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Book: My Southern Bride (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 4) by Kathy Carmichael
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Authors: Kathy Carmichael
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was capable.
"I'm telling you, Monty Joe," she said, her words coming out with a hiccup of emotion, "I know you think I can do all this, but I can't. I don't know how to keep all of us alive."
"It'll be okay," he said, then lowered his lips to hers.
Rather than push him away, which in her right mind she would have, she kissed him back. She leaned into him. Pulled him closer. And kissed the worry out of her thoughts.
And it was an incredible kiss.
She kissed him as if it were the last kiss she'd ever share. As if they were the last two people on the planet. As if nothing whatsoever mattered except this kiss shared between them. This kiss with this man who believed in her when even she couldn't.
Monty Joe ran his hands through her hair as he deepened the kiss. Then he broke away and his eyes widened indicating he was shocked by his own action—she could see it, even in the dimness of the room.
She pulled back, too, just as shocked, although her lips still tingled and demanded more kissing.
The moment between them cooled. He gruffly cleared his throat. He kept his hands to himself, and busied those hands readjusting his foot. He glanced at her only once and the air that had crackled between them just seconds ago fizzled out.
His sudden lack of warmth left her perplexed. What just happened and why did he pull back? Had he come to his senses? Remembered who she was? Realize she'd be gone at the first sign of thaw?
This moment shared between them was merely an aberration. A distraction. A way to compartmentalize the fix they were in.
Despite knowing that, she ran a fingertip over the lips he'd just caressed, wanting to store away the memory to think about later. When she had time to do anything other than react.
"Everything will be fine, Lori. Running a ranch means knowing how to stay prepared. We'll make a fire, and if the power doesn't come back on, then we can cook over it like they used to do before houses had electricity." His all-business demeanor had come back in full force.
Nodding, she thought over his suggestions. With his guidance, surely she could perform the necessary tasks.
While he was confident, she fought off embarrassment at the way she'd clung to him. "Why did you kiss me?"
"You needed to calm down."
She shot him a glare.
"It worked didn't it?"
She couldn't argue with that, but she did resent the idea that he was used to calming women by kissing them. Typical he-man cowboy thinking. "You could have come up with some other solution."
"The only other solution I've heard of is—"
He paused and she knew what he meant. A face slap.
"I wouldn't do that to you," he said. A kiss was better. A lot better, if you ask me.
Oh, yeah, it was. His cocky grin grated. She didn't have to admit he was right, either. "Okay, you and I aren't doomed. But what about your goat?"
"Knowing Billy, he never strays too far from his food. Did you try getting out a can of goat grain?"
Until now her brain had been in panic mode. Now it whirled back into operating order. She'd only seen regular goat food. "You never mentioned goat grain ."
"There's some in the food stall. Go to the barn and leave the door ajar. Get some goat grain and shake it. Billy will materialize as if out of thin air."
"You think?"
"Don't worry. Billy will be fine."
Lori nodded. Okay. Stop worrying. The goat won't freeze to death. They wouldn't die. It will all be good. But darn it, she wasn't sure she would ever be fine again. Not after that kiss. Not now that he'd shown her the total trust he had in her.
Chapter 15
Interminable. That's the amount of time Monty Joe had waited, alone in the dark, for Lori to return from the barn.
Far too much time, as far as he was concerned, to brood about kissing the woman.
His arm had fit around her perfectly.
She was soft and firm in all the right places.
And worst of all, she'd tasted like fresh honey.
If he hadn't known her before, and the kind of trouble she was capable of, he'd
"I'm telling you, Monty Joe," she said, her words coming out with a hiccup of emotion, "I know you think I can do all this, but I can't. I don't know how to keep all of us alive."
"It'll be okay," he said, then lowered his lips to hers.
Rather than push him away, which in her right mind she would have, she kissed him back. She leaned into him. Pulled him closer. And kissed the worry out of her thoughts.
And it was an incredible kiss.
She kissed him as if it were the last kiss she'd ever share. As if they were the last two people on the planet. As if nothing whatsoever mattered except this kiss shared between them. This kiss with this man who believed in her when even she couldn't.
Monty Joe ran his hands through her hair as he deepened the kiss. Then he broke away and his eyes widened indicating he was shocked by his own action—she could see it, even in the dimness of the room.
She pulled back, too, just as shocked, although her lips still tingled and demanded more kissing.
The moment between them cooled. He gruffly cleared his throat. He kept his hands to himself, and busied those hands readjusting his foot. He glanced at her only once and the air that had crackled between them just seconds ago fizzled out.
His sudden lack of warmth left her perplexed. What just happened and why did he pull back? Had he come to his senses? Remembered who she was? Realize she'd be gone at the first sign of thaw?
This moment shared between them was merely an aberration. A distraction. A way to compartmentalize the fix they were in.
Despite knowing that, she ran a fingertip over the lips he'd just caressed, wanting to store away the memory to think about later. When she had time to do anything other than react.
"Everything will be fine, Lori. Running a ranch means knowing how to stay prepared. We'll make a fire, and if the power doesn't come back on, then we can cook over it like they used to do before houses had electricity." His all-business demeanor had come back in full force.
Nodding, she thought over his suggestions. With his guidance, surely she could perform the necessary tasks.
While he was confident, she fought off embarrassment at the way she'd clung to him. "Why did you kiss me?"
"You needed to calm down."
She shot him a glare.
"It worked didn't it?"
She couldn't argue with that, but she did resent the idea that he was used to calming women by kissing them. Typical he-man cowboy thinking. "You could have come up with some other solution."
"The only other solution I've heard of is—"
He paused and she knew what he meant. A face slap.
"I wouldn't do that to you," he said. A kiss was better. A lot better, if you ask me.
Oh, yeah, it was. His cocky grin grated. She didn't have to admit he was right, either. "Okay, you and I aren't doomed. But what about your goat?"
"Knowing Billy, he never strays too far from his food. Did you try getting out a can of goat grain?"
Until now her brain had been in panic mode. Now it whirled back into operating order. She'd only seen regular goat food. "You never mentioned goat grain ."
"There's some in the food stall. Go to the barn and leave the door ajar. Get some goat grain and shake it. Billy will materialize as if out of thin air."
"You think?"
"Don't worry. Billy will be fine."
Lori nodded. Okay. Stop worrying. The goat won't freeze to death. They wouldn't die. It will all be good. But darn it, she wasn't sure she would ever be fine again. Not after that kiss. Not now that he'd shown her the total trust he had in her.
Chapter 15
Interminable. That's the amount of time Monty Joe had waited, alone in the dark, for Lori to return from the barn.
Far too much time, as far as he was concerned, to brood about kissing the woman.
His arm had fit around her perfectly.
She was soft and firm in all the right places.
And worst of all, she'd tasted like fresh honey.
If he hadn't known her before, and the kind of trouble she was capable of, he'd
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