Read Online A Reunion And A Ring (Proposals & Promises Book 1) by Gina Wilkins - Free Book Online
Authors: Gina Wilkins
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Family Life, ozarks, sensual, reunion, cabin, second chances, Officer, Marriage Proposal, Raging Storm, Whose Ring
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stitches.”
Using a square of gauze, she dabbed ointment lightly over the wound. Their heads were so close she felt his warm breath on her cheek.
Did he lift weights these days? When she’d known him before, he’d been slender and athletic, but the muscles in his arms and chest hadn’t been quite as well-defined. He was definitely a man in peak condition despite the injury. And if her fingers lingered for a moment on a taut bicep—well, that could be attributed to incidental contact while she prepared the area for the new bandage.
The shadowed room was silent except for the soft splash of rain on the windows. She was all too aware of the rumpled bed, the masculine clutter of clothes and toiletries, the mounting warmth in the air. She felt a need to fill the quiet, though she would try not to slip into nervous prattling. “You said you had surgery on your shoulder? Did you tear a ligament or something?”
“Something like that.”
The very blandness of his nonreply made her hands go still. In a flash, she was taken back to her childhood, watching her mom patch up the latest injury her dad had acquired in one of his reckless stunts, either on the job or off. Just as it had when she was an anxious child, her stomach knotted painfully.
“You weren’t, um, shot, were you?” she asked, voicing the worst nightmare that had haunted her when Gavin announced his determination to don a badge.
“I wasn’t shot.”
And that was all he was going to tell her. He couldn’t have made it clear er if he’d said it outright.
Taking the less-than-subtle hint, she bit her lip and finished applying the bandage without speaking again. She smoothed tape over the clean gauze, taking her time to make sure the edges were well sealed. Her hand still resting on his shoulder, she glanced at his face to make sure she wasn’t hurting him, only to find him looking gravely back at her. For a fleeting moment, she saw in his eyes a hint of the Gavin she’d once known—younger, more open, less hardened by his job and experiences.
Her breath caught hard in her throat as more memories crashed through her mind in a kaleidoscope of broken images. Hungry kisses. Heated caresses. Nights of passion more overwhelming than anything she’d experienced before. Or since, for that matter. Which was totally understandable, right? Wasn’t it supposed to be that way when a woman’s thoughts drifted back to her first love?
The shadows seemed to deepen in the room around them, enclosing them in a cozy corner of soft light spilling in through the single window. Her gaze lowered slowly, pausing on his mouth. His lips looked so stern and firm, yet she remembered them as warm and eager. If she allowed herself, she suspected she could still recall their taste. It was probably—definitely—best if she kept that memory locked away along with all the others.
His voice was rough when he broke the silence. “That should do it.”
“What? Oh.” Realizing he referred to the bandage, she dropped her hand and stepped quickly back. “Yes, that should hold.”
“Jenny ... ”
A heavy pounding on the front door made them both start and turn in that direction. Jenny heard someone shouting, a muffled male voice calling Gavin’s name. They hadn’t locked the front door. She heard it open, heard the voice more clearly. “Gavin? Hey, buddy, you in here? You okay?”
“Rob.” Shaking his head, Gavin pushed himself to his feet and called out, “I’m here. Hang on.”
Snatching up a dry T-shirt, he moved toward the bedroom door without looking back at Jenny. She followed quickly. It occurred to her that if someone had made it up the road to the cabin, that meant she could now drive down. It was probably only because she was so tired that she wasn’t more excited by that realization.
* * *
Rob Lopez peered around the cabin door, squinting into the shadows as he called out again. “Hey, Gav? Are you— O h, there you are.”
Pulling the T-shirt over his
Using a square of gauze, she dabbed ointment lightly over the wound. Their heads were so close she felt his warm breath on her cheek.
Did he lift weights these days? When she’d known him before, he’d been slender and athletic, but the muscles in his arms and chest hadn’t been quite as well-defined. He was definitely a man in peak condition despite the injury. And if her fingers lingered for a moment on a taut bicep—well, that could be attributed to incidental contact while she prepared the area for the new bandage.
The shadowed room was silent except for the soft splash of rain on the windows. She was all too aware of the rumpled bed, the masculine clutter of clothes and toiletries, the mounting warmth in the air. She felt a need to fill the quiet, though she would try not to slip into nervous prattling. “You said you had surgery on your shoulder? Did you tear a ligament or something?”
“Something like that.”
The very blandness of his nonreply made her hands go still. In a flash, she was taken back to her childhood, watching her mom patch up the latest injury her dad had acquired in one of his reckless stunts, either on the job or off. Just as it had when she was an anxious child, her stomach knotted painfully.
“You weren’t, um, shot, were you?” she asked, voicing the worst nightmare that had haunted her when Gavin announced his determination to don a badge.
“I wasn’t shot.”
And that was all he was going to tell her. He couldn’t have made it clear er if he’d said it outright.
Taking the less-than-subtle hint, she bit her lip and finished applying the bandage without speaking again. She smoothed tape over the clean gauze, taking her time to make sure the edges were well sealed. Her hand still resting on his shoulder, she glanced at his face to make sure she wasn’t hurting him, only to find him looking gravely back at her. For a fleeting moment, she saw in his eyes a hint of the Gavin she’d once known—younger, more open, less hardened by his job and experiences.
Her breath caught hard in her throat as more memories crashed through her mind in a kaleidoscope of broken images. Hungry kisses. Heated caresses. Nights of passion more overwhelming than anything she’d experienced before. Or since, for that matter. Which was totally understandable, right? Wasn’t it supposed to be that way when a woman’s thoughts drifted back to her first love?
The shadows seemed to deepen in the room around them, enclosing them in a cozy corner of soft light spilling in through the single window. Her gaze lowered slowly, pausing on his mouth. His lips looked so stern and firm, yet she remembered them as warm and eager. If she allowed herself, she suspected she could still recall their taste. It was probably—definitely—best if she kept that memory locked away along with all the others.
His voice was rough when he broke the silence. “That should do it.”
“What? Oh.” Realizing he referred to the bandage, she dropped her hand and stepped quickly back. “Yes, that should hold.”
“Jenny ... ”
A heavy pounding on the front door made them both start and turn in that direction. Jenny heard someone shouting, a muffled male voice calling Gavin’s name. They hadn’t locked the front door. She heard it open, heard the voice more clearly. “Gavin? Hey, buddy, you in here? You okay?”
“Rob.” Shaking his head, Gavin pushed himself to his feet and called out, “I’m here. Hang on.”
Snatching up a dry T-shirt, he moved toward the bedroom door without looking back at Jenny. She followed quickly. It occurred to her that if someone had made it up the road to the cabin, that meant she could now drive down. It was probably only because she was so tired that she wasn’t more excited by that realization.
* * *
Rob Lopez peered around the cabin door, squinting into the shadows as he called out again. “Hey, Gav? Are you— O h, there you are.”
Pulling the T-shirt over his
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