Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

A fter two days on the ranch, Serena felt as though she was finally getting used to the routine. Little Joshua had been an absolute angel and was the least fussy baby that she'd ever had the pleasure of taking care of. She spent most of the day carrying the child around until her arms ached, and then she would lay him down for a nap with Mrs. Collins while she rested herself.

After laying the baby down for his nap with Mrs. Collins, Serena was heading for the stairs when there was a knock on the door. Her heart thumped in her chest. Was it Johann? Had he finally caught up with her? She looked around to see if there was anyone else who would be able to answer. Should she answer? In Johann's house, she wasn't permitted to answer the door. Either he did it himself, or his manservant did. Was she permitted… expected to answer the door here? But again, what if it was Johann who was doing the knocking?

A lump formed in her throat as her ears rung and her heart pounded against her rib cage. Then the knock came again. This time she listened to it with a discerning ear. No, it couldn't be Johann. He'd pound on the door with angry fists. This was a gentler, inquisitive knock. Most likely the knock was that of a woman. Swallowing, Serena steeled herself and then stepped up to the door and took hold of the handle. After taking another deep breath, she opened the door. As suspected, a woman in a dark dress stood on the other side. Her hair was pinned under a hat decorated with a sprig of holly. She smiled once the door opened. "Ah! You must be the new Mrs. Archer. Serena, isn't it?"

Serena nodded, still gripping the door handle, unsure what she should do.

The woman offered a hand. "I'm Mrs. Slocum. I'm the one who wrote to my cousin, Sister Mary Katherine and then made arrangements for your proxy wedding with the matron of the orphanage there."

"Oh," Serena said, finally, and stepped to the side. "Where are my manners? Do come in, Mrs. Slocum."

The lady smiled wider and entered the house, pulling off her gloves and then taking the pin from her hat before removing it and placing it on one of the hooks by the door. "It's lovely and warm in here, and I do enjoy the scent of leather. I only get that when I visit Archer Ranch. It's quite singular to the place."

Serena nodded. It was the first scent that she'd noticed when she arrived, though she'd grown accustomed to it over the last few days. "I must thank you for making those arrangements. I was in a pickle in Atlanta and needed to find a place to stay."

Mrs. Slocum took hold of Serena's good hand in both of hers. "I'm happy that I could help both you and the young Mr. Archer. It seemed that this arrangement was mutually beneficial to you both. Speaking of… where's the baby?"

Shooting a glance toward the kitchen, Serena said, "He's taking a nap with Mrs. Collins right now."

"That's good. Both of them likely need their rest. It's not often that someone can recover from dropsy even as much as Mrs. Collins has. But if she has another shock or episode like that again, I'm afraid we may lose her." Mrs. Slocum frowned and had such sad eyes.

Serena nodded but didn't say anything. It seemed unusual for her to think that a family like the Archers would be willing to take care of a servant when she fell ill in such a way. If one of Johann's servants lost their use, he'd dispose of them like refuse. She couldn't imagine him being willing to care for an older lady like Mrs. Collins—housing, feeding, and even cleaning up after her the way that Theo did wouldn't even cross Johann's mind.

It was then that she made a decision. "Mrs. Slocum, could I ask a favor of you?"

The older woman blinked. "Of course. What can I do for you, dear?"

"I…" Serena felt a bit embarrassed to ask. "I don't know how to cook, and I'd like to learn. Is that something you would be willing to teach me?"

Mrs. Slocum blinked, but slowly her smile widened. "Of course. Would you like to get started now? I could come every afternoon and show you how to put together the recipes that Mrs. Collins has in her book, I'm sure. We can even do some baking and get things ready for a proper holiday. You'll be an expert before it's time to make Christmas dinner."

Serena grinned, since Mrs. Slocum's excitement was contagious. "That would be wonderful. Thank you so much."

But the older woman was already reaching for one of the aprons that hung on the hook next to the stove. "Let's begin with learning how to use the wood stove."

Theo had cut his work a little short at the barn, since he thought he'd need to make supper, just as he had been doing since Mrs. Collins got sick, but when he entered the house, the aroma of fresh biscuits hit him hard enough to make his mouth water. A bit confused, he made his way to the kitchen with the pail of goat milk he'd brought for Joshua. There he found Mrs. Slocum helping Serena to pull a batch of biscuits from the oven. He couldn't help but smile. "Something in here sure smells delicious."

Serena looked up at him wide-eyed. "Mrs. Slocum is teaching me how to cook."

The preacher's wife grinned. "She's a fast learner and had more basics than she knew she did. Her grandmother had taught her a few things, but it had been so long, that she didn't really remember them until now. Just like riding a bicycle, cooking can be just as intuitive."

Theo nodded as he drew closer and peered at the fresh biscuits. "Then Serena made these with your help?"

"Hardly," Mrs. Slocum said with a smile. "She barely needed any help at all. All she really needed was the confidence to use the skills she already had."

"That's an exaggeration," Serena said. "I needed the help. I would have messed things up a bit, even with Mrs. Collins recipes if Mrs. Slocum wasn't here to show me where things were and how to use them."

Watching them get along so well, Theo felt a bit of warmth in his heart. It hadn't really mattered to him that Serena didn't know how to cook, but the fact that she was trying endeared her to him. "So, how long until supper is ready?"

Mrs. Slocum started untying the apron around her waist. "Not very long now, I think a quarter hour. But I need to get home and cook supper for Mr. Slocum, myself. I think you have a handle on this otherwise, Mrs. Archer."

Immediately, Serena's cheeks reddened, and she shyly looked away from Theo. His heart fluttered at the thought of this young woman being his wife. Yes, she was seven years younger than him, and that hadn't been something that he'd planned. He'd never have searched for a bride so young. But he couldn't help the way that things worked out. Theo nodded and asked, "Do you need me to fetch your horse and cart?"

She waved a hand. "You spend time with your new bride. I'll get Hank to do it."

This time, it was Theo's cheeks that heated. Truth was that he'd not really spent much time with Serena at all since she'd arrived. She was spending most of her time taking care of little Joshua and settling into a routine in the house. And now that Theo was free to get back to work with the cattle and horses, he'd been doing that. Still, Theo walked Mrs. Slocum to the door.

Just before the preacher's wife took her leave, she placed her hat on her head and smiled up at Theo. "That young lady is quite the prize. She seems to be settling in."

He nodded. "I hope so."

"No need to worry. I'd say she's quite smitten with Joshua and it's only a matter of time before she'll be smitten with you as well."

His stomach flipped as he rubbed the back of his neck. "There's no need for all of that. I think we have a pretty fair arrangement. If it never amounts to more than that, I think we'll work out fine."

Mrs. Slocum patted his shoulder. "You say that now, but I get the feeling that things would be better than fine if you both get to know each other better."

Not knowing what to say, Theo kept his mouth shut as he nodded his goodbye to the woman as she made her way out the door. For a moment, he just stood there, watching her leave. What did she mean by what she was saying? Although he certainly liked the woman who'd become his bride, he didn't intend to get his hopes up for anything more. His heart was more guarded than that, and he wasn't sure that the southern belle would want anything more than an amicable working relationship, either.

He heard a crash in the kitchen which drew his attention. After closing the door, he rushed back into that room. Serena held her injured hand with her other and had a twisted, painful look on her face. The empty pan sat on the floor. Her gaze shot up to him. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking and grabbed the pan without a towel, not realizing it was so hot still."

With a towel, she reached down and tried to pick up the pan.

"Leave it." Frowning, he shook his head. "You've got a little bit of a burn? Come over to the wash basin."

She did as she was told and followed him to the basin. He took hold of the pitcher. "Put your hand over the basin. The first thing you should do when you get a burn is clean it. The cool water will offer some relief and if it's any kind of deep, make sure to wash it too."

Nodding, she put her hand over the basin and Theo poured the water over her delicate fingers. Her voice came in little more than a whisper as she said, "Sorry. I didn't realize I was so clumsy in the kitchen."

"Cooking is something we all get better at with practice. I only know about four or five different meals myself, so you haven't yet exhausted them to realize that," he said with a self- deprecating laugh. "I imagine I'd be clumsier than you if I tried to pick up a new recipe or two."

"I doubt it," she said, shaking her head and drying her hand with a towel once he'd finished rinsing it. "But thank you for the encouragement. Johann never allowed me to do anything like cooking or cleaning, much less taking care of a baby."

"Johann, your guardian?"

She nodded. "He liked me to concentrate on my work, and to do that I needed my hands. If I burned a hand like this or something, I think he would not handle that well."

He looked her over but she was already going back to pick up the pan she'd dropped with a towel. Then she was at work, setting the table and preparing three plates of food, one for each of them and for Mrs. Collins. Theo couldn't help but wonder just how abusive her former guardian must have been for her to give up everything she knew in Atlanta in order to come to Indian territory and marry a stranger.

In the other room, the baby began fussing. Looking uncertain, Serena stopped what she was doing and shot a glance toward Mrs. Collin's bedroom and wiped her hands on her apron. Theo rested a hand on her shoulder. "You go ahead and put the finishing touches on the delicious dinner you've made, and I'll take care of Joshua."

"Thank you." Her eyes sparkled when she looked up at him and smiled, sending butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

He nodded, cleared his throat, trying to get ahold of himself as he headed toward Mrs. Collins room. When he entered, he found Mrs. Collins holding the young one.

"Supper smells very good tonight. Did you use my pot roast recipe?"

Theo stepped forward and took the baby from her, shaking his head. "I didn't make supper tonight. Serena did, with some help from Mrs. Slocum."

"Oh, I didn't know she was here for a visit," Mrs. Collins said as she smoothed down her hair. Serena had been brushing and braiding it for the last two days, which had put the older woman in better spirits of late.

"She was, but she's left now. I'll go and fetch Joshua a bottle," he said just as they both turned toward the door and found Serena coming in with a tray of dinner.

"I thought that you might get a chance to eat while your hands are free," Serena said as she set the tray across Mrs. Collins's lap and then offered to take the baby from Theo. "And you can sit down to eat as well, while I get Joshua. I prepared him a bottle with the milk you brought in, too."

Blinking, Theo relinquished the child and then turned back toward Mrs. Collins with a questioning glance.

Mrs. Collins nodded mid-chew and then pointed at the roast in her plate with her fork with a smile. "It's really good. I couldn't have made it better myself."

Theo couldn't help but smile in return as he went to follow Serena back out into the kitchen. It certainly would improve things even further if Serena was willing to make a meal now and then. He didn't expect her to take on the role completely, especially since she was new at the task, but if he could spend more time out running the ranch and she was willing to take over the household, it would be more help than he'd hoped for. Perhaps this marriage thing would work out to his benefit after all.