Caleb Read online

  She glanced around and noted a cabinet on the far wall. A quick search of the small cupboard revealed a jar of peaches, a bag of salt, and a cup of sugar. Not exactly a meal, but something to fill her stomach tonight. She would worry about tomorrow when the new day arrived.

  A couple of hours later, Lily sat on the damp bed and decided the floor in front of the fireplace would be much better. The fire was low, but still burning. Perhaps she could fall asleep before it went completely out. Wrapping the threadbare blanket around herself, she curled up on the floor. She shifted around, trying various positions.

  She had just drifted off to sleep when there was a knock on the door. Her heart sped up. Was that a bear?

  Stupid. Bears don’t knock.

  She rose and shivered as she walked to the window next to the door. Pushing aside the threadbare curtain, she saw no one. A movement on her left side caught her eye, but it was too dark to make out who it was. Certainly of the human kind, though.

  Gingerly, she eased the door open and looked down. A basket, with a colorful cloth laying over it, sat on the step. She looked around again, and then shrugged and reached for the handles. Wonderful smells rose to her nostrils, causing her stomach to let out with a loud growl.

  She set the basket on the table and removed the cloth. Inside was a whole roasted chicken, potato salad, a loaf of bread, a chunk of cheese, a jar of lemonade, and a large piece of what smelled like apple pie.

  Tears sprang to her eyes as she removed each item. Someone cared enough about her to deliver food.

  Chapter Seven

  Snow crunched under Caleb’s feet as he returned to his house after dropping off the food for Lily he’d managed to swipe from the bunkhouse. Stubborn, obstinate woman. He should let her starve. Or try to figure out how she was going to eat and survive out there by herself. Her a city girl. He snorted. All they were good for was sitting around, drinking tea with their friends, and planning how to buy new dresses.

  Once again he questioned his mama’s common sense in advertising for women to marry up with her sons, with nothing more to recommend the ladies than that they wanted to get married. Life on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains was rough. Long days, hard work, and cabin fever in the winter. He shook his head in disgust. Now he had a wife curbing his bachelor ways, with no intention—at least for the near future—of allowing him to slake his lust with her. This idea of marriage had gone from bad to very bad.

  Still grumbling to himself, he hung up his coat and hat and headed to bed. At least tonight he wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. As he settled in, he linked his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He hadn’t really talked much to his brothers, except for Gideon’s lecture, since the weddings. He wondered if his brothers were having better luck with their wives.

  He shifted over and punched the pillow. Wives.

  Goddamn wives.

  The next morning as Caleb approached the bunkhouse looking for breakfast, his attention was caught by Jamie wrestling a spirited mare, trying to get her halter on. Taking a detour, he strolled up to the fence. “Hey Jamie, looks like that girl is giving you some trouble.”

  Jamie snorted. “No kidding.” He turned and his smile faded. “Oh, you mean the horse?”

  “Yeah, what else would I mean??”

  “Nothing.” Jamie resumed his struggle, leaving Caleb to wonder if all was not paradise between Jamie and his bride. He grinned at his brother’s back. It would comfort him somewhat to know he wasn’t the only one with female troubles.

  “I’m going to catch some grub. You coming?”

  Jamie shook his head “Nah. I ate at the house. Isn’t your wife feeding you?”

  Caleb rocked back on his heels, his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, she is, but I told her she could stay in bed this morning.”

  “Is that right?” Jamie tugged on the halter to tighten it, and grinned. “Seems to me I saw a woman who looked a lot like Lillian leaving the old foreman’s cabin just after dawn this morning, headed to the privy.”

  “You spying on my wife?”

  “Settle down, little brother. I just happen to be riding to check that northwest fence that blew down to make sure it was still holding when she made her exit from the house. I don’t imagine you want to tell me what she was doing there?”

  “You’re right. I don’t want to tell you, and it’s none of your business. Just see that you mind your own wife. Is she keeping you happy?”

  He glanced away. “Of course.”

  Caleb smirked. “Yeah, I can tell.”

  “Y’all gonna jaw all day like a couple of women, or do you suppose we can get some work done?” Pete pulled on his gloves as he strode out of the bunkhouse.

  “I just need to grab some food.” Caleb brushed by his brother and slapped an egg and a few pieces of sausage onto a biscuit and ate as he walked to the barn.

  Lily sat on the damp, lumpy cot in the small cottage and tugged her coat closer around her body. Now that she’d made this grand gesture and walked out on Caleb, what next? She hadn’t given her exit a whole lot of thought. She’d stomped out like a queen, with her head held high, and ended up in a dungeon.

  Once daylight had arrived and she had the opportunity to actually look around the place, it was a mess. Remnants of small animals’ droppings littered the floor. There were several holes in the walls that the wind whistled through. Aside from the basket dropped on her front door last night, there was nothing else in the way of food. The kindling she was able to find had burned up. The two logs outside the back door had kept the place, if not warm, at least not freezing.

  And here she sat with nothing to do, with all that food in Caleb’s house, all the cleaning, and re-arranging of furniture she’d planned to do. She could even cut and begin to sew the fabric she’d bought to impress Caleb by making him a shirt. Impress him, ha. He had most likely spent most of his adult life accepting pies, casseroles, and other goodies—she snorted—from the ladies in Angel Springs.

  Why did she get stuck with a man who had women waving at him and stopping him in the street? And asking about missing necklaces lost in his bed. She would have been happy with a plain, solid, nondescript man for a spouse. With a sagging tummy and scant hair. Spectacles would be good, too.

  No, she had to get the Whore of Babylon.

  The sound of horses grew near. She stood and walked to the window, pushing the fabric aside. Caleb, Jamie, Ethan, and several other men, most likely ranch hands, rode by, probably on their way to work. She hated how the flutters started up in her lower parts at the sight of Caleb. The man could really sit a horse, with those broad shoulders and muscled thighs gripping the sides of the animal.

  She released the window covering and sighed. The day would certainly drag with nothing to do. Wandering around the small space, she ruminated that Caleb wouldn’t be back until the men all returned to the bunkhouse for noon dinner. She could go to the house and gather some supplies to keep her fed and warm while she lived here, and tried to decide exactly what it was she intended to do.

  Once she entered Caleb’s house, it amazed her how cozy it seemed compared to the horrible cottage she’d spent the night in. She’d almost felt like she’d come home. Not likely. Caleb sure didn’t want to share his house, life, or anything else with her. Except his bed.

  After making the bed, hanging up his clothes, and washing the few dishes in the sink, she gathered up a few supplies. She wrapped the last of a loaf of bread she’d baked, two jars of peaches from Mary, and a couple of eggs. There was no guarantee that whoever had dropped off the food last night would return today.

  Of course, it had to have been Caleb, since she assumed no one else knew of their spat. She found a large flour sack and tucked her items in there, along with the fabric she’d bought for Caleb’s shirt. She would make a new dress for herself, instead. Except chambray hardly made a good choice for a dress. Well, maybe she’d make curtains for the cottage.

  She grabbed a small cook pot, broom, cup,
plate, fork and knife. Smiling at her cleverness, she slung the sack over her shoulder and headed to the door. She opened it and was smacked in the forehead by a fist. Stumbling back, the weight of the sack pulled her down and she landed on her bottom. “Ouch.”

  Beth stared down at her. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Lily. Are you all right?”

  “What are you doing here?” Lily dropped the sack and climbed to her feet.

  “I came for a visit. I’m trying to avoid Mama Fraser who always has a new chore for me to learn. Can I come in?”

  Lily dusted off the back of her dress. “Seeing as how you’re already in, I guess so.”

  Beth pointed to the sack on the floor. “What’s that?”

  On the trip here, Lily had found Beth sweet, but obviously not the best choice for a mail order bride. Not that Lily was such a great candidate with her missing virtue, but Beth had clearly come from money. Everything about the girl reeked of a soft, spoiled life. Lily would have loved to be there when Beth learned what ‘real’ life was all about.

  “Nothing. Just a few things I was putting away from our trip to town.”

  My, haven’t I become the glib liar.

  “Oh.” Beth strolled in and looked around. “This is a nice house. Small. But nice.” She peeked her head into the kitchen. “Can we have some tea?”

  “Sure.” Lily dumped the sack on a chair and filled a pot with water. “How are things going for you and Ethan?”

  “Horrible.” Beth whipped out a handkerchief and delicately touched the corners of her eyes. “We live in the barn!”

  “Oh, dear.”

  “I want him to build me a house, but he said not right away. He wants one like this. I mean, it’s nice and all, but I would like something bigger.” She accepted the cup from Lily and they sat, waiting for the water to boil. Caleb must have made tea or something before he left, because the pot on the stove held warm water.

  “And there’s so much work to living on a ranch. They expect me to do chores!”

  Lily hid her grin as she imagined the horror for Beth when she found out there would be no servants to do her bidding. Then her mood dimmed when she realized her new marriage wasn’t going so well, either. Chores weren’t a problem for her, she’d run her own household for years. Her issue was the minor detail that every woman in town had a hankering for her husband.

  She checked the pot on the stove, then poured the water into the two cups.

  “Mama Fraser is giving me cooking lessons.” Beth blew on her tea before taking a sip.

  “I like to cook,” Lily said.

  “Well I never have, and I can tell you, if Ethan thinks he’s going to live on my cooking, he will be going to bed hungry.” She blushed at her words, and Lily couldn’t help but assume it was the ‘going to bed’ part of her statement that caused her reaction.

  She would love to know if Ethan and Beth had done it but there was simply no way to ask such a delicate question.

  “How are things working out with you and Caleb?”

  Despite her annoyance with the man, she had no intention of telling Beth her woes. “All right. Marriage takes a bit of adjustment.”

  Beth nodded, then leaned forward and looked around, as if someone could overhear her in the empty cabin. “Are you sorry you came?”

  Am I sorry I came?

  She had to honestly admit she was not sorry she’d taken a chance on leaving the town where she’d been so humiliated. Whether this had been the right thing for her to do remained to be seen, since she still hadn’t decided what she planned to do besides steal food from Caleb’s house and live in the old foreman’s place. “While I won’t say I’m sorry I came, I do wish I had known ahead of time that this whole mail order bride idea was not the Frasers’, but their mama’s.

  Beth leaned back. “I know. Wasn’t that a surprise?”

  “Yes. For us and for them. I’m still annoyed at Mrs. Fraser for doing this. It would have been nice to be welcomed by men who actually wanted to be married.”

  “I agree. That was an unkind thing to do to her sons. And to us.”

  Beth drew circles on the table with her finger as they sat in silence for a few moments. “She really is quite nice, though—Mrs. Fraser.” She looked across the table at Lily. “She asked me to call her Mama Fraser.”

  Lily sighed. “I should probably make a visit to the main house. I would like to see Olivia again. How are she and Jamie getting on?”

  Beth shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think there are some issues with Jamie’s children.”

  “From what I understand, Jamie knew about us all arriving for his brothers, but had no idea Mrs. Fraser sent for Olivia for him. She really is devious.”

  “You should spend some time with her.” Beth patted her hand. “I think you would feel better if you do.”

  She shrugged. “Perhaps.”

  Caleb stabled his horse, Mason, and rubbed him down. He slapped his hat against his thigh as he strode to the house. No lights glowed from the inside, so Lily had not returned, was still sulking in the foreman’s cottage.

  Damn, how long did she intend to stay there? Did she think he was going to bring her food every day? He’d had a hard enough time sneaking that out of the bunkhouse kitchen without getting caught. Didn’t she know what a wife was supposed to do? She was supposed to be here, cooking supper and comforting him after a long day’s work.

  He snorted. Yeah, the kind of comfort he was looking for wouldn’t be coming his way for a while. Damn these virgins with their delicate senses. This made a week of celibacy. Must be a record for him. If she kept this up, he might just mosey into town and see Desiree.

  No you won’t. He sure wished that voice would shut up.

  After lighting the oil lamp in the main room, he dropped his jacket on the chair and headed to the cold, dark kitchen. He’d have to go to the bunkhouse again for supper—and once again face the ridicule from the men.

  Instead of dealing with the knowing glances he knew would be his future in the bunkhouse, he grabbed a half dozen eggs from the pantry. He’d have that with the rest of the bread and butter. After starting the fire in the stove, he cracked the eggs and scrambled them up. Dumping them in the pan, he swirled them around and slid them onto a plate.

  The bread was gone. It was then he noticed the dishes he’d left in the sink this morning were also gone. He checked the cabinet. The dishes were there, washed, dried and stacked. He wandered around the house shoveling the eggs into his mouth as he took note of other changes.

  The small blue and white china bowl of sugar was on the table, not where he’d left it this morning. A jar of peaches was missing from the pantry. His favorite table in the main room had been moved.

  He leaned against the bedroom doorframe. The bed was made, his clothes hung up. He cursed. The termagant had been here. Just waltzed right in and did what she pleased. Was that the game she wanted to play? Sneak in here during the day while he was out on the ranch?

  What he should do was march over to that cottage, sling her over his shoulder, and haul her back here. Then toss her on the bed and show her what her duties were. Instead he shrugged out of his clothes, dropping them on the floor and crawled into bed.

  Alone.

  The next morning Caleb rolled onto his back and linked his fingers under his head. Dawn was just breaking and the scant light cast the room in shadows. He glanced at the empty pillow alongside him where his wife’s head should be. Morning sex was always the best. Pulling a warm, sleepy woman to his side to fondle and caress was a great way to wake up and start the day.

  He didn’t like this stalemate he and Lily were engaged in. Furthermore, it stuck in his craw that he was unable to get along with a woman. That had always been the easiest part of his life. He loved women. Old, young, skinny, plump, plain, beautiful. They were God’s gift to man, and he was thankful for the gifts.

  Marriage had taken that banquet of loveliness away from him, and replaced it with a stubborn, obstinate, stiff-necked lib
rarian. He sighed and moved to the side of the bed, running his fingers through his hair. Today when the workday was done, he’d lumber over to the small cottage where his wife was hold up like a martyr and coax her home. This enforced celibacy was wreaking havoc with his good-natured humor and the men were starting to comment on it.

  He ignored the ranch hands’ teasing as he gulped down his breakfast at the bunkhouse and headed to the stable. His brother, Jamie was working with another new horse, one of three that had just been brought in by the hands who caught the wild horses they used on the ranch. Good, strong, work horses, but they needed to be broken first.

  Caleb climbed through the fence and joined his brother. “She’s another feisty one.”

  “Yeah, watch your step, she’s spooked.” Jamie moved around the animal, attempting to soothe her, calm her down by talking softly. He threw a rope to Caleb. “Lasso her. I just want to get her into a stall so she can settle down."

  The horse pawed the ground and looked from side to side, shaking her large head. Caleb tossed the rope around her neck at the same time Jamie threw his. They both pulled, anchoring the animal to the spot. Panicked, the mare reared up, yanking on the ropes. Caleb dug his heels in, but the animal’s strength dragged him, causing him to stumble.

  He rolled to the side to avoid the horse as her hoofs came down, but not far enough away to prevent her front leg from crashing into his chest. The last thing he remembered was an exploding pain in his side, and then blessed darkness.

  Chapter Eight

  Lily had just returned from the privy when there was shouting outside the cottage and pounding on the door. She had to remove the chair she’d stuck under the doorknob to let in whoever was about to break the door down.