Page 170 of Conveniently Wed
He turned to look at her. She’d been caught staring. Heat flushed her cheeks, but he was kind enough not to react.
“From the outside, it looks like the bone healed well. You should go easy on it for a few days until it gets used to carrying weight without the splint. And use both crutches again.”
She wrinkled her nose at that suggestion. As happy as she’d been to receive them and as thankful as she was for the freedom they’d given her early on, she couldn’t wait until she never had to look at the encumbering sticks again.
“If you put too much weight on the bone too soon, you’ll risk a permanent limp, or even another break.”
His words settled over her like a sobering cloak. She nodded, and Gideon rose to his feet, sheathing the knife. While Miriam gathered the sticks and dirty bandages, Leah flipped her skirt over her toes and slowly flexed her foot. The muscles burned, but it seemed more from disuse than the sharp ache of the broken bone.
Miriam and Gideon stood on either side to help her to her feet, then Miriam handed Leah the crutches. Leah gave them both as bright a smile as she could muster through the sting in her leg. “Thank you so much for your help. My leg feels a great deal better now.”
Gideon eyed her with a wary expression, as if he knew her words were an act.
“I think I’ll take my leave for the night. We’ve had a busy day.” She needed to escape to her room where she could rest without having to maintain a strong front. Ithadbeen a trying day, first with the chicken lesson and now with the renewed pain in her leg.
Miriam leaned forward to give Leah a hug. “G’night, Leah. Sleep well.”
Leah balanced the crutches at the crook of her arms as she squeezed her friend back. Gideon watched them both, his expression hard to read. Almost a mixture of yearning andreserve, as if he were holding himself back from something he desperately wanted.
As she leaned back from Miriam’s hug, Leah glanced at Gideon again and found he had turned away. She gripped her crutches and hobbled toward her room. “Goodnight all,” she called over her shoulder.
A few weeks later, Gideon rode toward the barn earlier in the evening than usual. A newborn calf lay across his legs, its head rocking with the rhythm of the horse’s gait. Every so often, the calf would offer a sad bleat, as if mourning the fate of its mother, who had abandoned it into this cold, scary world.
He rubbed the animal’s soft neck. “It’ll be all right, girl. We’re goin’ to a place where they’ll take good care of you.”
Poor little thing. The birth had been hard, with the calf turned the wrong direction and coming out tail-first. He and the mama had fought for hours to bring the calf into this new environment. The poor cow had died shortly after the little fighter stood to her feet, leaving Gideon to care for her offspring.
Hopefully Leah and Miriam would be willing to take over, since they would be close to the barn during the day. As many times as Leah had asked to ride down to see the herd and the new calves, she would probably be excited to help care for the little heifer. For a city girl, she certainly had taken to ranch life. He still couldn’t believe she’d plucked and cleaned that chicken, although it hadn’t escaped him she’d not taken a bite of it. Still, she didn’t complain.
For now, the most important thing was to get some milk in this calf. The mama hadn’t been strong enough to stand and nurse, so the little one hadn’t had a good meal yet.
As he rode into the ranch yard, Leah stood in the garden, holding a very full apron in both hands. She was regal, even covered in dirt and her hair falling in tendrils around her face.
He headed that direction, and as soon as she saw him, she dumped her load at the edge of the garden and hobbled in his direction. The stubborn girl had stopped using the crutches, even though the bone probably still pained when she walked.
As she neared, her pretty face lit like a lantern in a dark barn.
“You brought us a calf?” Wonder filled her voice.
He nodded. “She had a hard birthing and the mama didn’t make it. I brought her up here so we can feed her until she’s weaned.”
A shadow crossed Leah’s face when he mentioned the birth, but faded away as she reached to stroke the calf’s velvety face. Its tongue snaked out to catch her wrist and Leah smiled like a child given a new toy.
He could have sat there all day and watched that smile, but the calf was already weakening. It needed nourishment soon or it would meet the same fate as its mother.
“I need to get her to the barn and feed her. Have you skimmed the milk from this morning yet?”
Leah’s gaze lifted to his face as her other hand drifted up to shade her eyes from the glare of the sun. Her expression, always so easy to read, showed her mind turning as she tried to understand the reason behind his question. “No, we were letting the cream rise to make butter.”
He nodded, “Good. Can you stir it good and bring me half of what’s there? You can let the rest separate again. We’ll need to split out half of Bethany’s milk for this little girl for a while.” He patted the soft shoulder in his lap.
Leah nodded, giving the heifer a final rub before moving toward the cabin. “I’ll bring it to the barn.”
By the time he had the calf settled in a stall and the saddle stripped from his horse, Leah and Miriam had returned to the barn with the half bucket of milk. Miri set it down and squealed softly when she saw the calf, then eased into the stall with her palm outstretched. The little one was wobbly on its feet, but at least it was standing.
Gideon grabbed the bucket handle and slipped into the stall next to his sister, leaving Leah to watch from the open gate. He kneeled in front of the calf, dipped two fingers in the milk, and then held them in front of the cow’s nose. It sniffed for a second, then nosed his fingers, pushing them away in the process. He dipped them in the milk again and prodded the calf’s lips, slipping his fingers into its mouth. His fingers tingled as the calf sucked once—a good start. Once it got used to the sucking motion, he would draw her head down to the milk in the bucket and help her learn to drink.
“Can I try?” Leah’s rich voice drifted to him from just behind his right shoulder, not outside the stall where he’d left her. She stepped beside him and kneeled, only slightly awkward with her weak leg.
