An Uncommon Protector by Shelley Shepard Gray

Author:Shelley Shepard Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2017-01-16T05:00:00+00:00

18

THOMAS HAD BEEN AN EXCELLENT HORSEMAN AND A PARTICULARLY good soldier. He’d ridden across half of Tennessee and Kentucky during the war without complaint.

He’d charged into battles, sure the whole time he wouldn’t survive. He’d also been sent on scouting missions, walking through swamps and woods and enemy lines to obtain information. Once he even pretended to be a Yankee lieutenant to procure vital coordinates for Major Kelly.

He’d ridden beside officers without a hint of uneasiness or self-consciousness. Even when he served under Captain Monroe, he felt fairly sure of his abilities. He attacked each task with the intention of doing his best and hoping it would be good enough. That said, he had many faults—that couldn’t be denied.

He was impatient and could be emotional. He was barely literate and shamefully ungentlemanly. He was definitely not a good choice to be any woman’s suitor.

But now, as he accompanied Laurel Tracey across her ranch, Thomas was starting to wonder if he knew himself at all. For the first time in forever, he felt like a weak-kneed greenhorn. He was antsy and uneasy. A sixth sense told him something was about to happen. He just didn’t know what it could be.

Because of that, he kept gazing around their perimeter as though they were on a dangerous mission.

No, he felt as if he were a rattler, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. Or a skittish colt, wary of everything in sight. It was disturbing, and more than a little unsettling . . . until he realized he wasn’t worried about them being ambushed.

No, he was dwelling on the woman beside him. It was she who occupied his mind and kept him on his toes. The problem was, of course, that he was too conscious of Laurel Tracey.

He doubted she could brush a strand of hair away from her face without his notice.

Though his infatuation was his fault, he perversely wanted to put the blame firmly on her shoulders. It was Laurel’s fault he was so smitten. She was too pretty, too kind, too delicate. Too everything.

He was running out of ideas about how to treat her too. When she’d purchased his release, he intended to push aside his attraction to her and simply treat her with the respect she deserved. Keep it as a business arrangement.

But last night everything had changed.

The feel of her hands on his back had ignited a need he’d forgotten he’d ever possessed. Her tenderness and care had washed over his heart the way the warm water had soothed his skin.

And those feelings had encouraged him to think about all the wishes and dreams he buried when his parents and brother died so long ago. Then, just when he had a handle on himself, he had gone and accidentally spied her bedroom. That hadn’t helped matters one bit. He hadn’t been able to get out of there fast enough.

A night of fitful sleep, as all along he assumed she was down the hall from him, had only sent the rest of his body on alert.

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