Trev had spent an unpleasant few hours handling that, well aware that he himself might be carrying the bacteria and being out in the cold might give it a chance to take root. The one good thing he could say about the job was that it had kept his mind off worrying about his uncle. It seemed impossible that Lucas was in any real danger, since he took care of himself and Trev had never seen him sick, but it was still a nasty illness and he worried for him.
He was also worried about his aunt, Mary, Lewis, and Jane. After sending out his defenders he’d gone to visit the Halsson cabin to express his concern and support. Aunt Eva looked nearly as exhausted as her husband, as did Lewis, and his aunt’s and Mary’s eyes had been red from recent tears. Lewis and Jane had moved into the main room to let Lucas have their bed, and Trev had spoken to his uncle through the doorway.
Lucas had been stoic and optimistic, but obviously in no shape to receive visitors. Trev had expressed his family’s best wishes, promised to bring around more of his mom’s soup for them, and trudged back home through the storm, where Deb was still gone and the rest of the family was watching each other for signs of coughing or other symptoms.
All in all Trev was happy to have something to do this morning, even this.
Oddly enough Linda had chosen to come with him, to an activity that would have very few spectators. When he and Lewis had discussed the butchering yesterday, mostly to inform his cousin that Robert had agreed to take over for him so he could worry about caring for his dad, Mary had put on a brave face about the necessity of slaughtering the animals. The young woman was clearly distressed at the thought, and this morning Sam had been similarly saddened by the necessity.
As for Linda, she’d also grown fond of the shelter group animals that were going to be slaughtered today, and had actually burst into tears when Trev mentioned it. And yet for some reason here she was, pale but obviously intending to come with him.
Trev had a feeling that had something to do with the handsome carpenter who’d be helping out with the work. It was cute in a way, if unrealistic considering her age, but since he knew his sister Trev had a feeling she would regret trying to use this particular event as an opportunity to flirt.
His suspicions were confirmed when they arrived at the barn to find the others already there and busy making preparations, and Linda immediately made a beeline for where Robert and Hailey were setting out and sharpening tools. She wasted no time drawing the carpenter into conversation.
Robert was obviously wise to her motives, considering the amused look he shot Trev’s way as Linda talked a mile a minute, idly playing with a lock of her soft brown hair as she asked him to describe the butchering process.
Trev shrugged at the man’s unspoken question about whether he should actually do so, giving tacit permission to humor the girl. A little reality would be good for her.
So the carpenter launched into a very, very detailed explanation of how they’d kill, gut, hang, skin, and quarter the excess sheep and goats. In less than a minute Linda was looking green, and as he moved on to describe the possibility of removing the head for taxidermy as a trophy she finally exploded.
“Stop!” she nearly screeched. “This is awful, why would you tell me it?”
Robert raised one eyebrow. “You asked me. I thought you were mature enough to hear it.”
The young woman scowled. “It’s got nothing to do with being mature! You don’t tell a girl those sorts of things, it’s rude.”
At that Hailey cleared her throat pointedly. She wasn’t just hearing about the process, she was going to be helping. And she’d probably started helping with butchering her own family’s animals when she was younger than Linda. Trev’s sister went a bit pink at the woman’s unspoken rebuke, but stubbornly held her glare on the carpenter.
“Not to be rude, but I think it has everything to do with being mature,” Robert replied, not unkindly. “If you want to be treated like a kid, I’ll treat you like one.” That was obviously the last thing Linda wanted to hear considering her flirtation attempts, and she didn’t have a response to it. She fumed silently for a moment until Robert turned back to his work, speaking over his shoulder. “Excuse me.”
“Excuse you is right!” Linda shouted at his back as he walked away. Then she gave an angry screech and stomped away from the barnyard.
Once she was out of earshot Robert looked Trev’s way. “Hope I didn’t overstep myself there.”
Trev shrugged, eyes still on his sister’s retreating back. “Probably better than letting her watch, if she couldn’t even bear to hear about it.”
As her brother Trev felt bad for her, but he also couldn’t deny that he’d gotten just a little bit of satisfaction out of the exchange. He loved his sister, but he wasn’t blind to her difficulty adjusting to a completely changed world. She was young, and she’d always been a little spoiled. That hadn’t prepared her well for a life of scarcity without easy and delicious meals, physical and emotional comforts, and endless entertainment options. She balked at the hard work required of her, stewed at her boredom because she had so little to do, and constantly pestered others who were working to entertain her.
Trev hadn’t realized his sister’s attitude and behavior had gotten noticed to the point where even newcomers were aware of it, and willing to call it out. And from her seething resentment as she stalked into their cabin and slammed the door behind her, he was afraid this wasn’t going to be a wake up call for her.
As he turned back he realized with a start that Deb was standing nearby, watching the exchange. He hadn’t seen her since she bolted from his room, so he was a bit nervous about how things were between them. But to his relief she smiled and waved, obviously here for him. He came over to stand next to her.
“I’m sorry about your uncle,” she said immediately. “How’s he doing this morning?”
Trev shook his head. “About the same, and probably will be for a long time. Whooping cough can last months if left untreated, and we have no way to treat him.” He gave her a concerned look. “How about you and everyone in Jane’s group? Are you all doing okay?”
His girlfriend nodded. “No sign of it in our cabin. Matt came by to warn us of the danger, and advise us about quarantine procedures. But I figured since I’ve already been around your family so much without getting sick there’s not much use staying away now.” She fell silent, looking a bit embarrassed. That was skirting close to the topic of what had happened the night before last, and how she’d fled into the storm.
Trev quickly changed the subject, gesturing in the direction his sister had retreated. “So… that was awkward.”
“I don’t completely blame her,” Deb replied, avoiding looking at the hooks Robert was setting up to hang the carcasses to drain. “Although if she has trouble with it she shouldn’t have come around to watch.”
Trev grinned and gestured at the carpenter as he finished that task and returned to helping Hailey with the tools. “I don’t think it was the butchering she came to watch.”
“Watching the butcher’s not much different,” Deb replied, also smiling. Then she sobered and took a deep breath. “Speaking of awkward…”
He bit back a sigh. He supposed they’d put off clearing the air about what had happened for long enough. “Yeah, we should probably talk about that.”