Private Treaty by Kathleen Eagle

Author:Kathleen Eagle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781611946901
Publisher: BelleBooks Inc.
Published: 2016-02-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

CAROLINA’S PRECIOUS plants had wilted while she was gone. Reviving the garden would take more than a miracle, but she poured water into the little irrigation troughs she’d dug until most of the parched plants rallied. Like most newly transplanted women, she’d brought the seeds of an Eastern flower garden along with her, and every container she could find had been planted. Her morning glories were already at home with the wild grass, and the marigolds and portulaca were hardy, but the petunias were fading. It took her best efforts to bring them back to life. She wished for a tree in the yard, just one tree. The stand of cottonwoods was too distant, and it left her little cabin looking naked.

She loosened the crusty soil around the Juneberry cuttings she’d planted. North Dakota was not New England. She didn’t want it to be. North Dakota was a new state. Surely here a woman didn’t have to pretend she might wilt like one of these plants if some man didn’t tend her. Jacob didn’t expect her to be a shrinking violet. He welcomed her honest responses to him and did not judge her for her lack of feminine wiles. Their only problem seemed to be that he didn’t think she could withstand the rejection of a few snippy matrons and most of the white male population. She’d tried to tell him that she had ignored their foolish notions for some years now. Education had been all-important to her.

In time, he would see the stuff she was made of. And they had time. He had promised to come to her when he could. Meanwhile, she tended her garden, prepared lessons for her students, and sewed. She made a divided skirt for riding astride, which was the style she planned to use in the future. If Marissa could do without a sidesaddle, then Carolina could, as well. As far as she could tell, riding had not in any way compromised her friend’s femininity with the horse between her legs.

The shirt she made for Jacob was a labor of love. She used a soft lawn fabric the color of ivory. Remembering the beadwork designs on his moccasins, she embroidered a similar pattern on the sleeves from shoulder to cuff.

Nearly a week had passed. It was dusk when she heard the mare nicker and another horse respond. She saw him through the window, and her heartbeat accelerated as she sailed out the door. He slid down from the horse’s back, still favoring his left leg, but he had, indeed, gotten into his pants. Carolina stopped just short of throwing herself into his arms, but she couldn’t help grinning foolishly at him. He grinned back, his eyes brightening at the sight of her.

She moved closer, but felt suddenly shy. “It’s good to see you, Jacob.”

He laughed. “How good?”

She leaned into his arms, nestling her face in the side of his neck. “How do the Hunkpapa say good?”

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.