by Marla Monroe
“Who was it? What did they want?”
Jeremy filled her in as she finished up cooking dinner, and then sat down to eat.
“That’s horrible about the women being attacked.” Rachael shivered at the thought.
* * * *
“There have been more wolves than usual.” Micah looked out toward the back door. “We’ve seen them in the woods.”
“True. Are you thinking that they may eventually start attacking our cattle?”
“It’s a possibility we better be ready for. With winter coming up, they’re going to be hungry.”
“You’re scaring me, Micah.” Rachael frowned at him.
“You need to be more aware of what’s around you when you’re outside, Rachael.”
“Do you think she should keep on taking care of the chickens and the cow?” Jeremy asked.
“Unless we see them more frequently or they show up outside the woods, I think she’s safe enough. We’ll pay closer attention while we’re out tending to the cattle.”
“You don’t see any reason to help them hunt.” Jeremy made it a statement.
“Not right now. I don’t want to deal with people we don’t know, and I’m not comfortable leaving Rachael with them while we go chasing after wolves we aren’t even sure are a definite problem.”
Rachael wished Micah didn’t feel that way about the other people. She wanted to see the other women and see if any of them were her friends. She missed them and worried that something might have happened to them.
They finished up dinner, and she cleared the table while Jeremy and Micah returned to the living room to talk. She could hear snippets of the conversation but not enough to know exactly what they were talking about. She heard her name occasionally, and it irked her that they talked about her when she wasn’t around to defend herself if need be.
Finally she finished the dishes and put on the coffee to boil. Once it was finished, she carried two cups out to the men. They looked up and smiled. Well, Jeremy did. Micah only looked at her and nodded when she handed him his. There were times when he was so much more open to her. Now wasn’t one of those times, but she could tell by the furrow in his brow that he was worried. She figured it had to do with the wolves and the strangers.
Since it got dark so much earlier now, they usually went to bed early each night. Tonight, the men opted to stay up and talk. She didn’t bother questioning them. It was obvious they were still discussing the wolves and protecting the cattle by the way the conversation had gone while she’d sat with them.
“I’m going on to bed. Don’t stay up too late, guys,” she teased.
Jeremy crooked his finger for her to go over to him. She grinned and walked up to give him a kiss. He surprised her by pulling her across the arm of the chair into his lap. She giggled until he kissed her like he had other intentions for later. She smiled and wiggled her ass against his already-engorged cock.
Then he was pushing her back out of the chair with a swat to her butt. She pouted at him and walked over to kiss Micah. She knew better than to expect the same treatment. He kissed her back, much to her surprise, but nothing more.
She climbed the stairs thinking about his kiss and started her bathwater. What was she to make about his wishy-washy treatment? She stayed perpetually confused around him. It bothered her, but it was just Micah. If only she wasn’t falling in love with him. It was going to be hard to need his love when she knew he wouldn’t return it.
Rachael finished up her bath and dried off. She climbed into bed and, despite wanting to be awake when they came to bed, fell asleep thinking about Micah and loving him despite her best intentions not to.
Chapter Seven
Early the next morning, Micah descended the stairs to find coffee on the stove, but Rachael wasn’t in the kitchen cooking. He checked the door, and sure enough it was unlocked. She was out tending to the chickens and milking the cow. The conversations from the night before weighed heavily on his mind. Should they be letting her outside alone now?
He pulled on his coat and hat before going outside to check on her. He found her in the barn talking to the cow she called Maggie Mae, tugging on teats to fill the can with milk. She looked up when he opened the barn door then closed it behind him.
“Good morning, Micah. Did you need something?”
“Do I have to need something to come see about you?”
“No, but you usually do.”
“I do?” He hadn’t realized that. It bothered him for some reason.
“I just came out to see if you needed any help with anything.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got it. I’ve already handled the chickens. They weren’t too spry about coming out in the cooler weather.” Rachael smiled but looked a little confused.
“I’ll take them back for you so you don’t have your hands full. Remember to be careful, Rachael.”
“I will. I’m watching the woods for the wolves. I’ll tell you if I see any.”
“Good girl.” He watched her for a few more minutes then let out a breath and turned toward the door.
He walked outside and closed the door securely behind him to keep the cooler air out. When he returned to the house, he set the basket of eggs on the cabinet and poured up some coffee. He sat down at the kitchen table and sipped at the coffee. A few minutes later, Jeremy walked in looking bleary eyed. They’d stayed up till after midnight talking. When they’d gone upstairs, Rachael had been sound asleep, not even waking when they climbed into bed with her.
It still amazed him how she could slip out of bed without waking either one of them. He realized he didn’t like it. She could get into trouble while they were still in bed asleep. Maybe he needed to make her wake one of them before she went outside. He had a feeling he knew how that suggestion would go over.
“Morning, Micah. Is Rachael still outside?” He frowned.
“Yeah, I just checked on her and brought the eggs in for her.”
Jeremy looked at him oddly and then nodded. He poured up some coffee and sat down across from him.
“I’ll take the horse and ride out to look for stragglers like we talked about. I might see a deer. Want me to bring one home for meat?”
“Let’s wait till it freezes first so we can store the meat longer. I doubt the cold box is all that cold yet.” Micah sipped his coffee.
“Still think we’re going to get some snow soon?”
“Yeah, I figure in a few days. Clouds are already moving in this morning.”
“Micah, I really don’t like Rachael going out at dawn by herself. I mean, one of us should at least be awake when she leaves the house.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing. Why don’t you talk to her about it? She’ll take it better coming from you. She’ll probably just think I’m being bossy.”
“She doesn’t see you that way, Micah. Even if she did a little, what do you expect? You’re so gruff with her.”
Micah drew up straighter in the chair. He started to tell Jeremy that he didn’t know what he was talking about when the door opened and Rachael walked back in carrying the pail of milk. Jeremy jumped up to relieve her of it.
“Maggie Mae was full this morning. I may try my hand at making some butter after I make some bread.”
“Butter would be good for a change,” Jeremy said with a grin.
Micah watched as Jeremy kissed her good morning. He probably should do that sometimes. The idea of it didn’t seem to bother him too much, to his surprise. He found that a lot of things he thought would bother him about her no longer did. He even found himself wanting to touch her more often. He knew he cared about her. He thought it was because Jeremy was probably already in love with her. The other man was happy as could be.
“Micah? Did you hear me?” Rachael’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He frowned.
“Sorry, no. I was thinking.”
“I said do you want steak and eggs or just eggs and toast?”
“Better make it steak and eggs this morning.
We’re going to be outside all day dealing with the cattle.”
“You’ll be in for lunch, won’t you?”
“I doubt it, Rachael.” Jeremy, standing next to her, sipped his coffee.
“I’m going to be worried about you if I don’t see you until tonight.”
“We’ll be fine, Rachael,” Micah assured her.
“Still.” She turned and started on breakfast.
Micah could tell she was a little miffed by the way she banged the pans around on the stove. He couldn’t help but grin. It was so like a woman to fret about things and take it out on the pots and pans. He sobered. At least she wasn’t throwing them.
He caught Jeremy’s grin and winked at him before he thought about it. Jeremy lifted his eyebrows then shook his head still smiling.
They finished breakfast and hurried out the door to get to work. Micah was going to be checking the cattle for wounds and to make sure they were healthy-looking for the winter. He’d also check the fences for any hint of a weak spot.
He thought about Rachael off and on throughout the day. He couldn’t decipher his feelings for the woman. It bothered him. Around noontime, Micah was checking fences and happened to look up. There at the edge of the woods stood four wolves. They were obviously watching him. Fuck! He hadn’t been paying attention. He’d fussed and fussed at Jeremy to be on alert, and here he was daydreaming and letting the wolves slip up on him.
He grew still and just watched them watch him. They paced back and forth at the tree line. Two of them weaved in and out of the trees, while two of them walked outside of them. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there watching them, but after a while, they turned and melted into the gloom of the woods.
Micah let out a breath and continued checking fences, but he paid closer attention to the area around him now. Getting caught not paying attention had sobered him some. Thank God it hadn’t turned into a fight. With four of them, he wouldn’t have stood a chance even with his rifle, which had been nearly five feet away from him at the time. He kept it closer to him from then on out. He didn’t fancy becoming a meal for the wolves. A stray thought entered his mind. Would Rachael have mourned him as much as she would have mourned Jeremy?
* * * *
Rachael worried all day about the men. She never heard the report of a rifle, so she hoped they hadn’t had any trouble. She concentrated on churning the butter hoping it would come out okay. The bread was rising on the stove waiting to be put in to cook.
The wind had picked up some, blowing clouds from the north. She remembered that Micah said it would snow soon. She hoped it wouldn’t start while they were outside. They weren’t really dressed for that. They had started a fire before they left, so she took a few minutes out to add a log so it wouldn’t go out. Surely they would be back before dark.
She stuck the bread in the oven and turned the stew on she’d made earlier so it would get warm. Maybe they would be in soon. Then she returned to churning the butter. She thought it was coming along well. Maybe her first batch wouldn’t be the best, but it should get her feet wet. She was following a recipe out of an old country-life magazine she’d found.
Forty-five minutes later, she pulled the bread from the oven and turned off the stew. It would need more water added before long if she kept it going. It wouldn’t be long until the sun began to go down. She was beginning to worry in earnest now.
She put the finishing touches on the butter and tasted it. It wasn’t half bad. It didn’t look very pretty, but that shouldn’t matter too much. She would put it in the cold box once the men got there. For the time being, she left a small amount out for their meal and carried the rest of it down to the cellar to keep it as cool as possible. The kitchen had warmed up with the oven on.
Just when she began to fret, she heard the men stomping their boots off at the back door. Relief poured over her. They walked in and began taking their coats and hats off.
“Something sure smells good.” Jeremy walked over to the stove and lifted the lid off the stew to take a sniff.
“Go wash up. It’s ready to put on the table. I even have butter for the bread!” She smiled, proud of her accomplishment.
“Come on, Jeremy, let’s not let it get cold.” Micah led the way to the stairs.
Rachael smiled. Micah seemed eager to eat as well. She was glad. The stew was really good, and she knew the fresh-baked bread would be good with the butter spread over it.
As they sat down to eat a little while later, the men went through their first bowl of stew in no time. They slowed down on the second bowl.
“The butter is really good, baby. You had to have worked hard at making it.” Jeremy spread more butter on his bread.
“It was actually fun this first time, but I can see it becoming a chore soon enough.”
Jeremy chuckled. She looked over at Micah, and there was a little smile just at the corner of his mouth. It pleased her to see him smile even that much. She smiled back at him, and he didn’t even scowl at her for doing it. Maybe he was coming around like Jeremy kept saying he would. She hoped so. It sucked to love someone when they didn’t love you back.
“Rachael, Micah saw four wolves while he was out. They were very interested in him. I think maybe you should wake one of us up to watch out while you’re doing your morning chores. That’s a lot of wolves in one place.”
“I’m careful, Jeremy. If I see wolves, I’ll just go back in the house or stay in the barn until one of you comes to get me.”
“I had rather you let us go with you, Rachael. I’m scared that they are getting dangerous like those men were talking about. We haven’t seen more than one or two, and rarely at that. We’re going to be keeping a closer watch over the cattle now as well. Makes sense that we would keep a closer watch over you.”
She sighed. “I just hate waking you two up so early when you could be sleeping a little longer. You work so hard.”
“You work just as hard, Rachael. We’ll take turns getting up so that one of us gets that sleep.” Micah’s praise was surprising to her.
“Okay.” She sighed. It still didn’t sit well with her, praise or no praise.
She finished eating and began to clear away the dishes to wash. Her arms were heavy with fatigue, and she almost dropped the pot when she took it off the stove.
“Easy, there.” Micah grabbed it from her hands. “Maybe you need to rest and let us deal with the dishes tonight. You’re probably worn-out from making the butter.”
“I can do them. I just wasn’t paying attention when I lifted the pot.”
“No, we’ll do them, baby.” Jeremy shooed her into the living room. “You go relax in front of the fire.”
“I need to put the butter out in the cold box first.”She headed toward the pantry where the cellar door was located.
“We’ll do that. Go sit down.” Micah’s voice held no room for argument.
Rachael sighed and walked into the other room to curl up on the couch. Her arms were weak feeling. She needed to work them more, so she wouldn’t get weak every time she made butter. No doubt dealing with a new garden next spring would condition her better. Keeping it free of weeds would be hard work.
Twenty minutes later, the men walked in the room talking about the possibility of snow as soon as the next day.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Micah was saying. “The clouds have built up quite a bit.”
“Does that mean more work for you?” she asked.
“We’ll have to shovel a path to the barn, chicken coop, and the cattle to keep the ice on the water broken up for the cattle to be able to drink.” Jeremy sat on the couch next to her and drew her feet into his lap.
Micah sat in his recliner, but he didn’t lay it back. Instead he leaned forward as if listening to Jeremy.
“Well, I’m ready for bed. I’ll see you guys when you come upstairs.” She rubbed her foot along Jeremy’s crotch before pulling them out of his lap.
She was pleased to see his eyes darken. Maybe he woul
d get up there before she fell asleep. She climbed the stairs smiling with that thought in her mind. She couldn’t seem to get enough of them. They satisfied her completely in bed. They made sure that she always came before they did. She couldn’t ask for more on the sexual side. All she wanted was for Micah to fall in love with her. She knew Jeremy loved her. He hadn’t said it yet, but she could see it in his eyes and feel it in his touch. He’d get around to saying it eventually. She had all the time in the world to wait.
Rachael had just finished drying off when the door opened and Micah walked in totally nude. She smiled at him before leaving her towel in the laundry basket.
“Sorry. I should have checked the bed to see if you were in it yet.”
“It’s okay, Micah. I’m through in here and about to head to bed. Do you want me to wash your back for you?”
“Um, no. Thanks, but I can get it.”
She truly doubted that, but she’d succeeded in making him a bit uncomfortable. It felt good to take him off balance a little bit. It would make him think about her. If he was thinking about her, he would eventually grow to wanting to be around her. At least that was her theory.
“What are you grinning about, baby?” Jeremy was busy taking off his clothes.
“Nothing really. I’m going to get in bed. One of you better hurry up and warm me up. It’s cold in here.”
“I’m going to go down the hall and take my shower. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He popped her on the ass as she climbed into bed.
The bed was as cold as the room had been. She couldn’t stop shivering. When Micah walked out of the bathroom she willed him to hurry and get in the bed. His body would still be warm from the shower.
He sat on the edge of the bed and doused the light before getting under the covers. Rachael latched on to him plastering her cold body against him.
“Fuck, you’re cold! Get away from me.” He acted as if he were trying to push her away.
“Please, Micah. I’m freezing over here. Let me sleep next to you.”
