Page 64 of The Preacher's Bride

Somehow, the words tugged at his heart. That was exactly what Jessica used to say before….

“So, what would you like for breakfast?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts. “I already made coffee.”

Before he could object, she jumped to her feet, beat him to the kitchen, and poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him. He took a sip, and it was just how he liked it: black, with one sugar. She paid attention.

Then, she poured one for herself and sat kitty corner from him at the table. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked, a bit too cheerful.

He smiled at her enthusiasm. “Since it’s early, I thought I’d show you how to milk a cow. That is, if you’re up for it?”

A broad smile spread across her face. “Sounds great!” Then, her face fell. “What if the children wake up while we’re out?”

He shrugged. “If we go now, we’ll be back in before they wake.”

The grin returned. “Let’s go, then.”

Caleb hurried to slip into his coat, and then helped her on with hers. They walked outside in to the brisk morning air as streaks of purple and orange swiped across the sky, reflecting on the pristine snow. He headed into the barn and stopped in front of a stall as Mia followed. “This here is Ol’ Bessie. She’s our prize milk giver here on the Henley Farm.”

Mia nodded as a smile lit her lips. “Well, we don’t want to change that.”

Caleb showed her how to hook the lead strap to her halter and then led her out into the hallway. “First, we tie her to the milking post.” He smiled at Mia. “We don’t want to have to spend the morning chasing her down.”

“I thought that cows usually grazed in the field,” Mia said.

“Look around.” He gestured to the field that was covered in snow. “It’s still too cold for the snow to melt off yet.”

“When will that happen?”

Caleb shrugged. “Probably not until closer to March or April. In the Winter months, we keep the cows in the barn along with the horses. It’s the only way they would survive.” Then, he walked over to a wooden cabinet. “We keep the milking pails in here.” He lifted out two clean buckets and carried them over. “And we keep the milking stool over here.” He picked up a stool on the side of the cabinet, and then carried it over to Ol’ Bessy. He placed the milking stool beside the cow’s utters, bulging with milk.

“Does it hurt her when she’s not milked?” Mia asked.

Caleb nodded. “Yes, that’s why she has to be milked every day. We get enough milk from her to supply a lot of our milk, as well as cheese and cream.” Then, he rubbed his hands together. “First, you need to warm your hands. She’ll kick you when your hands are cold.”

Mia giggled. “That explains it.”

“What?” Caleb asked.

Mia shook her head. “My first morning here, I tried to milk one of the cows, but had no luck.”

Caleb chuckled, wishing he could have seen it. “After your hands are warm, you take an utter in each hand….” He proceeded to show her the fine points of milking a cow. Once milk was streaming steadily from her utters, he stepped back. “Here. You try.”

She sat on the stool, warmed her hands, and pulled. The cow jumped. “Oh my!”

Caleb laughed. “That’s okay. Just pull and twist at the same time, but gently.”

She tried again, and milk shot directly in her face.

Caleb burst out laughing, and then handed her a rag. “Don’t worry. It’s happened to all of us.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked as a devilish smile spread across her face. Then, she pointed an utter at Caleb and pulled, causing milk to spray all over him.

“Oh yeah?” he asked.

She laughed as she took off running, and he chased her around the yard. He caught her and then swung her around as she giggled. Their faces drew near, and they suddenly became serious, but he set her on her feet and ran his hand through his dark brown hair, turning away.

“I… uh… I think the children might be awake now.” He pointed nervously at the cow. “I’ll… uh… I’ll finish up here.” Then, he walked away, when a snowball hit the back of his head. When he turned around, Mia was laughing as she hurried inside. “You’d better run! I’ll get even with you later!”

Then, she closed the door quickly behind her.

---