The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep

Author:Michelle Griep [Griep, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781683227519
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2019-07-17T16:00:00+00:00

Abby jabbed the needle into the fabric of the breeches she was mending, promising herself she’d not look out the window. Not again. She’d already been caught in the act of staring at Captain Thatcher as he brushed his horse. Not that Wenna had said anything—which might’ve been worse. The knowing gleam in the woman’s eyes had unleashed Abby’s imagination to entertain all sorts of accusations and innuendoes. Which was silly, of course. There was nothing between her and the captain, so the woman could have nothing to say on the matter. Truly.

Ignoring the squeeze of her heart, Abby wove the thread in and out, forming a tight seam.

“Ye’re a fine hand with a needle. Ye’d ne’er be in want of employment should ye need to get by on yer own, and that’s a fact.” Wenna winked at her from her chair near the hearth. No fire crackled today, for the late June afternoon was warm enough.

But even so, heat flared in Abby’s belly from the woman’s praise. Of all the years she’d spent sewing in her stepmother’s and sisters’ company, not once could she remember such a kind word—and to this day she prayed to forget all the harsher cuts.

“That seam is as puckery as those little lines by your mouth, Abby.”

“Keep your back straight when you sew. La! You hunch like a decrepit fishwife.”

“Do you see Mary and Jane creasing their brows while they embroider? No man will want you with such wrinkles, girl!”

She straightened in her chair, correcting her posture out of habit, and glanced down at Emma, who yet slept sweetly in her basket. Would that Emma might never bear the same hurtful scars she suffered.

Outside the window, a movement from the corner of her eye snagged her attention. A shadowy figure. Dark and tall. Commanding enough to warrant a second and third look.

Don’t do it. Don’t give in.

But the pull of the man was too strong. Abby turned her face to the glass, making sure to keep her needle moving, and stared out at the fine lines of the captain.

He bent near his horse, shirtsleeves rolled up. The thick muscles on his forearm flexed as he worked to clean something out of his horse’s hoof. His waistcoat stretched across his back, the flesh beneath rippling with his effort. He could conquer the world, this man, were he of a mind to. Did he know it? Or did the latent humility that was so much a part of him keep him unaware of his inherent power?

For a moment, she allowed herself to relive the feel of his arms pulling her close, the heat of his body as he’d shared his horse with her and Emma during the storm. He’d sheltered. He’d protected. He’d been soaked to the skin from wrapping her and Emma in his riding cloak.

“He’s a good man, that one.”

Her thought exactly—but Wenna’s voice.

Abby jerked her gaze back to her sewing, dipping her head slightly so the woman wouldn’t see the flaming of her cheeks.

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