Free Genevieve: Bride of Nevada (American Mail-Order Bride 36) by Cynthia Woolf

bad? A real marriage . Could he afford to give in and let them both be happy for as long as she lived. He couldn’t abide the idea of her dying, just like Martha had.
    He remembered when Martha died. The incident had nearly ripped apart the family. Joe had been inconsolable for weeks and though he knew Martha had loved Joe, too, seeing his brother’s reaction to her death was hard to watch. The same was true of Nettie and Pete, both devastated at the loss of their daughter. Stuart didn’t have a chance to really mourn. With a newborn baby and a two-year old to take care of, he wasn’t allowed to grieve except at night, in between Lucy’s feedings. He had to be there for them. His children had kept him sane.
    Eventually life settled into a routine and his in-laws and brother returned to normal. Nettie helped with Lucy, watching her during the day, so Stuart could do his chores. Joe was the one he couldn’t understand. Stuart knew that Martha and Joe had had a relationship, but all that seemed to end when she turned sixteen. He’d always liked Martha, though with five years difference in their ages he didn’t consider her as wife material until she’d approached him after a dance in Elko. She’d insisted he escort her home and then had kissed him in a way that was not that of a little girl. After that they courted until he felt she was old enough to marry. He wanted to marry a woman not a child.
    He’d grown to love Martha even though he wondered at her love for him. She and Joe often didn’t speak, only nodded to each other at meal times. But then he’d catch them in the kitchen or the barn or wherever, talking together in what sounded like angry hushed tones.
    Stuart never thought that Martha strayed with Joe. Even had she wanted to, she never would have received Joe’s participation. His brother was fiercely loyal and honest to a fault.
    But Stuart also knew that he’d not been Martha’s first choice. Joe was. When she was angry, she didn’t let him forget it. Then she’d calm down and apologize for the things she’d said, that they’d been said in anger. He always accepted her apology, even though each time tore away a piece of his heart.
    But now he had Genny. She didn’t want Joe, she wanted him. Stuart MacDonnell. Her husband. Why was he digging in his heels so much? He said it was because he didn’t want to wind up with more children to raise alone, but the real reason was he could lose himself in Genny. She was brave and honest and she loved his children almost as much as he did. For that alone he should grant her wish and let her become a mother to her own child, but what if she died, too?
    No. He argued with himself. Genny is nothing like Martha. Martha was delicate, Genny is strong. Martha was a blonde like Billy. Genny had shiny, glorious, black hair. He knew just by looking at her that together he and she would make beautiful babies. He didn’t move her out of his arms. She felt too right there.
    Genny stirred.
    Stuart looked down at his beautiful wife sleeping contentedly in his arms. He would enjoy this for as long as he could. Tomorrow would be back to their normal relationship with each other, but for now, for this night, he could pretend that they were in love.
    *****
    Genny woke slowly. She’d had the loveliest dream that she was laying in Stuart’s arms and that they’d just made love. It was definitely a dream. Or was it? She remembered them crawling under the blankets last night and her head was pillowed on Stuart’s chest. A very fine chest of taut skin and a sprinkle of dark curly hair.
    He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as though he was protecting her and his breathing was even and deep. Probably he was still asleep.
    “I see you’re awake.” His deep voice rumbled through his chest where her head lay.
    She moved to separate them, but he tightened his arm.
    “Stuart, let me up. We have to dress and go home.”
    “I know. But I want to enjoy holding you naked in