White Nights by Susan Edwards Read Free Book Online

stealing one last look at James.
    How she longed to be proven wrong, longed to find true love, but the stakes were just too high. It was time to face reality. She was a widowed woman with three children, and soon she’d give birth to number four. With so much to be done to prepare for an infant, she didn’t have the energy or time to waste on wishing for what could not be.
    She peered inside the wagon, found the small, beat-up trunk that contained baby clothes and quilts. But it rested against the side, just out of reach, with heavy sacks of flour and rice piled around it. She frowned. Now what? She couldn’t climb into the wagon anymore. With a sigh, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that James was finished setting up her tent. He was deep in conversation with his brother Jordan. She hesitated to interrupt, hating to ask anything else of him, yet she had no choice.
    But before she could go to him, the two men walked away with Jordan leading his horse.
    Eirica planted her hands on her hips. “Bother!”
    “What’s up, Eirica?”
    Shifting her stance to face the woman who’d come up behind her, Eirica smiled. “Hi, Coralie,” she greeted the pretty blonde girl, then motioned in the direction of the two men. “Your husband just left with James.”
    “Yeah, he has first watch tonight, which means I’m stuck helping Jessie and Rook cook.”
    Jordan and Coralie had married days before setting out for Oregon. Eirica remembered Coralie’s first few weeks on the trail. The newest Jones family member hadn’t been at all enamored of outdoor life and hadn’t hesitated to let everyone know. She’d been spoiled, petulant and nearly impossible to be around. But slowly she’d changed, matured into a caring woman.
    Eirica shaded her eyes and glanced around. “Is Jessie already helping Rook?”
    Coralie grimaced. “Probably. As I should be. Do you need her?”
    “No,” she sighed. “It can wait. I planned to go through the baby clothes I brought with me tonight. Figured they might need airing and some mending, but I can’t climb into the wagon to get them.” She patted her belly.
    Scoffing, her friend stuck her nose in the air. “You don’t need Jessie for that. I can get them just as well. Where are they?” She clambered into the back of the wagon after adjusting the skirts of her beige wash-day-length calico dress.
    Eirica hid her smile at Coralie’s obvious need to compete with Jessie. She pointed out the small trunk. Sisters by marriage, Jessie and Coralie were as different as night and day. Jessie was a tomboy skilled in the outdoors and Coralie a city-bred lady spoiled by her father. The two had started the trip as mutual nemeses, but their longstanding feud had finally come to an end, leaving Eirica free to enjoy both her new friends, their easy banter and now-friendly rivalry.
    “Here we go. See?” Coralie gave one final pull and fell back on her bottom, puffing and panting. “We don’t need Jessica for this.” Wearing a pleased grin, she hopped down from the back of the wagon, then swayed.
    “Coralie!” Concerned, Eirica reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm. “Are you all right?”
    Coralie leaned against the wagon and closed her eyes briefly while fanning her cheeks with her hands. “I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy.”
    “Dizzy?” Eirica frowned, then did some fast calculations. “Have you been dizzy before, I mean, recently?”
    Coralie lowered her voice to a mere whisper. “I haven’t said anything to Jordie because I don’t want him to worry, but I’ve been feeling sick and am so tired. I’m so afraid I’m going to take ill and die.” She closed her eyes. Tiny tears clung to her lashes.
    Her own problems forgotten, Eirica put her arm around the younger woman’s narrow shoulders. “Coralie, when was your last flow?”
    Coralie’s gaze flew open, clouded with confusion. “My last—” Understanding dawned in her baby-blue eyes. Her gaze went wide first with shock, followed by