Destined By Proxy

~40~ Grazing into a Contended Life

Magnolia's POV

"There you are. Can I talk to ya for a minute?" Eli asks when he rounds the corner and sees me scrubbing clothes on the washboard.

"Sure. Is something wrong?" I ask as I drop Theo's shirt back into the sudsy water and stand, wiping the water off onto my apron.

"Nah, I've just had an idea lately and I wanted to run it past ya."

"Alright," I nod as I look up into his beautiful eyes and suddenly want to kiss him. Ever since he gave me my clock the other night, my crush for him has deepened. His kind gesture still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.

He clears his throat, and for some reason looks nervous, which makes me nervous. I twist at my apron, wondering what on earth is on his mind.

"Well, ya know that this ranch is split 4 ways, right? We each have 500 acres deeded in our own names."

"I didn't know that," I say as my eyes widen in surprise. How many miles is that? Goodness that's a lot of walking.

"Really? Ya never asked Rachel?"

"No?"

His face gets funny as he tilts his head. "Ya never asked how much property you owned?"

"I don't own anything," I say, puzzled by this conversation.

"You own 500 acres," He says slowly as if he's talking to a confused child.

When I say nothing, he watches me closely and then clears his throat. "Anyways, it don't feel right makin' decisions no more without talkin' to ya about it first....Micah wants ta increase our cattle by 10 percent this year once the cattle drive is done."

"The cattle drive?" I interrupt, and he nods.

"Yeah, normally one or two of us go with the ranchers. We're usually gone for three months."

My eyes widen and he shakes his head. "Anyways...I don't want to increase the cattle. I think the amount we have is plenty, and I want to grow the ranch in other ways."

"And how's that?" I ask.

"I want to increase our pigs. They yield more profit, and they cost less to raise. I ain't never known of pigs gettin' stolen the way the cattle have been, and I just have a bad feelin' about the Mad Cow Disease that's been wipin' out ranches lately."

"Mad Cow....There's so much I don't understand," I say, and he grins.

"I wanna go into Ashburn tomorra. A farmer breeds the best boars, and I need another since I plan on gettin' more sows...And then I'll have to build more pens to keep the boars separate...It's gonna be a big undertakin'. Micah don't agree with it, but it's my money, er, our money and property, so he ain't got a say."

When I'm silent, he gives me a small grin and clears his throat. "So that was a long-winded way to say... "Hey Maggie, I wanna buy a boar and some sows tomorra. Do ya think that's an okay idea?"

"I think that's a great idea," I say with a smile, and his face flashes surprise...which surprises me.

"Ya do?"

"Huh?" Surely I'm not alone in being confused...What is this man wanting from me?

"I figured you'd just say ta do whatever and that ya didn't care. You really think it's a good idea?"

"Actually, I said it's a great idea....I don't know how much it costs to raise them, but pigs only take how long to have piglets?"

"Three months, give or take."