Read Online Genevieve: Bride of Nevada (American Mail-Order Bride 36) by Cynthia Woolf - Free Book Online

pie came along with more hot coffee and vanilla ice cream on top of the dessert.
    “Oh,” Genny rubbed her hands together. “I haven’t had ice cream in so long. Not in a year, at least. This is wonderful.”
    “You never spent much money on yourself did you?”
    She shrugged. “I needed it for other things like food and rent.”
    Stuart cut a bite of his pie and also a bit of ice cream, too. “I bet you had some money left that you could have bought a treat with, but you didn’t. You probably saved it or gave it to the orphanage.” He put the pie into his mouth and smiled.
    Genny’s eyes widened. “How did you know?” She took a bite of the ice cream. “Every payday I gave a portion of my paychecks to the orphanage where I grew up. At least I did until my last paycheck. I knew I’d need the money for expenses to get here.”
    “You haven’t wanted anything for yourself? You will use Martha’s dresses for clothes for the children, but not for yourself and yet you need them as much as they do.”
    Genny knew her clothes weren’t the best, but she didn’t want to wear Martha’s clothes. She was having enough trouble with Stuart. She didn’t need to remind him of his wife every time he saw her. She frowned. “I have clothes.”
    He waved his hand up and down, taking in her attire. “Not appropriate ones.”
    “They’re fine.”
    He leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “You don’t have one wool dress do you? One that would be appropriate for this time of year. One to keep you warm or at least warmer.”
    Genny had no response. He was right. Her wool coat, though a good one, was not enough here on the high plains of Nevada. But she hated the thought of wearing Martha’s clothes. She wanted her own clothes, not ones that would remind Stuart of his dead wife.
    “Very well, if I find any of Martha’s clothes that fit and I think will be useful, I’ll keep them. The rest I’ll use for the children or we’ll give to the church. Fair enough?”
    “Yes. Fair enough.”
    They finished their midday dinner and returned to the mercantile. The snow was coming down a little harder, but wasn’t sticking to anything. The road wasn’t even wet…yet.
    “Did you get everything loaded, Edna?” asked Stuart.
    “Yes, the boys just finished. They put the tarp over everything so it wouldn’t get wet on the way home. Don’t you want to stay in town tonight? Darkness will have fallen before you get home.”
    Stuart shook his head. “Thanks, but we’ll be fine. The snow’s not sticking so the trip should be okay.”
    Genny wasn’t so sure, but Stuart had made this trip many more times than she had.
    They climbed onto the buckboard and left town. The wagon was especially heavy because Stuart bought enough supplies, including grain for the animals, for another six weeks. Two horses would have struggled with such a load. The four he’d hitched to the wagon could only walk, a faster gait being out of the question.
    The snow fell harder and harder the closer they got to home. The flakes came down so fast Genny could barely see in front of her, and she was freezing on top of it.
    Finally, they pulled up to a cabin.
    Stuart looked at her and said loudly so he could be heard over the wind. “This is one of the line shacks on our property. The cowboys use them when they get caught out here in bad weather and can’t make it home. We’re staying here for the night and will start out again in the morning.”
    Genny nodded, her mouth clamped shut to keep her teeth from chattering.
    “Go inside and start the fire in the stove and hearth. They are both set up so just light a match to the kindling. The matches are on top of the stove’s warming shelf. I have to put the horses in the shed out of the weather.”
    She climbed down and went through the door into the one-room cabin. Along the wall to her right was a double bed with blankets and pillows, though no linen that she could see. She guessed cowboys didn’t care