The Cowboy's Valentine Bride by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Gray clouds scudded across the pale sky as Kaitlyn put her foot into the stirrup and swung into Mary Kay’s saddle. She’d been doing her best to keep her distance, watching Brody ride from the fence and keeping her visits short. It wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped, and it wasn’t getting easier, either. Today, he’d decided to take a longer ride, and watching by the fence hadn’t been an option. Brody was already mounted and waiting for her.

“Glad you decided to come,” he said with a small smile.

“Not like I had a choice when you pointed west and said, ‘Going that way. Send someone if I don’t come back by sundown.’”

Brody chuckled and nudged Champ forward. “I’ve had enough of these canters around the field. I need to ride.”

He’d had enough of careful perimeters, it seemed, and in a deep part of her, so had she. She was tired of being the responsible one, holding herself back, staying away. She wished she could just give in for a change and live to regret some poor decisions later. While it wasn’t part of her nature to just let go like that, this ride was a welcome change of pace for them.

“How much pain are you in?” she asked.

Brody shot her a bland look. “Some.”

“Scale of one to ten?” she prodded. He knew what she wanted to know, and his level of pain mattered. Pain in the body was a warning sign. Sometimes you had to push past it, but that was best done with physical therapy, not a hard ride into the country.

“I’m not telling you.” Wry humor glinted in his eye. “You’ll be happier that way. Trust me.”

“You do realize that I can’t pick you up or carry you back,” she said drily.

Brody turned toward her, his dark eyes fastened on her face with a strangely tender look. “Kate, you don’t have to carry me anywhere.”

Brody kicked his horse into motion then recoiled. Kaitlyn wished she couldn’t decipher all these hints about his discomfort. He was right—it would be easier not to know, especially since he wouldn’t listen to her anyway. Brody was scanning the field ahead of them—tension in his shoulders. He was pushing himself past a different kind of pain threshold for this, too. He was riding like he had a gun trained on his back, his head constantly pivoting as he scanned the land ahead of them.

She heeled Mary Kay forward and caught up with Brody as they trotted out into the field. The horses snorted and Champ shook his head—they were eager to get moving. The sun was getting lower in the winter sky, but there was still plenty of daylight left. Kaitlyn drew in a breath that smelled of warm horse and freedom.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Fine.” He glanced at her sideways, but then his gaze slid past her, behind her, around her...

“You’re home,” she reminded him. “No enemy here, Brody.”

His dark gaze snapped back to her face and he let out a slow breath.

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