Wed to the Texas Outlaw by Carol Arens

Author:Carol Arens
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Just because Melinda decided to become a protectoress, a woman of derring-do, did not mean that she no longer appreciated the rustle of fine petticoats around her ankles or a touch of lace at her wrists.

There was no reason that a woman could not look her best while shooting a gun.

Climbing down the loft ladder, she spotted the deputy sitting beside the stove.

He thumped his tail. She knelt beside him then kissed him between the ears. He tasted dusty but it didn’t matter, he was a brave, loyal friend.

“How are you feeling?” In answer, he licked her hand. “Rest as long as you want to. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

When she stood, Billbro stood with her, revealing an empty can of meat.

“I see that you’ve already been fed.”

Earlier this morning, before daylight, she had turned over on the bed to find Boone gone, the hollow in the straw where he had lain cool to the touch.

Looking out the loft window, she had seen him carrying a lantern into the tack shed.

Walking past the barn mirror, she gave it a passing glance, spotted a strand of hair that had come loose from the bun at her nape. She tucked it behind her ear then stepped outside.

The sky was beginning to lighten. Clouds on the eastern horizon streaked in pink and orange.

Given the early hour she doubted that Boone had taken the time to eat.

Walking slowly across the yard to keep to the dog’s pace, she wondered if the afternoon would bring rain. She hoped not, she had skills to acquire.

Deputy Billbro lowered his big body gingerly down onto the front porch. She was relieved to see that he was alert, his nose twitching, sifting the scents of the early morning.

Inside the house the fireplace was snapping warm and the kitchen stove already lit.

Stanley sat at the table with a mug cupped in his hands, his head drooping over it. He must have kept watch all night long.

He glanced up when he heard the scrape of the iron skillet that she set on the stove.

“That coffee smells like heaven.”

“Just this side of,” he answered, blinking the sleepiness away. “There’s more.”

She poured a cup and set it on the small table beside the stove to sip while she prepared pancakes for everyone. One could only guess that Mrs. Coulter must be ravenous after what she had been through.

And not just the new mother, she realized. All of them had been through a great deal and would need energy to face what was still to come.

She’d better fry some potatoes, as well.

“I didn’t realize you could cook.”

“Mama could be a hard woman, appearance was everything to her. But she did make sure that we were not mere ornaments. We all learned the womanly skills,” she explained as she poured dollops of pancake batter onto the skillet. “But, Stanley, I’ve come to a revelation having to do with what is womanly.”

“If something happened in private last night, no one need know about it.

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