Page 342 of Conveniently Wed
Aundy rushed to dish up the food as the sound of boots outside the kitchen door let her know the men were on time for supper.
Although they weren’t rowdy, they walked in laughing and teasing each other. She smiled at their good-natured ribbing as she scooped the last of the mashed potatoes into a bowl.
A loud knock sounded from the front door.
“Should I get that, Missy?” Dent asked. At Aundy’s nod, he disappeared toward the front of the house.
Aundy heard low voices then footsteps approaching the kitchen. Her new hands arrived in time to eat. It was a good thing she’d prepared plenty of food.
“Bill, would you place two more plates on the table, please?” Aundy asked, then set out more silverware and coffee mugs for the new arrivals. She turned to the newly hired men and offered them a warm smile. “Welcome, gentlemen. Please join us for supper.”
“We didn’t mean to intrude, ma’am,” the taller of the two said. They looked with both hunger and uncertainty at the loaded table as they stood holding their hats in their hands.
“No intrusion.” Aundy motioned them toward the table. “Glen, if you and George could carry in a couple of chairs from the dining room, we should be able to squeeze everyone in.”
Carefully wiping her hands on her apron, Aundy approached her newest employees. “Please, tell me your names again. Iapologize, but in all the excitement yesterday, I seem to have forgotten.”
“That’s okay, ma’am,” the shorter one said, his brown eyes filled with humor. “It was kind of hard to hear yourself think with all of the hubbub going on. I’m Lem Perkins and this is Hank Lawson.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Aundy politely nodded to each of them. “Why don’t you wash at the sink and then have a seat? You can get settled in the bunkhouse after we eat.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They didn’t need to be asked twice to sit down to a hot meal.
Conversation was lively as they ate. When the meal was finished, Aundy asked Dent to stay for a few minutes. He helped her clear the table, discussing what work needed to be completed the following day, and how he thought the sheep and Nik were doing.
“Do you think Nik would be receptive to being tutored?” Aundy asked, up to her elbows in dishwater.
“Tutored? What for?” Dent wiped off the kitchen table with a rag.
“He’s such a bright boy, but it’s obvious his education is severely lacking. I assume he probably hasn’t had any schooling since his parents died. With a sharp mind like his, he could do better for himself than being a shepherd all his life.”
“He does seem like a good kid and he is smart, at least from what I’ve seen.” Dent carried the two extra chairs back to the dining room then returned to lean against the counter. “But he spends all his time out with the sheep. Even insists on sleeping out there with them. How do you propose to teach him? You can’t sit out there in the sheep pasture with him.”
Aundy refrained from saying she could if she wanted to and offered another solution. “Could one of the men watch the sheep for an hour or two each evening? Nik could stay after supper andwork on his book learning while I do dishes and get things ready for the following day.”
“Don’t see anything wrong with that, but you won’t get Fred out there,” Dent said with a grin.
“Thank you for pointing out the obvious.” Aundy smiled at her foreman. “Do you think we need to hire another shepherd?”
“No. I think Nik can handle the sheep just fine. We don’t have too much problem with coyotes around here. Once he and the sheep settle in, I think he’ll realize he doesn’t have to watch over them day and night.” Dent walked to the door, then turned back to look at her. “I’ll have Lem and Hank take turns with the sheep in the evenings for now, provided you can talk Nik into being your student.”
“Thank you, Dent. I’ll speak with Nik tomorrow.”
Aundy listened to Nik recite his multiplication tables while she washed the dishes one evening.
Although reluctant to leave his sheep, the boy proved to be an eager student and jumped into his studies with enthusiasm. Aundy had been tutoring him in the evenings for the last week and the arrangement worked well. The hands took turns keeping an eye on the sheep while Nik stayed in the house after supper. Even Fred had taken a turn without much complaint.
Dent claimed he caught Nik conjugating verbs that afternoon when he rode by to check on him. The other men had mentioned that Nik talked constantly about something new he’d learned.
Grateful for her mother’s inheritance that had paid for her, Ilsa, and Lars to receive a good education, Aundy dug throughher things and found one of her old school books. A raid of Erik’s bookshelves provided more material for Nik to study. As soon as she went to town, Aundy planned to order more educational supplies for the boy.
And buy him some new clothes.
His pants were too short, his shirtsleeves hit inches away from his wrists, and his shoes were worn completely through. She wondered that Mr. O’Connell didn’t provide better for the boy. When she asked Nik about it, he shrugged his shoulders and said he was just the shepherd. Since he spent most of his time with the sheep, they didn’t care about his appearance.
“Let’s work on your spelling,” Aundy said as she began drying the clean dishes and putting them away. She would say a word and Nik would spell it. He got about half of them correct. The ones he did not, she made him write on a sheet of paper. With the dictionary she found in Erik’s things, Nik was supposed to look up the definition of each word and learn it, along with the proper spelling.
“Very good, Nik,” Aundy said, when he spelled the last three words correctly. “I think that’s enough learning tonight.”
