The next morning Carmen was up early, fixing breakfast and packing a lunch for Alex. As he ate, his contemplative gaze followed her flurry of activity silently. Later, when she kissed him goodbye at the door, he pulled her close and kissed her ardently. For the first time, she didn’t hunger for him after he left. She didn’t have time. Rushing through the morning chores, she showered and dressed. The last thing she did before she left was make sure her cell phone was charged and turned on. Tucking it in the holster and strapping it down, she headed for the hospital.
The twins were healthy and acceptable weight, so they released Katie. Carmen followed Katie and Bill home and helped Katie get settled in with the babies. Bill was standing around looking uncomfortable, probably not knowing what to do.
Carmen left their house in time to get home and fix supper for Alex before he got off work. Once home she washed the roasting hen and put it in a pan. She shoved it in the oven, set the timer for one hour and hurried out to do the chores. Returning later with a basket of eggs, she discovered that in her haste she had not turned the oven on. It was too late to heat up the oven and bake the chicken, so she cut it up and fried it. It was actually too large for a frying chicken, but it worked. She was finishing the gravy when Alex came home.
“Supper will be ready by the time you get washed up,” she called to him as she dumped the gravy into a bowl.
She was running water into the skillet to let it soak when Alex came up behind her. His arms surrounded her, pulling her back against him. His antics caused her to drop the skillet, splashing gravy and water on her shirt.
“Alex!” she cried, brushing the mess from her shirt before it could sink into the fabric.
“I’m sorry,” he said, dropping his arms and backing away.
She grabbed a towel and daubed water and gravy from her shirt and the counter top. It wasn’t his fault she was in such a rush tonight.
“It’s alright,” she said as she turned. Not wanting to get the mess on his shirt, she resisted the urge to hug him. “I should have been more careful with the pan.”
For a moment he gazed down at her with a wary expression on his face and in his eyes. Finally he shrugged.
“How was your day?”
“Katie got to bring the babies home today, so I followed her home and helped her with them for a while.”
“Where was Bill?”
“He was there, but he didn’t know what to do.”
Alex studied her for a few moments. “I see,” he finally said. He turned to the table. “Well, if it’s ready, let’s eat. I’m hungry and it smells good.”
Surprisingly, the chicken wasn’t tough, though it was a little greasy. If Alex noticed anything, he gave no indication. He simply complemented her on another great meal and went to feed the buffalo before it got dark.
That evening he received a call in his office. When he came back out of the office he was smiling.
“There is a lady down in Texas who has a Longhorn cow she wants to sell.”
He folded his arms and ran a hand over his chin reflectively.
“I need to build another corral – or put the buffalo somewhere else and put the Longhorn where the buffalo are. They’re pretty much acclimated now.”
“Does that mean I can feed them now?” Carmen asked.
His smile was lopsided. “Maybe - with specific instructions and precautions.”
She sighed. “Longhorns – they aren’t actually native American wildlife, are they?”