Read Online Mail Order Bride: Westward Christmas Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides, Book 11) by Linda Bridey - Free Book Online

spin.
                  A whistle sounded, and then another.  Sasha thought that one of them came from Ben, but she couldn’t be sure.  She would have to ask him about it later.  As they came out into the clearing, fear gripped her and Sasha froze at the tableau before her.  Her vision was filled with Indians as far as she could see. 
                  Tipis stretched up towards the sky and fires burned outside as well as inside some of them, as evidenced by the smoke issuing from their tops.  Women and children came and went in and out of them.  Groups of men walked between the tipis, while some worked on various projects as they sat by the fire.
                  She didn’t mean to stare, but she couldn’t help it.  Unconsciously she had pulled Ingrid’s reins a little tighter, and the mare backed up a few paces.  It was enough to bring Sasha out of her trance.  Ben had already dismounted and approached her.
                  “Are you all right?” he asked.
                  She gave him a tight smile and said, “Yes.  No.  I don’t know.”
                  “At least you’re honest.  It’s all right, Sasha.  Come on down, sugar,” Ben coaxed.
                  Sasha looked at his outstretched arms and while she didn’t need help dismounting, she was in need of the comfort his touch would bring her.  She took her feet out of the stirrups and leaned towards him.  Ben took her around the waist and lifted her from the horse with ease.
                  Those powerful shoulders of his moved under her hands and she started paying more attention to him than where they were. 
    He smiled down at her and said, “There you are, Miss Sasha.  Everything is fine.”  He took her hand and started leading her forward. 
    Sasha went with him, looking around all the while.  A group of children came running over to Ben.  He let go of Sasha’s hand as they began talking to him in Lakota.  Ben understood some of it, enough to get the gist, but he had a hard time comprehending the language.  It frustrated him because he’d mastered French, Latin, and Italian, and yet he could not grasp the spoken word of Lakota. 
    Their sign language was another matter.  He’d caught on to it rapidly and whenever he came to camp, it was the primary way he spoke to them.  This was useful for dealing with elderly patients who were hard of hearing as well as one of the little children surrounding him now.
    Brown Otter, now six-years-old, was a pudgy little boy who was deaf.  Ben had fallen in love with the boy a couple of years ago when he’d treated him for a respiratory infection.  Anytime Ben came to camp, he always tried to find Brown Otter and visit with him a little if possible.  Their conversation took place in sign.
    “Hello, Brown Otter.  How are you?” he signed to his little friend.
    “I am fine.  Are you here to see my sister?” Brown Otter said.
    Ben smiled.  “Yes.  How is she?”
    “Good.  Her leg does not hurt as much,” Brown Otter said.  “Who is the yellow-haired lady?”
    “This is my friend, Sasha,” Ben signed.
    Sasha smiled when Brown Otter grinned at her and signed something to Ben. 
    “He says you are very pretty,” Ben said.  To Brown Otter he said, “Yes, she is.  Where is Wandering One?”
    “She is at our tipi,” Brown Otter said.  “We will go there now.”
    “Yes,” Ben said.
    Brown Otter turned and began walking.
    Ben said, “That’s Brown Otter.  He’s deaf, so he only speaks in sign.  I’m treating his sister, Wandering One, for a broken leg.”
    Sympathy for the poor little girl filled Sasha.  “That’s awful.  Is it healing well?” she asked.
    “I am happy to say that it is.  The break was a complex one and I had to perform surgery in order to correct it and save her leg,” Ben said as they followed Brown Otter.
    Sasha shuddered at the thought of a child