by Jillian Hart
“Darling, you better get back to the Thorntons. But know that I’d rather scoop you up and carry you to our bedroom.”
Breaking her lips from his, she laughed into the side of his cheek, kissing his jaw and throat and whispering the words he’d thought might never come.
“I love you, too, John.”
Sophie pushed the door and came out of the mercantile with John, giggling as she slid her hand into the crux of his elbow. More than three months had passed since she’d first stepped onto the banks of Alaska and met her husband. Bubbling with joy, she carried the parcel he’d just bought her, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a big red ribbon.
The August sun streamed down over the roof of the boardwalk and spilled out onto the street. Pedestrians and carts pulled by horses went every which way in the noon sunshine.
“Here,” said John, “allow me.”
He took the package from her—he was a mountain of muscle and brawn in a black shirt, denim pants and silver-tipped cowboy boots. He thumbed the brim of his Stetson while she admired the handsome cut of his jaw.
The sleeves of her lacy white blouse danced at her wrists. She kicked at the hem of her long blue skirt with each step.
“I don’t know why I get the new dress,” she remarked, “when it’s a christening party for Rosemary.”
“That little girl’s got enough dresses to last a year. I’ve never seen a mother sew so fast as Callie. Besides, you’re the godmother. You’ve got to look good for all the dancing we’re going to do.”
Sophie giggled again. Callie and Edward had finally named their new little girl. She weighed over ten pounds now that her mother was nursing her, and had been since Callie had fully recovered from her concussion.
“Maybe this time next year,” said John with a wink, “we’ll have one of our own.”
Sophie smiled with gentle approval. They’d been trying hard—nearly every night.
“Maybe you should be coming home for lunch every day.” She raised her eyebrow at him. She wasn’t against trying harder.
His lips rose with amused approval, and there went her pulse, rippling like a tide.
They strode down the stairs of the boardwalk and were still caught up in each other when another couple approached.
“Sorry.” Sophie took a step sideways to avoid the woman, then looked up to her face and stopped.
“Paulette.”
“Hello, Sophie.” Paulette, with shiny brown ringlets pinned on top of her head, made up with pale cosmetics and wearing a pretty satin green dress, looked from Sophie to John. “John.”
“Nice to see you,” John told her.
Her husband, a fellow twenty years her senior and sporting a gold-tipped cane, was dressed in a white suit. An unusual color for the wilds of Alaska. He nodded in greeting. His dark hair had a streak of gray at each temple.
“Please, meet my husband, Mick Kodiak.”
“Afternoon, Mick.” John extended his hand and spoke without the slightest hesitation. “Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thank you.” The man tipped his bowler hat.
“Congratulations to you, too, Sophie.” Paulette’s eyes shimmered with sincerity. “On the wonderful work you’ve been doing in town.”
Sophie, trapped for words, couldn’t think fast enough to speak. She had thought of Paulette on and off for the past three months, wondering how different their lives might have been if they’d taken a different turn, and had hoped the two of them would someday meet when they were both ready.
“I’m proud of my wife.” John tapped Sophie’s hand, still tucked into his elbow, silently reminding her he was near.
“Very kind of you to say,” Sophie told her.
“The whole town speaks highly of you,” Paulette continued, sliding her own hand around her husband’s arm. The gent, in turn, smiled broadly at his wife, and in that one moment of clarity, Sophie realized he was smitten by Paulette. She’d found love and friendship with her new husband.
“I’m expecting.” Paulette beamed, her eyes shiny with moisture. “I was hoping perhaps…I could…we could…at the clinic or wherever you think…”
Sophie understood. She stepped forward and touched Paulette’s arm. “I’d love that. Please do come by. I’ll be at the clinic all day Monday. And Tuesday. Or I could drop by your house. I see it on the hill every time I walk to the bank.”
Sophie was rambling, perhaps a bit too fast due to nervousness, but Paulette smiled in such a wonderfully uplifting way, Sophie didn’t feel at all silly.
“Monday, then.”
Paulette stepped out of their path, the group nodded their goodbyes and John moved on with Sophie at his side once more. Their boots clacked on the weathered planks of the boardwalk, the sun sliced through the air and near the far end of the street, gulls circled high over the blue waters of the ocean. Sophie’s spirit soared with the gulls.
“It’s going to be a great day,” John whispered in her ear.
“Ready for lunch?” She pretended she had nothing more than food on her mind, but laughed softly as John let out an exclamation of delight and increased his pace toward home.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5531-3
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Copyright © 2010 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEDDING
Copyright © 2010 by Jill Strickler
MARRIED IN MISSOURI
Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Davidson
HER ALASKAN GROOM
Copyright © 2010 by Katherine Haupt
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