Instant Prairie Family & Cowboy to the Rescue by Louise M. Gouge

Author:Louise M. Gouge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-10-14T17:38:35+00:00

Chapter Three

Susanna’s pulse finally slowed enough for her to step down from the prairie schooner. Before climbing out, she checked on Daddy, only to find he’d fared better on the crossing than she had because of the thick padding Nate had put in his bed. Shaking out her wobbly legs, she approached Nate and Zack, who were unhitching the horses so they could go back across for Nate’s wagon.

A sudden protectiveness for Mrs. Northam’s anniversary gift stirred within her. No matter that she’d never met the lady. If she’d reared this kind gentleman, Susanna already liked her.

“Surely, you don’t plan to bring the china across the river that same way.” She posted her fists at her waist for emphasis. “Every plate and cup and bowl will be broken.” Maybe there was even some crystal glassware in the crates, and that most certainly would not survive no matter how well it was nestled into the straw packing.

Nate shoved his hat back, revealing the tan line on his forehead and giving him a charmingly boyish appearance. He looked down his straight, narrow nose at her. “I suppose you think I haven’t thought of that.” His tone held a hint of annoyance, but his green eyes held their usual teasing glint. “You have a better idea, Miss Smarty?”

“Humph.” She crossed her arms and tapped one foot on the ground. “As a matter of fact, I do.” Sliding her gaze northward along the river, she pointed toward the raised railroad trestle. “Have you ever heard of a little thing called a train?” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine why you didn’t just have the crates shipped that way over the mountains.”

Now serious, Nate frowned. “The Colonel didn’t trust them to show due care, especially over La Veta Pass. Sometimes trains jump track or run into fallen trees.” His tone suggested he didn’t quite agree with his father. “He didn’t want to risk it.”

At the mention of railroad tragedies, Susanna could think only of the stories she’d heard all her life. Sherman’s army destroyed the Confederacy’s entire rail line, digging up the tracks and wrapping them around trees, burning train stations and cutting telegraph wires. Maybe Colonel Northam participated in that same kind of destruction somewhere in the South. She shook off the memory and forced her thoughts to Mrs. Northam’s certain appreciation of her husband’s extraordinary gift. After all, Northern ladies hadn’t participated in the war, and surely nice things meant as much to them as they did to Southern ladies.

“Maybe he wouldn’t mind just for the crossing?” She lifted her eyebrows with the question and smiled at Nate.

He glanced between the bridge and her, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. This man liked her, she could tell. But she wouldn’t play with him, as she had some of the boys back home. Southern boys understood and even expected flirtation. Yankee boys might get the wrong idea if she behaved as she had back home, and so far their teasing had fallen short of real flirting.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.