by Sarah Banks
She saw Alex shoot his brother a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. She would need a coat soon, that much was certain. If her thin jacket wasn’t enough protection for a cool fall day, then it certainly wouldn’t stand a chance in the upcoming winter.
Becca had liked what she had seen of Sweet Creek so far. It was smaller than she had thought it would be but it looked as if it was in the middle of a growth spurt of sorts. There were several buildings under construction and Alex told her the train coming to Sweet Creek was fairly recent.
Several miles had slowly passed and they still hadn’t arrived at Alex’s homestead. He lived quite a way outside of town. She hoped she didn’t go stir-crazy living so far from civilization. She honestly didn’t know if she would or not, it was so different than where she had grown up. Casey finally piped up and said what Becca was thinking.
“You sure do live out in the middle of nowhere,” Casey said candidly.
“Yup,” Alex answered. “I imagine it’s about as different as you can get from where you two come from.”
Casey nodded. “But I really like it so far.”
Becca smiled and silently agreed. The landscape was truly beautiful. Never in her life had she imagined a place so lovely.
After quite some time, they finally turned into their driveway which Becca almost thought was another road it was so long until a small house came into view at the end. Her eyes widened.
She hadn’t quite known what to expect. The house, or cabin really, was small and incomplete. She knew Alex had only been here for a short time but the dwelling didn’t look new. It must’ve been built before he moved here she realized. She wondered who lived her before and why it was left unfinished.
The barn on the other hand was several times bigger than the house and looked to be in better shape as well. Beyond the barn lay fields, some empty and others full of tall grass. Trees, mountains and even a glittering creek lie in the distance. It was remote, but beautiful. She wished the house was a bit bigger and perhaps closer to town but no matter. She bit her lip and wondered what the inside looked like.
Alex helped her down from the wagon first and then Casey. He grabbed both of their bags and turned to his brother.
“Put the wagon and horses back in the barn,” Alex instructed him. “And check on Thunder, will you?”
“Yes boss,” Billy saluted, jumping up front. He deftly released the brake and slapped the reins. As Billy rolled away Alex stepped onto the small porch and opened the door, stepping aside so that the women could enter first. She was about to see the inside of her new home.
Chapter Nine
Becca’s first thought was she guessed they didn’t need to lock doors around here as she stepped past her husband. Inside, the cabin was dark so she stopped just a few feet inside.
“Holy moly,” Casey mumbled before lightly bumping into the back of Becca.
Alex stepped past them and further into the darkened cabin. She could barely see the outline of him as he knelt on the floor. She heard some rustling and scratching. In moments, he had rekindled the fire in the hearth and the room slowly lightened, bare walls and some old, mismatched furniture coming into view. There really wasn’t much furniture but neither was there space for much more.
The downstairs was just one large room. There was a big hearth, thankfully, as Becca burrowed deeper into Billy’s thick jacket. A hearth of that size should have no problem heating up this small space. In front of the hearth was a worn sofa with a ratty rug at its feet. There was a table with three chairs behind the sofa and a small kitchen area tucked in one corner. The kitchen was very basic, with only a second, narrower table to prepare meals shoved against the wall, with shelves both above and below. There was also a sink with a water pump and a small cookstove. Along another wall were a steep set of stairs.
“Where do the stairs go?” Casey asked, her neck craning.
“I sleep upstairs,” Alex responded.
Becca didn’t know why but she blushed.
“Billy too?” Casey asked.
“No, he sleeps out in the barn.”
“Doesn’t it get too cold out there?” Becca asked this time, concern etched on her face.
Alex shrugged. “Eventually. When it does, he comes inside and sleeps on the sofa in front of the fireplace. That’s where you’ll sleep for now Casey seeing as we don’t have another bed and you certainly can’t sleep out in the barn with Billy.”
They didn’t go upstairs, for now. Instead, he left their bags at the bottom of the stairs and Alex showed them the rest of the property – the smokehouse, the cellar, the privy, to the edge of the fields, in and around the barn and all of the animals. It was wonderful.
Alex had a fair number of animals for only having been settled here for a year and having little means. He had horses, cows, pigs, hens and a rooster. It was a comforting feeling because even though her husband didn’t have much money, Becca knew that she wouldn’t starve and frankly there had been many times they went to bed hungry at the orphanage over the years.
Back outside the barn, she met Alex’s eyes and smiled. Alex had showed off his homestead with pride. She could easily see herself settling in nicely here. “It’s wonderful, truly,” she said. He returned her smile and she could see the relief in his eyes. Had he been worried whether she would like it or turn tail and run?
“I guess we better go see about supper,” she said. “Any requests?”
“Steak!” Billy said enthusiastically. “We got a deer, just yesterday.”
“Billy,” Alex said wearily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“What? She asked.”
Becca laughed. “It’s alright. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to cook steak before but I’ll see what I can do. Here,” she said, taking off Billy’s jacket and handing it back to him. “It’ll be plenty warm inside now. Thank you again for lending it to me.”
Becca gently tugged on Casey’s arm. “Come on Case,” she said, using the Casey’s nickname. She turned to walk back to the house.
Home, Becca thought. This was her new home. It was hard to believe so much had changed in such a short amount of time. She was still scared witless about what the future held but she was excited at the same time.
Minutes later Becca stood in the middle of the kitchen. She was already thinking about the upcoming spring. She hadn’t seen a garden plot on the tour Alex had given them. They probably didn’t have time to garden on top of all of their other work. Just one of the many reasons he probably advertised for a wife.
She couldn’t wait to plant a huge garden. They had grown some of their own vegetables back east and she had enjoyed it, but space had been limited. Still, it had saved them a little money. What she had grown in the small space was consumed practically right off the stem. She wanted a much bigger garden here. She wanted to preserve as much as she could, filling the cellar shelves each summer. Seeds were cheap, and with the time and effort she was willing to put in, they could have a bountiful harvest. Especially since the house was small and wouldn’t require too much upkeep. That would allow her a lot of time to work in a garden.
“This place is a pigsty,” Casey grumbled, interrupting Becca’s thoughts.
Becca pulled her eyes from the dirty, clouded window and its view of the sprawling grass and tall trees back to the tiny, messy kitchen. The entire cabin from floor to ceiling could benefit from a broom, soap and water.
“If you’re going to be a negative Nellie, you might as well not say anything at all,” Becca gently chastised, although she secretly agreed about the condition of the house. “It’s not their fault, they’re two young men and they’ve been on their own for who knows how long. Besides, I’m sure they work long, hard hours keeping the farm going that there’s not a whole lot of time for anything else. But we’re here now. The house isn’t too big, we can clean it from top to bottom and have it shining in just a couple of days. Now help me with supper.”
Supper was more of an undertaking than B
ecca had thought it would be. First they had to wash the dishes to get to the sink so that they could scrub the counter and stovetop clean enough to make supper. The kitchen would need more scrubbing later but it was a vast improvement and clean enough for now. With Casey’s help the work had been easier and time passed quickly with someone to talk to.
A couple of hours later, Casey was setting the table. “There’s only three chairs,” she said over her shoulder.
“Oh yeah,” Becca replied from the hot stove. She needn’t have worried about it getting too cold in here, she thought, lightly pressing her cuff against her damp forehead. “Will you find Alex and ask about a fourth chair? Oh and then tell them to wash up for supper, it’ll be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
When Casey finally returned, she had Alex and Billy in tow. Alex was carrying a tall wooden stool Becca assumed came from the barn since there were little bits of hay still clinging to its feet.
“I hope you’re hungry,” she greeted them with a smile.
“You never have to ask him that,” Alex replied, smiling. “His stomach is a bottomless pit.” He set the stool next to the table.
Billy nodded in enthusiastic agreement, giving her a wide smile.
Becca laughed. She liked the teasing banter between her husband and his younger brother. It was clear even though they bickered that they cared a great deal for each other. Even though she hadn’t known that his brother was younger or that they shared a household, it was fine by her, almost like she had an instant family, like the girls back at the orphanage.
Becca brought the food to the table in two trips and then sat next to her husband. That left Billy and Casey staring at the remaining chair and the stool. Billy went for the chair.
“Billy, you take the stool,” Alex told him, stopping Billy mid-sit.
“Why me?” Billy protested.
“I don’t mind,” Casey said softly, pulling the stool closer to her.
Billy looked at his brother again and sighed loudly, “Nah here, I’ll take it. You take the chair.”
“Thank you,” Casey murmured.
Billy sat on the stool, which paired with Billy’s height, was much too high for the table. All four of them looked at each other and laughed.
“I’ll have to see about getting a fourth chair from somewhere,” Alex said as he started to fill his plate.
“Does that mean I get to stay?” Casey asked hopefully. “You’re not sending me back?” Her eyes went back and forth eagerly between Alex and Becca.
Becca looked at Alex. She didn’t know what to say. They hadn’t yet had an opportunity to talk about what to do with Casey.
Alex didn’t meet her stare, instead just looked down at his plate and sighed. “I don’t know yet,” he answered. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Casey looked crestfallen but nodded. She pushed her food around on her plate with her fork, not eating much of anything.
Billy on the other hand speared his entire thick steak with his fork, brought it to his mouth and took a large bite. He made a groaning sound of pleasure.
“This is the best steak I ever tasted,” he said, pausing for a moment in between large bites. His eyes went to Casey’s plate and her mostly untouched food. She was watching him with her eyebrows raised. “If you’re not going to eat that, can I have it?”
“Billy!” Alex said with an exasperated tone. “She’s eating it, but she’s just eating slow and proper, you know, using table manners, which is something you clearly lack.”
Billy shrugged and took another large bite of steak off of his fork. “What’s wrong with the way I eat?” He asked, his mouth full.
Casey snickered and her eyes went from Billy to Alex and back.
“Just about everything,” Alex said with a sigh. “What, were you born in a barn or something?”
Billy looked as if he was thinking it over before answering, “I’m not rightly sure.” He shrugged. “Could’ve been I suppose. I never asked Ma.”
Casey giggled. Becca smiled and covered her lips with her napkin. Alex sighed again, this time louder and longer than before.
“Maybe you can use your knife,” Alex suggested mildly, “and cut your meat into smaller bites.”
“Well, sure,” Billy said agreeably, reaching for the knife.
“How about you Becca,” Billy began. “Where were you born?”
Becca’s mouth opened, closed and opened again. “Well, I’m not really sure. New York I think,” she answered.
Billy nodded. “Alex and I were born in Darby, Ohio. What about you Casey?”
“I don’t know.” At his incredulous look, she mumbled with a closed off expression, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Billy hesitated. Alex flashed him a look. “Oh, alright. Er, sorry,” he mumbled.
They all ate in silence for a few minutes. Billy finished first and pushed his plate back.
“That was deeeeelightful,” he exclaimed, patting his stomach.
Becca laughed. She had never cooked steak before but she was happy with the way it turned out too, tender and flavorful. “I’m glad you enjoyed it Billy.”
“Now Alex here, whenever he makes steak, it comes out more like jerky. I have to chew and chew and get lots of spit going and—”
“Billy if you’re done,” Alex interrupted, “put your plate in the sink and then go check on the animals.”
Billy stood up. “Well, alright. Thanks again for supper.” He took his plate to the sink. “Whatcha thinking about making tomorrow?”
Becca smiled. “I’m not sure yet.”
“I haven’t had fried chicken in a long time,” he said matter-of-factly, his hand on the doorknob.
“Billy!” Alex barked.
“Okay, okay, sheesh. I’m probably gonna turn in soon. See you all tomorrow,” he said with a wave.
“Goodnight Billy,” Becca said with a smile.
“Night Billy,” Casey echoed.
“Sorry about him, you don’t have to make fried chicken or cater to him in any way,” Alex told her.
“He’s fine. Don’t worry. He makes me laugh,” Becca said, smiling again.
“Yeah, I go back and forth between laughing and wanting to deck him,” Alex said with a fond tone in his voice.
Chapter Ten
After supper, Casey cleared the table while Becca did the supper dishes which took a lot less time than the huge pile of dishes they had done together earlier.
Alex sat at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. After Casey cleared the dishes and wiped the table clean for the next meal she sat on the sofa, silently staring into the fire. Once Becca finished with the dishes she leaned back against the counter and studied her husband.
She wasn’t really sure what to do. There weren’t any books to read as far as she could see and she couldn’t sew because she didn’t have any fabric or sewing supplies yet.
Becca glanced out the window. It had gotten dark sometime between when she started cleaning the kitchen earlier and when they finished supper. She had been so preoccupied, she hadn’t even noticed.
She looked around the house. It was in desperate need of cleaning but it was too late to start such a big project tonight. She would try to get a good night’s sleep and start first thing in the morning after breakfast.
Becca wasn’t used to having so much time on her hands. Taking care of the children at the orphanage had been a never-ending job. She was awake before sunup helping to prepare breakfast, tending to the children throughout the day amid her other chores. There was always cooking, cleaning, washing and mending to do. She also helped with their schooling when needed, gave them baths every Saturday evening and put them to bed each night after reading a story. Sometimes, she fell asleep mid-sentence before dragging herself to her own bed. If she got six hours of sleep at night, she considered herself lucky. Becca wondered what her days would be like here. Vastly different she suspected.
The house wouldn’t take all that much time to keep clean.
Of course cooking three meals a day would take a large portion of her day. And then there was laundry for four people, that would take a while of course. But she would only do that once a week and for now she would have Casey’s help with all of the chores so they should go much quicker.
She couldn’t start her garden until next spring, several months from now. Becca wondered what Alex expected of her outside of the usual household duties. She would need to ask him. She wanted to be a good wife to him and she supposed part of that was figuring out what expectations he had for her.
After a few minutes Alex carefully folded the newspaper and set it aside. He stood up, rinsed his cup and set it next to the sink. “Well, I guess I’ll tend to a few things in the barn and let you ladies get ready for bed.”
Becca nodded.
“You think an hour will be enough time?” He asked Becca, pulling on his jacket.
“That’ll be fine,” she said, already feeling nervous about what would happen after that hour was up. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Casey,” Alex said. “There’s an extra blanket at the end of my bed. I’m afraid I don’t have many spare linens and such so we’ll have to make do for now. But you should stay plenty warm in front of the fire as it dies down.”
“That’ll be fine. Thank you sir,” Casey replied softly.
He nodded. “And you can call me Alex,” he told her.
“Thank you Alex.”
Alex nodded again, his eyes shifting back to his wife. “I know we’re going to be needing a few things around here, so if you make a list as you think of them, we’ll start gathering them up slowly over the coming weeks, before winter sets in. I have a little bit of money set aside and Nate at the mercantile will run a small tab for us until our next crop. He knows I’m good for it.”
“Alright,” Becca replied, already thinking about the list. It would be a long one. She knew he didn’t have a lot of money. They would have to make decisions about what they really needed now, what could wait and what they could honestly get by without altogether.
