Chapter Seven
“Lunch!”
Amelia’s warm voice carried easily to the stockyard, where Cody was busy overseeing the last of the branding. The cattle that weren’t being sold immediately were being taken out to the range in the next couple of days, and it was imperative that they all be branded.
Her announcement of lunch was accompanied by her vigorously smacking a metal spoon on a pot, which made Cody grit his teeth.
She’d quickly made her place in the kitchen, which Ruby was happy to cede to her.
There was more than enough work for the two of them, as not only were they expected to keep the family fed, but to also supplement the food of the ranch hands as well.
Cody lingered, watching as a particularly stubborn calf was dragged forward, a rope around its neck and another caught around a back foot so that it couldn’t run off. Though it looked rough and cruel, it was better this way—he was less likely to injure himself if properly restrained.
“Arthur, make sure they get a proper brand on that one,” he instructed. Arthur, mounted on horseback, nodded, his eyes fixed on the calf. “Some of them haven’t been getting evenly done, and I can’t have a bad mark on them.”
“Yes, boss!” Arthur called back.
The calf wriggled and strained and managed to slip free. Arthur didn’t hesitate and got another rope around the calf’s neck in one easy toss.
Cody shouldered his way forward and helped to drag the calf forward, locking his arm behind the calf’s rump and bodily shoving it ahead.
By the time the beast was properly branded, they were all sweating and panting.
Cody stepped back as they released the calf, which trotted back to its mother.
Cody pulled his hat off and swiped at the sweat collecting on his forehead.
“Lunch!” Amelia called again, more emphatically this time.
Cody’s jaw clenched again, and he turned in the direction of the house. He honestly debated skipping lunch altogether. His stomach, however, had other ideas and gnawed greedily at itself.
“Best get going,” Arthur said from up on his horse. “You don’t want to irritate the missus, after all.”
Cody shot him a dark look, which only made Arthur grin more broadly. “That new woman doesn’t set my schedule,” he replied stubbornly.
“As you say,” Arthur said, tipping his hat but still grinning. The implication was clear that he didn’t believe Cody in the slightest.
Cody didn’t bother to respond. He marched up to the house with the air of a man on his way to the gallows. When he reached the house, he was halted at the door by Ruby, who was wielding a large wooden spoon. She pointed imperiously at the water pump at the rear of the house.
“No coming in until you’re washed up proper, Pa,” she said.
“Ruby,” he said, pulling a hand down his face, “I am too hot and too tired for tomfoolery right now.”
“None of us can sit down to a meal until we’re properly clean,” Ruby recited. “Isn’t that so, Mrs. Amelia?”
“It is so,” she agreed from somewhere within the kitchen. Cody stared for a moment during which Amelia appeared over Ruby’s shoulder. “Oh, come now,” she chided him. “Logan didn’t give us half this trouble, and he’s a little boy.”
“It’s true, Pa!” Logan called. “Mrs. Amelia made us some right fine cornbread, too.”
“You’d best get on,” Ruby said with a grin. “I think Logan’s going to eat it all before you’re done.”
Cody glared at Amelia, who didn’t budge. “Fine,” he muttered at last, and made his way to the water pump. “Ruby, come and work the pump,” he ordered. She obeyed, stepping out of the kitchen barefoot and doing as she was asked, bringing cool water up from beneath the ground.
Cody pushed his hat back on his head and scrubbed at his face with handfuls of water.
It was cool and refreshing, his skin grateful to be free of the dust and salt that accumulated on it during the day.
He couldn’t resist slapping a palm of water onto the back of his neck, shivering a little as it trickled down his shirt.
He straightened up, pulled his hat off, and ran his wet fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead before replacing his hat.
He turned back to the house and saw Amelia standing in the doorway, watching him.
She had an odd look on her face, like she was disturbed by something.
Self-conscious, Cody glanced down at himself, then back at her.
His collar was unbuttoned, and the front of his light blue cotton shirt was a bit soaked now.
I’m not going to hear any complaints about the state of my shirt after it was her idea that I wash up, Cody thought.
Thankfully, she didn’t say anything, and Cody made his way into the house.
The dining room abutted the kitchen and benefited from a pair of large windows that slid all the way open to help dissipate the heat from cooking.
The table dominated the space, a simple but sturdy piece of furniture covered in a checked oilcloth.
He sat down, and without meeting his eyes, Amelia placed a bowl of chili and a piece of cornbread directly in front of him. When everyone had been served, Amelia, too, sat down at the opposite end of the table from Cody. He kept his eyes on his plate and, declining to say anything, began to eat.
Just choke it down and get out, he told himself.
When the first bite hit his mouth, his eyebrows flew up in surprise. It was just the right amount of spicy, with a strange, savory tang that he couldn’t quite place. He blinked down at the bowl for a moment and then began to eat in earnest.
“Good, ain’t it, Pa?” Logan asked around a mouthful of food.
“Manners,” Cody replied automatically. Logan ducked his head and jabbed his spoon into his bowl.
“Mm,” Ruby said with a hum of appreciation.
Cody glanced up and saw her roll her eyes in pleasure, a smudge of butter and crumbs at the corner of her mouth.
“This is the best butter I’ve ever had,” she said enthusiastically.
She turned to Amelia, still chewing. “The morning of churning was absolutely worth it.”
Cody, head still bent over his bowl, glanced at Amelia while trying very hard not to look as if he was looking at her.
She smiled gently at Ruby, quiet pride on her face.
“I’m competent in the kitchen and a fair-enough baker, but I’m not afraid to admit that where I truly shine is butter and cheeses. ”
“Will you teach me?” Ruby asked. “I know the basics of butter-making, but I’ve always wanted to be more proficient. I’d like to learn how to make cheese, especially.”
“I can, if you like,” Amelia replied in her smooth voice. She glanced down the table at Cody, who quickly turned his attention back to his bowl. “Would you like more?” she inquired.
Cody, not immediately understanding, glanced down and was moderately surprised to see that he had wolfed down the entire bowl of chili. Unwilling to admit how good it was, shook his head.
“Well, I’ll take another bowl,” Logan said cheerfully.
Amelia chuckled. “Growing boys and their appetites,” she commented to no one in particular.
Bristling for reasons he didn’t fully understand, Cody pushed back from the table, making everyone look at him as the chair grated along the floor.
It rankled him to see the easy familiarity with which Amelia addressed his family, as if she had known them for years.
She was slotting into their lives easily, and Cody couldn’t abide that.
He said nothing as he stood there for a moment, everyone looking at him in mild surprise.
He made a vague sound that might have passed as thanks for providing him with a meal and then made his way out the back door again.
He took a deep breath when outside; he didn’t realize how oddly stifled he’d felt inside the house.
Hands planted on his hips, he stared out at the ranch, the rolling hills of grass that were shading to emerald. The ranch proper might be suffering from a lack of rain, but the range beyond had been fed by a number of snow-melt springs, and the grass was lush and green.
“Mr. Walker,” Amelia said behind him.
Trying to suppress a grimace and a surprised start at once, he turned to Amelia with what he hoped was a blank expression. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he suspected that she was attempting to needle him with her easy manner and flat refusal to be bothered by his poor manners.
“Yes?” he answered.
“I thought you might like to eat as you walked back to the barn,” she said. “Whatever your perturbation with me is, you shouldn’t be hungry at work.”
With an unreadable expression, Amelia held up a square of cheesecloth with a piece of cornbread on it. The top of it had been positively slathered in butter. He stared at it for a moment, his eyes shifting from her to the offering before reluctantly reaching out and taking it from her.
“Thank you,” he said, not wishing to appear churlish.
She looked at him expectantly, but he refused to say anything else. Stubbornly, he clamped his back teeth together. Once again, they were engaged in a silent contest of wills, staring at one another.
“Mrs. Amelia, would you tell Logan not to chew on his spoon?” Ruby called from the back door.
“I am not!” Logan yelled inside the house.
“I’m coming,” Amelia said, turning away from Cody without another word.
Though he supposed he couldn’t really count it as a victory, Cody still couldn’t resist lifting his chin triumphantly.
It was a small win, but he was glad of it all the same.
He turned back toward the stockyard and began to saunter toward it.
He had almost forgotten the cornbread in his hand until he was nearly there.
Skeptical, he raised it up and examined it carefully, taking an experimental sniff.
The butter had melted into the top, making it glisten bewitchingly.
Hesitantly, he took a bite. The flavor that hit his tongue was an unadulterated pleasure: sweet, savory, creamy.
The cornbread was fine—probably better than fine—but Ruby had spoken true when she’d praised the butter.
Unable to help himself, Cody let out a low hum of pleasure. Instantly, his eyes flew open, and he glanced around, checking to ensure that no one was around to see his enjoyment. The only pair of eyes watching him belonged to a bull, who stared at him from his small corral.
Cody hurried on, taking great bites of the cornbread, and resolved that Amelia could never know how much he’d enjoyed her cooking. After all, he didn’t want her to get the idea that he wanted her there.
***
It was easy to pretend that he had a day of work so full that he had to stay out until the sun was nearly beginning to set.
He contemplated the merits of engaging Arthur in conversation to prolong the inevitable, but one knowing glimpse from his foreman was enough to deter him.
The sky was beginning to go indigo in the east by the time Cody finally gave in and headed toward home for the night.
Cody sullenly made his way to the house, unsure exactly why he was so reluctant.
It was true enough that Amelia’s presence wasn’t exactly a welcome surprise, but she also hadn’t exactly done anything to him, at least not directly.
It was strange sharing a space with a woman again, especially one who seemed determined to assert herself.
It was especially annoying that she seemed equally determined to refuse to give him a justifiable reason to send her away.
He was nearly at the house when he heard a strange clang and then a scuffling sound he couldn’t quite place.
“Blast!” he heard Amelia swear, who then appeared around the corner of the house, trying to drag a large metal washtub.
She was bent double, attempting to use her own bodyweight as leverage.
Her forehead was creased, and she had her tongue poked out of one side of her mouth as she tried to heave the awkward thing around.
Cody could just about hear the water within sloshing as she scooted it.
Whatever his misgivings were, Cody couldn’t stand by and let her attempt such a heavy task on her own. He hurried his steps, coming up on her and grabbing the other end.
“Here—it’s easier with two,” he said unnecessarily. To his relief, Amelia simply nodded. “Where are you trying to get it to?”
“Just near the back door,” she said.
“Alright,” Cody said. Working together, they managed to haul it over with a minimum of splashing under the circumstances.
Once it was in place, Amelia stood back, breathing hard and her hands on her hips, and gave Cody a satisfied smile that seemed completely free of pretension or guile. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I’d have had a time of it on my own.”
Cody nodded but had difficulty being completely gracious. “Why didn’t you wait to fill it until you’d gotten it moved?”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “You’ll have to ask Logan about that,” she informed him crisply. “I had a nice bath set up for him on the porch, but he seemed mortified that Ruby or some passing stranger—don’t ask me who—might see him having a scrub.”
Unable to help himself, Cody gave a look around at the surrounding landscape. The house was set back off the road, and the only other structures within easy sight were the various outbuildings on the ranch. Amelia followed his gaze and gave him a shrug and a knowing nod of agreement.
“I suspect he might just be looking for a way to avoid a bath,” Cody said.
“Boys,” Amelia agreed. She gave him a small smile, one side of her mouth lifting higher than the other.
There followed a moment of silence in which they stood together in not exactly companionable silence, but at least less acrimonious silence.
Cody rocked back on his heels and then his toes, unsure of what to do now.
It was all far too domestic, far too comfortable for his tastes.
He didn’t want to discuss the children with her.
He didn’t want to grow accustomed to her presence.
You’re still looking for a reason to send her packing, he reminded himself firmly.
Wordlessly, he turned and ambled off, unsure of where he was going. He just wanted to be gone.