The woman in front of Josiah never ceased to amaze him. He’d not been able to contain his amusement as he’d watched her chase after that chicken. It was such a small space and no matter how hard she’d tried, Anna Mae couldn’t bring herself to just grab the bird and hang on. He felt laughter bubbling up in his chest once more. When was the last time he’d been this happy?
Anna Mae nodded. “Go see for yourself.” She tucked her left hand behind her.
What was she hiding? Josiah looked back at her sweet face. Her lips smiled, but something else was going on behind her eyes.
A loud clang in the kitchen had them both rushing out of the bedroom. Josiah knew Rose and Ruby were into something. When had his daughters slipped past him?
Sure enough. There they sat on the kitchen floor, playing in a new puddle of flour.
“Oh, you little scamps.” Anna Mae hurried to get them out of the flour. “You know you aren’t supposed to be in here,” she scolded, even as she dusted the back side of their dresses.
He chuckled. “You seem to have this situation under control. I’ll take the chickens out.”
Her gasp stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see Anna Mae clutching her left hand against her chest and grimacing. What in the world?
Rose and Ruby had returned to the flour and were playing happily in the white powder, but Anna Mae seemed to have lost all interest in the little girls.
Josiah set the box of chickens down and hurried to see what she was hiding and what caused the intense look of pain. He took her hand gently in his and examined it. Her thumb had a big blood blister under the nail bed, a sure sign she’d hit it with a hammer. His fingers gently opened her hands to reveal broken blisters.
“Aw, Annie.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just a couple of blisters and a banged up thumb. I’m sure farmer’s wives everywhere have to deal with a few blisters. I’ll toughen up. I promise.” Anna Mae pulled away from him.
Josiah wasn’t having that. He gently drew her to the kitchen table and helped her into a chair. Not that she needed help, but he wanted her sitting while he cleaned her hands. “You aren’t a farmer’s wife. You are a sheriff’s wife and most sheriffs live in town and their wives don’t have to repair barns.” He scooped up his girls and put them in their chairs. “You two stay put. Annie is hurt.”
Big blue eyes turned to Anna Mae. “Owie?” Ruby asked, tearing up.
“Oh no,” Rose added, her eyes wide.
“It’s not so bad,” Anna Mae assured them.
Josiah poured water into one of the wash basins. He stepped over the flour and placed the container in front of her. “Here, put your hands in this while I clean up the floor.”
He turned stern eyes on his daughters. “Look at this mess you made. If you were older, I’d make you clean it up.” Josiah set the flour bucket upright and grabbed Anna Mae’s broom.
“Sawee,” the girls chorused. Their little faces looked to him for forgiveness.
“Don’t tell me, tell Annie. She’s the one who has been cleaning up after you this week,” Josiah scolded.
The twins each looked to Anna Mae. “Sawee, Awnie.”
“Thank you, girls, that’s very good that you are sorry.” She offered them a sweet smile.
Josiah was glad that she didn’t tell them it was all right. The twins needed to learn that they couldn’t play in the flour and that they needed to respect their stepmother. He finished cleaning up the mess, put the flour back under the cabinet where Annie had set it and then turned back to check on her hands.
Once he had finished that, he looked at his girls. “You two stay there until I come back in.”
“Josiah, you are making too much of this. I’m fine,” Anna Mae protested.
He shook his head. “That goes for you, too. I’m going to release these birds into the barn and then I’ll be back.” Josiah didn’t give her a chance to argue. He picked up the chickens and left.
What was he going to do with that woman? Anna Mae was a schoolteacher, and from what he gathered from her, she’d never lived in the country. Between the two of them they had no business living on a farm. She wasn’t cut out for hard labor, and if the truth be told, he had no idea how to run a working farm.
The chickens squawked in gratitude as he released them into the stall. He watched as they immediately began scratching in the fresh hay that Anna Mae had spread for them. His gaze moved over the walls, inspecting her handiwork. She’d done a pretty good job.
Josiah grabbed the hammer and finished where she’d left off. It didn’t take him more than a couple minutes to reinforce what she’d already done. He left the chickens happily scratching at the ground and clucking softly to one another.
As he started out the door, his gaze landed on the boards that Anna Mae had attempted to create a bookshelf out of. He sighed. If he didn’t do it, she would. The woman was determined, he’d give her that.
Josiah stacked the wood into a pile, found the bag of nails and laid his hammer on top. Then he found the wheelbarrow and put it all inside. He pushed it to the house.
Anna Mae had moved to the couch and the girls sat at her feet, looking at some type of picture book. Satisfied his family was resting, Josiah headed back outside and collected the wood, nails and hammer. He set them inside the door and then ran the wheelbarrow back to the barn.
When he returned, Anna Mae had moved to the wood. She was about to pick up a piece when he stopped her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Josiah demanded, pulling his coat off and hanging it up.
“I just wanted to help,” she answered, standing up straighter and placing her bandaged hands on her hips. “I’m not going to sit around and do nothing because I have a couple of blisters.” Her eyes dared him to argue.
The girls looked up at her raised voice, studying the grown-ups’ every movement. Aware that his daughters were listening as well as watching, Josiah shook his head.
“Why don’t you let me make the bookshelf? You can supervise.” He offered her what he hoped was a compromising smile.
Anna Mae nodded. She handed him the board she’d been holding. “All right. I’m guessing this is my new bookshelf?”
“You guessed right.”
“Why did you bring it inside?” she asked, gnawing on her bottom lip.
“Three reasons. One, if it’s built in the house I won’t have to lug it in from the barn when I’m done. Two, I wasn’t sure how tall you wanted it, or how many shelves. And three, if I work on it in here we can both be warm and I can keep an eye on you.” He knelt down and began sorting the wood, before glancing at his girls, who had regained interest in their book.
“Oh, why didn’t I think of that?”
“What? That I want to keep an eye on you?” he teased.
Anna Mae looked troubled. “No, to bring it inside to work on it.” She sat down on the arm of the couch. “I guess I’m not as clever as I thought I was.”
Josiah laughed. His gaze moved about his home. It felt like a new place since she had arrived. Curtains hung on the windows; blankets and throws draped the furniture. The house smelled clean and fresh, not damp and musty. She’d managed to turn their house into a home in just a matter of days. He hadn’t figured out how to do that during the whole time he’d been in Granite. “I wouldn’t say you aren’t smart. If you hadn’t plowed forward and fixed that pen in the barn yourself, I wouldn’t have decided to work on the shelves tonight.”
She shook her head. “No, I could have saved us both time if I had brought the wood in.”
Josiah stood up and walked over to her. He lifted her bandaged hands in his. “Now look here, Annie. This is all new to both of us. I am not a farmer, have never wanted to be a farmer, but here I am, corralling chickens and making bookshelves. You are a schoolteacher, and how often have you raised chickens or built furniture?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “I’d say never to both. So don’t go whipping yourself because you didn’t think to bring the wood into the house.”
Tears sprang into her eyes. “Do you regret marrying me?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. You are the best thing to happen to this place and my girls. Just look at what you’ve done to the house.” Josiah released her hands. He motioned toward Rose and Ruby. “And look at the girls. I don’t think they’ve ever been this happy and content.”
Josiah knew he meant every word he said. What he didn’t say was that he cared about her and was happy that she was his wife. He wouldn’t say that out loud or even to himself. To do so would suggest that he’d developed feelings for Anna Mae Miller, and that scared him more than any bank robber ever could.