Their First Christmas
Chapter Seven: Brutus makes an impact
"That be Angus, our head sheepherd," Cody pointed at an older man who waved a greeting at the approaching wagon. "What he doesn't know about sheep isn't worth knowing. Fred, mind helping unload this hay?"
"No, don't mind at all. I could use some exercise," Fred replied.
"Good, we'll unload then maybe we can have a blether over tea with Angus before heading home."
This was the first exchange between the two men since Daphne had awakened from her nap. It sounded friendly enough but Daphne sensed an undercurrent of tension and wondered what had been said while she napped.
"What should I do?" Daphne didn't want to just sit and freeze in the cold. Cody brought the wagon to a halt, the horse's breath were white clouds in the chill air. "Ye can hold the reins."
Cody handed her the reins. "They're well trained, I trained them myself." He gave her a quick lesson on how to hold the reins, using the harness to hide the light caress of her fingertips.
"Let's go Fred. The sooner unloaded, the sooner home. Angus! A little something from Col. Fresh haggis, tea and mince pie she cooked herself."
"Aye, and thanks to the little Lassie. Would ye be having some tea with me before ye head home? And I see ye brought company for an old man." The old man's voice was deep and strong.
"Friends of our cousin from America. Meet Fred Jones and Daphne Blake. We'd like a blether and tea with ye."
Daphne's hands trembled as they held the reins; city born and raised she'd never been around a horse and now found herself with two to contend with. She watched Angus walk away to his herders wagon. The spring in his step and the sparkle in his clear blue eyes belied his advancing years. Fred and Cody grabbed pitchforks, dumping hay on the ground for the bleating sheep.
Cody whistled and the horses moved forward a few steps then halted at a second whistle. This maneuver was repeated several times; Daphne could feel the cold creep into her legs and decided to stand on the seat, the better to see the black faced sheep munch on the hay and to watch Fred and Cody strain their muscles. Fred, unused to this type of activity was going to feel this come tomorrow, she thought.
With everyone, including the two sheep dogs busy with feeding the sheep, no one paid any attention to the big ram that broke away from the flock, making his way through the snow toward the wagon. With no warning of what was coming, the huge ram charged the wagon. The shock of the animal hitting the wagon was the first and only warning; startled, the horses bolted, stopping only at Cody's whistle.
The resulting jerking of the wagon had caught Daphne off guard; losing her balance she was thrown from the wagon into the snow.
"Fred, get Daphne into the wagon! Angus and I will take care of Brutus!" Cody yelled, waving at Angus.
Fred ran to Daphne, picking up the limp form. The snow was soft, cushioning her fall but the frozen ground underneath had knocked the wind from her lungs. She regained consciousness, finding herself being held in Fred's arms. "Fred! I'm fine and perfectly able to walk by myself!" This wasn't true but she wasn't going to admit it to this man.
"You know what your problem is, Daphne? You either don't think enough or you think too much! You want down? Okay, you're down!" He dumped her into the back of the wagon, joining her and began pulling hay down over her head.
"Fred! What do you think you're doing? You're getting hay in my hair!"
"Daph, did you have a visitor, either last night or early this morning?" She immediately thought of Cody and the few stolen moments they had shared this morning. Was Fred so jealous, he was checking up on her?
"Uh...your monthly visitor?" Amended Fred, blushing.
"Oh...yes, early this morning." She had almost said right after Cody had left her room but bit her tongue to keep quiet about that. "Why do you ask, Fred?"
"I think that is what sent Brutus into a rampage!" He explained.
"He's not my type." And then he was kissing her. No gentle, loving kiss; his lips were demanding, crushing, nearly bruising hers. And she found herself kissing him back just as fiercely.
"We need to talk." He broke the violent kiss. "Wait for me."
"Yes, Fred." With a smug smile, she snuggled deeper into the hay, pulling the hay down over her lap.
"Are ye alright?" Cody jumped into the wagon, kneeling beside Fred but looking at Daphne.
"I'm okay, shaken but no broken bones." God, Cody was handsome and obviously concerned for her.
"Good. Fred, good idea in the hay, hopefully it will take care of Brutus. Mind finishing feeding the sheep? I need to check on what shape Brutus left us in."
"No problem." Fred jumped off the wagon, followed by Cody.
Daphne watched as Fred worked to feed the animals and thought about what he'd said. What did he mean by talking when he never wanted to before? And why wait? Wait for what and when? She had waited for so long for him to say something about them as a couple.
And there was now Cody in the picture. He obviously loved the sheep, and as the oldest son, would be Laird of MacRogers Castle one day. Daphne thought he'd make a good Laird, but did he see her as Lady of the Keep? His kisses said 'Yes', but they hadn't known each other that long. Her thoughts were broken when she heard Cody say,
"Looks like ye could use a break, Fred." Cody motioned Fred to stop.
"Daphne, this concerns ye too, we need to have a quick blether." Daphne moved to the end of the wagon, looking right and left to locate the big ram.
"He's feeding with the rest, like nothing happened." Cody seemed to read her mind and was trying to reassure her.
"What damage did he do?" A concerned Fred asked.
"Nothing that can't be fixed," Cody continued in his reassuring voice, "He broke a spoke out of the wheel but we need to decide what we're going to do."
"What do you mean?" Daphne wasn't all that reassured.
"We have to finish unloading the hay then we can fix the wheel and limp home but we won't be getting home until well past dark."
"Or?" Daphne wasn't feeling all that confident about going back in a broken down wagon and in the dark at that.
"We keep an extra wheel stored at Angus' cottage. We can replace the wheel, bed down for the night and get home in the morning."
"Won't your parents be worried about us when we don't show up?" Daphne wasn't at all pleased with this situation; being in an isolated 'cottage' with not one but two handsome men she had feelings for. And where was this 'cottage'? She'd seen nothing even resembling a cottage.
"Only if we don't show up at a reasonable time tomorrow morning. I often spend the night with Angus if the weather is bad." The three looked at each other, the silence broken by the bleating of the sheep.
One ewe came up, nudging Cody aside and taking hay from Daphne's hand.
"Let's finish unloading, replace the wheel and try for home in the morning. I don't relish being out in Nowheresville in the dark and risk an even bigger accident." Fred summarized their feelings.
TBC
