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“Good for you.” She kissed him softly. “Sit down, and I’ll have lunch on the table in a minute. Everything’s ready.”
He removed his hat and sat down, looking at Walt, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “How are you doing today, Walt?”
Walt just smiled.
Earl took that as good and took a bite of the soup. It was a hearty chicken with rice soup, and it was wonderful. “It’s the end of May. When is it going to stop frosting overnight?”
Charlotte laughed. “It’ll do it some all through the summer. Montana can never decide if it’s summer or winter, it seems. I’ve seen snow every month of the year here.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about that. I mean, I’ll be happy not to have the heat of the summer on me, but a break from frosts would be nice. I hope they don’t hurt my garden!”
She’d already figured out how much he loved that garden of his, so she simply agreed. “Hopefully not.”
As soon as he was gone after lunch, she got back to work scrubbing. It was going to be a long day of hard work. But she wasn’t sure if there was any other kind of day.
Chapter Seven
Earl finished work early for the day, and immediately checked on his meat. He wanted it perfectly tender, not burnt. It seemed good to him, so he headed inside the house to check on Charlotte and Walt.
Walt was standing on a chair turned backwards, helping Charlotte mash the potatoes she’d made for their guests.
She turned her head to receive Earl’s kiss. “How was your day?”
He nodded. “Ready for branding on Monday and Tuesday. I think. I hope.” He grinned. “Never having done it, I have no idea how to tell whether we’re ready or not.”
“I’m sure you are. You’re not the type of man to leave anything to chance.”
“No, I’m not.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Meat is just about done. I’m going to need something to carry it in from the fire.” It was colder that day, seeming to hover barely above freezing, which did not bode well for the planting he wanted to do the following day.
“Good. I’ll have everything in here done in the next few minutes. I made carrots, peas, green beans, and mash potatoes. There’s plenty of everything. I can’t believe I’m so nervous.” She lifted Walt off the chair onto the floor and wiped her hands on her apron. “What time is everyone supposed to be here?”
“In about fifteen minutes,” he said. “Do you have a roasting pan I can use?”
She nodded, going to the pantry beside the kitchen to get it for him. “Will this work?”
He nodded, carrying it outside. “This would be good for turkey for Thanksgiving too,” he called over his shoulder before realizing she and Walt had followed him.
“I use it for that. We didn’t bother with Thanksgiving last year, but I’m feeling a great deal more thankful this year than I was then.”
“You should have sent for me sooner,” he told her. “It makes me sad to think of how hard you worked for a full year.”
“It was my choice,” she said. “I could have sold it all. There were men wanting to buy.”
“I’m sure there were.” He shook his head. “You have a wonderful location here, with the Royal River cutting through the property. Water seems to be in great demand here, and I’m just happy we don’t have to fight for it.”
She nodded. “When Howard bought this place, he made sure to buy the land that held the river upstream as well. This river starts at the top of that mountain over there, then goes through our property, and then cuts through Wade and Ada’s and then through the Royals’. I think it even goes through Cauldron Valley Ranch and the Calendars’ property,” she said pointing. “He’d read a dime novel about how men would dam up rivers so they wouldn’t flow to other people’s properties. He made sure that would never happen to him.”
Earl smiled. “How long did he live here before the two of you got married?”
“Only about a year.” She watched him as he put the meat from the grill into the roasting pan and carried it inside, with Walt a step behind him the whole way. “Walt, you need to go comb your hair. Our guests will be here soon.”
Walt didn’t seem to know what to make of the idea they would have guests, but he hurried out of the room and did as he was told.
Earl took the opportunity to put his arms around his wife. “You’re not nervous about tonight, are you?”
“Me? Nervous about the first time I will ever have guests in my home. Oh, of course not.” She grinned at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I have a secret that I’m going to share with you as soon as everyone has gone home.”
“Oh? Tell me now. I don’t like secrets.”
