Rescuing the Runaway Bride by Bonnie Navarro

Author:Bonnie Navarro
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Nana Ruth held Vicky close, her arms warm and comforting as Vicky stood at the threshold of the cabin and said goodbye one more time. Hard to believe it had been barely six weeks ago that Chris had carried her unconscious into this cabin for the first time. Now it felt like home. The place where she belonged.

“Go with God, honey child. I’ll be prayin’ for ya to come back with Master Chris. Good Lord knows that man be needin’ a good wife.”

“I pray come back, too.” She breathed deep and forced herself to act as if she wasn’t terrified of what waited for her on the other end of her journey.

“God knows what He be about. You just rest in that promise and let Master Chris take care of ya.”

How good that sounded, to let Chris take care of her. She trusted him with her life. If only he would marry her instead of Don Joaquín. But ever the gentleman, Chris had held her so tenderly. Even after Padre Pedro left them alone to sort out the trip, Chris had stood staring down at her eyes. Twice his gaze had strayed to her lips, and her heartbeat had sped up with anticipation. But then he stepped back and turned away. He hadn’t touched her since. Would he have stolen a kiss if she had not already been betrothed to another man?

The funny sensations stirring in her chest and setting butterflies to flight in her stomach were new to her. She remembered being about six when one of Magda’s girls had talked about the excitement she felt when her intended had started to come courting. At the time, Vicky listened with some intrigue but never believed she’d experience anything remotely similar. Loving a boy had been as foreign an idea as meeting an Americano in the woods and saving his life. Now she’d experienced both.

“It’s time to go, Vicky.” Chris held Tesoro’s and Comet’s reins in his left hand, offering his right to help her climb down the steps. He wore his hat pulled down, its shadow hiding his face. Padre Pedro had already mounted up, waiting a few paces away from them as if giving privacy for their last words.

Chris dropped the reins, stepped closer to her and lifted her at the waist. He set her in the saddle, his hands lingering longer than necessary for her to find her balance. He made a show of checking the cinches and fiddling with the stirrups and her boots. Had they not taken dozens of rides together, she might have thought he doubted her ability to ride a horse. But she knew his extra attention was his gentle way of showing concern for her. With a curt nod, he handed the reins to her, mounted up on Comet and headed out.

“Goodbye, Vicky. Don’t be forgettn’ ’bout us, now. You come back soon, ya hear?” Nana Ruth called out from the door.

“Goodbye, Nana Ruth. I come back if God will.

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