Read Online The Men of Pride County: The Rebel by Rosalyn West - Free Book Online Page A

comfortable feel of a reunion.
    Miles Dougherty was a fine man. Everything about the tawny-haired major was solid as stone—his build, his character, his ideals. He was career Army, a volunteer who wished for nothing more than to lead his own command. Her father had been impressed by his unflagging devotion to duty, and Juliet, by his devotion to her.
    He met her at the door with a warm kiss of welcome that grazed her cheek. And when he stepped back, she saw something new in his eyes. Before there had been fondness and friendship. Now there was more. More like confident ownership. Her smile of greeting faded.
    “Hello, Miles. How good to have you back to sit at our table.”
    “Always a pleasure to be invited.”
    He stepped inside, and before she could close the door, Noble Banning slipped across the threshold behind him.
    “Good evening, Miz Crowley.” He leaned closer to croon sotto voce , “I don’t suppose you’d allow me a quick kiss, too.”
    Though her pulse was suddenly thrumming, her reply was cool. “I don’t think so, Major. Were I you, I’d be grateful for the supper.”
    Her tart reply earned a sober response. “Oh, I am, ma’am, truly I am, considering most ofthe meals I’ve sat down to in the past three years weren’t fit for human consumption. This is the first table I’ve seen since ‘61.”
    Unbidden, her tone gentled. “Then I trust you’ll have no complaints.”
    “No, ma’am. I don’t imagine you’d accept them kindly.”
    “No easier than your compliments, sir.”
    He gave a low chuckle, then strode past her to greet her father. “Good evening, sir. I hope you’ve gone to no trouble on our behalf.”
    “No trouble,” Juliet supplied with enough vinegar to earn a quick glance from the colonel. She forced a smile. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I must tend the stove.”
    All three waited at polite attention until she’d left the room. Once in the kitchen, she dished the stew with a vengeance.
    “A quick kiss, indeed. Maybe you can turn the heads of your vacuous Southern girls with such nonsense, but you’ll find me immune to your empty flattery.”
    But for all her angry mutterings, her heart beat faster just considering what a kiss from Noble Banning might be like.
    Perhaps she could blame her limited experience of kissing for her senses being all aquiver. Otherwise, why would such intimacies with a stranger hold an appeal? Her knowledge of kissing, at least mouth to mouth, was based on one brief moment beneath the mistletoe four years ago. She’d been so surprised by Miles’s sudden demonstrationthat she’d had no time to decide whether or not she enjoyed it. A stiff, dry pressure against her alarm-slackened lips—a gesture that hadn’t stirred half the excitement as the mere thought of experimenting with Noble Banning.
    Annoyed with herself for getting worked up over the Southerner’s teasing remark, Juliet deposited the meal on the table with unnecessary force, then assumed her seat. Conversation between the men resumed almost at once, the topic Army business. Used to being excluded, Juliet ate in silence, keeping her attention focused on her plate and suppressing a desire to study Noble Banning’s mouth.
    “The horses should be arriving tomorrow, unless those damned Apache thieves snatch them,” Miles reported. “We don’t have an animal on this post that’s worth a ration of grain.”
    “Or a rider, either. Until now,” Crowley amended with a nod toward Noble. “Major Banning, my experience with livestock purchased locally is that it’s green and wild. I trust you have men who can break them to the saddle.”
    “All of my men are capable, sir. Most of us were practically born in the saddle.”
    “As soon as the beasts are marginally agreeable, I want you to set up a schedule for drilling. I want this company turned out as proper cavalry. I’m sick of having the Indians riding circles around us. Until we can come close tomatching them in the saddle, we’ve