A Homestead Holiday by Elizabeth Bromke

Author:Elizabeth Bromke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elizabeth Bromke

Chapter 22—Liam

Whatever was happening—whatever was going to happen—between Liam and Molly was out of line. Inappropriate. It was too far. He felt disgrace course through his body. What would his dad think of Liam’s behavior? Here he was, obligated to teach this girl a thing or two about ranching and farming, and he was taking advantage. Shame on Liam.

Other thoughts swelled in his brain, like how his dad had told him what was what when it came to women.

The late Larry Granger’s words drifted into Liam’s consciousness. Easier that a heart goes hard than gets broken.

Liam understood his dad’s worry. If Liam were to ever find someone to love, he’d have to deal with the risk of losing her, just like Liam’s mom had left them.

What if Molly was the sort to leave? Her family didn’t live in Prairie Creek. Heck, Liam didn’t even know if she had any family to speak of. He made a mental note to ask.

Anyhow, despite all these doubts, something else rang true. Liam knew that whatever was growing between him and Molly Maison, it wasn’t innately bad. Maybe he knew this because she was easy on the eyes or maybe because he saw in Molly the sort of woman his dad would have loved. Someone hard-working. Someone who was up for adventure. Someone willing to try something new, much like Larry Granger had done when he’d bought the ranch and made a go of what was a new lifestyle for him, at first.

Plus, Molly didn’t deserve Liam’s scorn or hard feelings. It wasn’t her fault his mom left him when he was a baby. It wasn’t Molly’s fault, either, that she was assigned to Liam as a veritable student.

Then again, it was kind of Molly’s fault that he was falling for her.

He couldn’t stand it, and after too brief a moment, he dipped his head lower and slid each hand around her waist, pulling her into him.

But Molly grabbed Liam’s wrists and pushed gently away. She opened her brown eyes and looked up at him, and he saw that despite her pushing, there wasn’t a no in those eyes. She bit down on her lower lip. Liam’s insides were all mush. He wished he could scoop Molly up right then and there and carry her into one of the back barns and lay her out on a checkered tablecloth and—

Molly whispered through parted lips, “That was…”

“That was wrong. I’m sorry,” he finished her sentence as quickly as he could get the darn words out of his mouth.

“No, no.” Her eyebrows crinkled in, and a small grin shaped her mouth like a little heart. “Not wrong, just—”

“Not appropriate.” He smoothed his shirt down his torso and made a show of turning his expression very serious. “I’m sorry, Molly. Really, I shouldn’t be taking advantage of you like this. You’re here to help me, and I’m supposed to be helping you learn, and—”

“It’s not like I’m listening to you,” she pointed out.

He marveled at her quip. “Not listening to me? You’re a bad student, then?”

“Maybe you’re a bad teacher.

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