Her Heart’s Unseen Beauty: A Historical Western Romance Novel by Elaine Shields

Author:Elaine Shields [Shields, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2023-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Annie stood in front of the cast iron stove in the kitchen of the main house, stirring a skillet of scrambled eggs while keeping an eye on the bacon sizzling in a skillet beside it. Several pieces of bread were toasting on the warming plate, filling the kitchen with pleasant aromas that prompted her stomach to grumble softly.

She couldn’t help but remember falling from the ladder yesterday evening, but it wasn’t the fall itself that kept popping up in her memory. It was the feeling of Nick’s arms catching her, cradling her close, protecting her from injury as they fell.

Even afterward, as they laughed and then sobered moments later when they both realized that Cleo was watching them from the upstairs window, Annie couldn’t ignore how she had felt in Nick’s protective embrace.

She had felt cherished. It was the first time since the night of the fire that anyone had wrapped their arms around her for any reason. She hadn’t realized until last evening how she longed for a simple hug. She had yearned for just a few moments of being able to lean on someone, just for a moment or two, but that moment had not come.

She shook her head. Her thoughts didn’t need to go in that direction. Nick had prevented her from falling onto the ground and possibly hurting herself, which would prevent her from doing what she had been hired to do by Cleo Covington. That’s all. Yes, they had shared some nice conversations, and he seemed to accept her without any hesitation, but that didn’t mean anything. Did it?

She heard boots thudding along the hallway floor outside the kitchen door. Still stirring the eggs, she glanced over her shoulder to find Cleo standing in the doorway.

“You stay away from my son.”

Annie froze, startled by the harsh bitterness she heard in his voice. He was looking right at her now, his gaze hard, his nostrils flared, and the frown on his lips more than obvious. She frowned, not understanding. “Pardon me?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mister Covington.”

“You don’t think I saw you sprawled in the dirt yesterday with my son?”

She gasped and almost laughed. “I almost fell off the ladder, and he caught me! I wasn’t sprawling.”

“You stay away from him. I don’t need you or any other woman taking advantage of him, thinking that you can sink your claws into him, thinking you’ll live rich and fancy on my money.”

She knew that if she didn’t get her suddenly rising temper under control, she might say something she’d regret. She turned back to the eggs, gave them another stir, and then turned once more to speak over her shoulder and softly and calmly replied. “I have no intention of sinking my claws into Nick.”

“You better not. I hired you to do one thing and one thing only, and that was to cook and clean.”

Annie saw his chest heave as he inhaled deeply, his cheeks darkening with anger. Didn’t he understand? “Would

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