chuck, sounds like maybe she used hot water to soak the meat in. deer cooks at 140ish, so real warm water can cook it...i'd lose the soaking part, get some meat tampons and put em in the bag with the meat.
if ya put yer meat in a cooler, the plug should be pulled so the water can drain, make sure to break up the ice everyday, as pockets can form and you'll have dry spots on the meat.
any meat you buy at the store will have blood too, they just use tampons.