Read Online Dashing Druid (Texas Druids) by Lyn Horner - Free Book Online

excused his reaction to her outburst. He could kick himself for losing his temper and insulting her. Her pain had slammed into him like a sledgehammer, leaving him disgusted over his behavior.
    Once she disappeared from sight, he waded into the creek to wash off the mud, thinking how much Lil must despise him now. He never should have touched her. He hadn’t meant to, but when she knelt beside him as he was cleaning off the calf, he’d experienced an instant reaction to her nearness, and he’d known she was feeling it too. And he’d simply lost his head.
    Never had he been so captivated by a woman as he was by this prickly Texas cowgirl, and he was no stranger to the fairer sex. He’d already met several ladies in Clifton who, for a few coins, would satisfy his physical needs. They’d never ask for promises he couldn’t give, but he wanted none of them. He wanted Lil Crawford. She’d bewitched him with her exotic beauty – a legacy from Indian ancestors, he now knew – and the vulnerability hidden within her tough shell. He wanted to pierce that shell and draw out the pain buried deep in her heart.
    She had kissed him back ever so briefly. He clearly recalled the sweet, tentative flutter of her lips under his. Maybe with time she’d forgive him and . . . .
    Aye, and what then, me lad? She wasn’t the kind of woman he could take for a quick tumble. Courtship then? Huh! He had nothing to offer her but a load of guilt and fear. Besides, her parents didn’t want her to have anything to do with him. Would she ever go against their wishes?
    He laughed bitterly. What a fool he was to let such thoughts enter his head. Lil wasn’t for him. He must honor her wishes and stay away from her.
    * * *
    Despite resolving to leave her alone, Tye grew more and more irritated over the next few days as Lil made a point of avoiding him. When they did happen to cross paths, she stalked past without so much as looking at him. The third such instance goaded him into speaking to her.
    The crew had gathered to eat their noon meal. Chic Johnson, an aging cowboy who doubled as camp cook, was busy dishing up food for the line of men. Tye had just left the chuck wagon carrying a tin plate piled with beef, cornbread and beans, when Lil approached to get her plate filled. As usual, she tried to ignore him, but he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop short or run into him. As she frowned at him, he smiled and spoke quietly, for her ears alone.
    “Ah, colleen, ’tis a lovely day now that I’m seeing your fair face. Are ye still angry, or will ye forgive me if I say again how sorry I am?”
    She hesitated, giving him a brief moment of hope. Then he felt her rising tide of anger. Lifting her chin, she threw back her shoulders and gritted, “Stay away from me.” With that, she sidestepped and stomped past him to get her food.
    Exasperated, Tye started after her, but her father blocked his path. “I’m tired of you pestering my daughter, boy,” he challenged, graying brows colliding above his nose and chin jutting forward. “Unless you want trouble you’d best let her be, you hear?”
    Tye locked eyes with him as the camp went silent. Crawford’s open hostility didn’t pierce his mental shield; it only made him mad.
    “I hear ye fine,” he bit out, knowing everyone else heard, too, including Lil. “And I’ll do as ye say so long as Lil wishes it so. But if she should change her mind . . . .” Grinning, he swung on his heel and strode away.
    “You brassy pup! Stay away from her or else!” Crawford bellowed.
    Ignoring him, Tye kept walking until he found a quiet place to sit and eat. He was more angry at himself than at Crawford, because he knew damn well he ought to do as the man said.
    A while later, with the smell of singed cow hair stinging his nostrils, he released a newly branded calf and watched it scamper off. Mopping his sweaty face with his bandanna, he waited while another calf was roped and towed, complaining, over