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The pigs squealed loudly.
“They’re getting impatient.” Levi picked up the bucket and dumped the contents over the fence into a wooden trough.
Beatrice stared, fascinated as the pigs buried their snouts in the trough, not caring if they stepped on each other. She shook her head. “Pigs are...well, pigs.”
Laughter rumbled from Levi, drawing her gaze to him. How his eyes danced, and his face crinkled in a friendly sort of way. Just because she called a pig a pig?
She turned back to the animals. “They’re noisy, rude and loud. And they stink.”
More rumbling laughter. “Johnny says he thanks God he wasn’t born a pig.”
That brought a burst of laughter from Beatrice. Her eyes connected with his and something sweet filled the air. She couldn’t remember a time she had shared real, honest amusement with a man. It caused her insides to bounce up and down...not an unpleasant sensation. She reminded herself not to stare, but despite her admonition she could not break the look between them.
He shifted his gaze first, letting it go toward the house. “Have you done Maisie’s dressing yet?”
Her thoughts jarred back to the reason she was here. Changing the dressing was not a task she looked forward to. She had not a clue how to tackle the job. “No, I just finished cleaning the kitchen.” She turned to retrace her steps.
Levi fell into step with her. They reached the barn. She welcomed the chance to shift her thoughts to something else. “I thought there would be horses and cows in the pens.”
“The horses are out with the men at the moment except for those we need for getting around and Pa’s breeding stock.” He pointed toward the animals in the pasture. “He has big plans for expanding our bloodlines into something that will make the Sundown Ranch horses more desirable than the average horse. We seldom keep cows in the pens. They are out grazing. Except for the milk cow. Do you want to see her?”
“Is she friendly?”
He grinned. “She won’t say hello if that’s what you mean, but she also won’t be rude like the pigs who act like pigs.”
He was teasing her and she didn’t mind. “It’s good to know she has her species figured out.”
They were at the barn door. He edged it wider open and she stepped inside.
“I hope you don’t find the smell obnoxious,” Levi said.
She sniffed as she turned her head from side to side. “There’s a warm, earthy scent, a musty odor and a kind of mushroomlike smell. None of it overwhelming or unpleasant. It’s rather a reassuring odor.”
He stared at her. “Reassuring? You make the smell seem vital.”
“Vital? Yes. That’s exactly how it feels.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of you.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant, nor was she sure she wanted to know. If it was good she would be flustered, if bad, she’d be wounded. No, better not to know. “So where is this milk cow?”
He swept his arm toward the alleyway and she preceded him the direction indicated. Old Sissy munched on her feed. There were wooden pens on either side, some with boards that looked as if they had been chewed. She glanced upward at the sound of something scurrying overhead.
“Mice,” he explained. “The cause of Maisie’s accident.” His expression hardened like black rock.
“Wouldn’t cats take care of that problem?”
“Cats are hard to find and harder to keep. We had a mama cat but she was half-wild and packed up her kittens and moved on.”
An amusing mental picture flashed through her mind of a cat carrying a valise out of which three little kittens peeked and she laughed softly, wishing immediately that she had kept her amusement hidden.
“What makes you laugh?” Levi asked.
She glanced at him to see if he was annoyed but he appeared more curious than anything and she explained. “After all, you did say she’d packed up.”
He grinned. “She carried them one by one to a new place.”
“Carried them. How?”
“By the scruff of the neck.”
“I remember a time the groom was angry with the boy who helped with the horses and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and shook him. It didn’t look pleasant.” She shuddered to think of baby kittens being carried that way.
“It’s the way cats do it, and the kittens don’t seem to mind. Now, do you want to see the milk cow?”
“Yes, of course.” Though she’d momentarily forgotten their reason for coming to the barn.
He moved along the alley and stopped where a gate had been pushed open. A tawny-colored cow stood patiently with Charlie squatting at her side squirting milk into the bucket at his knees.
Beatrice knew where milk came from...in a picture-book sort of way. But she’d never seen it foaming up in a pail. For some strange reason it brought a sting of tears.
Charlie gave Levi a pained look. “I ain’t no chore boy.”
Levi leaned back on the side of the pen and gave his cousin a steady look. “Nothing wrong with good honest work.”
“This is squaw work.”
Levi’s laugh lacked mirth. “Not here. Big Sam says it’s man’s work.”
“Don’t see him doing it, though.” Charlie stood. “I’m done here.”
Levi straightened. “Not until you’ve stripped her. I don’t want her going dry. We need the milk. Finish the job.”
Beatrice looked from one to the other as the words that made no sense hung about in her brain looking for something to connect to. Charlie looked ready to explode. Levi’s expression was hard. What would he do if Charlie disobeyed his order?
Looking rebellious, Charlie sat on the little stool again and returned to milking until no more hit the pail. “Happy now?” He pushed past Beatrice.
“Take it to the cookhouse and take care of it.”
Muttering under his breath, Charlie stomped from the barn.
Levi took off his cowboy hat and dragged his fingers through his hair. “Sometimes I wonder if he’s worth the effort.”
A shiver raced down Beatrice’s spine. Did he think the same of her? Not worth the effort? She drew herself up to her tallest and faced Levi. “Is anyone who can’t do the things you do considered not worth the effort?”
His dark eyes were bottomless, revealing nothing, though the way he crossed his arms over his chest made her think he was prepared to defend his view. “It isn’t that he can’t do the chores I’ve assigned him. It’s that he doesn’t care to make the effort. He believes chores are beneath him. For that reason I find him difficult to deal with.” His gaze bored into hers. “I believe in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.”
She floundered to think what that meant to her. She didn’t expect to be paid, didn’t want to be. “Maybe he’s doing the best he can.”
He unwound from his position at the fence. “If I thought that I would be happy. But Charlie is capable of doing almost anything he puts his mind to. Come along, I’ll show you the cookhouse.” He paused at the doorway, retrieving the slop bucket where he’d left it. “That is, if you’re interested.”
“Yes, I am. I want to see everything.” She might have told him she found it fascinating to see life at its roots, but he seemed cross so she kept the words to herself and accompanied him across the yard to a low building. They stepped inside and she stopped to take it in. To one side, there was a long wooden table with backless wooden benches on either side. Hooks on the wall next to the door held a variety of items—bits of leather, furry leggings and two soiled hats. To the other side was an enormous black stove, a long wooden counter and pots, pans, crocks and kitchen utensils of every size and kind. Apart from that, the room was bare of any sort of decoration. The windows lacked curtains. The only bright color in the whole place was the red rim of some of the granite pots.
“What do you think?” Levi asked.
She closed her eyes and drenched her senses, then she opened her eyes and told him her impressions. “The room is sparse.” She pointed out the lack of color. “But the air is alive with spices and warmth. I smell apple pie, gingersnaps, chocolate pudding. I smell mashed potatoes in a huge bowl, fried chicken and tomato sauce rich with basil and oregano. It’s like walking into an open market with a hundred things cooking at the same time.”
His laughter rumbled. “Soupy would be pleased you can’t smell dirty boots and manly sweat.”
She opened her eyes and grinned. “There might be a touch of that, as well.” Why was it she felt trapped by his gaze when he smiled like that? As if the rest of the world had slipped away and left them standing there alone? And when had she ever had such fanciful thoughts? Certainly not with Henry, whom she’d loved, and never with the young men her father presented as suitable.
Levi turned his attention to the room. “Charlie has left the milk.” Every trace of humor had disappeared from his voice and a cold chill crossed Beatrice’s shoulders.
“I’ll have to do it. You don’t need to wait if you don’t want.” He started a fire in the stove and filled a kettle with water from the pump at the sink.
The bucket of milk stood on the wide counter. Levi pulled out a jug and draped a white cloth over it.
Curious as to what he meant to do, she said, “I’ll wait and watch if you don’t mind.”
His eyebrows arched as if uncertain what to think of her answer. “I don’t mind.” He poured the milk through the cloth until the jug was full, then covered it with another cloth that he dampened in cold water. “Normally Soupy would use most of the milk. We use a little at the house. But with him and the cowboys away, we don’t need it all. The rest will go to the pigs.” He rinsed the straining cloth then filled a basin with boiling water and rinsed it again.
He took the milk bucket to the door and set it down. “Maybe Charlie will stir himself to take this to the pigs.” He looked around for his cousin. “He’ll be trying to find a bottle about now.”
Beatrice couldn’t decide if Levi sounded condescending or worried, so she made no comment.
He hung the straining cloth to dry, took the jug of milk and the empty slop bucket and escorted her back to the house.
“I was getting concerned when you were gone so long but I see I shouldn’t have been,” Maisie said. “You were with Levi.”
“I’m sorry to make you worry.” She’d be more conscious of Maisie in the future.
“I’ll hang about while Beatrice changes your dressing, in case she needs anything,” Levi said.
Beatrice’s insides stiffened. The last thing she needed or wanted was to have Levi watching while she tackled a job she didn’t know how to do. Her spine grew rigid. Her hands curled into fists. She would do this and whatever else she must learn in order to make her own way in life.
* * *
Levi struggled to sort out his thoughts. What was there about Beatrice that kept him off balance? He wanted to see her as a city girl. Unfit for ranch life. And she was. But she was more. Or was she less? He wished he could decide.
He’d expected her to grimace when she stepped into the barn. Instead, she’d been intrigued by the odors and even managed to make them seem pleasant. Yes, she’d been put off by the smell of pigs, but he didn’t know anyone who wasn’t. And wouldn’t Soupy have been amazed at her assessment of the cookhouse? A hundred cook fires at the same time. It gave him a mental picture that made his mouth water.
He shook his head, hoping to clear his thoughts. All that mattered to him was that Beatrice took care of Maisie and that Charlie stayed out of trouble.
How did he manage to get both Charlie and Beatrice here at the same time? He couldn’t possibly be in two places at once.
“Ma, can I help you to your room?” She was able to hop about, but he preferred she didn’t cross to her bedroom on her own.
Maisie looked from Beatrice to Levi. “It’s too early for Beatrice to retire. What will she do if I go to bed now?”
“I’ll take her for a walk down to the river if she likes.” He’d said the words without thinking and now that they were out, they couldn’t be pulled back.
“I’d like that,” Beatrice said.
Maisie nodded. “Then I’ll prepare for bed and Beatrice can tend to my dressing.”
Before she could struggle to her feet, Levi jumped forward and helped her upright. He’d pick her up and carry her, but Maisie would fight him so he settled for holding her firmly as they left the kitchen and crossed the living room. He threw back the covers, eased her to the bed and lifted her injured leg, then stepped back, loathe to leave her to Beatrice’s inexperienced hands.
Beatrice eased forward.
Ma must have sensed her uneasiness. Though she could hardly miss the way Beatrice wrung her hands and the way she chewed her bottom lip.
Ma spoke softly to her. “Don’t look so frightened.”
Beatrice nodded but didn’t relax.
Maisie smiled. “Why don’t you tell me the sort of things you did to amuse yourself as a child?”
She got a faraway look in her eyes. “I read lots. Did needlework. I’m quite good at it, actually.” Her smile was faintly apologetic.
“Didn’t you play?”
She shifted her gaze toward the window. “I was taught a young lady should properly conduct herself with decorum.”
Levi had no idea what that meant, but Beatrice made it sound as if she was not allowed to enjoy normal childhood play.
Maisie put into words Levi’s thoughts. “Maybe here you can learn life is meant to be enjoyed.”
Beatrice smiled and the tension slipped from her eyes. “I’ve already seen glimpses of that.”
Levi wanted to ask for specifics. Was he part of what she had enjoyed?
But she stepped forward. “Now let me tend your dressing.” The look she gave Levi dismissed him from the room.
His neck burned. He had no intention of seeing his stepmother with her petticoats pulled up to reveal her legs. “I’ll be in the other room if you need anything.” He closed the door behind him as he left the room, but stayed in the front room, his head turned toward the bedroom in case Maisie called for his assistance.
He heard Maisie’s calm voice, but he could not make out her words. He thought he heard Beatrice although he couldn’t be certain and took a step toward the door. Then he stopped. No need to press his ear to the door. If Maisie needed him, she’d let him know.
His thoughts wandered as he waited, searching for a place to put Beatrice in his mind. She was a city girl but anxious to be on her own. What did that mean? From a rich family but expressing pleasure at the simple things of ranch life. Light and easy in his arms. But a classy white lady.
She simply did not fit into any of his classifications. And that left him unsettled, wondering if she had the same problem trying to see where he fit.
It was obvious he was a half-breed.
She had no such problem.
Maisie’s oft-spoken words echoed in his head. “Boys, there will always be those who say things about you. Hearing them say it doesn’t make it true. You don’t have to believe what they say about you.”
He tried not to believe what others said. But Helen had taught him one thing he would never forget. What others believed about him did make a difference. In the way they treated him, whether or not they were willing to associate with him or even be seen with him.
