Free Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) by Kirsten Osbourne Page B

constantly be doing. I need to be earning."
    He frowned. "I don't want you making money. Erna never did any kind of work."
    "And that's proving my point. She was a woman content to lean on a man. She was willing to be a wife and a mother and no more." She turned to him, catching his hand in hers to get his full attention. "I'm a woman who needs and craves a way to be my own person. I have to be more than Jakob's wife. I have to be more than the frog- mutter . I need to be me. Roberta! If you ever loved me, I wouldn't be loved like Erna, because I'm not like her. I'm me."
    "I'm not sure I follow your reasoning."
    "You promised you would never love another woman the way you loved her. You couldn't love me how you loved her, because I'm not her !"
    He smiled slightly. "So what you're saying is that if I ever did love you, I'd be loving you differently than I loved Erna."
    "That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't think you should love me today, or even tomorrow. I'm asking you to give me a chance. To take the time to get to know me, separating me from who Erna was, and get to know Bobbie, your new wife. I'll do things differently. Some of the differences you'll like, and some you'll hate. Regardless, I'll do things my way. I'll be the strong independent woman that I am, not the woman she was."
    "So, when I kiss you, I'm not kissing Erna's replacement, I'm kissing Roberta, my new independent wife."
    "Yes. Please don't think of her. Think of me."
    Jakob understood her reasoning, but he wasn't sure if he could do it. "I will try. I can't promise that I will be able to ever kiss you without feeling like I'm betraying her, but I will try."
    She took a step toward him, her hands going to his chest. "Try now."
    "You want me to kiss you here?" He looked back toward the boys who were still playing ball, but they were within sight of them.
    "Why not? There's nothing wrong with kissing your wife in front of your sons."
    He put his hands at her waist, pulling her toward him. "I have wanted to kiss you again since that first kiss in the parlor. I've laid awake nights, thinking of kissing you."
    Roberta rested her hands on his shoulders, lifting her lips to his. "Then do it. Kiss me."
    He lowered his head, blocking out all thoughts of his first wife, and concentrating on the beautiful woman in front of him. His lips brushed hers softly at first, and then more insistently. She parted her lips for him, clinging to his shoulders.
    His kiss made her knees weak and awakened feelings she didn't know existed. She wanted him to never let her go.
    When he raised his head, he looked down into her eyes, lost in them once again. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you are to me?"
    She shook her head. "Have I mentioned how handsome you are?"
    He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't resist lowering his head again, this time to string kisses along her jaw to her neck. "We have to stop," he said finally, putting her at arm's length.
    They were both breathing heavily as she stood looking up at him. "Why?"
    He grinned. "Because if we don't, I'm going to drag you back to the quilt and make love to you on the ground with my sons watching, and I don't think either of us are up to explaining that to them or any passerby."
    She looked over and they were standing in front of a farm house and a bright red barn. This wasn't the time or the place. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that anyway."
    He nodded, slipping an arm around her shoulders as they walked back toward the quilt. "I'm not sure I am either, but that doesn't mean my body isn't."
    "Maybe eventually. I — I want to get to know you better before we take that step."
    "I agree. I want to make sure that I'm willing to take that step emotionally before we make love. I don't want to feel as if I'm betraying my first wife, and I don't want to feel like I'm using you to replace her. I think you're right. I can love you in your own way, but taking you to my bed before I do would be wrong."
    "One step at a time. One day at a