Page 46 of Colorado Bride

Emily nodded.

“Yes.Absolutely wonderful.”

“Well, you can thank Francesca for that.The best thing I ever did was hire her.She’s amazing.”

“Thank you, Maggie,” said Francesca Weatherford.“You know I love to cook for our families.The best thing I did was accepting the job and marrying your foreman Tom.”

“Where is Tom?I expected to see him,” said Ben.

“He’s escorting a prize bull home from Kansas City.He bought it at the auction there last week,” answered Caleb.

Emily leaned over to Maggie.“Can I speak to you privately?”

“Certainly, dear.Come with me.It’s time for me to nurse Anne anyway.”

Maggie stood and said to everyone, “If you will excuse us.”

Carrying Anne, Emily followed Maggie.Emily so loved holding and playing with the baby she hadn’t wanted to put her down to eat dinner.

Maggie took them into Caleb’s study which was also Maggie’s office.

She grabbed a clean diaper from the pile on the leather sofa, unbuttoned her dress and reached for Anne.

Emily handed the baby to Maggie who had piled a couple of pillows on top of each other to rest her arm on while the baby fed.

She’d seen many of her employers or their wet nurses feeding their babies.She was not embarrassed by Maggie doing so.

Maggie and Emily sat on the leather sofa against the wall.The room was fairly large and appeared to serve as the library, too.One wall was floor to ceiling book shelves and filled to capacity.In front of the sofa was a large braided rug.A massive mahogany desk took up most of one side of the room.Two leather chairs that matched the couch were in front of it.

On the wall above the couch was a painting by someone who knew the Indians of the area.The picture was of a warrior on a horse with a spear and a buffalo in his sights.

“This is a nice room.”

“Now what do you want to talk about?”

“Ben and I have only been married a week, but I think I’m falling in love with him.He says he’ll never love me because of the nastiness with Melissa Mills.”

“Yes, that was horribly embarrassing for Ben, but I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.She was not the right person for him.”

The judge said something similar, had no one told Ben of their reservations about Melissa?

“Do you believe I am?”

“Yes, I believe you’re the right person for Ben.Do I believe you love him?No, not after a week.I believe you are in lust with him.”

“Yes, I do very much like that part of our marriage.”

“You’re lucky.I feel the same way about Caleb.My first husband, in twelve years of marriage, was never as good to me as Caleb is.”

“We probably shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Nonsense.If we don’t talk about it, how are we to know as a gender to know anything.”

Maggie changed breasts and let Anne nurse again.

“I long for a child of my own.I keep hoping that I’m pregnant now.I’ll know in a couple of days.I’m due for my menses then, but I’ll wait to see what happens next month before I tell Ben.I don’t want to get his hopes up just to shatter them again.I won’t be another Melissa.”

“Good for you.”