couldn’t. The sun dipped behind the trees to the west just as Kirby rode up on Major. She knew it was Major because he was the horse with the white star between his eyes. Kirby walked the horse closer to Jo, appraising the line of fence posts as he did so. Secure in her work, Jo waited for his approval.
With a brisk nod he said, “Well done. Now hop on up here, and I’ll give you a ride to the house. Mattie’s home and dinner’s on.”
Jo’s eyes lit up when he said dinner. Food sounded so good. She looked at the wagon with the remaining posts in the back, and at the posthole diggers and the shovel lying on the ground. “I’ll be along shortly. I need to put the wagon and tools away.”
Jo surprised Kirby. Not only were the posts in the ground, but she had done it in good time, and despite the weariness she must feel, she wouldn’t quit until the equipment was taken care of. He looked at her gruffly for a minute, hating to be impressed by anyone. She was a mess, with her hair drenched in sweat and dirt smeared across her cheeks, but her eyes were lively. He thought about telling her to stop being tough and just get on the horse and come eat dinner, but he suddenly felt that telling her to do so would be an insult somehow. The look in her eyes told him he was right, so Kirby ducked his head, turning his horse away, and said, “I’ll see you in a bit then.”
***
Jo entered the long kitchen with clean hands, face, and spirit. She felt that she had somehow passed this first test and hopefully would earn a position at the ranch all summer. The work was hard but rewarding. As Jo approached, everyone was still sitting at the table, visiting comfortably after their meal. A woman—obviously Mattie—pushed her chair back and came to greet Jo with open arms. Jo had been away from home a full month now, and Mattie’s motherly embrace nearly brought tears to her eyes.
“Oh, it is so good to meet you. I’m Mattie. I can’t tell you how delighted I was to come home and find another woman on the ranch. It’s better than Christmas,” she suggested warmly.
Mattie was a round woman, a couple of inches taller than Jo, with silver hair swirled in a loose bun at the back of her neck. Her skin was light, and she had rich brown eyes with small wrinkles at their corners. She wore a lovely dress, and a red apron dotted with flour was tied around her middle.
Jo laughed off the compliment, “Oh please don’t compare me to Christmas. I’ll never live up to it.”
Wrapping her arm around Jo’s shoulder, Mattie gave her a squeeze and steered her toward the table and into a chair. A plate of fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes dripping with gravy, and a side of crisp green beans was placed in front of Jo. Everyone else had already eaten and cleared their dishes from the table. Jo felt self-conscious eating in front of everyone else, but she was ravenous after the labor of the day, so saying a quick blessing in her head, she picked up a chicken leg and took her first crispy bite. It tasted even better than it looked.
Mattie asked Jo all sorts of questions through dinner, about her home and family, her years as a schoolteacher, her travel west, and how she ended up at the ranch. Jo was grateful for the conversation after weeks of having only herself for company. The last two days at the ranch with Leif, Charlie, and Kirby had also passed in relative silence. Any talking they did involved work plans for the day, and generally the four of them had been so tired by sundown that they had barely spoken at the dinner table. This morning a small dialogue had taken place at breakfast, but the sum of it had been Leif, Charlie, and Jo trying to decipher amongst themselves what exactly it was they were eating. Kirby had placed plates high with gray chunky liquid with little black bits in it over burnt biscuits in front of them. Jo had had a hard time choking it down and offered during breakfast to take over kitchen duty until Mattie
With a brisk nod he said, “Well done. Now hop on up here, and I’ll give you a ride to the house. Mattie’s home and dinner’s on.”
Jo’s eyes lit up when he said dinner. Food sounded so good. She looked at the wagon with the remaining posts in the back, and at the posthole diggers and the shovel lying on the ground. “I’ll be along shortly. I need to put the wagon and tools away.”
Jo surprised Kirby. Not only were the posts in the ground, but she had done it in good time, and despite the weariness she must feel, she wouldn’t quit until the equipment was taken care of. He looked at her gruffly for a minute, hating to be impressed by anyone. She was a mess, with her hair drenched in sweat and dirt smeared across her cheeks, but her eyes were lively. He thought about telling her to stop being tough and just get on the horse and come eat dinner, but he suddenly felt that telling her to do so would be an insult somehow. The look in her eyes told him he was right, so Kirby ducked his head, turning his horse away, and said, “I’ll see you in a bit then.”
***
Jo entered the long kitchen with clean hands, face, and spirit. She felt that she had somehow passed this first test and hopefully would earn a position at the ranch all summer. The work was hard but rewarding. As Jo approached, everyone was still sitting at the table, visiting comfortably after their meal. A woman—obviously Mattie—pushed her chair back and came to greet Jo with open arms. Jo had been away from home a full month now, and Mattie’s motherly embrace nearly brought tears to her eyes.
“Oh, it is so good to meet you. I’m Mattie. I can’t tell you how delighted I was to come home and find another woman on the ranch. It’s better than Christmas,” she suggested warmly.
Mattie was a round woman, a couple of inches taller than Jo, with silver hair swirled in a loose bun at the back of her neck. Her skin was light, and she had rich brown eyes with small wrinkles at their corners. She wore a lovely dress, and a red apron dotted with flour was tied around her middle.
Jo laughed off the compliment, “Oh please don’t compare me to Christmas. I’ll never live up to it.”
Wrapping her arm around Jo’s shoulder, Mattie gave her a squeeze and steered her toward the table and into a chair. A plate of fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes dripping with gravy, and a side of crisp green beans was placed in front of Jo. Everyone else had already eaten and cleared their dishes from the table. Jo felt self-conscious eating in front of everyone else, but she was ravenous after the labor of the day, so saying a quick blessing in her head, she picked up a chicken leg and took her first crispy bite. It tasted even better than it looked.
Mattie asked Jo all sorts of questions through dinner, about her home and family, her years as a schoolteacher, her travel west, and how she ended up at the ranch. Jo was grateful for the conversation after weeks of having only herself for company. The last two days at the ranch with Leif, Charlie, and Kirby had also passed in relative silence. Any talking they did involved work plans for the day, and generally the four of them had been so tired by sundown that they had barely spoken at the dinner table. This morning a small dialogue had taken place at breakfast, but the sum of it had been Leif, Charlie, and Jo trying to decipher amongst themselves what exactly it was they were eating. Kirby had placed plates high with gray chunky liquid with little black bits in it over burnt biscuits in front of them. Jo had had a hard time choking it down and offered during breakfast to take over kitchen duty until Mattie
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