was soft and he didn’t want it to end.
Slowly, he learned the feel of her lips. When he ran his tongue over her bottom lip to taste, she shivered.
He put his arm around her and pulled her gently into his lap; he wanted her closer. When he opened her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss, he feared she’d pull away, but she didn’t. She put her hands on his shoulders and drifted into the pleasure with him.
His hand rested at her waist as she moved her fingers into his hair. “I like touching you,” she whispered against his ear.
He wasn’t sure he could form words. He just held her and kissed his way across her face.
A thump came from the wagon, and Number Five climbed out. “I have to go take care of private things,” the four-year-old mumbled as she tried to climb down.
Emery was gone from his arms in a moment and caught the little girl in flight.
“I’ll take her to the other side of the wagon.”
Trapper felt the loss of Emery in his arms. “I’m getting a chamber pot at the trading post.”
He heard Emery’s laughter from somewhere in the darkness.
When Number Five came back, she walked past the step up to the wagon and went straight to Trapper. Without a word, she curled up in his lap and went to sleep.
Emery stood in front of him. “It appears I’ve lost my spot.”
“Any time I’m open, you’re welcome to come on in. I loved holding you. For a few minutes I had heaven in my arms.”
She winked. “I felt like that too.”
Before she could say more, Number Four poked her head out of the wagon.
Emery lifted down the chubby angel, and without a word they went behind the wagon.
When she returned, Emery climbed up and tucked Four in, then reached out to take a sleeping Five. “Tomorrow,” she whispered.
“Tomorrow,” he answered, thinking a kind of happiness he’d never known had just slammed into his heart.
Trapper stayed wide awake. He knew trouble was coming. He could feel it in his bones. It was one of the reasons he’d stayed awake during the war. Only this time he wouldn’t be able to run. He had five little girls to worry about, and one little widow. They couldn’t disappear up a tree or roll in mud to become part of the land.
This time he might have to stand and fight.
And he would. He’d do whatever he had to do to keep them safe, even if it meant his life.
Chapter 8
They reached the trading post at about noon. The settlement was bigger than Emery had thought it would be. The stage line had opened a route a few months ago, but it wasn’t dependable.
Em shuddered at the thought that if Trapper hadn’t taken her with him, her father would have found her. He’d beat her, but not so hard that she couldn’t go back to work.
She had enough money in the Bible to buy a ticket on the paddleboat, but it would have been hours before it was loaded. Years ago he’d beat her oldest sister for talking to a boy. Her sister had run away as soon as she recovered with that same boy. They were already married by the time her father found them.
Emery forced a smile. No thinking of the past. From now on she’d only look forward. This was a new world, wild and beautiful, she thought as she looked around. Even if Trapper moved on after they reached Dallas, he’d taught her there were men worth knowing.
Across from the trading post, someone had built a small bar furnished with barrels and boards stacked atop. There were a few tables for the stage customers to grab a meal under the overhang of the roof. Em could almost see the beginnings of a town that looked like a good wind would blow it away.
Trapper tied the team in front of the store and began helping each girl down. Number Five had lost a shoe again, but she didn’t want to wait. She promised she’d just hop around the store.
Emery was as excited as the girls. She wanted to buy them all ribbons for their hair. She needed a proper gown to sleep in, and if the material wasn’t too expensive, enough cloth for a proper dress. She pulled out three dollars from the Bible hidden away in her leather bag.
If the weather held, Trapper had told her, they had eight, maybe nine days of travel left. When he’d asked