To Love a Stranger (Wyoming Series Book 4) by Coble Colleen

Author:Coble, Colleen [Coble, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781937515621
Publisher: Spencerhill Associates, Ltd.
Published: 2012-11-26T05:00:00+00:00

nine

Jasper insisted Bessie rest for a few days. She was relieved at his insistence for she still felt dizzy and light-headed. He brought her the watercolors she had brought with her, and she and Ruth spent daytime hours under the trees along the acequia. She painted scenes of fort life and thought they were pretty good. She captured Rooster and several of the other soldiers practicing drills on the parade ground, the small post band playing their instruments in the cool of the day under the trees near her and the Indians moving to and from the sutler’s store.

For the first time since she had come west, she had time to stop and savor the sights and smells of the fort: the licorice smell of the tobacco plugs the men chewed, the mix and match uniforms they wore, and the fragrance of creosote bushes and sagebrush. She tried to get all that flavor of life down on canvas and was amazed at her own paintings. Her uncle in Boston had urged her to send him some of her work; perhaps she would send him some of these.

Jasper sometimes joined her with a block of wood and his whittling knife. They seemed to have made an uneasy truce, uneasy on her end, anyway. He seemed relaxed and content.

§

“What are you doing up? I can get my own breakfast.” Jasper said.

Bessie jumped. Sometimes he was so noiseless, like a cat. “It’s time things got back to normal,” she said firmly. “I’ve spent too much time relaxing as it is. The laundry is piled up, this house is filthy with dust and sand, and we’re out of bread.”

He grinned. “You could always make more biscuits.”

“They might even be edible this time now that I know how to make them.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re doing a fine job. You might make a fair-to-middlin’ cook yet.” His green eyes twinkled. “I’m in the mood for beans and corn bread.”

She smiled. “That’s exactly what I was planning for supper. Where are you going today?”

“We’re building new latrines. The commander wants the heavy digging and hard work done before it gets any hotter. Which reminds me. I’ve arranged for some help for you.”

She frowned. “I don’t need any help. I’m managing just fine.” Did he feel she was failing in some way as a wife? She was trying so hard, but she knew her cooking still wasn’t great. Jasper ate it without complaint, but maybe he longed for better cooking than she could muster.

“Yes, but I don’t want to turn you into a drudge. I want my wife fresh and lively when I come home at night. You have plenty to do just caring for Ruthie. You’ll like Eve.”

“Who?” she called after him as he walked toward the door.

“Eve. She’ll be here soon.”

“Another woman?” She couldn’t believe it. She had seen no other women since they went through Tucson on the way to Fort Bowie. She felt a sense of excitement tinged with jealousy.

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