Montana Morning (7 page)

Adrianna crouched
down and rubbed his ears and under his neck.  “He’s part wolf, isn’t he?”

“One hundred
percent,” Will said with pride. “Emily raised him from a two day old pup. 
Sat up with him at night, and fed him with a doll bottle,” he smiled
remembering.

“Guess that
explains why he likes Adrianna.  He recognizes a lady when he sees one,”
Jack put in pointedly.

“Point taken,”
replied Will out of the corner of his mouth, hoping he was quiet enough to
prevent Adrianna from hearing.  “Now,” he spoke up, “Where’s this Chester,
fellow?”

Jack went to the
truck and pulled Chester out, placing him under his coat.  He came back
and kneeling down, he let the dogs sniff each other.   Jack slowly
put Chester on the ground at Sparky’s feet.  Chester growled his most
ferocious growl.  Sparky, turned his head from side to side, looked up at
Jack and then turned and licked Chester’s face.  Chester jumped back and
then forward once again; the chase was on, playing tag, bounding through and over
snowdrifts.

“How soon is lunch
going to be ready, Pops?”  Jack asked, as he watched the dogs romping
happily around the driveway.   “I think you can relax, Adrianna, they
seem to be getting along just fine.”

Will checked his
watch.  “About forty-five minutes or so, I’d say,” as he turned to head
back to the house.

“Why don’t you
show Adrianna the rest of the house, while I check with Andy in the barn?” Jack
asked, looking to Adrianna for support.

“I’d really like a
guided tour, and who better to give it than the man who built it,” she
added.  “Would you mind, Mr. Kilbourne?”

Will looked at the
back door for several minutes, as they all stood in silence. 
‘This gal
seemed nice enough, he guessed, and they really did need the help when Scotty
came here to live, so . . .’   Will
gave her a half-hearted
smile.  “Look, Ms. Banks,” he said after a long sigh.

She started to
reach out to touch his sleeve, but changed her mind, “Please call me Adrianna,
Mr. Kilbourne,” she coaxed.

Will glanced over
her head at Jack’s hopeful face.
‘He’s worked mighty hard to make this
family come together, the least I can do was try to make it work.’
 
“And my name is Will.”  He took her arm as they started for the back
door.  “Watch the patch of ice on the steps.”

Jack’s eyes
followed them in the door, and he turned for the barn. 
‘So far, so
good.’

***

The main floor of
the house consisted of the large kitchen, pantry, bath, Jack’s office, a large
living room, and two small bedrooms.  Adrianna was impressed by the two
large windows on the south end of the house, which Will said had a great view
of the hay meadows in the summer.  The front door opened onto a large,
covered porch.  The yard had been fenced at one time and parts of the fence
were still standing.  She could see outlines under the snow, suggesting
that flowerbeds had been established here and there long ago. As they turned to
reenter the living room, she noticed the wide staircase leading upstairs. 
Will led the way, pointing out that the upper rooms were actually built into
the attic and there was not as much room because of the steeply, sloping
roof.  Unlike the walls downstairs, which were log except for the kitchen,
pantry and bath, the walls here were finished and papered.  Will lead her
to the two rooms on the west side; they shared a bathroom and were slightly
larger than the downstairs bedrooms, each room had a nice dormer and window
seat.  Will then showed her to the room that would be hers.

“It has a separate
bath and a large bay window facing the front of the house.”  He glanced
around to see if she was still with him; she had not made a sound since they
entered this room.

Adrianna walked
around slowly, taking it all in.  She paused at the dresser and picked up
the picture in an antique frame.  She gazed at it and held it to her
chest.  “Will, this is the room you shared with Emily; you built it just
for her,” she shook her head gently.  “I can’t take your room.”

This gal was not
at all what Will had expected.  She was soft and sensitive like Em. 
She wasn’t Em, but somehow he knew she would try to make this a home for
Scotty, and right now that was what counted.

“You’re
right.  I did build it for Em but she’s gone now.”  He sat on the bed
and smoothed the spread with his weathered hand.  “Fact is, I haven’t
spent a day in this room since she passed away.  I’d be pleased to have
you use it.”

He stood and when
their eyes met he realized she had tears in her eyes.  “Good Grief, just
what this place needs, a teary-eyed female,” but he smiled at her and added,
“Don’t you tell Jack I’ve gone soft on you, it will ruin my image.”  He
headed back into the hall.  “There’s a storage room at the far end of the
hall.  Want to see it?”

The room had a big
window at the far end and was light and warm, being situated right over the
kitchen.  It would make a perfect place for Scotty to study and
play.  Will could sense her excitement and asked casually.  “Think
this will do?”

“It will be
perfect,” she answered.  She turned to see him grinning at her; now she
knew where Jack got his grin.   She wondered if they had noticed
Scotty had the same one.

***

Lunch was simple
but delicious.  Will even allowed Adrianna to set the table.  “We
don’t usually mess with that, just grab a plate from the cupboard,” he’d
said.  Jack was right about Andy being painfully shy.  She wondered
how he even managed to swallow his stew, but as long as she didn’t look
directly at him he seemed to relax.

“Is anybody but me
ready for more coffee?” Will asked, as he got up from the table.

“Well, did you two
make any decisions about how to arrange this place so we can all survive?” Jack
finally managed the courage to ask.

“No problem.” Will
growled and scowled, winking over Jack’s head at Adrianna.  “We’re just
going to turn the place over to this gal, and she’s going to turn our lives
upside down.”  He paused for a minute and went on.  This was fun and
he was beginning to realize why Jack was so uptight about her. 
‘Wonder
how long it will take him to figure it out?’ 
Will leaned up against
the sink and grinned at Adrianna. 
 
“Why you ever brought such
a pushy broad into this house, I’ll never know!”

Jack swung around
in shock, tipping his chair over in his haste. He just couldn’t believe his dad
was being so blatantly obnoxious. “Pops! What’s gotten into you?”

His dad was
laughing and Adrianna was in hysterics.  “Damnation!”  They had been
in cahoots.  Well, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about them killing
each other,  not yet.   Andy had even joined in the laughter.

 After lunch
the men went out to check on the cattle in the far pasture, as Andy and Will
hadn’t had time for that in the past few days.   Adrianna checked the
supplies on hand and offered to cook dinner, hoping she could find whatever she
needed without too much trouble.  The remainder of the afternoon was spent
making lists and getting familiar with the house.

She discovered
Will and Andy already used the downstairs bedrooms and Jack’s things were in
the bedroom upstairs, next to the room she would use for   Scotty’s
classroom.  She was relieved she wouldn’t need to change any bedrooms
around.  This household would be undergoing enough changes without adding
more confusion.  She would put Scotty in the room next to hers.  It
had apparently been Emily’s sewing room, an old treadle machine sat by the
window, and the shelves were lined with fabric.

***

The men enjoyed
the meal she had prepared.  Will and Andy insisted on doing the dishes,
chasing her out of the kitchen.    Jack took coffee to Adrianna
in the living room, where he found her staring out the window. 

“Well, Adrianna,
what do you think after today?”

Adrianna stood
staring out into the winter night.  It seemed like she could see forever
out this window.  She took the cup of coffee and sipped at it.

“Honestly?” she
asked.

“Always.” He
listened very carefully, not just to what she said, but how she said it; he
couldn’t help feeling he’d pushed her into something she might regret.

“I think I’m
falling in love with this place, already.  That’s what I think.”  She
paused and then glanced up at the man standing beside her.  “I also think
your dad is a pussycat.”

Jack grinned down
at her, “Sure didn’t take you long to figure him out, did it?”

Adrianna took
another sip and smiled out at the night.  “Knowing you helped.”

***

Adrianna awoke to
the smell of fresh coffee. 
‘I must have slept in.’
She threw on
her clothes, drug a comb through her hair and pulled it back into a twist as
she ran down the stairs.  Three big smiles and a stack of sourdough
pancakes greeted her.  “Morning, Sleepyhead,” Will announced.  “Ready
for some cakes?”

Breakfast was
delicious and filling.  Will it seemed was determined to ‘put some meat on
her bones’.  After being assured she didn’t mind cleaning up the kitchen,
Will and Andy headed out to feed the heifers; Jack volunteered to stay in and
help Adrianna move a few things around upstairs. 

Will stopped at
the door and looked back at them.  “By the way, I got to wonderin’ last
night, how is Scotty going to make it up and down the stairs?”

“On his butt, one
step at a time,” Adrianna explained.  “When my son, Chad broke his leg
skiing, that’s how he did it and it worked just great.”  She looked up
from the sink to see Will shaking his head in wonder.  “Builds shoulder
muscles, too.”

***

Jack and Adrianna
moved the single bed into the room next to Adrianna’s and all the sewing
equipment into the attic room she would use for a classroom. 

She asked Jack to
help her sort and store the boxes scattered around the room.  “I don’t
feel right about going through your things,” she explained.

“I don’t
mind.  Actually it’s kind of interesting.  An attic is like a history
book in 3-D,” he replied, as he looked around the room.  “Aren’t you going
to need a table or desk in here?”

“A desk or table,
two chairs, broom, mop, dust pan . . .”

“Whoa!  Hold
your horses, gal.  I’ll get the table and chairs out of the cubbies under
the eaves.  You’ll find all the cleaning supplies in the cupboard, next to
the freezer on the back porch,” he finished, as he ducked through the short
door in the wall.  By the time she arrived back upstairs, he had all the
boxes next to the table and was sorting.

 She started
cleaning on the far end of the room.  The window was large and after
washing off years of grime, she discovered a wonderful view of the mountains
and high pastures, covered with early morning sunshine.  She was standing
absorbing the beauty, when she heard Jack clear his throat. She turned to find
him grinning at her.

“If you’re going
to take a break every fifteen minutes, this may take a while,” he chuckled.

“Slave driver!”
 The toys in his hand caught her eye.  “Toy soldiers, how many did
you have?” she asked, as she rushed over to the table and looked into the box.

“Boxes full,
why?  Planning war games?”

“Sort of.  As
a matter of fact, playing games is a wonderful and painless way to teach.” She
glanced over at him across the small table.  “Would you mind if I used
them?”

Jack shook his
head and went back under the eaves.  He came back with four more boxes of
soldiers.  “Do you want a folding table too?” he asked, heading back even
before she answered. 

***

Both rooms were
finished and sparkling clean by the time Will and Andy got back to the house
for lunch.  Adrianna had whipped up a batch of baking powder biscuits to
go with the leftovers, and Jack gave Will and Andy a tour of the upstairs,
while she set the table.

“Looks just fine
up there,” Will offered, as he sat down and dished up his plate.  “Think
we can make Scotty feel at home here, Adrianna?” 

She could feel the
men watching her as she returned to the stove for the coffee pot.  “Can
you love him?”

“Of course, we
can.” Will replied, when he finally found his voice.  “How can you ask
that?”

“I can ask because,
even with the best of intentions, sometimes people are impossible to like, let
alone love.”  Her eyes went from each man’s face to the next. 
“Scotty has a lot of scars, not just physical ones.  I have an idea he’s
going to put us all through the wringer more than once.”  She looked to
Jack for support.

“I think what
she’s trying to say is we’re all going to have to be patient with him,” he
added.

“Patient, but
firm,” she said, as she poured the hot liquid into their cups.  “Just like
you need to be patient with me, until I learn to make coffee like Will’s.”

“Heaven Forbid!”
Jack and Andy roared, tipping their chairs back on two legs.

“And firm, just
like I’ll be, until I teach you not to abuse the furniture,” she growled,
giving them a withering glare.

***

The men headed for
the barns for the afternoon, and Adrianna finished her inventory, making a
complete list of all the things she wanted to bring back from town.  Jack
had told her they wouldn’t be coming back up until they brought Scotty home. 
She had decided to spend the evening getting her room ready. Many of Emily and
Will’s things she put into boxes and carried into the cubbies under the
eave.  Some special mementos, however, she chose to put into a box for a
later time.  She dropped into bed, late that night, long after the others
retired.  She set the alarm for six o’clock. She was not about to sleep in
two mornings in a row!

***

Will was the first
man in the kitchen.  The coffee was perking and the table was set. 
Bacon was cut from a slab and eggs were on the counter next to the wood
stove.  Just then he turned, hearing the door open.  Chester came
bouncing in, followed by Adrianna carrying an arm full of wood.  “Good
grief, girl.  What time did you get up?”  He took the wood from her
arms and lowered it into the wood box.