Read Online Under the Desert Sky by Sara Luck - Free Book Online Page A

one.” He self-consciously chuckled.
    Christian put the knife down, and as he moved, he felt the floor through the hole in his boot, reminding him of the incident the night before. Smiling, he reached into his pocket. “You lost this last night.” He withdrew his hand. “I found it in my boot.” He laughed and opened the palm of his hand.
    Seeing a bullet, Phoebe gasped and put her hand to her throat. “God in heaven! You found that in your boot?”
    Christian turned around and lifted his foot, showing the hole in the sole.
    â€œOh! That’s the bullet I . . . What if . . . ?”
    Christian had thought to make light of the situation, but from her expression he saw she wasn’t taking it as a joke. “Phoebe.” He stepped to her quickly and pulled her into his arms. “It’s all right.”
    She leaned against him for a long moment, until finally she realized what she was doing and stepped away, although the disengagement was more gentle than abrupt.
    â€œI’m so sorry. I could have . . . Oh, Christian, what if you’d been standing in that very spot where the bullet came through?”
    â€œWell, the important thing is I wasn’t. But now we’re about to have another catastrophe.” He inclined his head toward the stove, where smoke was beginning to rise as the pancakes curled in the skillet.
    â€œThe pancakes! I forgot!” Phoebe rushed to the stove, grabbing the handle without benefit of a cloth. Immediately, she dropped the hot pan, making a loud clatter. “Damn.”
    â€œMrs. Sloan, did I just hear you curse?” Christian’s facial expression clearly showed he was jesting.
    â€œI’m sorry. I shouldn’t have . . . It’s just that I am so discombobulated this morning. You must think I’m a real scatterbrain.”
    Christian snapped off a piece of an aloe plant that was on the windowsill. “No, Mrs. Sloan, I don’t think you’re a scatterbrain.” He took her hand in his and began rubbing the soothing liquid over her burn. When he’d finished, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “There. That should take care of you.” He didn’t drop her hand as his gaze held hers.
    Just then Will came bounding down the steps and into the kitchen.
    â€œWet! You’re still here. . . . You stayed all night with us. Yippee!”
    As Will ran toward them, Christian dropped Phoebe’s hand and caught him with one arm, lifting him into the air.
    â€œAre you ready for breakfast? I’ve made something special and I know you’re going to like it.” Christian set the boy on a chair and turned to get a piece of bacon that was cooling on a plate.
    Will wrinkled his nose. “Yuck! I don’t like bacon.”
    â€œOh, but this is something different. This is a collop.” Christian popped a piece of bacon into his own mouth.
    Gingerly, Will imitated Christian, and a wide grin crossed his face. “Mama, collops are good. Why don’t you ever make some?”
    â€œI’ll have to do that.” Phoebe glanced toward Christian. “Mr. De Wet has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.”
    â€œSomeday I’ll have to show you a few more.” Christian flashed a smile toward Phoebe.
    She felt an unexpected warmth radiate through her body. “I’m sure you will . . . someday.” She tossed it right back to him with the same challenging smile. She was pleased to see, by the quick blink of his eyes, that he knew she knew exactly what this exchange was about.
    Phoebe brought the platter of pancakes over to the table, then put a couple on Will’s plate and several on Christian’s.
    â€œMama, you know what you did?”
    â€œWhat did I do?”
    â€œYou gave Wet a whole bunch of pancakes. Do you remember when you used to give Daddy a whole lot of pancakes?”
    â€œYes, Will, I