Page 40 of The Preacher's Bride

Caleb shook his head. “No, I was just going to ask if you could get the house in order and take care of the children, but it looks as if you have everything under control.”

She nodded as she took another sip of her coffee.

“By the way, there’s plenty of food in the pantry,” Caleb continued. “And if you feel up to it, there are plenty of chickens out back in the henhouse.”

Mia nearly spit out her coffee. “You want me to… kill a chicken?”

He shrugged, not understanding what the problem was. “Didn’t you kill chickens back east?”

She laughed. “No, we went to the meat market.”

Caleb frowned as he got up and placed his plate in the sink. That was all he needed, a frail woman who couldn’t kill a chicken. After all, it wasn’t as if he had just asked her to kill a cow. “Don’t worry. The men and I slaughter the pigs and cows in the summer.”

Her eyes flew open wide. “How many do you kill?”

He shrugged. “One cow and one pig per family. Then, we cure the meat, smoke it, and it lasts all winter. The rest, we sell.”

Mia’s body went rigid. “And what part will I play in that?”

Caleb sighed. “Well, usually the women help out in the kitchen and with curing the meat. It’s actually a lot of fun. A community affair.” Taking in the frown on her face, he added, “Here in the country, we all pull together. We wouldn’t be able to survive otherwise.”

She nodded as she pushed her plate aside.

Caleb shook his head, knowing that she had lost her appetite. He poured himself another cup of coffee to take with him. It was too good to let go to waste. “Have a good day.”

“Shall I expect you home for lunch?” Mia asked, raising her eyebrows.

Caleb hated seeing the hopeful look in her eyes. He didn’t want her to show interest in him. To care for him. Just caring for the children would be enough.

“No.” He put on his cowboy hat and slipped on his heavy coat. “One of the parishioners usually asks me to stay for lunch.”

A disappointed look appeared in her eyes, and then it was gone.

Now, he felt guilty for not allowing himself to care for Mia. But wasn’t providing a roof over her head and food in her stomach enough? Many women would love to stay at home and care for the children while the man worked. He gave her a nod, silently telling her goodbye.

“What time shall I expect you home for dinner?” she asked, hopeful.

He placed his hand on the door but didn’t look at her. “I won’t be back home until later tonight.” Then a thought occurred to him as he looked in her direction but didn’t look in her eyes. “Will you be okay with the children alone all day?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her nod. “We’ll be fine.”

He nodded as he walked out, closing the door tightly behind him.

As he hitched up the team, his thoughts went back to Mia. He could tell that she was a loving, caring person, and he knew that, one day, just caring for the children wouldn’t be enough. A woman like that needed someone to care for her, too. But he just didn’t have it in him. That part of him lay dormant, having died right along with Jessica.

At least he would be able to make his rounds without feeling guilty for leaving the children in the care of a neighbor. For that peace of mind alone, Mia was worth her weight in gold. At least that was something.

Chapter 9

Mia

After Caleb left, the children were still sleeping, so Mia decided to go out to the henhouse to collect the eggs and milk the cow, knowing that, in the west, it would be the responsibility of the wife to do such things. In the city, she would have just dressed the children and went to the market. But she had a feeling that she would be laughed out of town if she went to the general store to buy things that were plentiful on their farm.

Mia looked in on the children once more, and they were still sleeping, so she slipped on a heavy coat and went out to the henhouse. The door to the henhouse was barely big enough for a chicken to fit through, but she crawled in as the chickens clucked and fussed and flew right at her while she gathered the eggs. A few minutes later, feathers were everywhere—even in her hair—and the chickens were very upset, but by the time she was finished, she had all the eggs in a basket. Feeling accomplished, she set the basket on the counter in the kitchen, and then went in to check on the children.

Since they were still sleeping, she headed out to the barn, found a clean milk pail setting off to the side, and then tied the cow up to what she assumed was the milking post. Then she placed her hands on her hips and looked at the cow. The cow looked at her as if she was a crazy woman with feathers in her hair and who knew what else all over her.

“Now, you and I are going to have a little talk.” The cow turned around and looked at her. “After what I went through with the chickens, I don’t want any trouble from you.” Again, the cow just looked at her. “Now, don’t you look at me that way.”

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