Roast chicken with vegetables would be nice for their meal. She wanted something special to welcome Rowan, Hank and Tom to their new home.
Within the hour she had caught a nice plump chicken, and had it prepared ready for roasting. In the root cellar she collected potatoes, pumpkin, parsnips and onions. Thankfully, she had stocked up on everything before leaving for Mountview. She liked being well organized, a trait inherited from her father.
She made pancakes for them to have with coffee when the men came in from inspecting the place. It would be enough to keep them going until supper.
“Can we come in?” Rowan’s voice had her swinging around.
“Of course, you don’t have to ask.”
He entered, followed by Tom and Hank. All three men had washed up in the basin of water she had left on the porch. They hung their hats on the pegs then stood surveying the kitchen with obvious interest.
“Something smells good.” Rowan smiled at her.
“Pancakes, quick and easy for now. We’re having roast chicken for supper, all four of us.” She wanted the men to know she was expecting them to eat supper with her and Rowan.
“We’ve checked out the cabin,” Hank said. “It will be perfect for us, Mrs. Carstairs.”
“Miranda, I keep telling you. I won’t answer to anything else. Sit down and we can start eating while these are hot.”
Once she sat down the men took their seats at the kitchen table.
“I’m sorry the cabin was so dusty, but no-one has been there in months.” She had nearly moved in there herself when Helen took up residence in the house. The loft in the barn had been closer and more convenient for her to use.
“It’s fine,” Tom said. “Hank and I can fix it up to suit us. We’re much obliged to you for letting us stay and work here.”
“I’m glad to have you. With extra stock there will be more work, and to be honest, after my father died, my brother and I let things go a little. There were never enough hours in the day for us. It was a hundred times worse once Jacob got married.”
“It must have been hard for you,” Rowan said, helping himself to a pancake.
“Yes, it’s going to be much better now.” Her smile encompassed all three men, although her gaze rested longest on Rowan.
“The woodshed is full, so help yourself to what you need, and if you wouldn’t mind replenishing it every now and again it would be good. I can easily chop the smaller logs. It’s the big ones I have trouble with.”
“You won’t be chopping wood from now on,” Rowan said emphatically. “One of us will do it.”
“I have to confess it’s a job I will be gland to relinquish.” She poured the coffee which they drank black. Amos had sold the eggs to the mercantile like she suggested, making a little extra money for himself. He was a hard-working, enterprising young man who would do well out of life.
“Mm, these are good.” Rowan licked his lips. “I’ve scored a good cook for a wife.”
“You were lucky, boss.” Hank winked at her.
“I notice you’ve got a large barn,” Rowan emptied his mouth to say. “If some of the cows calve late and the weather gets too cold, I might need to use it.”
“You can.”
“Edward was such a stupid varmint,” Tom said. “He will end up ruining a good ranch.”
Hank nodded his head. “He’ll probably sell it once George dies.”
Tom’s comment was close to the mark she thought. Edward was obviously too stupid to be a rancher, and his wife would certainly not want to live away from town once the novelty of being a rancher’s wife wore off.
“This looks like a nice ranch house,” Rowan said. “I noticed the well; it would make life easier for you. Whoever set this place up knew what they were doing.”
“Pa spent all his life ranching. He built this place up from practically nothing. Did I tell you my sister-in-law wanted to tear the house down and build a more modern one?”
“You did, darlin’. Sheer stupidity.”
“The wrong woman can ruin a good man,” Tom said.
“How would you know?” Rowan grinned. “A confirmed bachelor like you.”
“I nearly got hitched once. I found out in the nick of time what a nagging shrew of a woman she was.”
“I never bothered much with women,” Hank mused. “Too expensive.”
“What’s your excuse, Rowan?” Miranda waited with bated breath for his answer.
“For years I never had the time or inclination. I’m glad I waited for the right gal to come along, even though she chewed me out something awful when we first met.”
Miranda laughed. “It’s not very flattering when a man forgets about his bride to be.”
“I’d never forget once I saw you, darlin’.”
“Hank and I might ride around to check things out if it’s okay, boss. We’ll keep an eye on the herd too, a couple of those cows are acting up all restless like.”
Rowan nodded. “I think we’ll have a few miscarriages. I could ring Edward’s neck for what he did.”
“You would have to line up behind Hank and me.” Tom scowled.
“I’ve got pots of water on the stove to heat water for a bath,” Miranda said. “I thought I might take one before supper, I don’t like feeling dirty. There’s a pot-belly stove in the cabin if you men want to make coffee for yourselves. I think there might be a frypan and a coffee pot.
“Yeah, there are, we checked. Everything is fine for us. Tom and I will be as snug as a bug in a rug. We might help ourselves to a few eggs from time to time,”
“You can take anything you need from here, although I expect you to have most
