Chapter Ten
Belle woke early, surprisedthat the spot beside her on the bed was still empty.Now she was worried.She’d told him to go away, and he had, but had he been hurt?Alaska wasn’t civilized.What if a bear had found him?Or a wolf?
She said a prayer for him, begging God to let him be safe.She’d been an idiot for fighting with him.She needed to learn to control her temper.If he was still alive, she’d do just that.
She went about her morning chores as if everything was normal.When she got to the store around ten, there were two men in the corner of the store whispering to each other.She ignored them and went to the counter, giving Katie the baked goods she’d made, and the eggs she’d gathered that morning.
Belle didn’t make small talk, not caring to speak.She had work to do.
As she turned to leave the store, one of the men who had been whispering in the corner walked to her, removing his hat and holding it over his chest.“I saw that the boss slept in his office last night.If you’re thinking of getting a divorce, I’d marry you.I don’t mind you’ve been married before.”
Belle stared at the man for a moment, thankful to know that Everett was all right.“I’m not planning on getting a divorce, but thank you for the offer.”Without another word, she walked around the man and went straight home.She fixed lunch for herself and Everett and put it in a pail, which she put into a basket with bowls, spoons, and a glass bottle filled with water, carrying it to his office.
He’d started the fight, but she’d engaged in it as well.She needed to apologize for her behavior and give him something to eat.She was certain he hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day, and he wouldn’t come home for food.The man was too stubborn for that.No, she would have to be the one to bend this time.And she would do better about fighting with him in the future.
When she reached his office, she could hear him shouting at someone.She waited until a contrite-looking man had left and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
“Go away!”Everett yelled.
Pasting a smile on her face, Belle took his words as an invitation to come inside and tentatively opened the door.“I thought you’d be hungry.I know you didn’t have supper last night or breakfast this morning.So, I made a rabbit stew, and I brought it with me, so we could have a picnic in your office.Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
She ignored the look on his face and spread the blanket she’d brought with her, carefully setting the basket she’d filled with food onto it.She took the cork stopper out of the bottle of water and poured two glasses.
When she was finished setting everything up, she looked over at Everett, who was gawking at her as if he’d never seen a woman before.“Join me.”
Everett stood and walked to her, sitting across from her on the blanket.“Why are you doing this?”he asked after a moment.
“Because I told you to leave last night, and it was a horrible thing to say.I’m so very sorry, Everett.It takes a lot for me to get angry, but I do have a temper.I never should have let you see it though.You’re my husband, and you mean a great deal to me.”
“I...”
“You don’t have to say anything,” she said.“Just eat your lunch.”
He shook his head.“No, I do need to say something.I’m sorry as well.I’ve been stressed about this deadline, but that’s no excuse for treating you badly.I shouldn’t have scolded you in front of Mrs.Johnson.It was wrong of me.You were only trying to help.”
She smiled at him, nodding.“Then all is forgiven, isn’t it?”
Everett nodded, taking a bite of his rabbit stew.“This is delicious!”he said, looking surprised.
“Rabbit stew is one of my favorite meals.I boiled all the rabbits last night, and I’m going to debone them and can them this afternoon.Then we can have rabbit stew this winter.I think I’ll hunt for more if you like it too.”
“The rabbits will be better this fall, but they’re good now too.They molt in the fall, and their furs aren’t as nice.”
“I planned to save the pelt to make a child’s coat from it.Should I not save these and just get more in the fall or winter?”
“I would.I mean, keep the pelt.We can use it for something else, I’m sure.But I wouldn’t make a coat from it.”
Belle nodded, so happy that the tension between them had passed.“I’ll do that then.Perhaps a pair of slippers would be nice from the pelts I have now.”She sighed.“I will go back to foraging and wait for rabbits in the fall, I guess.If they’re better then, it doesn’t make sense for me to waste my time now.”
“That’s what I’d do.”He finished his bowl of food and sighed.“Thank you for bringing me lunch.I was hungry enough that I was acting like a bear to everyone around me.”
She didn’t tell him he was acting like a bear before he was hungry because she didn’t want to hurt their tentative truce.“Would you enjoy rabbit stew for supper again?”she asked as she set a plate of snickerdoodles between them.
“I would.That was delicious.My ma would make rabbit stew on occasion, but it was never as good as yours.If you ever meet her, please don’t tell her I said that!”
She laughed.“I wouldn’t dream of it.”She took a sip of her water.“What’s the deadline you’re working on?”
He spent the rest of their meal, explaining exactly what still needed to be done for Friday’s deadline.When she finally picked up the remains of their picnic to take them home, he kissed her.“Thank you.”
