For the Roses

'I want to feel you inside me again,' she whispered.

'We can't,' he whispered. 'It's too soon, sweetheart. It would hurt.'

She leaned down and kissed him. She didn't care if it hurt or not. She needed him.

'Please,' she whispered. Her lips brushed over his again. 'One kiss, my love. Let me kiss you once and if you want me to stop then, I promise you I will.'

'I love the way you throw my words back at me,' he said. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up until she was stretched out on top of him.

'Are you planning to keep on kissing me until you've got me inside you?'

'Oh, yes.'

They were the last coherent words either one of them could speak for a long, long time.

They fell asleep wrapped in a tangle of arms and legs. And love.

April 5, 1868

Dear Mama Rose,

Adam got in a fight yesterday. It was all my fault, because the Indians like my pretty hair. I am putting some of it in the envelope so you can see how pretty it is. But it's yellow, Mama, and the Indians liked it so much they tried to take it all off my head. Then one of them says to take me with my hair and that's when Adam got mad. Cole and Douglas were gone, and by the time Travis came out of the barn, Adam had punched them good and hard. Your son got a bloody nose, but the Indians he got mad at were all sleeping in our garden by the time he got done with them.

Fighting isn't good, Mama. Even Adam said so, but now he thinks the Indians will leave my hair alone.

I sure hope so.

Your daughter Mary Rose

Chapter 15

Mary Rose returned to her bedroom a little before dawn. She was somewhat surprised Harrison slept through her departure. He was usually a light sleeper, but he barely moved at all when she got out of his bed, dressed, and left the bunkhouse. She guessed she must have worn him out. The possibility gave her an inordinate amount of pleasure.

She wasn't quite ready to greet the day, however. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and she didn't wake up again until almost ten o'clock.

She didn't see Harrison again until supper. Travis told her that Dooley had ridden out early to deliver a telegram.

Her brother was headed out the back door when he mentioned the wire. Mary Rose went chasing after him to get the particulars.

'Who was the telegram for?'

' Harrison, of course. If it had been for one of us, you would have seen it on the kitchen table.'

'Who sent it?'

'I don't know.'

'Travis, please slow down. Did Harrison tell you about it? Did he read it to you?'

Her brother turned around. 'No, he didn't tell me, and I didn't ask. He didn't look very happy about the news he received though. Fact is, he looked kind of grim.'

'Oh, Lord, I pray no one died.'

'Now, why would you think someone died?'

'Telegrams are always for bad news, Travis. Everyone knows that. What did Harrison do after he read the message?'

Travis let out a sigh. 'He put the paper in his pocket and went to the bunkhouse to pack his things. He was going to go into town to buy a trunk to ship his things back to England, but Adam gave him one of his old ones to use. I promised I'd ship it off for him.'

' Harrison 's leaving. I knew he was leaving,' she said. 'He told me.'

'Don't get upset until you've talked to him.'

'I'm not upset.'

'Then let go of my arm. You're pinching me.'

She hadn't realized she'd grabbed hold of her brother's arm. She immediately pulled her hand away. 'I don't want him to leave.'

Travis's expression softened. 'I know you don't. Loving someone isn't pleasant all the time, is it? It's made you vulnerable.'

She couldn't disagree with his assessment. She was miserable right this minute.

'No, it isn't always pleasant. When is Harrison leaving?'

'He didn't say.'

'Where is he now?'

'He left with Adam an hour ago. They didn't tell me where they were going. I do know Adam wanted to have a private conversation with him though. They might have gone fishing up by Cowan's place. The trout are thick as fleas near the bend. Don't waste your day worrying, Mary Rose. I'm sure Harrison will explain his plans tonight.'

She went back to the house. She was going to have to find a way to get through the rest of the day, and, Lord, how she wished she were the patient sort. She hated waiting for anything, even bad news.

Eleanor wasn't very good company today. She dragged around the house and didn't want to do much of anything. Mary Rose decided to give the parlor a good cleaning. Keeping busy would make her day go faster, or so she believed.

She didn't stop with the parlor. She scrubbed floors, changed the sheets on all the beds, washed windows, and then went outside to work in her garden. By late afternoon, she'd worn herself out. She went into the kitchen to start supper, but the cook waved his butcher knife in front of her face and told her to get the hell out of his way. Samuel, or Pucker Face, as he was called by Douglas and Cole, was part Crow Indian and part Irish. It made an interesting combination as far as his temperament was concerned, or so Adam believed. Samuel had the expected Irish temper, but with a dignified edge to it.

Mary Rose thought he was downright adorable. She didn't dare share her opinion with Samuel though, because he didn't much care for compliments of any kind.

'Samuel, you're just as grumpy as the day you arrived,' she announced.

The look in his dark brown eyes told her he appreciated hearing her opinion. He waved his knife in front of her face again, added the threat that he would poison her supper, and then told her once again to skedaddle.

She burst into laughter. Samuel turned away, but not before she spotted his smile.

Since Adam hadn't written the word for the day on the chalkboard, she picked up the chalk and wrote one for him. In big bold letters she printed blarney.

'Look, Samuel, I've printed your name,' she teased.

She continued to torment the cook for several more minutes by simply talking to him, then she set the table for supper. When the mindless task was finished, she went upstairs to get clean clothes and her soap and towels. She dragged Eleanor to the bend in the river to bathe.

She couldn't wait to see Harrison again, yet deliberately avoided looking directly at him while they were seated at the table together. She was afraid she'd start blushing over the memory of what they had done together the night before. Every time she thought about their lovemaking, she became flushed and breathless.

Her brothers would notice, and for that reason, she kept her gaze firmly on her plate. She certainly wasn't ashamed of what she had done, but she wasn't ready to discuss her affairs with her brothers.

They didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to talk about it either, and she knew that at least two of them had heard her leave the house during the night. Adam would have heard her going down the stairs, and Cole would have awakened the second she opened her bedroom door. Neither one of them had said a word to her about her