by Sharon Ihle
Jacob stopped in midstride and drew his brows together. "The government? What do you mean?"
"About your job. What's the latest?"
"I believe you know the latest," Jacob grumbled as he resumed pacing.
"No, I don't think so. Fill me in. Have you got the job for sure?"
Jacob heaved an exasperated sigh and explained yet again. "You know I have. You know that after the spring thaw, when Dominique is able to travel, we will move on to the Red Cloud Agency at Yellow Medicine Creek. There I will become the Indian agent and Dominique will continue teaching English to the Sioux and others who will sign the treaty of peace. Do you understand this yet, or do I have to write it down for you?"
"I get it." Barney laughed. "It just feels so good to hear you talk about it. You and Dominique might really make a difference for them Indians, what with your uncanny instincts about 'em and the way those little savages flock to her. Maybe your dreams of peace aren't so farfetched after all."
"I hope to persuade the government to return the Black Hills to the Sioux. That would go a long way toward ensuring peace between the people of—"
A loud moan followed by Hazel's excited voice cut into his thoughts and through his head. Jacob stomped across the room, shouting, "That's it. I cannot take this any longer."
Barney watched, wide-eyed, then jumped to his feet when he realized Jacob's intent. "Wait, Stoltz. You can't go in there."
"I go where I must," he insisted, reaching for the doorknob. "I will not stand out here any longer and do nothing while my woman dies." He kicked the door open and barreled into the bedroom.
"Oh, my Lord," Hazel yelped as Jacob reached the bed. "You can't be in here. This is highly improper, terribly indecent at the very least. I must insist that you take your leave."
"Leave him be, Hazel," Dominique said, her voice strained even though she languished between contractions.
Jacob sank to his knees and leaned across the bed. Mopping her damp brow with his hand, he asked, "Is the child too big? Are you all right?"
"Everything is going as it should, Jacob. Please don't worry about me."
"But I heard you cry out in pain."
"Well, damn it all, Jacob, this hurts," she managed just as a new contraction loomed up from nowhere, first crushing her against the mattress, then lifting her as her back arched in agony.
Terrified, Jacob glanced at Hazel and shouted, "Do something, woman."
But before Hazel could say a word, Dominique turned on him, her voice hoarse and guttural. "Shut up and give me your hand, you nincompoop. I need you, Jacob. I need your strength."
Feeling utterly helpless, Jacob placed one hand on her brow and the other on her breast. Dominique laced her fingers around his wrist and began twisting and squeezing, pulling his flesh as she bore down in the final stages of labor.
"Push, honey," Hazel encouraged, no longer taking notice of the frantic soldier. "Come on. I can see the head. One more time, Dominique. Give it all you've got."
Jacob watched his woman, his wife according to both Sioux and white law, and squeezed back the tears that seemed to be a part of his life now. Please don't die, he said in a silent prayer just before he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "I love you, wi witko. I'll always love you."
Then Jacob looked down in time to see his son slip out of his mother and into his rightful place in the world.
"Oh, Dominique," Hazel cried, "look at him. It's a beautiful little redheaded boy."
Still struggling to get her breathing under control, Dominique inclined her head, then collapsed against the pillow. "Jacob, did you see him? We have a son."
But Jacob was overcome with emotion, too shaken to form even the simplest of words. For the last four months he'd done nothing but worry about Dominique and love her. Never once in that time had he allowed himself even to think about the child, imagine it as a person, or wish for a son to carry on his name. Now that the child was here, now that physical proof of his union and the love he shared with Dominique rested inches from his big hands, he couldn't move, couldn't talk. He leaned his elbows against the mattress and stared, a stone man, as Hazel finished cleaning the infant, then placed him across his mother's abdomen.
"Look, Jacob," Dominique whispered, aware of her husband's turmoil. "He takes after his father."
Jacob's gaze followed the path of hers to their son's writhing body and the fully erect symbol of his sex. The baby howled his displeasure at the rude interruption in his life, then shot a stream of urine into the air.
Startled out of his trance, sprayed by the child as well, Jacob leaned back, his chest swelling with pride, and said, "Dominique, speak to this little nincompup. Tell him he must have respect for the man who will be his father."
"The little nincompup?" Hazel objected. "What kind of name is that to call a newborn baby?"
Dominique laughed and reclaimed her husband's hand.
Jacob grinned, his mouth lopsided, and said, "It is a good name. It means this child is a baby nincompoop."
Then he burst out laughing, joining his wife in hysterics as Hazel looked on, her eyebrows alternately rising and falling.
"Highly irregular, extremely indelicate," she muttered as she wrapped the baby in a quilt. "Nothing about this has been the least bit proper."
Lifting the infant from his mother's tummy, Hazel leaned over and placed him at her bosom. Tiny fingers groped for Dominique's breast, instinctively seeking the life-sustaining fluid within.
Hazel gasped, and tears sprang into the corners of her eyes as she observed mother and child. "Oh, my Lord, would you look at that."
Dominique studied her son, smoothing his damp hair, branding his scent into her memory, then looked back up at Hazel. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"
"Oh, my dear, he's much more than that. He's white. With that red hair and pale skin, no one will ever guess his father was a Sioux Indian. This is truly a day in which to give thanks."
Dominique exchanged a loving glance with her husband, both of them harboring a secret smile, then said to Hazel, "His skin may not be red, but always remember this: That white flesh is there only to protect the heart of a great Lakota warrior."
The End
Want more from Sharon Ihle?
Page forward for short excerpts from
The Half-breed Bride
The Proud Ones
Book Two
~
The Bride Wore Spurs
The Inconvenient Bride Series
Book One
~
Untamed
The Wild Women Series
Book One
~
The Law & Miss Penny
The Law & Disorder Series
Book One
Excerpt from
The Half-breed Bride
The Proud Ones
Book Two
by
Sharon Ihle
Bestselling, Award-winning Author
"Hold still, Sunflower," Cole whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Wary, but confused by his sudden gentleness, Sunny tested her rapidly tiring body for a quick burst of energy with which to fight him off. Then it occurred to her that she might not need her strength. The rancher had a new look in his eye, a gentler hold on her than before. Was he thinking of using her, of sating his lusts in her copper body, then discarding her?
If so, she would allow his disgusting advances.
She would encourage them. Then, when some sixth sense told her he was beyond control, she would point the gun at his head and demand her freedom.
Sunny stopped her struggles and willed her body to relax.
Enveloped by a cloud of silky black hair, consumed by its sweet, earthy fragrance, Cole kept a firm grip on her wrists, not realizing the girl had given up the fight. His head dropped lower, and his mouth brushed the velvet skin at the base of her throat. Her pulse hammered against his lips. She was so soft, so sweet and clean, yet wild as the country surrounding them.
&
nbsp; Cole lifted his head and stared into her eyes. Then he noticed the compliant limbs, the inviting expression looking up at him in the moon-bathed night.
"Have you changed your mind?" he whispered. "Is this all you wanted from me?"
Not waiting for her answer, Cole teased her upper lip with a gentle sweep of his mustache, hoping to draw some kind of response from her. The gesture only served to inflame him further. Suddenly eager for her taste, he took her up on her invitation and claimed her mouth with his.
The Half-breed Bride
The Proud Ones
Book Two
by
Sharon Ihle
~
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The Half-breed Bride
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Page forward and continue your journey with an excerpt from
The Bride Wore Spurs
The Inconvenient Bride Series
Book One
Excerpt from
The Bride Wore Spurs
The Inconvenient Bride Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
Bestselling, Award-winning Author
Hawke sighed heavily, but froze in place. "What's the problem now, Lacey?"
"'Tisn't a problem as much as I'm wonderin'. What are you doing?"
He cocked his head and smiled at her. "Removing your drawers and boots to make you more comfortable, is all. May I go on?"
"Er, ah—no. I would like to take care of, of my clothing myself. As for the boots..." She pushed her heels deeper into the straw, making sure he couldn't see the spurs. "I would like to keep them on, if you don't mind."
Hawke stared at her incredulously. He'd heard of cowboys and gunmen who insisted on dying with their boots on, but this was a first. He shrugged. "If that's what you want, Irish, that's what you'll have."
"Aye, and I thank you kindly." She sat there waiting a moment, but when he didn't move, Lacey waved her fingers at him. "If you would be so kind as to look away, I'll be getting to it."
She thought she saw the corners of Hawke's mouth wobbling again as he turned his back, but she didn't care. This was embarrassing enough as it was without him looking at every little private detail of her life. And besides, if he watched, she'd never get her drawers over her boots without him spotting the spurs. Lacey quickly removed her underpinnings, buried them in the straw at her feet, then lay back down.
"You can turn around now. I am ready."
"Are you?" he asked, moving alongside her until his lips were a warm breath away from hers. "Are you sure this time, Lacey?"
She gazed into his eyes, not quite as dark with passion as they'd been, but mesmerizing just the same, then glanced down to his mouth. His lips were parted, moist and ready to claim hers again. Suddenly, Lacey wasn't just ready, but eager.
"Aye," she whispered throatily. "I'm ready for you, my husband."
The Bride Wore Spurs
The Inconvenient Bride Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
~
To purchase
The Bride Wore Spurs
from your favorite eBook Retailer,
visit Sharon Ihle's eBook Discovery Author Page
www.ebookdiscovery.com/SharonIhle
~
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Continue your journey with an excerpt from
Untamed
The Wild Women Series
Book One
Excerpt from
Untamed
The Wild Women Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
Bestselling, Award-winning Author
"Is it all right if I get under the blanket with you?"
Since it hardly made sense to turn him away now, Josie lifted the buffalo spread and guided him between the sheets. Warming himself, Daniel snuggled close to her, making her all too aware that he wore nothing but a pair of woolen drawers. Josie had prepared herself against an attack by the Indian, not an attack on her senses by this man. But Lord, it felt good to have him lying next to her again, to be safe and snug in his arms. She almost wished she hadn't told the fib about her nonexistent sickness.
"That's a hell of a lot better," Daniel said, slipping his arms around her back and waist. "There's nothing like body heat to take the chill out of a fellah."
He draped his good leg across her then, pressing his body against hers, hot and hard, and then his hands went to her hair. Stroking her locks, slipping his fingers through them as he'd done earlier, he sighed.
"Your hair is so soft," Daniel murmured, kissing the braid at her temple. "I can't get enough of it, the way it feels or the way it looks. The red in it reminds me of the sun breaking through a storm cloud. It's such a beautiful, coppery chestnut, it doesn't seem real."
His words were like liquid tremors pouring down Josie's spine, saturating her entire body with a nameless, heated desire.
Untamed
The Wild Women Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
~
To purchase
Untamed
from your favorite eBook Retailer,
visit Sharon Ihle's eBook Discovery Author Page
www.ebookdiscovery.com/SharonIhle
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Page forward and complete your journey with an excerpt from
The Law & Miss Penny
The Law & Disorder Series
Book One
Excerpt from
The Law & Miss Penny
The Law and Disorder Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
Bestselling, Award-winning Author
"Cain? You decent?"
He looked up to see Mariah framed in the doorway, her long black hair bathed in sunshine, and he felt a jolt of desire. Decent? Not by a long shot.
She stumbled through the doorway and dumped the packages in her arms on the foot of the bed. "Zack bought a few things for your debut. Get up and try them on."
"I don't know, Mariah." Cain stood and began to unbutton his shirt. "I have a feeling the medicine show will do a lot better if 'Brother Law' stays in this wagon."
"You've probably got a little stage fright."
Mariah rolled the sleeves of his flannel shirt down his arms and stripped it off. She tore open the smallest package and withdrew a white dress shirt. As she held the garment up to him, she couldn't help but notice the way the silk fabric whispered against his naked skin.
This man had to believe that he was her cousin, a blood relative. He absolutely had to believe the lie.
Mariah turned away in order to catch her breath and her wits.
The Law & Miss Penny
The Law and Disorder Series
Book One
by
Sharon Ihle
~
To purchase
The Law & Miss Penny
from your favorite eBook Retailer,
visit Sharon Ihle's eBook Discovery Author Page
www.ebookdiscovery.com/SharonIhle
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Bestselling author, Sharon Ihle has written more than a dozen novels set in the American West. Many of Sharon's books have won prestigious awards, and as an author, she has been a Romantic Times nominee for Career Achievement in Love and Laughter. A former Californian, Sharon now makes her home on the frozen plains of North Dakota. Hard to believe, but it's true.
More eBooks by Sharon Ihle
The Wild Women Series
Untamed
Wildcat
&nbs
p; Wild Rose
Wild Hearts
~
The Inconvenient Bride Series
The Bride Wore Spurs
Marring Miss Shylo
The Marrying Kind
~
The Law & Disorder Series
The Law and Miss Penny
The Outlaw was No Lady
A Lawman for Maggie
To Love a Scoundrel
Table of Contents
Cover
Accolades & Rave Reviews
A Note from Sharon Ihle
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Excerpt from THE HALF-BREED BRIDE – The Proud Ones, Book 2
Excerpt from THE BRIDE WORE SPURS – The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 1
Excerpt from UNTAMED – The Wild Women Series, Book 1