Lonesome River by Dorothy Garlock

Author:Dorothy Garlock [GARLOCK, DOROTHY]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC027000
ISBN: 9780759522831
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2001-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Farr guided the plow being pulled by the oxen. It was work that required very little thought and his mind was free to wander. Something strange had happened to him. Liberty’s face, framed with its crown of hair the color of egg-shells, had nudged itself past the hard crust he had built around himself as a protection against ever loving, wanting, or needing a woman again. From the first he had liked having her in his house. And today it had been pleasant to come up for nooning, to have the meal ready, and to see her at the end of the table with a child on each side of her.

He had given considerable thought about asking Liberty to stay on as his wife even before the arrival of Stith Lenning. Of late he had yearned for a home spot, not just a cabin with a place to eat and sleep, but a place where someone waited just for him. At times he was desperately in need of a woman’s body, and unlike many of the white men in the territory he refused to take an Indian woman to satisfy his lust. He thought about that now without the small, bitter flame of guilt he always felt when he thought of being closely entwined with another woman as he had been with Fawnella.

Time had dulled the pain of losing his first love. Fawnella was a part of his youth, a sweet and cherished memory. They had come together in mutual love for each other, and together had discovered the joy of consummating their love.

It would be different mating with Liberty. She did not love him and was too honest to pretend that she did. She had taken him as a protector to stand between her and a man she detested. He had no doubt that she would do her duty by him. After all she was not a stranger to a man’s desires. They had made a fair bargain, he told himself. She would make a home, give him children, take care of Juicy, and he would protect her with his life if necessary. What more could she ask for?

By the middle of the afternoon Farr had made three trips around the compound and the furrow was becoming too deep for the plow. He stopped to adjust the iron blade and saw Liberty coming toward him carrying a pail. He continued to work and didn’t look up until she was standing beside him.

“I thought you might like a drink of water.” Her glance wavered beneath his direct stare.

“I’m dry as a bone.” He took the pail from her hand, tilted it and drank deeply. When he finished he handed her the pail, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Thank you.”

“How many more times do you have to go around?”

“About three more times. Then we start digging by hand.” Farr studied her face but she avoided a direct glance.

“I thought I’d plow a garden tomorrow, that is, if you don’t need Molly and Sally,” Liberty said.

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