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Chapter 16
July 1867
Emily POV
I had known for a couple of weeks that I was pregnant, but I hadn’t said anything to Joseph. He had told me before that he paid attention to my woman’s cycle. I kept waiting for him to mention it but he never did. So, I decided to tease him the morning that he and Thomas were headed to St. Louis. I also wanted to give him another reason to hurry home.
Clara hugged me to her side as we watched them ride away. “Another bairn?” she whispered, her voice beginning to crack.
I leaned my head on her shoulder as Joseph and Thomas faded into the forest. “Yes. Another baby.” I caressed my still flat tummy in wonder and joy.
“Praise the Lord!” she exclaimed.
Brody had come up behind us and pulled us both into a hug. I giggled as he said, “Aye! Thank the Lord, another grand-bairn for us to love.”
We walked back into the house to clean up the breakfast dishes. As we re
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Chapter 20 February 1868 Emily The day Annabeth was born, Joseph sat with me the entire time. While it’s not traditionally done, I needed his presence and support. I told him later that he was to always be with me during those times. Having the ability to lean against him while his arms surrounded me, his hands massaging my belly, had such a calming effect on me. I decided that I wanted that every time. Clara had initially frowned on his being in the room, but finally relented when she realized that it actually helped me. The moment that Annabeth was in my arms, tears of joy fell from my eyes. I leaned my head back against Joseph’s shoulder so he could look at her too. My shoulder became wet from the tears that fell from his eyes. His arms encircled mine and together we cradled our daughter in our arms. Her little eyes flitted open and as she took in the world around her, she began to cry. Clara helped me to teach her how to suckle at my breast. Once she had latched on, Joseph’s a
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Joseph POV In the days that followed my waking up, Mum and Emily tried to insist on my resting as much as possible. It was difficult to say no to either one of those two women. They were persistent. I complained to Da about it and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t know what I should do. So, I decided I would let them have their way for a few days but then I was going to get back to work. I honestly felt better and stronger than I had in my entire life. My wounds had healed so well, that even my shoulder didn’t ache if I over worked it. In the past, an injury to my arm would take several weeks to heal. But this time it was as if I had never been injured. After four days of rest, I insisted on getting up, telling Emily that I was fine. I wanted to go and see for myself that the bear was dead. I walked to the smoke house and Thomas was working on the hide. I could see that it had been cut into two secti
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