Read Online Montana Morning by Sharon Flesch - Free Book Online

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