“You have a housecat? Did you say her name was Minerva?”
“Nope, Manurva, as in horse manure. When she was a little kitten, she crawled in an almost empty bucket of water in a horse stall and fell asleep. When I was mucking the manure out of the stall the next morning, I found her in the bucket, with the flap of her tiny ear frozen to the bottom of it. I brought the bucket into the house to add a little hot water to get her ear unstuck, and she’s lived in the house with me since then.”
Lily adored how the cat loved Seth and was a little jealous of the attention Manurva was getting from him.
“She’s in and out of the house but wants to live in the house all the time during the winter.”
Then the cat crawled on Lily’s lap and started the same routine of rubbing and purring. “You’re a spoiled kitty, Miss Manurva,” Lily whispered. Right now, she would give anything to stay Seth’s wife and be spoiled, too.
The two-story, wood-frame house was painted a light yellow, making it a welcoming sight, even though the house inside was cold since Seth had been gone for a while. The downstairs featured a dining room, kitchen, bedroom, and parlor. The narrow staircase in the dining room led up to two more bedrooms.
“This is the original part of the house, built in 1866, and then the owners added a utility room and enclosed porch to the back of the house, probably five years later. See the difference in the floorboards when we cross this threshold?”
Lily listened to Seth telling the history of the house, while she examined each room. As she expected after getting to know Seth, the house was clean and organized. Just the basic furniture a bachelor needed, no doilies or pictures decorated the home such as a woman would add.
There was no electricity or running water in the house. The outhouse was behind the house a short distance next to an empty garden space. A spring in the creek behind the barn kept water flowing all year, plus there was a cistern in the enclosed porch to have water handy in the house.
“What do you think of my humble home, Lily?” Seth asked, still carrying his cat around.
“It’s truly a tranquil home, but it’s way out in the country by itself. Do you ever get lonely?”
“Depends on the time of year, but yes, it has become lonely. At first, it was nice to have my own space—after eight of us crammed in the parsonage for years. Now I think I’d like a wife and family.”
You already have a wife. How about keeping her?
“I’ll get the kitchen stove going to help heat the house, and then carry in the groceries. When we’re ready to eat supper, we can add something to the bread and cheese Ma sent home with us.”
Lily studied the stove, kitchen table and sideboards on either side of the sink. There was a hand pump and drain in the sink, so it must draw from the cistern somewhere near or under the house. The water would flow outside to be collected to be used again, for outside uses. Open shelves on one wall displayed china dinnerware and mixing bowls. Lily opened the door of the pie safe and found linens stored in there. The best part of the room was the window above the sink, facing toward the barn and pasture behind it.
I’d love to look out this window several times a day.
“Want to come out to the barn to explore it while I unhitch the buggy and brush down the horse?”
“Of course!”
“How about I show you to your bedroom, and you can change into your men’s trousers and coat? I’m guessing you’ll be climbing up to the hayloft and crawling over fences to meet the horses before we are out of the barn,” Seth grinned at her, knowing that’s exactly what Lily would love to do.
The stair door was closed, so it was cold climbing the narrow stairs to the top landing.
“It’ll take a while for the upstairs to heat up, I’m afraid. You can use either room up here. Both have a bed, dresser, and washstand. Guess it depends on which view you want out the windows. Um, sorry for putting you upstairs, but I’d rather stay in the downstairs bedroom, so I’m close if I hear something’s wrong outside.”
“No, this will work fine. I’ll take the view of the barn and horses.”
“I figured that was the one you’d pick,” Seth’s slow smile warmed Lily’s insides, even if it was cold upstairs. “You get ready to meet the herd, and I’ll meet you in the barn.”
Lily changed quickly into her other outfit. She’d eventually like a split skirt for riding astride like she’d seen several women riders in Clear Creek wearing. She was glad to see not all women rode sidesaddle.
Seth was taking the harness off his father’s horse when Lily entered the wooden barn.
“It’s not a fancy structure, but it is functional. Go ahead and explore every nook and cranny. I’m guessing you’ll find more cats in the hayloft. Look over the saddles in the tack room to see which saddle on the west wall you want to use on your new horse—not that you have more than four choices since me and the occasional ranch hand is the only ones who use the saddles.”
The barn had six single stalls on one side of the barn, with an area at the end to milk the cow. The other side had three box stalls and the tack room.
“Can I milk Daisy this evening?”
“Please do. The milk bucket is in the kitchen, washed and ready to use anytime you want to coax Daisy in the barn stanchion. We’ll drink some with tonight’s supper and put the rest in our cellar to keep cool. I can’t use it all myself, so I give part of the milk to Gerald and Betty Squires, my young neighbors down the road. In return, Betty keeps me supplied with butter, cheese, and an occasional pie with a pint of sweet cream to enjoy with it.”
Our cellar? Lily’s mind stopped at these words and didn’t hear what else Seth said. The more Lily saw of the ranch, the more she wanted to stay.
“Don’t you milk the cow outside, wherever she’s standing? That’s how we did it in Sweden.”
“Ha! Not with this cow. When I—or Gerald when I’m gone—milk Daisy, we must put her head in the stanchion and hobble her back legs to get close to her. You’re welcome to try any method you want, but remember she throws a mean kick with her right leg.”
Lily laughed, thinking of the cows she’d milked in her youth. Every cow had a distinct personality and quirk you had to be ready for. She was going to love getting to know Daisy.
She felt a wet nose in the palm of her hand and looked down into big brown eyes. The all-black dog backed up when Lily tried to lean over to pet him, so she stood again as she had been, and waited for him to make the next move.
“That’s Wally. He’s shy, but loyal if he likes you. He’s a good protector of the stock, be it foals or chickens. He has the opposite personality of Barney, who jumped up on you when you got out of the buggy. Wally’s a big, friendly lug until he senses danger, then he’s baring every tooth in his mouth, and all his short hair stands on end. Barney constantly patrols the perimeter of the ranch yard while Wally watches the world from the barn door.”
“I’m sure I’ll make friends with them…if I stay here,” Lily said, watching to see what Seth’s reaction would be. He looked over the horse’s back at her for a second, before going back to his brushing.
The minutes ticked by as Seth finished brushing the horse, letting it loose in a box stall and spreading some oats on top of the prairie hay in the stall manger for the horse to eat.
“Ready to meet some of the horses in the small pasture behind the barn?” Seth asked while extending his hand. Lily took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She was more than ready to meet every horse on this ranch.
***
Seth wasn’t too surprised when he realized there was a quilt-covered lump in his bed this morning. He must have been in a deep sleep last night because he didn’t know when she’d cuddled in beside him. After they had supper last night and talked for another two hours, they were both ready to get some sleep, dead tired from their trip, and the emotions of the week.
After Lily’s hesitation at the foot of the stairs, Seth asked if he could brush and braid her hair before
she went to sleep. The minx had her handkerchief, brush and ribbon stashed on the second step of the stairs—just in case he’d mentioned it.
Seth had also told her, before she climbed the steps with a lit lamp, if she was too cold or frightened upstairs by herself, she could come downstairs. He’d meant she could sleep in the parlor on the settee, but apparently, she felt safest beside him. And Seth admitted he liked Lily beside him, day and night.
Manurva woke from her spot curled at the foot of the bed, stretched her back in a big arch and started her morning routine of purring loudly while kneading her paws in Seth’s back. Only this morning, the cat kneaded the lumpy quilt beside him. Seth watched as Lily moved a little, then jumped and screeched, trying to kick the quilt and the cat off the bed at the same time. He couldn’t help breaking out in a belly laugh seeing Lily’s surprised face as she looked around the early morning-shadowed room.
“Good morning, Lily. Manurva wakes me up every morning by kneading my back with her paws. You were the lucky person to get her special treatment this morning.”
“What! Where am I? What cat?”
“Lily,” Seth wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her down to lay beside him. “You crawled into bed with Manurva and me last night. Were you cold, or frightened to be by yourself?”
Seth felt Lily relax against his shoulder, finally awake and knowing where she was.
“I hate to say it but…both?”
“That’s fine. I suggested you come downstairs if you wanted to. I’m getting used to having you beside me anyway.” Silence filled the room, and Seth would bet Lily was blushing, even though he couldn’t see it.
“Um…does, the cat, sleep with you all the time?”
“Just during the winter months. She’s a great foot warmer. She’s always had plenty of room in the bed, but apparently, she didn’t mind sharing the space with you last night…or she would have woken you up sooner than her normal time.”
“I meant to sneak back upstairs before morning, but…”
“You were tired and toasty warm wrapped up in your quilt, so you slept hard. You had the quilt wrapped around the top of your head, too.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sure the upstairs room will be warmer tomorrow night, no, tonight I guess it will be, and I won’t bother you again.”
“I and Manurva didn’t mind, and we are married…even if we don’t…you know. But I’d like a kiss for keeping you warm last night. Think that’s an appropriate thank you?”
Chapter 14
Lily cornered the cow again this morning and had Daisy milked before Seth had finished forking hay down the hayloft chutes to the stall mangers below. Lily didn’t have to use the stanchion and hobbles on the cow. Lily softly sang, mostly in Swedish, the whole time she milked the cow. Daisy was entranced with her voice, as was Seth. Lily was caring and confident handling all the animals she’d encountered so far on the ranch.
Seth had hitched the buggy to his father’s horse, then had a saddled mare tied to the back for their trip to town. Lily opted to ride into town astride another one of his horses, and Seth could tell she enjoyed being in the saddle, but she was also worried about going into town.
“I’m nervous about meeting your family, Seth. They’ll think I roped you into marrying me,” Lily said as she rode close to the buggy.
“All my brothers and sisters-in-law will be as welcoming and understanding as my folks were, although Mack might tease you about it,” Seth said, trying to put Lily’s mind to ease.
“To refresh my memory, please go through their names again,” Lily asked before biting her lower lip.
“Angus is the oldest and my full-brother. He married Daisy Clancy.
“Nolan is Daisy’s brother, and we all grew up together. Their grandparents, Dan and Edna, who raised the siblings, had the café in town which Nolan and his wife, Holly, now run together.
“Angus was a railroad detective for years, traveling across several states, but mostly Colorado and Kansas.
“Daisy had worked in Chicago for years, then worked for a pharmacy in Denver, when she and Angus met again during a train robbery.”
“A robbery? Were they hurt?” Lily asked.
“Only Angus’ pride was hurt. But that incident brought them back to Clear Creek to marry and live. You saw me wave to Angus at the depot, and I pointed out Daisy’s pharmacy. They have two children, Benji and Beth.”
“Next brothers are…” Lily looked confused.
“Fergus and Mack, brothers who Ma took under her wing when she sailed from Ireland to be Da’s mail-order bride. Their mother died on the ship, and they were so young they don’t remember their father’s name or what town they were born in.”
“That would be so strange, not to know your parents.”
“It bugged both brothers over the years, but each reacted differently because of it.
“Fergus is quiet, thinks things out. He was interested in photography, and Mr. Connely bought him a camera to take photographs of the range. I think I mentioned we brothers all worked for a rancher between the time we finished school and decided on our professions.”
“I can see why he would want to capture the scenes on this prairie. I’m fascinated by it,” Lily said scanning the grassland they were traveling through.
“Fergus fixed up a wagon and traveled through western Kansas and Nebraska a few years ago, taking photographs of homesteaders on their claims. This was while Mack was building his photography studio on Main Street.
“Fergus set up his camera to take a photograph of a train crossing over a river bridge, and he witnessed a woman fall from the train into the river below.”
Seth waited for the gasp from Lily before he continued.
“Fergus pulled Iris Kerns, now his wife, from the river. Iris had to deal with many problems from her past—she was a former slave—but Iris and Fergus have a strong marriage. They run the photography studio in town and have a darling little girl named after Iris’ mother.
“Then there’s Mack, big, broad, and loud. The total opposite of Fergus. Mack made his own toolbox when he was six years old, and helped whoever was building anything in town, be it a house or a chicken coop. He didn’t spend much time with us on the Cross C because he knew what he wanted to do, be a carpenter. Mack and his helpers built the new block of downtown businesses.”
“He married the lady doctor?”
“Yep. Fell in love with Doctor Pansy when she stepped off the train on arrival. Doctor Pansy had her own problems with dealing with the town council, who wasn’t planning on a woman doctor, without my lovesick brother bothering her. But marriage has worked out for them, but no kids yet.”
“That leaves two more brothers.”
“Cullen was six when he was orphaned by his soiled dove mother and kicked out of the brothel they’d lived in. Da found out about Cullen, and he was adopted in our family. Cullen always had a chip on his shoulder until his real father moved to town earlier this year, and told Cullen, the circumstance of his mother’s spiral into drugs and prostitution.”
“That would be something any normal person would be ashamed of.”
“But the background story of Cullen’s birth and the arrival of another man’s mail-order bride, changed Cullen’s attitude.”
“Now I’m getting confused.”
“Wait until you meet, Rose, Cullen’s wife. Talk about stories! She was once a tightrope walker in the circus. Her spunk and sweet attitude turned my brother’s life around for the better. I’ve never seen Cullen so happy.”
“Do they have any children?”
“Not yet, but I bet it will soon be apparent that Rose is with child. Cullen is beside himself with happiness, and worry, and Rose is…glowing is the best way to put it.”
“You said your youngest brother, Tully had been working for you?”
Tully’s is Ma and Da’s son and got in more trouble in his youth, than the five of us older brothers put together. Tully lived and worked with me for the pas
t four years before he left for a school back East this last September.”
“What is Tully studying to be?”
“He hadn’t decided yet, at least not in his last letter to my parents.”
Clear Creek came into view, and Seth drove the horse and buggy back to his parents’ barn.
Seth could see most of his family walking toward the parsonage, which sat on the edge of town beside the church.
“Heads up, Lily. Part of the family is heading this way. I bet the rest is already in the kitchen waiting for us.”
Mack arrived first, a beaming—and maybe smirking—smile on his face.
“Welcome home, Seth,” Mack said as he slapped Seth on the back, almost knocking him off balance as he climbed down from the buggy. “Ma said we all have to come to lunch today to meet someone. Who’s your pretty lady friend?”
Mack’s wife walked up beside Mack and bumped his shoulder. “Please excuse my husband’s sweet manners. I’m known as Doctor Pansy around town, but please call me Pansy,” Mack’s wife said as she held the horse’s bridle as Lily climbed down from the saddle.
“Thank you, Pansy. I’m…Lily.” Lily looked at Seth as she shook Pansy’s hand, before stepping aside as more family members gathered around them. Angus and Daisy both had a child on their hips as they introduced their family to Lily.
“Let’s go inside so I can explain to everyone at once why Lily’s with me,” Seth said as Mack unhooked the horse from the buggy and Angus walked the saddle horse into the barn.
“We’ll be in after we tend to the horses, so don’t say a word until we’re back inside,“ Mack called to them as the group walked in the back door into the kitchen.
The familiar voices in the kitchen soothed Seth’s nerves as he ushered Lily into the house.
“Welcome back, Seth,” Fergus said as he laid another slab of ham on the buttered bread his wife, Iris, was laying out on the breadboard. Looked like everyone was helping in the kitchen just as usual.
Seth's Promise (Grooms With Honor Book 6) Page 10