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She thought about her family and felt a twinge of guilt, for putting them through the ordeal of her disappearance. However, far more than guilt claimed her now. Soon she could return home with her ruined reputation, and she felt nothing but dismay at the thought.
She did not want to go home. Being on the run with Braxton was exciting. Her life had never been this exciting before. And she did her best to make it unusual and entertaining; A
And then there was her te
But nothing to date had been as exciting as being with this man.
"You are staring at me," he said softly.
She swallowed. Not only was she staring, she had been envisioning herself once again in his embrace. Except this time he had been unclothed. He had been long and lean and all hard muscle. Such a thought should be shameful. A
He was intriguing.
A
She wanted to ignore the little warning bells going off inside her head. Usually, she did. And then she would be off and ru
But to start thinking about her life being boring in comparison with his, why, that was very dangerous, indeed. That could lead her farther astray than she had ever intended to go. Maybe, as Melissa kept saying, there was something wrong with her. Drastically so.
"Is something wrong, Miss Boothe?" He interrupted her thoughts.
A
His blue gaze was brilliant and searching. "Having regrets?"
She straightened. "I never have regrets," she said._ His only response was a long, inscrutable, and very wide stare.
A
Chapter four
The cheerful and freshly painted white clapboard house was one of the last on Main Street. A white picket fence surrounded it and there was a red barn in the backyard. Braxton drove the carriage directly around the house and into the barn. Both wide, whitewashed doors had been left open.
"More remarkable pla
"You are as clever as always," he replied. Braxton's spirits seemed high. He stepped out of the carriage, as did Louie, the smaller man immediately going to their tired gelding and unhitching him from the traces. Braxton looked up at her and held out his hand.
Surprised, yet ridiculously pleased, A
Miffed, she watched him removing a satchel from the second carriage, this one large enough to contain quite a few clothes. "Is the house occupied?" she asked.
"Yes, it is," an unfamiliar female voice said from the bam doorway.
A
A
Braxton gave her a look. "I do hope you have some coffee brewing?" His meaning was clear-he did not wish to discuss this now.
Mary A
Mary A
They followed their hostess from the barn, both men closing the doors behind them, and headed across the lawn and into the house. Inside it was as cheery as it had been outside. Doilies covered the tables in the parlor, slipcovers the couch. The walls were flocked with red roses and pale stripes. A
A
Louie looked up and gri
"I am hardly jealous," A
" 'E's got lots of flames." Louie continued to grin.
A
"I think you 'ad better ask the guvnor 'imself." Louie returned to the catalog.
A
"Pierce, how could you bring her here!" Mary A
"We will leave at dawn, you have nothing to worry about." His tone was very gentle.
"Nothing to worry about?" Mary A
A