Cattleman's Courtship by Dyer Lois Faye

Author:Dyer, Lois Faye
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette Special Edition
Published: 2000-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

Later that evening, dinner finished and Becky contentedly watching a mystery on the television upstairs, Quinn and Victoria carried their coffee mugs outside to the porch. They bypassed the rocking chairs and chose to sit on the edge of the porch, feet stretched out across the shallow steps.

“You sit over there,” Quinn instructed. “And don’t come any closer than three feet.”

“Truce.” Victoria turned to face him, her back against the post, her legs angled companionably across the step toward his.

The sun dipped toward the horizon and slipped below, streaking the sky with bands of gold and pink, painting the underbellies of puffy white clouds with color. Dusk began to creep across the land, long shadows inching toward the two seated on the steps.

The scent of roses, blooming in the flower beds edging the porch, lay heavy on the warm evening air.

“There’s something wonderfully peaceful about watching the sun go down over buttes and open prairie,” Victoria said softly, almost to herself.

Quinn glanced sideways. She gazed at the horizon, her face in profile. Still, he could read the faint wonder on her features, hear it in her voice.

“Not the same as watching the sun set over city concrete, is it?”

“No.” She flashed a quick smile, her gaze meeting his with empathy. “No, it’s definitely not the same. Although, to be fair, I’ve seen some memorable photos that captured sundown, and sunup, on streets in Seattle. There can be a stark kind of beauty in a deserted early-morning street and skyscrapers.”

“I suppose.”

Dusk deepened around them. Victoria had switched on a lamp when they passed through the living room and it threw a faint bar of light across the porch floorboards. The light filtered through the screen door but didn’t quite stretch far enough to reach the steps.

“Do you miss it?” he asked.

Victoria’s gaze left the shadowy horizon and found his. “What? The city?”

“The city—and your life there.” He gestured at the darkened landscape. “This is quite a change from urban living.”

“Yes, it is,” she agreed, falling silent as she considered his words. “I do miss my brothers and my parents. And my work. And double lattes and shopping in downtown Seattle. But oddly enough,” she added slowly, slightly startled by the realization, “I’m not unhappy here. Even though initially I couldn’t imagine not practicing law for six months, I was determined to get well. Then I moved to Colson and after the first few weeks of gearing down, it hasn’t been nearly as bad as I’d imagined.” She chuckled softly. “Not that it’s been easy, but there’s something to be said for actually having the time to watch the sun go down.”

“What? The sun doesn’t set in Seattle?” he teased.

“Of course it does. I just didn’t get to see it very often.”

“Why not?”

“Because I rarely left my office before nine or ten. Even if I’d rated an office with a window, I was so buried in work I doubt that I would have taken time to watch the sun go down.”

“You worked until ten at night? What time did you start in the morning?”

“My alarm went off at five.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.