Callie's Heart Read Online Free Page B

her?”
                She
thought for a minute as he washed up and fixed a pot of fresh coffee, then sat
down at the table.   She sat across from
him.   “Dusty.   She’s darker than her ma and is going to be beautiful.”
                “Dusty
it is.   You gonna say grace so I can
eat?”
                She
laughed.   “Sure am,” she said, grateful
that he remembered.   When she finished,
she watched as he piled his plate high.   “I made a cake too.”
                “Don’t
know if I’ll have room after eating all this, but it sure looks good.”
                “It
is.   It’s a spice cake.”
                He
groaned.   “You sure know a way to a
man’s heart.   Oh, and when I come home
tomorrow, I’ll have about a dozen chickens.   I got a small coop built on the side of the barn.   I thought you might like to have some fresh
eggs and we can have some chicken for Sunday dinner if you know how to clean
and cook them.”
                “I
do, but you’ll have to kill them.   I
can’t hurt anything.”
                He
laughed.   “I can and my mouth waters
just thinking about a fried chicken dinner.  
    “Are you getting the
chickens from the rancher you are going to be at tomorrow?”
                “Yeah.   His wife has hundreds.   It’s part of my pay.”
                “I
can’t believe that I’m this happy!”
                “Good
and I hope to keep you that way.”
                “I
was afraid when I left Uncle Ned.   He
wasn’t feeling good.   He’d been looking
peaked and lost a lot of weight.   I
asked him about it, but he said not to worry, he was just getting old and old
folks were like that.   I wish I could
know for sure if he is okay.”
                “I’m
sure he’s fine.   Now, I’ll help you
clean the kitchen up, and then we can have a piece of that cake and coffee in
front of the fire.   Then you can work on
your sewing.”
                Callie
jumped up and poured the hot water off the cook stove into the pan in the
sink.   She couldn’t wait and hummed as
she and Clint worked together like they’d been doing it for years instead of
only a couple days.   Life was so good,
she couldn’t believe it, and she silently thanked her Uncle Ned for sending her
to Clint.

Chapter Four
     
                By
noon the next day, Callie had the house cleaned, the clothes washed and hanging
on the line, and a roast in the oven baking.   She got her material out and spread it out on the table.   As she cut it for the curtains she was going
to make, she couldn’t help but remember her wedding day.   It had been perfect, except for her sleeping
in her room and Clint in his.   She felt
a little bad about that, knowing that a wife was expected to do her duties in
bed, but even though she knew what happened, she didn’t know what it was
like.   She didn’t have a clue as to what
went on in a marriage bed.   Her mother
having died before she turned one, then her Pa when she was a young girl, and
living with Ned, there wasn’t anyone to talk about it to.   Now, she felt inadequate as a wife, feeling
like she had let Clint down.
                Of
course, he said he didn’t mind, but men wanted a woman to curl up to at night,
didn’t they?   Gosh, she wished she knew
what to do.  
                She
had just finished cutting out the kitchen curtains and had them ready to sew
when she heard someone yell from outside.   She ran to the door and saw a heavyset woman climbing down off a
buckboard.   She ran over to help
her.   “Hello,” Callie said, wondering
whom her caller was.
                “Why
Clint married a pretty little girl!   I’m
so happy about that.   I just had to come
over and welcome you!”  
                “Thank
you, Ma’am,” Callie