Where it appears Mary will finally get a bath.

Catch up with chapter 44…

Start the adventure from the beginning.

The sun hung low on the horizon when they finally reached the small collection of buildings.

How Marshall ever thought this was a small town, Mary would never know. But she was relieved there was the promise of a bed and, more importantly, a bath, especially after a long afternoon on the back of a horse.

Burt Wheelright led them up to the front of the second largest building, the house— the barn being the largest structure on the property. The few cowhands he had been out wrangling up his herd with had left them far behind as they had cattle to bring in.

Hundreds of cows, far more than Mary could have imagined were out in the prairie with them, jostled together in a large fenced in area. Men whistled and barked at the beasts as they continued to wrangle them into other fenced in areas.

“This is your ranch?” Mary asked, though the answer was obvious.

“Sure is,” Burt answered. “My apologies it’s a little rough around the edges. Haven’t had a woman around since my wife left us.

“I’m so sorry,” Mary muttered.

“It’s been a while, but she’s still with me.” He patted himself on the chest.

An emotional gesture Mary found endearing.

“I still have some of her things in a trunk. They might fit you.”

Mary gasped. “Clean clothes? Oh, I would adore fresh clothes.”

In her enthusiasm, she swung her leg over the horse’s back and slid down its side until she was on her feet.

Marshall grabbed her as she wobbled. “You need to get your legs back under you after a long ride.”

“It’s almost as bad as trying to walk on land after being in that airship for a day.” She practically giggled. It was hard to walk, her legs were somehow both tired and tingling.

“Come on inside,” Burt said as he mounted the steps to the front of his house.

More log cabin than the interior of the fine houses Mary was used to, it was still a large, yet homey living space. The feminine touches of Burt’s late wife obvious in the lace curtains and other small details of floral vases and displays of fine China.

“The extra bed rooms are back this way.”

Mary and Marshall followed the man into a back hallway. He pushed open doors to a few rooms that had been decorated with beds and furniture that looked like children had lived there.

He entered the last room he showed them. It had been a woman’s room. He pulled a steamer trunk into the center of the room and flipped the latch. “I think you could find something in here to suit you.”

“Oh, Mr. Wheelright, this is so generous of you. Thank you. You wife had such beautiful taste.”

Mary picked up the first delicate piece of clothing. Burt Wheelright’s wife had very fine taste indeed.

The clothes were old, and out of fashion, but Mary knew quality when she saw it. She dropped the fabric and ran her hands down the front of her skirt. Her hands were dirty, and she shouldn’t have been touching the clothing with them.

“I want nothing more than to explore the contents of the trunk, but I’m afraid I’m too dirty to touch anything,” she admitted.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the bath is. You’ll have to pump your own water, but I’ll get Cookie to boil some for you so you can have hot water.”

They followed Burt back through the house until they came to what was obviously the heart of the home, the kitchen.

Cookie ended up being a cranky old man, long past his cowboy days. And the bath, well it was a full-sized tub tucked into the corner of the kitchen, behind a partial wall.

“But there’s not even a curtain for privacy,” Mary pointed out.

“Haven’t needed one for quite some time,” Burt admitted.

“We got that fancy folding screen you missus used to use,” Cookie said.

“I haven’t seen that for years.”

“I think the boys have it out in the bunk house.” Cookie wiped his hands down the front of the grease stained apron he wore. He looked Marshall up and down. “Well, come on, let’s go get the lady a little privacy.”

Burt showed Mary how to work the pump in the kitchen.

“My wife insisted I give her water inside the house. It was the hardest thing I had ever had to figure out, but her happiness had made it all worthwhile. Never regretted it once.”

“I certainly appreciate not having to carry buckets of water across the yard,” Mary admitted.

She watched the water swirl around the bottom of the tub as she poured in yet another bucket full. It looked like there wasn’t any water at all, let alone three full buckets already in there. This was going to take forever, and then she was going to need to get Cookie to boil up several pots of water to make the tub warm enough. She wasn’t going to let the thoughts of a cold bath ruin the fact that she had a tub full of water in her future.

“Here you go,” Marshall announced as he placed a folding screen down next to the tub.

She smiled up at him. “Privacy and a tub. You made good with your promise.”

“And don’t forget, a real bed too.”

“And a real bed too!” Mary wrapped her arms around Marshall’s middle and held tight.

She didn’t know how long she could have stayed that way if Cookie hadn’t cleared his throat at that moment.

“Let’s get that tub filled. I have a dinner to cook, and I have a feeling the lady if going to want me out of the kitchen when she’s taking her bath.”

Will Mary get the privacy she desires during her bath? Tune in next time…

©2026 Lulu M. Sylvian