Maverick (Star Valley Book 3) by Dahlia West

Author:Dahlia West [West, Dahlia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Dahlia West
Published: 2016-06-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

‡

Leah spied Austin in the driveway but the moment she stepped out of the house and onto the porch, he turned away and headed toward the barn.

Candace was halfway across the driveway, walking back toward the house.

“Were you talking to Austin?” Leah asked her, wondering if he’d said anything to her friend about their earlier encounter in the tack room.

The girl shrugged. “Not really. I think he’s pretty embarrassed about his pants. And mad. I’d probably be mad, too, if I was related to a human whoopee cushion.”

“I’m sure Sawyer’s not that bad,” said Leah, though the man had only been at the house for a few days and she had no way to know. As long as she didn’t end up with a snake in her bed, he was someone else’s problem.

“So, are you really okay here?” asked Candace.

Leah smiled, the first genuine smile she could remember in a long time. “I mean, I wish you were here. But other than that, I have my own room, with a beautiful view of the mountains and everyone here is so, so nice. Walker’s a little…gruff…but he’s not mean or rude or anything like that. He’s like that with everyone.”

“They sure don’t seem like twins,” said Candace.

“I agree.”

Walker and Austin were at opposite ends. The brothers hardly even seemed related at all.

“I hate to you leave you,” said Candace, looking up at the sky.

“And I hate to see you go but come back soon, okay?”

“Promise,” said Candace, giving her a hug before heading to her car.

Once her friend was gone, Leah peeked into the barn, inside an outbuilding, and even checked the bunkhouse but could find no sign of Austin and was forced to give up. She pulled weeds in Sofia’s garden instead and tried to teach herself the names of the herbs that grew there. It wasn’t particularly exciting work but it passed the time and soon the older woman needed Leah’s help in the kitchen for dinner.

Sofia nodded once the biscuits were in the basket and cooling. “You ring the bell, huh?”

Leah stood on the front porch, pulling the rope, and peering out across the grounds, looking for a familiar shape. Sawyer came out of the bunkhouse, followed by Cassidy who was frantically buttoning her shirt. But there was no sign of Leah’s Barlow anywhere.

With a heavy sigh, she ducked into the kitchen and spotted him—finally! He turned to glance at her over his shoulder as he dried his hands on the kitchen towel. She could tell even from across the room he had that lazy smile on his face. She took a step forward, not really sure what would happen, but feeling a zing of electricity at the possibilities. At that moment, the side door opened and Sawyer came in from outside.

“Whoo, it’s hot!” he cried, pulling off his hat and fanning himself with it.

Austin said nothing, merely turned and walked out of the room.

Leah stifled a sigh and followed him to the dining room. At this rate, the baby might be in kindergarten before they ever got another minute alone.

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.