Noah's Guilt (Winning His Devotion Book 2) by Tanner Margaret

Author:Tanner, Margaret
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Noah finally decided it was time to leave the water, something he was loath to do. He had enjoyed his swim with Addy and the little gal had loved it, particularly when he put her on his shoulders and waded out to the middle, where it reached the level of his chest.

She had wanted to keep her drawers on like he did, so rightly or wrongly, he let her. He had a change of drawers in his saddle bags, and chances were there would be a pair for Addy amongst the clothes he had snatched up from the wagon. Otherwise, her thin drawers wouldn’t take long to dry in this heat. He would definitely heat up water for Jo and maybe even give himself a shave.

As he stepped out of the creek with Addy still on his shoulders, he was shocked to see Jo standing outside the shelter leaning heavily on one of the branches he had cut. A glance down at his wet drawers, which clung to him, caused his cheeks to heat up. “You fool, she was a married woman and would have seen her husband naked.” But would she, things being the way they had been in the marriage. He couldn’t recall ever seeing Katie naked or her him for that matter, because their union had been short and fraught with anger and regret.

Thankfully, Jo turned her head away, as if sensing his embarrassment at being caught in such an awkward position. Placing Addy on the ground, he reached for his pants and struggled into them, not caring whether it would feel wet and uncomfortable until they dried out.

As he gathered up Addy’s clothes, she dashed toward her mother shrieking excitedly. “I swimmed. I swimmed with Noah.”

“Did you, sweetheart? Was it good?”

Thankfully, the interchange between mother and daughter gave him time to gather his wits. What was there about this woman? Without even speaking she could turn him into a gibbering wreck. Obviously, he had been more starved for female company than he’d realized. Not any other woman, just her. The realization slammed into him and almost knocked him to the ground. There was no future for them together, not with the guilt he carried around. He didn’t deserve to be happy, not ever, while Jo deserved a man who was much better than him. The thought of any other man touching her was like acid corroding his insides.

“Was the water nice?” she asked, after giving him what she would have considered adequate time to dress.

“Yeah, it was. What are you doing up?”

He watched red surge into her pale cheeks. “I needed to, um, relieve myself.”

“You should have waited for me. Anyway, what are you standing there for?”

Tears filled her eyes and he could have bitten his tongue out for speaking so sharply.

“I…I can’t get back down on the ground by myself.”

He felt immediately contrite. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Just let me put my boots on then I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. I can’t believe how weak and pathetic I’ve become.

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