The Rancher And The Runaway Bride: Part 3 by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-04-04T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Randi stood at the bedroom window and stared at the beautiful grounds that, in a few short months, would soon be covered with snow. The irony of her situation would have been amusing if it hadn’t hurt so much. Just three months ago she’d been in the Squaw Creek Lodge ready to be married. Last night she’d stayed in one of the rental condos. Once again being in Squaw Creek Lodge was about to turn her life upside down. Only this time she wasn’t the one leaving. This time she was the one being left.

She sipped coffee from a mug and listened to the silence. He hadn’t said a word…yet. He didn’t have to. She knew him now, understood his moods, his thoughts. She’d seen the world through his eyes. There were disadvantages to loving a noble man.

They’d spent last night as they’d spent the night before. Making love. He’d taken her in his arms and together they’d experienced perfect joy. If he’d been anyone else, she would have assumed that was enough. But he wasn’t anyone else, he was Brady Jones. The kind of man who always did the right thing.

“Why do you leave me?” she asked, her voice soft and shaking slightly.

She heard muffled footsteps on the thick carpet, then felt the pressure of his hands on her shoulders. They both wore the luxurious robes provided by the lodge. Even through the thick, expensive terry cloth, his touch warmed her. Once he was gone she would never be warm again.

“I don’t want to,” he said.

“Then, don’t. Stay with me, or ask me to stay with you.”

There! She’d said it. Put it out on the table, so to speak.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

He tried to turn her toward him, but she resisted. Her eyes burned and she didn’t want him to watch her cry. Not when they might be seeing each other for the last time. She stared out at the view, trying not to notice when the trees blurred and blended with the sloping grounds.

“I was wrong to judge you,” he said. “You made the best of a bad situation and I admire that. You’re a hell of a woman, Randi. Tough, gutsy, beautiful.”

She sniffed. He was lying about the beautiful part, but right now she didn’t care. She set her coffee mug on the window sill. “Then, don’t go.”

Or ask me to come back with you. But she’d already offered a broad hint that she would accompany him if requested. She wasn’t going to beat that point to death. If he wanted her there, he would tell her. Obviously he didn’t.

“You have a life here,” he continued. “Family, friends. Grand Springs is a pretty nice little place.”

“Paradise,” she murmured, blinking away the rest of the tears.

He sighed, then moved closer and rested his chin on her head. “You were right about me. I’ve been holding back part of myself from my friends. I’ve been making it easier for myself because I didn’t want to get burned. Selfishly, I’m glad, because now I can let you go.

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