Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
And what was even worse was…
As every minute passed, I realized I didn’t truly hate it, or them, for doing so.
Kit would think we were all crazy.
And we were.
“We need to get to town,” Banks spoke up. “We have a shipment of supplies coming, and we promised to meet with some of the men anxious to meet the new generation of Barretts.”
“I thought you wanted breakfast?” I called out after him as he made his way to the door, making sure my words were as sweet as could be, and not able to keep a small smile from curling my lips when he just growled.
Growl away. I’d seen his eyes and the crotch of his pants before he’d stepped away from me. Who knew I could get under his skin so easily?
“Banks is right,” Rye cut in. “We don’t want to keep them waiting. We can eat there, I’m sure.”
“Will you be all right while we are gone?” Jay asked Kit.
Kit smiled and nodded. “Yes. I have Goldie, now. She’ll keep me company.”
Yes, she had me now.
They had me now.
What that all meant, I still wasn’t sure.
10
Goldie
“Is everything okay?”
I turned away from the door to see Kit looking concerned. “Yes, everything is fine. Banks said you were getting eggs?”
Her smile lit her whole face. “Yes. The chickens are so cute, and it was such fun even though a few of them pecked me. But that didn’t keep me from gathering the eggs.” She held up a wire basket where I could see several eggs, though they weren’t the white ones I was used to. Instead, they ranged in color from bluish to a darker tan.
“That’s pretty amazing.”
“I know! This is all so exciting. We don’t even have to go to the grocery store. We actually get to cook what we gather!”
Good thing, as it seems we’re grounded, I thought, bending to pick up the pin, tucking it into my pocket as I looked around the kitchen with a sense of fear and intimidation. She actually expected me to cook, but without modern-day tools, I wasn’t sure where to begin.
I knew the first order of business was to get the stove fired up. Grabbing some small pieces of wood from a basket on the floor, I laid them into the firebox. I made sure to open both the draft and damper wide before striking the match. It shouldn’t be that hard to light a simple cookstove fire.
Hearing the growing crackle from inside, I sighed in relief, giving Kit a grin, happy I’d managed to accomplish my first task. That done, it was definitely time for coffee. I pumped water into the pot and was about to dump the beans in when Kit spoke.
“There’s a mill.”
“A what?” I asked.
She smiled and after putting down the egg basket, went to a wooden box on the counter. “You pour the beans in the top and turn the handle. Then you open the drawer and you have freshly ground coffee.”
Between the two of us, we took turns grinding the beans and within a few minutes, the heavenly scent of coffee filled the kitchen. While it perked, I opened the refrigerator to see what choices I had. I pulled out a large ham. It would be perfect with eggs, and while I was at it, I’d make some griddle cakes, too.
“How do you like your eggs?” I asked, holding up two different ones. “Brown or blue?”
“Let’s live dangerously and cook both,” Kit suggested.
Her smile and easy giggle warmed me through and through. It was hard to be anything but happy in the presence of this young woman. Again, I couldn’t help but wonder how she could be so different from her brothers.
A large crackle and pop pulled my attention back to the stove. The fire! From the noises coming from the stove, and the flames shooting out from around the door as well as pushing up around the burners, it looked like I had created a full-blown inferno. Without thinking, I grabbed the coffee pot and tossed its contents onto the fire to extinguish the flames. Most of the fire went out, but the kitchen soon filled with smoke. Coughing and choking on the pungent vapors, I fiddled with the damper some more to try to maintain the fire while eliminating the smoke.
My adjustment seemed to work after a few moments. Wiping the tears from my burning eyes, I turned to Kit. “Open up the door and let some air in.”
Kit looked at me like a frightened doe. She quickly followed the command and ran to offer her assistance.
I felt awful at being the cause of her fear. Grabbing a dishtowel, I began to wave the smoke out past the open door. Coughing again, I said, “Well, we’re off to a fine start, aren’t we?”
Now that the danger had passed and the air was clearing, she gave me a shaky smile. “My brothers said it will take some time to learn, but together, everything will be all right.”