and helped her down. “Now, I really have to go. The key to your door is in the top desk drawer, and I have the other in my pocket. I’ll lock you in. The only windows in the cabin overlook the back of the ship, and no one can look in. You’re perfectly safe.”
Adam lay down in his bunk and closed his eyes. He kept seeing a vision of big, blue, frightened eyes. Greta was far from home, away from the only family she’d known, and on a strange ship amidst even more strangers.
He got up, walked to her room, silently unlocked the door, and peeked inside. The indirect moonlight lit enough of the room to assure him she was in bed and perhaps asleep. He began to close the door, but he heard sobbing. It was so soft, he wasn’t sure at first, but then he heard it again.
Greta was weeping.
He closed the door and walked over to the bed, but he was afraid to touch her lest it frighten her more. He backed out as quietly as he’d entered, stood outside, and knocked on the door.
He heard her patter across the floor. “W-who is it?” she said from behind the door, her voice soft and unsure.
“It’s Adam.”
Greta opened the door, looked up at him, and flew into his arms.

Chapter Ten
Greta couldn’t help herself, and she wept on Adam’s shoulder. His arms tightened around her, and she yearned to reach up, put her arms around his neck, and cling to him, but she came to her senses and pulled away.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m keeping you from your sleep, but I just feel so alone here.” She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “And I miss Bethany so much. I miss my grandmother and even your parents.” She wiped more tears away. “I looked out the windows above the bed and realized I was floating hundreds of miles away from home, and it just made me feel more alone than I was.”
Adam took hold of her hands. “Do you trust me, Greta?”
Greta looked up into his dark, warm eyes. “Yes.”
Adam reached up and gently removed a few more tears from her cheeks. “How about if I stay in here until you fall asleep?”
“No, you need to get your sleep. I’ll be all right. I just needed that cry. I’m fine now.”
“I insist.”
“What about your four hours of sleep?”
“I’ll take a nap sometime tomorrow if I need to.”
She smiled at him. “Now I feel like my being here is hindering you from doing your job. Maybe I should’ve stayed at home.”
“I’ll tell you a little secret if you promise to never tell another soul.”
“I won’t.”
“My first trip on a ship, I felt the same way. My father was the captain, and I cried, too. I felt so ashamed, but at the same time, I loved being at sea.”
“That’s how I feel. I love the voyage so far. I love everything about it except for being alone at night.” Greta looked down at herself and was embarrassed to realize that she was still in her nightgown. She sprinted back to the bed, jumped in, and pulled the quilt up to her chin.
Adam sat on the bed near her feet. “Go to sleep. I’ll tell you about my first voyage; it will surely put you in dreamland.”
Greta couldn’t recall any more of his story than that the ship’s name was The Athena, his father was the captain, he had been twelve, and he’d been frightened, too. The next thing she knew, it was morning.
Greta jumped out of bed and threw on a skirt and blouse. She put on her oxfords, wrapped the braid Adam had given her around her head, and fashioned it with a pin before leaving the cabin and going up on deck. They were scheduled to reach Charleston on that day, and she didn’t want to miss it.
Adam came up behind her as she stood at the rail. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby.” She looked up at him, remarking to herself again how handsome he was. He was wearing a white shirt with an open collar, and she could see the beginnings of a very manly chest. His slim-fitting trousers suited him. “Thank you for helping.”
He leaned on the railing and looked out at the sea. “We won’t reach Charleston until almost dusk. There’s