The Cowboy's One Night Bride by London Lolita

Author:London, Lolita [London, Lolita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-11-15T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“Catch me if you can, old man!”

Gianna called back over her shoulder, laughing as her windswept hair flew over her face. Leaning forward, she urged her horse on as she dug her ankles into the animal’s side. “Come on, Jenny,” she whispered to her piebald filly. “Let’s lose ’ em!”

Whinnying, Jenny tossed her head as she picked up the pace. Gianna whooped as she left Anthony’s disgruntled calls trailing behind her. They gracefully flew over the prairie and as always, Gianna felt the exhilaration build up in her as she gazed upon the open sky. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a red glow on the horizon. As they neared the stream, Gianna pulled on the reins, slowing the horse to a trot.

“Whoa, girl,” she murmured as the horse came to a stop. She lightly leapt off the saddle and passed Jenny a lump of sugar. The filly nuzzled against her as she gobbled it up. Gianna stroked the gentle horse and planted a light kiss on her snout.

Scanning the horizon, she saw the silhouette of Anthony and his horse in the distance and grinned. “We showed them, slowpokes!” she called triumphantly to Jenny.

Lying down on the soft grass next to the water, Gianna allowed her mind to wander. It had been a wonderful month thus far. Even though the night of the honey waxing still made her blush when she thought about it, there had been a little shift in their relationship since then. While Anthony still had the tendency to be bossy, his actions were always softened with genuine concern or gentle teasing.

He had shown her around the town and introduced her to the smiling folk, who all seemed genuinely happy to meet her. Gianna smiled as she ran through their names in her head. Charlie and Thomas were brothers who ran the General Store and Trading Post together. Both were jolly and friendly and always threw in a little something extra when she did her shopping there. Roger Forbes, the current sheriff, was suave and polite and seemed to hold Anthony in high regard. She found out later from her husband that he had been his deputy and still went to the older man for advice. Then, there was Polly at the tailors, Scott at the bank … and Lily at the saloon.

Gianna pursed her lips as she thought about the fiasco regarding the saloon. Lily had been perfectly nice, and being Gianna’s senior by two years, she had often invited Gianna down for a round or two. “We oughta introduce you to the young’ns,” she had drawled in her mellow accent. However, when Anthony found out about this invitation, he had frowned and expressly forbade her to spend too much time there.

“The saloon is a complicated place,” he had insisted. “You can always invite your friends over to the hotel bar instead.”

No amount of pouting or teasing was enough; Anthony simply refused to budge. Gianna had refused to talk to him for the rest of the day and sulked in the bedroom instead.

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