Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) by Peggy L Henderson Read Free Book Online Page B

The glare she shot him was murderous, then she whipped around and ran back towards the cabin.
    Chase headed for the Firehole. He couldn’t get it out of his mind how pretty she was. Her innocent behavior turned him on more than any of the girls who’d flaunted themselves at him ever had.
    ******
     
    Chase smelled food on his way up the meadow towards the large cabin. He wondered about the smaller cabin nestled between some lodgepoles a short distance to the right. That one looked like a one-room log structure. It had one small window cut into the logs, but it wasn’t covered with glass. It looked a lot older than the big cabin. He would have checked it out, but his nose guided him in the other direction. His stomach growled.
    Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought he’d be wearing buckskin pants and a cotton shirt that looked and felt like it was sewn entirely by hand. The pants fit snug around the waist and were several inches too short. It had taken him a few minutes to figure out how and where to tie the leather strings at the waist. If his cargos hadn’t been wet, he would have just put those back on.
    He knocked softly on the door, and waited. The dog barked from inside.
    “Come in.” Sarah’s melodious voice sent his heart into overdrive. What was that all about? He entered the cabin, and a new wave of food smells assaulted him.
    “That smells really good,” he said, glancing around to find Sarah sitting in the rocking chair in the corner. She had, what looked like, an entire animal hide draped over her lap. The dog pranced around him, wagging his tail and panting. His mouth was partially open, tongue hanging out part ways, and he actually looked as if he was smiling.
    “He wants you to pet him,” Sarah said.
    “Huh?”
    “Reach down and pet him between the ears. He likes that. Don’t they have dogs in the future?” He didn’t miss the mocking tone in her voice. She rose from the chair, and set the hide on it. Chase closed the door behind him and walked further into the cabin. Slowly, he reached out to the dog, which sniffed his hand. He patted it on the head, and the dog stood still.
    “See? He really likes you.” Sarah smiled.
    “How can you tell?”
    “For one, he’s not growling at you. Dogs can always tell a good person from a bad one.”
    “So, I’m a good person?” Chase raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t so sure he qualified for that distinction.
    “Grizzly thinks so, and that’s good enough for me.” She wasn’t mocking this time.
    “Well, I’m glad I’ve got the dog in my corner,” he answered. “Something smells really good.” He walked over to the pot hanging over the fire.
    “I think it’s ready,” she said. Coming up beside him, she stirred the contents of the pot with a long wooden spoon.
    “If you’ll get some bowls from the shelf over there,” she gestured to a spot above the workbench, “we can eat.”
    Chase reached for two bowls, and held them out to her while she ladled food into them. He carried both to the table, and sat. She brought spoons.
    “This is good. What is it?” Chase guessed it was some sort of stew. The meat and vegetables tasted unlike anything he’d eaten before, but it was really good.
    “It has meat from the bighorn sheep, and several roots in it. I wanted to find bitterroot yesterday, but had to stay here.”
    He looked at her across the table. “Because of me.”
    She shrugged. “I’ll find some on the way to the canyon tomorrow.”
    They ate in silence. Sarah finished her meal, and bent down to let the dog lick the bowl clean.
    “Please tell me that’s not how you wash these bowls,” Chase said. He glanced at his food. Sarah laughed, and he couldn’t help but stare at her. She was beautiful. Her face lit up, and her blue eyes shone like the summer sky. His stomach tightened. Her smile faltered when her eyes met his. Abruptly, she got up from the table. She picked up the huge piece of hide on the rocking chair.
    “My