Read Online High Country Bride by Linda Lael Miller - Free Book Online
Authors: Linda Lael Miller
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knows that my sons want children, the sooner the better.”
“And we all know why,” Concepcion said pointedly, frowning the big man into a semblance of submission. Emmeline might have interjected that she, for one, did not know why Angus McKettrick’s sons were in a hurry to sire progeny, but it hardly seemed prudent to say so.
She was quietly mortified, wishing she could step back in time somehow, to simply vanish from this table and find herself at home in Missouri, rereading library books and stitching still more samplers, giving nary a thought to anything so foolish as dressing up in her aunt’s clothes and pretending to be something she wasn’t, even for a single night.
Instead, she was here, in the Wild West, a wife expected to produce an heir in short order, and no amount of woolgathering would alter the reality of her circumstances by one whit.
An awkward silence descended. Emmeline, her splendid appetite gone, ate what she could, trying to prolong the meal, and put off the inevitable night alone with Rafe for as long as possible. Kade and Jeb cleaned their plates, had second helpings of everything, and then excused themselves, with Angus hastening after them. Concepcion squeezed Emmeline’s hand in an effort to reassure her, but then she, too, made an exit, intent on some project upstairs.
“I guess they mean for us to do up the dishes,” Rafe said, after a long time.
Emmeline wondered just how long such a simple task could be drawn out. She nodded shyly and got up.
“Emmeline,” Rafe said, stopping her midway between the table and the sink.“About today, intown—-”
She didn’t turn around. “I was rather concerned when you weren’t there to meet me,” she said quietly.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him.“What my pa said—about the baby, I mean. I reckon I should explain.”
She waited, looking up at him through her lashes. Her cheeks pulsed with heat, and again she thought of the Texan.
Rafe sighed. “We can’t talk here,” he said. “There’s a moon. Maybe you’d go for a walk with me, down by the creek?”
She’d heard about the fierce beasts that roamed the wilderness, bears and panthers and snakes, to name just a few, and she wasn’t eager to encounter any of them in the dark. On the other hand, she’d be with Rafe, her husband. Surely she could count on his protection. “All right,” she said, but cautiously. If he tried to put his hands on her before she was ready to be touched, she’d make him sorry. Something else she had learned from Becky.
He brought her Concepcion’s cloak to wear over the wrapper and the nightgown, slipped a pistol into his holster, and opened the back door for her.
She stepped through ahead of him, surprised to see how brightly the landscape was illuminated, keenly aware of Rafe’s close proximity.
Outside, he walked a little apart from her, through the tall, star-silvered grass, and she wished he’d take her hand, like one of the men in her romantic fantasies would have done.
She looked around. Did rattlesnakes come out at night?
The stream made burbling music just ahead, and something skittered through the grass, causing Emmeline to give a small, involuntary cry of alarm. Rafe chuckled, and reached for her hand at last.
“Just a mouse or something,” he said.
She raised her chin.“I’m not afraid.”
“I don’t imagine you would be scared of a whole lot,” he replied. “It took some grit, coming all this way by yourself, not knowing what would be waiting for you.”
Emmeline was flattered, whether he’d meant the remark to be a compliment or not, and she even reflected that, in time, she might come to like this husband of hers, perhaps even love him.
They reached the creek, and Rafe led her to a fallen log, where they sat, side by side, a foot of space between them. He’d released her hand, and now he gazed at the water.
She took that opportunity to study his profile. He was a handsome man, in a
“And we all know why,” Concepcion said pointedly, frowning the big man into a semblance of submission. Emmeline might have interjected that she, for one, did not know why Angus McKettrick’s sons were in a hurry to sire progeny, but it hardly seemed prudent to say so.
She was quietly mortified, wishing she could step back in time somehow, to simply vanish from this table and find herself at home in Missouri, rereading library books and stitching still more samplers, giving nary a thought to anything so foolish as dressing up in her aunt’s clothes and pretending to be something she wasn’t, even for a single night.
Instead, she was here, in the Wild West, a wife expected to produce an heir in short order, and no amount of woolgathering would alter the reality of her circumstances by one whit.
An awkward silence descended. Emmeline, her splendid appetite gone, ate what she could, trying to prolong the meal, and put off the inevitable night alone with Rafe for as long as possible. Kade and Jeb cleaned their plates, had second helpings of everything, and then excused themselves, with Angus hastening after them. Concepcion squeezed Emmeline’s hand in an effort to reassure her, but then she, too, made an exit, intent on some project upstairs.
“I guess they mean for us to do up the dishes,” Rafe said, after a long time.
Emmeline wondered just how long such a simple task could be drawn out. She nodded shyly and got up.
“Emmeline,” Rafe said, stopping her midway between the table and the sink.“About today, intown—-”
She didn’t turn around. “I was rather concerned when you weren’t there to meet me,” she said quietly.
He laid a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him.“What my pa said—about the baby, I mean. I reckon I should explain.”
She waited, looking up at him through her lashes. Her cheeks pulsed with heat, and again she thought of the Texan.
Rafe sighed. “We can’t talk here,” he said. “There’s a moon. Maybe you’d go for a walk with me, down by the creek?”
She’d heard about the fierce beasts that roamed the wilderness, bears and panthers and snakes, to name just a few, and she wasn’t eager to encounter any of them in the dark. On the other hand, she’d be with Rafe, her husband. Surely she could count on his protection. “All right,” she said, but cautiously. If he tried to put his hands on her before she was ready to be touched, she’d make him sorry. Something else she had learned from Becky.
He brought her Concepcion’s cloak to wear over the wrapper and the nightgown, slipped a pistol into his holster, and opened the back door for her.
She stepped through ahead of him, surprised to see how brightly the landscape was illuminated, keenly aware of Rafe’s close proximity.
Outside, he walked a little apart from her, through the tall, star-silvered grass, and she wished he’d take her hand, like one of the men in her romantic fantasies would have done.
She looked around. Did rattlesnakes come out at night?
The stream made burbling music just ahead, and something skittered through the grass, causing Emmeline to give a small, involuntary cry of alarm. Rafe chuckled, and reached for her hand at last.
“Just a mouse or something,” he said.
She raised her chin.“I’m not afraid.”
“I don’t imagine you would be scared of a whole lot,” he replied. “It took some grit, coming all this way by yourself, not knowing what would be waiting for you.”
Emmeline was flattered, whether he’d meant the remark to be a compliment or not, and she even reflected that, in time, she might come to like this husband of hers, perhaps even love him.
They reached the creek, and Rafe led her to a fallen log, where they sat, side by side, a foot of space between them. He’d released her hand, and now he gazed at the water.
She took that opportunity to study his profile. He was a handsome man, in a
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