Page 19 of Mail-Order Bride Mommy
Gwen barely managed to hold back a protest. She breathed deeply.Be calm. Be reasonable.“Lindy told me her mama let her do so.”
“Oh.” Stunned silence that lasted a heartbeat. “If Merry thought it was all right…”
She waited for him to continue. But it seemed like he’d forgotten to tell her what he thought. “When do you expect meals to be served?”
“Breakfast is at seven. I like to eat after the chores are done. Dinner at twelve. We always stop whatever we’re doing and come to the house to eat. It’s something Ma and Pa always did. Merry always had the meal ready when we walked in. Supper…well, it depends on what we’re doing. Normally, around six. But if we’re going to be later, I’ll let you know.”
“That sounds fine.”
“Merry always did laundry on Monday. She’d had the clotheslines full before breakfast.”
“Heavens. Did she get up in the middle of the night?” Gwen hadn’t meant to sound so surprised.
Matt’s brows knotted. “She was very efficient. The woman never wasted a moment.”
“Good to know.” It was plain as the nose on his face that he expected the same from Gwen.
“She baked twice a week. We always had bread, cookies, and dessert. You can ask Wally for recipes if you need help.”
It was a good thing Matt couldn’t see how Gwen bristled. “I’ve taken care of my brother for six years. I think I can manage.”
“Don’t be too prideful to ask for help.”
She breathed in until her lungs almost burst then spoke calmly. “Of course, I won’t.”
“As I already mentioned, I’d like to see Lindy having more order in her life.”
Gwen was thoroughly confused. “I don’t know what you mean. What sort of order should she have?”
His eyes narrowed. Perhaps her tone gave away more of her irritation than she meant to reveal. But she honestly didn’t know what he expected, and she couldn’t imagine regimenting the child like a little soldier.
She swallowed hard. Proving herself to be amiable and satisfactory might be more of a challenge than she anticipated.
* * *
There wasno need for Matt to rush out after breakfast as he’d done the chores already. That gave him time to set out his expectations regarding Lindy. He’d mulled around what he wanted. He’d produced what he thought were reasonable guidelines. “We were taught to do simple tasks at her age. I propose that she take the kitchen scraps to the chickens and get the eggs.”
Gwen nodded.
Good. No disagreement so far. Nor should there be. Her job was to take care of Lindy. His was to be sure it was done right…the way Roscoe and Merry would want their daughter raised. “She’s certainly old enough to help with dishes. Merry had her doing so. She could make her bed and keep her room tidy.”
Gwen seemed interested in the plate before her. Was she anxious to get on with her work? He couldn’t fault her in that. Not that he sought ways to do so.
She lifted her head. Her eyes were dark. “I’d like to take her for walks, but I need to know where she’s allowed to go and what’s safe for her. I’m a city girl so I’m not familiar with what’s expected on a ranch. Now if we were in town, I would warn her about crossing the street and staying away from horses. I’d not let her wander around without supervision.”
“How’d it be if I show you around? Shall I return in, say half an hour?” That would give her time to clean the kitchen and do the dishes.
Gwen pushed to her feet. “That would be good.”
He grabbed his hat and headed down the path. Riley had informed him that they were going to ride out to check on the herd and their cowhands. Matt stepped into the main house.
Riley stood before him, his cowboy hat in his hands. “You ready to go?” Luke and Andy were at his back.
“I’m going to need a bit of time to show Gwen around, so she knows where it’s safe for her and Lindy to go.”
Luke whoofed with amusement. “Lindy knows. Let her do it.”
Riley planted his hat on his head. “We need to be on our way.”
