Keegan's Lady (38 page)

Caitlin closed her eyes. As much as she would have loved having her cat with her, she knew he would be better off at home. If Patrick kept drinking, he might scare the sand out of Lucky, but he'd never actually hurt him. "I know you meant well, Ace, but you really shouldn't have brought him here. He's not like most cats. I'm afraid he won't adjust well to a strange environment."

She lifted her lashes to discover that Ace was regarding her cat thoughtfully. "He doesn't strike me as the highly nervous type," he said with a crooked grin that flashed the deep dimple in his cheek. "I thought he'd raise holy hell when I climbed on my horse, but he handled the ride like a veteran. If he can take something like that in stride, surely he'll settle in here all right."

That was the entire problem, Lucky didn't have sense enough to be scared when he ought to be, and he was too stupid to learn from experience.

"You don't understand," she said shakily. "He isn't very well behaved, and because of his head injury, he isn't trainable. He may, um ..." She sought her new husband's gaze. "What if he jumps up on the counter and tries to eat the meat laid out for supper, or something?"

Ace arched an eyebrow. "I guess someone will have to move him down."

Caitlin searched his gaze. "It will make you angry, surely."

He shrugged. "Maybe. If I get riled, I'll survive it. He's your pet, and this is your home now, Caitlin. We'll all have to make some adjustments, that's all."

"At home, he has a crate of dirt in my bedroom to potty in. I don't let him go outdoors much for fear he'll get hurt."

"I'll take a look in the barn. I think we have a couple of empty crates out there."

Caitlin hugged the cat more tightly to her chest. "I'd really prefer you just take him home. He's familiar with everything there, and I think he'll be far happier."

"Not without you, he won't." Ace gave the cat a measuring glance and smiled slightly again. "No offense intended, but it's obvious by his girth that he's accustomed to being fed well and frequently. That will no longer be the case if you leave him in Patrick's care. When I got over there, your brother's horse was still saddled and wandering loose in the barn. Hadn't been fed or watered. Didn't even get a good rubdown after being ridden hard. I found Patrick passed out in one of the stalls. Is that what you want for Lucky, to be neglected and left to starve while your brother is off somewhere, drinking himself into a stupor?"

Caitlin could think of no response. Of course that wasn't what she wanted for Lucky. It was just that his staying with Patrick seemed the lesser of two evils.

Ace caught her chin on the edge of his hand and lifted her face for his perusal. His smile deepened, revealing straight white teeth. "Let's give him a chance to see how he gets along," he said in a low, sonorous voice. "If he doesn't settle in, I can always take him back to Patrick. Right?"

That settled, at least to his satisfaction, he turned toward the stove. Caitlin fixed a worried gaze on his broad back. "If Patrick was passed out, I guess you didn't get to talk to him."

"Nope. I decided to leave him a note on the kitchen table."

"What did you say? In the note, I mean."

Grabbing a potholder, Ace glanced back over his shoulder at her. "That, for your sake, he and I need to mend our differences, and that he has a standing invitation to visit you here any time he likes. I signed off by adding that I hoped he'd make it a point to drop by soon."

Caitlin's throat felt unaccountably dry. She swallowed and drew in a deep breath. "Thank you, Ace. I know you don't think very highly of him."

"Not so. He's your brother, and that makes him a very important person, in my estimation." He turned his attention back to the stove. "Whatever you have in that pot sure does smell good."

Preoccupied with other concerns, Caitlin gazed blankly at the cooking range. It took her a moment to recall what she'd been preparing for supper. "It's, um, sauerbraten. Esa brought in a roast from the smokehouse. I thought you all might enjoy having something a little different tonight. I got the recipe from Romilda Eisenbein, the lady who has the German restaurant on
Main Street
. She made sauerbraten for one of our church potlucks a few months back, and it was so delicious that—" She realized she was rambling and broke off. "I hope you don't mind my experimenting."

"Mind?" The warm twinkle in his eyes became more pronounced. "We haven't had a decent meal around here in so long we'll probably be worshipping at your feet before the week is out. I'm just sorry you ended up doing kitchen duty your first day here. Where the hell are my brothers?"

"David and Esa rode out to check on a calf they thought was looking peaked yesterday, and Joseph said he had chores to do. He took the milk bucket, so I assume he's out milking the cow."

Glancing past her out the window above the sink, Ace said, "I guess it is getting to be about that time." He lifted the lid of the pot and sniffed the rising steam. "Mmm, that does smell good." He rolled back his shirt sleeves and stepped over to the water pump. As he worked the handle, he asked, "What can I do to help?"

In truth, Caitlin preferred to be left alone. The thought of rubbing elbows with him for another hour while she finished fixing supper wasn't highly appealing. As kitchens went, this one was large and roomy, but with Ace in here with her, it seemed a lot smaller than before. "I'm sure you have better things to do than cook."

"Not a damned thing," he assured her. "My brothers can handle the chores for a few days. You and I have been married less than twenty-four hours, remember. I feel bad enough that you didn't get to have a nice wedding or a traditional honeymoon. It seems that the least I can do is take some time off so the two of us can get to know each other a little better."

Caitlin yearned to say, "Don't do me any favors." Instead, she caught the inside of her cheek between her teeth and kept her mouth shut.

Grabbing a towel off the hook beside the window, he quickly dried his hands, then used the damp linen to brush off his shirt and trousers. When his clothing was finally somewhat divested of cat hair, he tossed the towel into a corner and turned to regard her with his unsettling dark eyes. "Now, what can I do to help with this wonderful supper you're fixing?"

With a reluctance she had difficulty concealing, Caitlin bent to put Lucky down. The instant the cat's feet touched the floor, he waddled off to explore. She gazed after him, still gnawing on her cheek.

"Sweetheart, would you relax?" Ace said softly. "There's nothing he can hurt in here."

"He may potty on the floor if he doesn't have a box of dirt."

Ace bent forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. Startled, Caitlin reared back. When their gazes met, he gave her a mischievous wink. "If he makes a mess, I've got nearly a whole case of toilet paper in the water closet I ordered from Montgomery Ward and Company. We'll just clean it up, all right? These floors have three coats of varnish on them. They can take a little abuse without being permanently damaged, believe me. I'll have Joseph get you a crate full of dirt as soon as he comes in from the barn."

Dubious, Caitlin watched him step over to lift the lid off the roasting pot again. Leaning low, he hauled in another deep breath of the rising steam. "Lord, honey, that does smell divine. What're we going to fix to go with it?"

Caitlin was tempted to tell him the roast would never get tender if he kept letting the steam escape, but she didn't have the gumption. "I, um ..." She gestured toward the pantry off the kitchen. "I saw some potatoes and turnips in there. I thought I'd peel some of those."

"How about a tin of corn to go with them," he suggested, rubbing his hands together.

With four men to feed, she doubted one small tin of corn would stretch. "Have you plenty?"

"One thing I don't dare run low on around here is canned foods. We've got a garden planted out beside the barn, but it won't start producing for a couple of months yet." He stepped into the large pantry and took three tins of corn from a shelf. Glancing back at her, he said, "Any time you need anything for the house or yourself, don't be shy. Esa keeps a list hanging here just inside the door. Make a note of anything you need or want, and I'll be sure to get it the next time I go to town."

Before he exited the pantry, he winked at her and stopped to jot something on the list. A few minutes later, Caitlin couldn't resist stepping over to see what he'd written. Her heart caught when she read the words.

A tub full of chocolate for Caitlin.

***

By the time Caitlin got supper on the table, her nerves were completely frazzled. Living up to her prediction, Lucky relieved himself in one corner of the living room shortly after she turned him loose, and despite her protests, Ace fetched toilet paper to clean up the mess himself. Fully expecting him to get angry and turn on the poor cat at any moment, Caitlin hovered at his elbow, determined to protect her pet if necessary, yet quailing at the thought of standing up to her new husband if he flew into a sudden rage. Ace Keegan was intimidating enough when his mood was mild. As soon as Joseph returned to the house, Ace requested that he go back outdoors to find a crate and fill it with dirt for Lucky. Joseph did so, but only after he cursed to turn the air blue. Cats, he contended, had never been meant to stay indoors. According to him, there was nearly four hundred acres of dirt outside for Lucky to piss in. That being the case, it made no sense to bring a box full of dirt into the house.

After some discussion, during which Caitlin had difficulty making herself heard over the loud and angry discourse of the two men, the cat box was positioned in one corner of the master bedroom. Joseph direly predicted that the box would start to stink the instant Lucky began to use it.

As it turned out, getting Lucky to use the box turned out to be the greatest problem. Immediately after the crate was put in the bedroom, Caitlin carried her pet to that corner and showed him the dirt, after which Lucky promptly forgot its location and relieved himself in the corner of the living room again. To Caitlin's surprise, instead of getting angry, Ace suggested the box be moved to accommodate the cat, instead of the other way around. Joseph made no secret of the fact that he was none too pleased with the arrangement. A cat toilet in the living room? Everyone who walked in the door would be bound to smell it.

Caitlin was nearly in tears by the time she finally put supper on the table. After saying a cursory and appallingly insincere blessing, the four males heaped their plates and began shoveling. Hoping that the meal might mollify her disgruntled brothers-in-law, Caitlin's heart sank when Esa spat out his first mouthful of supper.

"Don't eat the meat," he announced. "Something's wrong with it."

Everyone at the table froze in varying positions, Joseph with his cheek bulging, David with a forkful of roast halfway to his lips, and Ace with his coffee mug suspended in midair.

"It's sauerbraten," Caitlin explained in a voice gone thin with nervousness.

"I knew it," Esa said, scrubbing his lips clean with the sleeve of his shirt. "I wonder what made it go sour?"

"Vinegar," Ace put in. "There's nothing wrong with the meat, Esa. It's a special German dish Caitlin made for us."

Joseph gulped down his unchewed mouthful. "You mean she took a perfectly good roast and made it sour like this on purpose?"

Caitlin had to admit the meat was a little more tart than Romilda's had been. She glanced around the table to find that Ace's brothers were all regarding her as if she were out of her mind. Contrary to Ace's prediction, they were a long way from worshipping at her feet. She bent her head over her plate and forked a slice of turnip into her mouth as an awful silence descended.

Finally she heard the sound of silver scraping china again. When she glanced back up, Ace's three brothers were all busily applying themselves to the meal, their expressions glum. So much for pleasing them with something different for supper.

Joseph was determinedly chewing his third bite of roast when Lucky leaped onto the table and proceeded to stroll the length of it, stopping at each dish to sniff the contents. Caitlin, sitting to Ace's right, was so horrified she couldn't move, and everyone else seemed to be equally dumbfounded. Only Lucky seemed oblivious to the tension, unable to grasp in his dimwitted brain that he might be placing himself in serious peril. When the cat happened upon the roast, he greedily attacked, displaying none of the men's distaste for the sour taste.

Ace was the first to finally react. He shot to his feet, leaned forward, and hooked a large hand under the cat's rotund middle. Caitlin, caught in a tangle of skirt and bench legs, nearly lost her balance when she leaped up.

Grabbing Ace's arm, she cried, "Don't hurt him. Please, don't. He hasn't any idea he's doing something wrong!"

Keeping a firm grip on the cat, Ace nestled him in the crook of one arm. "I have no intention of hurting him, honey."

Ace directed a glance at his youngest brother. "Esa, cut off Lucky's end of the roast, would you, please? I'll go get him a bowl."

When Ace struck off for the kitchen with the cat still tucked under his arm, Caitlin ran after him, convinced he would wring Lucky's neck the minute he was out of her sight. Instead, he went directly to the cupboard, fetched a bowl, and nearly ran over her when he turned around. Caitlin fell back, once again nearly losing her balance.