A few chickens.
The ranch already had a cellar.
It simply wasn't being used efficiently.
She showed him how a small amount of meat could flavor an enormous pot of beans.
How potatoes could thicken stew.
How stale bread could become filling meals rather than waste.
How proper storage could reduce spoilage.
Elias watched her work.
By the time the fire burned low, she had reorganized two pages of accounts.
Then four.
Then ten.
At last she pushed the ledger toward him.
“If my estimates are correct, your household provisions can last considerably longer.”
Elias stared at the neat figures.
“How much longer?”
“Three or four weeks. Possibly more if we supplement wisely.”
He sat back.
“You've done this before?”
“Not with cattle.”
She smiled.
“But I've fed kitchens full of hungry men on budgets that would make you weep.”
Elias laughed.
Then grew thoughtful.
“You could save us a great deal of money.”
Lara looked down.
“I'm glad.”
He reached across the table.
Placed his rough hand over hers.
“You understand what you've done?”
She looked up.
He smiled.
“Caleb sent you here because he thought you'd ruin this place.”
Her eyes filled.
“And?”
“And you're the first person in years who's made me think we might actually save it.”
For a long time, Lara could not speak.
She had been praised before.
Occasionally.
For cooking.
For sewing.
For being helpful.
But nobody had ever looked at her as though her presence changed the future.
That night, when Elias left for the barn, Lara stood beside the window and watched him cross the yard.
Snow fell softly.
The stove glowed behind her.
For the first time in her adult life, she was not dreaming about someone coming to rescue her.
She was thinking about what she could build.
Chapter 6: The Men Who Laughed
The next morning, twelve ranch hands entered the kitchen expecting hard bread and salted meat.
Instead they found a large pot of hot stew.
Fresh bread.
Coffee.
And a woman standing beside the stove with her sleeves rolled up.
The men stopped.
One removed his hat.
Another looked toward Elias.
A third smiled.
“Well, boss, looks like the cabin got itself a miracle.”
Lara laughed nervously.
“It's only breakfast.”
The men sat.
Within minutes, the room filled with the sounds of spoons striking bowls and men asking for seconds.
One older ranch hand with gray whiskers looked up.
“Ma'am, I'd ride through a blizzard for another bowl of this.”