Instant Prairie Family (Love Inspired Historical) by Bonnie Navarro

voice from behind startled her, chasing her away from the door.
    Mr. Hopkins stood with her hope chest on his shoulder as if it were a bag of feathers. “I’ll take this into the room on the first floor and then you can decide where you want to stay. I...” His nose curled as he stepped farther into the room. “Jake!” he exclaimed, frowning as he took in the pots on the counter. “I asked that boy...” he muttered under his breath.
    “I’ll get the kitchen straightened out in no time, sir.”
    “It’s not right for you to have to start working today. I’m sure you just want to rest after your long trip.” His face looked bright red and his eyes didn’t meet hers. Abby found his embarrassment charming.
    “I’ll be fine. I’ll just need to freshen up a bit and then I could pull something together for supper.”
    “Are you going to cook like they do at the hotel?” Tommy piped up, still tugging her hand. Willy hovered at the doorway, trying to act nonchalant.
    “Well, I don’t know if it’ll be just like the restaurant, but it will be enough to fill you up. My nieces and nephews like my chicken and dumplings. We could also make fried venison steaks when you go get a big one with your pa. But today I think I’m just going to have to see what’s in the pantry and make something simple. Tomorrow we can make a menu. You can show me how many letters and words you already know,” she offered.
    “What’s a menu?” Tommy turned to his bigger brother, but Willy just shrugged.
    “A menu is the list of the foods for you to choose from. At the restaurant, the lady gave one to you to look at so you could decide what you wanted to order. Here at the house we will make a list for the week ahead of what we are going to make each day so you can get really hungry the days that we make your favorites. It helps to know what we want to cook so that we can make sure all the ingredients are available.”
    “What’s ’gredients?”
    “ Ingredients are the things we need to make that food, like flour and butter and eggs…. Now, how about if we go help your pa put my stuff in my room and then we can chat?” Abby offered, following the man who had disappeared into the second doorway on the hallway from the kitchen. Once out of the kitchen, she discovered it wasn’t a hallway but a large living room with a comfortable-looking davenport and a rocking chair facing the center of the room. The center wall was a massive fireplace with an ample hearth. The door Mr. Hopkins entered shared the wall with the fireplace. That room would be nice and warm come the winter—if she was still working for the family then.
    The bedroom itself was sparsely furnished, with a large bed sagging in the center. The only other piece of furniture was a forlorn nightstand. Everything had a layer of dust, and the spiderwebs in the corner looked like spun cotton.
    “Where would you like your chest?” Mr. Hopkins stood in the middle of the room, looking surprised to see the condition of the place. “Um, I hadn’t been in here....”
    “I think it would be best if you left it out in the living room for a few minutes until I can tidy up just a bit,” Abby suggested tactfully.
    “Are you gonna sleep on the couch?” Tommy asked.
    “No.” Abby shook her head and smiled at the small boy, ruffling his hair. “I’ll be sleeping in here, but I think it would be better to air out the room and sweep up a little. Don’t you agree?”
    Tommy nodded energetically. Willy hung back at the door, not venturing into the room but watching everyone else.
    “Could you do me a favor?” Abby asked Willy, knowing Tommy would probably follow. “Would you go find me the broom and dustpan?” As soon as Tommy and Willy had raced off, she tried the window, but it wouldn’t budge.
    “I’ll go get your other things, miss. Unless there’s something else that you would like me to do first?” Mr. Hopkins offered. His hands resting on opposite sides of the door