Jed showed Lizzie how to light the cookstove. She was nervous, having never used anything other than the gas range at home. The biggest problem with the stove was it could not be turned off like a gas stove, so it stayed on and put out a lot of heat all the time. In the winter, heat was a good thing, but in the summer it could get quite hot in the kitchen. This model included a hot water tank, so heating water wasn’t as much of a chore. They just had to be careful not to let it run dry.
“Come outside with me, and I’ll show you another fireplace for cooking. We use it in the summer to keep the cabin cool.” Jed led her outside to a brick fireplace, built much like the wood stove, but without the hot water tank. “It has a brick oven attached so we can bake or roast without roasting ourselves.” The best Jed could get from her was a wan smile.
“Over here is a fire pit we use when we want to sit around a fire at night. We also use the spit to roast large pieces of meat. I think I’ll build a rack instead though to smoke and dry meat and fish when we get more than we will eat. We can make jerky, too. I know dried meat isn’t the most exciting thing, but there will be times we need it, and we can’t refrigerate anything.”
“How do you make jerky? I’ve had beef jerky a few times, and I liked it.” Lizzie showed her first spark of interest, fleeting though it was.
“Wait until I get a deer and I’ll show you. It’s not that hard. It just takes time.” Jed could tell Lizzie was trying hard to keep up a good attitude, but it was clear she was out of her depth.
He led the way around the cabin to a built-on lean-to storage area where two canoes were stored along with fishing gear and tackle. In the back sat several boxes of clothing.
“Most of these will be too big for you, and some of them will be too hot to wear during the day in the summer, but they might be good for evenings and mornings. We’ll just take them inside, and you can go through them and see what you can use. I’ll probably need a few things, too, although I have some stuff I leave up here. Come to think of it, I’ll bet I’ve outgrown them. Some of those might fit you.”
They carried the boxes into the cabin and dropped them on an empty bunk. Jed said, “We can check these out later. Let me show you around the area while it is nice out.”
Lizzie dropped into a deerskin-bound chair and buried her face in her hands. “I don’t think I can do this, Jed. I’m not cut out to be a Swiss Family Robinson character. I’m not an outdoorsy type of girl. This is all well and good for you, but you grew up with this stuff. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing.” Her voice was muffled by her hands, but her words weren’t what disturbed Jed the most. He was concerned about her defeated attitude.
“Come on, Lizzie. It’s not that bad. We can do this if we do it together. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. What other choice do we have?”
Obviously, that was the wrong question, for it set off a fresh round of tears and sobs. Jed sighed with frustration.