Page 167 of Conveniently Wed
Then a high cackle came from Ol’ Mose, as he slapped the table hard enough to make his tin plate bounce. “Yer all right, girlie. I think yer gonna do just fine.”
Gideon matched his steps to the old trapper’s as they made their way to the barn. Drifter had been curled at Leah’s feet when they’d left the cabin, enjoying a good ear scratch. He’d just as soon the dog stay with her anyway to keep an eye on things. The animal had made it clear he was partial to their pretty visitor too.
While they ambled, his eyes drifted upward to the stars glittering in the wide Montana sky. They carpeted the dark background, each competing to outshine the lights around it.
“It’s awful nice tonight, ain’t it?” The sky must have caught Ol’ Mose’s attention, too.
Gideon nodded, keeping his focus on the heavens.
Finally, he spoke the question that had his mind bound tight. “You gonna tell me what happened?”
The old trapper released a sigh. “When I got here, the girl was holdin’ her own.” A pause. “I don’t know how things woulda ended, but I know fer a fact the Maker does. And I trust what He decides.”
Gideon didn’t have an answer for that. Wasn’t ready to open himself to the idea that God had any plan at all, much less a better one. So he held his silence.
A moment later, the old man spoke again. “You’ve got a real nice piece o’ land here, Bryant. Prettiest in these parts. God’s given ya quite a blessing.”
Something burned the back of Gideon’s throat, but he swallowed it back down. “It’s a lot of hard work.”
Mose’s shrewd gaze pressed into him. “How are things goin’ for ya, son?”
Gideon swallowed again. How honest should he be? He really didn’t have anyone to confide in. Miriam maybe, but his sister carried so much burden already with the house and gardens.
And she was just a kid still. It was good she had Leah to help with things now. For a little while, anyway. He released a breath and ran a hand through his hair. The short locks still felt strange, but kept him cooler in this hot weather.
“Well…” He paused, his mind working to string together the right words. “I’m short-handed with the stock. Not sure how things’ll go through the winter.”
Ol’ Mose nodded. “You thinkin’ to hire someone on?”
“Maybe.” He’d been struggling with that idea for a while, actually. He just couldn’t bring himself to replace Abel. Not until he had to. It didn’t seem right for a stranger to be working alongside him where his brother should be.
The older man was quiet for a few moments as they both stood in the middle of the yard, staring into the night sky. His mind drifted back toward the house. For some reason, he didn’t think of Leah as a stranger working on the ranch. He’d gotten used to her presence around the place, had come to enjoy it really. She seemed to fit right in. And she acted like she didn’t mind the work or the remote life. She was a bit of a mystery, the way she’d come from such a wealthy background, but jumped right into work with the rest of them.
“So how’re things going with your pretty houseguest?”
Had his thoughts been so transparent? Gideon kicked at a clump of oatgrass, his gaze no longer turned upward. “Fine, I reckon.”
“I see she’s turnin’ out to be quite a cook.”
Gideon shrugged, trying to keep his manner as casual as possible. “She does all right for a city girl.”
A snort erupted from the man at his side. “She might be a city gal, but she’s got more gumption than most men I’ve seed raised in the back-country.”
Gideon didn’t respond and Ol’ Mose allowed the silence to settle again. The words were true. Leah’d shown gumption in the way she’d handled the pain of her broken leg, the way she’d pushed herself to help with every chore she could, the way she’d learned how to cook better than Miriam in just four weeks.
She didn’t fear this mountain life the way Jane had. No, Leah embraced it. That day when he first saw her in the kitchen of their little cabin, he never would have expected it.
“Ya know.” Ol’ Mose’s shaky voice broke through Gideon’s thoughts. “A wise ole trapper I knowd once used to say ‘Don’t ever judge a book by its cover’. I reckon he meant to always give a person a fair chance to prove their mettle. No makin’ an opinion ’cause of something that happened to you awhile back.”
How exactly did this man do it? Were Gideon’s thoughts that evident? He stared into the blackness in the direction of the road. Hehadassumed Leah’s background would make her just as frightened of the mountain as his deceased wife had been. After one look at her in that little hat and the fancy dress with all the ruffles, he’d formed an opinion. But she was starting to convince him he may have been wrong.
He turned and pulled a hand from his pocket to clap the old man on the shoulder. “Sounds like your trapper friend was a smart man.”
Ol’ Mose gave him a grin that seemed to sayI’m glad you saw the light,then he nodded. “He was, at that. Now it’s time for me to git these ol’ bones bedded down. I’ll be headed out again in the mornin’.”
20
Leah dried her water-pruned hands on her apron and turned away from the work counter as Miriam strode into the cabin. “Lunch dishes are done,” she announced. “What’s on our schedule for this afternoon?”
