Page 164 of Conveniently Wed
Leah wiped the already-clean counter, just in case dust had settled when she’d loaded wood into the cook stove. She glanced around for something else that needed doing, but couldn’t find a thing. She sighed.
She’d been alone at the ranch all day, and had cleaned the cabin, forked hay into the empty stalls, picked vegetables from the garden, prepared beef crepes to fry for dinner, and made cinnamon rolls with sweet cream for dessert. The spicy aroma had toyed with her for the last hour, making her restlessness all the worse.
She glanced out the window to gauge how far past noon the sun had moved. Miriam hadn’t said anything about them being out after dark, although Leah really didn’t know what would be involved with branding.Lord, please don’t let them be late.
Maybe now would be a good opportunity to catch-up on her journal writing. She usually tried to write weekly, logging the recent happenings and her thoughts about them. She grabbed her crutch and headed toward her room.
No sooner had she settled herself on her bed with the book and her fountain pen, splinted leg propped on the quilt, than a strange noise drifted from outside. It sounded almost like a flock of birds, or maybe the chickens. She placed her splinted leg on the floor, grabbed her crutch, and hobbled as quickly as she could out the front door.
The noise was definitely coming from the little shed that held the chickens, and stray feathers drifted through the cracks in the boards. What was in there? A fox? Her crutch would come in handy to scare it off.
The door was unlatched when she arrived, so she jerked it open and charged in, scanning the ground for a wiry red pest. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, her breath froze.
A man stood before her, knife poised over his head like an ancient warrior about to throw a javelin.
The glint in his eye and the leer on his face paralyzed her.
While the chickens squawked about in terror, the man advanced toward her, knife raised in attack position. The blade glittered in the sunlight filtering through cracks in the boards.He looked old enough to be her grandfather, with a scruffy beard, dirty clothes, and a floppy hat.
He spoke in a throaty growl. “Hold on there, missy. Looks like I found someone to cook my supper fer me.”
Leah didn’t move. What did he have planned? Her mind scrambled to find a way out of this. Away from this man. Could she lock him in the chicken coop and run for help?
He was close enough now to touch her, and he rested the tip of his knife at the base of her throat. She didn’t breathe, but the sharp metal burned against her skin.
He snickered. “Where’s yer menfolk?”
“Will…be…back.” She put great effort into not moving her throat as she spoke each word, so they came out in a hoarse whisper. He never lifted the point of the knife from her neck, and the sting grew sharper.
“I reckon you’ll have time to fix me supper then, won’t you, darlin’?” When he spoke the last word, he reached behind her and patted her bottom.
Cold, steely fire flooded Leah’s veins. If he didn’t have a knife sticking in her neck, she would have taken him apart one joint at a time, right there in the chicken shed. No man hadevertouched her in such a place, and this dirty vagabond was the last man she’d allow the right.
He seemed to sense her hatred, because his smirk dried up. His voice was rough when he spoke again. “Get on with ya and fix me some food. But jest know me and my knife’ll be with ya each step o’ the way.”
He pulled the blade away from her throat, but kept it hovering in front of himself like a barrier.
Leah turned away from the man and limped toward the house, as much to regroup her thoughts as to obey his demands. Who was he? Had Simon sent him? He didn’t look like a manher ex-fiancé would do business with, but could he be a hired kidnapper?
What was she going to do? It would be hours before Gideon returned. What weapons could be in the cabin? Gideon and Miriam had the only rifles she knew of. They did have a kitchen knife, but it was due a sharpening. Unless she could get the drop on this man, that blunted metal would be no match to his razor-sharp blade.
If he wanted her to cook for him, was there a way she could poison him? That idea seemed promising, but she had no idea how to accomplish it any better than feeding him undercooked meat. And he’d surely notice that.
Maybe she could get him near the fireplace and push him into the flame. Not to kill him, just injure him long enough for her to get the upper hand. She’d have to watch for an opportunity.
Inside the cabin, Leah stoked the fire in the cook stove, then heated grease in the frying pan for the beef crepes. While she worked, her assailant leaned against the wall in the little kitchen, his white knuckles revealing a firm grip on the long knife.
God, I really need you now.She sent up a steady prayer as she cooked. After a few minutes, the man seemed satisfied she wasn’t hiding a gun in one of the potato barrels, and meandered to sit in a kitchen chair.
She moistened her lips. She needed to know if this man was in Simon’s employ, or if he was just a good-for-nothing scoundrel.
She tried to keep her voice casual yet firm. “My family will be back any minute.” Despite her effort, the words quivered a bit. And he didn’t need to know Gideon and Miriam weren’t exactly family.
He gave her an evil smirk. “You better get cookin’ faster then, sweetheart, so I can eat up and have some fun before I’m on my way.”
A shudder slid through Leah. But as she worked, she studied his words. It sounded like he was only a vagabond, planning to be off as soon as he’d gotten whatever he could from this place. She steeled her determination. She’d feed him because she had to. But she’d die before she let him do anything more than eat food.Lord, please help.
When the crepes were ready, she placed two on a plate and slid it to him. She kept her distance, watching for an escape. After he’d eaten two servings, the man sat back and rubbed his hand over the tattered shirt that almost covered his belly. “I hope you’re as good at other things as ye are at cookin’.”
