The Cattleman's Bride: A Golden Valley Story (The Brides of Birch Creek Book 4)

by Laura D. Bastian

  “I should get back into the house,” Cora said. “I need to check on the cheese and then I have some butter to churn. Your cows are quite the producers.”

  Levi nodded. “Let me take the bag into the barn and I’ll check the animals. Then I’ll see if you need any help with the butter.”

  “Thank you,” Cora said.

  ***

  Cora checked on the cheese and added more weight to the press to help compress the cheddar into the tight brick form. She was grateful Levi’s mother had left instructions on how to work all the different tools and kitchen equipment Cora found.

  And the butter churn was well used and easy to work. She had helped Matthew’s mother with things like this on occasion, but back in New York state, she had been able to purchase the cheese from a dairy man. Hopefully this first batch would turn out all right. If not, she would have to try something different.

  A quick check of the bread box let her know they were down to a partial loaf. She would need to get another batch mixed up and rising so she could bake it before she went to bed. Once it was kneaded enough and ready to rest, she moved over to the milk that had been brought in by Pa.

  Cora ladled off the cream from the top and put it in the butter churn. It would take less than an hour to get this done which would give her time to put the loaves of bread in to bake when they had risen enough.

  Cora sat at the kitchen table and began pumping the butter churn’s handle and in a few minutes, Pa and Levi both entered. Pa had the Bible with him and spoke. “Thought it would be a good idea to get this started earlier. That way neither of you will fall asleep while you should be listening to the good word.”

  “That is a good idea,” Cora said, then immediately felt guilty for being disappointed she wasn’t able to just be there with Levi and talk to him while she worked on the butter.

  They had seemed to make some progress in the conversation department out there in the garden, but now, with his father here reading to them, Levi wouldn’t talk with her.

  And when it was time for bed, he’d stay working on his leather things while talking late with his father leaving her to find some other opportunity to talk freely. Hopefully, as they rode out to the herd, she might be able to talk privately with him then.

  Of course, she could stay up and wait for him to come into the bedroom, but she was too worried about what she wanted to ask. She didn’t want to hear any confirmation that he only thought of her as someone to help with the farm, but if that was how he felt, she would respect it. She would just want to ask for a separate room. Or at least a separate bed.

  ***

  Levi watched Cora as she kept busy at the butter churn, then she got up and checked the bread’s progress before returning to the butter churn and working it more. She was constantly going all the time. Hopefully she didn’t wear herself out too much. He wanted her to be healthy and live here for a long time.

  “Let me take a turn with the butter,” Levi said softly so as to not interrupt his father’s reading.

  Cora looked up at him with wide eyes. She nodded after a moment and stepped away. She looked around the room as if trying to find something to do.

  “Go ahead and rest,” Levi said. “I’m sure your arms are tired.”

  “Thank you.” Cora’s smile of appreciation sent warm flutters through his middle. Slowly, ever so slowly, he might be able to win her over.

  If he could be more observant and notice when she might be in need of something, he would do his best to offer to help. He sure appreciated the fact that she had taken such a huge load from his shoulders. And with the help she was giving, they could return to the plans they’d had before to increase the size of the ranch.

  If they managed to grow the herd to the size they wanted, and also expand the crops of wheat, alfalfa, and corn, they would likely need to bring more help out to the ranch.

  His cow hands had mentioned they might want to build themselves some cabins and possibly find a wife each. Pa had talked up Cora to all the hands. Before long, each of them had offered their congratulations and had begun questioning him on how someone like them could put in an advertisement for a bride. So different from the way they had felt before.

  That was just what he needed. Questions about his wife. At least they hadn’t gotten personal at all in the questions.

  But building their own little community around here would be helpful. And his ma had always talked about how lonesome it could get out here. Perhaps bringing neighbors around would help Cora feel more comfortable living on the ranch. If he could do anything to make her happy, he would.

  Tomorrow, when they headed to where the cattle were grazing, he would have to talk to her about what she might suggest. Having been in a position to need to look for a husband and coming all this way, she would have a lot more suggestions for the men. Of course if she told them about how things were difficult between them as husband and wife with such a strange beginning, that could be uncomfortable.

  He pumped the handle of the butter churn with more vigor than he’d planned and when it jostled, his father paused in the reading and looked up.

  Levi just ducked his head and continued to churn the butter, much slower, but didn’t stop to offer any kind of comment. Pa began reading again and Cora moved over to the shelf she had some dried herbs tied to and checked them. Instead of returning to the table, she stayed by the stove to put the loaves of bread inside and monitor the heat level of the small fire.

  Was she uncomfortable with him again?

  Goodness, what was wrong with him?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  She couldn’t understand what she was doing wrong. Levi had been so kind and helpful last night, taking over the butter churning for her. Then as she had just listened to her father in law read the Bible and watched Levi as unobtrusively as possible, she had considered inviting him to stay and talk with her in the kitchen when Pa finished reading. Then he seemed to become upset about churning the butter and she hesitated too long on offering to take it back.

  She could see the irritation building within him until his entire body went rigid and he nearly knocked over the whole contraption. She stood and moved forward one step with the plan to take over if he wanted her to, but he just continued going, refusing to even look at her.

  Cora had retreated from the table, completely unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to speak to him about it in front of her father-in-law because she didn’t want to make Levi have to admit in front of his father that he had made a mistake in sending for her.

  She tried to keep herself occupied with putting the bread in, even though it probably needed a little more time to rise. She had started it too late and now she was delayed with the butter as well. She shouldn’t have asked him to take her to see the cattle tomorrow. He obviously wanted to get back to his regular routine and schedule without needing her to take more of his time. She was here to help with the house and the garden.

  He was providing a roof over her head and food on the table.

  When her father in law closed the Bible, Levi stood up and headed out the door with a mumbled, “I have some things in the barn to take care of.”

  Cora watched him go and pressed her lips together to try to distract herself from the tears that were forming behind her eyelids.

  “Give him time, girl,” Pa said softly behind her. “He’s a good man, and is trying to figure things out. He wants to do right by you.”

  Cora nodded, but turned away from him, not wanting to let him see the tears that had sneaked out of her eyes anyway.

  Pa left the kitchen and went into the main room, then eventually she couldn’t hear him moving around in there anymore, indicating he had gone to bed.

  With a weary sigh, Cora sat on the chair Levi had vacated and began churning the butter once more. It was much thicker than when she’d given Levi the handle. It wouldn’t be much longer before it would be formed enough she could take it from the container and rinse off the buttermilk that remained in
the bottom.

  Keeping as quiet as possible, she went about her work, hoping to hear the sound of Levi coming in from the barn, but there was nothing. She glanced out the window on occasion, but it was too dark to see any distance, especially as far as the barn.

  Eventually, there was nothing more to do besides bank the embers in the stove and head to bed.

  Breakfast was a quick affair and the morning milking and chores were done by Pa and Levi before Cora had even set the food on the table. As soon as they had finished eating, Cora looked at Levi to ask a question, but he spoke first.

  “I’ve got the horses saddled. You do ride, don’t you?”

  “I can.” Cora nodded. “It’s been a little while though.”

  “Don’t worry, girl,” Pa said. “You’ll be fine.”

  Cora smiled at him and Levi nodded. “We should get going. It will take about an hour or so to reach them. And if we take some of your bread, I’m sure the men would appreciate that. I’ll meet you by the barn.”

  Cora quickly wrapped two loaves in some cloth and walked out the kitchen door toward the barn. The horses were standing calmly and she prayed her mount would be easy enough to handle. They both seemed to be pretty sturdy and peaceful animals.

  Levi took the bread and placed it in a saddle bag. He then placed his hands together at a level she could use to help her mount the horse. With one foot in his hands, she reached up and grabbed the saddle horn, then hefted herself enough to place the other foot in the stirrup before swinging her leg over the horse.

  The skirt of her dress didn’t adjust as easily as she’d hoped and it took her a moment or two to pull the fabric out and smooth the skirt over her legs enough to hide her bare skin that had been exposed between her stockings and her pantaloons.

  Levi handed up the reins then turned away from her quickly, but she could see the back of his neck had darkened as if embarrassed. Had he seen more of her leg than she’d thought?

  They were married of course, but not like any normal marriage she knew of. This would take a lot more work than anything. And though she had determined to just let things take their time and not expect anything from him he wasn’t willing to give, she still couldn’t help feeling disappointed and rejected. She wasn’t what he wanted. Yet she didn’t know how to change to be what he would accept.

  When he returned from selling his cattle, she’d be sure to ask for another bed.

  “How much land do you own?” Cora asked after they’d ridden for about ten minutes. She hoped to start a topic that wasn’t too personal or potentially uncomfortable.

  “We have a fair bit,” Levi replied. “The farmstead, orchards, and crop fields are on forty acres. Then we graze the herd on the land surrounding our ranch.” He pointed to a hill in the distance. “The top of that hill is the boundary in that direction. To the east, we go as far as the grove of trees. To the south, there is a canyon that we’ve agreed with a sheep farmer that we wouldn’t go past the mouth of it for grazing. And the edge of our land to the north is the river.”

  “That’s a lot of area.”

  “Takes a lot of land to grow the grasses for cattle. And we try to make sure they don’t strip it all. That’s why we’ve got hands that move the herd around frequently.”

  He didn’t seem to mind the questions, and his voice was a lot more even and relaxed than it had been with the few words exchanged at breakfast. She decided she’d keep questioning him as long as he’d allow it.

  “Then you also grow alfalfa, right?”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t feed a herd this size for long. We use that to keep them from starving in the winter. And a lot of that is also used to feed the milk cows and horses.”

  “Takes a lot to run a place this large,” Cora said. “When Matthew and I were starting out, just trying to have a homestead and grow the things we’d need for our own family, I was always busy.” She cringed inside, hoping the mention of Matthew wouldn’t upset her new husband. She spoke as brightly and upbeat as she could manage, hoping to keep him from thinking too much on her slip up. “I can’t imagine how much work you all have to do. How did your mother manage?”

  “Ma was an incredible woman,” Levi said. “It takes someone special to handle being out here. Not everyone can manage it without a lot of hard work and tenacity.”

  “I’m coming to see that,” Cora said softly. “This is a lot more work than I’d anticipated, but I like it here. It’s a beautiful area and you and your pa have been very kind to me. Thank you.”

  “It is a good place. And you fit right into the family easy enough. I’m actually surprised at how quickly Pa took to you.”

  Cora wasn’t sure what to think about that. Only his pa?

  ***

  Levi looked over at Cora by his side, riding without any issue on the horse. She’d gotten quiet all of a sudden, and he missed the easy conversation they’d had. Knowing he hadn’t fully answered her question about the ranch, he decided to go into more detail.

  “We started out really small. Just the house and garden and some fruit trees. Pa only had a couple head of beef cattle and we slowly built it up.”

  “Did you have to build fences around the entire forty acres then?”

  “No,” Levi said. “We didn’t own all the property at first. And I was still just too young to really help Pa with building many fences. I mostly just managed to hold the tools for him while he put the posts in the ground then added the cross beams. He did most of the work himself, with Ma helping him close by the house. Then the more cattle we got, the more land we needed. Eventually, Pa started looking for some help. William came first. He had been a bit of a drifter. The kind of man who enjoyed big open area and living off the land. Then he had a minor mishap with his horse breaking a leg while Will was on his way toward Boise. Since Will was stranded, he worked his way over here. Made a deal with Pa to work the area with him for a while in exchange for a replacement horse. Then when he’d done the work required to own the horse, he actually decided to stay on and keep working the cattle. Said he had found something he enjoyed.”

  “He seems a very capable man,” Cora said.

  “He is. And he’s the one that has trained all the other hands. He knew Tucker from years ago and when we took our first herd to the market, he ran into Tucker there who had been hired mid-drive from someplace in Wyoming. Tucker’s been with us ever since. Jake came a couple years ago, and we hired Drew a few months back.”

  “Do any of them have families?” Cora asked.

  “No. Not yet.” Here was the chance for him to bring it up and question her about what she’d suggest his men do about getting families. He just hoped it wouldn’t make her think too much on possible regrets she might have. “But a couple have mentioned they’d like to claim a bit of land around here to build a cabin and find a wife.”

  “That would be nice,” Cora said.

  “I had been hoping you’d like that.” Levi smiled. “Ma always wanted to have people nearby. It was hard on her to be so far from town.”

  Cora nodded. “I agree. I don’t mean I’m not happy here or anything, but I think after a while, it could get a little lonely.”

  “Maybe once the drive to Boise is over, we can talk with the men and see which areas they would like to build their cabins.”

  “I hope they aren’t too far away,” Cora said. “I would like to be close enough to meet their wives.”

  Levi chuckled. “You do know they don’t have wives yet, right?”

  Cora smiled. “True. But I’m sure there are more women like me who need a place to go.”

  This was going a lot easier than he’d expected. The fact that she liked the idea of more women coming out indicated she wasn’t hating her choice to be here.

  Cora continued. “Or from what Susan, back in Birch Creek was saying, there will be a lot of women coming out before too many years. With the railroad through there, she says the town has just kept growing and growing. She even said she was looking at send
ing a letter back east to find someone willing to come open up a library.”

  “A library?” Levi asked. “Do you really think there’s a need for that?”

  “Of course,” Cora said. “You can never have too much knowledge.”

  “True,” Levi said. “We don’t really have much for books at our place. Just the Bible and a few my mother had.”

  “Do you read?” Cora asked.

  “I know how,” Levi said. “Pa usually is the one to read though. It’s always been that way. Of course, maybe someday I’ll be the one to read to our children.”

  Cora didn’t smile like he’d hoped she would and a sick feeling hit his gut.

  “I hope so,” she said softly. “So how much farther do we ride until we reach the herd?”

  Levi looked ahead into the distance. “A mile or so.”

  She didn’t seem interested in the idea of a family with him. She didn’t say anything against it, but her change of subject was as clear a sign as anything.

  Perhaps she was worried about children, but that didn’t seem likely. Not with the way she had looked at that baby in Birch Creek at the lunch the town had put on for them. Annabelle’s baby had been in Cora’s arms for plenty of time for Levi to see how much she liked holding the baby.

  “Do they need to stay near the cattle all year?”

  “Someone is often nearby to keep an eye on things. We don’t want the fences to get knocked down and the cattle to wander too far. But they pretty much take care of themselves. It’s mostly for making sure no one comes and bothers the animals. There isn’t much of an issue with predators. Only had one time that we lost a couple of calves to a mountain lion, but that was during a hard winter. Most times, the wild animals stay higher in the mountains far beyond us.”