Rearranging the coals, she placed the spider skillet over them and waited for the pork to sizzle. As soon as she heard the pop of the grease, she cracked an egg into the pan. It didn’t take long for her mouth to start to water as the aromas filled the room.
Ivy took a plate and placed several slices of cheese on it before returning the rest to the box outside. She would finish the milk that was left over from making the biscuits, but she didn’t want to take any more as she didn’t know how long she would be stuck at the cabin.
Once she was done with her dinner, she quickly wiped out the pans and put the dishes aside to wash in the morning once she figured out how to do that.
She was warm, she was fed and for the moment she was safe. She rested in the chair watching the flames flicker and fell asleep dreaming of a dark-haired man that rescued her from danger.
Chapter 6
December 7, 1880
He still hadn’t woken up.
It had been four days and Holly was about to go out of her mind. The only activity she had was going to the barn, bringing wood inside and clearing the snow off the porch. It had started snowing heavily after they arrived at the cabin, and by now the snow was up to her knees.
There wasn’t much in the house in the way of food or anything else. So, she started to clean. It gave her something else to do between checking on her patient. The cabin was small, so it didn’t take any time to pick it up and sweep the floors.
She gathered up the clothes she found scattered around and placed them in a basket next to the fireplace. Several shirts needed to be mended, so she placed those on top along with the sewing kit she used to close Seb’s shoulder.
Grabbing the sewing kit, she plopped in the chair in front of the fire and put the first shirt on her lap. It took a moment to thread the needle, but then she was ready to work. The needle made a whooshing sound as it worked through the cloth. As she continued to sew, she thought about the man who wore the shirt.
She imagined he must be extremely handsome beneath that facial hair. She had a soft spot for men with beards. There was a smattering of silver starting to show and Ivy thought it gave him a distinguished look.
She was extremely grateful he found her. She shuddered to think what might have happened if he didn’t. Those men in the cave didn’t look like they would listen to the boss man’s demand not to touch her. She had never been kissed and the thought of one of those men attempting to kiss her chilled her to the bone.
It wasn’t that there weren’t opportunities. She had a few opportunities in New York and there were plenty of suitors that called on her in San Francisco, but none of them made her feel anything that would lead to a kiss.
The shirt was complete. She snipped the thread and tied the end off. She then picked up another shirt and started the process over again.
She wasn’t prudish. She thought about kissing. She thought about it quite a lot. She just felt that kissing was reserved for when you were married. She wanted her first kiss to be on her wedding day.
She wondered what kissing Seb would be like? In the short time she had been with him his face wore a scowl. She could see that through the mustache and beard his lips looked harsh and uninviting. Even in his sleep when she would check on him, he didn’t quite look relaxed.
She sighed and looked at her watch. Three hours just flew by. She didn’t realize it was getting so late. She was concerned that he hadn’t woken up. He moaned and moved, so she knew he was still alive. His wound wasn’t festering, so she kept it covered and changed the bandage daily. Other than that, she wasn’t sure what to do.
It was about time to feed the horse and collect the eggs. She put the mending back in the basket and grabbed a coat she had found, shrugging it around her shoulders before heading to the barn to gather the eggs.
The air was frigid and filled her lungs rapidly as she trudged to the barn. Once she arrived, she quickly fed and watered the animals. She gathered the few eggs and began the long trek back to the house.
She had just returned from the barn and was placing the eggs in a bowl on the table when she heard him stir. She removed the coat, hanging it back on the peg and went to the doorway.
She peeked inside the room where he was still laying under the covers. Seb moved and groaned as he stretched his bad arm.
She returned to a kettle of water she had hanging over the fire, pouring a bit of it into a bowl and dropped in a rag.
She sat down next to the bed and placed the bowl of water on the table next to the bed. Seb rolled towards her and opened one eye. It was almost black with a gold ring around the iris. He looked at her for a moment before closing his eye and rolling to his back.
Without opening his eyes, he tried to push himself up into a sitting position. He winced as he put pressure on his injured arm. Finally, he gave up and laid back into the pillows.
Ivy leaned over and felt his forehead. He wasn’t running a fever, that was good. He gave a little jump when she touched his forehead.
Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes were hard and seemed bottomless as he stared at her. He swallowed once, and his voice croaked as he asked her, “Who are you and what are you doing in my cabin?”
☐☐☐
The angel in front of him blinked rapidly. He recalled her taking care of him while he was unconscious. He couldn’t recall why she was there, and it bothered him.
“How long was I out?” he asked when she didn’t respond.
“Four days total. You got shot when you were rescuing me.”
“That’s right. Clyde Thorpe and his gang were holed up in the canyon.” He looked at the ceiling again. “Ivy Noelle Holiday? The girl with a mouthful for a name.”
Ivy smiled. “That’s me. Now, don’t do too much. You don’t want to tear your stitches. Everything is healing nicely. It was so cold there was no chance of infection.”
“You cleaned it, didn’t you?”
“Every day.”
“I remember. It was like a dream.” He closed his eyes again.
He heard the sound of water sloshing then felt a warm rag being placed against his skin. She gently wiped his face and neck before returning the rag to the bowl.
“Let me take a quick look at your wound. I want to make sure it isn’t weeping.”
Seb pulled the covers back and she started to untie the bandage that was wrapped around his shoulder. He hissed slightly when she lifted his arm to pull the wrapping off.
“I’m sorry,” Ivy said, placing his arm back down.
“It is just sore.”
“I imagine it will be for a while.” She placed the wet rag against his puckered skin and patted around the wound. She rinsed the cloth and washed the wound again.
It gave Seb an opportunity to really look at her. She had blonde hair, the color of wheat just before harvest. It looked like spun gold. She didn’t have it in a chignon as before and it fell into waves around her shoulders.
Her blue eyes were half-closed in concentration and she was biting her lower lip. She’d release that lip and then bite it again. Seb suppressed a groan. Her lip was swollen and inviting, and it took everything for him not to reach up and pull her down to taste those lips.
“Did I hurt you?” she asked, concern etched across her face.
“No. Why?”
“You sound like a wounded animal.”
So much for suppressing that groan.
“I’m okay.” He took her hand and removed it from where it was branding his skin. “I think you need to get out of here, so I can get dressed.” He flipped the cover to the side.
“You really should stay in bed,” she responded, flipping the cover back into position.
“No. I really need to get up.”
“What is so important that you need to get out of bed?”
“If I don’t get up right now you are going to be changing more than just bandages.”
Ivy’s mouth turned into an O, and he watched her quickly run from the room.
☐☐☐
“Can I get a cup of coffee?”
Seb walked slowly to the table and sat down. Once he was seated, he watched Ivy grab the coffee pot from the fire and take a cup from a hook below the mantle. “Here you go,” she said, placing the cup in front of him and filling it to the rim.
He took a sip of the hot brew. “Thank you.” Looking around the room, he noticed it was significantly cleaner from when they first arrived at the cabin.
He wasn’t a slob by any means, it was just Lacey took care of the cooking and cleaning. Honestly, he never learned to clean so he determined that feeding himself was more important than worrying about a clean house. “The place looks nice. I appreciate you cleaning it up.”
“It kept me from going out of my mind. Let me make you something to eat. Since you’ve not had anything for a few days, how about some soft eggs and toast?”
“We have bread?” Seb perked up at the thought.
“I made a loaf yesterday. Again, I needed something to do.”
“What else did you do?”
“You know – laid around, read a book, ate you out of house and home.” She laughed. “I found enough stuff to occupy myself with.” She pointed to the shirts folded in the basket. “I mended your shirts. It looks like most of them were torn in the same location.”
Seb looked surprised. “I catch them on the same trap when I go to the creek. You would think I’d learn by now. Thank you for fixing them, you didn’t have to do that.”
Ivy took three eggs from the bowl on the table and placed them in her skirt pocket. She then hunkered by the fire and moved some coals to the side to set the three-legged pan on top of them.
“It was my pleasure. I didn’t wash anything as I wasn’t sure where the washboard was, or where I’d hang up the clothes. Do you think we can head to town soon? I need to get a message to my father and I would really like to wear something other than these clothes.”
Seb noticed she was in the same outfit as when he rescued her. She leaned over and whispered, “I honestly think they are starting to smell.” She gave a light laugh and went to refill her coffee.
A floral scent invaded his senses when she leaned over. If that was her after a few days, he couldn’t image what she would be like right out of a bath.
Stop it, Seb, he chided himself. You haven’t had any thoughts of a woman since… Lacey.
“It is rather late today, so tomorrow would be better. That will give me one more chance to rest, and then we don’t risk being caught in the forest after nightfall.” Ivy nodded, but she looked disappointed just the same. “It is only one more night,” he said.
He quickly drained his coffee and turned to get a fresh cup when she placed a plate with scrambled eggs in front of him and a slice of brown toast next to it.
“I don’t know if you have butter. I didn’t see any in the cool box on the porch, but I did find a jar of jam in the sideboard.”
“That would be great,” he said taking a bite of the fluffy eggs. He gave a little moan and shoveled another forkful into his mouth. “These are the best eggs I’ve ever had.”
“Then you must not have had very good eggs in the past,” Ivy laughed. She returned with a jar of jam and slathered a piece of plain bread before biting into it. “Oh my,” she said. “This jam is either really wonderful, or I am really starving.”
“My Aunt Peggy makes it. I sneak a jar every now and then when I go to town. She also gives me milk from her cow and occasionally some homemade cheese.”
Seb finished up his eggs and pushed his plate aside. He watched Ivy finish up her bread and jam and start licking her fingers. He took a deep swallow as her tongue slipped out to lick the sticky digits.
He quickly turned away, so she didn’t see the look in his eyes. He hadn’t reacted to anyone since Lacey’s passing. Perhaps David was right that he needed to start living again.
He cleared his throat and stood. “I need to clear a path to the barn and check on Joker, and I’m sure that the animals need to be fed.”
“I already took care of them.” She was rinsing the plates in a bucket of water near the door. “I brushed down Joker the day we came here, but I haven’t done anything else since. I fed the chickens and collected the eggs.”
Seb was amazed. “How did you know how to take care of them, Miss Holiday from New York?
Ivy gave him a little smile that went straight to his heart. “I’m a teacher. I can read.”
Seb raised one eyebrow. “All of that from a book?”
Ivy shook her skirt. “Well,” she said coyly, “I actually did a visit to the livery with my class and I remembered bits and pieces. I kept your animals alive, so I guess that is all that matters.”
Chapter 7
Ivy was a little disappointed that he wanted to wait another day before heading to town, but she understood.
To make up for the disappointment, after their early dinner of eggs and toast, he brought in several buckets of water from a pump near the house and placed them in pots around the fireplace. He then dragged in a tub and placed that in front of the fireplace.
“Since you mentioned you were concerned you were less than fragrant, which you are not, I thought you might like a bath. Not as fancy as some, but it does in a pinch.”
Ivy squealed in delight and threw her arms around him. “Thank you so much.”
He stiffened when she embraced him, and Ivy felt immediately contrite. She shouldn’t have been so forward, but she was so excited about the prospect of being clean.”
“Let me get you a towel and some dry clothes. You can wear a pair of my buckskins if you want to wash your clothes. They should be dry by morning.”
Ivy nodded, and he disappeared back into his bedroom, returning shortly with a clean towel, bar of soap and a pair of brown fringe pants with a matching top.
It took a few moments, but the water was soon warm, and Ivy poured it into the tub. Once all the water was in, she felt the temperature. Perfect.
“I’ll head out to the barn to check on Joker, so that should give you enough time.”
He took the coat from the peg and headed out the door. As soon as the door clicked, Ivy quickly removed her gown and undergarments, folding them in a pile. She scrambled into the tub, relishing the feel of the warm water. The tub was small, but it was big enough for her to sit in.
She quickly washed herself and then washed her hair. It took a little maneuvering to get her hair wet and rinsed, but she managed the task.
Once she was finished, she quickly dried off and put on the outfit Seb gave her. She had never worn pants before. There was a tie around the waist that prevented the pants from slipping down. The top was dry, warm and a few sizes too large. But it covered her, and she was happy about that.
Seb hadn’t arrived back so she decided to quickly wash her dress and underthings in the bath water. She hung them on the back of the wooden chairs to dry.
Finally, she emptied the tub by scooping the water out with a bucket and tossing it off the porch into the snow.
Not sure what else to do, she sat at the table and waited for Seb to return.
☐☐☐
Seb rushed into the house, the door closing behind him as it got caught in a gust of wind. He took off his coat and hung it on the peg by the door.
He sat down at the table across from Ivy.
“Are you alright,” she asked, concern etched on her face.
Seb shook his head. He could feel the sweat dotting his forehead. “I was moving something in the barn and used my bad arm.” He had lifted a piece of equipment without thinking and when he did, stars appeared behind his eyes. He honestly thought he was going to pass out.
He stayed in the barn, willing the pain away until he couldn’t stand it any longer and he returned to the house.
Ivy immediately ran over to him. “Let me look and see if you injured it.”
He reluctantly allowed her to peel the shirt from his shoulder. A slight hiss reach
ed her ears as she lifted the bandage.
“You’ve managed to open the wound. I need to clean it out.” Seb watched her walk to the cupboard and take out the bottle of liquor she used when she stitched him. “Do you have anything I can use for fresh bandages?”
“There should be a sheet in the cupboard in the bedroom. You can use that.” Ivy nodded and ran to grab the sheet. When she returned, she cleaned the wound and wrapped his shoulder in strips she tore from the linen.
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