The Drifter by Lisa Plumley

Author:Lisa Plumley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The following morning, Julia suggested that she and Mr. Corley take their lessons outside, to the Avalanche Municipal Park where they’d met. The late-spring weather was balmy and the air was crisp with the scents of pine and newly grown grass, and although she presented the outing as an opportunity to practice reading in a more challenging setting, the truth was simpler.

She did not trust herself to be alone with Graham. Not in the shed-turned-schoolroom behind the Emporium. Not since their kiss. And not since she’d discovered her feelings for him.

Oblivious to all that, the bounty hunter had agreed. And so they found themselves seated on a bench beneath a spreading cottonwood tree, Julia with a stack of paper propped on her knees…Graham with a McGuffey reader spread in his hands. She sat properly, taking up as little space on the bench as possible. He sprawled comfortably, his brawny body sideways with his feet just a few inches from her green-flowered skirts.

He read aloud, most words coming easily to him now. The sound of his voice soothed Julia into a state of dreamy contemplation, and she let her mind—and pencil—wander as Graham continued in his practice.

When he faltered, she glanced up, and found Graham frowning fiercely at the printed pages before him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You look as though you’d tear the meanings from those words forcibly, and crush them if they didn’t cooperate.”

“McGuffey is as goody-goody as a preacher, and twice as long-winded,” he grumbled, staring down at the pages in his hands. “This story about the little boy and the turtle—”

“Illustrates some very important virtues,” Julia told him. “Honesty, industry, courtesy and obedience are—”

“Boring. I’ve had enough.” With an air of finality, Graham closed the book. “What are you writing?”

Obviously seeking a more interesting entertainment, he leaned nearer and peered at the pages on her lap. Julia looked down, too, and was appalled at what she saw.

“Mrs. Julia Cor—” Graham read, squinting at the ornate loops of her handwriting. “Corley? Mrs. Corley?”

She slapped her hands over the careless doodles she’d made.

The bounty hunter grinned. “Indulging in flights of fancy today?”

“Of course not.” Her face heated. Sitting up straighter, Julia endeavored to seem more composed than she felt. What had possessed her to script row upon row of variations on Mrs. Graham Corley, Julia Corley, Mrs. Julia Corley, Mr. and Mrs. Graham Corley…? “These are ah, um, a series of examples—for my latest etiquette book.”

He looked skeptical. “Examples?”

“Indeed. Examples of proper address. For calling cards, greeting cards and other personal correspondence.” My, that was close. “It’s a subject of enduring interest to my readers.”

His smile dared her to elaborate on her lie.

Julia saw no choice but to do so. The alternative—admitting that she’d been daydreaming, filled with hopes of making their upcoming engagement real—was unthinkable.

“In fact,” she went on, “that’s one of the reasons I’m writing a fourth book at all. The editor at Beadle’s suggested it.”

“What will it be called?” Graham folded his hands across his middle,

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.