Mail Order Bride - Westward Fortune: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 5)
Page 18
Lacey laid the letter on her bed and pulled back the tissue paper in the box. Her old photo album lay underneath. She lifted it from the box and began looking at the pictures of her mother and her when she was little and happy memories of her childhood came flooding back. Lacey knew there were empty pages in the back of the album, but kept flipping through them anyway.
Instead of empty pages, however, she found a picture of her and Joe’s wedding day. Behind that one was one with Jamie and Luke in it along with her and Joe. The last page was blank except for a little note that said, “This page is for the first picture of the baby I hope we have together.”
Lacey laid the album down and hurried out of her room. She ran down the hall and burst through Joe’s door. He’d been looking out the window and had his back to the door. Joe turned around and suddenly Lacey was in his arms, kissing him. Joe kissed her back and felt his heart soar. The need to make love with Joe became the most important thing to Lacey in that moment. She didn’t want words; there would be time for that later. Connecting with him in the most intimate way was what she needed.
Her fingers trembled as she unbuttoned his shirt and yanked it from his shoulders. Joe did the same with her dress. Soon they had each other undressed and Joe picked her up and smiled down into her eyes as he laid her on the bed. There were tears in her eyes as she smiled back. Joe kissed her again and as they loved each other, wounds were healed and forgiveness given. As the sun rose over the Dwyer estate, Joe and Lacey were still awake. Joe related the events of his trip to Walhalla to Lacey. She laughed when he told her about Sammi slugging him and kissed him after he told her how he’d taken her things from her room to give to her.
“I’m sure there were other things, but I couldn’t stuff anything else in my pocket or down my pants,” Joe said.
Lacey laughed. “What you brought was perfect. I still can’t believe that you bought Polly from Pa and brought her all the way here.”
Joe shifted and looked down at her. “I’ll tell you this; that little mare can still really move. I clocked her at a mile in 2:13.”
“You did? I told you she was fast,” Lacey said.
“Guess what else I found out?” Joe asked. “She is actually a very expensive horse and has bloodlines linking directly back to Hambletonian.”
Lacey sat up a little. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. It’s right there in her papers,” Joe said.
“I’ve never seen her papers. Pa would never let me,” Lacey said.
Joe replied, “Well, he had no idea what he had and I enjoyed like hell cheating him out of a lot of money. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to breed her with Romeo. I think they’d be very compatible.”
“You don’t think she’s too old?” Lacey asked.
“Darlin’, if she can trot as fast as she does, she can have a baby,” Joe said. “Then you can have your Standardbred foal to train as your very own.”
Lacey’s eyes grew brighter. “Really?”
Joe laughed and Lacey thrilled at the sound. She’d missed hearing his laugh and seeing his winning smile. “Yes, really. You did a hell of a job training Polly, so you’re obviously a proven trainer.”
She tickled him and said, “I told you!”
“Stop! Ok, ok! You win! You were right!” Joe said.
Lacey stopped tickling and started caressing instead. Joe growled and she said, “I really want to put a picture in that last page of my album. I think we should work on that some more. Right now.”
Joe smiled and said, “I think that’s a fine idea.”
Epilogue
A year later, Lacey and Joe welcomed a baby into the world—just not a human baby. Polly gave birth to a pretty little bay filly. Her name had to combine the dam and sire’s name, so from Juliet’s Romeo and Pollyanna’s Dream, Juliet’s Dream was created.
Lacey stood outside the mare box and watched mother and daughter with such pride. She felt Joe’s arms come around her from behind and leaned back against him.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Lacey said.
“Yeah, and the horse isn’t bad either,” Joe said.
“Shut up,” Lacey said with a laugh.
Joe caressed Lacey’s growing midsection. “Juliet is pretty, but our little girl is gonna be much prettier,” he told her and kissed her cheek.
Lacey smiled and said, “You still think it’ll gonna be a girl, huh?”
“Mmm hmm. And she’s for sure gonna have prettier teeth,” Joe said.
Lacey giggled.
“And her ears won’t be as big. When she’s older, she’ll have her Mama’s pretty legs, but the boys better not look at them or I’ll break their legs,” Joe continued. “Her butt won’t be as big and I sure hope she doesn’t have a tail.”
Lacey was laughing hard by this time. “Stop it! Shut up, Joe!”
Joe chuckled in her ear and squeezed her a little tighter. “I can’t wait to be a daddy.”
“Me, neither.”
“You wanna be a daddy? Well, that’s a little weird, don’t you think?” Joe said.
“Will you stop? You’re making me jiggle our daughter around,” Lacey said as she laughed again.
“Ok. I’ll be good, but you know how hard that is for me,” Joe said. He continued rubbing her belly. “Having foals and horses and good fortune used to be what was most important to me. My idea of good fortune changed when I met you, though. You and our baby are all the good fortune I’ll ever need.”
Lacey turned around and smiled up at him. “I feel so lucky at getting a second chance at having a little family.”
“Fortune has definitely smiled on us,” Joe said, and kissed his wife tenderly as the golden sun rose higher in the Montana sky.
The End
CLICK HERE to read book 6 in this series (Westward Justice)
Sammi Jameson has seen her two best friends leave Walhalla and move to Dawson, Montana. She’s lonely and bored. So when her friend Jamie lets her know that another eligible bachelor is up for grabs in Dawson, Sammi waits for the ad to be posted and isn’t disappointed. A handsome lawman is in need of a wife and Sammi knows she’s the perfect woman for the job. She sets her sights on the deputy and heads off to Montana.
Deputy Mitch Taylor is looking for a woman who’s strong, independent, and beautiful. Sammi Jameson fits the bill to a T. His boss and friend, Sheriff Allen passes away unexpectedly, leaving him with a lot of unexpected responsibility as the new sheriff. When Sammi arrives in town, she proceeds to shake things up, including him. The gun-toting, tough woman might just be more than he bargained for.
Amid danger and desire, they make a passionate connection. While Dawson is in upheaval, Mitch and Sammi are experiencing their own difficulties. Broken promises and heartache plague the couple and their marriage may fall victim to their love being lost forever.
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Linda’s other books
Echo Canyon Bride series
Montana Rescue (Echo Canyon Brides Book 1)
Montana Bargain (Echo Canyon Brides: Book 2)
Montana Adventure (Echo Canyon Brides: Book 3)
Montana Luck (Echo Canyon Brides Book 4)
Montana Fire (Echo Canyon Brides Book 5)
Montana Hearts (Echo Canyon Brides Book 6)
Montana Christmas (Echo Canyon Brides Book 7)
Montana Orphan (Echo Canyon Brides Book 8)
Westward Series Books
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Mail Order brides Book 1)FREE BOOK
Westward Dance (Montana Mail Order brides Book 2)
Westward Bound (Montana Mail Order brides Book 3)
Westward Destiny (Montana Mail Order brides Book 4)
Westward Fortune (Montana Mail Order brides Book 5)
Westward Justice (Montana Mail Order brides Book 6)
Westward Dreams (Montana Mail Order brides Book 7)
Westward Holiday (Montana Mail Order brides Book 8)
Westward Sunrise (Montana Mail Order brides Book 9)
Westward Moon (Montana Mail Order brides Book 10)
Westward Christmas (Montana Mail Order brides Book 11)
Westward Visions (Montana Mail Order brides Book 12)
Westward Secrets (Montana Mail Order brides Book 13)
Westward Changes (Montana Mail Order brides Book 14)
Westward Heartbeat (Montana Mail Order brides Book 15)
Westward Joy (Montana Mail Order brides Book 16)
Westward Courage (Montana Mail Order brides Book 17)
Westward Spirit (Montana Mail Order brides Book 18)
Westward Fate (Montana Mail Order brides Book 19)
Westward Hope (Montana Mail Order brides Book 20)
Westward Wild (Montana Mail Order brides Book 21)
Westward Sight (Montana Mail Order brides Book 22)
Westward Horizons (Montana Mail Order brides Book 23)
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Copyright
© 2014 by Linda Bridey
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, or places is purely coincidental.
First Printing, 2014