Josh wanted to do more than say thank-you to Meagan. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her how wonderful he thought she was, but he knew that was the last thing he dared do.
Meagan smiled at him somewhat hesitantly when he did not take his hand from her arm. He wanted to say something more, but he simply released her and stepped back.
“And Abbie thanks you too,” he said lamely, as Meagan, sensing potential danger, scurried out the door.
It was almost dark when Josh saw Meagan again. By that time he had gotten a rein on his emotions and greeted her in an offhanded manner as she entered the barn.
Abbie darted past her and ran to the stanchion where Josh was milking the cow.
“Squirt me some milk,” the little girl demanded, and her father laughingly aimed the udder toward her opened mouth. The first stream of milk missed and splashed against Abbie’s cheek and onto her bonnet. She shrieked with delight as the second hit her open mouth.
“Sorry about getting milk on her bonnet,” Josh called over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” Meagan answered laughing. “Bonnets will wash.”
The cow lowed restlessly. Josh checked the trough and asked, “Meagan, will you go up in the mow and toss down some hay?”
“I’ll go first and make sure the kittens aren’t in the way,” Abbie volunteered as she whisked up the slat ladder and disappeared into the loft.
“Hurry, hurry,” Meagan urged. “I’m right behind you.”
Abbie’s delighted giggles were punctuated by a gasp and the clap of one piece of wood striking another. Josh turned from his milking to see Meagan tumble to the ground.
Exasperated at having her milking turned into a circus, the cow kicked the bucket the moment Josh let go of her udder.
Meagan groaned as she tried to catch her breath while Abbie’s anxious little face peered from the top of the ladder.
Josh knelt down beside Meagan and lifted her into his arms. “There, there, now. Take it easy. It’s going to be all right. Are you hurt? Do you think you busted anything?”
Meagan’s head was spinning but she wasn’t certain whether it was because of the fall or the touch of Josh’s hands as he ran them along her body searching for broken bones. Had she been alone she would probably have climbed to her feet and waited until the pain in her hip and the dizziness subsided, but with Josh cradling her against his body she lost any desire to move.
She opened her eyes and waited until she was able to focus on the thick blond hair and strong features so unbearably close to her.
She nestled her head against his shoulder as he brushed back the hair that had fallen over her face.
“What happened, Papa?” Abbie demanded from her perch. “How did Meagan fall off the ladder?”
Josh looked up. One of the wooden slats that served as a rung swung free on one end. “I guess one of the slats came loose.” Josh barely glanced at the ladder, for his full attention was on Meagan, who was still trying to catch her breath.
“Are you hurt?” he asked again. “Do you have pain anywhere?”
“No,” she managed. “Nothing like that. Just knocked the wind out of me. Is Abbie all right?”
“She’s up there.” Josh indicated the cavernous hole above their heads without taking his eyes from the woman in his arms. “Looks like you cracked your head real good.” He brushed his hand over her forehead, gingerly touching the rising lump.
“Papa! Lift me down!” Abbie demanded. “I’ll go get some cold water for Meagan’s head.” The little girl’s perception amazed her father.
Reluctantly, he released Meagan and held his arms up to his daughter. It was while he stood in this position that he saw the fresh marks against the aging wood. He put the little girl on the ground and turned back to the ladder.
“You haven’t been trying to repair this ladder, have you?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize there was anything wrong with it.” Meagan struggled to a sitting position and attempted to get to her feet.
“There probably wasn’t anything wrong until the nails came out.” He bent down and ran his hands through the straw on the floor of the barn. Nails were hard to come by and he wanted to find them if possible.
“What made you think I was tinkering with it?” Meagan asked.
“Marks here along the edge of this board.” He pointed to the fresh gouges. “Looks like somebody was either trying to put it up, or take it down.”
“Abbie runs up and down that ladder all the time and she’s had no trouble,” Meagan pointed out.
“Abbie weighs next to nothing, but once either you or I hit that step we were going to take a fall.”
“But how could something like that happen without either of us noticing?” Meagan wondered aloud.
“Maybe it just happened today,” Josh said thoughtfully as his eyes met Meagan’s in concerned contemplation.
Meagan’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t think Ruth could have gone up into the loft to look for you and knocked it loose, do you?”
“Something like that could have happened,” Josh said noncommittally. “Now let’s get you back to the house so I can clean up this mess.”
Meagan looked beyond Josh and realized the fruit of the days’ milking was spilled across the floor. She pulled herself to her feet, her head spinning. “Oh, Josh, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I should have been more careful.”
“Don’t let it fuss you,” he said reassuringly. “I’ll take care of it. You go back to the house. I’ll make sure there aren’t any more unpleasant surprises before I come in and we’ll try to sort this whole thing out later.”
Abbie came across the barnyard, a dripping wet dishcloth trailing behind her like a banner. “I got it!” she hollered. “A nice cold cloth for Meagan’s head.”
The child was somewhat taken aback when she realized her potential patient was already on her feet, but she thrust the cloth into Meagan’s hand and smiled proudly at her achievement.
Meagan wrung out the cloth and pressed it against the lump. “Thank you, Abbie. That feels much better. Now if you’ll just help me back to the house, I think I’ll sit a while before I put supper on the table.”
Abbie would have preferred to stay in the barn with her father, Meagan knew, but the little girl made no argument. If there were other accidents waiting to happen, Meagan and Josh wanted to be certain Abbie was not the next unsuspecting victim.
There was nothing else that posed a threat, and life returned to normal. As normal as life could be for a man and a woman who were trying to hide their attraction from each other, as well as from themselves. With the approach of the harvest they worked from sunup to sundown.
Abbie stayed on the edge of the fields playing with her kitten. Buttermilk was a fat, yellow feline, lazy beyond belief, who didn’t care what position he was in as long as he was cherished and fed. Abbie dressed the little animal in doll clothes and carried him in a basket, feeding him a continual bounty of tidbits she had brought for his gratification.
Because the little cat occupied Abbie so completely, Meagan and Josh were able to accomplish a great amount of work and by the end of the week Josh felt he could take time to go hunting to fill the larder.
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