“I’ll remember that.”She had to bite her tongue and remind herself that she wasn’t going to argue with him on his birthday.“Sit down!I made eggs, bacon, and pancakes for breakfast.You told me once that was your favorite breakfast.”
She poured each of them a cup of coffee and carried their plates to the table.She’d already filled them.“What are you doing at work today?”she asked.
“It’s a mill day for me.There’s an order due tomorrow, and Everett is in a mood, worried we won’t have it done on time.He gets like this with every large order we get.”
“Do you know why?”
James shrugged.“He likes to control everything.When it was just the two of us, it was easier for him.We would get the trees cut and fill the orders together.Now, he feels like he’s relying on everyone else, and it doesn’t work well for him.It makes him uptight.”
“I can understand that.If you’re used to taking care of everything yourself, it must be strange to have that power taken away from you.”
“I guess.”James shrugged.“I wish I could help him remain calm with it all, but I don’t know how.I simply do the job he tells me to do, and I get it done as quickly as I can.”
“Do you think you’ll need to work late?”she asked, wondering about supper.
“Probably.Expect me when you see me, and not a minute before.”
“I’ll probably make a soup that can simmer on the stove until you get here then.Does that work for you?”
“Hot food after a day of working in the cold?That works just fine for me.”
After he’d left, Maggie cleaned up after their meal and did her daily baking before setting out for Belle’s cabin.When she arrived, Belle looked pale.“Are you all right?”Maggie asked.
“Morning sickness.I’ll be fine for a week or two, but then it hits again.”
“Is there anything I can do?”Maggie felt helpless as she looked at her friend.
“No, I’ll be fine in an hour or two.My baking is done.Maybe you could make two trips to the store this morning?One with your items to sell, and one with mine?That’ll give me time for the ginger tea to calm my stomach.”
“All right.I’ll be back in a bit.”
Maggie took her own baskets of goodies to the store first.She’d never gone in alone, and it felt strange.
The men were crowded around, wondering what she’d brought as usual.“Where’s Mrs.Thompson?”one asked.
“She’s not feeling well this morning.I’ll bring what she made in a bit,” Maggie responded, feeling particularly brave for talking to the men without Belle at her side.
She carried her baskets to the counter where Katie was waiting to see what she’d brought.“Muffins?”Katie asked.“We haven’t had muffins in a long while.I’m sure the men will enjoy these.”As she pulled loaves of bread from the basket, she continued.“What’s wrong with Belle?”
“Morning sickness.She says she’ll be good for a week or two, and then it starts up again.”
“The worse the morning sickness, the better chance the baby will be all right,” Katie said, repeating something Maggie had heard many women say.
“Is there a doctor or midwife here?”Maggie asked, realizing for the first time she didn’t know who would deliver Belle’s baby, or her own when the time came.
“I’ll be her midwife,” Katie said.“I worked with a midwife in Washington before we moved here.”
“Oh, that’s good.I was worried I’d need to do it, and I have no idea what’s involved.”
Katie laughed.“Don’t you worry.I’ll be there for her, and for you when it’s your time.”
“Glad to hear it!”Maggie watched as Katie made a note on the ledger she kept for her.“I’m going to hurry back to Belle and bring her baked goods next.”
“I’ll see you again in a few minutes then.”
Maggie hurried back to Belle, realizing it had started to snow while she was in the store.She loved snow.She loved how the world smelled right before the snow started.She loved how the world looked covered in snow.It seemed early in the year for snow, but that was all right by her.
Belle was still sitting at the table, looking paler than ever when Maggie arrived.“Are you certain I can’t do anything to help you?”
