Page 73 of My Heart Will Find You

“Thought so. I ordered for us. There’s a choice of beef or beef or some beef.”

“I love Kansas,” Etta said. She followed him to the back, to a table for two. He dropped the bags by his chair, and they sat down. Bowls were set before them. It was beef stew with carrots and potatoes. A basket of bread, still warm from the oven, and a crock of freshly churned butter was put on the table. Big mugs were filled with foamy beer.

Etta grabbed the mug, gulped down a lot, then looked at it in wonder. “It’s an artisan beer.”

“I don’t know what that means, but the owner said his wife makes it.”

“She is from heaven.”

Max had his mouth full and nodded in agreement.

They ate ravenously. Etta slathered bread chunks in butter, keeping them both supplied. They doused the stew in salt, replenishing what they’d lost in sweat.

“This is the best meal I’ve ever had in my life,” she said. She ate two bowls of stew and what had to be half a loaf of bread. The waiter kept their mugs full of the home-brewed beer. It tasted of sage. “Wild Prairie Sage Beer,” Etta said to the waiter. “That should be its name.”

She made a run to the outhouse. Funny how after days of having to look out for rattlesnakes, the safety of an outhouse seemed downright luxurious.

When she went back inside, Max was still eating. She leaned back in her chair, enjoying watching him. She felt much better after the food, more awake. She looked forward to a bath. But then she saw the heaviness of his eyelids.

Invincible, indefatigable Max was worn out. She thought about the last few days and how little he’d slept. While she dozed in the saddle, he took over. While she slept at night, he washed her clothes. He went to bed after she did, got up before she did.

He really needed to sleep! But she knew him well enough to know that if she suggested that they skip baths and go to bed, he’d balk. He’d promised her a hot bath and no matter what, he’d make sure she got it.

It was time for her to be the caretaker. “I want to wear my new shirt, the one Freddy and Sally gave me.”

“Sure. You can put it on after we take baths. They have peach cobbler here.”

“I hope it’s with cream.”

It was. She ate only half of hers, then pushed the rest to him. Max ate it all.

“Can we get my shirt now?”

“I guess. Which bag is it in?” He looked down at the pile on the floor.

“I don’t know. Let’s take everything to our room and I’ll search for it.” When he hesitated, she said, “Please?”

He led the way up a flight of stairs, then down a short hall to open the door to a sparsely furnished room.

Afternoon sun shone through the window, highlighting the bed. To Etta, the clean white sheets and the soft mattress were like a golden throne. If angels started singing a hallelujah chorus, she wouldn’t have been surprised.

Max dropped the bags to the floor but didn’t move.

“You better sit down while I search for my shirt.”

He headed toward the hard wooden chair against the wall. “Use the bed,” she said. “I need the chair.”

He didn’t speak, just sat down on the side of the bed. Unlike the ground, the mattress sunk down, sweetly closing around him. He shut his eyes.

Etta waited a few moments, then went to him and pushed on his chest. He fell back like an overstuffed duffel bag. He was sound asleep.

She stood there for a while looking at him. He had days of beard growth, and his eyes were sunken in fatigue. She thought of him as a boy, having to take care of the women in his life. And running away to ride ponies with his native friends. And through it all, he’d had to deal with the bad temper of his father.

Max’s feet were still off the bed. It wasn’t easy to lift them, but when he turned on his side, that helped. She pulled off his boots. He had on socks and one had a hole in the toe.I’ll have to darn it, she thought.

When she massaged his tired feet, he relaxed more, his wide shoulders dropping down.

Somehow, the massage, the thought of repairing his socks, and watching him sleep were more intimate than sex.

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