Rocky Mountain Wild (Rocky Mountain Bride Series Book 6) (3 page)

BOOK: Rocky Mountain Wild (Rocky Mountain Bride Series Book 6)
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“I can work,” she said. “Day and night if that’s what it takes. I’m sturdier than I look.”

“I ken you are.” Now he looked like he was biting back a smile, which confused her even more. “As for day and night, the work is hard and there’s plenty of it, but you won’t be working such long hours in my employ.”

“I will do what I must,” Phoebe said doggedly. “I will fulfill our agreement.”

“You have a young man who will come to work the land with you, when it’s yours?”

The question came out of the blue, and at the thought of a man coming to take his share in her land, her shoulders hunched involuntarily. “No.”

Calum waited, then patted the mule’s side, close to her leg. “I didn’t mean to pry, lass. I’m just wondering why one such as yourself would come out here all alone.”

One such as herself? What did he mean? Before she could ask, he added, “But, there are many pretty ladies who come out west to seek their fortune, and find it, and a husband as well.”

She realized what his sharp looks and line of questioning meant: he thought she intended to go about grubbing for a man.

“I don’t want a husband,” she said. “I want to work.” And own my own land, she added silently. An acre or two she could work and live from, a home of her own. She didn’t allow herself to dream past that.

After another silent stretch of trail, she had to ask. “Would you have accepted me if you knew I was so young?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But, you stand up for yourself and I respect that.”

“I will be a good employee, Mr. MacDonnell,” she said. “I won’t let you down.”

“I believe you.”

The trail dipped deeper into the forest and Calum moved as quietly as she expected, with nary a sound. The woods closed in over them, but Phoebe wasn’t afraid. This dark, wild place fascinated her, alive with birds crying out and animals scurrying through the underbrush. She thought she saw a flash of fur through the undergrowth. Calum seemed right at home here.

The afternoon grew darker, reminding Phoebe’s tired body that she hadn’t rested or eaten since morning. Her body swayed with the mule’s steady gait, lulling her to sleep. Exhaustion from her long journey hit her like a weight, and her head drooped further as the path went on and on.

As she nodded off, she noticed a big hand at her side, ready to prop her up. Mr. MacDonnell’s hand, Calum’s.

Calum was a nice sounding name.

They finally came to a clearing thick with the smell of hickory smoke. She recognized the scent from Calum’s clothes. A few buildings filled the clearing; the largest a sturdy log cabin, large enough to be considered a lodge. She blinked, but couldn’t shake her fatigue. Her new employer led the beast straight up to the porch and lifted her down, swinging her in his arms. As soon as she realized she was in his arms, her heart leapt, even though she was falling asleep.

“Here we are.” He carried her like a bride over the threshold, and she didn’t protest. She was too tired to do anything but cling to him.

Inside the great log house, the smell of hickory persisted. Calum carried her straight to a large chair covered in furs right in front of the fire and set her down. Curling up in the big seat, Phoebe looked around the large room, which held a table and massive stone hearth. A few doors led off the main space, one of them half open, revealing a large bed also piled with furs.

The place was big enough to fit a giant. Which he was. In her tired state, the thought of Calum MacDonnell, the giant, living in a great lodge and fending off pesky Jack in the beanstalks made her smile.

“You like your new home, lass?” Calum was bending over her.

“It’s very nice,” she murmured and let him give her a drink of water by holding the cup while she sipped. A part of her was mortified that her new employer was seeing her in such a state, but it was quickly overruled when she leaned back on the soft furs and sank like a stone into sleep.

*

She woke in a silky cloud, feeling a little too hot. Opening her eyes, she found herself on the bed covered in furs of every size and color. It made sense; Mr. MacDonnell had been a trapper before he settled at the foot of the mountains.

Swinging out of bed, she took inventory. Her long, black hair tumbled down her back, its thick, almost coarse texture easily manipulated into a braid. Her body was heavy with sleep, but well rested. As embarrassing as it was to fall asleep on a mule in front of Mr. MacDonnell, the nap had done her good. She felt almost chipper until she started to stand and realized that, though she still wore her dress, her shoes and socks had been removed. Her ugly, crippled right foot was on display. Her stomach turned at the thought that Mr. MacDonnell had seen it. She spent most waking moments trying to hide the crumpled looking appendage and her telltale limp.

Nothing for it. He’d seen her defect, and knew her shameful curse. If he chose to send her back, she would figure out another way to stay. Maybe another rancher or family needed a cook or housekeeper and could feed her while she worked the land.

Squaring her shoulders, she limped out of the bedroom, her well-rested leg and hip feeling much better. A large fire crackled in the hearth and she smelled food cooking, but her shoes and socks were nowhere to be seen.

A guttural growl from the outside door made her freeze. A large wolf, brown and grey with feral eyes stood at attention, its body stiff and ready to attack.

“Easy, Wolfie, there’s a good lad.” Calum appeared behind the beast, ruffling its head as if it was a dog and not a wild animal.

Phoebe’s bones melted in relief at the sight of the big Scot stomping in under a load of firewood, his sandy hair hanging in ragged clumps around his face.

“Hello, lass.”

Phoebe still hadn’t moved from the door, but when the wolf trotted to the table, she let out a squeak.

“That’s Wolfie. He means no harm. Isn’t that right, Wolfie?” At the voice of his master, the great wolf-dog grinned and let his tongue loll out of his mouth, looking much more friendly.

Calum chuckled. “Yes, that’s right, you’re just a great soft beastie.” He dumped the firewood on the hearth and started feeding the fire before pulling the heavy pot away and setting it on the table and replacing it with a large skillet. “You didn’t meet him yesterday because he won’t go into town. He prefers the wild, like his master.” The big man laid bacon in the skillet, and the lodge filled with the delicious smell.

Phoebe’s stomach growled, and she came forward.

“I can do that, Mr. MacDonnell,” she croaked. After all, she was to cook for him.

“No worries, lass. Though if you want bread for the next meal, you’ll have to make it. I never learned the trick of getting it to rise.”

“I can make the bread, or biscuits if you’d rather.”

“I love biscuits.” He brightened. “Wake up a bit first.” He pointed to a bucket of water on the table, and she gratefully drank a dipperful.

“Did you sleep well?”

She nodded. “Where are my shoes?” As soon as he pointed them out, she hustled over to them, trying to hide her foot from him as she pulled them on. “Why did you remove them?”

”I thought it would make you more comfortable.”

Her cheeks burned with shame. She’d known he would find out about her cursed appendage, but she had hoped to hide it as long as she could and prove herself with work, as she had with Mrs. Covey.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Phoebe jerked at the laces. To her horror, one broke.

“Did I offend you, lass?” Mr. MacDonnell set the skillet on the table, and noticed her predicament. He fished on the shelves until he found a thin strip of leather. To her everlasting embarrassment, he knelt before her, took her foot and laced up her boot. “Twas not my intent.” He met her eyes with his mild grey gaze. “Out here, we need to take care of each other.” His careful hands finished tying her shoes as his big body overwhelmed her space. Her heart beat faster, even as her head screamed silently. He was touching her crippled foot! And he didn’t seem to mind. Eyes wide and cheeks on fire, Phoebe wished she could sink into the floor and die.

“There.” He finished and squeezed her boot in his big paw before releasing it. “Come on, lass, breakfast.” He rose and offered a hand to help her up. After a pause, she took it, marveling at how his swallowed hers up.

Standing, she tested the boot. The new laces worked fine. Her foot was also feeling better and her leg didn’t ache.

The meal was bacon and beans. Mr. MacDonnell offered her coffee. “I’ve already had mine.”

Phoebe frowned. “How long did I sleep?”

“From the moment I set you in the chair, until now.”

Glancing at the light streaming in the open door, she felt a sudden shock. “What time of day is it?”

“Noon.”

Phoebe’s eyes widened. “Mr. MacDonnell, I promise you, I am not a lay-about. I never sleep past dawn.”

“Calm yourself, lass,” he chuckled, patting her hand until she snatched it away. The warmth of his hand was nice, but she wasn’t in the habit of letting herself be petted, as a rule.

“I’m not lazy,” she insisted. “I never have been.” All of a sudden, she felt near tears. “You can write to my last employer if you wish, and ask her.”

Listening to her frantic babble, he sobered.

“Phoebe.”

She fell silent.

“I read the recommendation your employer wrote. Her account was so glowing, I thought you were twice as old and three times as large. You’re a wee wisp of a thing, but I know you can work. I believe you. Relax, you start work tomorrow.” He squinted. “How is it you came to work for Mrs. Covey for nine years? You can’t be older than twenty.”

“I’m almost two and twenty,” she admitted.

“Still, such a young age.”

She licked her lips, wondering how much she could lie. His gaze missing nothing. She sighed. “I left home when I was very young.”

“Left home? Ran away?”
Don’t lie to me, lass.
She could almost hear him say.

Her voice was very soft. “Yes.” It was the truth. She had run away from home and her family. She’d had to. It was that, or be treated like less than an animal.

After a moment, to her relief, Calum nodded and let the matter drop.

“I’ll put the mule to plow today. Best if you look around here and see what you might need for washing and meals. You can start work tomorrow, if you’re feeling rested.”

“What about my land? May I see it?” There was a little cabin homestead on her acre where she expected to live.

“Aye, lass.”

“I may as well settle my things there.”

Calum hesitated. “There is a tiny place on your acre, but it’s naught but a mean hut. Dirt floors, drafty. I wouldnae want ye to stay there.” His accent thickened with his worried tone.

“But, the advertisement said there was a place on the land. I thought I would stay there.”

“That’s the hut. It needs a lot of work. I mean to help you fix it up, but for now I have the second bedroom you can stay in.”

Phoebe’s brow furrowed. Was this some sort of test to see how far she’d impose on him? Sure, she had lived in Mrs. Covey’s hotel for many years, but that was different. Mr. MacDonnell was unmarried, and as much as it embarrassed her to have noticed, very eligible. It wouldn’t do for a single woman to live with him, even a crippled housekeeper.

“I couldn’t do that, Mr. MacDonnell—”

“Call me Calum.”

Phoebe ignored that. “I would prefer to stay there, and not put you through the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble,” he insisted, and they stared at each other over the breakfast table until he gave in with a sigh. “Very well. I’ll show you the hut.”

As soon as breakfast was cleared away, she picked up her sack
.
“Ready.”

He showed her the path through the meadow. There was a great fenced in area for his bull between his land and what was to become hers, so the walk was longer than it could be.

Calum pointed out the way to the stream and Phoebe’s heart sank a little. She hadn’t thought about how much more distance she’d have to walk every day, working on a claim. Mrs. Covey’s hotel had been much more manageable, even with a steep staircase.

Phoebe noticed her new employer was shortening his stride to match hers, and pushed on faster. Mr. MacDonnell frowned down at her, but said nothing and picked up the pace.

They came around the fence, and Phoebe saw their path lead through a small copse before opening into another meadow. There, on the edge of the wood, was a little hut. The wood was grey and patched with mud, with a mossy roof. Phoebe stopped in her tracks, and stared at her new home that was little more than a shack.

Beside her, Mr. MacDonnell cleared his throat. “It’s as I said, lass. My house has an extra room. It’s yours if you want it.”

“I don’t want to impose, Mr. MacDonnell. This place is good enough for me.”

He looked like he wanted to argue with her, so she turned her back and marched on. The hut looked worse and worse the closer she got, and the door opened with an eerie creak. Taking a deep breath, and nearly coughing at the rancid smell of old smoke, Phoebe started setting out her things. She had a blanket and bedroll she could manage to sleep on, and the hut already held a water bucket and a cooking pot next to the fire pit, not that she’d make use of it. She’d be taking meals with her employer.

As she straightened, she noticed Calum watching her with that steady grey gaze. If he hoped she’d cave and prove her weakness, he was mistaken.

He answered her raised chin with a little smile. “You’re a stubborn lassie, aren’t you?”

In response, she took up the little bucket. “Will you show me where to get water?”

*

Later that night, Calum MacDonnell watched his new housekeeper limp around his lodge. Pale and slender, with dark lashes fringing large blue eyes, she was the loveliest lass he’d ever seen. Her mouth was pinched a little with pain, and she often winced and rubbed her leg when she thought he wasn’t looking.

She’d matched him stride for stride that day though, learning where to get water and the way around the bull’s pen that jutted between her land and his great cabin. And she made the best biscuits he’d ever tasted, blushing hot when he praised them over and over again.

BOOK: Rocky Mountain Wild (Rocky Mountain Bride Series Book 6)
12.62Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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