A Path Worth Taking by Mariella Starr

Author:Mariella Starr [Starr, Mariella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blushing Books Publications
Published: 2016-10-06T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Winter on the high plains could only be described as unpredictable and damn cold. As the months passed slowly, snow covered the mountain peaks in the distance. They were beautiful, but Beth was glad they were no closer to them. They would go through a few weeks of freezing temperatures and biting cold winds, and then they would get a taste of spring or even summer as the snow quickly melted off and the creeks flooded.

There was a lot less for Garret and Jasper to do during the winter months beyond keeping account of the cattle and attending to them, and the never-ending chore of splitting wood. They also set out trap lines, which had to be checked daily since wolves and bears would try to break open the traps.

Beth’s world mostly consisted of the small space in her kitchen. She kept busy preparing three meals a day, and sewing, mending, and washing dirty clothes repeatedly. It was her never-ending daily routine. She found herself trying to follow the old practices of her mother and Lettie’s mother who had assumed the running of the household after Beth’s mother had died.

Monday was washday. Tuesday was ironing day and darn it, hadn’t she found five flat irons while uncovering household items in the barn. She had never liked ironing and limited her use of the flat irons to only what was absolutely necessary. Wednesday was the day for mending, yet she often could not wait, as Garret and Jasper were hard on their clothing. They were forever ripping and tearing their shirts and pants. Thursday was traditionally the day for overall housecleaning, but Beth cleaned every day as she only had two rooms and the lean-to space. It was a point of pride to keep her house clean. Friday was supposed to be a shopping day, except there was nowhere to shop. She supposed going to the root cellar could be considered shopping if she stretched her imagination a bit. Saturday was traditionally a cooking day to prepare for the Sunday Sabbath. Beth cooked every day. Sunday was no different from her other days, except for a short reading of the Bible in the morning. As far as she knew, there was no real church within a hundred miles.

For all the tedium of her routines, she was happy. She had a husband she adored and a boy who may not have been theirs, but who they had grown to love as if he were.

Jasper was growing up, not only in size, but also in deportment and respect. He had become more helpful and much more of a gentleman under the guidance of Garret. If he saw Beth carrying a bucket or lifting something, he came to her aid immediately without asking.

The boy did grow out of his clothes and boots, though. His new trousers had risen six inches above his ankles, and the sleeves of his shirts were nowhere near his wrists. He had begun to limp because his feet were blistered from wearing boots that were too small.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.