The Cowboy's Rebellious Bride by Laurie LeClair

The Cowboy's Rebellious Bride by Laurie LeClair

Author:Laurie LeClair
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Published: 2017-04-17T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Thirteen

Cody sensed her misgivings; they thickened the air in the cab of the truck as the tires ate up the miles.

His doubts disappeared the moment Hannah and he had looked out over the ranch yesterday. She loved it as much as he did. Sitting there, with her by his side, he’d known there would never be another woman for him. It felt so pure, so right. His Hannah as his wife.

That hadn’t happened when he’d nearly bought Tabitha her ring—an expensive square-cut one with smaller diamonds around it—she’d all but picked it out for herself by leaving torn out magazine pictures in his truck or tucked in his saddle bag. That brought him up short. The nagging questions. The overwhelming sensation of being suffocated.

For months, the invisible hands around his throat, strangling him, persisted. The hold tightened, cutting off air. With every introduction as his girlfriend, along with the high-anticipated rapid-fire questions of when the big day was, all the unspoken expectations of keeping her in the fancy lifestyle she’d been accustomed to, Cody felt backed into a corner like a caged animal.

Thank goodness, he’d held off proposing to her!

Now, he glanced over at an unusually quiet Hannah gazing out the open window as fields and cattle rushed by in the beginnings of dawn yawning across the horizon. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He didn’t feel those pressing sensations with Hannah. Maybe even the exact opposite...

“Snacks behind me.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder to his loot.

She jerked around quickly, a small smile playing on her slightly swollen pink lips. His gut clutched. He’d drunk there and was thirsty for more.

Hannah unclicked her seatbelt and then shifted to kneel on the seat near his hip. “What did you bring me?”

His chuckle rumbled through his chest. “You are so easy, you know that, Hann? Give you some sweets and you’re all over me.”

Her nudge on his upper arm seemed like old times, only he sensed her sudden quiver and heard her swallow hard.

“Chocolate soothes the savage beast, right?” She dug in the brown paper sack. “Oh, my God! Muffins!”

“Thank Rose for them. Extra chocolate chips, too.”

She moaned. “I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

“Don’t forget to share. You know, we’ll be doing that a lot in the future.”

A deafening silence roared to life between them. Only the tires humming along on the asphalt road echoed.

She slunk back to her side. “Did you have to remind me?”

Cody gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. “Seems like I do, as a matter of fact.”

“Why can’t we just be friends, Cods?” The strum of emotion in her voice breathed to life.

“We talked about this, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. That dang truck bed again.”

“Won’t do any more, Hann.” He delivered it gently. “We can do this. Hell, we’ve been through worse.”

Thankfully, she chuckled along with him. “That’s just it. If we end it now, we get off easy, well, easier. No added pain and suffering compounded over time.” She gulped hard. “We’re crossing boundaries.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.