Confessions of a Fallen Woman by Laura Steele

Author:Laura Steele
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scorch Erotica
Published: 2016-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“ARE YOU READY?”

Laura nodded. The good thing about traveling light was that there wasn’t much to worry about. She had her sole bag at her feet.

“Let me help you up there, then,” Joe said, stepping close and holding out his hand to steady her while she climbed up to the driver’s seat of the wagon.

“Where’s Dan? I want to make sure I say goodbye.”

Joe shrugged. “I don’t know where he is right now,” he said. “What time does the stagecoach arrive?”

“Ten o’clock.”

“We’d better get a move on, then,” Joe said. “I’ll let him know you said goodbye.”

The breath was tight in Laura’s chest as she scanned the fields around them. There was no sign of the boy; his pony trotted around the paddock alone. This isn’t how I wanted to leave, she thought, and she felt a familiar sting in the back of her eyes. I’ve had enough of parting without saying goodbye.

The seat creaked slightly as Joe climbed aboard next to her, and with a light snap of the reins, they were on their way. Joe turned the wagon from its spot next to the house and headed toward the trail. Twin ruts scarred the plain, showing the way back to Lincoln, but before they even left the property, Joe took a sharp turn and started driving toward the heart of the ranch.

“What are you doing?”

“I just need to make a little stop first,” he said.

“A stop for what?”

“You’ll see. It won’t be long.”

She stared at him like he’d gone quite out of his mind, but Joe ignored her gaze.

“Beautiful day for a drive, isn’t it?”

That much, at least, he was right about. The autumn sky was clear and crystalline blue, yet the heat of the summer had passed on. It was as close to perfect weather as she’d ever seen.

As they drove over a small rise in the land, she saw the treetops of the copse near the river. “Are we going back to our picnic spot? Did you forget something?”

He smiled softly, as if to himself. “No, not really,” he said. “I just realized that there was something else I was supposed to do.”

“What was that?” He only smiled and snapped the reins again, hurrying them along. He parked the wagon under the trees, set the brake and just looked out at the scenery. This spot by the river was perhaps her favorite place on the ranch. She hadn’t been here often, but it was very pretty, with the trees and the water surrounded by the lush fields. Even if she were going to be late for the stagecoach, she was glad to have had one last chance to see it.

Joe hopped down from the wagon and came around to her side. “Let’s get down for a bit,” he said, reaching for her hand and helping her to the ground.

She walked to the water’s edge and watched the sunlight dancing on the current. She couldn’t help but remember playing with Dan the day before, and a bittersweet smile came to her face.

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