safe with me? The answer meant more than I ever thought it could.
Lifting her over the muddy street was something I didn’t mind one bit. She was so light and her body so warm where her clothes touched mine. “We’re going to have to get you a horse sooner than later,” I said. “And you’ll need to learn to drive the wagon in case you ever need to get to town without me or Jeremiah.”
Her arms wrapped slowly around the back of my neck as I walked. “Horses are terrifying.”
“I don’t imagine you’re afraid of much, Ms. Yeaton. You’ll do just fine on a horse. The mare you saw the other night would be the best one for you, but she’s got a foal on her now and won’t be ready to separate for a while.” I lifted her into the seat of the wagon and leaned against it until it groaned against my weight. From this position, we were almost eye level. The blue of her eyes rivaled a clear summer sky.
A beautiful challenge swam in her expression and her elegant nostrils flared slightly. “I saw a polka dotted horse one time. When you find me a polka dotted horse, then I’ll ride.”
Dropping my gaze to her lips, I matched her smile. I liked a challenge too. “A polka dotted horse it’ll be then. Wait here while I load up our order from last week. Do you need anything from the general store?”
She fidgeted. “I have enough money left from my travels to buy an apron if you get a cheap one.”
I nodded slowly. “An apron would probably do you good. Save your dresses in the kitchen and keep you from burning your hands. You can keep your money if you want to though, Kristina. I don’t mind getting you the things you need.”
“I’ve always taken care of myself, and while I appreciate you buying the dresses, I truly do, I need to buy my apron.”
Her hand stretched out with a small coin purse and it jangled softy as it hit mine. Our fingers touched for just a moment before she pulled away. Her hands were soft and smooth—a woman’s tender skin—and I would’ve given anything I owned to feel her fingertips on me again.
Turning abruptly, I made my escape before I said something that would really scare her off. I looked back once and she was watching me with the most confounding expression. Worry and intrigue all wrapped into one.
Chapter Eight
Kristina
The apron was made of cotton and edged in ruffled eyelet lace. The softness of the material brushed my skin as I ran revering hands over the folded fabric in my lap. It would make a handsome contrast up against the dark blue of my new dress. The first chance I got, I would sneak into Luke’s room and admire it in his full-length mirror.
Luke had been sending sideways glances in my direction the majority of the long buggy ride home, and a mixed feeling of pleasure and self-consciousness washed over me. Maybe he was looking because he liked what he saw, or maybe he liked me better in the other dress.
“Rains will be here tonight,” he said to no one in particular.
Jeremiah lay in the bed of the wagon with his hat over his face. “Yep,” he mumbled. “I feel it too.”
They had to be playing with me. The sky was a beautiful deep blue without a cloud in sight. The air smelled of late summer flowers and earth, and my hair, which curled into a wild bird’s nest at the first sign of moisture, was quiet and content under its pins. Luke’s face was passive as he pulled the team around a pot hole as deep as a grave. If he was joking, I was missing the punch line somehow.
The entrance to the Dawson ranch already seemed familiar, even though I’d only seen it twice before, and a little piece of me I didn’t know had tensed up relaxed when we turned for home. Funny how a place could feel so familiar this quickly. I’d worked a year at a brothel in Chicago with a tiny room of my own and everything, and not once did it ever settle in my gut as home. Maybe it had to do with my open door policy to strangers, or my discomfort with life there, but there
Lifting her over the muddy street was something I didn’t mind one bit. She was so light and her body so warm where her clothes touched mine. “We’re going to have to get you a horse sooner than later,” I said. “And you’ll need to learn to drive the wagon in case you ever need to get to town without me or Jeremiah.”
Her arms wrapped slowly around the back of my neck as I walked. “Horses are terrifying.”
“I don’t imagine you’re afraid of much, Ms. Yeaton. You’ll do just fine on a horse. The mare you saw the other night would be the best one for you, but she’s got a foal on her now and won’t be ready to separate for a while.” I lifted her into the seat of the wagon and leaned against it until it groaned against my weight. From this position, we were almost eye level. The blue of her eyes rivaled a clear summer sky.
A beautiful challenge swam in her expression and her elegant nostrils flared slightly. “I saw a polka dotted horse one time. When you find me a polka dotted horse, then I’ll ride.”
Dropping my gaze to her lips, I matched her smile. I liked a challenge too. “A polka dotted horse it’ll be then. Wait here while I load up our order from last week. Do you need anything from the general store?”
She fidgeted. “I have enough money left from my travels to buy an apron if you get a cheap one.”
I nodded slowly. “An apron would probably do you good. Save your dresses in the kitchen and keep you from burning your hands. You can keep your money if you want to though, Kristina. I don’t mind getting you the things you need.”
“I’ve always taken care of myself, and while I appreciate you buying the dresses, I truly do, I need to buy my apron.”
Her hand stretched out with a small coin purse and it jangled softy as it hit mine. Our fingers touched for just a moment before she pulled away. Her hands were soft and smooth—a woman’s tender skin—and I would’ve given anything I owned to feel her fingertips on me again.
Turning abruptly, I made my escape before I said something that would really scare her off. I looked back once and she was watching me with the most confounding expression. Worry and intrigue all wrapped into one.
Chapter Eight
Kristina
The apron was made of cotton and edged in ruffled eyelet lace. The softness of the material brushed my skin as I ran revering hands over the folded fabric in my lap. It would make a handsome contrast up against the dark blue of my new dress. The first chance I got, I would sneak into Luke’s room and admire it in his full-length mirror.
Luke had been sending sideways glances in my direction the majority of the long buggy ride home, and a mixed feeling of pleasure and self-consciousness washed over me. Maybe he was looking because he liked what he saw, or maybe he liked me better in the other dress.
“Rains will be here tonight,” he said to no one in particular.
Jeremiah lay in the bed of the wagon with his hat over his face. “Yep,” he mumbled. “I feel it too.”
They had to be playing with me. The sky was a beautiful deep blue without a cloud in sight. The air smelled of late summer flowers and earth, and my hair, which curled into a wild bird’s nest at the first sign of moisture, was quiet and content under its pins. Luke’s face was passive as he pulled the team around a pot hole as deep as a grave. If he was joking, I was missing the punch line somehow.
The entrance to the Dawson ranch already seemed familiar, even though I’d only seen it twice before, and a little piece of me I didn’t know had tensed up relaxed when we turned for home. Funny how a place could feel so familiar this quickly. I’d worked a year at a brothel in Chicago with a tiny room of my own and everything, and not once did it ever settle in my gut as home. Maybe it had to do with my open door policy to strangers, or my discomfort with life there, but there
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