Mail Order Bride: Westward Christmas Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 11) by Linda Bridey Read Free Book Online Page A

wanted her with a shocking intensity.  He felt her caress his arms and slide her fingers up into his hair and growled as her fingernails lightly scraped over his scalp.  In the deep recesses of Sasha’s mind, reason began to prevail and she fought her way out of the haze of passion in which she floated.
                  She pressed her hands against Ben’s hard chest and pushed.  At first there was no give in his embrace, but when she pushed harder, it got through to him and the kiss was broken as he drew back.  His eyes gleamed like the eyes of a predatory cat and she shivered in excitement at the sight.
                  Ben looked into her eyes and saw the fear there.  He understood without speaking that it was not fear of him, but of herself and what she was feeling at the moment.  Ben gave her a last brief kiss and grabbed his coat.  He never took his eyes from hers as he smiled.  Neither did he speak.  His smile and eyes said it all and there was no need for words.  Sasha watched as he opened the door of her room, gave her one more stare, and was gone.
                 

Chapter Five
     
                  Sparrow hummed as she hung clothes on the line around the side of their little house by the stream.  Danny was bundled up and put in his cradleboard. She had propped it up against a nearby tree so that he could see his mother and she could keep an eye on him.  Although she really needn’t have worried because Roscoe, Marcus’ wolf-dog, lay right by the child.  The huge canine would have died protecting the baby. 
                  Danny babbled something at the dog and Roscoe woofed softly at the baby in response.  Sparrow laughed at the two of them.  Watching their healthy, happy, baby boy gave her such joy.  Jack came out on the porch and smiled as he took in the sight of his beautiful wife, sweet boy, and good old Roscoe. 
    Not for the first time he wished he had one of those cameras so he could take pictures of his family.  He would have liked to have photographs of their everyday life together and not just formal portraits.  Maybe someday someone would invent cameras that could be used by anyone and not just a professional. If they ever did, he’d be first in line to get one.
    He pinned his deputy’s badge to his jacket and jumped off the porch.  Sparrow said that they didn’t need stairs on the porch because he never used them.  Neither did any of the males in his family.  Jumping on an off the porch was something they’d always done, Jack had told her.  It was one of those things where no one knew why or how it had started, but it was continued over the years.  Jack knew it would be the same with Danny.
    Jack ducked as Sparrow threw a clothespin at him.  She was always throwing things at him and her aim was very accurate.  He stood up again only to be hit in the chest by two more in rapid succession.
    “Sparrow!” Jack protested, and was hit in the forehead by another.  “Hey!  All right. You asked for it, wife!” he said in Lakota.  He gathered up the clothespins she’d hit him with and started throwing back.  “Roscoe, guard!”
    Immediately the dog got up and put his big body between the baby and their horseplay, even though they were throwing in different directions from Danny.  They never took any chances when it came to their son.  Clothespins would simply bounce off Roscoe’s heavy coat or he would catch them.  It was a game that was played often and the dog was used to it.
    Sparrow and Jack threw their small missiles at each other with force and laughed when they connected with their opponent.  When they were both out of ammo, a mad dash ensued to scoop up as many clothespins as they could before the other started throwing again.  Sparrow rushed to collect several that she saw close by when she saw Jack coming at her out of the corner of her eye.  She turned, but he was already on her and they fell to