Caribou Crossing Read Free Page A

spirit and generous heart.
    He wasn’t much of a guy for speeches, but he said, “Okay, family, this is our new home.” Pride and love made his voice a little rough. “We’re going to look after it and each other, and it’s going to be good to us.”
    He took a booted step across the wooden frame. The front door was used only for special occasions. Normally, everyone went in the back through the mudroom, shedding boots and coats on the way, but if ever there was a special occasion, this was it.
    Carrying Miriam, he walked into the front room, wood-paneled and cozy. Quiet now, after the past couple days’ bustle of moving. The fire he’d laid an hour ago, before they left to pick up Jessie at his in-laws’ place, just needed a match.
    He tilted his head and kissed his wife, then slowly let her down.
    â€œCan I go riding now?” Jessica demanded.
    Their daughter loved to ride. Sun, rain, or snow, and there was lots of snow in the middle of winter in the Cariboo. She was a skilled rider and a natural with horses, and she’d been going out on her own for the past year.
    Miriam glanced at Wade. “They’re forecasting more snow tonight.”
    â€œMommyy.” Jessie drew the word out in a protest. “It’s not tonight yet.”
    â€œTake Whisper,” he told his daughter. “She’s good in snow. And watch the sky,” he cautioned. “If you see clouds the color of your horse’s coat, you head straight back. And promise to be careful.”
    â€œI’m always careful.”
    Yeah, right. Jessie was a tomboy. But she’d never done herself any serious damage. Scrapes and bruises were part of life in the country, and they toughened you up.
    â€œEven if the sky’s still clear, be back by four, no later,” Miriam added. “You know how quickly it gets dark at this time of year.”
    With their daughter gone for an hour or two, he’d have time alone with Miriam. What better way to celebrate their new home than by making love?
    Perhaps his wife was thinking the same thing, because she squeezed his hand and shot him a mischievous smile as Jessie took off up the stairs, her ponytail bouncing, to change into riding clothes.
    â€œI’ll light the fire,” Wade said.
    Miriam shook her head. “Later. I have other plans for right now.”
    â€œOh, yeah? Will I like those plans?”
    â€œGuaranteed.” She peeled off her coat and tossed it over the back of the big couch his parents had left behind when they moved. Next, she unbuttoned his coat and he obligingly shrugged out of it and let her heave it on top of hers.
    â€œThis is going in a nice direction,” he said, as they both took off their boots and lined them up on the hearth.
    â€œAnd it’ll continue.” She stepped close, so their jean-clad hips touched. “Crossing the threshold is one big step. The next one’s making love in the master bedroom.”
    He slipped his arms around her. “Thanks for not calling it my parents’ room.”
    She grinned and looped her arms around his neck. “It does feel weird, doesn’t it? But it’s ours now. Thank God they took their bed.”
    â€œYou can say that again.”
    She glanced around the living room. “The house doesn’t feel like ours yet, but it will.”
    They, together with his pa and a bunch of friends, had loaded some of his parents’ stuff into a U-Haul and moved Wade and Miriam’s belongings from their tiny rental house. His old family home was now a mishmash and he thought it looked nice. “It will.”
    â€œI hope things work out for your folks.”
    â€œMe, too.” This morning, his parents, along with the ranch Border Collie, Shep, had headed off in their new Honda CR-V, towing the U-Haul, on their way to Phoenix. He’d really miss them, but he sure hoped that his mom’s health improved, and that his pa found