Excerpt
– Heart of a Texas Cowboy
With night wrapped around her like a
cloak, Lara hummed while she washed the dishes and put everything away.
Houston sat on the ground with Gracie,
his back against his saddle. The babe lay on his chest with his hand patting
the small back. He caught Lara looking and winked as boldly as some scoundrel.
Heat rose to her cheeks. She lowered her gaze and made quick work of the
dishes.
“Do you want me to take Gracie to her
bed?” Lara asked, joining him.
“If you can pry open her fist to get
my vest out of it. For such a little thing, she’s sure got a grip.”
Houston was so near his soft breath
fanned her cheek. Her pulse raced. This man she’d married invaded every
thought. He’d shown kindness and caring and brought hope back from the grave
where she’d buried it.
He laid a hand on her arm. “You’ll be
back?”
“Yes. I won’t be long.”
“I’ll only be in camp a little while,”
Houston said, yawning. “Have to spell the other drovers.” At her questioning
glance, he explained, “Everyone shares guard duty, me included.”
She nodded and hurried to lay Gracie
in her crib next to her crib beside the chuck wagon. With her precious daughter
sleeping soundly, she returned to the fire to find no sign of Houston. Her
heart sank with disappointment. She’d missed him, missed her goodnight kiss
that he’d begged for.
Houston called quietly from the deep
shadows. “Over here, Lara.”
Following his voice, Lara discovered
him leaning against the trunk of a mesquite tree. Rays from the full moon lightened
the dark brown strands nestling against his collar, adding glints of silver.
“I didn’t want to take a chance on us
being interrupted so I walked out here,” he explained.
Lara wet her lips. “I thought you’d
changed your mind.” That he didn’t want to kiss a woman so scarred.
“Not a chance, lady,” he growled low
and pushed away from the tree. “It’s all that’s been on my mind since you
agreed.”
When she moved to him, he opened his
arms. She walked into his embrace as though it was door and pleasure awaited
there. Inhaling the scented air, she laid her head against the hard wall of his
chest. She wanted to stay there forever.
Houston lightly rested his chin on the
top of her head. “I’m real glad you came on this drive. Nights can get lonely
out here.”
His deep voice vibrated inside her. It
was like he became part of her. “I’m glad I did too. Even though I had to work
to convince you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a stubborn fool.”
He put a finger under her chin and
lifted her face. Without a word, he lowered his mouth. The minute his warm lips
touched hers, Lara had to clutch his arm to keep from falling. Her heartbeat
pounded as though trying to keep up with the blood racing through her veins.
A hot, demanding, achiness swept over
her. She needed this man and at the moment didn’t think she could live without
him. Nor did she want to try.
With a low cry, he placed his large
hands under her jaw and deepened the kiss, sending a series of quickenings into
her stomach similar to the ones she felt when Gracie curled in her womb. Maybe
these stirrings signaled life much in the same way her baby’s movements did to
let her know she was alive and couldn’t wait to be born.
Maybe she was being reborn.
Maybe she could forget the past and
start fresh.
Maybe this was what she’d waited so
long for.
As she leaned into him and gripped
Houston’s vest, pleasure like she’d never felt swirled inside her. She clung to
him afraid if she let go, he’d vanish and she’d discover it was a dream.
Could
this be tiny stirrings of love?
Lara suddenly pushed away. No it
wasn’t love because that didn’t exist. Not for her. It was too dangerous to
believe in love. To believe she had anything to give any man.
What’s wrong, Lara?” Houston gently
pushed back her hair. “Did I do something to upset or frighten you? I shouldn’t
have grabbed you like that.”
“You did nothing wrong.” It was her.
She almost let herself believe that someone could love her. One look at her
reflection showed the impossibility of such a thing. “I’m sorry,” she murmured
brokenly.
Through tears, she stumbled back to
the light of the campfire, escaping all that brought pain.
The past.
Herself.
An impossible future.
Escaping everything. If only it was
that easy.
Houston stole up behind her and
touched her shoulder. “Talk to me. I want to understand.”
She owed him some explanation.
Impatiently dashing away the tears, she turned and let anger spill. “It’s not
you, Houston. It’s me. I’m broken. Too broken to fix. You can’t repair
something that’s missing the pieces. Blackstone took a lot more than....” she
paused, “He stole....”
“Your soul,” he supplied quietly.
