They soon returned to the porch. Geordie found the curry brush and went to tend to his horse, leaving her to bake her bread. As he entered the barn his mount loudly greeted him. Geordie decided he should probably take the poor animal for a ride. Back home he would ride at least once a day. He did not know if animals could get bored, but if they could, he was sure Romeo was getting there. After grooming Romeo, he saddled him and led him out of his stall.
For a while he just rode around Belle’s land, admiring how tidy the place was kept. He had to wonder who kept the grass cut and why she did not just let it grow in a lot of places. He would have to ask. If she did it, it was a lot of work, and if she paid someone, he had to think it was a fee she might struggle to pay at times. Then he saw the goats and grinned. Belle clearly knew someone else who had goats, because eight of the animals cropped the grass today and he knew she owned only four. He turned and took the path down to the beach, passing Thor, who was sprawled in the grass keeping a close eye on the goats.
A strange choice for a herd dog, but he suspected the animal did very well. It certainly had the size and strength to protect the goats. Once he reached the beach he started to ride in the opposite direction from the one he had taken on his last exploration.
It was not long before the high ground disappeared. The number of houses also increased and he decided he was probably headed toward whatever town was in the area. In the distance he could see a lot of farmland beyond what appeared to be marshlands. Curious to see what a town looked like in this part of the country, he rode on, looking for a path up to the road he could see running along the coast.
Once up on the road, he could see the farmland more clearly. It looked a lot easier to farm, or use as grazing land, than the rocky patch of land they had had in Scotland. Places in the Ozarks looked similar but still had the hills and rock to deal with. Geordie idly wondered if there were many places where everything was perfect or if he would even want to find such a place.
He approached the town and looked for a place to tie up his horse. Once his mount was secure he began to wander the street, looking into several stores. He bought some cider for Robbie to try and something called maple syrup, which the lady running the store said was very good on some of the things Belle made them for breakfast. Then he found himself wandering through a store that offered things he felt comfortable buying for the women in his family.
By the time he returned to his horse, his arms were full of packages and he spent the time to fit them all carefully into his saddlebags. He mounted his horse and started on his way back to Belle’s. It was not until he turned up the path to her property that he began to get a little nervous about the small gift he had bought for Belle. He was not sure what had made him buy it or how he would give it to her. He had seen it and thought of her, which puzzled him. He had never spontaneously bought a gift for a lover before.
After he settled his horse back in its stall, he felt the first touch of rain as he walked to the house. His plan had been to get to his room and put away the things in his saddlebags, but he met her just outside the infirmary. He felt a light blush touch his cheeks when he looked at her as they walked into the infirmary. It made him feel like a young boy caught out in some mischief.
“You found our little town?” She flicked the top of one package with her finger. “Been shopping?”
“Just for a few things. Something to take home.” He looked at Robbie. “Got ye a bottle of some locally made cider and a few names of places ye might want to visit before we head out.”
“If he is not up to walking around much when you think you want to go, you can use the donkey cart and maybe take a cane.” She smiled when Robbie groaned, then she tugged Geordie out of the infirmary. “I am going to test him on his feet again tomorrow, and will want you close at hand in case he needs a steadying hand or he stumbles and needs someone to catch him.”
“Does he ken that? About the testing?”
“He does. He knows it will just be a short test, only a bit more than just resting his weight on that foot, followed by a round of swimming, so your gift of cider may well prove very helpful.”
He nodded and went back in to place his saddlebags on Robbie’s bed, then searched out the bottle of cider he had bought him. He also took out the ones he had bought for Will and himself. After handing the drink to Will, he carefully sat down on the edge of Robbie’s bed.
“What are ye watching me for?” asked Robbie.
“Waiting to see what ye think before I take a drink.”
“Ah.” Robbie took a sip, swished the drink around his mouth and swallowed. “Good, but what is that other flavor I taste?”
“Peach.”
“Huh. It is good, but maybe too sweet for drinking more than one or two.”
“Ye can try mine. It is a mix of apples, a tart one most people use for cooking and another usually used for eating. Will is sipping one that has a berry of some kind added to it.”
“Cranberry,” said Will. “Sharp, rather sour berry that grows in bogs round this part of the country. It actually blends in well, but I don’t usually like sweet drinks anyways.”
“And nay an ingredient we can get easily in the Ozarks, I suspect,” said Robbie as he switched his bottle with Geordie’s. “This is good.” He looked at the label. “And we have both of these apples.”
“Time for a swim,” Belle said as she walked into the room. “No more of this,” she said, and took Robbie’s bottle of cider away. “You too, Will, Geordie.”
“Dinnae we need something else to wear?” asked Robbie as he sat up and slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed.
“I brought some things, if you choose to put them on, but you could swim in what you have on, and I will wash them after.”
“I’ll help them,” said Geordie.
Belle went out and waited by the door. She felt a little awkward in her bathing costume, which was little more than a short dress with short puffed sleeves, and stockings. When the men came marching out she almost grinned. None of them looked comfortable in the men’s swimming costumes she had dug out for them, but she picked up the sack with the towels in it and helped them all get down to the beach. She was glad Geordie had not protested coming along as she really needed his help.
She noticed that Robbie kept watching his leg as he moved, as if still worried that somehow all she had done would unravel, but he did not hesitate to get in the water. His brother helped him remain steady as he moved his legs while she stayed near Will. He needed little help, so she occasionally took a little swim around on her own and just kept a close eye on him.
By the time they left the water and made their way back to the infirmary, she could see that both Robbie and Will were tired yet obviously felt pleased with their own progress. She wrapped a towel around herself when she caught Geordie studying her in her bathing costume and feared that it was showing too much. She helped a little in getting Will and Robbie into dry clothes, then warned them supper would be brought in within the next hour as she hurried off to change.
She changed her clothes and went down to the kitchen to finish working on the evening meal. She was just taking the meat out when Geordie came into the kitchen. He came over to the stove when she set the pan down, and spooned up some of the juices.
