Read Online Love and War: The Coltrane Saga, Book 1 by Patricia Hagan - Free Book Online

on his way. “I’ll be the envy of every man at the party.”
    She felt suddenly warm, but then heard the echo of her mother’s predictions about the Collins family’s reaction to what had happened in town, and said, “Nathan, did your parents have anything to say about your taking me to the party after they heard about the shooting?”
    She saw a muscle tighten in his jaw, and a shadow passed across his eyes momentarily. His smile, she thought, was forced. “We talked about it, Kitty, and for a while, I have to be honest with you, they were upset. But then I told them about my conversation with someone who witnessed the whole thing, and their attitude changed. We all regret that it happened, and Daddy had a lot to say to Luke about it.”
    “I’m going to feel that everybody is whispering about me,” she said dejectedly, the happy glow she’d felt suddenly disappearing. “I wish it hadn’t happened, but Luke brought it on, and I did what I had to do.”
    “I’m sure of that,” he assured her. “Everyone is tense these days. People say things in the heat of the moment, then regret it later. Don’t you worry about anything—just have a good time, and let me show you off to everyone.”
    In her usually blunt way, Kitty asked, “Is Nancy going to be there?”
    “I’m afraid so,” he said, remembering the scene with his mother. “She’s my second cousin, you know, and the whole family is gathering to honor Mr. Edwards. But don’t you worry about Nancy. That relationship has been forced upon me by my mother, and I’m not going to be pushed into anything. I think everyone knows that by now. I’ve got my eyes on you, Kitty, and don’t forget it.”
    He leaned closer, cupping her face in his hand as his lips touched hers. Kitty’s partially exposed breasts were pushed against his ruffled shirt, and she felt his body shuddering as he pulled away and said gruffly, “I’ve got to control myself better than that, or I’ll make a fool out of myself.”
    For a moment, she didn’t know what he meant, but then it dawned on her, and, without thinking of what she was doing, her eyes went to his tight fawn trousers. “Oh,” she gasped, instantly embarrassed that she had looked, turning her face away.
    “It’s all right, Kitty,” Nathan laughed, drawing her close to him once again. “I’m only human, you know, and that dress you’re wearing is enough to make any man wild with desire.”
    She chewed her lower lip nervously, not knowing what to say. He turned her face with his fingertips, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t be embarrassed. You want me, too, don’t you? I can feel it, Kitty, and I think we’ve both felt it for a long time but neither of us did anything about it.”
    “I would never…” she gasped, and he quickly interrupted, “I know you wouldn’t, and I would never ask you to, but I am going to ask you to marry me, Kitty, and soon. I love you, you know…”
    No, she hadn’t known, and as his lips came down on hers once again, her hand slipped behind his head to pull him even closer. He was the one man she could love, and maybe she already loved him. Her heart was pounding furiously, alive and happy with the emotions of joy surging through her.
    When he did ask, she wondered wildly, what would her answer be? The talk of war—it made everything erratic in people’s lives now. But surely, there would be a way for the two of them to share a love.
    The carriage hit a bump in the road, and they sprang apart. “We’re almost there,” Nathan said, pulling away to straighten his coat and fluff out the ruffles of his linen shirt. Kitty pushed at her hair, piled high in curls on top of her head and trailing down her back onto bare shoulders. She knew it wasn’t necessary to pinch her cheeks to make them rosy. Her insides were on fire, and she could feel the flame that crept into her face.
    The house came into view. Beautiful. The perfect symmetry of tall white columns, wide verandas.