Page 171 of Conveniently Wed
Without waiting for his response, Leah dipped her fingers in the bucket of milk and held her index and middle fingers out to the calf, the same way he had done. The calf began to suck her milk-laced fingers, eliciting Leah’s soft giggle. But she didn’t pull back.
Gideon picked up the bucket by the base and held it toward the calf with both hands. “See if you can draw her mouth down into the milk.”
The calf continued to suck as Leah lowered her hand into the bucket. But just before the little nose touched milk, it broke suction. Leah dipped her finger in the milk and tried again. This time, the calf’s nose dipped into the liquid and it came upsputtering and blowing. Its long tongue reached out to lick the white film from its wet nose.
“Try it again,” Gideon said, but Leah was already dipping her fingers in the milk. She had a natural instinct around the animals and seemed to enjoy them, if her overjoyed expression was any sign.
This time the calf continued to suck Leah’s fingers even after its mouth dipped into the milk.
“Good.” Gideon kept his voice hushed. “Now see if you can gradually pull your fingers out of her mouth and let her keep drinking the milk.”
She moved slowly and the trick worked just right. She withdrew her fingers from the milk, but the calf continued to drink, gulping like a dying man at an oasis in the desert.
Leah sat back on her heels with a satisfied sigh. He couldn’t help but watch the woman, the view of her much more interesting than the new calf before them. Her hair was a rich caramel in the dim light of the barn, with several layers falling from their pins in loose waves down her neck and shoulders. The features on her face were fine, straight and proportioned almost perfectly. Feminine, but not fragile. Her cheeks were tinted pink, probably from the excitement of the moment.
She turned then, drawing him into the depths of her green gaze. Her eyes were windows, displaying her innermost thoughts. In them was vulnerability…and something else. Trust?
Before he could be sure, she dropped her gaze, and a deeper red suffused her cheeks. His hands itched to touch her face, so soft and inviting. He would raise her chin for another look through that window. For some reason, he wanted to know what this woman thought. How she felt about this place…about her life…abouthim.
A stirring in the hay behind them brought Gideon’s attention back to his surroundings. Miriam. He’d forgotten she wasstanding there. If she’d noticed his ogling, he was sure to hear about it later.
He turned back to the calf and found Leah scratching behind its ear, the same way she rubbed Drifter. The little animal had its neck stretched out, relishing the bliss of the massage.
He couldn’t help but smile at the picture they made. If she’d been raised out west and not in some fine eastern city, she would have made a good rancher’s wife.
22
Leah dragged the bucket up the porch stairs, hanging onto the rail for aid. This was her punishment for stuffing all the produce into a single bucket instead of making multiple trips. If only her right leg wasn’t so weak.
She limped into the cabin, leaning hard to balance the weight of her load. Once inside, she allowed the bucket to clatter to the floor while she stopped to remove her coat and hang it on the peg. With the close of September coming soon, the temperatures had begun to drop, requiring a coat most days.
“Looks like there was a lot left to pick.” Miriam’s voice carried from the rocking chair near the fire, the chair that had been her mother’s—now Miriam’s most prized possession.
“Quite a few green beans, some corn, and a couple of tomatoes.” Leah puffed out a breath with her bottom lip extended, sending the flyaway hairs around her face blowing in all directions. “I got everything though. The corn stalks are turning brown, so I think that might be the last of it this year.”
She picked up the bucket again and hauled it toward the kitchen, every footstep awkward and exhausting. She placed her load next to the work counter with a thud and had to lean against the edge to catch her breath. Would this leg never let her worklike a normal person again? She turned to stare across the room where Miriam was working. “Miri, do you think I’ll always have this limp?”
Her friend looked up, her raised eyebrows clear even from where Leah stood. “Don’t be silly.” A smile laced her voice. “I know it was painful, but the bone was only broken in one place. Soon it’ll be completely well.”
Her frustration softened. Miriam always knew how to cheer her up. Leah hobbled across the room to sit for a minute. A break might help her aching leg, as well.
She settled in her usual ladder-back chair, stretching her right leg in front of her. “What are you working on?”
Miriam looked up from the needle as she pulled it through a piece of flexible brown leather. “Gideon’s buckskins.” Her focus dropped back to her work, seeking out the next stitch. “I didn’t get them mended last winter, so I’d better get it done before the first snow or Gideon will have my head.” A smile touched her features, revealing she wasn’t too concerned about that probability.
“What does he use them for?” Leah leaned forward to see the leather more closely.
Miriam’s hands stopped moving and she looked up sharply, her golden brows rising. “He wears them.” Curiosity took over her face. “Haven’t you seen buckskins before?”
Leah raised her own brows in retort. “Not that I know of.”
“Well then,” Miriam secured the needle and began to shake out the leather, holding it up for Leah to see. “This is what Gideon wears in the winter, especially when the snow hits.” The leather was stitched into a tunic-style shirt. “It’s made from deer skin and is mostly waterproof, plus it keeps him really warm. Sometimes the snow can last for weeks up here, so a good set of buckskins can save a man’s life when he’s working outside.”
Leah reached out to finger one of the sleeves. “It’s softer than I expected. Now that I think about it, I saw a couple of men wearing these when I first arrived in Fort Benton.”
Miriam nodded. “Most of the trappers and Indians wear them.”
Leah glanced at the stack of leathers next to the rocking chair. “Can I help?”
