“And I plan on milking the goats at least once per day, so you won’t have that full burden.We’ll see if it works out better for me in the mornings or the evenings when the time comes.”
“I don’t want you to have to help!”
“And I don’t want you to have to do everything yourself.I will benefit from the goats as much as you will.”
Agnes thought about what he said for a moment and reluctantly nodded.“I suppose that’s fair.”
“What do you plan to cook for the barn raising this weekend?”he asked.
“I thought I’d make a thick venison stew.Belle said she has more venison than any other meat.”
“That sounds good.Maybe some warm bread to go with it?”
“I can certainly make that happen.We won’t be making nets this weekend, so there should be plenty of time to make a few loaves of bread.”
“I do love to eat bread with stew.”
“I will keep that in mind.”She got up then and came back with clean plates and the blueberry pie.“I hope you like blueberries.”
“Love them.Truly, I’m like the other men in town.It’s been so long since I’ve had sweets, I find that anything with sugar in it makes me happy.”
He took his first bite and smiled.“This is delicious.Don’t sell any blueberry pie.I want them all for myself.”
She laughed.“I’ll keep that in mind.”
While she did the dishes that evening, Jasper went out and checked the fish she’d processed that day to see if everything was getting enough of the smoke.When he came back inside, he said, “I moved a few of the strings, so the smoke would be distributed more evenly.I think you’ll be happy when you see it.”
“Thank you for the help.I appreciate it so much!”
He laughed.“I expected to completely support us both when I sent for you.Thank you for working so hard so our lives will be better.”
She dried and put the last dish away.“I think I’m going to read up on goats for a few minutes.I feel bad I didn’t get that done.”
“Don’t worry about that,” he said.“I can occupy myself for a while.”
So while she read, he carried bucket after bucket of water inside.“I’m going to get a bath,” he said.“Would you like me to carry in extra water for you?”
She shook her head.“No, I bathed just a few days ago.I’ll just get this reading done.”
As she tried to focus on her book, she couldn’t help but peek at him taking his clothes off.It was strange how sensual it seemed to her.She did her best to keep her mind on the goats, but it was harder than she’d thought it would be.
She finished the section she was reading and slipped a piece of paper between the pages so she wouldn’t lose her spot.The reading was dry, and she felt the need to remember as many details as possible, so she closed her eyes and thought through the information, committing it to memory.Raising goats wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world, but she could do it.She was sure of it.
“So, what did you learn?”Jasper asked, putting on his nightshirt.
“I was reading about the process for making butter out of goat cream.It’s possible, but it is much harder than it is to make butter from cow’s cream.I’m not sure it will be worth my time to make butter.”
He nodded.“It’s your decision.I can certainly live without butter.”
“I’ll talk to the others about it tomorrow.We may decide to all make it together, but the process is painstaking, and you need a great deal more milk than you would if you were making butter from a cow.Goats don’t produce as much cream, which I didn’t know until just now.I may only be able to make cheese.”She sighed.“I do love butter...”
“Whatever you decide is fine with me.Ask the others and decide together.”
She nodded, getting to her feet and carefully laying the book on the table.“At least I now know all that goes into it.”
Jasper smiled, pulling her toward him.“It’s all going to work out.Are you ready for bed?”he asked.
“I just need to change into my nightgown.”
“I have a feeling you’re not going to need it tonight,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers.
