Gideon's Vow (Harts of the West Book 3) by Samantha Thomas

Author:Samantha Thomas [Thomas, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-02T23:00:00+00:00

8

Gideon still hadn’t spoken to her directly since yesterday. If he was embarrassed or confused by their exchange at the corral yesterday, he wasn’t alone. She was too, but at least she wasn’t avoiding him.

When he carried in the exhausted Andrew—after he’d fallen asleep in the barn next to Luna—and put him to bed, he never stopped to talk to her, other than to say that her brother was ‘all cowboyed out.’ Did he think she was so naïve that she didn’t know what had happened? Madeline may not be experienced in the ways of men, but she wasn’t a fool.

The hungry look in Gideon’s eyes as he held her, had thrilled and terrified her at the same time. When he drew so near that she could smell his scent of heat, leather and something that was uniquely Gideon, her first instinct was to push him away. But as her fingers pressed into the muscled hardness of his chest, she only knew one thing.

She wanted him to kiss her.

Not one of those awkward attempts by the boys or lecherous old men that frequented her father’s parties. No, she wanted to be kissed, thoroughly, by someone of her own choosing, someone who could light her senses on fire with just a look. Someone like Gideon Hart.

But what did Gideon want?

She knew he was dedicated to the memory of his wife. Was the desire she saw in his eyes only of the flesh, or was it something more? Did she dare to dream, or was her wishful thinking causing her to imagine things that were not there?

The fact that he hadn’t said a word to her about what happened, could only lead her to believe he felt guilty about it, that he was somehow betraying his wife’s memory, and that he was ashamed.

It was probably the reason that even with Andrew and Tilly tucked tightly between them now on the church pew, and the service about to begin, that Gideon looked like he wanted to make his escape.

With many heads turned their way, he had taken her elbow as they entered the church, ushering her to their seats, but she wasn’t sure who it was he was trying to reassure. The man looked like he expected lightning to strike.

Since he insisted on sitting silently with a grim look on his face, Madeline decided to take the time to observe the congregation, rather than making any attempt to get Gideon to talk.

The bench they occupied also held Emma and Weston, with Micah and Nora behind them, sitting next to Ben and Rhett. Luke was ahead several pews sitting alongside a frail-looking, white-haired woman. When she asked Gideon who the woman was, he simply muttered ‘Flossie Gilmore’ as if that would be sufficient explanation. She watched the two of them for a moment, fascinated to see the usually unruly Luke attentively listening to the older woman, his features soft, a gentle smile on his face. It was a stark contrast to the wink she witnessed him toss to one of the younger ladies outside before service.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.