Bound for Eden by Tess Lesue

Author:Tess Lesue
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

22

IT WAS ONLY when she saw the stands of cottonwoods that Alex realized she hadn’t seen a tree for weeks. Spring had burned into summer as they crossed the plains, leaving them sunburned and sweaty and dusty. Ash Hollow was like a memory of spring: shadowy and cool and lush. Luke had them circle the wagons beneath the green shade, enclosed by a verdant riot of wild roses, grapevine and currant bushes. The air was heavy with the mineral tang of fresh water and the heady perfume of flowering jasmine.

“Oh, Luke,” Victoria exclaimed, taking his arm and giving it a squeeze, “this is just how I imagine Eden must have looked.”

“Ah, well,” he laughed, neatly disentangling himself, “this is nothing compared to Oregon.” He plucked a full-blown rose of palest pink and offered it to Victoria.

Alex watched, fascinated. Look how he managed to get away from her without hurting her feelings. While Victoria was busy inhaling the perfume of the rose, he simply disappeared into the milling livestock. And poor old Victoria thought she’d been honored. She thought the rose meant something.

Alex remembered the night of the dance, the way Luke had made her feel special, bribing the band to play only slow dances. Given time, she too would have been distracted with a rose while he slipped away to the next girl and the next dance.

Oh, she was such a fool. She felt the familiar sick flush of shame. She’d thrown herself away on him. On a man who already had a sweetheart waiting for him. The poor woman, Alex thought. She had no idea of the life ahead of her: always wondering which woman would catch his fancy next. Because a man like Luke Slater would never be faithful, not when every woman swooned at his feet. And not when he could escape them so easily, without leaving a shred of anger in his wake.

She pushed aside her gloomy thoughts. She was tired of the way her mind ran in circles since she had met Luke, going over the same things time and time again. She left Victoria to prepare dinner—she felt she’d earned a night off after the exertions of the afternoon—and headed for one of the freshwater springs, near where Adam was grooming Luke’s horse.

“That man sure is good at getting other people to do his work for him,” she muttered as she sank into the pillowy grasses. The spring water was sweet and cold, and Alex couldn’t resist removing her boots and submerging her feet. It felt heavenly.

“It ain’t your feet that need a wash, runt,” an all-too-familiar deep voice said, fracturing her peace. “Have you had a look at your face lately?”

Alex sighed as he set himself up at the same spring with his saddlebag. Why couldn’t he let her be? She dropped onto her back, without removing her feet from the water, and scrunched her eyes closed. Maybe if she couldn’t see him, she could forget he was there.

“You’ve gone surly again,” Luke observed as he removed his shaving gear.

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