The men couldn't sleep in the same house as the women.
That was for certain. Not only because it was indecent, but Jericho also wouldn't give any female the chance to say she'd been wronged by a Coulter man. The Wyatt sisters didn't seem like the type to pretend they’d been mistreated, but theyhadcome all this way to find a husband. The sister closed away in the children’s bed chamber was in the family way, and he’d not heard anything about her being a widow.
He couldn't be too careful.
As he stood in the main room next to Jude, watching Miss Wyatt scurry around the kitchen area, his mind worked through all the details.
If the men slept in the barn, that would leave Jonah in the house alone with these two strangers. He sure couldn't move to the barn any time soon.
Maybe Jericho and the others should take turns sitting at Jonah’s bedside through the night. Would he need that? It'd be nice to just bed down on the floor in his room, but then they'd be back to the situation of an able-bodied man sleeping in the same house as unmarried women.
Would the children be the best solution? Lillian and Sean could sleep on bed pallets in the room Jonah had taken over—Jericho's room, but he'd been doing his best not to think of it. His brother sure needed the bed more than he did right now.
That could work. It wasn't right to ask Lillian to sleep in the barn, anyway, but he didn't cotton to her staying in the house alone with women he didn’t know. With her brother there, one could come running for Jericho if they needed to. He likely wouldn't sleep much anyway.
In the kitchen, Dinah bent over to stoke the fire in the cookstove, and Jericho couldn't help but watch her. Something about her got under his skin. Maybe it was how she carried herself, like she wasn't afraid of anything.
Or perhaps the way she spoke, with a quiet confidence he rarely saw in women. Not that he met many women, mostly those who entertained the miners in Helena or Missoula Mills. But each summer when he took a load of sapphires to New York City, he had ample opportunity to study other females.
No one had snagged his notice like Miss Wyatt did, but probably only because he wasn't used to seeing a lady here in their cabin. Her presence made the place feel smaller than usual.
He had to pull himself out of this stupor and get things organized for the night. The boys would be done with the day's work soon, and he had to have his plan in place.
He glanced at Jude. "We're all sleeping in the barn tonight. Lillian and Sean can bed down in Jonah's room."
Jude nodded as though he'd expected as much. "I'll tell Sampson to have the young-uns clear a place in the loft for us."
Jericho nodded, and his brother headed toward the door. Best he do something with himself now too, instead of standing here gawking at a pretty female.
He moved to the back corner of the room where their supplies were kept and opened the top crate. He needed to take inventory and plan his next trip to Missoula Mills. They were running low on gunpowder and ammunition and to restock basic supplies. Time in town was his least favorite task, but he’d rather go himself than risk one of his brothers talking too much or being lured by something they saw.
The way Lucy had.
As he dug through the crates, he heard a soft thud and a small gasp from behind him. Dinah had dropped a pot on the floor, and now she was on her hands and knees, frantically trying to salvage the contents.
He strode over to her and knelt down.
"I'm sorry." She was scooping the gloppy mess—maybe cornbread batter—back into the dish. Surely she didn't plan to cook the stuff still.
He didn't mind a pinch of dirt mixed in with his food, but he couldn't say when this floor had been swept last. Probably not since the children came and he'd ordered Gil and Miles to clean the entire house. That had been nearly ten months ago. There was no telling what kind of dead bugs and dirt now mixed in with the batter.
"I know food supplies are precious here. I didn't mean to squander…" She scraped the last of the mess from the floor with her hand and plopped it into the container.
He eased the dish out of her hand. "I'll go dump this for you and clean out the pot. I'll bring in another bucket of clean water too." He stood and reached out to help her up.
She didn't take his hand, just pushed to her feet, holding her messy hands in front of her.
He glanced over at the clean water pot. "Sean is in charge of refilling the cook water each evening before he and Lillian help with the food." He sent her a rueful look. "He’s otherwise occupied this afternoon. Working off his punishment for an advertisement the two of them shouldn't have placed."
She offered a weak smile, grimy hands still splayed in front of her.
He turned toward the door. "I'll show you the water wagon so you can get what you need any time."
As he strode outside and to the left of the house, sounds of hammering drifted from the barn. Miss Wyatt had to scurry to keep up with his long steps.Slow down, Coulter. Mum would have expected better of him when walking with a lady.
Matching her stride felt ridiculously slow, but he forced himself to relax. She'd been traveling for weeks and was likely exhausted.
He stole a sideways glance. She didn'tlooktired. Most of her blond hair was pulled back in a knot, but loose strands had escaped to frame her face. A face that looked far too delicate to withstand the hard life in this territory. Her skin wasn't weathered or lined. The line of her jaw looked strong, but her nose dainty. Maybe that was why he had trouble seeing her as a doctor. She seemed too feminine to think clearly in the middle of blood and crisis.
