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his former fiancé being unhappy.
    “Besides, when I agreed to help your pa, I didn’t even like you.”
    Her hands moved to her hips almost of their own accord and he quickly backpedaled. “I meant-you didn’t like me either, in the beginning. But now, everything’s changed.”
    His eyes pleaded with her and she’d never been able to tell a fib. A corner of her lips lifted.
    Charlie’s eyes lit. “Everything has changed, hasn’t it?”
    She considered him as he advanced, dropping his hat on a peg on the stall door. He took her waist in his hands, leaving her no choice but to move her grip to his shoulders to maintain her balance.
    “I don’t want to get married because Papa demands it,” she told the third button on his shirt, the one right in front of her nose.
    She watched his chest expand beneath the wool of his shirt as he took a deep breath.
    “Well, I don’t want you to go back to Omaha and marry your beau just for those orphans.”
    She gathered all her courage and looked into Charlie’s unsmiling face.
    His throat moved as he swallowed. “What if we got married because we love each other? We can still find a way to take care of your kids back in Omaha.”
    She tilted her head to one side, pretending to consider it. “And it would appease Papa…”
    He gulped again, still more unsure than Opal had ever seen the confident cowboy before. “Even if your pa makes me a partner in the Circle B, I won’t ever make as much money as your beau back in Omaha. And ranch life isn’t always easy.”
    “You trying to talk me out of marrying you, cowboy?”
    He shook his head tightly. “No. I just want you to be sure.”
    Opal laid her palm against his jaw. “I’m sure I love you. When I thought you were going to get yourself killed in that mine shaft with those scoundrels, I couldn’t stand it. I was going to come help you—”
    He cut off anything further she might’ve said with a fierce kiss, staking his claim on her mouth… and her heart. When it was over and she was dizzy enough to need to lay her head on his broad chest, he feathered kisses at her temple.
    “I love you, too, Opal. More than you could ever guess.”
    She smiled against the collar of his shirt.
    “And we’ve got to talk about your ability to follow orders. I told you to stay in the back of that mine shaft for a reason. A wife has to obey her husband…”
    She raised her head enough to see the self-assured grin on his lips before she rose up on her toes and smothered it with a kiss of her own.
    They had a lifetime ahead of them to settle the discussion.
     
    THE END
     
     
     
     

Other books by Lacy Williams
     
    MARRYING MISS MARSHAL
     
    Praise for MARRYING MISS MARSHAL:
     
    "Warmly romantic with a hint of adventure and an unconventional heroine."
    --Publisher's Weekly (June)
     
    "Williams’ debut is a great story with a twist, and it will keep readers riveted."
    --RT Book Reviews (August)