“Logging.And Aaron prefers sawmill.It gets cold in the winter, but it’ll be fine.”
“That reminds me,” she said.“I need you to let me measure your boots later.I’m making you some mukluks, and I want to be sure I get the size right.”
His eyes widened.“You’re making me shoes?”
She nodded.“I don’t want your toes to freeze off.I noticed your boots have a few holes.”
“You could make mukluks for the store as well, if you enjoy it.Most of the men wear their boots much longer than they should.”
“We’ll see how I like it before I commit,” she said with a smile.
“Good idea.”He pushed his bowl away.“I can’t eat another bite, but it was good.”
“There’s enough left that I could put it in a jar for your lunch tomorrow.”
“I would like that a lot.”
“Consider it done.”She stood and cleared the table, getting the dishes done right away.
He sat and watched her work.She was a skittish little thing, but when she got used to being married to him, he was sure she’d make a good wife.
When she’d finished the dishes, she went back to the table and asked him to remove one of his boots.She put the pattern on the table and compared sizes.“I know which size to make.Would you mind if I started working on it now?Or would you like me to wait until tomorrow?”
“Which would you prefer?”he asked.“I don’t mind either way.”
She looked at him skeptically for a moment.“Are you certain?My stepfather hated it if Mother did chores when he was around.He thought she should give him her full attention.”
Jack blinked a few times.No wonder she was nervous.“I don’t mind either way.If you need the time tomorrow to work on other things, get started tonight.I’m excited to have new boots that I won’t have to pay for.The cost of everything here is so high because everything has to be shipped in.”
“I can’t start tonight!”She laughed softly.“I need to get some deer hide from Belle before I start a project like this.”
He smiled.“That’s fine.”
She stood and put the pattern with the right size marked on it in a basket on the floor.Then she reached for her knitting needles.“I thought I’d make you matching gloves, scarf, and hat for the winter.”
“I’d love that.But you don’t have to make everything for me.You can make some things for yourself instead.”
“You’ll work outside more than I will, so you need warm clothes sooner.”Josie was surprised he’d mentioned her at all.Didn’t he realize that she needed to cater to him as his wife?He’d obviously been raised very differently than she had.
“I suppose that’s fair.”
“What were your parents like?”she asked.
“My family was odd compared to other families around us.We lived in Seattle, and my mother worked as a lawyer.My father did all the cooking and cleaning.He couldn’t see well, and it made sense for my mother to work.People all thought we were strange, but I felt it was perfectly normal.”
“I’ve never heard of a woman lawyer!Or a man who took care of his home and children.How very strange.”Josie loved the idea.The woman would suddenly have some power in the relationship and not be expected to do whatever her husband said.
“I thought all lawyers were women for a long time,” he said.“When I met a male lawyer, I thought there was something wrong with him.It wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how different my family was.”
“I would love to meet your parents someday.”
“My mother would love you,” he said.“You’re trying to build a business with your friends.She’d respect that.My father would too, but Mother would be a lot more vocal about it.She’s a suffragette.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”Josie asked, shocked at the mere idea of a woman being a suffragette.Sure, she’d read about them, but she didn’t personally know anyone who was acquainted with a suffragette.
“Why should it?I believe a woman can do almost any job a man can.”
“Almost?”
