Read Online Mail Order Bride - Westward Secrets: A Clean Cowboy Romance Novel (Montana Mail Order Brides Book 13) by Linda Bridey - Free Book Online
Authors: Linda Bridey
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Yes, one of these days.” He smiled, dropped his hand, and left.
His touch had paralyzed Gina and she didn’t move for several moments until the shock his statement had caused eased its grip. Gina hadn’t been involved with a man since her husband’s passing.
It wasn’t that she’d been looking for a man until around June when she’d started writing Steve, but some male appreciation would have been nice, she supposed. But none had seemed interested in her. Yet here was a man she barely knew who had just informed her that he was going kiss her.
Gina was secretly amused by his forward behavior and it made her feel good to know that someone found her attractive. She thought about their outing tomorrow in a new light and lamented that she didn’t have anything very pretty to wear. She wondered if Lacey might have something that would fit her and hurried off to find out.
Chapter Six
The nightmare came again and Rick bolted up in bed, covered in sweat. His breathing was ragged and every sense was on alert. Pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes, he sought to block out the images and sounds that swirled around in his mind. A half-sob escaped from him and he tried to choke back the tears that were imminent. He tried to conjure up comforting images to use in calming himself.
It’s just a dream. It can’t hurt you. Those times are over. No one is going to hurt you like that again. Rick took several deep breaths and got out of bed. He didn’t drink except on nights like this. Going out to the other room, he got out the bottle of vodka he kept in a cupboard and attempted to pour it into a glass. His hand shook too badly so he sat the bottle down and willed his nerves to settle.
He knew what he needed. He went onto his back porch, which he had enclosed. This was where he housed his ferrets. He made kissing noises and the whole bunch came out of the little house he’d built for them. Rick picked up Mille, an albino ferret, and she nuzzled him. He smiled and started to feel better immediately.
In a while, he gave the critters some food and left them to their midnight snack. After pouring a generous amount of vodka into a glass, he put the bottle back and drank the vodka rapidly. The burning along his digestive tract was horrendous but it gave him something else to concentrate on besides the nightmare.
As the fiery sensation in his stomach subsided, Rick walked back to his bed and lay down again to wait for the vodka to take effect. In the meantime, he closed his eyes and used the meditation techniques he’d learned in China to help chase away the unwanted images. He concentrated on something pleasant and the image of Gina’s face rose in his mind.
He saw her beautiful eyes and the dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. With her rich, brown hair that hung in thick waves over her shoulders and her sweetly curving body, Gina was very beautiful. Her laugh was a little throaty as was her speaking voice. Rick found it very pleasant and planned on making her laugh a lot just so he could hear it.
He’d meant what he said about kissing her. When he’d been leaving Joe’s house, he’d barely resisted doing it right then. Her skin had been soft and smooth under his fingers and Rick just knew that her lips would be just as soft. Thinking about her brought Rick a certain amount of peace and when the vodka started to act, he was able to sleep the rest of the night without the nightmare intruding again.
At breakfast the next day, Joe teased Gina about her ‘date’ with Rick once the kids had run off to the playroom. He didn’t know what they would think of such a thing, especially Chloe, and
His touch had paralyzed Gina and she didn’t move for several moments until the shock his statement had caused eased its grip. Gina hadn’t been involved with a man since her husband’s passing.
It wasn’t that she’d been looking for a man until around June when she’d started writing Steve, but some male appreciation would have been nice, she supposed. But none had seemed interested in her. Yet here was a man she barely knew who had just informed her that he was going kiss her.
Gina was secretly amused by his forward behavior and it made her feel good to know that someone found her attractive. She thought about their outing tomorrow in a new light and lamented that she didn’t have anything very pretty to wear. She wondered if Lacey might have something that would fit her and hurried off to find out.
Chapter Six
The nightmare came again and Rick bolted up in bed, covered in sweat. His breathing was ragged and every sense was on alert. Pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes, he sought to block out the images and sounds that swirled around in his mind. A half-sob escaped from him and he tried to choke back the tears that were imminent. He tried to conjure up comforting images to use in calming himself.
It’s just a dream. It can’t hurt you. Those times are over. No one is going to hurt you like that again. Rick took several deep breaths and got out of bed. He didn’t drink except on nights like this. Going out to the other room, he got out the bottle of vodka he kept in a cupboard and attempted to pour it into a glass. His hand shook too badly so he sat the bottle down and willed his nerves to settle.
He knew what he needed. He went onto his back porch, which he had enclosed. This was where he housed his ferrets. He made kissing noises and the whole bunch came out of the little house he’d built for them. Rick picked up Mille, an albino ferret, and she nuzzled him. He smiled and started to feel better immediately.
In a while, he gave the critters some food and left them to their midnight snack. After pouring a generous amount of vodka into a glass, he put the bottle back and drank the vodka rapidly. The burning along his digestive tract was horrendous but it gave him something else to concentrate on besides the nightmare.
As the fiery sensation in his stomach subsided, Rick walked back to his bed and lay down again to wait for the vodka to take effect. In the meantime, he closed his eyes and used the meditation techniques he’d learned in China to help chase away the unwanted images. He concentrated on something pleasant and the image of Gina’s face rose in his mind.
He saw her beautiful eyes and the dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. With her rich, brown hair that hung in thick waves over her shoulders and her sweetly curving body, Gina was very beautiful. Her laugh was a little throaty as was her speaking voice. Rick found it very pleasant and planned on making her laugh a lot just so he could hear it.
He’d meant what he said about kissing her. When he’d been leaving Joe’s house, he’d barely resisted doing it right then. Her skin had been soft and smooth under his fingers and Rick just knew that her lips would be just as soft. Thinking about her brought Rick a certain amount of peace and when the vodka started to act, he was able to sleep the rest of the night without the nightmare intruding again.
At breakfast the next day, Joe teased Gina about her ‘date’ with Rick once the kids had run off to the playroom. He didn’t know what they would think of such a thing, especially Chloe, and
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