Read Online A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book Online

my agreement with your father—to write to him rather than to you—has added to the distance between us.” He made a rueful expression, giving a slight shake of his head. “I should have shared the past years with you, but your father was convinced the difficulty of establishing my ranch would frighten you. It would seem too harsh a landscape for you. So I yielded to his request to write to him and allowed him to share whatever information he deemed acceptable. In so doing, I alienated you. For that, I am truly sorry.”
    Emmaline knew her father well enough to know Geoffrey spoke the truth. Father had maintained control of everything. “I understand.”
    A quick smile graced his face before he continued in a serious tone. “As for the amount of time that has transpired between my leaving England and now . . .” He sighed, looking to the side for a moment. What was he reliving in those seconds of introspection?
    “My immaturity and inexperience misled me. The task was larger than I expected.” His gaze bored into hers once more. “Years slipped by quickly in the midst of hard work, but I never lost my desire to be your husband. I never stopped loving you, Emmaline.”
    Deep emotion blazed in his hazel eyes. Mesmerized, Emmaline nodded.
    “But you . . . you stopped loving me.”
    For the first time, Emmaline experienced a stab of remorse. Until that moment, her thoughts had centered on herself—her sorrow at leaving England, her fear of this new place, and her resentment over Geoffrey’s broken promises. But now she saw what the years had cost him, and although she fought against it, compassion filled her.
    She searched for a gentle way to make him understand. “The change in my feelings toward you did not come intentionally. When we were growing up, you were always there, an extension of my own family. It was only natural that I would love you, as I loved the others who spent much of their time with me.”
    He ducked his head, his brow furrowed. “Did . . . did you ever really love me . . . as a woman loves a man?”
    Emmaline considered the question. How many nights had she sat in the window seat of her bedroom, peering out at the stars and dreaming of how it would feel to be held in his arms? Many fine young men had crossed her path at school, and her brother had frequently brought home friends, but none of the boys had captured her attention and affection the way Geoffrey had.
    His first year away, she had yearned for him with such fierceness, the desire for food had fled and she had cried herself to sleep at night. She had loved him as wholeheartedly as a moonstruck girl could. She answered honestly, “Yes, Geoffrey, I did love you.”
    His head shot up, eagerness lighting his expression. “Then . . . then it is possible that you could love me again?”
    Did love ebb like a tide, retreating and returning? “I do not know.”
    She read displeasure in the downthrust of his eyebrows. But then he wiped his hand over his face, and the frown vanished. “Would you be willing to try?”
    Emmaline licked her lips. “W-what do you mean?”
    “Will you give me ten months, Emmaline? Ten months to win your love and dedication. If, at the end of that time, you still desire to return to England, I shall book passage and return you to your father’s house myself. I shall take full responsibility for the breach in the relationship, and I shall do all I can to mend any disagreements between you and your family before returning to my ranch.”
    Emmaline stared at him. “Why not just send me back now?” Surely it would be less painful, and much less expensive, to end things now and send her back alone.
    “I have neither the time nor the money to pay for another trip right now. I will not have either until I have butchered and sold the fall lambs. By then it will be winter, and winter is not a good time for traveling.”
    “But I could use the dow—”
    “The dowry money belongs to your father until which time we