Read Online The Next Mrs. Blackthorne (Bitter Creek Book 6) by Joan Johnston - Free Book Online

will that be?”
    “Another half hour.”
    By then it would be one o’clock. They’d trailered horses here, which was another half-hour drive. By the time they got back to the house, she’d be famished.
    At that moment her stomach made a loud, undignified cry for sustenance.
    “Chuck wagon’s on the far side of the corral. If you can’t wait, ask Cookie to give you something now.”
    “I’m fine,” she said. Her arm might fall off from holding the vaccinating gun, and she might never walk again after she got out of these high-heeled boots, but as far as North Grayhawk was concerned, she was just dandy. Especially if all she had to do to find food was make it to the other side of the corral.
    “What I really need is a bath,” she said, as she laid down the vaccinating gun, pulled off the too-large, sweaty buckskin gloves North had also lent her and looked at her blistered hands.
    “There’s a pond not far from here. We can take a swim when we’re done.”
    “I prefer a bath. Alone.”
    “The swim you can have after lunch. The bath would have to wait until dark.”
    She wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t wait until dark. She needed to rinse off this sweat and dust, and the offer of cool water sounded too inviting to resist. There was only one problem.
    “What am I supposed to wear for a bathing suit?”
    He grinned and said, “Who needs a suit?”
    “Where are you going to be while I’m taking this swim?”
    “It’s a big pond.”
    At that moment, one of North’s cowhands called to him. He turned away, as though the matter were settled, and headed back to the branding fire.
    It took another forty-five minutes to finish the job, and for the last fifteen, Jocelyn was functioning on sheer grit. She handed the vaccinating gun over to one of the cowhands when the triangle at the chuck wagon clanged, signaling everyone to come and eat.
    She was surprised at how courteous the cowboys were, each one tipping his hat to her and saying “Ma’am” as though she were the Queen of Sheba. All except North, who handed her a tin plate and said, “Food’s being served for the next fifteen minutes.”
    She realized it was a warning, and she hastened to the dutch oven simmering over the fire, where Cookie had created a hearty beef stew and added dumplings on top. She found a seat on one of the logs that had been situated around the fire, set her plate in her lap and concentrated on the meal until it was gone. Nothing Jocelyn had ever eaten had tasted so good.
    When the late lunch was over, she stood by as North sent his cowhands off to do other chores around the ranch. She waited, her shoulders aching, to see what he expected from her next.
    “You ready for that swim?” he said.
    “I told you, I don’t have a suit.”
    He shrugged. “Your choice. There’s some barbed wire fence needs to be—”
    “I’ll go for the swim,” she interrupted. She wouldn’t put it past North to force her to spend the afternoon manhandling barbed wire.
    “Fine. Can you ride?” he asked.
    “Of course.” She’d starting riding almost as soon as she could walk.
    “Then we’ll ride to the pond,” he said.
    Jocelyn would have ridden all the way to Connecticut if that’s what it took to remove the smug look from North Grayhawk’s face. “No problem,” she replied.
    Except she hadn’t been on a horse since she was fourteen and had broken her leg in a fall while jumping a high stone wall. Her father had taken the family to Paris before she was well again, and the opportunity hadn’t arisen for more than a year for her to get back on a horse. When the opportunity had come, for some reason she couldn’t explain, she hadn’t taken advantage of it. Then her mother had died, and spending all her free time on the back of a horse had no longer been an option.
    As she followed North to where two saddled horses were tethered, she realized her heart was pounding and her palms were damp. She couldn’t possibly be afraid. That was