July's Bride by Gail L Jenner

Author:Gail L Jenner [Jenner, Gail L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prairie Rose Publications
Published: 2015-06-29T04:00:00+00:00

“I—” she said, biting her lip—the lip he’d just been seduced by, “I have never been kissed—like that,” she finished. Her blue eyes were lit like stars in a pale blue sky. “I hope I—you—I—”

He chuckled then, her worried frown as titillating as her mouth. “We are no worse for wear,” he teased.

Her frown deepened. “Mr. Chandler—”

“No,” he interrupted, “no more Mr. Chandler. It’s July.”

She didn’t respond, but seemed to be mulling over his name—or more likely, mulling over the dramatic turn of events. It had taken him equally by surprise, and he realized that it would change everything. It already had.

“We will talk later,” he said, feeling somehow proprietorial over her now. He glanced over his shoulder at Davie. “I suspect we ought not say anything about this?”

She nodded.

“Not until I’ve weighed out the full measure of this likely change in our relationship,” he added lightly.

Amanda stepped back then. “I—I do not know what you are implying, Mr. Chandler,” she quipped. Her eyelids flittered nervously.

He responded quickly, “Certainly nothing wicked or torrid. Far, far from it.” He hesitated, not sure what came next.

Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

▲♥▲

Doctor Ashcraft smiled as he got to his feet. “I’d say the worst is over, July.”

July’s smile was immediate and it filled Amanda with a heady sense of joy. This was good news. Excellent news.

The doc turned to Amanda. “You will have your hands full now,” he suggested. “He’ll need soups—thin soup—and maybe a little gruel? A little at first, tiny spoonfuls even.”

Amanda nodded.

Doc went on. “And I’ve brought laudanum. We don’t know what kind of pain he may be feeling as he wakens, but with cracked ribs, he’ll definitely feel something akin to pain. He may be slightly dazed, but his body will rule his mind.”

Amanda nodded. She’d noted the bandages around Davie’s chest and though she hadn’t been instructed to remove them, she’d checked them over each day to be sure there had been no blood or leakage. “What about his arm?” she asked. She’d noticed that it was black and blue and swollen.

“Not broken. But badly bruised. No doubt he was thrown to his left side, which means he’ll probably not be feeling up to getting around. And that, my dear,” the doctor added with raised brows, “is where you come in. You will need to encourage him daily and help him get back on his feet. July, here, has much to worry about without all this, so I anticipate that you will have to be Davie’s arms and legs for a spell.”

Amanda felt the blush color her cheeks, and once more wondered if the good doctor had been part of the plan to marry her off to July. She nodded. “Of course.” Then she glanced up at July. There was a strange glimmer in his eyes.

Was he pleased because he knew she intended to stay and he’d have less to worry over, or was he pleased because he’d managed—he’d nearly managed to seduce her?

Doc turned back to July, oblivious to the moment that had passed between them.

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