The Fugitive's Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin

Author:Ruth Ann Nordin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, sex, revenge, historical, child, western, widower, gunfight, marriage of convenience, pioneer romance
Publisher: Ruth Ann Nordin

***

A couple days later, Wade brought in hot water so that Millie could wash the clothes in the cabin. After he poured the water into the wash bucket, he said, “I’m going to chop some wood.”

To his surprise, Lloyd came up to him. “Can I come?”

“Lloyd, your pa will need to use an axe to chop the wood,” Millie said.

Noting Lloyd’s disappointment, Wade said, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t touch the axe.”

“In that case, I think it’s a good idea.” She turned to Lloyd. “You can help your pa bring all that wood back.”

Lloyd’s chest puffed out. “I’m strong.”

“I know you are,” she said. “I’ve seen all the rocks you can lift. I’m sure you’ll be a big help to your pa.”

Wade felt a smile tug at his lips. Millie had a natural mothering instinct about her alright. Jane would be happy that Millie was the one raising him. Maybe she was looking down from Heaven and was at peace knowing that her son had such a good woman to take care of him.

He blinked the tears away. There was no use in thinking of the ways he’d failed to protect Jane. He couldn’t go back in time and get her out of that house sooner. He just had to settle on the fact that Jane was safe now. She’d never suffer again.

“Be sure to wear your coat and hat,” Millie told Lloyd. “You don’t want to get cold out there.”

Though the day was warmer than the previous couple had been, Wade decided to humor Millie and took the boy’s coat and hat from the hooks lining the wall. He helped him into them and put the boots on him. Noting that Lloyd’s feet would be too big for them before long, he turned to Millie.

“Can you make shoes?” he asked.

Millie glanced up from the washboard she was putting into one of the buckets of water. Her eyes were wide. “You trust me to make shoes?”

Wondering why that should surprise her, he said, “I figure you might have learned to make them at some point over the years.” He gestured to her bear-skinned cloak. “You made that.”

“I just didn’t expect you to assume I could make them since you didn’t trust me to sew up your wound. As it turns out,” she continued before he could respond, “I can make shoes. Does Lloyd need a new pair, or is it you I’m making them for?”

“He needs them.” He scanned the room. “What do you plan to use to make them?”

“I have some parts of the bear pelt left over from what I didn’t need to make my cloak. I’ll use those to sew him some shoes. I’ll insert some fabric to make them comfortable.”

Really? She could take random things she had left over from other things she’d made and create shoes out of them?

She must have caught the shock in his expression since he noted the exasperation on her face.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll stop assuming you can’t do things. Obviously, you can.

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.