Read Online Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer - Free Book Online

straightened.
    Travis gripped the back of the chair nearest Meredith, his hands massaging the wood as if he wasn’t sure what else to do with them. An odd gesture for a man who wore authority like a well-broken-in hat. The hint of vulnerability in his movements now made Meredith’s pulse skip.
    â€œStay in the house,” he said. “You’ll be safe.” His eyes finally met hers. “If anything should happen to me, the boys have orders to see to your protection, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
    She lowered her lashes and peered back up at Travis. “Be careful.”
    He cleared his throat and looked away. “I will,” he mumbled, then collected his coat from its hook and shoved his arms through the sleeves. “Oh, and, Meredith . . .”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œThanks.”
    As Travis strode out of the room, Meredith smiled. Whatever the night held, the trip to the Archer ranch was definitely worth it.

    Each of the brothers set out on horseback to their assigned positions, needing the cover of the woods to conceal their presence. They had considered hiding out in the barn, but that would have given them only two vantage points instead of four. If Mitchell’s men came in from the east or west, they’d be nearly impossible to spot. Out among the trees, he and his brothers stood a better chance at stopping the attackers before they drew close enough to the barn to toss a torch.
    Besides, he wanted to keep an eye on the house, as well. And Meredith. He still couldn’t believe she had come out to warn him. A pretty woman like that should have better things to do with her time than brave the den of a bunch of mangy men who’d lost touch with civilization years ago.
    But she’d come. Because she felt beholden to him. Travis shook his head as he dismounted and pulled his rifle free of its scabbard. He’d noticed the woman favored her right leg, an injury he was no doubt responsible for, but instead of laying blame, she went out of her way to help him. Not your average female.
    Not that he had much experience with females. He’d quit school after the eighth grade to run the ranch with his father, and a few years later he was raising his siblings on his own. Outside of a couple church socials he’d attended when he was fourteen, he had no experience with the fairer sex. That didn’t mean he was too ignorant to recognize the effect of one, though.
    Travis rubbed the stubble on his chin and frowned, wondering for the first time what kind of impression he’d made on her. She probably thought him half wild, pointing guns at innocent women and snapping out orders like a general. Yet when he and the boys had dragged in after clearing out the barn and found Meredith in a spotless kitchen, pouring hot coffee with a welcoming smile, his gut had tightened with longing. And he wasn’t the only one suffering such a reaction. Crockett and Jim had felt it, too. He could tell by the strange tension radiating from them. Even Neill’s youth had not kept him immune.
    As Travis stared out into the darkness, watching for any movement that didn’t belong, questions churned in his mind, distracting him. Would his reaction have been the same for any woman standing in his kitchen looking homey and inviting, or was it something specific about Meredith that kindled his appreciation and protective instincts?
    Travis crossed his arms and leaned his shoulder against the trunk of a nearby tree. It was a shame she’d be leaving so soon. He would have enjoyed trying to figure that one out.

6
    M eredith’s chin jerked up from its resting place on her chest, and she blinked several times, trying to get her bearings. She stared into the darkness from her seat on the porch rocker but failed to see anything amiss. Rearranging the thick folds of her quilt cocoon, she burrowed into the coverlet and leaned the side of her head against the back