pickles wrapped in white paper. Pickle juice was dripping onto the tablecloth, and she thought that was a most beautiful sight, indeed.
She glanced up and saw Douglas watching her. He was standing in the door, and in his arm was yet another bag. She wondered what he was thinking. He had the strangest look on his face, as though he didn't know what to make of the sight, but there was such tenderness in his eyes, she knew she didn't need to worry that he might be angry with her for getting out of bed.
'I didn't know you were there,' she said.
'I was watching you. You remind me of a little girl on Christmas morning.' His voice was filled with compassion. How long had she gone without the basic necessities every man and woman were entitled to, he wondered, and did she realize she was hugging a bag of flour? Or that she was crying?
'There's more on the counter.'
'More?' she cried out.
It seemed to be too much for her to take in. She stood there frozen with the flour wrapped tight in her arms and stared down at her treasures on the table.
'Come and see,' he suggested.
She didn't put the flour down but carried it with her to the alcove. He reached up to push the floor-length drape further to one side on the rope and tried to step back so she could see inside. The kitchen was too narrow for both of them, but she wouldn't give him time to get out of her way. She squeezed herself past him.
Then she gasped yet again. 'Salt and pepper and cinnamon and… oh, Douglas, could we afford all this?'
She was pressed against him with her face turned up to his. A man could get lost in those beautiful freckles and incredible golden brown eyes.
'Could we?' she asked again in a breathless whisper.
The question jarred him out of his fantasy. 'Could we what?'
'Afford all this.'
'Yeah,' he drawled out. 'Cooper was having a sale.' He managed to tell the lie without laughing.
'Oh, that was nice.'
They kept staring at each other. He reached over and slowly wiped away the tears from her cheeks with his fingers.
She surprised him by leaning up on tiptoes and kissing him.
'What was that for?'
'Being so good to me and my son. I'm sure I'll get my strength back real soon. I've never really depended on anyone before, not ever. It's very nice though. Thank you.'
She turned to leave. He followed her, reached over her shoulder, and took the bag of flour away. 'What about your husband? Didn't you depend on him every once in a while?'
'Parker had fine qualities. I'm sorry you didn't know him. I'm certain you would have liked him. He really was a good man, Douglas. Good night.'
He watched her walk away. She hadn't answered his question, and he wasn't certain if it had been a deliberate evasion or not. He decided he was too tired to ask her again. He went back to the barn to dry down his sorrel, then used a clean bucket of rainwater to give himself a good scrubbing before he finally headed to bed.
He slept most of the day away on his bedroll in front of the hearth. Parker eventually jarred him awake with a bellow guaranteed to make his mama snap to attention. His cry wasn't at all puny, but forceful. Was the infant already getting stronger?
Isabel's laughter rang out. She was in the kitchen giving Parker his first full bath.
Douglas joined her. 'He's louder today,' he remarked with a yawn.
'He's angry.'
Douglas noticed the baby was shivering and remembered Dr. Simpson's advice to keep him as warm as possible. 'I should have kept the fire in the hearth going.'
'You needed to sleep.'
'Are you about finished? I don't want the baby to get cold.'
Her full attention was centered on Parker. 'There, he's clean again. Hush now,' she crooned to the baby. 'It's all over. Douglas, will you grab that towel for me?'
He hurried to do as she asked. He spread the towel over his bare shoulder, reached for Parker, and laid him up against it. Isabel used another towel to pat him dry. A minute later she was securing his diaper when Douglas noticed Parker's lips were turning blue.
'We have to get him warm quick. Unbutton your robe and your gown.'
She didn't hesitate. 'He feels like ice,' she whispered in alarm. 'I shouldn't have bathed him. He's so cold, he can't even cry now.'
'He'll be warm in a minute,' he promised. He wrapped the gown and the robe around her, draped a clean diaper over Parker's fuzzy black head, and stood there frowning down at him. 'Tell me when he stops shivering.'
She was afraid to move. 'It's all my fault. What was I thinking?'
'That your son was rank,' he told her. 'Next time, we'll bathe him together in front of the fire.'
'He stopped.'
'Shivering?'
'Yes. I think he's asleep.' She let out a happy little sigh.
Douglas lifted the diaper away from Parker's head to see his face. 'Yeah, he's sleeping,' he whispered.
And his face was pressed against freckles. 'He's a lucky man.'
'Little man,' she corrected. She blushed as she looked up at Douglas. 'Yes, he is lucky, and so am I to have you here.'
'You aren't going to cry, are you?'
'Oh, I never cry.'
He thought she was joking, but she didn't laugh.
'It's very difficult for me to show any emotions. Haven't you noticed?'
'Can't say that I have.'
'Could you do a favor for me? A couple of the chairs have wobbly legs, and I'd appreciate it if you would show me how to fix them. I'm not sure if I should nail the legs to the base or if I should-'
'I'll fix them,' he promised. 'Anything else?'
It turned out she had quite a list of repairs she needed. Although it was foolish for him to fix furniture that she wasn't going to be able to take with her when she left, he decided to do the repairs anyway. He wouldn't discuss the future with her yet, purposely waiting until she was stronger and less emotional, for even he could see that childbirth had left her physically and mentally exhausted. Dr. Simpson had told him she shouldn't get upset. Besides, the chores would keep him busy.
'Are Boyle's men watching the cabin?' she asked.
'They weren't last night, but they could have moved closer by now. I'm not going to take the chance. The doctor suggested I stay hidden during the day and work at night, but I had already decided to do just that. As long as Boyle believes you're all alone, he'll hopefully be content to wait.'
'What about the horses? They can't stay cooped inside the barn all the time.'
'I'll exercise them during the night. I'll start rebuilding the corral as soon as it's dark. Stop worrying.'
'What can I do to help?'
'Get stronger.'
She would have argued with him if Parker hadn't demanded her attention.
Cooking wasn't one of Douglas 's talents, and so he sliced the ham and bread Trudy Simpson had sent, and opened a jar of pickled beets he'd stolen from the general store. He gave Isabel a full glass of milk. She wanted to save it and would have insisted if he hadn't told her he could easily get more.
She returned to the main room an hour later with Parker up against her shoulder and watched Douglas repair a chair while she paced with the fretful baby. Douglas noticed how exhausted she looked and decided to leave the other chairs until tomorrow night. He washed his hands and then took the baby from her.
'I'll walk with him.'
'I don't know what's wrong with him. He's been fed and changed and burped, but he still won't go to
