Montana Sky: The Rancher And The Shepherdess (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Loving A Rancher Book 2)

by Caroline Clemmons

  After removing her coat and gloves, she collapsed on a kitchen chair to puzzle out a solution while she rested. Now what? She’d never be able to get him up the stairs yet he couldn’t be comfortable where he was.

  The mattress from the spare room would work. Smaller and thinner than the one in their bedroom, she might be able to drag it downstairs. Bending over her husband, she tucked her folded coat under his head as a pillow.

  “I’ll be right back. I know you’re in pain and I’ll do the best I can to help you.”

  His eyes flickered. “Brown bottle.”

  “Where?” She smoothed her hand across his cheek. “Please tell me where this bottle is.”

  “Box. Pantry.”

  “I’ll get it right now.” She hoped he meant laudanum for his pain. Mayhap there was liniment for his back.

  Remembering a box of remedies, she grabbed it and brought the contents to the kitchen table. Sure enough, she found a brown bottle labeled Laudanum.

  “Here we are, Garrett. Open your mouth and turn your head so you can swallow without the medicine spilling.”

  She hoped he’d fall asleep so the he wouldn’t be aware of the pain.

  Chapter Eight

  After dosing her husband with laudanum, Gormlaith climbed the stairs to assess the mattress. Smaller and thinner than theirs, she should be able to get it down the stairs. She quickly stripped the bed and piled the linens in a corner.

  Tugging the mattress across the room, she discovered the difficulty of getting through the doorway. Near tears with distress, she called the bedding words she normally wouldn’t have used. By turning the unwieldy thing on its side, she was able to shove it halfway through the open door before she hit an obstacle.

  The mattress wedged between the door jamb and the hall wall. Now tears coursed down her cheeks, but she pushed and shoved and cursed the mattress. She climbed over it and pulled. By inches, the thing moved and she arrived at the stairway.

  If she was in front, the mattress might push her down. Gormlaith climbed across the ticking until she reached the hall floor. Leaning forward and shoving with all her strength, the bedding broke free and she fell onto it. She screamed as she and the mattress plunged down the stairs.

  At the bottom of the staircase, she lay gasping with most of her on the ticking. Heart racing, her chest was near to exploding. Had Garrett heard her scream? Wishing she could just curl up and rest, she struggled to her feet and went to check on her husband.

  He was groggy, but awake. “You screamed?”

  She smoothed his hair from his face. “Aye, but I’m all right. You wouldn’t believe what just happened. I’ll have a grand story to tell you when you’re feeling better. Sleep while I get your nice bed fixed up in the parlor.”

  His eyes opened wider. “How?”

  “Don’t worry, Garrett. You rescued me and now I’m going to take care of you.” She’d prove she was ranch-wife material and help heal this fine man who kindly married her.

  Recalling their conversation the day she’d made him fall off the hay wagon, the meaning of “in sickness and in health” impressed itself upon her. Her husband would take care of her if the situation were reversed. To her mind, hers was a dream marriage and how life should be.

  In the parlor, she moved the large chairs so the mattress could lie next to the fire, but not too close. She wondered if she would be able to take the bed apart and get it down here. With that in mind, she climbed to the second story.

  After examining the frame, she figured she would never manage getting the ropes tight again unless she had help. With a sigh, she gathered up the bedding and went down to make a place for her husband to recover. She tucked the bottom sheet on nicely and then went to get Garrett.

  He didn’t wake while she moved him across the floor, but he cried out when she tugged him onto the mattress. She braced herself, for she had to remove his jacket. His gasp and moan cut her like a knife.

  What to do about his shirt and longhandles? How would she unbutton them? She tried reaching under him but he moaned so horribly that she figured that was too hard on him.

  Taking her scissors, she cut through the fabric covering his back. When she pulled the cloth away to reveal his body, she almost fainted. Already there was an area of angry bruising larger than a dinner plate mostly on the left side.

  “You’re all set to rest now, Garrett. I’ll see if there’s arnica or liniment in the medicine box.”

  She rose and retrieved the laudanum. He’d need more of that for a certainty. A bottle of whiskey and one of liniment were accompanied by various unguents and tinctures. None of the labels said arnica, and she wasn’t going to experiment with her husband’s health.

  After rubbing the liniment on Garrett’s back and covering his injury with a clean towel, she pulled the sheet and quilt over him and added a log to the fire. She washed her hands then plopped down beside him. Dinner was likely ruined but she was too tired and upset to eat. Soon she’d make a hearty soup for her husband. He’d be that hungry when he came to himself.

  In the meantime, she wanted a wee rest. Snuggling up as close as she dared to her aching husband, she prayed he’d be all right. She added to her prayer that Billy Hensen would come for a visit so she could send for a doctor.

  “Gormlaith?”

  Hearing her name waked her with a start. She was eye level with Garrett. “Aye, ‘tis happy I am to hear you call for me.”

  “How did you get all this and me in here?”

  “I’ll tell you later. ‘Twasn’t easy and was a bit of adventure, I’ll say that much. Can you eat a bite of stew?”

  “Don’t see how with me lying on my stomach like this. Thirsty, too.”

  “I’ll help you eat and hold the cup.” She went to the kitchen and dished up a bowl of stew and poured a cup of water. When she returned, she knelt to feed him.

  By the time he finished eating he was exhausted and in pain. She dosed him with laudanum again. When the pain had eased, she applied liniment to his bruised back. She’d never seen such a bad injury and hoped never to in the future.

  While Garrett slept, she went to the barn to care for the animals. He’d finished mucking out the stalls before he fell, so she only had to give the horses oats and water. The hens were quick to pen up and check for water.

  ‘Twas a smart man who built the barn over his well so he had water all winter and summer. She suspected somehow the water for the house came from a separate source linked to the river but didn’t understand why it hadn’t frozen. All she knew was the water tasted sweet and was clear.

  She looked at the wagon half loaded with hay. Could she feed the cattle by herself? Aye, she could, but what if she should fall? Ranch work in Montana was that dangerous.

  Snow flurries met her as she left the barn. She hurried to the porch and loaded her arms with split wood to keep the fires going. Inside, she stacked the fuel beside the fireplace. After removing her outerwear, she sat in what she thought of as her chair, which she’d pushed to one side.

  Pondering her new life, she wondered where Garrett had acquired the wood? Had he felled trees and sawed them? There were a lot of mysteries she hadn’t figured out about the complicated life of ranching.

  She recalled the small cottage where she’d lived until just over two years ago. She’d been happy there—well, at least not unhappy. Neighbors were visible on all sides and the village market was only a good stretch of the legs. How foolish she’d been to leave.

  Yet, if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have met her good husband and be living in this fine house. Mayhap this had been the good Lord’s plan all along. Aye, for didn’t she feel blessed to be Mrs. Garrett McDonald?

  He moved in his sleep and moaned. Kneeling at his side, she touched his brow. No fever, thank you Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

  Rising, she lit the lanterns and resumed her knitting but with thinner needles for his gray socks.

  “Gormlaith?”

  “I’m here.” She put her yarn as
ide and knelt beside him. “What do you need?”

  He moved his arms but resembled a turtle floundering. “Have to turn off my stomach. Can you help me roll to my right side?”

  “Sure and I’ll do my best. Raise your right arm so I can help you pull it under your head.”

  “Lordy, I feel like I’ve been dragged through the brush behind a horse.”

  She gently tugged and pushed until he lay on his right front. “I don’t know how a person would look after suffering such as that, but you look like someone painted your back black and purple and red. Never have I seen such a dark, large bruise.”

  He exhaled and sagged. “Thank you. That feels better. Would you kind of lift my head and slide another pillow underneath?”

  She did as he requested and pulled the cover up over his shoulders. “There. Can you rest better?”

  His face was ghostly pale and his eyes squinted as if against pain. “A little, yes. What time of day is it?”

  She glanced at the wall clock. “Almost eight in the evening.”

  “The horses… ”

  “Have been fed and watered as have the hens. When I came from the barn, snow was falling. Not a storm, but soft and pretty. I’ve not looked out since but I will if you wish.”

  “No, if the animals are cared for, there’s no point.”

  She gestured to the laudanum bottle. “Do you need more to dull the pain?”

  “I’ll wait for an hour or so. I hate taking the stuff, but I was mighty glad to have it earlier.”

  She touched his hand. “Garrett, I understand you wishing to keep your mind clear, but there’s no point in being in pain.”

  Ignoring her, he asked, “What are you knitting?”

  “I completed your green sweater and now I’m doing you up a pair of socks.”

  “Good. I can use a pair.”

  “Pfft. Now that’s an understatement. You can use a half dozen pair but I can only knit one sock at a time.”

  “You’re fast with those needles. You must have had a lot of practice.”

  “Aye, since I was about seven or eight. In a large family, responsibility comes early. You’ve never told me about your family and growing up.”

  “Too tired now. Tell me about yours and I can listen.”

  “If you take your laudanum, I’ll lull you to sleep with tales of my family.” She fed him a dose and tucked the cover around him. “All right, I’ll fill you in on some of our escapades.”

  She talked of each of her siblings until she knew he was out. Poor dear man had fought sleep. Deciding she also needed her rest, she changed into her nightclothes and brought another quilt downstairs. She stretched out beside her husband and prayed tomorrow would be an easier day.

  As she drifted toward sleep, the haunting call of a wolf chilled her. The cattle! She was powerless to help the cows, but at least she could care for Garrett.

  Chapter Nine

  Gormlaith slid from the mattress and hurriedly dressed, grateful for the fire’s warmth. She smoothed her fingers lightly on Garrett’s forehead to find he had no fever, but her touch woke him.

  He tried to move and winced. “I dreamed wolves were circling the yard ready to attack.”

  “Mayhap because one howled last night. I worried about your cattle, but could think of nothing I could do.”

  “Drat my back. I’d planned to teach you to shoot the rifle and my handgun. You have to take a gun with you whenever you go to the barn.”

  “And shoot my foot? ‘Tis what’s likely if I tried firing at something.”

  He grabbed her wrist. “This is important. You must take a gun with you if you step outside. Snow has the wolves hungry or they wouldn’t be close to the house. You’d make a tasty meal for them.”

  She shuddered at the thought of encountering a wolf or any other being intent on harm. “Could I even lift the rifle?”

  “Yes. Bring it here and I’ll show you how to load and fire it.”

  “If you think it’s important.” To her mind, he was building something from nothing. She’d been told wolves were afraid of man, and she thought that applied to women also. Still, she took his gun from the drawer and the rifle down from where it hung over the door and brought both to her husband.

  “Good heavens, this rifle is heavy. How am I supposed to carry this and trudge through the snow?”

  “Women smaller than you are crack shots and I know you can handle this if you concentrate. Until I’m able to help you with target practice, this makeshift lesson will have to do.”

  “If I must, but you’re in no condition to be holding a gun.”

  “You’re right there, but I’ll tell you how to load and fire. Pay close attention to my instructions. Gormlaith, I can tell you think this is unnecessary, but this could save both our lives.”

  She suffered through his instructions and her proving she could load and aim the rifle for what seemed like a hundred times. She couldn’t practice the actual shooting from inside the house, but she figured she could at least shoot well enough to scare something—besides herself, of course.

  “Now for my revolver and we’ll go over loading and firing. The rifle is better at a distance and you don’t want to wait until the predator is nearby.”

  She did as he asked and was able to load and aim the revolver. Whether she’d be able to hit anything was another question.

  “Now keep the rifle by the door and don’t take a step out of the house without carrying either the rifle or revolver.”

  “Aye, and you’d best stay away from the windows when I’m out there. There’s no telling what I’ll hit if I have to fire at something.” But she didn’t want to be defenseless against a wolf or mountain lion so she’d do as he asked.

  ***

  Gormlaith’s life assumed an exhausting routine for the next few days. Cleaning the stalls, feeding and brushing the horses, making sure the hens were fed and had water, cooking meals, and tending to Garrett’s injury took all her energy. Not that she was complaining, for wasn’t she lucky to be on this grand ranch with a fine husband?

  But, she wondered how the families in small cabins managed. This house had thick logs with strong chinking that admitted no wind. Remembering the cabin where they’d spent their first night of marriage, she realized many people who lived in that type dwelling must be suffering in this weather.

  She studied her husband. “Seems to me you’re moving more today. Is the pain less?”

  He lay on his bed, but his color was normal and his eyes clear. “Still feel like I had a stampede trample me, but while you were in the barn, I sat up for a while. Intended to impress you when you came back, but I didn’t last that long.”

  Relieved to hear of his progress, she gave him a cheeky grin. “Are you saying I’m slow with the chores?”

  He returned her smile. “Sure, reckon you’re only doing the work of two or three people each day. Don’t know why you take so long.”

  She gestured toward the window overlooking the barn. “All this is new to me, but I’m trying my best. You needn’t worry about the animals, though. I’m taking better care of them than I am of you.”

  “I’m amazed at how well you’re managing everything.” He sobered. “If I’d had this fall without you here, I’d have been a goner.”

  She poured him a cup of coffee and took it to him. “You’re too determined to let that happen. I’d wager you’d have gotten back in here some way.”

  He took a sip of the brew. “I hope so, else Billy would have found me frozen stiff when he came to see if I needed his help.”

  “How often does he come? I’d hoped he’d be here by now to help feed the cattle. I’m afraid to tackle that by myself.”

  His lovely brown eyes widened. “Gormlaith, promise me you won’t try taking hay to them. Give me your word.”

  She held her hands up in surrender. “Aye, I’ve no notion to go out alone.” She grinned at him. “If I fell and froze, who would take care of you? As you can tell, ‘tis only you I’
m considering.”

  He grinned and toasted her with his cup. “That’s good of you, wife. Are you taking the rifle or revolver with you when you go out?”

  “Aye, but the things are a hindrance, especially in closing the barn door with a basket of eggs to manage.”

  He set down his coffee and favored her with a solemn gaze. “Doesn’t matter. Don’t go without one or the other.”

  Holding up a hand to stay his instructions, she said, “You’ve made me a believer, for I’ve no wish to meet up with an animal bent on making me his dinner.”

  She was pleased to have time in the house to sit with her husband until she needed to prepare supper.

  “One thing I must learn is how to carve up the large carcasses hanging in the smokehouse. ‘Tis certain I am that you’re tired of ham and rabbit for our meals.”

  “I’ll not complain. You’re as good a cook as you promised.” He exhaled when she’d given him the last bite of potato. “I admit I’m looking forward to the time we can have fried chicken.”

  “When I can buy baby chicks and raise them, we’ll have chicken for dinner. I reckon that will be a year.”

  “Your stews are hearty and easy for me to eat while in bed. When I’m able to walk, I’ll go out and carve us some steaks.”

  “I’ve never cooked a steak so you’ll have to tell me how you want the meat done.”

  “We’ve beef and venison. Also, people in Texas make a good dish called chili con carne. Usually that’s shortened to just call the food chili, and I sure like a bowl or two with cornbread.”

  “I’ve never had chili or cornbread. Do you have a recipe?”

  “No, but I can show you. Both are easy and taste great when served together. If I hadn’t just eaten a fine meal, my mouth would be watering from thinking about chili and cornbread.”

  Gormlaith tidied the kitchen from dinner and sat with her husband while she knitted. Soon she’d have to do laundry, but she’d put it off until the weather broke.