Mail Order Prairie Bride: (A Western Historical Romance) (Dodge City Brides Book 1) by Julianne MacLean Page B

sighed, then opened her eyes and gazed sleepily up a pair of magnetic green eyes. As she recovered her consciousness, she realized it was her husband bending over her, waiting for her to say something.
    “Is it morning already?” she asked, her voice breathy.
    “Yes. Maddie’s waiting.”
    “Maddie,” she repeated, trying to make sense of the word while she sat up. Her blanket fell away to reveal the top of her night dress, which was unbuttoned at the neck, and she noticed Briggs avert his gaze.
    Her heart lurched and she wondered if he’d ever forgive her enough to look at her again—to see her as a woman, to desire her. She had hoped it would not matter, but strangely, this morning, it mattered more than she cared to admit.
    “I’ll wait for you in the barn,” he said, rising to go.
    “What about breakfast?”
    “After we tend to Maddie and collect the eggs.”
    Sarah listened to his boots tapping up the steps, then lowered her bare feet to the cold floor. She tried to cling to a hope that one day, things would be different. They would have to be, if he ever wanted children, assuming, of course, she wasn’t already with child. But Garrison had told her there was only a short time each month when a woman could conceive, and he’d assured her it didn’t happen as easily as most women thought.
    If there was any truth to that, she may never find herself in the family way. Not with a husband who insisted on sleeping in the barn.
    She dressed quickly, pulled her shawl around her shoulders, and hurried outside. Cool air struck her cheeks as she crossed the yard, her footsteps light over the dewy ground. She stepped through the barn door to the now familiar scents of horse and hay. By the light of a lantern, Briggs was shoveling dung out from under Maddie, dropping it into a wheelbarrow. The fringe on his buckskin coat swung back and forth with each toss. Sarah stood in the doorway, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders, waiting for some instruction.
    “You might want to shovel out some of the mess before you start each morning,” he told her.
    A few moments later, when the stall was clean, he pulled a small stool up beside the cow. He reached for a bucket and set it down with a clunk . Sarah, still standing by the door and feeling rather daft, swallowed when Briggs leaned out of the stall and looked at her, his golden hair falling forward onto his face. “Coming?”
    She nodded, then moved toward him. “Where do you want me?”
    He placed his large hand at the small of her back, guiding her to the stool. “Have a seat right there. Maddie, be still.”
    Sarah sat down, now at eye level with the cow’s broad side.
    Briggs knelt down beside her. “You’re going to have to spread your knees apart to lean forward.”
    Sarah tried to suppress her blush as she slowly spread her legs.
    “Now grab hold of her teats and squeeze.”
    Sarah reached forward, but as soon as her fingers wrapped around the warm teats, Maddie took an anxious step sideways and knocked Sarah off the stool, onto her behind. Her head hit the wall and immediately began to throb.
    “Maddie!” Briggs called out. “Be still!” He set the stool on its legs again. “You okay?” he asked, as he helped Sarah up. She nodded, trying to hide her shakiness, but also trying not to melt into the warmth of his strong hand. “She knows you’re a stranger,” he said. “She’ll be better this time. Try again. Show her who’s boss.”
    Sarah nervously reached forward, steadying herself for another fall, her heart thumping away inside her chest. Why did she have to do this? Couldn’t Briggs continue with it? Obviously, Maddie preferred him. But when she wrapped her hands around the warm teats, she discovered Briggs was right. Maddie stood still long enough for her to get a tight grip.
    “That’s it. Now squeeze the milk out.”
    Sarah squeezed with all the strength she possessed, but nothing happened. She’d never felt so incompetent in