Pioneer Passion by Therese Kramer Read Free Book Online

hollowness in her body would leave. This wasn’t right.
When she opened her eyes, he was gone. As luck would have it my
fate just become worse.
    Rusty concealed her sadness and loneliness by
baking bread, a treat now that she had flour again. Then she went
down to the pond to relieve some of her frustrations by beating her
laundry against a rock but only succeeded in damaging one of her
worn shirts. A good swim, she decided, would do wonders for her
taut nerves and she stripped and dove into the crystal water. It
was cool and refreshing; she floated, letting her woes drift away
unconcerned with her surroundings. Before leaving, she checked the
net and found it had snagged a tiny minnow. Since it was not big
enough to eat, she freed it, wishing she could free herself by
tossing her trouble into the pond as easily as she tossed the
fish.
    Rusty relaxed and the next two days blended
together peacefully. Sitting on the porch that night she looked up
at the stars and recalled many warm nights of yesterday, but never
had she felt solitude engulf her so. She found herself wishing Guy
would return. For some inconceivable reason, she felt isolated when
he was not near. Albeit, they argued and he brought disturbing news
and pain, there was a touch of security when he was close by,
something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
    A cool breeze wafted by making her shiver and
she rose up a trifle distressed and went inside to strip the bed.
She looked sadly at the small cubicle that had been her bedroom
since pa decided Scott would sleep in the barn with him. Before her
mother’s death, she and her brother slept on cots in the large room
by the fireplace. But after Hanna’s death, Sam couldn’t sleep in
that room without his wife so he moved to the barn to let his
children share it. She straightened the clean bedding while the
memory crossed her mind of the day when she woke to find red stains
on the linens. Her face still felt warm at the recollection of her
father trying to explain the facts of life to her; he was most
uncomfortable, searching for the right words. That was the night
Scott moved into the barn and it was at that time in her life that
the loss of her mother affected her hardest.
    At first, Rusty was scared being all alone in
the house though she knew her pa and brother were not far away.
Soon she grew accustomed to the creaky noises of the night and
began to feel all grown up, proud to be the mistress of the house.
She laughed now at the notion; mistress of a broken down house.
Absorbed in her daydreams a horse’s whinny penetrated her musings,
snapping her out of her disturbing reflections. It excited her to
know that the cowboy was back. Not able to fight back the prickly
feeling in her stomach, her hands shook as she finished
straightening the bed.

Chapter Seven
    Guy returned hot and tired. He wondered if he
should tell of his success in town, how he had been able to hire
enough men to build a barn. How he planned to construct a large new
house on the far hill, overlooking the valley. Peter Perry, the
architect who designed his father’s beautiful home, would design
his also. He received a return wire from his father and was elated
to find Hal Storm had forgiven him for not finishing law school and
was willing to help him start his ranch. His old man had the best
cows and many prize bulls; what better way to start than with his
father’s stock. Guy was also asked to return home for a visit when
possible.
    The hired hands and lumber would arrive
shortly. The steers would come within two months and Guy figured
the barn and corral would be finished by then. The building of the
house would come later, but not soon enough to suit him. He entered
the shack and saw Rusty coming from the bedroom. Their eyes locked
for long minutes before the kid lowered his head. Guy stared at the
top of that dumb hat.
    Did the kid sleep in it? He cleared his
throat and spoke, “I bought a wagon in town and it’s full of
supplies. I could