"Oh, goodness, I can't even begin to imagine not knowing." It was bad enough to lose a loved one, but to not know what had happened, where they were or even if they were still alive must be hell. And while she knew he would never give up searching for them, there was only so much that could be done, and especially since he had moved on from Texas.
"I didn't know you were with the Rangers...what brought you so far north?" Emeline glanced at him, turning the bacon, then pouring them more coffee.
“I done all the lookin; I could, used the Rangers to try and catch up with ‘em, but, they moved on ‘er were kilt one way ‘er another. Hard country, Texas.” He steered clear of speaking about his time in Nevada, though he knew, should this relationship move farther forward he would be bound to tell her. It was not that he did not trust her, far from it, but it could be said that with knowledge of his Virginia City ties, that he was trying to buy her, or so he thought.
"I didn't know you were with the Rangers...what brought you so far north?" Emeline glanced at him, turning the bacon, then pouring them more coffee.
“I was, fer a time. There was a job that needed doin’, an’ a number of us that had been with the Eighth Texas, as well as them that was with other Texas outfits signed on to get it done. But after a bit I just thought to see some country to the west. I had a friend from the war years ta visit north-west a’ here. Had heard of this town, so I thought I’d have a look-see.”
"Well, I'm glad you decided to stay." Grinning, she laid the crisp bacon on a towel to soak up the grease, then started a second batch. "You're the best dishwasher I've ever had!" Then she laughed. "The only dishwasher I've ever had, so I guess there's nothing to compare to."
Chuckling, she held a piece of bacon up by his mouth. "And a good food taster! There will be biscuits in a few minutes, I can't let the help starve!"
Then she shrugged and took a piece of the bacon for herself. "I've never been to Texas....I've never been south of the Platte. But I do think I prefer the mountains to open prairies. I can only look at grassland for so long. And Texas is hot, isn't it? Not that I'd mind a nice warm day, what with all the snow we've been having recently."
With the bacon done, she drained some of the grease, then added in the eggs. Breakfast for the masses was coming along nicely. "Have you seen the Gulf, then?" Another of those places that was hard to believe existed.
"Have you seen the Gulf, then.
“Have. Pa wanted to look at some land on Matagorda Island, so we rode on down fer a look-see. Water as far as the eye kin see, an’ nary a drop ta drink. Fact was it was too far from the mainland fer Pa. I mean runnin’ cattle on a island jest ain’t practical, ‘er so he said.” Barnabas explained. “Couple hundered mile ride.
An’ yes, Texas is hot, mostly too hot, but I guess folks get used to it, like I had ta get used to differ’nt weather in ma travels. Cold was the hardest thing but time spent up on the Comstock in Nevada, got both and well, I liked thet.” He looked at her and slowly smiled. “I’m glad I stayed on too, ain’t never been a bonafide food taster afore, nor a dish washer. An’ I’d’a surely never met you had I left.”
"I can imagine cattle wouldn't do too well on an island," Emeline commented, as if she actually knew anything about that, "Well, except maybe the swimming kind." She grinned, but then her cheeks took on a bright tint at his last comment.
"Even more reason to love the mountains." Looking over at him, she smiled, then shrugged. "Funny how life paths lead to where we need to be, even if we don't know it along the way." As much as she loved Andrew, since his death, her choices had brought her to this place at this time, and she couldn't imagine anything better. "I'm so happy I didn't decide to go back to Illinois. It would have been the easy thing to do, but I'd never have my own cafe, and really be able to help people...nor to meet you."
The tint in her cheeks brightened a bit, and she turned to take biscuits out of the oven to hide her silly grin.
He laughed. “Matagorda has all sorts of critters runnin’ about, so addin’ a herd to the place wouldn’t be no problem a tall. Nor siree. It was jest that ferry ride, pa couldn’t abide. And, it was a fair piece to any town.” Pronto stated with a chuckle. 'swimming kind,' he'd never heard of such a thing, though there might be some.
He listened to how she talked about how folks paths in life arrange for them to meet. He was glad of that. Meeting her was one of those things that was destined. “Glad you didn’t go back either. I ain’t never be to Illinois, nor had I any reason to go there. I’da shorely missed out on yer cooking an’ yer comp’ny.”
"I considered going back at first," she commented, "but I had neither the energy nor the funds, and by the time I did, I had no desire to go home. It's so pretty and wild here, and there's more freedom...back home everyone knows about you...or they think they do."
She shrugged and glanced at him and added, "I'd miss your company, too. I've come to enjoy being with you." A smile spread across her face, but she quickly turned to take the biscuits out of the oven. But it was true, they could be quiet together, no awkwardness in silence, and he knew how to help her when she needed it. In fact, now she couldn't imagine him not being around.
The front bell tinkled, announcing the first of the customers, and she sighed. "Here we go. Do you want to finish the eggs and I can wait the tables?" She didn't mind either, but wasn't sure how much he enjoyed working with the customers.
Barnabas smiled "I got the cookin', you take care of the folks comin' in." He said as he rose and started for the kitchen. If it was going to be as busy as they both thought it would be, she would have little time to do both things, while he could handle both cooking and washing dishes during the lulls that would naturally occur.
He was grateful the place was small, any bigger, and the two of them would be hard pressed to keep up. He didn't mind taking on the cooking, it was not something he had not done before, and it saved Emeline from having to hire a cook, or a waitress, though come spring this might change.
"Thank you, I truly do appreciate it." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then grabbed the pot of coffee and headed for the dining room. It was likely to be hectic this morning, after all the chaos yesterday in Whitefish, and all the refugees who needed a bit of relief before working on starting over, but she didn't mind, she believed that helping others came back to you at some point. But she wasn't doing this for any reward, she was doing it because it was the right thing to do, and she was glad for Barnabas' help.
It was easy to see that it would be a busy morning if not the whole day, but folks needed to eat, and Em has risen to the occasion, helping her was both the thing to do, and a labor of love.