Chapter Three: Settling Lifestyle

*More than a comfortable silence, the pair of them settled into a comfortable lifestyle. Three weeks had passed, and already they knew each other's habits, faults, and strengths. Every morning the same routine would begin them, and every day the same routine would end them. Each had learned how much the other was capable of, and each had been surprised to learn how much the other could accomplish.

The morning was a bright, sunny one. The big, white clouds billowed in the sky, rolling over the open plains as they stretched out as far as the eye could see. A few knickers could be heard from the barn, birds were chirping brightly, and two grumpy people, a man and a woman, sat at a table in the middle of a warm room. This was not their usual morning.

"We're out of coffee. How could this happen? It's your fault you know." The woman accused the man haughtily.

"Me? You drank the last cup yesterday." He answered, just as cranky as she, with slightly more control over his emotional outbursts.

"Yes, but you drink more than I do on a daily basis! Now what are we supposed to do?"

"Buy more."

"You think I can afford to buy more coffee until the small crop comes in? I have enough trouble trying to pay your salary, and here you are drinking me out of house and home!"

"See here. I never drank you out of house and home." He was humoring her more than anything, really.

"Yes you did gun boy, don't go trying to deny it now. I had my coffee, which I need every morning, all rationed out. Then here you come along and drink it all in the time of a month! A whole summer's worth of coffee gone in a month! So now I won't be able to work without my coffee, and my farm'll go to shambles… don't you go telling me you didn't drink me out of house and home, yes you did!"

"Look here Miss Serena. I didn't drink you out of house and home." Hiiro stated again firmly. He knew her mood was worst in the mornings, and without the coffee to wake her up… well. There was no use in trying to reason with her at six in the morning without coffee. He would just have to wait till she was in a better mood.

"You did, oh you did! Why did I take you in again? What a mistake I've made! You're costing me more than I'm making with you on hand!"

"Then you take my here pay and buy some god-damned coffee!" He said, his voice rising slightly as he slammed his hand down on the table, then taking it off and leaving the money sitting in front of her.

"Hiiro Yui!" She gasped.

"Yes Mame?" He asked slowly. He knew that tone. He had done it again.

"Now I've told you three to four times a day for the last three weeks! Hiiro Yui, you do not take the Lord's name in vain, I don't care whether you done had your coffee or not! Understand?"

She was seething. After the first three weeks of working with her, this was the only thing about him that really pushed her buttons. He was a baptized Christian, but he constantly swore and such. She herself was a devout Christian, and couldn't stand it. So now, on top of her coffee being gone, she was mad at Hiiro, and he was cowering in fear. Or at least, as much fear as he ever showed. She sighed inwardly. This was not going too well.

"Look here Hiiro. I'm sorry. Next time try to remember not to swear as much. Now then, the coffee. You like going into that mixed up town, why don't you go. Ride as quickly as you can and then get back here. Understand?"

"Yes." He nodded slightly. Standing from the table, he walked outside and began to hitch his horse. He mounted and waved a slight good-bye to Serena, who had moved to the doorway to see him off. She nodded briefly in a good-bye to him and then turned and went back inside.

As Hiiro rode towards town, he thought over how the last three weeks had been. After he and Serena had…adjusted… to each other, life went on. It was unusual for him at first, not being on the road constantly. The bed had taken more getting used to than most things. For the first three days he had slept on the floor in the room, feeling too uncomfortable to sleep in the pristine white sheets and soft, feather-stuffed mattress.

Then there was the matter of work. Every day he got up with dawn, and was surprised to find Serena was already up, boiling water and preparing a small breakfast for them. Never before had he expected to find her up before him. Her work ethic was strong, and she had a habit of being too stubborn to quit, even when she knew she couldn't perform a task or chore. It had taken him a while to convince her to ask him to help her.

At first he had just watched her try to lift things that were too heavy, or to reach things that were too high. Then when she would break from her tiring efforts, he would easily complete the task without saying a word to her. After a week and a half he wondered how she had managed without someone else's help around the house. He supposed that she ultimately would have been able to do everything he was helping with; it would just have taken her three times as long. But after she realized that he wasn't opposed to helping her or working hard, she finally began to take full advantage of having him as her hired hand.

And she had kept her word. He was in the town at least twice a week, sometimes three, performing errands for her. In the last three weeks he had become used to the cold and strange attitudes of the townspeople and rather expected it when he rode into town. Their unusual actions around him told him something was amiss, and it drove him near crazy to just bide his time to find out what it was. Still, he knew the townspeople were beginning to warm up to him when the men began to nod their hats in greetings and the women didn't turn their backs to him anymore. The friendliest people in the town to him were the stable hand and the shop keep, which he saw nearly every time he was in town. Usually his errands in town consisted of getting a new salt lick or horseshoe, or equipment for the horses; or picking up sugar, or salt, or coffee in the store so Serena could make another of her fabulous meals.

When she had said her only feminine attribute was her cooking, Serena hadn't been lying. He had seen some of the things she had tried to sew- not pretty. He had also had the pleasure of seeing her try to do laundry. That wasn't a very pretty sight either. However her cooking made up for that in more ways than one. While he had been on the road searching for Wild Shields he hadn't had more than a little dried beef jerky, cornmeal, and water every day for his three meals. Now everyday for lunch and dinner, and even occasionally breakfast if the mood stuck her, she cooked up a storm. Once he had had enough curiosity and interest to ask why she didn't go into the town and work as a waitress in the saloon. She had promptly slapped him.

"A waitress? You think a waitress is what I want to be? Pinched and whistled at by any thing that happens to be in the mood to drink? What would that do for me?"

"You could cook." He had answered decidedly.

"Are you in the right mind? They don't let no waitresses cook in those places! When was the last time you done ever heard of a woman chef?"

"Never."

"Precisely." He had smirked at that. For all the grammatical errors in her speech, she was very well learned and often spoke very accurately- minus a few improper verbs and double negatives.

"A woman's place is in the home." He had roughly stated in response to her smart answer.

"Yes." She had stated. He remembered looking at her in slight surprise. Her answer hadn't been in character- he had half expected her to slap him again. Her face wasn't either. She had turned slightly away from him, and her eyes were clouded over and dark, and a sad frown crossed her usually smirking rouge lips. Then she had straightened and turned back around to look at him. "Come on then, eat! We've still got chores to do after supper you know!" And that had ended the conversation.

So her cooking was wonderful, but her attitude needed some work. She was a smart young woman with too much to say. She never hesitated to voice her opinions and order him around, and as much as he didn't like the fact that a woman was doing it, he had to admit, it was her home and he was working for her, therefore she had the right to do as she pleased.

Hiiro entered the town and made a beeline for the general store. Usually he would loiter around a bit, asking questions that were never answered and observing the people, but today was different. Serena had been in a riot because of the coffee this morning, and he decided he would cut her a break and hurry to get back for her. It really wasn't fair that she was doing so much on a farm that was made for a large family to run. She should in the house cooking and learning to sew properly, not out in the yard helping him to build a fence, plant crops, and care for a small heard of horses. Tying his horse to the post outside the store, he dismounted and walked into the store.

"Mr. Yui." The shop keep nodded in his direction. "Can I help you with something today?"

"Ten pounds of black coffee." Hiiro replied.

"Right then. You and Miss Serena run out?"

"Yeah."

"Well, here you go. That's going to be two fifty. So how's Miss Serena?" Hiiro shrugged as he took out his coin purse to count out the money. "You don't know how she is and you live with her?" The shop keep smiled as he asked.

"She's fine."

"I know that." The man laughed. "All the men in the town know that. But how is she in health?" Hiiro's insides burned when he heard the crack. It wasn't that he cared for the woman, but the comment had been in bad taste. That was all.

"Her health is good." Hiiro answered, placing the money on the counter.

"Well then, guess I'll be seeing you. Say hello to the lovely lady for me now." Hiiro nodded and muttered a 'sure', then walked out. Now he knew why Serena hadn't appreciated the thought of her being a waitress. She had a little more class than hanging around with men such as that shop keep.

)(

"Confound it! Where is that gun boy? I told him to go as quick as he could, and he's been gone far too long!" Serena muttered under her breath. She knew he hadn't really been gone long enough for her to complain, but it was more comforting than waiting patiently. She pounded at the stake again, this time harder.

While Hiiro had been gone getting the coffee, Serena had already fed the horses and milked the cow. Only ten minutes had passed since she had begun working on the corral fence, and already she could feel the lack of caffeine settling in her bones. Where was-

"Here." She gasped and jumped around, grabbing the ax en route and holding it high, ready to strike at the intruder. But when she really looked, she relaxed.

"Haven't I told you enough times not to sneak up on me like that!" She scolded.

"Here." Hiiro once again stated. She looked down and saw that in his hands he held two cups of coffee, and was offering one towards her.

"Well now! I never!" Serena took the cup in surprise. *