Baby by J. K. Accinni Page B

increase her oven space, if she allowed him to knock a hole in the kitchen wall to enlarge the room. He would also require most of the fieldstone from the pile she was accumulating for her boundary markers. It would increase her baking output four fold and she would have much more room in the kitchen for her supplies. Netty loved the sound of his plan, but the ground breaking must wait until the weather warmed up. In the meantime, Wil could help her get the fields ready for planting, maybe clear another field for a new crop. Netty’s thoughts swam with the possibilities. Wil sounded very ambitious. But Baby, what about Baby?
    “I don’t know, Wil,” Netty sounded reluctant. “I don’t think I have the room to take on a full time live in hand.”
    “Netty, don’t worry, I can bunk in with Maggie and the cows. The worst of the cold is over.” He sounded so hopeful.
    “Let me think about it, Wil.”
    “Ok, Netty.” Standing, Wil brushed off the crumbs from his meal. “I think I will try to find the bandit’s campsite. Hopefully, some of my things might still be around.” Wil tramped off through the snow, leaving Netty alone with the cows.
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    Wil puzzled over the abrupt change in Netty’s attitude. He would sure love to work here. He found Netty sweet and earnest. Her cooking was fantastic and she was darn easy to look at. He sensed a reluctance to talk about her marriage. She kept mum about her husband . Where was he? She was perfectly clear about the farm being hers, but vague about her actual marriage status. And no children; he thought that was odd since she mentioned she had been married for years. Well, he best mind his own business and hope she decided to take him on as a hand. A woman like her should not be alone this far from town, anyway.
    Hoping for the best, he arrived at the bandit’s campsite. Not much remained except the cold ashes of their campfire. Scanning the area, he noticed they dropped his saddle. What a relief to recover his saddle, perfectly molded to Maggie’s broad back. He would have a hard time with her if he lost it. Bareback gets mighty uncomfortable stowing gear and riding long distances. Since they robbed him of all his savings, he had to find work to replace everything. Meeting Netty was fortunate in more than one way. That is, if he could convince her to take him on. Unfortunately, she does not seem to be the kind of lady that can be talked into things. She has a spine. He sure admired all the hard work expended putting the farm back in order; a monumental task. She sure was some woman .
    Wil returned to the cow pasture, observing Netty rounding up the Jerseys. He loaded the tools on Maggie’s back. Running to the gate, he held it open as Netty shooed the herd through. Walking back down the worn cow path, they noticed the temperature drop remarkably. The snow that seemed soft and slushy this morning, now crunched and slipped under their feet. Their breath made gusty little clouds in front of them as they hurried to the barn. The Jerseys, sensing the barn was close, broke into a run, desiring as much as Netty and Wil, to get out of the freezing cold.
    As Netty and Wil approached the barn with Maggie, they saw the Jerseys milling and shoving each other out of the way to be the first at the door, their hooves clacking on a thin layer of ice formed from snow melt dripping off the roof. Reaching past Netty to open the barn door, Wil took his eyes off Maggie as he held her reins. Maggie snickered as she got bumped by one of the cows, her hooves flailing on the ice. As Wil opened the barn door, down she went, screaming as she fell, the thud, bone shattering. Wil gasped, his eyes unbelieving, as he stared at the devastating break. He dropped down to the ground, cradling Maggie’s head as tears dropped from his anguished eyes to land on her steaming muzzle. Her eyes flared, wild with pain as Wil tried to calm her. He knew the only solution.
    “Netty,” he screamed between sobs. “