Caribou Crossing by Susan Fox Page A

coming?”
    Wade realized Evan was clearing the table and Miriam was at the sink, rinsing the dishes he handed her. When she bent to put them in the dishwasher, her movements were slow, and she paused to rub her lower back.
    â€œYup, I’m coming.” He rose and went over to kiss his wife. “Drive safe and stay warm, hon. Bye, Evan, see you soon.” Miriam would drop him at home or the library before going to her class. “Okay, Jessie-girl, let’s head out to the barn.”
    In the mudroom, as they pulled on boots and heavy coats, his daughter said, “I’ve been thinking, maybe I won’t be a horse breeder.”
    â€œNo?”
    â€œI think I should go on the rodeo circuit.”
    â€œUh-huh.” He didn’t bother trying to talk her out of it. Her dreams changed every week or so. He’d bet, though, that whatever she ended up doing, it would relate to horses, not cattle. “Sure hope your baby brother or sister turns out to be rancher material.” He wanted one of his kids to carry on the tradition. He’d hate to see Bly Ranch leave the family.
    â€œI can’t wait for the baby to come. And to get big enough so I can teach it how to ride!”
    â€œMe, too.” He smiled contentedly at the thought of another bright, healthy, enthusiastic child like Jessie. Yeah, things were a little tough now in terms of work and finances, but life was great and there was so much to look forward to.

Chapter 6
    This time it was pain that prodded Miriam’s cocoon. It tugged at her belly and she shifted position, trying to ease it.
    The baby . . . She remembered now, it was the baby moving....
    It really was a kicker, this little one.

    Wincing as the baby kicked out again, Miriam pulled on her heavy down coat, scarf, woolly hat, and gloves. She said good night to several fellow bookkeeping students as they passed her on their way to the door of the high school, and wondered if they were as overwhelmed by the classes as she was. It turned out that while bookkeeping did involve adding and subtracting there were a bunch of other concepts that confused her. Too bad she hadn’t inherited her dad’s aptitude. Though she hated to beg him for help, she just might have to. The instructor, Mr. Benson, a retired accountant, really wasn’t very good at explaining things.
    A humorous thought made her lips quirk. Too bad Evan Kincaid wasn’t ten years older. She’d bet he could figure out all these accounting concepts and tutor her.
    She hurried across the plowed parking lot to the car. At least its engine roared to life, though the heater had packed it in last month and they couldn’t afford to fix it. Even bundled up as she was, tonight the chill seeped into her bones, aggravating the nagging ache in her lower back that had bothered her for the last couple of days, along with the crampy twinges in her belly.
    When the baby had first stirred, with a gentle fluttering, she’d been so happy. Now the little one had graduated to doing aerobics in her body, which was far less pleasant. Jessica had been an active baby, but not like this. Oh well, just as long as the baby was moving, all was well.
    Still, bed was going to feel awfully good tonight. Especially if it contained her husband’s warm, firm body to curl up against. She hoped he wouldn’t work too late.
    It used to be Wade put in long days at the ranch working for his dad, but he usually made it home for dinner and didn’t go back. They’d play with Jessica, maybe watch a child-friendly TV show. After tucking their daughter in, they’d cuddle up on the couch together, watching something more adult and chatting about their day. Every week or so, her parents or sister Andie would come baby-sit so Miriam and Wade could go to a movie or to the Lucky Strike, their favorite country and western bar. But most of the time they were content to stay home. Often, they’d go to bed early