Free Breed True by Gem Sivad Page B

reddish cast in the firelight. "You'll breed true," he grunted in satisfaction.
    Jewel turned her back on him and fed Amy, stroking her soft hair as comfort for both of them. She anxiously listened as Grady Hawks tended her other daughter. When Jewel's nipple slipped from between Amy's lips and the baby fell asleep, the tiny mouth continued to open and close, dreaming of her time at the breast.
    Jewel's breath hitched on a sob as she stared at the innocence of the child entrusted to her keeping. Under the man's attention, Emerald had stopped fussing and waited for her meal patiently as Grady Hawks cuddled her in his arms and stroked her curls. Jewel noticed how gently he held the baby and the way his swarthy skin contrasted with Emma's.
    He met her eyes and asked again. "You never said their age."
    "They're five months old," she told him softly, pride swelling inside at how perfect they were. The girls were plump and healthy.
    "Feeding one calf takes a lot out of a cow—two'll pull her down if she doesn't eat enough."
    Jewel didn't know how to respond. The man talked about her as if he'd just acquired a new cow in the herd. She decided any answer would be insulting or antagonistic, and she was already sore from Frank's fists. She remained silent and fed Emma as he watched with eyes that never wavered.
    Emma drank from her mother's breast, burped, and quietly went to sleep. Jewel laid her on the blanket-covered bench beside her sister and faced the stranger she'd married.
    "I'll need a place for the twins to sleep." She frowned at him, edging closer to her daughters.
    "I'll fix up a makeshift cradle for tonight. We'll improve on it tomorrow," he told her.
    Silently, she nodded her head in agreement but stayed next to the bench and steeled herself to show no fear. When he pulled on his heavy coat and left the cabin, she sank onto the end of the bench, relieved of the need to pretend indifference to his presence.
    She was so tired that she was ready to curl up on the floor. Instead, she gathered the babies to her, sagging under the double weight.
    "As fast as you're growing, daughters, I'll soon not be able to hold you both at the same time." She crooned to them softly, carrying them with her as she explored their new home.
    It wasn't the humble dwelling it appeared to be from the outside. The front room they'd entered was heated by two stoves and a rock-faced fireplace, and Grady Hawks had started a fire in each before he left. The room glowed in the soft firelight. For a moment, she stilled, turning around to take in the beauty of the simple structure. Wind rattled the windows reminding her that she had more work before she could rest. The babies needed a secure bed for the night.
    Jewel walked from one end of the building to the other. Frank had drilled his axiom into her head— learn where all the exits and entrances are before you get comfortable. It was a rule that had served them well.
    There were no partitions in the long rectangular space, but she could see that it was used for both eating and living. The kitchen was at the opposite end from the fireplace. It had its own water pump and sink, a luxury Jewel hadn't had in almost five years.
    A door opened from the kitchen into a hall and doors that opened into bedrooms.
    Regardless of Grady Hawks' promise of a makeshift cradle, she chose the smallest room that held a bed wide enough for her and the twins. Then she laid her daughters down, tucking a brightly colored blanket from the foot of the bed, around them.
    Jewel rolled another blanket so that it would act as a bolster to keep the babies from falling off, and shoved the bed against the wall. After securing their safety, she continued to explore. There was another door at the end of the hall, and she hurried through it.
    Jewel had never seen anything quite like it. There was a pit with rocks in the middle, and stacks of wood along the side. The room was cold, and she shivered, wondering what they roasted there. The