Free Mail Order Bride - Westward Sunrise: Historical Cowboy Romance (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 9) by Linda Bridey Page A

them.  Well, they were stories that my pa used to tell us when we were kids and I’ve added to it over the years.  I love anything scary.”  She saw the amusement in Seth’s eyes and said, “Oh, boy.  I’m doing it again, huh?”
    Seth said, “I’m sorry, but you’re cute as hell.  I’m not making fun of you.  You’re like a breath of fresh air.”
    Abby smiled.  “That’s a good thing.  Okay, well, we’ll figure things out later.  I’ll let you get back to your beer.  Have a good night!”
    “You, too,” Seth said, and chuckled.
    Elliot watched Abby with Seth and laughed out loud at Seth’s expression.  He was getting a dose of Abby’s enthusiasm. 
    Joe said, “Look at that poor ol’ boy.  He’s got no idea what to do with her.”
    Elliot nodded.  “I know.  It’s great.  She’s great.”
    Abby sat down again and said, “He’s in.  I can’t wait.”
    “It’ll be a good time,” Joe said.  “Well, darlin’, I guess we oughta get home to our own little one, too.”
    “Yeah.  You have to come out to our place, Abby,” Lacey said.
    “I would love to,” Abby said. 
    Once Joe and Lacey left, Elliot said, “How about we go for a walk?  It should be cooler out now.”
    “That would be very nice,” Abby said.
     
    As soon as Abby and Elliot were outside, Elliot began to laugh.
    “What’s so funny?” Abby asked.
    “I don’t think Seth knew what to think when you were asking him to come to a campfire,” Elliot said.
    “You should have seen him up close.  I scared him at first and he said that he’d been deep in thought and hadn’t seen me,” Abby said.
    “Well, you are a lot shorter than him, so maybe he hadn’t been looking down,” Elliot said.
    Abby shoved him a little.  “Knock it off, Moose.”
    “Moose?  If you’re going to call me Moose, I get to call you Mouse,” Elliot said.
    “No way.  No Moose or Mouse.”
    Elliot took her hand and led her in the direction of her cottage.  He sighed dramatically.  “Fine.  I suppose ‘Abby’ will have to do.”
    “Yep.  So do your friends like me?” she asked.  “I mean, they seemed to, but maybe they were just being nice.”
    “No, they like you.  They told me so,” Elliot said.
    “Seth told me that I’m cute as hell and that I’m a breath of fresh air,” Abby said.
    “Well, you are,” Elliot said.  “I knew that from the first letter you sent me.”
    “You did?”
    “I did.  Yours was the best one I ever got and I was hooked right from the start,” Elliot said.
    Abby smiled up at him.  “Really?  How many other letters did you get?”
    “About twenty-five, I think.  But no one else sent me a penny and asked if I was on sale like you did,” Elliot said.  “And now, I can say that I’m no longer for sale.  I’ve been sold to the lady with the short, curly hair and beautiful blue eyes.”
    Abby blushed in the dark and said, “Thank you.”
    As they came to her cottage, Elliot said, “I had a great time tonight, Abby.”
    “Me, too.  Thank you for everything,” Abby said.
    “You’re welcome,” Elliot said.  Joe’s words about not waiting too long to kiss Abby floated through his mind.
    Abby inserted her key in the lock and turned it.  She stepped through the door and lit a lamp.  Turning back to Elliot she said, “The store is only open a half day tomorrow, right?”
    “Right.  Do you remember everything?” Elliot asked.
    “Not everything, but a lot,” Abby said.  That slightly primal light she’d seen in Elliot’s eyes earlier that evening had returned and Abby’s heartbeat picked up slightly.
    “How about I come by after I close up and we can figure out what we’d like to do?” Elliot said, and stepped closer to her.
    “Okay.  That sounds good,” she said.
    Elliot hadn’t kissed a woman in a long time so he felt a little awkward as he lowered his head to press his lips against Abby’s.  They were soft and warm and Elliot deepened the kiss when