The Rancher Who Took Her In (The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake) by Teresa Southwick

Author:Teresa Southwick [Southwick, Teresa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Cabot woke before dawn as usual, but having a soft, curvy, warm woman in his arms was definitely a different way to start out the day. And it was a little unsettling because of how easy it would be to get used to waking up like this with Kate every morning. For a short time in his life he’d had that. Then everything had changed.

The thought of going to hell after he died didn’t bother him much since he’d spent quite a bit of time there while still on this earth. Putting himself in a situation where it could happen to him again wasn’t especially appealing. Although that wouldn’t be an issue because Kate’s mornings on the ranch were limited to the end of summer.

He tried to move without waking her, but she stirred, then opened her eyes. He saw uncertainty at first. Then it cleared and the realization of where she was along with apparent memories of what they’d done last night made her full lips curve into a smile. His expectation had been that she would regret going to bed with him. He didn’t know whether or not to be relieved that she didn’t.

“Good morning.” He raised up on his elbow.

“Yes, it is.” She had the look of a thoroughly satisfied woman.

But he still had to ask. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why?”

“I just get the feeling you don’t do that sort of thing, so I wanted to check.”

“You were wondering if I’d hate myself in the morning?”

“Well...” He shrugged. “Yes.”

“I don’t.”

“To put a finer point on it...do you hate me?”

“Of course not.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I’m a consenting adult and I definitely consented to what we did.”

Willing participant was more correct, he thought. “Okay.”

“You don’t look convinced. Are you thinking this is a rebound move for me?”

“Actually, that hadn’t crossed my mind.” Mostly because in the heat of the moment he’d lost his mind, what with blood flow diverted to points south of his belt. But he should have considered that. “Now that you mention it, is that what happened?”

Without hesitation she emphatically said, “No. And I’ll tell you why I know that.”

“I’m listening.” For some reason he really wanted to be convinced that she was telling the truth.

“I had nothing to rebound from.” She raised up on one elbow, and when the sheet slipped, she pulled it back up to cover her bare breasts.

“Oh?” Cabot forced himself to look into her eyes, even though every ounce of testosterone in his body was coaxing him to look lower.

“I wasn’t in love with him.”

He remembered her shell-shocked expression in the diner while still wearing the wrinkled wedding gown. The dress she’d put on to get married just a few weeks ago. “How can you be so sure?”

“I know myself, Cabot. There were doubts that I ignored or was too crazy busy to deal with. Once I tried to discuss it with him, but he blew me off and said it was just wedding jitters.

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