Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Alanna didn’t move away with the men, feeling the cow staring at her pleadingly.
“What’s wrong?” Matthew asked, coming back.
“They’re going to kill her,” she said starkly.
“Yeah, that’s why we came here—to replace the meat we ate.”
Her hand went to her stomach. “She looks so sweet.”
Matthew looked at the cow. She could tell he wasn’t as taken with her as she was.
“Is Alanna okay?” Silas asked, coming back.
“Alanna doesn’t want the cow killed.” Matthew gave Silas a helpless glance.
“Too bad. She’s gonna be on my dinner table,” Greer said unsympathetically. “Going to feed us for at least six months.”
“You’ll make it last three months,” Matthew retorted.
“Don’t matter. It’ll be three months of pure pleasure I don’t have to pay for.” Greer grinned.
Alanna lost it. She sprung forward, her feet leaving the ground, her eyes on his throat.
Matthew caught her mid-leap with an arm around her waist.
“Matthew, why don’t you take Alanna to the store?” Silas placed himself between her and Greer. “Stock us up on what we need. Ginny’s wanting two bushels of apples.”
“She ain’t supposed to be out of my sight,” Greer snapped, starting after them as Matthew tried to usher her away.
“Then you can go with them. I’ll pick the hog out for you,” Silas said benignly.
Greer stopped in his tracks. “You going to buy me some pork?”
“Depends.” Silas arched a brow at him.
“You kids go on.” Greer turned back to Silas, pulling his jeans up higher. “We have some business to take care of.”
Alanna barely made it out of earshot. “I can’t stand that man. He’s going to kill that sweet cow.”
“If Greer hadn’t picked the cow, someone else would have. Probably Silas. Greer wouldn’t kill it himself … Well, he would if …”
“I don’t mean Greer. I mean Jimbo,” she hissed out his name.
“Yeah … he’s the one who kills them. But to be fair, that’s what he does for a living … and you didn’t have a problem eating that ribeye on your plate the other night.”
“I’m never going to eat another meat product,” she vowed then remembered how good the steak tasted. “At least, not after I meet them. How can you raise an animal to slaughter? Wouldn’t you get attached?”
Matthew started to look uncomfortable.
Alanna narrowed her eyes on him. “You have, haven’t you?” she asked him accusingly.
His cheeks were becoming flushed. “We don’t get attached to farm animals,” he tried to explain. “We don’t pet them or give them names.”
Alanna jerked her hand free. “What have you killed?”
“Not much. A couple of chickens …”
“What else?”
“Nothing … But Isaac or Silas do kill goats for—”
Alanna raised her hand to prevent him from saying any more. “They kill goats?”
“They did … I didn’t,” he assured her.
Alanna thought of those sweet goats chomping on twigs. She had enjoyed working with them until she turned into the Bride of Frankenstein.
“Will you tell them not to do it while I’m there?”
Matthew eagerly nodded. “Of course.”
Alanna relaxed her rigid posture. It wasn’t like his brothers were slayers of cute animals—chickens weren’t cute. Still, she didn’t want them killed.
“At least there’s one good thing.”
“What is it?” she was forced to ask when he playfully bumped her shoulder with his.
“At least you never met any of the goats or chickens in the freezer.”
Chapter Twenty
Entering the store, Alanna was charmed by the old-fashioned atmosphere of wooden barrels filled with their homemade products, baskets of apples, and jars and jars of preserved fruit, jams, and vegetables.
The store was bustling with customers while a woman behind a wooden counter checked them out.
“Hello,” she greeted them when they entered through the door. “If you need anything, just yell out.”
Alanna didn’t know where to start. She wanted it all.
Matthew must have picked up on her hesitation. Under his amused gaze, he led her to the shelves.
“This is as good a start as any. See anything you want?”
She saw several. The problem was she didn’t have any money.
“Pick out anything you want. Silas will pay for it. It’ll go in the storeroom, so if anyone wants it, they can take it. That includes you. Just make sure to buy several enough to last for a long time. We only come here a few times a year.”
She couldn’t resist the peach preserves. She took one jar.
Matthew took five.
“I love peach cobbler,” he explained at her surprised look. “I’m going to set these on the counter and grab a basket. I’ll be right back.”
Alanna let him take the jar she was holding.
She was deciding on whether to get the cherry or apple pie filling when she saw a frail woman coming out from a back room. Alanna smiled at her when the woman noticed her gaze on her. She was wearing the same green-colored smock the woman behind the counter was wearing. At her smile, the woman came out from the back room and made her way toward her. She must have misunderstood her smile as needing help.