Grayson

Chapter Seventeen

The clouds were gathering and thunder was starting to rumble in the distance when they got back to the house. Peter looked up at the sky and shook his head.

"Doesn't look like we're gonna get much work in." he said matter-of-factly as he walked his mare toward the barn.

"There's some dry hay in the back stall." Grayson said. "And there some water in a bucket in there you can give her to drink."

"Alrighty." Peter replied.

"I'll go in and start something for us all to eat. I'd say Peter will be staying here if this storm hits." Callie said. Grayson nodded and kissed her forehead.

"I'll put the supplies away and then we'll be in." Callie walked into the kitchen and took a deep breath of the ham scented air. She had put a ham in the cook stove before leaving for town and its scent made her mouth water. Callie grabbed some flour, yeast and water and mixed up dough for the bread. She stuck in the stove next to the ham and then opened a jar of canned beans and put them in a pot to heat on top of the stove.

She mixed up some dough for a pie crust and rolled them out on the flour dusted table top. She put her bottom crust into a pan and she was mixing together the canned peaches and sugar for the pie when the thunder rumbled so loudly that the glass windowpanes shook. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked out onto the porch. Grayson and Peter were pounding nails into the tiny fence that lined the road.

Callie saw the big fat drops of rain starting to fall and leave their impressions in the dust and she whistled loudly.

"Come on you two! Don't want you out here catching a cold." she said. Peter shook his head and looked over at Grayson.

"Women." he said. Grayson chuckled and stood up straight stretching his arms. Peter and Grayson barely made it under the protection of the porch before the sky opened up in a downpour of cold spring rain.

"This is going to be a bad one." Grayson said a short time later, once they were all sitting at the table. The wind was howling outside, the sky was nearly as dark as night except for when a bright streak of lightning would brighten it momentarily and then the thunder would rattle the windows. Grayson had lit a fire in the sitting room and between it and the heat from the cook stove the house was at least warm.

"Damn, Callie, if I had known you could cook this good I would have married you a long time ago." Peter said as Callie sat a plate of ham, bread, beans and potatoes in front of each of man.

"Then I would have just had to kill you when I rode back into town." Grayson replied before stuffing a big bite of ham into his mouth and closing his eyes in ecstasy. "Callie, this is absolutely delicious." he said and he saw her beam with pride.

Peter looked around the kitchen. The floors and counters were spotless and shining. The white cupboards needed a new coat of paint and the floral curtains were stained. He had noticed that everything in the house seemed to be clean but worn while the outside and all the surrounding buildings were in bad need of a lot of repair.

Grayson and Callie had a long road of work ahead of them but judging by the way they were staring into each others eyes across the table, he didn't think they would mind all the time and hard work together. He was feeling mighty sorry for himself and missing Peggy Sue when he thought for sure he heard the sound of hoof beats on the road outside.

He pushed aside his now empty plate and walked over to the small kitchen window.

"What is it?" Grayson asked as Peter pulled the dirty curtain aside and looked out through the rain and wind.

"I thought I heard somebody riding outside but I don't see nobody." Peter replied walking back to the table and sitting down. Callie stood up and started clearing the plates from the table.