The Bee Charmer by Ali Spooner

Author:Ali Spooner [Spooner, Ali]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western, lesbian, romance
ISBN: 9780947528621
Publisher: Affinity Rainbow Publications
Published: 2017-08-12T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

John must have left before sunrise, since he and his wife, Mary arrived midmorning, just as Nat and Maggie were finishing their harvest of the crabs. Nat had filled a barrel half-full of salt water, and Maggie had captured eighteen crabs for future meals.

John pulled his wagon to a stop in the back yard and ran around to help Mary down from the wagon. “Good morning,” he said with a wide smile.

“Welcome back,” Nat replied. “Did he sleep at all last night?” she asked Mary.

“Barely,” Mary answered. “He is so excited to be here.”

“We’re glad to have you both.”

“I was telling Mary about your offer to teach her how to make that lovely chowder,” he told Maggie.

“Once she catches her breath, we will go down to the shore to dig the clams and then get started in the kitchen.”

Nat looked at the back of the wagon. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

“I thought I would build as much as I could in advance to make today go easier,” he stated. “I’ve got a lot of the hen house built already.”

“I see that,” she grinned.

“I brought a dozen chicks, a dozen laying hens, and a rooster for you,” he said, unloading the cages holding the birds. “I thought we could let them out to roam while I build their home.”

“That sounds good to me.” Gyp smelled the cages with curiosity. “Those are not for eating,” Nat warned her.

Gyp sat on her haunches, watching the birds emerge from the cages, eager to give chase, but only watched as they began pecking the ground looking for seeds and insects.

“What do we need to do first?”

“I’ll start digging the holes to set the poles if you want to carry them over to me.”

“That sounds easy enough,” she replied, taking a long post from the bed of the wagon and tossing it over her shoulder.

Maggie looked at Mary. “Are you ready to dig some clams?”

Mary nodded and took one of the buckets and a rake from Maggie, and the two women disappeared around the cabin.

†

Maggie led the way down to the beach near the pools and showed Mary how to use the rake to find the clams. Mary caught on quickly, and with the two of them working together, they filled the buckets.

“Hang on for just a second.” Maggie removed her boots and walked out to the wading pools to see what the tides had brought. “Do you and John like shrimp?”

“Oh, yes,” Mary answered.

“Good, we will have some shrimp to go with our chowder.” Maggie plucked several dozen shrimp from the pool.

John and Nat had made good progress building the fence for the chickens by the time the two women returned from the shore. Nat looked up to see them approach, their buckets filled to the brim.

“Welcome back.” Nat wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Come take a break and get something to drink,” Maggie instructed.

John looked up at Nat. “Sounds good to me and we can take a peek into those buckets.”

“I have a feeling we are going to have a feast later today.

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