McKinnon's Bride (Willow Grove, Texas Series Book 1) by Sharon Gillenwater

Author:Sharon Gillenwater [Gillenwater, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Sharon Gillenwater
Published: 2013-02-27T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Cade stared at the column of figures in the ledger, the numerals blurring. He’d added them three times and came up with three different totals. Throwing his pencil on the desk, he closed his burning eyes and rotated his tired shoulders. Jessie had been gone four days. He doubted he’d slept more than four hours the whole time. “Blasted woman. If I don’t sleep tonight, Asa might as well shoot me.”

Pushing the chair back from his desk, he wandered out to the back porch. They’d had a thunderstorm earlier in the afternoon, bringing some needed rain and cooling the air. The remnants of clouds hovered in the sky, now painted a brilliant pink and gold.

“It’s a beautiful sunset, darlin’. Does watching it all by your lonesome make you feel as sad as it does me?” He hoped so. He hoped it reminded her of the times he had slipped his arms around her waist, and she had leaned back against his chest so they could enjoy God’s splendor together. He had planned to share a lifetime of sunsets and sunrises, of hot summer nights and frosty winter mornings.

He glanced over at her house, then walked down the steps and across the yard. Would he ever be able to look at it without thinking of her? Opening the door, he looked around at all the new furniture. How could he hire someone else and let them use the things he bought for Jessie? His gaze fell on the pretty silk screen, folded carefully and leaning against the wall beside the bathtub. He should have insisted she take it.

He went into her bedroom, relieved that she had taken the china washbowl and basin. He hadn’t seen it in the wagon and had worried that she might not have wanted the gift he had specifically bought for her. Maybe it would remind her that he wasn’t as much of a villain as she thought.

Stretching out on the bed, he closed his eyes and breathed in the subtle hint of lavender that clung to the mattress. “Jessie, I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you,” he whispered. “I should have told you about Quint the day you got here. But I didn’t want you to leave.”

He closed his eyes. It was just tiredness that made them sting. Not heartache and self-reproach. She was right. He had used Quint’s absence to manipulate her into staying at the ranch. Even that first night, he couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing her sweet face the next morning. Being without her was even worse than he thought it would be.

“Lord, I just wanted to love her; have her love me.” He yawned and rolled over on his side. “If I could start over, I’d do it different. Tell her the truth.” He yawned again and curled one arm beneath his head. “And tell her I love her. Never even said the words. A woman needs to know how her man feels about her.” Her man. “Always will be,” he mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

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