Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range by Danica Favorite

Author:Danica Favorite [Favorite, Danica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-01-04T20:12:52+00:00

* * *

Lou Riley was seeing dead people.

Unable to shake the morbid thought, he opened his eyes. Bright morning sun poured through the window, highlighting the suspiciously clean lines of his room. Mary had been in again, dusting and cleaning. He groaned, wincing as a nasty throb of pain jolted through his temples.

His chest felt better, though. He tried shifting in the bed. His bandages crinkled with the movement, and a definite soreness invaded his muscles. No fever, no infection, which was a good thing. He’d be glad to discontinue this medicine, glad to get his head turned straight, glad to put an end to the dreams plaguing his sleep.

“There you are, sleepyhead.” Mary floated into the room, her hair a shiny ebony in the morning light. Her features appeared smooth and even, a hint of worry not evident. He must be doing great.

Despite his aches, he grinned at her. “Right where I’ve been the past week.”

“Oh, not that long.” Blushing in response to his flirtatious smile, she set a tray on the bed.

Lou sniffed the air. “Pancakes?” he asked hopefully.

“Yep.”

He took a closer look. “Is that a...rattler?” He glanced at Mary. The burnished rose color of her cheeks deepened.

“I was experimenting with shapes. A little artistic license. I’m not sure how that was placed on the tray.” She frowned and didn’t meet his eyes.

Interesting. He took the plate she held out to him and loaded up. Days of no food had made him famished. His stomach hurt just looking at it all. But that snake... A frown took possession of his mouth.

He settled against his pillow, carefully moving the plate to his lap. “You know, my mom used to make me and my brother animal-shaped pancakes.”

“Really?” Mary fiddled with the sheets on the bed.

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded, never taking his gaze from her face. An uneasy suspicion was taking root. “Moms do it for kids all the time.”

“Not all mothers,” she interjected.

“Creative moms.” He amended the sentence with a flourish of his fork. “Speaking of kids, you might want to lighten my laudanum dosage. I’ve been seeing things.”

Mary moved toward the dresser, her back to him. For a moment, Lou was distracted by the waves of hair that fell like a silk waterfall against her shoulders. He’d forgotten how dark her hair was, thick, and blacker than a sky bereft of stars.

In all their years of knowing each other, he didn’t think he’d ever touched her hair before. In fact, he made certain not to unnecessarily touch her. To give her space and to help her feel safe. His general policy regarding women involved distance. Women were lovely creatures, interesting, a tad difficult, but getting mixed up with a woman took more stamina than Lou was inclined to expend.

Relationships meant pain. He’d learned that early on.

Clenching and unclenching his fingers, he willed the itch to touch Mary to leave.

“What have you been seeing?” she finally asked.

He studied her, noting the stiffness in her shoulders. “Things that shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh?” She pivoted toward him.

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