Chapter 5
What do you think of Aaron, now you’ve gotten to know him better?
Aunt Liddy’s question caught Gieselle off guard. Her aunt had noticed how often she went to the window to see if Aaron had returned. She had gotten to know the man better, but not well enough.
“I’m reserving judgment for the present.” She shrugged and turned away.
“A watched pot never boils and the one you’re waiting for never returns when you’re watching.” Aunt Liddy looked over her spectacles as she pulled a thread through her embroidery.
“I think Aaron can be trusted as a partner, if that’s what you mean.”
Aunt Liddy snorted. “That’s not what I mean. He likes you. Since you called off your engagement with Sam Grimes, I was just wondering if you see Aaron as a possible new beau.”
Gieselle flopped onto the cushioned chair beside Aunt Liddy’s bed. “A beau? Don’t try to find me a beau. It took me four years to get rid of one.”
Aunt Liddy snipped the thread with her scissors. “And that frees you to find a better one.”
“Why do you think Aaron likes me?”
Aunt Liddy laughed gaily. “He can’t keep his eyes off you, even when he’s talking to me.” She pointed the scissors at Gieselle. “Furthermore, I’ve seen you sliding glances at him as if you’d never known Sam Grimes.”
“Who?” Gieselle grinned.
Another laugh pealed from Aunt Liddy. “Oh, Gieselle, you are a bad girl.”
Gieselle couldn’t resist leaving her chair to peek out the window one more time. “When Papa and Mama sat me down and told me Godmother Wiggins left me an inheritance, they reminded me I was an independent woman and could wait as long as I wished to choose a husband.” She whirled around.
“What is it child?”
“I just now realized why Sam Grimes wished to marry me so suddenly. It wasn’t because he had to have a wife to take that Washington Cabinet job. He couldn’t hobnob with those powerful people without money. He wanted to get control of my inheritance.” She slapped her palm to her forehead. “Oh, Auntie. How could I be so dim-witted?” Indeed, how could she have not realized no man would get married simply to produce a wife at a social gathering unless he’d already assured someone he’d already married a woman with money?
Aunt Liddy dropped her embroidery, her jaw slacked. “Well, dearie, that’s something that won’t concern you with Aaron. He has plenty of money of his own. Just signing that contract with me convinced me of that.”
Not that it mattered, but Gieselle had to ask, “How do you know? He hasn’t actually spent anything yet.” She still wasn’t convinced a man, even one with plenty of money, would invest in a failing ranch.
Aunt Liddy took a moment to reply. “He didn’t inherit anything, of that I’m sure. He worked as a Pinkerton detective for awhile and saved all his wages, then began investing his money—apparently, wisely. I just hope he doesn’t lose…a lot here.”
“He was a Pinkerton agent, huh?” Gieselle mused. “That must be why he thinks he can investigate your missing cattle better than the local sheriff can.”
Aunt Liddy held her work to the light, inspecting it. With a small sigh, she dropped it to her lap. “That may be true. I fear he thinks he’ll find those cows and that’ll pay for all this money he’s spending on the ranch. Wally says Aaron withdrew the cash at the bank to pay for all our supplies and he wrote a check to cover the cost of the first herd of Angus beef cattle. I don’t know exactly how much he’d already invested in this ranch before we signed the partnership contract, but it must have been a lot.”
“I didn’t know that, but doesn’t that sound strange to you? What if you’d refused to sign?”
“I suppose he could have collected what supplies he could and sent the cattle on to another ranch. In a way, he read me right. If he hadn’t gone out on a limb, so to speak, I might not have trusted him.”
“When I write home, I’ll ask Papa about your contract and Aaron’s business tactics. I don’t know enough to judge them.”
“Neither do I, child.”
The sound of wagon wheels floated through the open window. Gieselle rushed to the window, ignoring Aunt Liddy’s chuckle. “It’s Aaron, and I see your wheelchair, along with lumber and some other stuff.”
“He’ll be bringing in the food stuffs first. Would you put them away, dear?”
“Of course, and it’s getting near dinner time. I’d better get that on. What would you like?” She knew Wally had left for a trip to Carson City and wouldn’t be back tonight. In his absence, Aunt Liddy would have to guide her in preparing dinner.
“We’ve been having soups and stews for the last few days. If you’re agreeable, fix something different tonight,” Aunt Liddy said. “Wish I could help.”
“It would be easier if you were already in your chair. That way, you could be in the kitchen with me.”
“Oh, I’m so excited about the chair. Yes, I could sit in the kitchen. In fact, if I could push it under the kitchen table, I could help you cook.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Miss Liddy.” Aaron came through the front door with a sack slung over both shoulders. “Doctor Gracie told me to make sure you don’t do too much, and not to try to get in that chair before she comes to fix your cast.”
Aunt Liddy laughed good-naturedly. “Now, how could I try to get in the chair without help? But I can still imagine what it might be like.”
“I’ll be right back, Auntie,” Gieselle said, tagging along behind Aaron. He dropped the gunny sacks on the table and she started pulling the smaller bags out, one of sugar, one of flour, one of coffee beans. “I didn’t know you were replenishing the pantry.”
“Wally left me a list.”
“Bless Wally’s heart, and you sent him off to Carson City. It’ll be hard getting along without him.” She wished Aaron would reveal what was going on behind the hiring of new employees, and why he wanted to find some from Carson City. Aunt Liddy said Uncle Morris had hired a lot of good men in Rattlesnake Ridge, but Aaron was deliberately going to Carson City. She couldn’t help but wonder why.
Maybe she’d ask him outright. Later.
They returned to the parlor and Aaron went back outside to get the rest of the food stuffs. “Well, Auntie, have you decided what I should prepare for dinner—or supper as you call it?”
“I’d really love to have fried chicken, only Wally isn’t here to kill and dress the chicken. I don’t suppose you’d do that?” Aunt Liddy gave her a pleading look. “No, if you wouldn’t dress a chicken to make chicken and dumplings, you surely wouldn’t kill one to fry.”
“I know how to fry chicken. But…while I love you, Aunt Liddy, and I’d do anything except that for you, I can’t slaughter a chicken. I have enough trouble collecting the eggs. The idea of running down a chicken, much less chopping off its head, has me quivering.”
Aaron returned carrying a crate. Aunt Liddy turned her attention to him. “Aaron, I don’t suppose you’d kill a chicken for Gieselle so she could fry it up for our supper?”
He stopped in his tracks and sent a scowl to both ladies. “I would much rather we have something else for supper. I don’t like killing caged animals. I have no trouble hunting or fishing, but that gives the animals a chance, so to speak. But a penned-up animal—” He shook his head. “Let’s wait until Wally gets back.” He crossed the room and disappeared in the kitchen.
Gieselle’s amused look met her aunt’s. “Who would’ve thought a big, strong man like Aaron would have such a soft heart for animals.” He didn’t know it, but that little detail had increased her esteem for him enormously.
“He’s right. It’s a good idea to wait on Wally, anyway.” Aunt Liddy scrunched her forehead in thought. “It’s too late in the day for baked beans. They have to soak all day.” Her eyes brightened as she shifted on her pillows. “I know. You can bake scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese. It was one of Morris’s favorites.”
“I’m game if you’ll tell me how. Be sure to go into detail, though. Despite my boasting, I’m not all that handy around the kitchen. I never cooked anything without Maydell’s guidance.”
“It’s very easy. Take six potatoes, peel them and cut them in…oh, one-fourth inch slices. Layer them in a pan with cheese and ham cubes. Oh, make sure the pan is buttered and add some butter in the layers. Pour a half cup of milk in and put cheese on top. Bake until it’s brown and bubbly.”
“I think I can do that,” Gieselle said, making for the kitchen.
“Don’t forget the salt and pepper,” Aunt Liddy called after her.
Gieselle smiled as she unhooked a cast skillet and set it on the table. During her time with Aunt Liddy, she was bound to learn some new recipes. The first thing she needed was potatoes and she knew there was a potato bin in the pantry.
She gasped and patted her chest when Aaron came out of the little storage room. Apparently, he’d been putting the new pantry items away. “Sorry to scare you,” he said. He didn’t look sorry at all. More like amused.
“That’s all right. Would you bring out six potatoes and put them on the table, please?” She caught his gaze before he turned away. “Thank you for refusing to kill that chicken.” She lowered her voice. “For all my boasting, I don’t know how to fry chicken well.”
He smiled at her before bringing the potatoes out of the pantry. Taking the paring knife from her, he sat and began peeling. “I didn’t refuse Miss Liddy’s request to kill a chicken to deny her fried chicken. I told the truth. I know somebody has to kill farm animals for food—I just don’t want to be that somebody, unless I have to.”
She started pulling the other items out needed to make the scalloped potatoes. “Why is that?” She’d never have pegged him to have been so tender-hearted.
He dropped the first potato in the bowl, his stare boring into her. She realized by now this was a serious subject to him, so she sat down across from him. “When I was ten our pastor read through some verses of Exodus. These mainly dealt with dietary rules and such.” He plucked another potato and began peeling, but she listened with an anticipation she rarely felt. Like reading a book before the climax.
“The only part of the reading I remember is Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. I suppose it meant something to the Jewish people, but I thought it must mean something deeper than how to prepare young goats.” Aaron looked off into space as if searching for the right words to explain himself. “Somehow, it occurred to me God abhors disrespecting animals. How disrespectful could one be than to boil a kid in his own mother’s milk?”
“But the kid was dead and the mother wouldn’t know even if animals could understand,” she argued.
His gaze slid back to hers. “That was irrelevant. It mattered to God, and the person doing the boiling.” He shrugged, a little smile touching his lips. “I don’t think the pastor ever explained the passage, but it affected me profoundly. From that moment on I knew God cares for animals. Every living thing really, because He is the giver of all life and He knows…and feels…everything that affects them.”
“His eye is on the sparrow,” she said.
He pointed with the knife. “Exactly. At any rate, I’ve always been careful of how I treat animals, both wild and tame. Now, I like to eat meat as well as anyone, but I don’t like the killing. I don’t mind it when hunting, but even then, I make sure to show respect for the animal I kill.” Plucking another potato from the bowl, he added, “When animals are raised for food, I prefer someone else do the killing, although my oldest brother called me a sissy.”
She recalled what he’d said about his brother, so that didn’t surprise her. “A sissy you certainly are not.” She’d been so mesmerized by his story she’d just sat there watching him, instead of getting the rest of supper going. “Since you’re so kind to peel those potatoes, I’ll get the biscuits going.
Shoving to her feet, she got the flour out, along with Aunt Liddy’s biscuit bowl. She measured two cups of flour and mixed in the salt and baking powder. As she reached her hand into the can of lard and scooped out a glob, Aaron’s stare pulled her gaze to his.
He grinned, deepening the laugh lines on either side of his mouth. She couldn’t help but return the smile. “Just looking at you, no one would guess you come from a prominent New Orleans family.”
“I told you I learned to cook from our cook who was one of the best in New Orleans. Once you learn, biscuits are the easiest things to bake—certainly easier than bread, yet I like baking bread better. I’ll fix a couple of loaves tomorrow.”
He held her gaze, one brow raised, a lazy smile on his face—a face she liked to look at. “Exactly how does one fix a loaf of bread?” he asked.
She flicked a flour covered finger at him, leaving a dusting on his nose. “Don’t you go making fun of the way I talk. I’ll have you know we Southerners fix a lot of things. We fix breakfast, fix the curtains, fix an argument. And we’re known to be fixin’ to do everything, too.
His gray eyes darkened. “I’d never make fun of the way you talk. I could listen to you talk all day long.”
The air suddenly seemed charged with electricity, forcing her to drop her gaze to the dough.
He can’t keep his eyes off you. She didn’t know what to think of this growing attraction between them, but she was beginning to like it.
“I remember you saying you learned how to cook from the family cook,” he said, “but I guess I had to see you in action to believe you.”
She snickered. “Of course, you haven’t eaten my biscuits yet.”
“I know they’ll taste good. You’re capable. You’d make a good farmer’s wife.”
“Or a rancher’s wife?”
They stared into each other’s eyes for another moment. “Any man’s wife.”
Suddenly aware they’d forgotten their tasks, they both dropped their gaze to their hands. Gieselle hoped she hadn’t overworked the biscuit dough while being distracted by the handsome rancher. She got busy rolling the dough out and cutting the biscuits.
By the time she’d finished that task, Aaron had peeled and sliced the potatoes. She took the bowl from him. “Thank you. We work well together. You haven’t complained a bit about my cooking skills like Maydell used to.”
He got to his feet. “Nothing to complain about. After you get the potatoes and ham in the oven, I’d like your help with the wheelchair out on the back porch. That is, if you don’t mind.”
She couldn’t imagine how she could help him, but she sure enjoyed working with him. “All right. It shouldn’t take long in here.”
A little nugget of distrust remained. Something still bothered her about Aaron. She was convinced he wasn’t trying to swindle her aunt in some way, but why he’d invest so much money on this failing ranch was still a mystery. Her father would think he was a poor excuse for a businessman, but she knew better. He had a good reason for buying into the Circle A.
She was beginning to like him a little too much. After misjudging Sam Grimes, she was gun shy where men were concerned. She’d have to go slow if a relationship developed between her and Aaron. He might hold secrets, but he was different from other men. She couldn’t deny the instant attraction. Funny that she’d find a man who attracted her out here in the middle of nowhere, but that’s exactly what happened.
That little voice in the back of her head reminded her to slow down, but today she’d gotten a look into Aaron’s soul, and she liked what she saw.