Free to Roam by Leah Atwood & Susette Williams

Author:Leah Atwood & Susette Williams [Atwood, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falling Leaf Press
Published: 2015-10-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The sun still hid in the night when Clint awoke. Only a sliver of moonlight lit the room, but he didn’t have to look to know that Bess wasn’t in bed. Two weeks into their marriage and he’d yet to get up before her. He couldn’t figure out how she did it, especially because every morning he woke up a few minutes earlier trying to beat her downstairs.

He knew why she did it—she was skittish about sharing a bed with him, even with maintaining their separate sides. While he understood, at the same time, it also puzzled him. It was her idea to share the room when there were three other beds in the house he would have taken willingly.

If they didn’t get along so well any other time, he could pass it off as jitters or her not liking him. Except, outside the bedroom they spoke freely, and he dared say, had become friends. But in fourteen days, they’d not spoken a single word to each other within the confines of their room. Every single night, she pretended to be asleep already when he came into the room.

He knew she was still awake because sometimes she’d slip and automatically look toward the door when he came in, but then she’d roll back over and not say a word. He’d meant what he said about not pressing for more, but he did wish their friendship didn’t pause at night.

I reckon I ought to be grateful that we get along so well during the day. For that he was grateful because he’d know some couples who’d been married for reasons other than love, and they were miserable. Some had even parted ways.

That wasn’t an end he wanted to meet with Bess. Every day that passed, he was more certain of that. He wanted her in his life, and maybe one day, they could have a real marriage if she so chose.

The moonlight turned to sunlight, and Clint realized he’d been reflecting too long. He should have been out of bed a good half hour ago. Swinging his legs over the bed, he reached for his trousers, then pulled them on. Once he was dressed and ready for the day, he made his way downstairs.

There was something he had to tell Bess, and he prayed it wouldn’t upset her, or worse, delight her. First, he would eat.

The meaty smell of bacon and the pops and hisses of it frying teased his senses and led the way to the kitchen. Bess stood at the stove, an apron tied at her waist.

She turned to face him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Bess brought him a steaming cup of coffee, then prepared a plate for him and set it down in front of where he sat. “Here you go. The biscuits will be another minute.”

As she began to walk away, he reached out and encircled her wrist with his fingers. “Sit down, please. Eat breakfast with me.”

“There’s still work to be done.” Although she protested, she didn’t pull away.

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.