Kate:
Jakob came in the door on a rush of frigid
air, and paused to dust snow off his hat. "It's getting bad out
there. I had the boys go ahead and put hay out." He hung his hat
and coat by the door and came over to give Kate a kiss.
She turned into his arms and slid her hands up
to the back of his neck, glad to have him back in the house. "I
guess we'll have to find a way to stay occupied inside."
A low groan rumbled from his throat. "I can
think of plenty of things to keep you busy."
She smiled. "Good." One more quick kiss and
she turned back to the stove. "Now, get washed up. Dinner will be
ready in a few minutes."
When he left, she looked out the window over
the sink. The wind whipped snow along the ground and the sky looked
ready to open up in the third winter storm to hit the valley for
the season and it hadn't even really started yet. They'd had a good
year and were prepared, but many ranchers in the area were already
in trouble. Her heart ached for the animals who would suffer the
brunt of their owners' bad luck or laziness. That part of ranch
life never changed, though.
The oven timer dinged and Kate put the worry
out of mind and turned back to making dinner for her man. Before
Jakob, she barely learned to cook at all, but when he came into her
life, it suddenly became important to prepare food for him. The
almost obsessive need to cook, and do it well, surprised her at
first, but she figured maybe it was some instinct or genetic
memory. Didn't matter, the result was the same.
Part of her still refused to believe Jakob
really wanted her, but those doubts disappeared every night when
his touch carried her into orbit. Her life had taken a one-eighty
in just a few short months, and if she were strictly honest, she
still worried it was all just a dream. Girls like her, broken ones,
didn't win men like him. She'd accepted her life, alone, and
resigned herself to a future of horses and dogs.
After a couple of weeks of exploring what they
might have together, Jakob processed out of the Army when his leave
ended, and so far, seemed satisfied with life on the ranch with
her. He'd made several trips back to his uncle's farm to settle
things up, and moved all the livestock to her ranch. Her hands
immediately accepted him, including Ray, the overprotective
foreman. Recently, Jakob had even accepted several hunting jobs and
seemed to consider taking up his uncle's work.
Despite all that, the lack of permanency
concerned her. Early on, he mentioned the future in sort of vague
terms, but lately hadn't even hinted at long-term plans. Oh, he was
very clearly possessive of her, but she had no way of knowing how
long that might last before he packed up his horses and dogs and
hit the road. Kate shook her head and refused to worry about it at
the moment while she put the finishing touches on the
meal.
"What smells so good?" Jakob came back into
the kitchen wearing his ratty old sweats and no shirt. He stopped
close behind her and put his hands on her hips, drawing her back
against him to drop a kiss to the side of her neck.
Kate turned her head for a quick kiss. She'd
long since given up trying to get him to replace the sweats and
settled for clean. "You'll freeze without a shirt."
His heart-stopping grin pushed her objections
away. "You'll keep me warm. I have faith."
A laugh bubbled up. "You're too much
sometimes. Sit down and behave." She finished bringing everything
to the table and took her seat.
The meal passed like so many others, with talk
about the day just behind them, and the one ahead, and plenty of
lighthearted teasing. And still nothing about a long-term future.
They cleaned up together, as usual. Then Jakob went to make a
couple of phone calls while Kate bundled up for her nightly trip to
the barn.
It was a little earlier than usual, but not
even a blizzard could stop her from tucking the horses in for the
night. She couldn't sleep until she assured herself they were all
safe and as comfortable as possible.
Jakob came in the door on a rush of frigid
air, and paused to dust snow off his hat. "It's getting bad out
there. I had the boys go ahead and put hay out." He hung his hat
and coat by the door and came over to give Kate a kiss.
She turned into his arms and slid her hands up
to the back of his neck, glad to have him back in the house. "I
guess we'll have to find a way to stay occupied inside."
A low groan rumbled from his throat. "I can
think of plenty of things to keep you busy."
She smiled. "Good." One more quick kiss and
she turned back to the stove. "Now, get washed up. Dinner will be
ready in a few minutes."
When he left, she looked out the window over
the sink. The wind whipped snow along the ground and the sky looked
ready to open up in the third winter storm to hit the valley for
the season and it hadn't even really started yet. They'd had a good
year and were prepared, but many ranchers in the area were already
in trouble. Her heart ached for the animals who would suffer the
brunt of their owners' bad luck or laziness. That part of ranch
life never changed, though.
The oven timer dinged and Kate put the worry
out of mind and turned back to making dinner for her man. Before
Jakob, she barely learned to cook at all, but when he came into her
life, it suddenly became important to prepare food for him. The
almost obsessive need to cook, and do it well, surprised her at
first, but she figured maybe it was some instinct or genetic
memory. Didn't matter, the result was the same.
Part of her still refused to believe Jakob
really wanted her, but those doubts disappeared every night when
his touch carried her into orbit. Her life had taken a one-eighty
in just a few short months, and if she were strictly honest, she
still worried it was all just a dream. Girls like her, broken ones,
didn't win men like him. She'd accepted her life, alone, and
resigned herself to a future of horses and dogs.
After a couple of weeks of exploring what they
might have together, Jakob processed out of the Army when his leave
ended, and so far, seemed satisfied with life on the ranch with
her. He'd made several trips back to his uncle's farm to settle
things up, and moved all the livestock to her ranch. Her hands
immediately accepted him, including Ray, the overprotective
foreman. Recently, Jakob had even accepted several hunting jobs and
seemed to consider taking up his uncle's work.
Despite all that, the lack of permanency
concerned her. Early on, he mentioned the future in sort of vague
terms, but lately hadn't even hinted at long-term plans. Oh, he was
very clearly possessive of her, but she had no way of knowing how
long that might last before he packed up his horses and dogs and
hit the road. Kate shook her head and refused to worry about it at
the moment while she put the finishing touches on the
meal.
"What smells so good?" Jakob came back into
the kitchen wearing his ratty old sweats and no shirt. He stopped
close behind her and put his hands on her hips, drawing her back
against him to drop a kiss to the side of her neck.
Kate turned her head for a quick kiss. She'd
long since given up trying to get him to replace the sweats and
settled for clean. "You'll freeze without a shirt."
His heart-stopping grin pushed her objections
away. "You'll keep me warm. I have faith."
A laugh bubbled up. "You're too much
sometimes. Sit down and behave." She finished bringing everything
to the table and took her seat.
The meal passed like so many others, with talk
about the day just behind them, and the one ahead, and plenty of
lighthearted teasing. And still nothing about a long-term future.
They cleaned up together, as usual. Then Jakob went to make a
couple of phone calls while Kate bundled up for her nightly trip to
the barn.
It was a little earlier than usual, but not
even a blizzard could stop her from tucking the horses in for the
night. She couldn't sleep until she assured herself they were all
safe and as comfortable as possible.
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