Amelia's Journey (27 page)

She pointed toward the south. “What are those hills I see in the distance?”

“That's part of some red hills down toward our state line. Some really good scenery down that way. Pa took Gideon and me down there one summer, and we found some amazing caves and red cliffs. I'm sorry we won't have a chance to go down there while you're here.”

“Me too.” She'd love to see it all, but with limited time they would stick with what Mr. and Mrs. Haynes had planned for them. “I know Sweetwater Springs is the nearest town, but are there any larger ones around?”

Ben pushed back his hat and leaned on his saddle horn. “We're about halfway between Dodge and Wichita, around seventy-five miles or so either way. Neither of them is a large town, but Wichita keeps growing. That's where Pa takes the cattle to market. He'll drive part of the herd over there in a couple of weeks and sell them.”

He swept his arm out across the air. “We have several thousand acres now, and I'll have my own spread to start us out. I plan to buy a few calves and cows as well as a good bull to get started. Pa's going to let me buy some of his stock, so we both know it's good and will produce more to bring a good profit.”

“It looks like you have your future all planned, and it sounds wonderful.” She wanted so desperately to be a part of that future, but so much depended on how Father reacted to the ranch and her being with Ben.

“What will make it perfect is for you to share it with me. I plan to talk with your father about us later after he's had a chance to really see what our ranch is like.”

“I hope he'll like what he sees.” She lifted a hand to her forehead to shade her eyes and get a better view of what lay ahead. Her heart beat faster when she recognized the mill from Ben's descriptions in his letters. “I see the mill up ahead.”

“Yep, that's it. You see the wheel turning and the water spilling over it? Pa and I got it to working a little last week, but it still needs lots of repairs.”

“It's wonderful. Let's hurry and get there.” She nudged Victory to a faster trot, which made her bounce even more and rattled her head, so she slowed again. She had a ways to go before she'd really be comfortable in the saddle.

They drew closer to the structure, and the water splashed down into the stream running alongside the mill. The gurgling sound of water hitting water was the only sound at first, but then a few birds joined in a chorus to add their voice and a breeze rustled through the trees. A little ways behind the mill the first walls of the framing for the house stood ready for inspection. He must have done a lot of work on it in the past week, because what he'd written about it didn't sound like this much had been done.

She swung down from Victory and looped the reins around a nearby bush. Ben did the same and followed her to where he had marked off the area with rope.

Ben's heart pounded and his mouth dried up. She had to like what he'd planned. He'd done it all for her, but if she wasn't pleased, he'd start over again. “Well, what do you think?”

“I love the land and everything around here. It's so absolutely peaceful.” She skirted around behind the mill and headed to the framework.

“Here, let me show you where things are.” He held her hand and led her up the slight incline. “This is where the front door will be, and I hope we'll have a porch all the way across the front.” He stepped through an opening. “And here is the parlor where we'll have a fireplace to sit by on cold winter nights.”

“I can see it now with a fire blazing, you reading a book, and I'll be doing some mending or needlework.” She turned to him with a grin. “Did I tell you Lettie is teaching me to mend and darn things? Now I'll be able to darn your socks and sew buttons on your shirts.”

Anything she did for him would be special. Even if she didn't learn to sew, she had the dressmaker in town who could do that for her, and he could always buy his shirts and pants at the mercantile. Ben led her into the kitchen area. “We just passed through the dining room, and here's the kitchen. The stove will be over in this corner, and we'll have a pantry where you can store all kinds of things and a cupboard for dishes and utensils.”

“I can't wait to get some recipes from your mother. Lettie said to bring some home, and she'd help me learn to cook them. I told her I didn't want to learn how to make all that fancy stuff Mama has her prepare. Good old country cooking is what Mary Beth said your ma fixes, so that's what I want to learn.”

Because they were so far away from the main house, he fought the urge to take her in his arms. He didn't trust his feelings, and he didn't want to put Amelia in any compromising position. Just holding her hand sent heat up his arm and into his heart. Any closer and he might not have such control as he did now.

She released his hand and dashed through the openings between the boards. “Is this part where the bedrooms will be?”

He followed her but kept his distance this time. No use in putting temptation closer than it already was. “Yes, we'll have two to start out with. I put a storage room between them and hope to have space to add on more rooms if we need them.”

Amelia stopped and stood very still, her shoulders and back stiff. “Amelia, I'm sorry. Even if we don't have children, we'll need other rooms like an office for me, a library or study and things like that. This will be your house, and you can put the rooms anywhere you like.”

His heart ached for her concern. How could he have been so thoughtless as to imply they'd need more rooms for children? He carried hope that she'd be open to taking in children from an orphan train, but he'd wait a few years before suggesting something like that.

She didn't say much after that except to compliment his design. After another five minutes or so of wandering around, she headed back toward Victory. Ben wanted to kick himself for draining all her enthusiasm with misspoken words. But she had to know he loved her no matter what happened.

At the stream, Amelia stopped and stooped beside it. She dipped her fingers into the clear waters then yanked them back out. “Oh, my, I wasn't expecting the water to be that cold. It's like ice.”

“That's one of the nice things about this stream. It's cool even in the summertime and will be great for wading on a hot summer day.” He couldn't count the number of times he'd done just that in the past two years since Pa had bought the land. Wading in the stream's clear waters was one thing he wanted to do with Amelia, if not this summer, then all the ones that would follow.

She dried her fingers on her skirt and with his help mounted Victory. “If we want to have lunch with our families, we'd better head back now.” Enthusiasm had disappeared from her voice.

He nodded and swung up onto Blackie. If he'd thought ahead of time, he could've had Ma prepare a picnic for them, and they could have eaten it in the space set out for their dining room. As it looked now, she was anxious to get back to the ranch. She rode off ahead of him, and he had to nudge Blackie into a faster pace to keep up.

One of these days he'd learn to think before he spoke, but that had always been a failing of his. The important thing for the next two weeks was to win her trust and make her believe in his love. Then on top of that, he had to win over her father, and that would be by far the more difficult of the two tasks.

His heels bit into Blackie's flank. “Race you back to the stables. C'mon, Blackie, lead the way.” If he didn't put a little distance and speed between him and Amelia, no telling what he'd be tempted to do. He loved her too much to trust himself, and he'd already done enough damage for one day.

Chapter 26

A
melia sat back on Victory with her mouth open. How could he have raced off like that, leaving her behind? After the trotting incident, she didn't dare speed up to Ben's pace. Victory did pick up her pace, and Amelia held on for dear life, keeping Ben's figure in sight. What in the world had possessed him?

When she arrived back at the stables, Ben waited with remorse written across his features. “I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. You're not experienced enough to race like me.”

He helped her down from the horse. “Will you forgive me?”

She stared up at him for a moment. Nothing had happened, and she'd made it back here in one piece. “Yes, I forgive you…this time, but don't you ever dare to do that again.”

“I promise I won't. I'll think before I act next time.” He led the horses back into the stables and handed them over to one of the ranch hands there. “Zeke, would you take care of Victory for me? I'll be back for Blackie after we eat, so I can go join Pa.”

“Sure thing, Ben.” He tipped his hat to Amelia. “I hope you had a nice ride on Victory.”

“I was, until this cowboy here decided he wanted to race.”

Zeke jerked his head back. “You did what? Boy, she could have fallen off that horse and hurt herself bad.”

Heat colored Ben's face a blazing shade of crimson. “I know, and it won't happen again. I promised.”

He grabbed her arm and headed toward the house. “We always leave one of the men back here so Ma won't be completely alone in the house, and I wish it had been someone besides Zeke today. He'll never let me forget that race bit. I'll get a reminder every time your name is mentioned, and he's sure to let the others know.”

Amelia said nothing and let him think about his misery for the moment. She appreciated his regret for what he'd done, but could she expect such spontaneous outbursts in the future? A realization hit her like a blow to the chest. She didn't really know Ben at all. Even though he'd talked about himself enough, she hadn't been around him that much to see his true personality.

Wonderful aromas floated through the open windows of the kitchen and shoved the doubts from her mind. Something about the fresh air had certainly whetted her appetite. She didn't ever remember being this hungry before.

Only the women were at home for the noon meal today. Mrs. Haynes explained, “Some days Matthew and the crew don't come in at midday, but eat on the range and come home for supper.”

Ben held the chair for Amelia then Mrs. Carlyle. “That's right. I'm going to head out to meet them soon as I've eaten. You can explore around here if you like.”

His grin chased away her misgivings about his misstep in racing this morning. “I'm sure we'll find plenty to do.”

After the meal, Ben took off just like he had said, and Amelia helped Mrs. Haynes clear the table.

“Amelia, dear, would you like to help me in the kitchen this afternoon? Our men folk will be hungry when they return from a day with the herd.”

“Uh, oh, yes, that would be wonderful. I want to get some of your recipes to take back to Lettie so she can teach me to cook them.”

Mama and Mrs. Haynes both laughed. Mama picked up her plate and glass. “I think I want to join this session. It never hurts to learn new things.”

The next few hours were spent with Mrs. Haynes giving Amelia pointers. By the time they were ready to put Amelia's biscuits in the oven, flour dusted her face and hair as well as covered her hands.

“While those are baking, I'm going to fry up these steaks.” Mrs. Haynes sprinkled more flour over slabs of meat already covered in a wash she'd concocted from eggs and milk.

Amelia watched, envious of the ease with which Mrs. Haynes handled the meat and the hot grease in the huge black iron skillet. The meat sizzled and crackled, and the grease bubbled as the meat settled into it. Amelia shook her head. Would she ever be able to do this? Mrs. Haynes made it look so simple.

They had already made a batter for a cake, and it would go into the oven next. That didn't seem right. Shouldn't the biscuits be last so they'd be hot when the meal was served? But then what did she know about making biscuits in the first place?

A few minutes later when Mrs. Haynes removed the biscuits from the oven, Amelia's mouth dropped open. They were browned to perfection. She'd done it.

The biscuit pan was set on the counter to cool, and the cake went into the oven. A few minutes later, Amelia picked up one of the biscuits. It felt like lead. When she tried to break it in half, the dough was stone hard.

Amelia held it out to Mrs. Haynes. “What…what happened?”

Mrs. Haynes wrapped her arm around Amelia's shoulders. “You handled the dough too much and toughened it before you baked them. It happens all the time to new cooks and sometimes even to experienced ones.” She then reached over and uncovered another pan of unbaked biscuits. “I always have an extra ready for times like this. Mary Beth and Clara have both ruined their share.”

Heat rose in Amelia's cheeks. She'd never be able to do this. Whatever gave her the idea she could learn to cook? Ben would starve to death with her as wife.

As though reading her thoughts, Mrs. Haynes patted her shoulder. “Don't worry about it any. It was like that for me when I first started learning. All you need to do is practice.”