Deirdre's True Desire by Heather McCorkle

Author:Heather McCorkle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2017-07-18T12:23:49+00:00

Chapter 15

The morning rays spilled over the distant hills to bathe the massive pile of lodgepole pine logs in a soft glow. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing Deirdre had ever seen. This pile was smaller than the piles at Deirdre’s and Sadie’s home sites. Cat didn’t intend to live here, but a home needed to be built to ensure they didn’t lose the land. The winery itself was not enough, according to the county official.

“There are so many of them,” she said in a choked voice.

Frost crunched beneath her boots as she stepped up to stroke the rough bark of a log half as big around as she was tall. The pile of them was almost as tall as a single-story house. Their sweet pine scent filled her with hope. Right then and there she decided to plant a seedling for each log it took to build her home, to honor what the tree had given to her. A silly notion perhaps, but she didn’t care. Such was her joy.

Sadie took her hand and squeezed tight. “They are indeed,” she agreed, her face aglow with happiness.

Cat joined them on Deirdre’s right. “Aye, and there’s more on the way. Cofield is escorting several of Rick’s ranch hands with another load as we speak. They left to fetch it the moment Rick arrived to take over guarding this load,” she said.

“Ranch hands?” Sadie asked, her tone filled with worry.

“No worries, they’re old friends of his, freemen he met during the war.”

Sadie’s eyes widened. “Do they really think it’s necessary to guard the logs, on our own land?”

The hard look Cat gave her surprised Deirdre. “Aye. We wouldn’t put anything past Ainsworth. Rick thought it best for each of our home sites to have at least one guard from here on out, just to be safe,” she said.

“Just one?” Deirdre asked.

“More when possible, but they’ll also use brush as a signal fire should trouble come.”

Chills traveled through Deirdre. Now that she had met Ainsworth, she wouldn’t put it past him to send men out to spy on them. She was infinitely glad Rick had thought of guarding the home sites.

Male voices engaged in conversation came from their left, growing louder as they approached. A few moments later, Rick and Dylan emerged from around the pile of logs. The sight of Dylan made Deirdre tug at her breeches self-consciously. Men’s clothes were something she had never worn, and while they fit quite comfortably, she was insecure about how she looked in them. But Cat had insisted they would be more comfortable for the work that had to be done.

Sadie batted Deirdre’s hands away. “Oh, do stop, or you’ll get me to fussing, too. These things cling in unspeakable places,” she whispered. She did a bit of a twist and wiggle, trying to adjust her own breeches.

Deirdre knew exactly how she felt. The urge to grab the seat of her breeches and pull them from her behind was almost overwhelming. That was something she wouldn’t do in present company, no matter how uncomfortable it was.

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