Mary Connealy by Swept Away

Author:Swept Away [Away, Swept]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Luke, we need to talk.” The light-headed joy Ruthy had gotten from kissing Luke had eased enough she could think a few clear thoughts. “Can I ask you something?”

Together they watched and waited as Broken Wheel went to sleep.

“Sure.” He was whispering, so he leaned in closer, and when he spoke, warm breath tickled her ear and sent a shiver up and down her spine.

“The thing is, up until what happened—”

“You mean up until I kissed you?”

She swallowed hard to hear him say it out loud. “Yes, until then. The thing is, you’ve acted all week as if you didn’t even care for me.”

“That’s not true.”

“You were furious when I said I wanted to help fight Greer. You’ve snarled at me every time I asked to come along. You yelled at me when I—”

“Okay. Yes. I’ve acted . . . well, I’ve been rude. A few times.”

“No. Constantly.”

“But it isn’t because I don’t care for you.”

“You think I’m a pest. You think I’m slowing you down. You think—”

“It’s because I can’t get near you and not want to kiss you.”

For a second she was struck dumb.

“Whenever you’re around, which is all the time, I catch myself thinking of how pretty you are and how sweet.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

She shivered deep inside. She should tell him to stop. There wasn’t any hurry in saying it, though. “I reckon I have had me some thoughts too, Luke. But you’ve got a lot to deal with right now. We can talk more about such things as kissing when you’ve put your troubles behind you.”

“And why is that?” There was a surprising spark of temper in his question.

“Why is what?” She turned to look fully at him. “You want to know why we should wait to see if you get yourself killed in the next few days?”

“You know, it occurs to me that you’ve been living almost as a prisoner of the Reinhardts ever since you were a kid. Now, all the sudden, here you are—a pretty woman in a town full of men. You may be thinking you can have your pick.”

“You really—?” Ruthy stumbled over her words when she realized she was going to ask if he really thought she was pretty. Begging for a compliment. There had certainly never been any indication from those around her that she was anything other than homely. If she hadn’t been holding his hand, the surprise might’ve tumbled her into a heap on the ground. “You think I could have any man I wanted?”

It was a heady feeling. She, who had feared for years she was going to be forced to marry that horrid Virgil Reinhardt, could now have her pick of men. She was beginning to really love Texas.

“Just never you mind about other men,” he said.

“I’ll mind whatever I please to mind, Luke Stone. Until this afternoon, there was no man I was of a mind to kiss.”

“Not even me?”

He sounded almost like a little boy, and she found it so endearing she melted.

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