Read Online Tread Softly by Ann Cristy - Free Book Online

grills.
    "That man
is as high-handed as you are," Rafe grumbled, calling Graf to him. Cady
followed Rafe's gaze. The dog had started to cross the lawn not far from where
Bruno Trabold, now in a striped shirt of Rafe's, was talking to Emmett.
"How did you get out here, boy?" Rafe rubbed the silken, pointed
ears, glancing at Cady with a smile. "I remember when you brought him back
with you after one of your stays with your father. He doesn't resemble that
gaunt, frightened puppy anymore."
    "No."
Cady smiled down at the brown velvet dog, whose head cocked as though he could
understand what his beloved people were saying. "If I hadn't been walking
on the beach that day, he would have died out there. He couldn't get a grip on
the ice to pull himself out of that frigid water," she remembered.
    "What?"
Rafe growled, his black brows snapping together, his blue eyes marble hard.
"You never told me you went out on the ice after him. You just said you
found him on the beach."
    "Ah...
well, no, I guess I didn't tell you I had to go out on the ice, but... ah, I
was careful. I got the ladder from the boat house and pushed it in front of me.
Graf was able to clutch the rungs with his paws and pull himself up. He was
smart enough to stay on the ladder, and then I backed it toward me, easing my
way on my stomach until I was on good solid ice."
    Rafe grasped
both her shoulders, numbing them. "Damn you, Cady, you could have died out
there! You know what that lake is like when the ice backs up." He shut his
eyes as though what he was seeing in his mind pained him. "When the ice
melts, then refreezes, and the wind whips the open water onto the ice cap...
God, Cady, it looks like the Alps on water. You know that." His eyes had
darkened to indigo and seemed almost to be shooting sparks at her. "If
you'd fallen in, no one would have seen you. You could have died. Don't ever be
so stupid again."
    The dog whined a question, making both of them look at him
as he nosed between them.
    "Don't
worry, big boy, I wouldn't hurt your lady, but I'd like to paddle her
derriere," Rafe rasped, gazing once more at Cady.
    Cady felt daring. "You aren't strong enough yet, Senator,
so be careful what you say. You might end up being paddled by me," she
challenged, liking the martial light that flickered in his deep blue eyes.
    "Threatening
me, are you, wife?" Rafe crooned, his hand crawling up the inside of her
right arm, his index finger touching her sensitive underarm.
    Cady
had no breath left. She felt her spine melt, her legs give way. It was an
effort to keep her voice from squeaking. "Exactly. I intend to make you
even stronger than you were before the accident, and if you try to spoil my
plans... watch out." She lifted one small fist and shook it in his face.
    "Let's go into the house and wrestle. The best two
falls out of three wins," he drawled, his lips running from her temple to
her jawline.
    "Really,
Cady* you might stop trying to seduce your husband in front of so many
people," Lee Terris shrilled, making Emmett and Bruno laugh as the group
moved toward them.
    "Well,
then hurry up and leave and I'll seduce him in private," Cady simpered,
wanting to take off her high-heeled sandal and hit the other woman with it.
    Rafe
roared at the three astonished faces looking at him. "Be careful, Lee,
she's liable to throw you out of here." Rafe urged his wife forward.
"Everyone seems to have some food. Let's get some for ourselves."
Without another word to his father or the others, Rafe pointed to the table and
smiled at Cady.
    She
was amazed at the way Rafe stayed at her side after eating, how often he
included her in his conversation with other congressmen regarding his work, and
how frequently he asked her opinion, his attention on her when she answered.
She was flabbergasted at how many times he used the expression, "My wife
thinks."
    Still,
they were separated a few times, and once when that happened, Rob Ardmore
arrived at her side.
    "Cady,
I have to congratulate