Mail Order Bride: Westward Christmas Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 11)

by Linda Bridey

  Chapter Eleven

  The Dwyers were the perfect hosts, making sure that all the guests were well taken care of and entertained. Lacey took care of the former and Joe handled the latter. As soon as Ben and Sasha walked through the door they were enveloped in a riot of goodwill and laughter. Just as Ben had told her in his letter, the place was crowded with an eclectic combination of people.

  She noted that Black Fox and Wind Spirit were in attendance along with Elliot and Abby and many others. Joe went through the rooms proclaiming, “Everyone just introduce yourselves if you don’t know someone because I don’t have time to do it and I don’t remember half of you!” which drew much laughter because they knew that Joe remembered everyone.

  Sasha approached Abby and said, “How are you feeling?”

  Abby said, “Huge, but we’re so excited. Of course, we have the nursery all ready from when Zach was born. We’re hoping this one is a girl, but we don’t really care. But a little girl would be nice. Zach is running around here somewhere with Emily. They’re so funny together. They argue all the time, but want to be together. Elliot and Joe think they’re going to get married someday. I keep telling them to not decide such a thing for them, but you know how men are.”

  Sasha laughed at Abby’s long answer and said, “Yes, I know how they are. They get an idea in their head and that’s it.”

  “I can’t say much because I’m the same way. Elliot is so good with me and my quirks. Of course, he has some of his own,” Abby said.

  “Such as?” Sasha asked.

  “He is very particular about how books are handled. He doesn’t want any dog ears marking the pages and gets put out when I forget or misplace my bookmarker and do that to the pages,” she said with a giggle.

  Sasha chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling that you do it on purpose sometimes?”

  Abby smiled and said, “How very astute of you,” just as Elliot came over to them.

  He smiled and greeted Sasha. “Good to see you. So I hear that you’re here to stay now.”

  “Yes. I’m very excited about it,” Sasha said. “Owl and Hannah’s house is beautiful.”

  Abby gave Sasha a coy smile and said, “But if you and Ben do get married, where will you live?”

  Sasha hadn’t thought of that. Would Ben expect to live over the Watering Hole or would he prefer the house? Her house would be more private, but the apartment more spacious for when they had children.

  Elliot interrupted her thoughts when he said, “Abby, they’re not even engaged yet, so I doubt they’ve discussed living arrangements at this point.” He smiled at his wife.

  Abby laughed. “You’re right. Sorry, Sasha. I get a little carried away.”

  “It’s all right, Abby. It’s a good question,” Sasha said as Ben came over to them. He held out a glass of wine to Sasha.

  “Thank you,” she said. She noticed that he’d shed his jacket and she longed to run her hands over his shoulders and feel his arms around her.

  The look in his green eyes told her that he was having similar thoughts. To distract himself, Ben turned to Abby and kissed her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “Everyone keeps asking me that. I should make an announcement that I feel fat and tired so that they all know,” Abby said with a laugh.

  “Don’t tell Joe that or he will,” Ben said.

  He enjoyed Abby’s enthusiasm and remembered a time a little over three years ago when he had felt passionate about her. When Abby had told him that she would never fall in love with him, it had been hard to take for a little while, but as soon as he’d started medical school, Ben had realized that it had been for the best. Elliot would always hold her heart and Ben wasn’t going to interfere any longer.

  Looking back on it now, Ben saw that what he’d felt for Abby greatly paled in comparison to what he felt for Sasha. When he looked at Sasha, Ben had nothing but admiration for the woman. She was everything a woman should be and more. Ben knew she would be the perfect wife for him and a wonderful mother to their children.

  His musings were interrupted when Lacey announced that dinner was ready. Pastor John said the blessing, which drew a few tears from some eyes.

  “Thank you, Pastor John,” Joe said. “Eat up, folks. If you go away hungry, it won’t be because there isn’t plenty here.”

  Conversation mingled with the sounds of silverware clinking against plates and platters. It was good that Joe and Lacey’s dining room was so large to accommodate all who sat down to eat. There was also a large table in the kitchen for overflow. Sasha watched Joe, who was in his element, converse with everyone at one time or another as he ate. His words were punctuated by gestures with his silverware and there were times when he talked with his mouth full.

  He accidently got his sleeve in gravy at one point and wiped it off with his napkin. After that, he rolled up his shirt sleeves to keep them out of the way. As she looked up and down the table, Sasha thought about how unusual the group was that had gathered for the meal. Not only were the guests and hosts seated, but also Joe’s cooking staff took turns at the table. This was something Joe insisted on, saying that they deserved to eat with everyone else.

  She also watched how Joe kept filling up Randall’s wine glass. Ben leaned over to whisper in her ear after Joe had done this a couple of times.

  “He’s getting Randall loosened up for later on. Randall is reserved as you know, but he’s much less if he’s had some alcohol,” Ben said with a soft laugh. “It’ll be entertaining.”

  The food was excellent and Sasha ate too much, but it had been so good that she couldn’t help it. The huge variety of dishes offered, including traditional Lakota foods, was amazing. Sasha found herself enjoying the roasted buffalo very much. Finally she put her utensils down and pushed her plate back.

  Ben smiled at her and said, “I’m having the same problem. We’ve still got dessert yet, too.”

  Lacey had heard him and said, “That’s right. We’ll have it with coffee a little later on.”

  Ben asked Sasha, “How about we take a little walk to help our food digest?”

  “I think that’s a fine idea,” Sasha said.

  Ben rose from the table and pulled her chair back for her. “I’ll show you the famous Dwyer horses, some of whom you’ve met.”

  “I would love that,” she said, and followed Ben to the front hall. They found their coats and Ben helped her on with hers.

  The cold air felt good to Sasha. Between all of the warm bodies and the hot food, the house was very stuffy. The sun was setting as they walked down to the first barn and went inside. As they strolled through the barn, Sasha listened to Ben tell her about the horses he knew and while she was interested, all she could think about was him and how good it felt to be in his arms.

  Ben didn’t miss the desire in her eyes, but he was trying to distract the both of them from it. It wasn’t working, however. It was unbearable for Ben not be able to kiss her, to touch her, to… This won’t do at all, he thought. He cast his gaze about, looking for a private spot. He’d been to the Dwyers enough to know that there were a couple of store rooms in the barns.

  He found one and pulled Sasha along with him.

  “Where are we going?” she asked. There was an urgency about him and she was afraid something was wrong.

  “Right in here,” he said.

  The room they entered was very dim and that was fine with Ben. He shut and locked the door behind them and then pulled Sasha against him. Sasha needed no urging to kiss Ben. Their mouths met in a fury of passion and it set off powerful reaction in the both of them. Ben backed her against a wall and trailed kisses down her neck.

  Sasha wanted nothing more than to give in to their desire, but she knew that they couldn’t right then. “Ben, we have to stop. I don’t want to, but we have to,” she said as he nibbled her earlobe.

  He sighed and became still. Both of them were breathing raggedly now and their breathing echoed around the room. Ben laughed. “You’re right, of
course. I just couldn’t go another minute without at least kissing you.”

  Sasha chuckled. “I felt the same way.”

  Ben moved away from her, giving them both the space to catch their breath and let their ardor cool. He said, “I’ll make sure the coast is clear so we can get out of here unnoticed.”

  Quietly he unlocked the door and peeked out. He stepped out and made sure no one else was around before motioning for her to come out. Sasha felt like a teenager again as she joined Ben and took the hand he stretched out to her. He gave her a conspiratorial smile as they walked towards the barn entrance just as Jake and Rebecca came in. They greeted the other couple and went on their way.

  Once outside, Ben said, “That was a close call.”

  Their laughs mingled as they strolled back up the house. It was completely dark by the time they went back inside. They found that the tables had been cleared from dinner and that a vast array of desserts had been set out on them. There were coffee and tea offered as well as alcohol. The children had all been taken to Emily’s playroom to be kept entertained while the adult entertainment began.

  By this time, Joe had gotten rid of his vest and was ready to play games. His eye roamed the huge parlor until he found Ben.

  “Dr. Walker, I want you to know that I have not gambled thus far this week, sir. There are several people present this evening who can attest to this fact. Let the record show that the bet Dr. Walker and I made stated that I could not place a bet for a period of one week, seven days which ends at eight p.m. this coming Monday. Is that correct, Dr. Walker?” Joe said.

  Ben nodded. “Yes, Mr. Mayor, that is correct.”

  “Thank you, sir. Now, that being said, this does not mean that all of our esteemed guests are not allowed to bet on me or anyone else. Just because I can’t win any money tonight doesn’t mean that I won’t win some for you. Our first parlor game will be charades. We’ve made a careful count of the guests who are staying to play games and we’ve determined that we need five teams of five people.”

  “What I want us to do is count off around the room, starting with one and stopping at every fifth person, so…one, two, three, four, five, and then start over. Then all the ones will be a team and the twos and so forth. Okay?” Joe said.

  Everyone nodded or murmured their assent.

  “My lovely wife will start things off for us,” Joe said. “Go ahead, darlin’.”

  The teams were chosen quickly.

  “All right. Now, remember the piece of paper I had you write a word or a phrase on and put in the box? Well, these are where we’re getting our ideas from. You decide who’s going to do the charade and have them grab an idea from the box. Now, no matter what that paper says, you have to do the charade. You have five minutes for your team to guess, but if they don’t get it within that time, everyone is welcome to take a crack at it. All right?” Joe said.

  There was a flurry of action in the room as the teams decided who was going to do the first round of charades. Sammi was picked for the first team and drew a paper from the box. She looked at it and shrugged. That was all she did. Everyone waited. She did it again. Then she rolled her eyes. Again she shrugged, but with great emphasis.

  Rebecca shouted, “Shrug!”

  “Yeah. Finally,” Sammi said, and sat down amid laughter.

  After that things got more and more silly. It came Ben’s turn to do a charade and he looked at the paper and away and back at the paper. He started laughing and tried to figure out how he was going to get this object across to his team. He thought about it for several moments, but had no idea.

  Sasha was on another team and he caught her eye as he started out. She smiled at him and he couldn’t stop laughing as he crouched down. He put his hands at the base of his neck and stuck his fingers out straight.

  “Porcupine!” Raven immediately shouted.

  Ben went down on his knees as he laughed so hard it made him weak. He was in disbelief that it had been guessed so quickly.

  “Was that it?” Raven asked.

  Ben nodded vigorously but couldn’t speak yet. Raven jumped up and gave a yelp of victory. Ben got up, still laughing, and went back to sit with his team.

  Joe asked, “Raven, how did you get that? I thought it was some kind of demented steer or something,” which made everyone laugh.

  “It is not hard to tell if you really look,” Raven said.

  Rebecca said, “We were looking.”

  “Yes, but not with the eye of a Lakota,” Raven said.

  Abby responded, “I hope not. I don’t want to pop out one of your eyes and try look around with it.”

  Joe laughed at that bizarre image and said, “Yeah, everyone please keep your eyeballs in your sockets, all right? Okay, looks like I’m next.”

  He pulled out a paper and looked at it, and then he scratched his head. His brows drew down and he rubbed his chin. Joe saw money begin to change hands. He said, “Aw, hell, how am I supposed to do that?” More money changed hands. Sighing he said, “Here goes.”

  Not only could his team not guess what he was, no one in the room could come up with the answer. Joe was sweating profusely by the time fifteen minutes was up and he’d tried everything he could think of, but still no one could guess it.

  He’d finally had it and shouted, “Cactus in the sun! I’m a cactus in the sun!”

  The room shook with laughter, including Joe’s. Wiping tears from his eyes, he said, “Who the heck put that one in there?”

  Elliot raised his hand. “Me.”

  Joe walked in his direction and asked, “Did you know what I was the whole time?”

  “I had a hunch,” Elliot said, grinning. “I wasn’t sure, though, so I couldn’t say anything.”

  When the laughter died down, Joe went to change his sweaty shirt while the next game was set up. This was the way the whole night went.

  At ten Ben and Sasha left, along with a few other guests, but the party was still going inside. Their voices were hoarse and they didn’t talk very much on the way to the Watering Hole. The air had turned even colder and though they had been a little overheated when they’d left, they were soon chilled again.

  Ben put an arm around Sasha and drew her closer against his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he could smell her lavender scent.

  “Are you tired?” he asked as he kissed the side of her head.

  “A little. You weren’t kidding when you told me what chaos it would be,” she said.

  Ben chuckled. “I have to hand it to the Dwyers; they sure throw one heck of a party.”

  The Watering Hole loomed before them and Ben said, “How about I take you to the hotel, since it’s getting later? I can lead Ingrid over tomorrow morning for you.”

  “I think that perhaps I’m not ready to go to the hotel yet,” Sasha said.

  “Oh?” he smiled. “And why would that be?”

  Sasha screwed up her courage and turned her face up to his. She put her hand on his jaw and pulled him down so she could press her lips to his mouth. At first touch, his lips were cold, as were hers, but they quickly warmed as Ben bent over her and deepened the kiss. Sasha swore her head spun with the heady feelings he created in her as he held her tighter.

  Ben felt the change of movement in the buggy and quickly broke the kiss to guide Othello to the Watering Hole properly. He drove around back to the stable there and pulled the horse to a halt. Ben helped her down and gave her the key to the outside apartment door.

  “Go ahead on up out of the cold. I’ll get Othello unhitched and rubbed down and be up,” Ben said.

  Sasha smiled and quickly ascended the stairs. She unlocked the door and went inside. The door led into his kitchen. Finding a lamp, Sasha lit it and noticed that the apartment was chilly. Going into the parlor, Sasha started a fire in the hearth. She was suddenly nervous.

  This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She loved Ben and wanted him like she’d never wanted anything else. Didn’t she want to give herself to him and
take the pleasure he promised? She instinctively knew that he would make good on it. It was just that it had been so long since she’d been with a man and she wasn’t at all sure of her skill in the matter.

  Sasha paced as she fought with herself about it. But how did Ben feel about her? That he desired her was apparent, but how did he feel about her? She put her hands to her face and stood still. What do I do? He’s expecting…but he’s a gentleman. If I tell him no, he’ll honor that…but will he think I don’t know what I want? Damn it! I hate this uncertainty I feel about myself as a woman!

  Ben secretly watched her from the parlor doorway as she walked to and fro. He could tell how anxious she was and realized that she really wasn’t ready. The old Ben would have seduced her. He would have calmed her fears by inciting her passion and then taken her. Ben had never been in love before, though. This was different. He didn’t want to coerce her into anything. His declaration about only making love to her when she was ready was heartfelt. It was his wish that she be absolutely sure about it because he didn’t want her to have a single regret.

  He moved into the room, but didn’t take off his coat. Sasha smiled at him and said, “I started a fire since it was chilly in here.”

  Ben nodded and said, “Sasha, come and sit down a minute.”

  He drew her over to one of the sofas and they sat down together. Ben took her hands in his and started warming them with his. “You shouldn’t have taken off your gloves yet. Your hands are freezing.”

  Sasha said, “I don’t feel cold right now.”

  Ben smiled at that. “I don’t either, but I don’t think you should spend the night.”

  “Why?” Sasha asked.

  “Sasha, I’m not normally like the rest of polite society in that I feel it’s wrong to be intimate before marriage. I’ve seen bad marriages most of my life and I really didn’t think there was anything to the whole idea of waiting. If two adults are of a like mind, I believe that there is no shame in it. The problem here is that I don’t think you are truly ready and I won’t have you regret making love with me, Sasha. I couldn’t bear that.”