“Going to bring me some?”
He sounded so annoyingly cheerful, she thought as she turned to stare at him, pausing as if in thought. There was the look of a sweet hopeful puppy on his face and she had to wonder how a grown man could do that. She tapped her finger against her chin a couple of times, took a deep breath, and said “No.” With her back straight she walked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her.
The moment the door shut, Matthew buried his face in his pillow and howled with laughter. As he caught his breath, he then wondered if he had offended her with his teasing but could not feel that he had. Getting out of bed he washed up, cleaned his teeth, and started to get dressed. He had no idea what he should or should not do now that a new day was here and hoped someone would have some project or job he could help with. He needed something to do, something useful yet not enough to strain his wounds. He suspected Iain would have some simple but needed chores he could dole out to him.
*
Abigail followed the scent of food and coffee into the kitchen. “Morning, Emily. Hope you had a good and quiet night.”
“Actually I did. Young Niall’s teeth have broken through and I had nearly a full night of sleep. Sadly I then woke up to a man.”
“Oh yes, waking up to a man can be a sore trial.” Abbie poured herself some coffee and set it on the table then looked for something to eat.
“I know. I was in a good, playful mood and now it has flown.”
“As was I, and it is also gone, because they will then spoil that mood by talking.”
“Exactly. Or even worse, attempt to make a joke, at that time of the day.”
“The sheer effrontery of it leaves one speechless.”
Abbie heard a giggle by the stove and peeked behind her to see Mrs. O’Neal making eggs and chortling away to herself. “Perhaps it flew to her.”
“Well, then, she will have a very, very good day.”
“I should say so.”
Mrs. O’Neal ran out of the kitchen and stood on the back porch laughing heartily. Emily and Abbie just smiled at each other and began to help themselves to oatmeal and some fruit. Abbie stood up to deal with the eggs and Emily got some cream to put on the fruit. By the time they sat back down to eat Mrs. O’Neal was back at the stove cooking bacon.
“I thought I might wander into town today,” said Emily.
“I thought it was nearly deserted because of all the troubles?”
“No. People have been carefully slipping back and trying to have normal lives for a year or so now. The general store has reopened. It is next to the saloon, which was utterly ruined last year. I thought it would be enjoyable to go see what they are carrying, if anything. I was rather hoping some of the trading routes had opened up again. Do you wish to come along? You too, Mrs. O’Neal?”
“Very nice of you to ask, Emily, but I have several things I need to bake and store, others to just store. Just picked a lot of the first berries of the spring and need to make them into jam.”
“Perhaps we should stay and help,” said Abbie.
“No. I don’t need help so badly you two cannot go do a little shopping. You can lend a hand before you go and after you come back if you want. I have been doing these things for so many years, it is barely work at all.”
“I doubt we will be in town all that long anyway. Even if a store is open it must be having a difficult time getting supplies or stock to sell. I just like to go in every now and then so I can see what is changing, what is coming back, and what is truly gone.”
“That is a very good idea. We need to know that to know if where we go now is still the best choice or if we may soon have a proper place to get our supplies closer at hand. Just be careful. There are still a lot of rough men about who seem to be eager to kill anyone and steal anything.”
“I will take my rifle with us,” said Abbie.
“Can you shoot it well?” asked Mrs. O’Neal.
“Better than me,” said Matthew as he walked into the kitchen, a yawning Iain right behind him.
“Who’s getting shot?” asked Iain as he sat down next to Emily and swiftly kissed her cheek.
“I was just talking about Abbie’s skill with a rifle.” Matthew poured himself some coffee and took a seat next to her. “Her da said she had a good eye.”
“Huh.”
“Why huh?” asked Emily.
“Because it is not often a skill a woman has. They can use the gun, maybe wound something, but a good eye and a good shot is just not something you often find in a woman.” He narrowed his eyes at his wife. “And ye will let me keep rambling until I say something ye can start a fight about, aye?”
“Aye,” Emily said cheerfully then finished her coffee. “You were doing very well. It would have been a fine argument if you had not caught on and shut your mouth.” She winked at Matthew who was having a quiet laugh. “We are planning a trip to town.”
“If ye take your rifle and plenty of ammunition and dinnae stay too long, it should be all right,” said Matthew “After all, they have hit the town so often it emptied out and a lot of the Confederates are running after the battles, which means heading down Virginia way. I would say we could take a ride round the town to do a wee bit of scouting but I am nay allowed to ride until my wounds close.”
“Weel, there are seven of us, we ought to be able to find enough to do that without risking your delicate health.”
“Thank ye, dear brother, your kindness is boundless.”
“Shall we go then?” asked Abbie.
“We’ll just collect up what we need and what we must.”
Emily stood and headed out of the kitchen and Abbie quickly followed her. Matthew frowned but could not see any true danger to what they planned. Charlotte and George still lived in the town and several others had begun to return to the place. The men that had chased him and the others as they traveled here had not come from the direction of the town but from the direction of the troublesome border with Missouri.
“Are ye sure Abbie can protect them if it is needed?” asked Iain.
“Aye. She is nearly a crack shot. Steady arm and keen eye.”
“And she has no trouble shooting men?”
“I don’t think so. Only showed a hint once and that was when the man turned and faced her and he was not that far away. But otherwise, I think she soothes her mind and heart about it somehow.”
*
“I truly cannot believe they let us go. With both the babies!” Emily shook her head as she drove the cart along the road to the town. “We better not get injured or endangered in any way or I will be bound to the house until I am old and gray.”
“I can shoot, you know,” said Abbie.