Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5) by Dorothy Wiley Read Free Book Online Page B

bulls at a nice profit for us, Colonel Logan wants me to supply the fort’s beef for the entire next year!”
    “Truly! Oh Stephen, you’re doing what you always wanted to do.”
    “It’s what
we
were destined to do together—build a better life for our children—why we made such a perilous journey and sacrificed so much getting here.”
    Their eyes met, remembering, and Jane drew in a slow deep breath.
    Stephen cleared his throat, not wanting to spoil the happy moment. “And, the Colonel said he’d speak to the commander at Fort Harrod and suggest that I supply their beef as well. With all the militia stationed at both forts, they’re unable to keep up with their need for fresh beef. I’ll be able to sell all the beef I can raise.”
    A soft loving curve touched Jane’s lips. “That’s wonderful news!”
    “I want to buy the girls a nice Christmas present,” Stephen whispered. “We can make a quick trip to the shops at Fort Logan or Harrodsburg if you prefer.”
    “Fort Logan, it’s closer and this time of year the weather might turn bad.” She handed him the coffee sweetened with an enormous smile on her pretty face. “Presents would make them both so happy, Stephen. It’s been a long time since they received any new toys. I was worried Father Christmas wasn’t coming this year.”
    “Of course he is! But after we buy the gifts and necessities, I’m going to reinvest the rest of the funds into buying more cows. I’ll need to increase my herd size to be able to keep up with the needs of both forts.”
    “I agree.”
    “And I decided I am going to enter George in that Twelfth Day race in Harrodsburg in January. The purse is substantial and it could mean buying all the cows we’ll need.”
    “Stephen, are you sure George is ready? He’s so young and still a little green. There will be stiff competition coming from all over Kentucky. Probably some attending from Virginia horse farms as well.”
    “I’ve trained him every day since he was old enough to ride and he’s come along quite well. He’s a magnificent stallion. Maybe even better than his father was, and you know how much I loved him. He’s as graceful as a dancer and as powerful as an English war horse. And he has a big heart, Jane. He’ll do anything I ask of him.”
    “Unlike me?” Amusement flickered in her eyes.
    “Well, now that you mention it…”
    She swatted him with a towel and he ducked. She enjoyed their gentle sparring as much as he did.
    “Father, is it Christmas yet?” Polly asked, suddenly appearing in the kitchen with her big sister Martha right behind her.
    “No, Polly, Christmas isn’t for a while yet,” he answered patiently.
    “Why do you keep asking the same question?” Martha scolded.
    “Because I love Christmas.”
    Martha sighed heavily. “I love Christmas too. But loving it won’t makeit come any faster,” she declared.
    Martha, their ten-year-old daughter, tended to think much like her mother. She looked like her too. Her wild curls refused taming and her green eyes could blaze with the same temper Jane displayed—often quick to anger and just as quick to cool.
    Polly, his seven-year-old, looked like him—her dark hair flowed from a center part and she had blue eyes. Also like him, she was slow to rile. Although when something finally made her mad, the whole world knew about it. And she wouldn’t forgive until she was good and ready.
    But he couldn’t complain. Both girls were generally well behaved. Most important of all, they were healthy. That meant everything to him.
    “Would you please read Bear’s letter to us again?” Polly asked her mother.
    Although the girls could both read well, they preferred for Jane to read Bear’s letters aloud. With a good deal of Scots blood in her too, Jane could imitate Bear’s Scottish brogue perfectly.
    “Are you through studying your lessons?” Jane asked the two.
    “Yes,” they both answered at once.
    “All of them? The Primer? Speller?