Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
With every puff of sharp-scented ash that Jace’s boots lifted from the ground, his anger and guilt grew.
Pa was right in saying Jace was reckless.
Reckless and stubborn. A lethal combination.
He hadn’t been needed on the bear hunt. In fact, none of them had.
The rogue bear was found dead by a stream up the mountainside.
It had no teeth and showed signs of starvation, which explained why it had taken to raiding homesites.
He couldn’t wait to return to the hunting cabin and escape the constant reminder of Chet. Yeah, Chet’s memory was in every corner of the cabin but not with the stinging power these ashes held. He needed some men cleaning up the mess.
Oh, wait. He wasn’t going to be here. Dianne would have to take care of it.
Maybe if he poked through the ashes, he’d find something of value. A wheeled cart from behind the bunkhouse creaked and groaned as Jace pushed it over. A shovel stood nearby as if one of the men had tossed dirt on flames.
His teeth grinding, Jace dug into a pile of debris, scooped it into the hand wagon, and flattened it to expose what it contained—nothing but burnt wood and dry ashes.
Shovelful after shovelful landed in the wagon.
In none of them did he discover anything worth salvaging.
His insides burned hotter with every scoop.
This barn had been Chet’s pride and joy.
He’d hired local boys to help him put it up, one log after another.
Later, sawn lumber had been used to build an addition on one side.
How often had Chet leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms over his massive chest with satisfaction? “Finest barn in the whole territory.”
Jace let the shovel rest on the side of the hand wagon and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. A fleeting grin tugged at his lips. He would tease Chet. “You’ve toured the area to make sure your barn is the best?” Or he’d chuckle and say, “’Course it’s about the only one this side of Golden Valley.”
Chet deserved more than dying in the flames of his own barn.
Jace’s boot thunked against the cart’s nearest wheel as he kicked it to express his rage.
The hand wagon was full. He pushed it to the side hill where they dumped ashes and tipped it, letting the debris slide out.
Leaving the wagon there, he strode to the pump to wash the grime from his skin. He stood in the afternoon sunshine as water dripped from him. He stared at the ruins. Expelled a loud breath and shifted his attention to the house. The sun dried his skin and began to warm him.
Dianne—Mrs. White. He would think of her as that. Made it easier not to care. She was industrious and stubborn. She could manage on her own. Already, she’d proven her worth as a cook. And—
No point in thinking what else she might think she could prove.
He’d forgotten he meant to move into the bunkhouse and crossed the yard in long strides that shortened and slowed the closer he got to the house. It would have been Chet’s dream come true to watch Eddie playing with Skip and Dianne bustling around the kitchen.
“No disrespect to Mae,” he’d say in his booming voice, “but I always pictured a pretty young thing at the stove or hanging laundry.” He’d get a faraway look in his eyes. Then they’d snap back at Jace. “Ain’t it about time you set to courting?”
“Only woman around here besides Mae is that cross-eyed daughter of the traveling salesman.” That got a chuckle from Chet.
Jace jumped up the steps and threw open the door.
Dianne looked up from working at the stove. A smile crinkled her eyes. “Nice to see you looking happy.”
“I was thinking of Chet.” He grabbed two cookies from the jar at her elbow. “He appreciated Mae but had always hoped to see someone young and pretty in his kitchen.” His grin widened. “Mae was as wide as she was high and pulled her thin hair back into a bun.”
“She took care of you.”
“No need to scold. We appreciated her.” He braced a hip to the nearby work surface.
“Why are you staring?”
“Chet would approve of you.” Young and pretty. Capable in the kitchen. Jace straightened. “Except you’re stubborn. He didn’t admire that quality.” He downed the second cookie. “And I ought to know.”
“I believe stubborn is just a critical way of saying determined. A trait that is needed for those seeking a new life in the West.”
At her airy response, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m going to pick rhubarb.” With a basket on her arm and a knife in her hand, she left the house.
He watched from the window as she crossed to the garden and bent to pull out red stalks, cutting off the green tops.
She paused from her work to look at the spot Chet had fenced for a garden.
It was May. Chet soon would’ve helped Mae plant even though she insisted she was capable of doing it on her own.
At her protest, Chet had laughed loud enough to scare the crows from the nearby trees. “Maybe so. Maybe so. But would ya rob me of the pleasure?”
Now, who would put the seeds in the ground?
Jace waited for Dianne. “Guess I should show you about the chickens.”
“And the cow?”
“After supper, I’ll show you how to shut the calf away from his mama. Then you can milk in the morning.”
“Do I need a basket for eggs?” At his nod, she found one in the cupboard and called Eddie to accompany them.
Skip stayed at Eddie’s side. He’d protect the boy and his mother. That thought should have given Jace more comfort than it did.
“We see chickens?” Eddie asked.
“Yes,” his mother answered.
“Where they are?”
“Listen.” Jace signaled them to stop. “What do you hear?”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “Chickens?”
“You’re right.” They rounded the corner of a shed.
“There they are.” A high wire fence surrounded the pen, holding in rusty red chickens along with a handful of black-and-white hens, white feathers circled with a black border.
He opened the gate and let Dianne step into the enclosure.
Skip knew it was off-limits and sat back. Eddie stayed with the dog.
The chickens circled Dianne, clucking. “They’re pretty.”
“Surprised?”
“I am. But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“They need feed and water.” He showed her the feed in the nearby shed and how to fill the waterers. “Now, you need to gather the eggs.”
“Where are they? Do they hide them?” She peered under the feeder.
Chuckling, he pointed to the henhouse. “There are nests in there. Have a look.” He stood at the doorway, watching as she discovered eggs and nestled them in her basket.
Having checked each nest, she stopped in front of him, her eyes bright. “I have twenty eggs. Look.” She lifted the basket for his inspection.
Only the eggs weren’t what held his attention. He’d seen eggs countless times. But never had he observed that glow on another face. He touched her cheek. “One would think you’d discovered gold, not ordinary eggs.”
Light brimmed from her eyes. “This is better’n gold. You can’t eat gold.”
“True.” But never before had anyone valued gold less than a basket of eggs.
“Look, Eddie.” She leaned over to let her son touch the eggs. “The chickens have given us eggs. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Eddie nodded. “I likes chickens.”
“Me too.” She favored Jace with a sunny smile.
“Let’s take them to the house.” He draped his arm across her shoulders as they returned. Not that he could explain why he did something so bold. But he’d found a thread of connection between them at her enjoyment of this simple chore. It kind of reminded him of his sisters.
Every step of the way, she ran her fingers along the surface of the eggs, a little humming sound rumbling her lips.
He couldn’t help it. He laughed. Not because he mocked her but—“Your joy at getting the eggs makes me glad to be a farmer. Chet never allowed me to say we were farmers. Although, we did almost exactly the same things. He insisted we were ranchers. ‘Cows are what we grow,’ he’d growl in that deep voice of his. ”
Dianne looked into his eyes. For two heartbeats, neither of them looked away. Then they both blinked and turned their attention to the path, a distance of two feet between them.
He had no idea what just happened, but something had.
They reached the steps and stopped.
“I need to put away my eggs and start the pies.” But she didn’t move.
“I’ll move my things to the bunkhouse.” He only needed to gather the items he planned to take to the cabin. He didn’t care what happened to everything else.
He accompanied her inside and grabbed up his satchel where he dropped it earlier. But rather than rush away, he paused at the door and waited for her to look at him, a smile warming her eyes.
“After supper, I’ll show you how to look after the cow and calf.”
“I’d like that.”
He headed outdoors, his insides as sweet as honey. She only agreed to learn how to take care of the cow, but her words felt more like a promise. I’d like that. As if she meant she liked having him around.
Except he wasn’t going to be there. As soon as the boys got back, he was leaving. He’d been clear from the start and wasn’t going to change his mind.
“You can be so stubborn.”
At the sound of those words in Chet’s voice, Jace skidded to a halt and looked around. He shook his head. Of course, he hadn’t heard Chet.
He tossed his bag on a bare mattress in the bunkhouse and sat down.
He was leaving. They were both aware of that. Nothing had changed to convince him otherwise. Fine, it was pleasant to have a pretty young woman in the kitchen. It pleasured him to witness her appreciation of chickens and eggs.
The bunk creaked as he threw himself back and folded his hands under his head.
Rhubarb pie tonight. And then the cow and calf.
Amusement rumbled in his chest. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the bigger animals.
A smile lingered on Dianne’s lips and in her heart as she rolled out the piecrust, put in chopped rhubarb, then added sugar mixed with flour.