Read Online Bound For Eden by Tess Lesue - Free Book Online Page B

impress her. Why couldn’t he ever take no for an answer?
    He’d hover over her all night, until she gave in and danced one dance with him. And then he always held her too close and trod on her feet. More often than not the evening would end with him proposing to her – again – and getting red-faced and angry when she refused him. It got so that Alex stopped attending the dances in Dyson’s barn, just to avoid the unpleasantness of it all.
    â€˜I don’t like chickens,’ Adam said now, ‘they have nasty feet.’
    Alex laughed.
    â€˜I swear you seem a different age every time I see you,’ a voice drawled from behind them, and there he was again, the bane of her existence, the man who’d turned her sister into a spendthrift.
    Luke was staring at her with a calculating look and Alex’s heart stopped.
    â€˜Just how old are you anyway?’
    â€˜Old enough,’ she said shortly.
    He snorted. ‘Yeah? Well, you laugh like a girl.’
    â€˜Alex says I laugh like a donkey,’ Adam told him proudly.
    â€˜I can’t say I’ve ever heard a donkey laugh,’ Luke replied.
    â€˜They sound like this.’ Adam demonstrated.
    Alex caught Luke’s eye and couldn’t help but laugh. She caught herself and tried to turn her giggle into something more masculine, but all she managed to do was choke, and the next thing she knew he was pounding her on the back. And none too gently, either.
    â€˜Where are you two going?’ he asked as he pounded. Alex was sure she was going to have bruises by the time he was done.
    â€˜We’re buying horses,’ Adam said excitedly.
    â€˜Not horses, mules,’ Alex corrected. ‘To pull the wagon.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t get mules if I were you,’ Luke cautioned. ‘They’re more likely to be stolen. Ox is what you need. Cheaper, and useful for farming when you get to Oregon.’
    â€˜And I suppose you know a man who can sell us an ox?’ Alex said dryly.
    â€˜You’ll need at least two.’ He grinned. ‘I can take you there after the auction.’
    â€˜Auction?’
    â€˜I’m off to buy a horse.’
    â€˜A horse?’ Adam’s ears pricked up and before Alex knew what was happening they were front and centre at a horse auction.
    â€˜Slater!’ A fat man with a sparkling white moustache bellowed, crossing the crowd to greet Luke. ‘I sure am glad you made it!’
    â€˜I just happened to be up this way and thought I’d stop by,’ Luke said coolly.
    The fat man guffawed. ‘I just bet you did. I just bet you’re only here for a look-see.’ He took out a cheroot, neatly snipped the end off and lit up. Billows of blue smoke puffed from beneath the pristine moustache. He looked a bit like a steam train, Alex thought.
    Luke smiled implacably at Jackson. The old goat must have invited every horse trader and breeder in the surrounding states to see the stallion. It wasn’t often that such prime horseflesh was available in these parts.
    â€˜I’d hate to see you miss out, after you’ve come all this way,’ Jackson said cheerily. ‘But you know, he’s worth it. Don’t let a few extra dollars put you off; that horse’ll make you your money back, no doubt about it.’
    Luke kept his smile steady. He wasn’t about to let Jackson know how much he wanted the stallion. That horse was going to be the making of him. With Jackson’s stallion he could settle down for good, and win Amelia to boot.
    â€˜What’s so special about this horse?’ Alex asked as they watched Jackson steam away, heading off to whisper into the ear of another hopeful buyer.
    â€˜Wait till you see him. He’s an Arab.’ Luke was stone-faced.
    She realised with a shock that he must be nervous. She looked at him curiously, noting the tightness around his full lips and the way he was cracking his knuckles. As she