Read Online Never Love a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath - Free Book Online Page B

sweat streaming down his face stung his eyes asthough he was the one caught within the throes of labor.
    “It’s almost here,” Jessye said softly. Her gaze snapped to the woman’s, and he was surprised to see tears shimmering within her eyes. “It’s got black hair.”
    “Like her pa,” the woman said, panting.
    “Give it another push,” Jessye urged.
    He didn’t know where the woman found the strength, or how everything that had been happening so slowly occurred with such speed—but suddenly, a beautiful smile graced Jessye’s face as she held a bawling babe in her arms.
    “It’s a girl,” Jessye announced as she placed the child within her mother’s arms.
    “Ain’t she purty,” the woman whispered reverently, as though she’d forgotten the pain and trouble the child had just caused and would probably cause for the remainder of her life.
    Harrison stepped back, not liking at all the way his gaze seemed to caress the child, as though he might forgive her as well. He swept his attention to Jessye, and the longing he saw reflected in her eyes caught him like a punch to the jaw. In the short time he’d known her, he’d never seen her yearn for anything, but he knew beyond a doubt that right now she wanted to take that child back into her arms.
    She turned toward him, and the longing retreated like a shadow touched by the sun. “Why don’t you see about warming up some more water? I’ll finish in here, and then we’ll wash the baby.”
    He gave a brusque nod and strode from the bedroom. He had no desire to learn exactly what “finishing” entailed.
    Before, he’d had little time to notice the plain main room or the furniture held together by rope and wood wedging one piece into another.
    The front door opened, and the man stepped inside, his eyes reflecting worry. “I tended to your horses. Put ’em in the barn.” His gaze went to the bedroom door.
    “You have a daughter,” Harrison said quietly.
    “A daughter,” the man repeated. “And Jo Beth?”
    “She seems fine.”
    The man stuck out his hand. “I’m obliged to you.”
    Harrison slid his hand into the man’s strong grasp. “The ladies did all the work.”
    “I’m obliged just the same. I’m Peter Haskell. Don’t recall that we was properly introduced. Don’t recall much but worryin’.” His gaze slid back to the bedroom door. “You reckon I could go see my wife and daughter now?”
    “I don’t know why not.” The moment Peter Haskell disappeared into the bedroom, Harrison dropped into a chair. He no longer heard the baby wailing or the woman moaning, but he still envisioned the longing in Jessye’s eyes.
    He heard the bedroom door open and the soft footfalls. He glanced over his shoulder. Contentment etched within the lines of her face, Jessye held the child curled against her breast.
    “I’ve neglected my duties,” Harrison said as he stood. “I haven’t warmed the water—”
    “That’s all right. We’re in no hurry.”
    As he set a pot of water on the stove, from thecorner of his eye he watched Jessye sit in a rocker. She hummed as she rocked the child, holding her close to her bosom. He thought he would carry that image of peace with him until his dying day. Had his mother ever held him with such reverence? Such love?
    He crossed the room and crouched before Jessye. A smile eased across her face. “Isn’t she perfect?”
    “It’s a good thing the woman didn’t have to depend on me to help her. I hadn’t a clue as to what I should do. I suppose birthing comes naturally to women.”
    Jessye shook her head slightly as she gazed at the child. “Gave birth to one of my own once, so I knew what to do.”
    Harrison felt as though someone had just punched him in the midsection. “I never realized you’d been married—”
    “I wasn’t.” Her voice carried no shame, no quest for pity. “The fella ran off. The war had just started. Reckon he figured he’d rather face a Yankee bullet than marriage to