The Proposal by Lori Wick

Author:Lori Wick
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9780736925297
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2010-11-17T08:00:00+00:00

Marianne was a picture of serenity as she looked out over the valley, but in truth her mind rushed with options. Walking home was out of the question, but waiting for her family to notice she’d been gone too long was not at all comforting. And Jennings was right, the wind was picking up. In less than an hour she would be very cold.

She didn’t know if she was relieved or not when she watched Jennings ride back into view. Her ears had caught the sound of his horse, so she was turned and looking at him when he approached. He left his horse much as he had before, but this time he walked with purpose until he stood directly before her.

“You’re hurt, are you not?” he wasted no time in asking.

“Why would you ask that, Mr Jennings?” Marianne hedged.

With a shake of his head, Jennings dropped to one knee.

“It wasn’t hard to figure. I told you my view on deceit and women who feign injuries.”

Marianne looked away. As if the ankle wasn’t painful enough, she’d now been caught feigning in another way.

Jennings did not touch her but continued to kneel and watch her. Marianne could feel his gaze and knew she would have to admit the truth.

“As a matter of fact, my ankle is rather uncomfortable right now.”

Jennings studied her profile until she looked his way. His gaze a bit stern, he held her eyes for a few seconds.

“Let’s have a look,” he said, his tone so matter-of-fact that Marianne couldn’t object, but neither could she stop the gasp that escaped her when he placed his hand beneath her ankle.

“What did you do?”

“My foot found a hole, and the ankle twisted at an odd angle.”

“I don’t believe it’s broken, but it’s already swelling,” Jennings said quietly, his face bent over her foot as he carefully probed the bone.

Marianne looked at him until he glanced into her eyes. Then she dropped her own.

“Well,” Jennings continued, his voice still congenial. “We’d best get you back. Come along now, put your arm around me, and I’ll lift you onto my horse.”

Marianne saw no hope for it. She placed her arm around his neck as he scooped her up, one arm at her back and another supporting her knees. His hold was gentle yet sure, but Marianne kept her eyes down in embarrassment. She would have kept them down through the entire ordeal, but once Mr Jennings lifted her into his arms, he stood very still, just holding her. Purely out of curiosity, Marianne looked up to find him watching her.

“For future reference, Miss Walker, I don’t believe you capable of any type of deceit.”

Marianne looked away, “How can you say that when I just tried to hide my hurt ankle?”

To her surprise, he laughed. She was so taken by the sound that she was sitting on his horse and on the way home before she realized he hadn’t answered.

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