No Buttons Or Beaux by Cathy Marie Hake

Author:Cathy Marie Hake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Ten

Kate blushed so deeply, her freckles completely disappeared.

Matt lounged against her worktable. “You might be right. A man could get lost in her pretty blue eyes and decide to marry her and stay right here on Chance Ranch.”

Tanner’s head flew up, but the surprised look on his face immediately changed. “Ouch!”

Kate slipped off her stool and fished a hanky from her apron pocket. “Here.”

Matt marveled that Kate ignored her brother’s ridicule and tended his cut. Most people would have gloated and said it served him right.

“No use in getting that bloodstained.” Tanner plucked a bandana from his pocket.

“Oh, no.” Kate yanked the bandana away and shoved it onto her worktable. “That has to be dirtier than Methuselah’s tent.”

“Methuselah’s tent?” Matt echoed, thoroughly entertained by her choice of words.

Kate held her hanky against Tanner’s finger. “If that amuses you, you’re going to have fun tomorrow.”

“Yeah, he will.”

“Why?”

“The MacPherson brothers hail from Hawk’s Fall, Kentucky. They got so lonely, so they went to a neighboring place in Kentucky called Salt Lake Holler for brides. Tempy’s sister Lovejoy came as the brides’ chaperone. Our uncle Daniel snagged her for himself. All of that being said, they brought a rich heritage and delightfully colorful speech with them.”

Many of those Appalachian men are adept at brewing moonshine. It’s part of their culture, and the land there isn’t rich enough to support a family. More than a few of those people earn their living by operating a still.

Kate slowly peeled away the handkerchief, then pressed it back around her brother’s finger. “You need to go wash this with lye soap.”

“No need to fuss over it.” Tanner scowled at her.

Kate pretended not to hear him. “After you do, sprinkle some styptic powder over it.”

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Tobias came in, carrying the fishing basket. He set it on Kate’s worktable. “Pax said this needs fixing.”

“Tanner’s going to go take care of his finger. He cut it. I’m going to fix the basket.”

“It’s nothing.” Tanner curled his hand around the reddening hanky. “Just a little slice.”

Tobias’s brows knit. “How’d you—”

“Whittling.”

“Go take care of that.” Tobias bumped his brother off the stool, then took the perch for himself and picked up the same block of wood. “I’ll take care of this.”

This? Matt hooked one boot heel on the workbench’s crossbar. The clothespins are just an excuse to stick around out here so Kate isn’t alone with me. It’s no wonder no one’s courted and married her—she has half an army of brothers and cousins to be sure a man can’t get close to her.

Unwilling to be put off, Matt grabbed another block of wood. “What kind of clothespins are we making?”

Tobias chuckled softly. He stood and reached for a large tin bucket on Kate’s upper shelf. As he set it down, dozens upon dozens of homemade clothespins rattled inside. Flipping one to Matt, Tobias said, “This kind.”

Matt ran his thumb along the wooden piece. “I didn’t know anyone still whittled these. You can buy factory-made ones for a song.

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