Mail Order Bride Historical Romance Collection ~ 3-Book Bundle (Brides of Virtue 2) by Maguire Jill

Author:Maguire, Jill [Maguire, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Prairie Wind Publishing
Published: 2016-03-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

It was a subtle change that had come over Cole, a restless feeling that he hadn’t been able to shake since Mercy’s arrival. He was used to spending days out in the woods alone just to get away, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Mercy on her own. He wanted to care for her and earn her trust, but his inner wildness was yearning for escape.

“Say Mercy, do you like surprises?” Cole asked over supper. Mercy looked up at him and her eyes widened slightly. Cole had a glimmer in his eye that Mercy had not seen before.

“I don’t know, I suppose it depends on the surprise,” Mercy admitted.

“Well, you’re in for a treat tonight.” Cole flashed a grand smile that warmed Mercy to her toes.

As Mercy did the dishes after supper, Cole ran outside to prepare. When the sun had fully set and darkness covered the fields, Cole clambered back inside and grabbed Mercy’s wrist.

“Come on, she’s ready,” Cole said mysteriously as he led her out back behind the house. Cole drew a match out of his pocket, and held it to the biggest pile of wood that Mercy had ever seen. As the flames grew higher Mercy shrank back. Cole let out a wild whoop and for a moment Mercy wondered what bewitchment he was under. She hugged her shawl tightly around her arms and backed away from the blazing heat as Cole began a crazy dance around the fire.

“Come on, Mercy! It’s alright!” he called.

Mercy just shook her head and shrank away farther. The rowdiness in Cole’s eyes, in his movements, scared Mercy almost as much as the fire itself. Perhaps that woman in town had been right. Maybe she shouldn’t trust a reckless cowboy like Cole Boone. The sound of Mercy’s heart pounding in her ears nearly drowned out the crackling of the huge flames. Suddenly, Cole stopped in his tracks and moved slowly toward Mercy, placing a hand on her arm.

“Is this frightening for you? The fire?” Cole’s question came across in such a tender and warm tone that Mercy couldn’t help but nod timidly and blink back threatening tears. She began to tremble when Cole reached up with both hands to caress her face. One hand held her smooth unscarred cheek, his thumb making gentle strokes across her skin, while his other hand carefully traced her scars. Mercy winced more from embarrassment than from any pain she felt but Cole didn’t relent. He continued his exploration of her face with a look of wonderment and delight in his eyes.

Did she realize how beautiful she was? Cole pondered to himself. He had never seen anyone so beautiful and he had never met a woman as tenacious and smart as this woman. Cole slowly lowered his hands from her face to her shoulders and drew her into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and was not surprised at all to feel her shudder under his touch.

Mercy gave in willingly and clung to Cole like a lost child.

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