Chapter 21

The next morning, Johnny made his family join him behind the bathhouse. Then he handed Cy a packet of rolled up papers tied with a red ribbon.

“Merry Christmas to you all,” he said, grinning.

They all glanced at each other before Cy untied the ribbon and opened the large roll to reveal blueprints. Daphne and Leigh stood on either side of him, trying to figure out the drawings.

Leigh grinned. “If I’m looking at this right, you’re gonna build a big hot water tank.”

“Yes!” Johnny grinned. “That way, we won’t have to haul hot water to the bathhouse when we want it, and we can even use it for cooking. It’ll cut down on the time it takes to boil water and save on wood.”

Cy stared at him in wonder. “That’s incredible. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t know you were so smart. I’m sorry for not giving you more credit, Johnny.”

Johnny grinned. “That’s okay. I know you don’t mean nothin’ by it.”

Daphne shook her head at the complex drawings. “I’m all for making cooking easier, but how are you going to get the water in the tank? It would take a long time to fill it with buckets.”

“Follow me.”

Johnny took them about twenty feet from where they’d been and launched into a complex explanation involving gravity, water pressure, and piping. Leigh nodded, fully understanding what Johnny had told them, but Daphne and Cy’s eyes reflected their confusion.

Johnny finished with, “We might have to make adjustments once it’s all built, but you always have to do that with experimental stuff. That creek doesn’t freeze over, either, so we’ll have water pressure year-round.”

Leigh took the drawings from Cy, so she could study them. “And this boiler would heat the water?”

“Right and we’re gonna use dried cow dung. It burns hot and long, and God knows we have enough of that around here.”

Cy frowned. “That’s gonna stink to high heaven when it burns.”

“Only when you first load the boiler,” Johnny said. “Plus, we can keep the pastures clear of dung so there’ll be more grazing land for the cattle since they won’t eat where they poop.”

Daphne shook her head. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“Well, I had a lot of help from Sly, Wheels, and Mr. Ellis,” Johnny said. “In fact, we’re gonna start construction tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow? I didn’t think you’d be able to do anything until warmer weather,” Daphne said.

Johnny tapped the drawings. “No need to wait. That’s why I gave you these now. It’s an early Christmas gift.”

The women hugged him, and Cy clapped Johnny on the shoulder as they expressed their thanks. His spirits lifted as they went back inside to eat breakfast. Johnny thought that his decision to resume working on his project had been sound and he couldn’t wait to get started.

As Daphne and Brock lay catching their breath in their tipi that night, he said, “New Year’s Day.”

“No.”

“The day after?”

“No.”

“Aw, c’mon. That’s after the holidays.”

Daphne giggled as she looked down into his eyes from where she was draped on top of him. “You’re really in a hurry to live with Cy, hmm?”

His grimace made her laugh harder. “I’ll be glad when spring comes, and they can build their house. I’d dig the foundation myself if it would get it done faster.” He tightened his arms around her. “I just can’t wait to live with the woman I love.”

“I still want to come to our love tipi.”

Grinning, he asked, “You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”

She kissed him. “No, I’m not.”

He put a hand over his eyes and groaned.

“Don’t you know how much women like it when big, virile men are sweet like that?”

Looking into her luminous eyes, he thought he’d say stuff like that every day if it made her happy. “Is that a fact? I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. The last weekend in January?”

Brock considered it. “Yeah. That’ll be fine. Hunter will definitely be settled in at work by then, so they won’t be shorthanded while we’re away on our honeymoon. He’s already doing great.”

Daphne said, “It helps that his uncle trained him so well.”

“Yeah, we really got lucky finding someone who worked for a great sheriff like Shane Stetson,” Brock agreed. “We’ve even heard of him up here. I didn’t know that’s who his uncle was until Rob mentioned it. Hunter’s not a bragger, which is a good thing.”

“Is he still trying to treat Ellie special?”

Brock chuckled. “He’s getting better about it. At least he’s not jumping up to hold the door for her every time she leaves. He wants to, though. You can see it in his eyes. Cy was walking through the office yesterday when Hunter started for the door. Cy snapped his fingers at him and told him to sit and stay. Hunter was so surprised that he did it. I thought Rob was gonna piss his pants laughing. Poor kid.”

Daphne laughed despite feeling badly for Hunter. “You guys are so bad.”

Brock said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure before long, he’ll be pulling his own pranks on all of us.”

Daphne sighed and gazed into the fire. “We have to go back soon.”

Brock ran his hands along the smooth skin of her back and sides. “I know. How shall we make use of our time, milady?”

Daphne was always amused when he used a British accent. She’d tried several times and couldn’t pull it off. “Well, I have an idea.”

“Care to share, madam?”

Daphne whispered in his ear and then let out a surprised yelp when he rolled her over and proceeded to carry out her idea.

“Are you actually going to drink that coffee or just hold it?”

With a start, Daphne realized that Leigh had spoken to her. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

Leigh smiled as she sat down at the table. She’d been outside watching the water tank construction for a little while and had decided to come inside for some coffee before she went back to work in the barn. It had only been a week, but the men were making excellent progress.

“Boy, you were a million miles away. Thinking about your man?”

Daphne sat her cup down with a chuckle. “That obvious?”

“Yeah. I’m so happy you finally roped Brock and hauled him down from that fence he was on.”

“Me, too. Of course, you gave me the advice to go after him, so I owe you. We’ve decided to get married on the last Saturday in January. Thank you for being my maid of honor,” Daphne said.

“You were mine, so I’m just returning the favor. I’m honored you asked me. You two aren’t waiting long. That’s good.”

Daphne fiddled with her cup and glanced shyly at Leigh. “We don’t want to wait for a couple of reasons. It’s hard being apart and we want to start our life together. But, um, we’ve been intimate.”

Leigh’s eyes rounded. “You have?”

Daphne bit her lip as she nodded. “I know we should’ve waited, but we just couldn’t. And I don’t regret it one bit.”

Leigh’s expression relaxed into a smile. “I remember how hard it was to wait, both for Walt, and Cy.”

“But you did. You must think that I don’t have any morals.”

Leigh patted her forearm. “I don’t think that at all. You waited long enough for your man, and you got swept away. It’s happened to plenty of people. I’m not judging you. It’s just a good thing you’re not waiting long in case you get in the family way.”

Daphne nodded. “I know. I’ve already considered that. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as of today.”

Leigh smiled at her meaningful statement. “That’s a good thing. I’m sure it won’t be too long until there are a bunch of little Brocks running around here, though.”

Her smile faded quickly, and she blinked back tears.

“Leigh, what’s wrong?” Daphne asked.

Longing flooded Leigh and pain clawed at her heart. She tried to rein in the hurt, but she couldn’t quite manage it. “I’m fine. It’s just that I can’t have children. I’m barren and I want to give Cy a child so bad. Walt and I tried, but I never conceived. I went to doctors, but they didn’t have any answers for me. Most of the time I can deal with it, but once in a while it gets to me.”

Daphne moved her chair closer and put her arms around Leigh. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Cy never mentioned anything.”

“Well, you know how he is. He says that we’ll just keep trying and if it doesn’t happen, we’ll adopt,” Leigh said. “I’m all right with that, but I want to feel his child grow inside me. I feel guilty because I keep hopin’ that there was something wrong with Walt, but I can’t help it.”

Daphne held her a little tighter. “It’s perfectly understandable why you would feel that way. Don’t give up hope, Leigh. You’re young and there’s plenty of time for you to have a baby.”

Sighing, Leigh leaned her head against Daphne’s shoulder. “I know. You’re right.”

“You can always talk to me, Leigh. Cy isn’t the only one who holds things inside.”

Leigh laughed at her pointed remark and straightened again, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well. Although, he does talk to me an awful lot.”

Daphne gave her a doubtful look. “Really? Well, he should. He’s not as bad as Sly, though. I feel so bad for him, and I miss Catherine so much.”

Leigh frowned. “I know. It was hard enough prying words out of him before her death, but now it’s twice as hard. Although, being around these guys is making him talk and he even laughed a couple of times. He needs to smile more. He’s a good-looking guy, but he’s kinda scary when he doesn’t smile.”

Daphne cracked up. “That’s a great assessment of him. Even as a kid, Sly was like that. It was one reason that not many of the boys at school ever went after him without a couple of their buddies along. They were scared to fight him one-on-one, and they should’ve been.”

“He’s really tough. I know he’s still hurting, but I’ve been praying for the pain to start to ease. I know what that kind of loss is like, and it isn’t easy to deal with,” Leigh said.

Daphne took her hand. “I’m certainly not happy that Walt passed away, but I am glad that you’re here. I hope you know how much you’ve come to mean to me. You’re a wonderful friend and I think of you more like a sister now.”

Leigh squeezed her hand in return. “Same here. You and I are gonna have to play peacemakers once Brock moves in here.”

Daphne groaned and rubbed her forehead. “I know. I’m so impatient to marry Brock, but I’m dreading the two of them living under the same roof.”

“Yeah. I’m sure there’ll be some fireworks, but we’ll keep them from killing each other.” Leigh chuckled as she released Daphne’s hand. “Thanks for the talk. I’d better get back to work.”

“You’re welcome. Anytime.”

Daphne went upstairs to work on some sewing, her mind alternately filled with thoughts of Brock and Leigh’s inability to have children. She prayed to the Great Creator to bless Leigh and Cy with a child before too long. Smiling, she sent the same prayer up for her and Brock.