Page 24 of A Dangerous Heart
Eli frowned and crossed his arms.
Clare glanced toward the river, then back at them with a calm smile. “We can all go see the river together. Let’s unload the wagon first.”
The boys shared a look between them but didn’t argue.
Kaitlyn had sent blankets and canned goods. Drew had sent a couple of cots. Even David had brought up a straw tick from the bunkhouse.
Isaac pulled a heavy wooden crate from the back of the wagon and headed for the cabin. He set the crate on the floor, using it to prop the door open, then climbed the wooden ladder up to the loft and opened the dirty window. It might make the cabin chilly come nightfall, but the place smelled musty with a hint of river and soil. Isaac had been up here two weeks ago, andthe rumpled blanket had never been tucked in. His ma would have been appalled at the unmade bed he’d left behind.
He surveyed the cabin from the loft. The place looked smaller, more cramped. A fieldstone fireplace dominated one wall, and a black wrought-iron frying pan and a couple of pots hung on hooks above the fireplace. He didn’t have a stove. Hadn’t minded when it was just him. But Clare would have to cook over the fire in the fireplace.
An ancient pie safe was jammed in one corner, and a narrow sideboard by the door stood bare, save for a solitary chipped water pitcher. Good thing Kaitlyn had sent some extra plates and utensils. Beneath a small rectangular table with turned legs, two chairs huddled, a creation by Ed, the best set of furniture in the room. But the once-gleaming oak top was suffocating under a thick coat of dust.
Clare climbed into the loft, brushing his shoulder as she skirted around him and placed a carpet bag on the floor and an extra blanket on the bed in the corner. She straightened the messy blankets and tucked them under the lumpy, worn hay mattress. Under the window, a small chest containing remnants from his days with the Marshals lay abandoned, collecting dust like everything else. He thought of the boys sleeping up here.
“I’ll haul that chest down to the lean-to and bed down in there,” he said to Clare.
“The boys want to know what’s in the lean-to.” She sounded far too happy about being stuck up here in this horrible cabin.
“Stall for my horse, some hay,” he mumbled.
Suddenly, he was having doubts about this plan.
“We’ll do our share. I promise.” There were no curtains over the window, and she squinted in the sunlight as she took in the view.
“What a beautiful view.”
He watched her face turn radiant. He couldn’t help but agree with her sentiment. The view was beautiful from where he stood too.
He followed her down the ladder. She marched to the crate he’d left at the door and pulled out a small sack of flour. “I’ll cook, and the boys can help with chores. We’ll get along just fine here.”
Turning, her eyes flicked around the room. Maybe she’d demand he take her back to town once she got a closer look at the rough shape of his cabin.
She brightened when her eyes settled on the fireplace and the cast-iron frying pan.
“It’s just like the one I had at home. It’s no trouble to cook over an open flame.” She strode to the fireplace, reached for the pan on tiptoes. To his surprise, she was still too short to take it off the hook. Her courage and spirited nature made her seem bigger and the cabin feel smaller. He moved in behind her, reached up over her shoulder, and took it off the hook. His chest bumped her shoulder, and the cabin shrank more.
He handed her the frying pan.
She smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”
He gave her a side-eye glance. She was giving him too much credit for the condition this place was in. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his embarrassment growing. Ever since the incident with the bear, when she’d taken the shot he couldn’t, their lives had become tangled in a way he couldn’t undo.
“Where’s Eli?” Clare asked Ben as he pulled his boot and dirty sock off.
She glanced at the door, then at Isaac. They exchanged a knowing look. Eli had gone back to being sullen and insolent since Isaac had taken them to town. It’d become worse when they’d decided that Clare and the boys would spend some time with Isaac up at his cabin.
Isaac grunted. “I’ll handle Eli if you can keep Ben occupied.”
Ben was like the puppy he’d had as a boy. Lots of energy and cute as a bug’s ear, but that little rascal could get into mischief.
“Ben and I are going to make supper.” Clare turned and pulled an onion from one of the baskets on the sideboard. Isaac left her to cook and stepped outside.
Eli sat on the stoop, his bony shoulders sagging, elbows resting on his knees. Probably scowling.
“I need your help here. Let’s get the rest of the stuff out of the wagon.”
Eli slowly rose and trudged to the wagon without a word. Isaac followed him.
