Mia stood and rinsed out her cup and set it on the counter. Opening the pie safe, she took out the loaf of bread she’d baked the day before. She then pulled out the brown-paper wrapped ham and cheese as well as the brown mustard for sandwiches.
“Will you please grab the pickle crock for me?”
She quickly put together several sandwiches for everyone and set them on a plate. Next, she pulled out five or six pickles from the crock and placed them in a bowl. Lastly, she took out the nutmeg bread she’d thrown together as a last-minute idea and sliced it into thick pieces and placed them on another plate. Digging in the bottom cabinet, she took out a rather battered-looking tray and set it on the table.
“It’s not elegant, but it will do.” She put the sandwich plate on top of the extra plates then set them beside the bowl of pickles. The dessert plates came next forming a circle. In the center, she added a pitcher of lemonade for balance. “Summer, will you carry the four glasses for me, please?”
“You sure are going to a lot of trouble for just lunch,” she mumbled, but picked up the glasses and followed Mia outside.
Each step she took toward the barn was slow and measured, but she finally made it and set the tray on the end of the wagon bed, which was sitting in front of the corral by the door. “Is anyone hungry?” she called.
“We are!” Billy squealed from somewhere inside and raced outside then slid to a stop by twisting his small body sideways and sliding on the sides of his boots, sending up a puff of dirt toward them.
Summer jumped in front of the food and waved her arms to divert the descending dust. “Would you stop it! I don’t want to eat dirt-covered food!”
Billy hung his head. “I’m sorry. Did I ruin lunch?”
“No,” Mia chuckled. “I think Summer jumped in and saved everything just in time. But, even if there are a few grains of dirt in the food, I’m sure no one will say a thing.”
“I will,” Summer muttered. “I don’t want to eat dirt.”
“I’m sorry, Summer. I promise not to do it again.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, you will. You’re a little boy. That’s what little boys do. I’d be worried if you didn’t. Now come and get your sandwich.”
Billy’s worried expression immediately disappeared at the mention of food, but he managed to walk the few steps to the wagon and hold out his hands for his plate. “Can you carry my lemonade, Summer? I don’t wanna spill a single drop.”
Mia shook her head as she turned to fix Josiah’s plate, then bit back a squeal when her husband wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest, his breath warm against her cheek.
“You are doing an amazing job with them…and me,iskitini chukfi luma,” he whispered and nibbled her ear.
She giggled. “Are you ever going to call me anything but little rabbit?”
He pretended to think. “No. The name fits you. And I’m starving.”
“Let me go and I’ll fix you a plate.”
“I never said I was starving for food.”
Her gaze flew to the children, making sure neither of them heard what he’d just said. “Josiah West, you can’t say things like that!”
“Yes, I can. You’re my wife, and it’s the truth. I look at you and the thought of food is the last thing on my mind.” He nuzzled her neck and kissed the tender skin, making her stomach clench.
Her smile grew and from the heat covering her face, she knew she was bright red but at that moment it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but Josiah. To know her own husband cared enough to want her like he said he did was a heady and amazing sensation. She never knew marriage could be like this. Her only experience had been what she had witnessed from a distance. She'd never been close to anyone with a spouse to learn about such things, so she hoped this feeling continued to grow with their marriage.
Before things really got out of hand, she fixed their plates while Josiah poured their drinks. They joined Summer and Billy, who were almost finished.
“Summer, would you like to tell Billy what we talked about? Maybe ask his opinion about school?” Mia glanced at the nine-year-old. When she sat up straighter, Mia was glad she’d asked Summer. The girl needed a bit of self-confidence and, like with most girls her age, it would be the little things that made the difference.
Billy scowled, his gaze moving between Summer and Mia. “You want us to go to school?”
“You will be learning the same things you would in school, you just wouldn’t be walking to the schoolhouse. I will be teaching them to you. Remember when we talked the other morning, when I read Tom Sawyer to you? I told you I was a teacher. I know I can help you—both of you—learn wonderful things. Amazing things. There’s an entire world out there to discover, and I would love to show it to you. Will you let me?”
“Put like that, I’d even go back to school,” Josiah said and gave Mia a quick kiss on the cheek. “Billy, why don’t you think about it while we finish the corral fence? Mr. Colyer and his men will be here tomorrow with our cattle, so we better get busy if we’re going to be done by day’s end.” He stood then leaned over again. With a finger under Mia’s chin, he tilted her face toward his and kissed her. “That was my thank you for such a delicious lunch.”
She covered her lips with the tips of her fingers, as if to press his kiss there. She had no experience with loving someone, other than the affection she'd had for her friends. But the feeling inside her heart when she thought about her husband was so intense—at times, it scared her. It was as if she couldn’t breathe without him by her side, and she had never been dependent on someone like that before. Was she in love? She had no idea and let out a small sigh. There would be plenty of time to figure it out, but for the time being, she had other things that needed to get done.
She helped Summer gather up the dishes but only made it halfway across the yard when Harjo and another man rode in on a heavy cloud of dust. Coughing, they tried without success to wave away the dust-filled air, and they gave up.