Stolen Little Thing (Little Thing Series Book 1) by Sasha Gold

Author:Sasha Gold [Gold, Sasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-08-18T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Luke and Nolan were already five miles from the ranch by the time dawn’s first rays brightened the edge of the sky. The trip to San Antonio would take the better part of the day, through small towns and dusty cattle ranches. In the past, they always took their time, stopping to say hello to a few fellow ranchers, discuss business, compare cattle prices in the surrounding towns, and more often than not be invited in for a meal, but Luke was determined to press through to arrive in San Antonio by dusk.

Only the sounds of the horse shoes ringing when they hit rock broke the silence of the morning. Nolan gave a sidelong glance to Luke. The youth he’d seen grow up to manhood had changed in the last few days. Every rancher in the county would have counted himself lucky if Luke Crosby had taken an interest in one his daughters, but Luke had never shown a moment’s notice to any of the local girls. He might have dallied with a saloon girl or two, but he’d never pursued any in earnest. Then Esme Duval showed her pretty face. Luke went from committed loner, to lovesick groom at the sight of her. When they’d discussed the trip, Luke wouldn’t even consider taking two days to get to San Antonio, preferring to make it as short a trip as possible.

Luke had been surly this morning too, hurrying Nolan along in an attempt to get an early start. They rode in silence as the crimson ribbon on the eastern horizon broadened to a swath of dusky rose. The horses pricked their ears when a coyote yipped from a distant hillside.

Nolan cleared his throat. “Hey there, Luke.”

In the predawn light Nolan could see that Luke, though riding right beside him, was far away, lost in thought. Startled, Luke turned to him.

“What is it?”

Nolan frowned. “You gonna talk the whole way to San Antone?”

“Sorry, I was thinking.”

Nolan snorted. “I’ll bet. How many new horses we getting?”

Luke shrugged. “I want each boy to have an extra one, and I’m thinking of getting Henry a pony too. He’s so dang skittish of the big horses, afraid of falling off.” Mourning doves cooed above them as the men rode through a grove of live oak trees.

“That boy’s afraid of his own shadow,” Nolan said. “He’s taken a strong liking to your missus. He offered to give her his dessert last night, kept telling her how pretty her hair is.”

Luke chuckled. “Esme’s not crazy about kids, and wouldn’t you know she’s the one he latches onto. She feels sorry for him, which is one hundred percent what he counted on. He’s got all the ladies wrapped around his finger.”

Nolan nodded. He reined his horse around some cactus and then gave Luke a mischievous smile. “So just a few horses? What about sheep? Did Little Bo Peep tell you about her sheep ranching plans?”

Luke groaned. “I hate sheep.”

“Really?” If Nolan had heard it once, he’d heard it a hundred times; Luke despised sheep.

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