Tame a Wild Bride, a Western Romance (12 page)

One, Bertha, lived in while others came on a sporadic basis.
 
Sarah did the cooking and taught Ben.
 
She wasn’t very good at either but she did try.
 
He’d have to give her that.
 
Bertha did the laundry which included changing all the linens and the ironing and cleaned the house.
 
Those poor women had done everything for Sarah.
 
All Sarah had to do was cook and watch the children.
 
Even that was too much in the end.
 

And Rosie had been doing it all.
 
Everything.
 
And doing a damned good job if truth be told.
 
All without a complaint.

Pulling up in front of the house he brought the team to a stop and jumped down.
 
He went and helped Agatha down then got her bags and took them in the house.

“Rosie.
 
Rosie,” he called.

She came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.
 
“Keep your socks on, I’m coming.”
 

Finally she looked up and came to a stop.
 
Then she came forward with her hand extended and a smile on her face.
 
“I’m sorry.
 
I should have been here to greet you.
 
Tom, would you introduce me to your friend?”

He set Agatha’s bags down.
 
“Rosie, this is Agatha, she’s here to help you with the housework.
 
Agatha, this is my wife, Mrs. Harris.”

Agatha grabbed Rosie’s hand in both of hers and shook it.
 
“Very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Harris.
 
I think we’ll get on fine.
 
You just tell me what you want me to do.”

Rosie looked up at him with tears in her beautiful brown eyes.
 
Then she went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.
 
“Thank you.
 
Thank you for seeing I needed help.”

Tom couldn’t help but put his arms around her.
 
She leaned into him and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her until she begged him to stop and take her to bed.
 
He gave her a small squeeze and set her away from him.

“You’re welcome.
 
I’ll take Agatha’s bags to her room and you can help her settle in.”

Rosie nodded.
 
“Please follow me.
 
I’m so pleased to have you here.”

“As I am to be here, Mrs. Harris.”

“I hope you like it here, Miss Agatha.
 
I’m afraid I’ve been a little overwhelmed.
 
Poor Tom and the children have suffered for my lack of knowledge about doing all the things that need doing.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will.
 
Have you been doing for yourselves and the men, too?” asked Agatha, aghast.

“Well, yes, though I don’t think I do it very well.”

“Child, you should have had help before now.
 
You’ve been trying to take care of fifteen people by yourself.
 
It can’t be done.
 
You need help and that’s where I come in.
 
You do the cookin’ and teachin’ the kids, I’ll do the laundry and the ironin’.
 
I can’t cook worth beans or I’d help you with that as well.
 
We can clean the house together.
 
That should help you have a little time to relax at the end of the day and not be too much for either of us to handle.
 
Whatcha’ say to that?”

“I say I think you’re an angel.”

Tom followed the women with Agatha’s bags, listening to the conversation and feeling ten times the heel.
 
He should have gotten Rosie help to begin with.
  
He knew it was too much for one person.
 
It would have been different if it was just him and the kids, but with the eleven cow hands included, it was too much for one person.
 
Any one person.
 
Was he hoping to drive her away?
 
Maybe he was.
 
Trying to prove Rosie was no different than Sarah and would leave him.
 
But she hadn’t.
 
She’d taken everything in stride and, other than that second night together, hadn’t tried to get him to touch her.
 
She was too tired.

Now that she had more time and hopefully got more rest, would she go back to trying to seduce him?
 
He had to admit it was flattering to his ego, that she wanted him.
 

Sarah had never wanted to have sex and once she was pregnant, they didn’t.
 
Ever.
 
She said it wasn’t good for the baby.
 
But he had friends, like Duncan McKenzie, who said they had sex with their wives well into their ninth month.
 
Duncan said Catherine wanted sex more than ever when she was pregnant.
 
So it was just Sarah.
 
Pregnancy was a good excuse for her not to allow sex.

What if he let Rosie seduce him?
 
He wanted to touch her.
 
Feel her shiver and cry out with pleasure.
 
He wanted to bury himself deep inside her and watch her beautiful brown eyes as she came.
 
Was it so wrong to want your wife?
 
He’d just be sure not to fall in love with her, so when she left it wouldn’t hurt.

Yes, he could enjoy his wife while she was here.
 
He was looking forward to what she’d try next.
 
What if she’d quit trying?
 
Maybe she didn’t have any interest anymore.
 
No, he was sure Rosie wanted children.
 
She was an innocent.
 
Didn’t know that he could prevent her getting pregnant by pulling out before he came.
 
Then he could still enjoy his wife without worrying about more children to raise alone.
 

But a little voice in in mind told him Rosie wouldn’t leave.
 
She wasn’t Sarah.
 
Wasn’t remotely like Sarah.
 
She’d already proved that.
 

CHAPTER 7

Agatha may have taken over the laundry but Rosie still had a lot to keep her busy.
 
The fatigue finally caught up to her.
 
She took her normal nightly bath.
 
She’d gotten some bath salts at the mercantile and got in the tub to have a relaxing soak.
 
She awoke to strong arms lifting her from the cold water.
 
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight hoping she could hide herself.

“Rosie?
 
Are you all right?”

“I’m just tired.
 
The bath salts relaxed me too much.
 
You can put me down now.”

He set her down long enough for her to wrap herself in a towel and then he swooped her up into his arms again.

“Tom!”

Walking to their bedroom he said, “I should have seen how tired you were.
 
Maybe I did and I ignored it.
 
Either way, it’s my fault you’re exhausted.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck again and settled into his arms.
 
“No it’s not.
 
I just haven’t gotten everything into a schedule yet.
 
I’ll get it situated soon.”

“Agatha will help you now.
 
I’m sorry, Rosie.
 
I should have hired someone before now.”

He kicked the door to their bedroom shut behind him, took her to the bed and let her stand up.
 
He took the towel, dried her off and after he turned the covers down told her to lie face down on the bed.
 

“Let me take care of you,” whispered Tom.

He gently dried her.
 
Then he took her rose cream and massaged her legs and feet.
 
Long strokes, up the back of her legs with his hand and small circles with his thumbs working the muscles as he came down her leg, then back up and the rhythm started again.

Her skin was soft under his touch even before he put the cream on.
 
How someone could work as hard as she did and still have such soft skin was beyond him.
 
But he liked it.
 
He liked touching her.
 
Wanted to touch her all over.
 
This would do for now.
 
This night was for her.
 
To give back some of what he’d taken.

Holding her calf on his hip, he massaged the cream into the bottoms of each foot and each toe individually.
 
Worked it in with his fingers.
 
She moaned her pleasure.
 
He wanted to hear that moan for another kind of pleasure he would give her.
 
But not tonight.
 
As much as his body ached for her, he’d resist…tonight.
 
When he gotten her sufficiently relaxed and limp on that leg he started the process all over again on the other leg.

Next he did her left arm.
 
Rubbed all the kinks out of it and worked individual fingers till they were limp.
 
Next was her back and shoulders.
 
For this he took lots of the cream and kneaded her back muscles.
 
Then he worked circles, then up and down using the strength of his upper body to get deep in the tired, tight muscles.
 
Up.
 
Down.
 
Around.
 
Over.
 
And then he began it all again.
 
He used his fingers on her shoulders, squeezing, and rubbing circles with his thumbs.

He applied all these same techniques to her buttocks.
 
Her magnificent round buttocks.
 
He wanted to take his fingers and explore her, taste her, but he kept telling himself now wasn’t the time.
 
This time was for Rosie.
 
To give back to her and make her feel good.
 
Up, down, up, down, around, loosening all the tight sore muscles.
 
He was amazed at how tight and sore her butt seemed to be.
 
She moaned every time pressed hard.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked as he stopped the pressure.
 
Her breathing came in short pants and he thought she might be as turned on as he was.

“Yes, but don’t stop.
 
I didn’t realize how sore I am there.
 
This will help loosen me up and then I’ll feel better.”

“Okay, but it’s time to do the other side.
 
Turn over, please.”

She turned over, face up.
 
He had to close his eyes and take deep breaths to keep from taking one of her nipples into his mouth they were so perfect.
 
Pink and hard.
 
He watched her beautiful brown eyes dilate.
 
She felt it, too.
 

He sat on the bed next to her, took her arm in his hand and applied all the same magic that he’d done on the other one.
 
Rubbed her until she was weak all over.

The last place he worked on was her face.
 
He put the cream on only his finger tips and starting at her forehead he rubbed small circles with thumbs, smoothed the cream down her cheeks and neck.

 
He wanted to continue to look his fill at her beautiful body.
 
It would be so easy to take her now.
 
She was pliable, relaxed, instead he covered her with the sheet and blankets.

He sat on the side of the bed and gathered her long hair into his big, calloused hand and began combing the tangles from it.
 
It was so soft and fine.

“Tom, you’ve done so much.
 
I can do my hair.
 
It’s such a mess.”

She started to rise.
 
He gently placed his palm against her chest.