Mail Order Misfit (Brides of Beckham) by Kirsten Osbourne Read Free Book Online

She refilled the pot and started the process again, knowing it would be faster this time, because the stove was already hot.
    "I'll carry in the rest of the things," he told her.  He couldn't think about her bathing in his kitchen.  He so badly wanted to stay there and watch her bathe, that he knew he needed to just get out.
    She had the tub full by the time he had everything they'd purchased scattered between the work table and the table.  "I'll probably just cook something simple for supper," she said.  "I'll be able to do a lot more tomorrow.  I'm not always this worthless."
    Colin shook his head.  "You're not worthless to me."  He walked out the door and unhitched the wagon, getting his favorite riding horse from the stall.  He needed to go mend some fences for a while so he wouldn't think about his beautiful wife getting naked in his kitchen.

Chapter Three
     
     
    By the time Colin was home for supper, she'd done up the dishes he had in the sink, put all the food away, and cooked pancakes with the bacon they'd purchased at the store.  She was pouring milk into two glasses when he walked in, her hair was still damp in the long braid she had it in that went all the way down her back.
    He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and took one of the chairs.  She put the pancakes and bacon on the table, along with fresh maple syrup, and sat across from him.  There was no butter to be found, so she knew she'd need to churn some the next day.  There was a lot of work to be done, but nothing she couldn't handle. 
    "Is there anything special you want me to do around the house before I do a deep cleaning and start sewing curtains and tablecloths?"
    He shook his head, watching her closely.  He could see she'd done a lot of cleaning, and she didn't look like she was any more tired or limping any worse than she had earlier in the day.  "Not a thing.  You've done a good job on the house."
    Elaine smiled.  "It was fun cleaning something that's mine."  She poured some syrup over her pancakes and handed the bottle to him.  He poured his own.  "Will you say our blessing for us?"
    He took her hand in his and quietly prayed over their food.  "You need to let me know if you want to cook anything special.  I can kill a deer or one of the pullets.  I don't mind hunting for you."   He liked the idea of seeing her in the kitchen cooking meat he'd killed with his own hands.  It made him feel like a good provider.
    She shook her head.  "Not just yet.  We have the salt pork we bought today, and there's plenty of bacon.  Between those things and the vegetables, we'll be set for a while."  She took a bite of her pancakes.  "How often do you usually butcher cattle?"
    He shrugged.  "I never have, but most ranchers tend to do one every fall and every spring.  I raise mine and sell them.  Now that I have a wife, I'll start butchering them on occasion as well.  It would be nice to have them to eat. They keep for a while in the cellar, and then we'll have to cure it.  I'll try to get meat all through the winter."  He was looking forward to eating more than beans through the winter, and he smiled at Elaine, thrilled that she would be there to share meals with him, good meals that he hadn't cooked.
    "I'd appreciate that.  I'm not the most creative cook, because I don't have a lot of experience, but I do like to experiment with food.  I think I should be able to cook just about anything you bring me."  She was confident in her abilities because of the hours she'd spent working with Mrs. Jenkins in the kitchen while her mother had been out of the house.
    "I'll enjoy testing you on that."  He grinned.  "Come sprin g, we'll put in a kitchen garden so we won't have to buy everything from the mercantile."  He could just picture them working together to put in a garden.  He loved the idea of working together on just about anything, especially making babies.
    She smiled.  "I'd like that a lot.  My mother was always worried